Onward Nation

Good Morning — I'm Stephen Woessner, CEO of Predictive ROI and your host for Onward Nation. I'm excited to share the lessons and the insights of today's episode with you — but before I do that — I wanted to take you behind the curtain to share some additional context with you around why I have been focusing my last several solocasts as well as my weekly videos on YouTube around the Trojan Horse of Sales Strategy.

My decision to do this has been based on several recent conversations with business owners who are also avid Onward Nation listeners. Each of them took the time to walk me through why they thought it would be helpful if I broke down the Trojan Horse strategy into granular steps…into more detail…and…why it would be helpful if I connected it back to the actual Trojan Horse story so the strategic metaphor that I am making when I say "Your Trojan Horse of Sales" could be better established.

To say that I was grateful for their feedback is a major understatement. I say often how much I value your feedback because it helps us get better each and every day…and here is a perfect example where Onward Nation listeners reached out to me — said hey — could we talk about this — and then they showed me how my team and I could get better. So thank you, Nancy — thank you, Bill — if you're listening — I appreciate you so very much.

With that said…we are going to take a deep dive into what has been the best biz dev strategy for Predictive ROI — and as you might have guessed based on what I just shared with you — it is the Trojan Horse of Sales. And I am going to walk you through the strategy in two different ways.

First — I am going to share the highlights of the Trojan Horse story so we can get a solid foundation around why the story is, in my opinion, an excellent metaphor to the ideal sales strategy.

Second — I'm going to insert into this solocast the interview where I was a guest on Take the Lead Radio, hosted by Dr. Diane Hamilton. And you may remember Diane from Episode 505 of Onward Nation. After being my guest — Diane invited me to be her guest — and we talked through a number of topics including how the Trojan Horse of Sales Strategy can be helpful to business owners. More specifically, Diane asked me to share…

• How I made that $2 million dollar mistake in 2014 and why it was a powerful lesson
• Why my Predictive ROI team and I decided to start Onward Nation back in June 2015
• How we initially began to "monetize" the podcast — but we didn't do it by attempting to monetize you…our audience
• How Onward Nation quickly became our best biz dev strategy to grow Predictive ROI
• And how your podcast, your video series, your blog — whatever channel that serves as your hub for cornerstone content — how it, too, can play the role of your Trojan Horse of Sales

Full show notes here: https://predictiveroi.com/podcasts/stephen-woessner-solocast-episode-82

Shannon Miles is the CEO and Co-founder of BELAY, a staffing company serving businesses all over the U.S. Without an office, BELAY has graced the Inc. 5000 list four times — and four years in a row — and was awarded the number one spot in Entrepreneur Magazine's Best Company Culture. Shannon's new book The Third Option: Why a Woman Doesn't Have to Choose Between a Career and Family, but Can Actually Have Both and Succeed is available now.

• The story behind how Shannon and her husband started their business, BELAY
• How having the right help can help you grow your organization
• Why it's vital to ensure that your team is happy
• Why it's not wise to satisfy other people's perceptions of you
• Why business owners need to consider what working remotely would look like for them
• Why Shannon was compelled to write her book, The Third Option
• The importance of having the mindset that you don't have to do it alone
• Why you need to assign value to your time
• The power that comes from shifting your mindset to owning, not running, your business
• Why you should consider developing and promoting employees from within your organization

• Website: belaysolutions.com
• Instagram: @shannonkmiles
• Book: The Third Option

Our special encore guest today is Jody Steinhauer. Jody is the Founder, President and CBO (Chief Bargain Officer) of the Bargains Group — an award-winning discount wholesale and promotional products company. She is also the founder of Engage and Change — a national charity focusing on "good people working together for the good of people." — and Kits for a Cause, a social enterprise that helps companies make a positive impact in their communities. Now…you may remember Jody and the wisdom she shared during Episodes 20 and 364. If you haven't listened to, studied, and applied all she shared during her two previous interviews…I highly encourage you to add Episodes 20 and 364 to your list of vital priorities.

• The rise of social enterprise, or finding out how businesses can help fix problems in society while also being business – a concept that Jody's company has been practicing for 30 years
• How businesses can help society in specific ways without being a charity and constantly asking for things, like money and volunteers
• Why social enterprise needs to be a part of your marketing strategy, both for your company's benefit and for organizational purposes
• Why jumping into social enterprise also requires careful planning for budgeting and picking the right cause, as it aligns with the company's mission statement and interests
• How Jody's new project has quickly spread from Toronto in the past year and how she has been contact by major companies in other countries that want to take part in specific projects or copy successful events
• Why — if you want to do more charity or volunteer work — you need to find a company that has had many years of experience and done many events
• Why flexibility is important in social enterprise – for example, Jody always contacts the end-user organizations when building kits, and often finds that some components just aren't needed, so things need to be changed
• The nuts and bolts of how an organization like Jody's partners with a more traditional company for a big social enterprise event, including first meetings, plans, and getting volunteers
• How to leverage materials like photos and video for marketing purposes and where to send them to let clients know your work in social enterprise
• The power of spotting problems in social enterprise and nonprofit work, and targeting those problems with specific solutions to create truly effective social enterprise profits

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jodysteinhauer
• Website: www.bargainsgroup.org/about-jody-steinhauer
• Website: jodysteinhauer.com
• Website: www.kitsforacause.com

Peter Mehit is the Owner and Chief Operating Officer of Custom Business Planning and Solutions. After a successful career in the Fortune 100, he has helped over 2,500 clients start, grow and expand their businesses and has written business plans that have raised over $160 million. He is also the co-author of Killer Business Plan, a book that can help you choose the business that is right for you.

• The reason Peter stepped away from Fortune 100 and what he decided to do instead
• How Peter's life completely changed after he said "no" to his boss
• Why small businesses are so important and how Peter helps them succeed
• One of the obstacles to success in today's day and age and Peter's technique to overcome this
• Examples of simple systems that can help you make the most out of each day
• What a good, usable business plan looks like along with the most important question you need to answer to guide your plan
• The types of businesses investors are interested in
• How to get your business running when you're really good at the vision end, but less experienced in running the actual business
• Why it's essential that you actually write a business plan before you get started
• The reason you can't lie to yourself about what your strengths and weakness are
• What Peter thinks is the most critical skill a business owner needs to master in order to be successful today
• Reasons it's essential to be self-educated to succeed in business today
• The most influential lesson Peter ever learned from a mentor and how to get the most out of your relationship with a mentor
• How knowing what you want will get you exactly what you need from your mentor
• Why paying for something makes you more committed to it

• Phone: 800-741-8444
• Email: [email protected]

Molly Grubb is the President and founder of Grubb Wealth Management, an exclusive wealth management firm that helps business owners gain control of their business in order to allow them to realize their purpose and build personal wealth through a well-defined process. She is one of only 200 Certified Business Exit Consultants and less than 7 percent of advisors that utilize all the fundamentals of wealth management. Molly has been a featured speaker and presenter at many professional organizations and business groups.

• How nothing improves you more as a person than being a business owner
• Working with the people you know vs. the experts you need
• How to prepare your business for a market decline
• Key ways to free up your wealth within your business
• Why it's vital to have a process for everything
• The one question that you should ask yourself, as a business owner
• What you can do to ensure that your business is serving you instead of you serving your business
• Common mistakes that business owners make that can devalue a business
• Why you need to have a clearly defined exit plan
• The importance of protecting your dynasty while building it

• Website: www.grubbwealth.com/onward
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mollygrubb
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grubbwealth
• Twitter: @grubbwealth
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/GrubbWealthManagement

Sam Silverstein is founder and CEO of Sam Silverstein Enterprises, Inc., an accountability think tank dedicated to helping companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. He's a leadership keynote speaker, business advisor, and author of seven books including Non-Negotiable, No More Excuses, Making Accountable Decisions, No Matter What, and The Success Model. Global Gurus recently announced Sam as one of the World's Top 30 Organizational Culture Professionals.

• How Sam came to the realization that everything comes down to accountability
• Why focus is a vital trait to have in business
• Why you need to pay attention to staying in your lane
• How to make your product even more valuable
• The real problem in organizations today
• Why everything we've been told about accountability is wrong
• How all rises and falls with leadership
• The importance of aligning your actions with your words
• The real value of relationships, family, and caring for people
• Why we need to hold ourselves accountable first, before others

• Website: www.samsilverstein.com
• Website: www.beaccountable.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/samsilverstein
• Book: No Matter What: The 10 Commitments of Accountability (No More Excuses Series)

At age 40, Gary Wilson retired as the corporate vice president of mergers & acquisitions from a national bank — and then embarked on building his wealth in real estate. In his first 6 months after earning real estate license, he created a six figure income by working with investors. He has since traded over 3,000 investment properties, written five books sharing his expertise so others in the business can do the same, and has taught his Path to Prosperity System to over 14,000 agents and investors across the country. Gary has appeared on over 100 national and local media outlets including CBS, FOX News, NBC, ABC, and Business Week.

• How Gary got involved in real estate in a small way which quickly grew in a large regional business – which wasn't entirely satisfying
• How finding passion later in life can be a great way to kickstart your career and become a happier person overall with a little thought
• How important localization is when selling real estate
• Gary's expertise in scaling real estate businesses effectively and growing a business into different region…by appealing to a rare market, the investors themselves
• The importance of being thankful for your life and what you are able to accomplish at any stage of your life
• Vision exercises: Why everyone should take time to plan out their future successes, not just in the short term but in the coming years, to help orientate their actions
• How helping people, and learning to network in productive ways, is a key tool for success
• Why when working toward success in business, it's important to start small and carefully prepare rather than aim immediately for explosive growth
• Carefully considering your "inner circle," your mentors and the people you got to for advice or leads – and thinking about how dependable they are so you can improve your inner circle in realistic ways
• More about the classes and seminars Gary teaches on investment, real estate, contacting investors, and other topics

• Personal email: [email protected]
• Email for info on Chicago event: [email protected]
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thegarywilson
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/myinvestmentservices
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/winteam

John Furth is the President of Furth & Associates where he works with leadership teams to achieve breakthrough performance and growth. He has spent 25-years working with CEOs and their C-suite executives at some of the largest corporations in the world. In 2015, John became Vistage's Chair for Brooklyn, a role which allows him to draw on his experience and extensive network to coach and advise CEOs and business owners of NYC-based small and medium-sized companies. John is also author of the new book, "Owning Tomorrow: The Unstoppable Force of Disruptive Leadership."

• Why you need to first learn how to disrupt yourself before you can disrupt others
• How the things we don't know can disrupt our lives
• How John came up with the title for his book, "Owning Tomorrow: The Unstoppable Force of Disruptive Leadership"
• Why most successful disruptors make a ton of money
• How, in disruption, more stays the same than changes
• Why there is very thin line between disruption and destruction
• Why it's vital to understand finance as a business owner
• Why emotional intelligence and having a personal life are important when it comes to success in business
• Why you need to be aware of how you appear to others as a leader
• How all processes look like a failure in the middle

• Phone: 917-626-0065
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: furthandassociates.net
• Website: johnffurth.com
• Book: Owning Tomorrow: The Unstoppable Force of Disruptive Leadership

Jon Vroman inspires others to Live Life In The Front Row™ by teaching the art of moment making. He is an award-winning speaker, #1 bestselling author of The Front Row Factor, podcast host, and founder of Front Row Foundation, a charity creating front row experiences for individuals who brave life-threatening illnesses.

• The "why" and the stories behind Jon's Front Row Foundation
• The importance of finding ways to lift other people up
• The power of giving
• Why many men hide behind their work
• How changing the conversation changes the game
• Why you can't measure good deeds
• The power of creating moments in small ways
• Why you need to be conscious of the story that you're telling yourself
• Why it's a natural thing to get caught up in your past
• Why you need to have a mindset of possibility and potential

• Website: FrontRowFactor.com
• Website: FrontRowDads.com
• Instagram: @jonvroman
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jonvroman
• Book: Front Row Factor

Kirk Deis is the CEO of Treehouse 51, a digital agency based in Newport Beach and the new web app "The Bug Squasher," designed to simplify and streamline project communication and website management. Kirk has worked with clients all over the world and has been a featured contributor for several sites including Forbes.

• One of the biggest lessons that Kirk has learned on his entrepreneurial journey
• Why having a beginning, middle, and end to a story is so important
• The importance of being confident and okay with failure
• Why you need to always be focusing on business development
• The value of focusing on building a team of talented people and providing an environment where they can grow
• Why you need to strive to always be a student of your industry
• Why you should always be testing your marketing
• Why you shouldn't underestimate the value of free
• Why it's critical to take risks when things are tough
• Passing the DUMB test before spending money on something

• Website: thebugsquasher.com
• Website: www.Treehouse51.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kirkdeis