Joel Bower, the CEO of Skirmish Strategies, is always looking for new and better ways to leverage every single resource he has going into his business, from the members on his team to the technologies they have at their disposal, and he loves bringing this talent to other entrepreneurs and teaching them how to make the most of their resources, too. Joel's dedication to every aspect of his life has given him a profound understanding of true peak performance. Leveraging has allowed him to give his all - all day, every day - both in Skirmish Strategies, to our amazing fans, and with his family.

Joel is a serial entrepreneur and with over a decade of experience running and starting dozens of different businesses. He is currently running a number of successful physical product and information product businesses in several different fields. He is also a public speaker, marketing consultant, and business trainer.

Find out more about Joel here:www.SkirmishStrategies.comFacebook @JoelBowerReal on Twitter

In this episode:

• [01:08] - Joel starts out our conversation by talking about how to know what should be automated and what should not be.
• [02:58] - Joel gives us a warning about some of the things that can go very wrong when automation is done poorly.
• [04:58] - We talk about the importance of understanding the social media platforms you are using.
• [06:29] - Joel talks about the benefits of Snapchat, Periscope, and Facebook Live for building quick interactive content.
• [07:28] - We discuss how those live platforms have begun to bring back a feeling of T.V. shows with a trusted anchor.
• [08:50] - Joel's love of learning is clear as he tells us about a few of his favorite places to learn more about marketing, including: Frank Kern's Alchemy Session and Inner Circle, and Russell Brunson's Marketing in Your Car.
• [10:58] - He shares some of his favorite tools in marketing automation and talks about the benefit of using multiple tools in your business.
• [12:16] - Joel explains the importance of testing different entry points for your customers in order to make the best use of all the available tools.
• [14:15] - We discuss several ideas for how to effectively research our customers' entry and pain points.
• [16:02] - Joel walks us through his process of automating steps in his business by first refining the process himself and then doing in depth training with his team about both the process and the overarching purpose of the process.
• [19:12] - Joel gives us some practical wisdom about bringing on people to your team, hiring VA's, managing teams for complex projects, testing the proficiency of your team in ways that limit the possibility of negative impact to your company, and determining when it is best to outsource, hire, or use an agency for particular services.
• [27:19] - We talk about some of our favorite tools for segmenting decision points and gaining clarity about our marketing at every stage of the process.
• [29:55] - When asked if video sales letters or long form sales letters are still effective Joel says "Everything done well is still working and it works for the same reason it worked originally."
• [30:16] - Joel tells us that an effective sales funnel should leverage whatever it is that you are already doing well as well as build contingency plans to use the information gained from customers, especially when they drop off at some point. He gives some great examples of funnels done well.
• [35:19] - We talk about conferences and speakers we love as well as a few past guests on the Marketing Speak Podcast, including: Molly Pittman, Joe Pulizzi, and Jay Abraham.

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Links and Resources:

www.SkirmishStrategies.comFacebook @JoelBowerReal on TwitterVA Team Master ClassLeverage Monthlywww.infusionsoft.com www.clickfunnels.com www.getmevo.com/CameraFrank KernRussell Brunson's Marketing in Your Car and Funnel Hackerwww.leadpages.net www.ontraport.com www.surveymonkey.comwww.garyvaynerchuk.com Digital Marketer's Machine www.lucidchart.comwww.geru.comTodd Herman's 90 Day Yearwww.heroicpublicspeaking.com www.digitalmarketer.comMolly Pittman's Interview on the Marketing Speak PodcastJoe Pulizzi's Interview on the Marketing Speak PodcastJay Abraham's Interview on the Marketing Speak Podcastwww.trafficandconversionsummit.com www.contentandcommercesummit.com www.contentmarketinginstitute.com www.gkic.com