Host: Joseph Lewin

Guest: Devin Paxton

⸻

Episode originally aired live on Jul 1, 2025 on LinkedIn

Produced by Sell Through Social

Joseph and Devin break down what brand really means in 2025 and why it matters even more now that AI is everywhere. They unpack why relying solely on ChatGPT makes you blend in, how to build a brand that actually resonates with humans, and the steps for developing a clear, authentic brand foundation.

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• AI is making content cheap, fast, and impossible to distinguish.
• As noise rises, brand becomes the differentiator—not volume, not speed.
• People buy based on trust, emotion, and familiarity…things AI cannot replicate.
• Companies skipping brand fundamentals end up with generic messaging and higher acquisition costs.

⸻

• A brand is the emotional impression people have of you.
• Colors, fonts, and logos amplify the feeling—they aren’t the brand.
• Brand answers:
• “How do you make people feel?”
• “What do they trust you for?”
• “Why do they choose you over similar options?”

• AI can generate content, but it can’t generate meaning.
• ChatGPT gives you what’s “average” in the dataset—meaning your brand becomes generic if you rely on it exclusively.
• The differentiator becomes:
• Human voice
• Human story
• Human authenticity

• Most creators and founders start by posting content.
• But effective branding starts with listening:
• What does your audience not understand?
• What frustrates them?
• What do they wish existed?
• Use Google “People Also Ask,” forums, comments, and conversations to collect real questions.

• Trend-based content is short-lived.
• Evergreen content builds authority and trust over time.
• The goal is not virality—it’s memorability.

• Talk to your actual customers.
• Visit the communities where they hang out.
• Ask what’s keeping them stuck and what breakthrough they’re hoping for.
• The problems people think but don’t say publicly are where great brand messaging comes from.

Devin shares a multi-channel campaign for the film Love Reconsidered, using:

• Organic social
• Paid ads (Meta, Google, YouTube)
• Influencer tie-ins
• Press partnerships
• Cast-led storytelling

Results:

• ~174,000 impressions
• Coverage on The Today Show, Bravo, and major entertainment outlets
• The campaign worked because the story and emotional core remained consistent across every channel.

Joseph explains why companies with strong brands:

• Close deals faster
• Get more cold outreach replies
• Maintain lower CAC over time
• Build familiarity long before the sales call

Brand makes every other marketing activity more efficient.

⸻

Ask:

• What are our core values?
• What is the emotional tone we want to project?
• If our brand walked into a room, how would it make people feel?

• Identify their problems, desires, and hidden frustrations.
• Validate with real conversations.
• Build content around their reality—not your assumptions.

• Establish content pillars.
• Create a consistent cadence.
• Repeat the message until people can repeat it for you.

• Use AI for brainstorming—not for your final voice.
• Lead with human story and lived experience.

• Messaging
• Visuals
• Story
• Customer experience

Consistency creates recognition. Recognition creates trust.

⸻

• “Brand is a feeling—not a logo or a color palette.”
• “AI can generate content, but it can’t generate connection.”
• “Evergreen content builds authority; trends build views.”
• “If your brand walked into a room, how would it make people feel?”
• “Customer research is the cheat code most marketers avoid.”

Host: Joseph Lewin

Guest: Sidney Evans

Episode originally aired live on Jun 30, 2025 on LinkedIn,

Produced by Sell Through Social.

As AI becomes part of everyone’s daily workflow, technical skills are getting commoditized. What won’t be commoditized? Your ability to understand people, lead them, and connect with them.

In this episode, Joseph and Sidney dig into emotional intelligence (EQ) as a competitive advantage in an AI-driven world—especially for leaders.

Sidney’s core argument:

The companies that develop emotionally intelligent leaders will have a competitive edge in the AI era.

Where EQ shines while AI struggles:

• Human-centered leadership – AI can handle data and logic; leaders still have to handle humans.
• Ethical decision-making – AI can’t fully grasp nuance, context, or long-term human impact.
• Team cohesion – People don’t bond with tools; they bond with leaders who listen, care, and guide.
• Change management – In seasons of disruption, emotionally intelligent leaders help teams navigate fear, uncertainty, and resistance.

Sidney’s working definition:

EQ is the ability to regulate, manage, and influence your behavior and emotions—especially in relation to others.

Key components he highlights:

• Self-awareness – Noticing your internal state, triggers, and patterns.
• Self-regulation – Managing your reactions instead of being run by them.
• Empathy (not sympathy)
• Sympathy is “I feel bad for you” (about me and my feelings).
• Empathy is “I see how you feel; let me understand more and support you” (about you).
• Influence – Using your emotional awareness to positively guide people and situations.

Sidney uses a DISC-style framework to help leaders read and respond to others:

• D – Dominant (results-oriented): Direct, decisive, “Let’s fix it” energy.
• I – Intellect / Influencing (people-oriented): Focused on connection, energy, and people.
• S – Steady & Stable (service-oriented): Loyal, calm, prefers stability and harmony.
• C – Cautious & Conscientious (process-oriented): Analytical, detail-driven, system-focused.

Example: walking into a cold room

• D: “It’s cold. I’m turning up the heat.”
• I: “Hey, is anyone else cold?”
• S: “I’m glad I brought my sweater.”
• C: “I wonder if the thermostat or AC is broken.”

Emotionally intelligent leaders adjust their communication style based on the person in front of them, rather than just defaulting to their own style.

Sidney points out that “You good?” is a useless check-in; everyone just says “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Better questions to build connection and insight:

• “What’s energizing you today?”
• “What project are you most excited about right now?”
• “What feels challenging for you this week?”

Team meeting check-in idea:

• Ask: “On a scale from 1–10, how are you feeling today?”
• 10 = Amazing
• 8 = Pretty good
• 5 = Struggling
• Use their number as a springboard for deeper questions one-on-one.

And for growth:

• Use 360° feedback – ask several people (not just your boss) for honest feedback around specific areas you want to improve.

Parallels with parenting:

• Just like a dysregulated adult can’t calm a dysregulated child,
• a dysregulated leader cannot bring clarity and calm to a stressed team.

EQ for leaders means:

• Not needing your team to meet your emotional needs.
• Not taking every comment personally.
• Being able to stay grounded when others are anxious, frustrated, or afraid.
• Creating an environment where people feel seen, heard, and safe—without lowering standards.

Emotional intelligence gets much easier when you know:

1. Who you are
2. Where you’re going

Sidney recommends a few powerful self-questions:

1. What am I really aiming for in life (not just in my job)?
2. What is my personal value proposition?
3. What’s my personal tagline / brand statement?

Example from Sidney:

“To be the voice for people who don’t have a voice.”

Once you know your “tagline,” you can ask:

• Does my current role align with that?
• Does this company or industry support who I want to become?
• Am I in an environment where my EQ can grow, or am I constantly in survival mode?

If you don’t define who you are, someone else will do it for you.

Sidney’s go-to practices:

Every night, ask yourself:

• What 3 things did I do really well today?
• What 3 things could I improve next time?

This might be big stuff (how you led a meeting) or small stuff (how you responded to a barista or a customer service issue). It’s all reps.

Regularly ask a mix of people (peers, managers, friends):

• “What’s one thing I do well that I should do more of?”
• “What’s one thing I do that holds me back?”

• Admit when you don’t know something.
• Own mistakes instead of deflecting.
• Share your own growth areas so people feel safe to own theirs.

• Don’t try to become emotionally brilliant overnight.
• Focus on tiny adjustments, daily:
• Pause before reacting.
• Ask one better question.
• Reflect on one interaction.

As Joseph put it:

• Ideas are becoming a commodity.
• AI lowers the “value of being smart” in many domains.
• What still stands out: your ability to influence humans, align teams, and turn ideas into reality through people.
• EQ is the multiplier for every other skill you have.

Books & Content

• 📖 Run Your Own Race — Sidney’s bestselling book on building your personal brand and direction in life.

• Emotional intelligence will differentiate leaders and companies in an AI-heavy world.
• EQ is not about being nice; it’s about awareness, regulation, empathy, and influence.
• Ask better questions and do daily micro-reflection to grow your EQ.
• Know your personal tagline and align your work with it.
• A regulated leader can regulate a team. Work on you first.

Host: Joseph Lewin

Guest: Dr. Deepak Bhootra

Episode originally aired on Jun 27, 2025 on LinkedIn,

Produced by Sell Through Social

Most people default to “salesy” because their only models are bad ones—pushy tactics, pressure, and performance. Dr. Deepak reframes selling as connection, clarity, and service. We bust seven common sales myths, then unpack “Sales Sorcery”—a mindset and method to sell with quiet confidence, test fast, and build resilience.

• We copy the worst examples (Wolf-of-Wall-Street vibes, hard closes, pressure).
• Owners think they’re “running a business,” not selling—so they never train the skill.
• Performance replaces connection; scripts replace discovery; pushing replaces helping.
• Fix: Change the benchmark. Define selling as diagnosing pain/desire, offering fit, and earning permission through trust.

1. “If my offer’s good, it will sell itself.” Great work still needs a voice. Visibility and positioning matter.
2. “You must be extroverted/charismatic.” Success = quiet confidence + trust + belief in your offer.
3. “I have to talk people into buying.” You seek permission and fit; pressure erodes trust (and data).
4. “I need a big following first.” Audience fallacy. In B2B, alignment > audience. One-to-one wins.
5. “Selling is pushy/gross/unethical.” That’s stigma from bad models. Helping solve pain is ethical.
6. “My offer must be 100% ready before I sell.” Perfection drains runway. Sell before you perfect; refine with the market.
7. “No = I failed.” No = data. Detach identity from outcome; iterate messaging/fit.

• Not louder—clearer. Clarity beats theatrics.
• Test early. Stop hiding behind prep; take the imperfect offer to market.
• Karmic selling. Open hands: give value even when it’s a “no” (introductions, resources). Referrals and timing bring people back.
• Resilience frame. Expect rejection; measure learning velocity, not ego bruises.
• Augmented intelligence. Use AI to deliver 3× value, not to replace presence.
• Owner reality. If you don’t sell, your company gets sold—cash flow beats “infinite refinement.”

• Listen before you sell. Interview target buyers for real pains/desires.
• Sell before you build. Pre-sell the sketch; build what’s paid for.
• Build before you scale. Iterate with real customers, then standardize and expand.

• Open with “Can I share an idea that might help?” then diagnose.
• Track No’s as datapoints (reason, segment, timing, objection theme).
• Ship 6 imperfect outreach reps this week—review, refine, repeat.
• Replace “failure” with “test.” Outcome teaches; process compounds.
• Keep a Give List: when it’s not a fit, connect them to a resource/person.
• Guard runway: if you think you have 12 months, operate like you have 6.

• “You don’t do sales—you become sales.”
• “The best product doesn’t win; the clearest message in the right room does.”
• “Sales sorcery isn’t louder; it’s clearer.”
• “Rejection isn’t failure; it’s data.”
• “If you don’t sell, your company gets sold.”

• Founders and small business owners stuck perfecting instead of selling.
• Sellers who hate cold calls and take “no” personally.
• Teams trying to move from pressure to permission-based selling.

Host: Joseph Lewin

Guest: Kejal Shah — Talent Consultant • Certified Career Coach • Founder, KeepWay Consulting

This episode was originally aired on Sep 24, 2024 on LinkedIn

Joseph and Kejal unpack why so many businesses struggle to hire and keep good people, and why your mid-level managers are the make-or-break layer for culture, retention, and growth. Kejal shares a practical framework (ADR: Attraction, Development, Retention) and talks about why owners have to stop pretending hiring is “just an HR thing.”

This episode was produced by Sell Through Social.

Why you can’t treat hiring like “just filling a seat”:

• Turnover is higher and more expensive than ever.
• Most companies don’t clearly define what a successful hire looks like before they start interviewing.

Kejal has leaders focus on 3 value pillars in candidates:

• Purpose – Why do they do what they do?
• Passion – What energizes them?
• Promises – What do they consistently deliver on?

If you don’t clarify this up front and build it into your interview questions, you bake in retention problems before the person even starts.

Kejal breaks down why bad hiring is so expensive:

• For hourly / blue-collar roles, sourcing 1 person can cost:
• $4K–$8K+ (ads, tools, recruiter/HR time, interview time, onboarding).
• For white-collar roles, it’s often:
• $8K–$12K+ just to get them in the door.

And that’s before:

• Onboarding and training time
• Lost productivity
• Burden on the rest of the team when someone quits
• Restarting the whole process 6–12 months later

Most companies don’t fully count:

• The time cost of hiring managers
• The opportunity cost of a seat being open for months
• The burnout cost on existing staff covering extra workload

If you actually total it all up, one bad hire (or one early departure) can easily cost more than building a solid hiring & retention system from the start.

Kejal’s core conviction:

“Your vision and culture live and die in your mid-level leadership team.”

Mid-level managers sit in the pressure sandwich:

• Pressure from the top: owners & executives demanding performance and low turnover.
• Pressure from the bottom: frontline employees who need support, clarity, and development.

Problems that show up if this layer isn’t equipped:

• Owners get mad: “Why are you losing people? We’re spending all this money on hiring!”
• Mid-level managers were never trained in:
• How to hire the right people
• How to coach and develop them
• How to retain and grow them
• Employees feel unheard, overworked, and unseen—and leave.

If mid-level leaders are not:

• Bought into the vision
• Given real authority & tools
• Trained to hire, coach, and retain

…then culture, productivity, and retention all start to crumble.

Many owners never learned how to:

• Attract the right people
• Interview effectively
• Develop and retain talent
• Yet they still blame mid-level leaders for turnover.

The hypocrisy problem:

• “Do as I say, not as I do” kills trust.

Mid-level leaders eventually ask:

• “What’s your hiring process?”
• “How are you developing me?”
• “Where are you investing in people?”

When there’s no answer, your best managers leave, and the owner is left wondering what happened.

Kejal shared some sobering patterns:

• First 48–72 hours: New hires decide emotionally if they see themselves staying long-term.
• Average tenure in many salaried roles: Often 12–16 months before people move on.
• High performers: If they don’t advance or see a clear path within 12–18 months, they’ll:
• Move departments or Leave the company altogether.
• People who job-hop every 1.5–2.5 years often earn: 25–35% more over time than those who stay 5–10 years and only get 5–10% raises.

In other words:

If you don’t offer growth, compensation, and a future, the market will.

Even with economic uncertainty:

• Candidates understand that their time is their most valuable asset.
• Remote work and national talent markets mean: Your local company is now competing with coastal salaries and fully remote roles.
• Employees are asking: “Is this the best place to invest 75–80% of my waking life?”

If your internal opportunity is weaker than what’s outside, A-players will leave.

Kejal uses a three-part system with clients:

Build a front-end system that actually draws the right candidates:

Data first:

• What are your retention rates over the last 5–10 years?
• What does it actually cost to hire per role?

Recruitment marketing:

• Smart use of Indeed, LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, etc.
• Clear and compelling external, internal, and employment value propositions.

First impression:

• Onboarding and first 2 weeks matter immensely.
• New hires should feel: welcomed, supported, and clear on expectations.

Keep people growing or they’ll grow somewhere else:

Mentorship & internship programs:

• Interns can be 25–35% cheaper to bring in and can grow into long-term hires.

Visible growth paths:

• Clear org charts and promotion paths
• “Here’s exactly how you can grow here over the next 3–5 years.”

Skill-building & leadership training:

• Particularly for mid-level managers—teaching them how to:
• Hire
• Coach
• Give feedback
• Lead people, not just manage tasks.

Make staying the smart move:

Regular check-ins & surveys:

• 30 / 60 / 90-day feedback loops to catch issues early.

Benefits & incentives that actually signal confidence:

• Low 401(k) participation = low long-term trust in the company.

Fair advancement (not just nepotism or random external hires):

• If all-stars see outside people parachuting into roles they’ve worked toward for years, they will leave.

Kejal often uses Patrick Lencioni’s framework when helping define “ideal team players”:

• Humble – Not above learning, feedback, or collaboration.
• Hungry – Driven to grow, contribute, and take ownership.
• Smart – Not just IQ, but emotional and relational intelligence.

Combine that with Purpose, Passion, Promises, and you have a strong lens for evaluating the right people on the front end.

• 🌐 Website: www.keeproinc.com
• 💼 LinkedIn: Kejal Shah

Host: Joseph Lewin

Guest: Tim Rettig — Founder & CEO, Intrust IT • Second-Generation ESOP Owner • ESOP Advocate

This show was originally aired on Aug 28, 2024 on LinkedIn.

Joseph and Tim unpack how selling a company to your employees—through an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)—can create financial freedom for founders, long-term wealth for teams, and lasting stability for the business. Tim explains what ESOPs are, how they work, and why they’re one of the most overlooked exit strategies in business.

This show was produced by Sell Through Social.

• Definition: An Employee Stock Ownership Plan is a trust that owns part (or all) of a company on behalf of its employees.
• The company’s profits go to the trust, which pays off the loan used to buy the business from the owner.
• Employees earn shares over time, but aren’t personally liable for any company debt.
• Think of it like a 401(k)—but tied to your company’s performance, not Wall Street’s.

• A company worth $10M can be sold to an ESOP trust.
• The ESOP borrows the money, pays the owner, and then repays the loan using future company profits.
• The employees earn stock value as the company grows—without risk or personal investment.
• Owners can sell any percentage (10%, 30%, or 100%), making it flexible for partial or full exit.

• Complex setup: Legal and financial structures are specialized.
• Few incentives for advisors: CPAs and brokers often make more money selling to private equity.
• Low visibility: It’s not “sexy,” but it’s highly effective—especially for manufacturing, construction, and IT service companies.
• ESOPs work best for companies with 30+ employees and $1–2M+ EBITDA.

• Gain ownership and wealth—without risk or buy-in.
• Typically earn higher pay, better benefits, and greater job stability.
• Build a third major asset for retirement (in addition to home equity and 401k).
• ESOP shares increase as company value grows. When employees retire or leave, the company buys back their shares at fair market value.
• Legally protected: the company must begin buybacks within 5 years of departure.

• The seller can defer or eliminate capital gains tax through a 1042 Exchange (similar to a real-estate 1031).
• Example: Selling a $10M company could normally mean ~$4M in taxes. Under a 1042, that money can be reinvested into public or private U.S. companies tax-free.
• Heirs also receive a step-up in basis, avoiding capital gains on inherited assets.

• When structured as an S-Corp ESOP, the ESOP trust owns shares—and pays no taxes on that percentage of profits.
• Example: A company that’s 30% ESOP-owned pays taxes on only 70% of profits.
• Fully ESOP-owned S-Corps pay zero federal corporate tax—a 21% profit advantage over non-ESOP peers.

• Owners can sell gradually (partial sale first, then more over time).
• Ensures a smooth succession plan and keeps the company’s culture and jobs intact.
• Builds a long-term legacy of shared success rather than selling to private equity.

• Tim’s father sold 100% of his company to an ESOP in 2004 when he retired.
• Tim later sold 30% of his own IT company to an ESOP to reward employees while staying active in leadership.
• Since then, employee retention increased, and the company’s share value doubled in five years.

• Employees think like owners. They see the connection between performance and retirement wealth.
• Retention and engagement skyrocket. Workers stay longer and contribute more.
• Profit reinvestment fuels growth. With tax savings and a motivated team, ESOP companies often grow faster.
• Tim’s example: $2M in acquisitions led to $6M in added company value—and employees directly saw that reflected in their ESOP accounts.

• Connect with Tim Rettig on LinkedIn.

• “ESOPs align everyone’s incentives—employees, owners, and the company all win together.”
• “You can sell 10%, 30%, or 100%—it’s not all or nothing.”
• “Private equity extracts; ESOPs empower.”
• “Selling to your employees lets you keep your legacy and your team.”
• “It’s one of the few systems where doing what’s best for yourself is also best for everyone else.”

Host: Joseph Lewin

Guest: Chris Cirullo — Founder, Mission Fit Dads (helping busy Christian business leaders build healthy, lasting habits)

This show was originally aired on Aug 21, 2024 on LinkedIn.

The show is produced by Sell Through Social.

Joseph and Chris unpack why smart, driven entrepreneurs still struggle to build healthy habits—and how to rewire your brain so change actually sticks. They walk through practical frameworks, a simple daily scorecard, and a 15-minute morning routine that can work in any season of life.

• Ambitious leaders often succeed in business while silently running on fumes.
• Most are “trying” instead of training, expecting overnight transformation.
• Without fixing habits, you eventually hit a ceiling—in health, family, and business.

• Wrong expectations = constant failure loop
• People assume habits “just happen” instead of requiring design, repetition, and discomfort.
• They jump straight to the ideal state (e.g., “I’m going to run a marathon”) instead of small, sustainable steps.
• Habits are well-worn paths—not erased, but replaced
• Old habits rarely disappear; you must create a more compelling alternative path and put “roadblocks” in front of the old one.
• Environment design (friction for bad habits, ease for good ones) is crucial.
• The Habit Loop
• Cue → Craving → Action → Reward.
• If you don’t intentionally engineer this loop for new habits and disrupt it for bad ones, you end up relying on willpower, which always runs out.
• Trying vs Training
• Trying: “I’ll wake up tomorrow and run 26 miles.”
• Training: “This week I’ll walk/run 1 mile, next week 2…”
• Transformation comes from progressive training, not heroic one-off effort.
• Google Maps Analogy: Current vs Desired State
• You need brutal honesty about where you really are and clarity about where you want to go.
• Without both points, you can’t plan a realistic route.
• Chris references the Stockdale Paradox: confront the brutal facts with relentless optimism.
• The Habit Health Ladder (Self-Assessment)
• Top: 8–12 months of consistent habits (rarely miss twice).
• Middle: Inconsistent good habits; sometimes long gaps.
• Bottom: Out-of-control habits; doing what you don’t want to do.
• If most of your life sits in the bottom three rungs, you’re in the red, even if one area looks “successful.”
• You can’t level up on “red” habits
• You may grow revenue or team size while in the red, but you can’t keep scaling or stay healthy without upgrading your habits.
• Eventually you hit burnout, like Chris did—massive success on the outside, collapse on the inside.

• Knowledge
• Intake system for the right 20% of information that produces 80% of results.
• Feedback loops to refine what actually works for you.
• Practice (Habits)
• Clear daily routine (simple, repeatable).
• Regular micro → macro habit progression (start tiny, then build).
• Community
• Aligned friendships: people pursuing the same direction you want, not just where you currently are.
• Support, coaching, and accountability that reinforce your identity and actions.
• Belief at the Center
• Historically, “belief” = knowledge demonstrated by action.
• If you “know” something but don’t live it, it’s not yet a belief—just information.
• Right beliefs → right actions, especially when paired with accountability and optimization.

Chris’s goal: a routine you can do 365 days a year, in any season, on vacation, sick days, or busy days.

• 1) Spiritual/Mental (3–5 minutes)
• Read a small section (e.g., 5–15 verses of Scripture or another key text).
• Write a two-sentence journal entry (thought, question, response).
• Minimum counts: the mechanism matters more than depth on any given day.
• 2) Business Bottleneck Analysis (2 minutes)
• Ask: “What’s the biggest bottleneck in my business right now?”
• Leads? Conversion? Delivery/operations?
• Decide: “What is the single next step I can take today to move that bottleneck?”
• That step becomes your #1 priority task for the day.
• 3) Physical Health (2–3 minutes)
• Do something tiny but consistent (e.g., 25 pushups).
• Drink water.
• Then reward yourself (e.g., first cup of coffee).

Result: In under 15 minutes, you’ve touched spiritual/mental, emotional, business, and physical health. On good days, you can add more (longer workout, deep reading, extended planning), but the micro-routine never disappears.

• Why people fail:
• No delayed gratification; measuring against the ideal daily instead of treating the ideal as a long-term goal.
• Taking steps that are too big, too fast.
• Living for accolades, not legacy.
• Why people succeed:
• They develop a multi-generational vision.
• My habits shape my kids.
• My kids’ habits shape their kids.
• I can either pass down dysfunction or break the cycle.
• They shift focus from “What am I achieving?” to
• “What am I leaving in my children, not just to my children?”

• “Habits don’t disappear—you just build stronger ones on top of them.”
• “Trying is waking up to run a marathon; training is building from one mile to twenty-six.”
• “If the ideal is your measuring stick instead of your goal, you’ll live in constant disappointment.”
• “More is caught than taught—your kids will copy your habits, not your speeches.”
• “Are you chasing accolades, or building a legacy?”

Host: Joseph Lewin — sellthroughsocial.com

Guest: Stephen Black — Founder/CEO, abrighterday.life • Author, The Five Rules

This show was originally aired live on Jul 29, 2024 on LinkedIn.

Joseph and Stephen distill 40 years of team leadership into a practical framework—The Five Rules—that strengthens culture, improves performance, and carries over into family life.

This show is produced by Sell Through Social

• Lead, don’t just manage: KPIs matter, but behaviors drive results.
• People > process: How leaders treat the team becomes how the team treats customers.
• Home/work harmony: Better humans → better leaders → better businesses.

• From manager to leader: Early career = coaching numbers; seasoned leader = coaching behaviors.
• Service chain: Leader cares for the team → team serves customers → customers reward the business.
• Intentional growth: Commit to ongoing study (e.g., four leadership books/year).
• The three questions every team member asks: Do you care about me? Can you help me? Can I trust you? Turn these into daily proof through actions.
• Listen before you launch: Vision without team input creates surprises, burnout, and failed rollouts.
• You shape the dinner-table story: Give people something good to say when asked, “How was your day?”

1. Do Your Job — Own your agreements, model standards, remove blockers.
2. Be Kind — Especially to the people you lead and live with; praise publicly, correct with dignity.
3. No Surprises — Over-communicate early; share drafts, clarify impact and timelines, invite feedback.
4. No Drama — Address facts; separate home/work stress so you can be present in each.
5. Protect the Brand — You are the brand; refuse toxicity, don’t undermine, defend culture in small moments.

• 1:1s for behavior coaching: “What behavior would make next week easier?”
• “Walk the dog” test for ideas: float it quietly—if no interest, park it.
• Weekly rhythm: team huddle (wins → risks → asks).
• “Blessings” habit: end meetings by naming specific things people did right.
• Law of the harvest: good ideas often require seasonal timelines—plant, tend, harvest.

• “Your team will never treat customers better than leadership treats the team.”
• “If you make spur-of-the-moment decisions, expect spur-of-the-moment results.”
• “Turn Do you care? Can you help? Can I trust you? into daily proof—not slogans.”

• Stephen’s book: The Five Rules — available via abrighterday.life and major booksellers.
• Mentors referenced: John Maxwell (inner circle), Andy Reid on family-first leadership, Steve Jobs on hiring smart people.

This episode originally aired live on Jul 24, 2024 on LinkedIn.

Joseph and Ari break down a practical, low-budget playbook for launching small, high-impact in-person events that create trust, conversations, and real pipeline—without panels, pitches, or pricey venues.

This show is produced by Sell Through Social

• Being the host flips you from attention-seeker to opportunity-giver.
• Curated rooms of like-minded pros produce warmer intros, referrals, and deals than big, noisy mixers.
• You can start with $200 and a free space, then scale with sponsors.

• Host > Attend: As host, you choose the room, set the tone, and have more meaningful conversations.
• Give > Get: Design the event as a gift to your niche (no panels, no pitching, no promotion).
• Audience First: Define an IGP (Ideal Guest Profile)—narrow, shared goals/energy beat broad “SMB.”
• Start Scrappy: Free/low-cost venues (coworking, coffee shops off-hours, community spaces); barter your audience for space.
• Sponsors the Smart Way: Sell access + conversations, not stage time. Make sponsors group leaders in icebreakers.
• Repeatable Flow (2 hours):

1. Open mingle
2. Guided icebreaker #1 (small groups)
3. Mingle (now with context)
4. Group photo
5. Guided icebreaker #2 (new groups)
6. Final mingle

• Food & Bev: Simple, tested menu beats fancy spreads (skip pricey charcuterie).
• Outreach Works: Inner circle → curated cold email/DM → plus-ones (approved). Invite for their benefit, not your sale.
• Relationships > “Talks”: People remember how you made them feel—safe, seen, and connected.

1. Define the room: e.g., “Cincinnati consultants & boutique agencies (1–10 ppl), relationship-driven, family-first builders.”
2. Pick the slot: Weeknight, 6–8pm or 7–9pm.
3. Secure venue: Pitch a coworking space on “30 ideal prospects visiting your space.” Ask for a private area for 2 hours.
4. Capacity & target RSVPs: Want 30 attending? Aim for 50–80 RSVPs.
5. Name & promise: “The Cincinnati Consultant Circle — curated connections, zero pitching.”
6. Invite stack: Warm list (friends/clients/guests from your show), Handpicked LinkedIn DMs + targeted cold email, and Approved plus-ones (must fit the room)
7. Run of show: Print a simple agenda; prep two 5-minute icebreakers with 1–2 questions each.
8. Roles: Host/MC (you), Door greeter, Timer, Photographer, Sponsor as icebreaker lead.
9. Menu: Light, clean, easy to eat one-handed; water & a couple of crowd-pleasers.
10. Follow-ups (next morning): Send group photo, attendee list (opt-in), and “3 warm-intro templates” to encourage connections.

• “What’s one client win you’re proud of this quarter—and what unlocked it?”
• “What’s a service you don’t offer but your clients keep asking for?”
• “If someone introduced you to one perfect partner, who would it be—and why?”

• Guests leave with specific next steps (intros, partner calls).
• Sponsors report quality conversations, not just badge scans.
• You receive inbound asks (“Can I help sponsor the next one?”).

• The 2-Hour Cocktail Party by Nick Gray (framework for small, high-trust gatherings)

• “When you host, you’re the go-giver, not the go-getter.
• “People don’t want to be pitched—they want to be heard.”

This episode originally aired live on Jul 23, 2024, on LinkedIn.

In this heartfelt and practical conversation, Joseph Lewin sits down with leadership coach Cory Carlson to explore what it truly means to win at home first. Cory has coached over 175 leaders to build meaningful impact both at work and at home, and he shares lessons from his own journey of rediscovering balance, purpose, and presence.

Together, they unpack why so many entrepreneurs feel they must choose between career success and family life—and why that’s a false choice. Cory believes you can win in both the boardroom and the living room, but only if you lead with intention, purpose, and boundaries.

This show is produced by Sell Through Social.

Check out Cory's group coaching cohort, Rise.

1. It’s Not Either/Or—It’s Both/And

Cory challenges the myth that you must sacrifice family to succeed at work. Through personal experience, he’s learned that winning at home fuels success at work, not the other way around.

2. The Four Pillars of “Win at Home First”

Cory’s book breaks success into four key areas:

• You: Self-care, rest, exercise, and meaningful friendships.
• Marriage: Pursuing your spouse like you did when you were dating—marriage is 100/100, not 50/50.
• Parenting: Being present, playing and connecting, while also challenging your kids to grow.
• Work: Setting healthy boundaries, time blocking, and staying focused during work hours so you can truly unplug at home.

3. Boundaries That Create Freedom

Cory shares practical tips:

• Use an alarm clock and leave your phone out of the bedroom.
• Time block your priorities at work so you can finish strong and disengage.
• Schedule intentional family time and even celebrate work milestones together.

4. The Power of Intentional Planning

From taking PTO to scheduling date nights, Cory emphasizes that success starts with a plan. He challenges listeners to decide how they want to spend their time before others decide for them.

5. Coaching and Growth

Cory explains why everyone—at every stage—needs outside perspective and accountability. A good coach doesn’t give answers; they draw out potential and help destroy self-limiting beliefs.

“When home is going well, the wins at work feel amazing. When home isn’t going well, even the biggest wins fall flat.” – Cory Carlson

“Your family wants your presence more than your provision.” – Cory Carlson

“If you don’t define your priorities, others will define them for you.” – Cory Carlson

“You can have success in the boardroom and the family room.” – Cory Carlson

• Joseph Lewin – Sell Through Social
• Cory Carlson – Rise and Go / Win at Home First
• Cory’s books: Win at Home First and Rise and Go (available on Amazon)
• Learn more about Joseph’s “Launch Your Show in 30 Days”

You don’t have to sacrifice what matters most to succeed. The same intentionality that drives business success can help you build a thriving home life—one that fuels, not competes with, your work.

This episode originally aired live on Jul 22, 2024.

In this episode of Sell Through Social Live, host Joseph Lewin, founder of Sell Through Social, is joined by Jeff Winter, a global thought leader in Industry 4.0 and LinkedIn powerhouse with over 110,000 followers. Jeff has mastered the art of personal branding—positioning himself as a trusted voice in a complex industry while driving massive visibility and influence online.

Joseph and Jeff dive into the big question: Should professionals and business leaders build a personal brand? Together, they unpack why personal branding is no longer optional, how to stand out without feeling fake, and what it really takes to grow influence on LinkedIn.

You’ll hear insights on why managing your personal brand is now part of managing your career, how to create content that establishes thought leadership and credibility, the balance between authenticity, expertise, and visibility, and practical steps anyone can take to start building influence today.

If you’ve ever wondered whether personal branding is worth the time—or how to do it effectively—this episode will give you the clarity and direction you need.