FIR Podcast Network

#710: Melanie Rembrandt and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Deliver valuable messages through a unique combination of PR and content marketing strategies. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Melanie Rembrandt (https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanierembrandt/), a content writing, public relations, and marketing strategy specialist.

Melanie Rembrandt is the CEO of Rembrandt Communications, LLC.  From killer copywriting to establishing credibility and public awareness, she is able to yield maximum results that boost sales.

She is committed to helping executives and entrepreneurs with all-around marketing services that attract the finest customers. She is keen on catapulting her clients to stand out and shine while enabling them to focus on the other essential matters that they love to do.

If you’re an overwhelmed entrepreneur struggling to shine, you should reach out to Melanie by visiting her website at https://rembrandtwrites.com/ or her LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanierembrandt/.

Here are several AHA messages from this episode:

* Overwhelmed entrepreneurs struggling to shine should reach out to Melanie Rembrandt. #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanierembrandt/ @RembrandtWrites

* I like to turn around and share the little tidbits and newest information with my clients because then, they can use them quickly and get the information they need so that they can do the things they like to do. #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanierembrandt/ @RembrandtWrites

* Most entrepreneurs like to get their hands in all parts of their business. What if they handed it over to someone they trust, who guarantees their services. Then, they can focus on the things they love to do! #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanierembrandt/ @RembrandtWrites

* Well over 16 years ago, I was overwhelmed. I was working really long hours, I had no control over my career. And then I was laid off twice. And I thought this is ridiculous, and I started my own business! #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanierembrandt/ @RembrandtWrites

* I love to help, but I would also like to do something other than work. I love to do that with my clients, so they can have the same kind of business where they can go out, golf, or do whatever they want to do! #PR https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanierembrandt/ @RembrandtWrites

To view the video interview click here.

#711: Stephen Praver and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Deliver solutions to find the best financing available. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Stephen Praver (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-praver/), a nationwide commercial loan specialist.

With over four decades of real estate experience in lending, investing, and developing, he helps clients find the best financing available to accomplish their specific real estate goals and objectives.

Stephen Praver is an FHA direct lender,

Agencies need to be managed. Not just by their own leaders, but by their clients.

Being managed by the client doesn’t mean that you’re simply an order-taker. Active management by the client tends to ensure better results and stronger relationships.

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss why it matters so much and what good management looks like.

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Small agencies can increase their capabilities and bandwidth by partnering with other small agencies and freelancers. But what are the tricks to doing this successfully?

Owners often struggle with how to make these partnerships profitable without distorting their pricing models.

In this episode, Chip and Gini discuss the benefits of collectives and collaborations, as well as some lessons they have learned over the years about how to make them work well.

[watch this episode]

#708: Dr. Nanette Cowardin-Lee and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Remove bullying to produce a safe working environment for optimal performance. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Dr. Nanette Cowardin-Lee (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanette-nan-a-cowardin-lee-phd/), anti-bullying advocate, transformational coach and author who strongly believes that dignity and respect are the essential business behaviors.

Nanette supports leaders to solve issues with difficult personnel who are out of step with workplace changes, as well as targets of abusive conduct at work. She is committed to helping organizations develop civil and respectful work environments where everyone can function effectively and efficiently.

If you’re either part of a bullying culture or not sure of it, consider reaching out to Dr. Nanette Cowardin-Lee by visiting his LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanette-nan-a-cowardin-lee-phd/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Organizations fostering a bullying culture should reach out to Dr. Nanette Cowardin-Lee. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanette-nan-a-cowardin-lee-phd/

* There are many things that could get in the way of culture in your company. I can help your people to perform where they can feel safe. #AntiBullying https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanette-nan-a-cowardin-lee-phd/

* Bullying in the workplace takes away efficiency, effectiveness and safety. Are you ready to have an #AntiBullying culture in your organization? https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanette-nan-a-cowardin-lee-phd/

* I can show you how your people can enjoy coming to work where they feel trust at all times. #AntiBullying https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanette-nan-a-cowardin-lee-phd/

* My role is to describe the climate of your organization and the behaviors going on so I can coach both sides of the equation – the bully and the target. #AntiBullying https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanette-nan-a-cowardin-lee-phd/

To view the video interview click here.

#709: Linda Jackson and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Discover your next impactful marketing strategy. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Linda Jackson (https://www.jacksonleegroup.com), a marketing strategy expert.

From ideation to implementation, Linda Jackson helps executives seek new ways to drive growth. She believes that ideas are a dime a dozen and nothing measures up unless these ideas are executed.

If you are an executive without the next great marketing strategy, you ought to reach out to Linda Jackson by visiting her website at www.JacksonLeeGroup.com.

Here are several AHA messages from this episode:

* Executives without a next great #Marketing strategy should reach out to Linda Jackson. https://www.jacksonleegroup.com/

* It starts with a conversation, out of which comes ideas, which are going to lead to a vision of a great new big idea. And making this big idea happens because of course, ideas aren’t enough on their own, you have to execute that idea!

When I started my business a thousand years ago, we worked with an organization in an industry we didn’t believe in and with a day-to-day contact who, with one blow of the wind, could wind up in the same category as Enron and Bernie Madoff. But their CEO was a friend of mine from my agency days and he assured me that his job was to turn things around there—and needed my help to do that.

I was still young, both in age and owning a business, so I accepted the work. Hindsight, of course, is 20/20, but it was a good learning experience in how to stand up for my ethics.

One of the tamest things this guy did was to ask me to have a former journalist who was on my team pretend like he was still a journalist and call a governor’s office to get them to admit what they were thinking when it came to this client’s business. I refused, and to this day, we all shake our heads when we talk about it.

The other thing he did, which we were never able to get him to stop doing in the few months we worked with him, was pretend he was someone else when dealing with vendors or customers he didn’t like. He had an email set up and “Scott” was the bad guy—and he was BAD. If you received an email from that account, you knew it wasn’t going to be good. And heaven forbid if you were a vendor whose invoice was past due. Whoa, Nelly! Bad.

On today’s episode of the Spin Sucks podcast, we are going to talk about the ethics behind fake personas in your business, and what to do if confronted with this behavior. 

Resources Included

* Trust Me, I’m Lying

* Business Insider article

* Spin Sucks Community

#706: Amanda Fisher and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Unscramble your numbers, increase your cash flow, create more profit, and reduce the stress in your business. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Amanda Fisher (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandafisherca/), a chief financial officer, financial educator, author, and speaker.

A mentor, CFO, and multi-award-winning financial educator, Amanda Fisher works with business owners and entrepreneurs to help them improve their cash flow, increase their profits, and leverage their business. This Cash Flow Queen authored best-selling Amazon books such as Strangled By The Numbers and Unscramble Your Numbers.

If you are an entrepreneur who doesn’t understand the numbers, it is best to reach out to Amanda Fisher by logging on to https://www.thecashflowqueen.com/ or by visiting https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandafisherca/.

Here are several AHA messages from this episode:

* Business owners who don’t understand the numbers should reach out to Amanda Fisher. #Profit https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandafisherca/ @AmandaFisherCA

* I equip businessmen with the knowledge to achieve the big dreams they want to pursue. #Profit https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandafisherca/ @AmandaFisherCA

* 12 years ago, my business was in financial difficulties and I had to sell it for less than I paid for. But what’s really cool about it is that I can now help business owners not make those same mistakes again. #Profit https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandafisherca/ @AmandaFisherCA

* Business owners come to me because they’re not drawing the income they want. And what happens when they’re working with me over a period of time is that majority of them increase their cash flow and #Profits! https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandafisherca/ @AmandaFisherCA

* The challenge is you end up kind of running blindfolded not knowing how to get where you want to go because you just don’t have that knowledge. And so, I work with different clients with courses to educate them. #Profit https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandafisherca/ @AmandaFisherCA

To view the video interview click here.

#707: Bret Ridgway and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Dramatically increase back-of-the-room sales and your productivity to elevate your business. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Bret Ridgway (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-ridgway-order-fulfillment-a987002/), author, speaker, information marketer, and co-founder of Speaker Fulfillment Services. He has nearly 25 years of experience behind the scenes and has seen what works and what doesn’t as their company grew at the request of industry colleagues who understood the need for a trusted fulfillment partner.

Bret helps authors, speakers, and information marketers take their business to the next level by handling their product production and order fulfillment.

#704: Stephen Denny and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Fast-track your brand success and break through in the marketplace. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Stephen Denny (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephendenny/),  managing director of Denny Leinberger Strategy, keynote speaker, and competitive strategy and marketing consultant. He holds multiple patents, authored Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry, as well as co-authored Unfiltered Marketing: 5 Rules to Win Back Trust, Credibility and Customers in a Digitally Distracted World.

Stephen helps emerging brands define their competitive positioning, communication strategies and implementation plans in the market. Prior to consulting, he was a 20+ year senior marketing executive having managed the people, strategy and budgets at brand name technology companies like Sony, Onstar (for General Motors), Iomega and Plantronics.

If your brand is not number one, consider reaching out to Stephen Denny by visiting his websites https://www.stephendenny.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephendenny/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Brands that are not number one should reach out to Stephen Denny. https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephendenny/

* My role is to remove you from a disadvantaged situation if you are dissatisfied with where you currently are. #KillingGiants https://www.stephendenny.com/ @Note_to_CMO

* If you’re hungry to bring your brand forward, I can help flesh out what the real business problems are in your organization. #KillingGiants https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephendenny/

* I can assemble the right team for you to really address issues in your business so that you can get real world, tangible, and hard financial results. #KillingGiants https://www.stephendenny.com/ @Note_to_CMO

* With my guidance, I can put your brand on a more aggressive footing as it is the key priority in your development plan to fast track your success. #KillingGiants https://www.stephendenny.com/ @Note_to_CMO

To view the video interview click here.

#705: Rhonda Sher and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Leverage LinkedIn to generate more sales, increase credibility and convert relationships to revenue. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Rhonda Sher (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhondalsher/), LinkedIn strategist, speaker, nationally recognized expert in business networking, and author of five (5) books including the international best selling book “Converting Connections to Cash and Relationships to Revenue.”

Rhonda has helped hundreds of individuals convert their boring LinkedIn profile and make it optimized, visible profiles to engage visitors and create a pipeline of prospects and referrals. She is known for her creative branding and strategic approach to generating leads on LinkedIn where, in fact, the thousands who have worked with Rhonda have doubled and tripled their income in many cases.

If you are in the LinkedIn Witness Protection program but rather want to utilize your profile to its full potential,

A new report from MuckRack (my favorite public relations management software) looks at the state of PR from the perspective of the top challenges we face, the tech and tools most popular among us, budgets, results, and gazing into the crystal ball. 

Some of the results are not surprising (COVID made our jobs harder, duh!), some are surprising (direct messaging has replaced every other form of communication), and some are really interesting (people hate the phone; me, too, man…me, too). 

They recently surveyed 1,618 communications professionals at agencies (50%), brands (35%), and nonprofits (15%). They span many different industries, including tech, healthcare, CPG, food and beverage, and more. They also talked to a good number of people at all sorts of sized organizations, which helps to aggregate great averages.

On this week’s episode of the Spin Sucks podcast, we are going to talk about some of the results of the survey—and how it affects you.

Resources Included

* Public Relations Management Software

* PESO Model

* The MuckRack Survey

* Spin Sucks Community

#702: Michael K. Redman and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Build a business with profit, purpose and legacy. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Michael K. Redman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkredman/), co-founder of Half a Bubble Out. He co-founded an international e-commerce company in the pet industry that has grown 3x a year; he has taught a master’s class in marketing at Simpson University, and is formally educated in Instructional Design, a communications degree that combines educational theory with the use of multimedia to create effective training tools.

Michael is passionate in helping small businesses tell their story. He helps companies and leaders who want to create more clients and increase profits by strengthening their marketing share.

If you are a small business owner (or know someone who is) with tension, consider reaching out to Michael Redman by visiting his websites https://www.halfabubbleout.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkredman/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Small business leaders experiencing tension should reach out to Michael K. Redman. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkredman/

* The place where business leaders struggle is the tension. I can help you use this tension to thrive in building a company that’s profitable and yet fulfilling. #ProfitPurposeLegacy https://www.halfabubbleout.com/

* My role is to guide you in helping create more clients and increase profits by strengthening your business. #ProfitPurposeLegacy https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkredman/

* I can teach you how to use traditional and online marketing, business coaching and leadership development to reach more clients and enjoy more profit and joy. #ProfitPurposeLegacy https://www.halfabubbleout.com/

* With my counsel, I can help you build a business with a passion and provision strategy that makes an impact within and outside your organization. #ProfitPurposeLegacy https://www.halfabubbleout.com/

To view the video interview click here.

#703: Randall Englund and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Advance beyond plateau in career development. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Randall Englund (https://www.linkedin.com/in/randalllenglund/), author, speaker, trainer, professional facilitator, project management educator for executives, managers, and teams, and consultant/owner for the Englund Project Management Consultancy. He was formerly the senior project manager at Hewlett-Packard and has received awards from the Project Management Institute.

Randall has a passion for helping others become more complete and get past their career plateaus. He believes that all leaders need to create healthy environments for people to consistently and sustainably achieve project success.

If you’re stuck in a career plateau, consider reaching out to Randall Englund by visiting his websites https://www.englundpmc.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/randallenglund/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Professionals stuck on a career plateau should reach out to...

Agency leaders often seem fixated on trying to discover the exact budget that a prospective client has available to spend with them.

There is a school of thought in the sales community that you need to get this number to “qualify” the lead and to make sure that you scope an appropriate solution.

That’s hogwash.

You need to make sure that the prospect understands what you typically charge for services so that they don’t waste their time (and yours) with pointless tire-kicking.

You don’t need to zero in on an exact figure.

Chip and Gini explain in this week’s episode that tailoring a solution to that (often arbitrary) budget number attacks the problem in precisely the wrong way.

[Watch this episode]