Brett Trainor Unplugged

Successfully selling to your prospects is at the core to scaling your startup. But at an age where greater focus is needed towards buyer enablement, the hard sell is no longer selling.

If you’re a startup looking to grow your business, what are you to do then? Well, I’ve got the answer for you in our supersized episode today with my special guest.

As Founding Partner of the Samurai Business Group, Bob Lambert has spent two decades helping small and mid-size businesses improve their growth. Today, he and I talked about everything from strategy and tactics to what folks to hire for sales roles to setting up your business for scale. 

Make this year a year of tremendous growth for your business by tuning in now!

Resource Links:

We’ll talk about:

About Our Guest:

With over 40+ years working in business development, market, and sales, Bob Lambert has a solid track record of growing and leading successful businesses. He founded Samurai Business Group, a sales & business development performance firm which developed their proprietary Samurai Buying Decision ModelTM. This model is now being used in the sales curriculum in 36 universities. 

Bob has coached, mentored, and trained people who later on became top executives in Fortune 1000 companies or founded successful businesses. He also co-authored the book,  Put the WIN back in your SALES, and is the host of podcast talk show Faith Marketplace Radio.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to Bob Lambert at [email protected] or give him a call at 847-922-1498.

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to tune in, subscribe, and share this podcast. 

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2020 was definitely a year we won’t forget. But with 52 episodes in 52 weeks and the continued support from my podcast listeners, the re-branded B2B Founder podcast has grown, and it’s all thanks to you.

In today’s mini episode, I want to go over the year that was. Let’s take a look back at what we covered and what my listeners can expect this new year.

Join me as we turn over to the start of another new year full of new and better opportunities. Tune in now!

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We’ll talk about:

The last year was a year of diverse content [01:05]

What were the changes we did with last year’s rebrand [01:47]

Why you should listen to my interviews with growth experts [03:01]

The privilege I had getting the perspectives of over 16 authors [03:41]

What’s new you can expect in 2021 [04:37]

Now is still the best time to start a business [05:44]

New enhancements to make the podcast better [06:45]

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to tune in, subscribe, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/

Success and scalability stem from the ethical application of business practices. But, in a fast-paced, revenue-driven world, it’s almost just become an afterthought.

In almost every company, there is a written or unwritten code for how people should behave in the workplace. But without carefully examining and applying a work culture that reflects ethical standards, company culture may just as well be another set of words plastered on the wall.

World-renowned TEDx speaker, Yonason Goldson, shares with us the importance of business ethics in the foundation of healthy work relationships and success. He tells us why startups also need to prioritize business ethics, the significance of creating a positive employee experience, and the role that trust, teamwork, and accountability play in paving the way for scalability.

If you want to build a healthier, happier, more successful work environment, tune in to this episode today!

Resource Links:

We’ll talk about:

About Our Guest:

An advocate in building a culture of ethics, Yonason Goldson has helped countless companies improve employee loyalty and productivity through ethical practices, clear communication, trust, and enthusiasm. He is the Director of Ethical Imperatives, LLC. He’s an ethics and leadership speaker, strategic storyteller, and TEDx presenter. He is also a community rabbi, recovered hitchhiker and circumnavigator, former newspaper columnist, and retired high school teacher in St. Louis. Throughout his career, he has published five bestselling books to his name, including  Fix Your Broken Windows, Grappling with the Gray, Proverbial Beauty, to name a few.

You can reach out to Yonason through his LinkedIn.

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to tune in, subscribe, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/

As your business is starting to take off, how do you create brand awareness and reel more customers in?

The answer lies in media publication and podcast exposure. But the challenge is pitching yourself to journalists and podcast hosts.

Let the world know about you and your business as Brittney Lynn, Founder and CEO of Britney Lynn PR, joins us today to talk about public relations for founders and business owners. Learn how you can pitch yourself more effectively to reach your target audience and get word out about your business. We’ll also hear some amazing and practical tips to help get you started with PR and get down to the nitty gritty of Brittney’s business.

Find out how you can grow your business through the power of media by tuning in to this episode now.

Resource Links:

We’ll talk about:

How Britney quit her job and fell into the PR world [01:20]

The essence of PR and “done for you” services in the podcasting space [07:13]

Building the audience’s trust factor and getting your story told [10:10]

The importance of building lasting relationships for the long game [14:12]

Why founders need podcast exposure [16:27]

What should your content strategy be before hiring a publicist? [19:17]

Understanding your audience to add more value to your content [24:19]

Some tips to get started with PR and marketing [27:02]

The benefit of using LinkedIn to grow your connections [32:45]

The big no-nos in PR [36:49]

How to pitch yourself to different media platforms [37:56]

The significance of media sheets [41:56]

What’s next for Brittney [43:34]

The one thing that Brittney recommends [44:38]

About Our Guest:

Initially part of the marketing team of her previous company, Brittney L Lynn discovered just how much media exposure, especially podcasts, can do for founders and entrepreneurs. That’s what led her to found Britney Lynn PR, a company dedicated to helping online entrepreneurs grow through strategic public relations and marketing strategies. Now in its 5th year, her business continues to make great strides in the world of public relations for entrepreneurs.

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to tune in, subscribe, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/

B2B startups may not see branding as crucial at the start. With half in the space focusing on features and benefits, you could be missing out on a powerful tool for building momentum for your business.

Today’s episode is all about branding. Tacklebox’s David Kelbaugh covers the different misconceptions involving branding. What is his definition of it, and why your end goal should be to turn customers into your advocates. We also talk about the tactics that no longer work such as lower funnel performance marketing, and the steps any startup can take to build their brand.

It’s time to take action on your company’s brand. So tune in and grab some amazing insights on what you can do.

Resource Links:

We’ll be talking about:

David’s background in advertising [01:20]

The type of companies they help to build momentum [03:30]

The definition of branding and why is it critical [05:40]

Your goal is to transform customers into advocates [10:20]

Not everyone has to like your brand [15:14]

Be experimental to gain attention of your customers [18:29]

Marketing should be more brand, less product [21:00]

Four brand steps startups should be thinking about [30:55]

Your logo and name are not that important [35:37] 

What’s next for David [38:31]

The one thing David recommends [41:32]

About Our Guest:

After working with big advertising agencies for 15 years, David Kelbaugh started Tacklebox Brand Partners. Initially starting out as a market research firm, Tacklebox has since expanded to a full service marketing agency. David now uses his marketing expertise towards helping early stage companies get their brand right so that they can build the momentum that allows them to win.

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/

Most of our work as business owners involves a lot of thinking. But how much do we really know about our brain power and mental capabilities?

There’s so much of our brain that we don’t understand yet, but the propensity to do the things that we do goes all the way back to our primal instincts. However, what does understanding our brain have to do with marketing and business?

Let’s unravel the mystery as Tim Ash, world-renowned keynote speaker and author of Unleash Your Primal Brain, joins us in today’s scintillating episode on the psychology of marketing and business. Today’s topic is all about the brain as we dissect and examine why getting a good night’s sleep is essential, why you’re not really multitasking the way you think you are, and what finding and creating your own tribe means to your business.

Start learning and working more efficiently by tuning in to this episode now!

Resource Links:

We’ll talk about:

How Tim went from computer science to marketing [01:54]

The adoption of digital optimization in the B2B space [04:39]

Writing his book “Unleash Your Primal Brain” [07:31]

Misconceptions about how the brain works [12:15]

The four stages of learning [16:49]

The essence of getting a good night’s sleep [18:11]

Is multitasking productive or counterproductive? [23:32]

How being in an office work environment decreases productivity [25:29]

The benefit of working from home [27:19]

The link between the transmit culture and marketing [31:00]

Creating your own tribe to grow your business [35:03]

Tim’s views on sleep, company culture, and tribal values [39:00]

What’s next for Tim [41:45]

The one thing that Tim highly recommends [45:36]

About Our Guest:

An evolutionary psychology expert and world-renowned keynote speaker, Tim Ash is well-known for his two bestselling books, Landing Pages Optimization and Unleash Your Primal Brain. He is also a sought-after marketing advisor who founded Digital Growth Unleashed. Now, he is the CEO and Co-Founder of Site Tuners, a digital optimization agency that has been helping businesses scale by taking a strategic approach to business acceleration since 2001.

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to tune in, subscribe, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/

It is one thing to be financially rich and another to be time rich. What does it take to become the latter?

In today’s new episode, top-rated podcaster and author, Steve Glaveski, shares where he got the idea for writing his new book, Time Rich: Do Your Best Work, Live Your Best Life. Aside from that, Steve and I also talked about the importance of instilling an entrepreneurial mindset among children and how it applies to situations outside of business set-ups. Interestingly, we also explore the history of the pre-COVID working condition as we discuss how companies are coping with the current challenge of work-from-home situations. 

Join us as we talk about

Resource Links:

We’ll talk about:

Steve’s professional experience [02:51]

Teaching an entrepreneurial mindset to kids [06:34]

Idea behind Time Rich [10:20]

Flow state: Avoiding time and productivity waste [15:24]

Tim O’Reilly’s business model for the new economy” [23:07]

The power of the rule of two [30:20]

Presence and significance of the Pareto’s principle [33:14]

PCOATS roadmap [37:31]

Steve’s take on nootropics use [43:10]

Tips on increasing memory retention [45:10]

Time to embrace asynchronous communication [48:05]

What’s next for Steve [53:24]

The one thing Steve recommends [56:17]

About Our Guest:

An entrepreneur, author, and podcaster, Steve Glaveski is on a mission to untap the potential of people to lead more meaningful lives. He forwards this mission through his different ventures, such as the Collective Campus, an innovation accelerator; the Lemonade Stand, a children’s entrepreneurial program; and his podcast, Future Squared. In his latest book, he shares how being time rich is more valuable than living “comfortably miserable” lives. 

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to tune in, subscribe, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/

The end-user may not be the buyer making the decisions in the company. While customer enablement has empowered the product or service users, forgetting to transform value for the buyer could result in failing to maintain important relationships.

Today, we’re all about buyer enablement. Startup mentor, Joey Knecht, advocates for engaging with the buyers within an organization. With the shift in the B2B buying environment, maybe you’ve dropped the ball in maintaining those connections. If so, how do you pivot to create a process that not only drives growth but leads to new business for your company? 

Say goodbye to customer enablement and hello to buyer enablement by tuning in to this episode!

Resource Links:

We’ll be talking about:

A brief introduction on Joey and Proteus [01:45]

The journey towards becoming an advocate for buyer enablement [03:33]

The product is always pivoting and morphing [07:50]

Maintain long-term relationships by justifying your value to the buyer [11:34]

Invest in client success early on [15:21]

Stay in your lane and own what you do well [19:14]

The big secret sauce of expanding beyond your network [27:41]

Non-traditional tactics for growing the business [32:33]

Your role is to help the buyer solve their problem [37:34] 

What’s next for Joey [43:12] 

The one thing Joey recommends [45:06]

About Our Guest:

An advocate of buyer enablement, Joey Knecht learned from a young age how to navigate through challenges by helping engage diverse groups of people to find solutions. Now, as CEO and Managing Director of Proteus, he is leveraging technology to empower and engage buyers in complex B2B sales cycles. By taking the guesswork out of the so-called “dark periods” that often slowdown or kill the sale, he is helping sales leaders illuminate a crystal clear path of personalized buyer enablement with multiple decision makers. 

To find out more about Joseph and his work, reach out to him through Proteus.

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/

Technology is a central component we see in startups nowadays. But the part technology plays in the business is an area that deserves better focus.

In today’s episode, startup mentor, JC Garrett, talks about the importance of defining the role of technology in any startup, whether it is tech centric or tech enabled. While there is no right choice, having that clarity is key, as we are seeing paradigm shifts accelerated by the current COVID pandemic. We also discuss the opportunities that come up during these difficult times and why now is the right time to start a business.

Find out how the balance of business and technology play together by tuning in to this episode. 

Resource Links:

We’ll be talking about:

What led to JC being an advocate of technology [01:38]

Startups should figure out if they’re tech centric or tech enabled [05:10]

There is no one right choice, just define who you are [09:01]

Before product and features, market efficacy comes first [14:07]

COVID and the shift towards new technology implementation [17:43]

Startups need to progress through the three stages of sales [23:04]

Why NOW is the best time to start a business [27:19]

Words of wisdom every startup founder should follow [36:59]

What’s next for JC [38:50] 

The one thing JC recommends [40:30]

About Our Guest:

Having worked with hundreds of startups in the past 10 years, JC Garrett is passionate about coaching, mentoring, and consulting with founders. Through FarShore Partners, he has helped launch and scale over 250 growth startups, which have gone on to raise $1B in financing. JC is an advocate for defining the role of technology in any venture as he continues to work in executing scalable IT solutions and accessible software resources that allow businesses to leverage their vision.

You can connect with JC through his LinkedIn or send him an email at [email protected]

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/

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While the COVID-19 pandemic brought down businesses globally, it didn’t stop one venture capital firm from closing a $315M fund.

Based in Silicon Valley and in Tokyo, DNX Ventures focuses solely on B2B companies. Today, we have Managing Director Q Motiwala who discusses with us the opportunities in the B2B space and what they look for in startups and their founders. 

Q’s perspectives share some consistencies and differences with those shared by Tim McLoughlin of Cofounders Capital which I interviewed in Episode 68.

So if you want to pick up some more great insights in identifying the right startup or founder to invest in, tune in to this episode.

We’ll be talking about:

About Our Guest:

Q Motiwala is the Managing Director for early stage venture capital firm DNX Ventures. He is primarily focusing on hardtech. Motiwala is on a mission to fund entrepreneurs on their “crazy” startup journey. With more than a decade at Qualcomm trying to figure out his life calling, he is well acquainted with mobile technology from the early 90s. He claims that he is still learning everyday by learning hard lessons in Deep Tech and in the enterprise and cloud infrastructure sectors recently.

You can reach Q Motiwala on LinkedIn.

If you liked this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. 

Connect with B2B Founder: 

Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCySoKsETeKxu-Fnf2VfE7Gg/