Onward Nation

You may have heard me recently talking about point-of-view (POV) — why it is so important — and what can happen to a business if the owner doesn't get serious about defining it — and building a strategy around it.

Without a clearly defined POV, you will not be able to attract or retain the clients and prospects you want — and your biz dev strategy will suffer as a result.

But...if you and your team do the hard work to gain clarity around your POV...why you do what you do...who you do it for...and for whom you don't do it for...you will be able to attract the clients and prospects to your business who are exactly aligned with the sweet spot of your business.

Originally, I considered making today's episode a solocast -- where it would be just you and me exploring a topic without a guest. But — I changed my mind because I wanted you to have the benefit of getting some additional perspectives on this very critical topic...and I wanted you to get the perspectives from someone who has a real depth of knowledge not only in point-of-view and why it matters, but in business development, and in branding.

So my guest for today's episode is Drew McLellan. You may remember Drew from several other Onward Nation episodes -- in fact...this is Drew's 5th visit to Onward — more than any other guest.

Drew is one of my most influential mentors -- and -- he works in the trenches with my leadership team and me helping us build and scale Predictive ROI. Without a doubt...his insights, knowledge, and wisdom have been critical to our success over the last five years.

Drew is the CEO at Agency Management Institute and has owned and operated his own marketing agency over the last 23 years. He has written two books and has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Fortune Small Business. The Wall Street Journal called Drew's blog "One of the 10 blogs every entrepreneur should read."

• Why every business has a point-of-view — whether they have identified it or not
• How the brand of the business is grounded in the "why" the company exists
• How the process of gaining clarity around the POV of the business should be collaborative
• The questions you and your team should ask each other during the process of defining your POV
• Why business owners should then take their POV and "plant their flag" with it by producing cornerstone content that cements their flag in firm ground
• Why true thought leaders are more than one-trick ponies — their content is available across multiple channels
• Why your content strategy needs to be channel agnostic
• What it means to be "intentional" about creating content around your POV
• How great marketing "repels" customers you would never been able to make happy
• How business owners can increase their opportunity for success by creating a POV that enables them to niche down

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan
• Twitter: @DrewMcLellan
• Website: www.agencymanagementinstitute.com

Connor Gillivan is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of FreeeUp.com — the top marketplace to hire pre-vetted freelancers online in eCommerce, Amazon, digital marketing, advertising, web development and design. He has sold over $30 million online, has hired hundreds of freelancers to build his companies, is a published author, and is the owner of ConnorGillivan.com — a blog where he shares industry insights on lessons he's learned in growing his first Amazon business and FreeeUp.com.

• Why Connor and Nathan founded FreeeUp.com and what makes it unique
• How FreeeUp.com offers 85 different freelance skill sets
• How short term planning and sharing ideas with others keeps you focused on your goals
• The importance of having an accountability partner
• Why having an outlet such as exercise at the end of your day to decompress is important
• The importance of building relationships with your customers
• How having a referral program and building partnerships can help your business grow
• How you can build your business without needing an expensive advertising campaign
• Why you need to surround yourself with people that compliment your skills
• Why you need to be willing to let go of things in your company that are not working

• Website: www.FreeeUp.com
• Website: ConnorGillivan.com
• Email: [email protected]

Our special encore guest today is Nick Sonnenberg. He is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for creating companies that disrupt the way people live. Nick is the co-founder of Leverage and the co-author of the book "Idea to Execution". His personal mission is to help busy entrepreneurs and executives optimize their lives in a meaningful way and help them go from idea to execution in as few steps as possible. Now...you may remember Nick and the wisdom he shared during Episode 431. If you haven't listened to, studied, and applied all he shared during our first interview...I highly encourage you to add Episode 431 to your list of vital priorities.

• The benefits of documenting, optimizing, and automating your processes
• The importance of having employees rotate throughout the company
• How success can be defined as working on the things you are passionate about
• Why there are many more levels to success than just the money component
• Why you always need to remain open minded and a constant learner
• The benefit of writing down your processes and handing it over to someone else to review
• The three processes every company could start evaluating and improving
• Why every company needs to have effective communication
• Steps you can take to get your business as efficient as possible
• The importance of giving your employees more ownership and responsibility

• Website: www.getleverage.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Book: "Idea to Execution"

Tom Carmazzi is the CEO of Tuthill Corporation, a privately held and 4th generation manufacturer of industrial products. His role is to bring to life the COMPASS of the corporation. The COMPASS is Tuthill's version of a vision and mission statement, however, it is radically different from the norm. Their version is all about "ALIVENESS" with a "Purpose to Wake the World." This HUGE undertaking requires a culture where folks want to live into their full potential not only for the company, but for their families, their communities, and the world.

• Why grace, gratitude, and love should be core components in your company culture
• The importance of accepting feedback and making changes where necessary
• Why you need to have daily discipline and accountability to stay the course
• Why your company structures and processes should have the goal of getting people together in relationships to bring their best
• How removing the fear from your employees helps them perform in remarkable ways
• Why Tom feels that when we come alive, the world comes along
• How vulnerability-based trust helps break down fear
• Why you have to go first and model the culture you want for your business
• The importance of being in the moment
• Why you need to trust yourself

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.tuthill.com

Dr. Steve Bistritz is the Founder and President of SellXL, a sales training and consulting firm for professional salespeople selling in a business-to-business environment. He has more than 40 years of high-tech sales, sales training, and sales management experience, including 27 years with IBM. He is also co-author of the best-selling sales book, "Selling to the C- Suite," and the 2nd edition was just released.

• How writing a book can help your business by building credibility
• Why you need to get involved in the project early when selling to the C-Suite
• The importance of having a strong presence on LinkedIn
• Why companies are looking for the value you will bring to them
• How sales people identify the relevant executive for the sales opportunity
• How to take your cornerstone content and spread it across many platforms
• How to gain credibility with a C-Suite Executive
• Why referrals become your best source of your next client
• Why organization is a critical skill to master
• The importance of doing everything for your client in a responsive and responsible way

• Website: www.sellxl.com
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevebistritz
• Book: "Selling to the C-Suite, Second Edition: What Every Executive Wants You to Know About Successfully Selling to the Top"

John Lincoln is the Co-founder and CEO of Ignite Visibility, a leading digital marketing agency that was ranked as the 698th fastest growing private company in America on the Inc. 5000 list in 2017. He's also a digital marketing teacher at the University of California San Diego and author of the book, "Digital Influencer: A Guide to Achieving Influencer Status Online." John has worked with hundreds of companies, ranging from startups to household names, and has won awards in search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization, analytics and social media. He's also been featured on Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, and Inc.com.

• Why John decided to step out of the box and make movies around SEO and social media
• The positive outcomes of making the SEO and social media movies
• How the documentaries have impacted John's business, Ignite Visibility
• The importance of being unique to stand out in the marketing space
• The importance of finding everyone you need to influence to be successful in your space
• Why John felt compelled to write his book "Digital Influencer: A Guide to Achieving Influencer Status Online"
• What skill sets are needed to achieve influencer status
• Why you need to be willing to put yourself out there and not care what others think
• The importance of paying close attention to your daily analytics
• Why you need to find what works, look at your numbers and then scale it

• Blog: ignitevisibility.com/blog
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/IgniteVisibility
• Twitter: @johnelincoln
• Website: www.ignitevisibility.com

Jeanne Bliss is the President of CustomerBliss, where she guides C-Suite and Chief Customer Officers around the world on earning business growth by improving customers' lives. She pioneered the role of Chief Customer Officer, holding the first ever CCO role for over 20 years at Lands' End, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker, and Allstate where she drove achievement of 95 percent loyalty rates. Jean is a sought after speaker and thought-leader, co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association, and the author of three best-selling books, including the newly released, "Would You Do That To Your Mother?"

• Why Jeanne wrote her latest book "Would You Do That to Your Mother?"
• The importance of taking business personally
• How Jeanne's book "Would You Do That to Your Mother?" can be helpful to every member of your organization
• Why you should strive for goodness driven growth within your organization
• The importance of connecting to your mission
• Why you need to earn the trust of your customers
• How to become innovative to meet the needs of your customers
• Why you need to think through the lens of your customer
• How being deliberate in your treatment of your customers turns you into a "make Mom proud" company
• The importance of leaders enabling their employees to bring their best selves to work

• Website: www.make-mom-proud.com
• Website: www.customerbliss.com
• Twitter: @JeanneBliss
• Book: "Would You Do That to Your Mother?: The Make Mom Proud Standard for How to Treat Your Customers"

Racheal Blackmore is the Founder and CEO of Blackmore Marketing Solutions, working with a limited number of clients to explode their brand, voice, and story through what she calls the omni-present digital footprint. She's a successful copy and content writer specializing in brand recognition and digital marketing. Over the past 10 years, Racheal's owned and managed businesses as well as ghost written for hundreds of companies, bloggers, and solopreneurs.

• Why vanity likes and content do not translate into sales
• How merging content, copy and true followers helps businesses grow
• The importance of posting content that is relevant to your business
• Why you need to share your business story
• Why your business needs a content mission statement
• How businesses create followers with content that resonates with customers
• The benefits of outsourcing as much as you can once you have your mission statement
• The value of consistently producing great content and engaging with your audience
• How often you should be posting on social media
• How taking on the hard things in your business can lead to your biggest wins

• Website: www.blackmoremarketingsolutions.com

Our special encore guest today is Sheryl O'Loughlin. She is a serial entrepreneur and author of KILLING IT! An Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart. She has served as the CEO of Clif Bar, where she led the concept development and introduction of Luna bars. Sheryl is currently CEO of REBBL, a fast-growing maker of plant-based drinks. Now...you may remember Sheryl and the wisdom she shared during Episode 428. If you haven't listened to, studied, and applied all she shared during our first interview...I highly encourage you to add Episode 428 to your list of vital priorities.

• How to get through challenging situations one step at a time
• The importance of nurturing the people you work with so they are able to share their feelings
• The vital role culture plays in your business
• The importance of hiring people who have experience in scaling a businesses
• Why as a company you have to stand behind your brand to gain customer loyalty
• The importance of surrounding yourself with the right board and the right investors
• Why you need to keep your board and investors up to date every step of the businesses journey
• Why you need to think of your board and investors as a team
• How REBBL was created as a tool to help combat human trafficking
• How creating a business to do good in the world affects your company culture

• Website: www.rebbl.co
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/REBBLElixirs
• Twitter: @REBBLelixirs

Lane O'Bryon is the president and founder of Capital Connection, providing access to the best sources of real estate capital. He's been active in the lending industry for over 17 years and has successfully helped thousands of his clients fund both residential and commercial transactions. Lane has also coached, mentored, and trained hundreds of finance brokers on the secrets of the top producers.

• How Capital Connection serves as a valuable resource for real estate investors and finance brokers
• Why investors struggle to gain access to capital
• The definition of a hard money loan
• Why Lane feels crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending will be the lending of the future
• Why many of the lending platforms are not good at marketing
• The typical investor profile that Capital Connection works with
• Why banking restrictions have left many investors needing to seek funding from an alternative source
• Why business owners who are interested in real estate investing need to have a strategy
• The importance of reaching out to experts and educating yourself before investing in real estate
• Why you should start small when getting into real estate investing

• Website: www.capconnectnow.com