Sell With Authority

For this episode of Sell With Authority, we are going on a bit of a mining expedition — and unearthing some super valuable golden nuggets that you can take and apply straight away.

My guest is Corey Quinn — and if you're meeting Corey for the first time — he has a 25-year record of extraordinary success as an entrepreneur, sales leader, and marketing executive. His most recent in-house role was serving as Scorpion's Chief Marketing Officer, which is a small business-focused agency that Corey and his team grew from $20 million a year in recurring revenue to $150 million in under seven years. Holy Bananas — right!

Corey is also the host of The Vertical Go-to-Market Podcast, where he interviews 7, 8, and 9-figure business owners who have been widely successful because they niched down.

How to narrow down your target market? If we go a mile wide and an inch deep — we deplete our resources before we can have any impact. Instead of going wide and attempting to attract a broad audience by writing generic content that is suitable for everyone, true authorities do the reverse. They go narrow.

That's where the gold is!

Not only did Corey help lead an agency that was niched, and they crushed it — but he's also a curator and collector of stories and data points of other agency owners who are also crushing it because they niched.

If you take and apply the golden nuggets that Corey shares during this episode, you will be positioned and ready to crush 2024 and make it your most successful and profitable year yet…because you went narrow.

• One of the biggest misconceptions that often derails biz dev efforts
• Leveraging both inbound and outbound sales tactics
• Why specializing in specific customers and industries helps you differentiate
• The benefits of taking a vertical marketing approach to your agency
• How to narrow down your target market
• How to avoid some of the roadblocks to taking a vertical marketing approach

• Learn more about how to narrow down your target market, and you can find Corey here
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyquinn/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/coreyquinn
• Newsletter: https://www.coreyquinn.com/free-resources
• Learn more about how to narrow down your target market by tuning in to this podcast of Corey Quinn:

• • Website: www.predictiveroi.com
  • Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
  • Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group

I am thrilled to welcome my guest to this episode of Sell With Authority, Jeff Bush. Jeff started his formal career in sales and marketing, and then transitioned into becoming a business owner of B2B and B2C companies. He has since become a seasoned entrepreneur with over three decades of experience under his belt and is President of Grow My Profit.

He has quite an impressive track record, but what sets Jeff apart is his extraordinary ability to build and scale companies quickly and profitably. He's not just a business owner; he's a master at "owning the business" rather than "owning a job."

Jeff is a true expert in marketing, lead generation, and sales, but what distinguishes him is his perspective as an owner – always prioritizing the creation of systems, processes, and the acquisition of the right talent – to enable him to truly own the business.

If your goal is to build and scale your agency so you can be in the best position to roar through 2024 and make it your most profitable year ever — the insights and wisdom Jeff shares are incredibly helpful!

• Jeff's philosophy around ownership
• One simple metric that can help owners build a big business that is scalable
• Why it is important to set goals for your overall revenue
• How Jeff scaled lead gen so quickly, and kept it going
• How to build a scorecard to help you reach your revenue goals

Resources:

• Website: https://growmyprofit.com/
• LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-bush-50b24117/
• LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grow-my-profit/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrowMyProfit
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growmyprofitnow/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092302372705
• Tiktoc: http://tiktok.com/@GrowMyProfit

Additional Resources:

• Website: www.predictiveroi.com
• Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
• Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group

In this episode of Sell With Authority, I'm thrilled to welcome our guest expert, Nicole Mahoney. Nicole is the Founder of Break the Ice Media, a PR and digital marketing agency specializing in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry.

She also serves as CEO of Travel Alliance Partners — is the host of the rock solid awesome podcast, Destination on the Left — and is the author of the brilliant book, Stronger Together: Building World-Changing Business Collaborations.

Why am I so excited to have Nicole join me on the podcast today? It's because Nicole's approach to building her businesses, her unwavering commitment to serving her industry, and her refreshing perspective on competitors are truly unique — and so refreshing — in an industry where many are very willing to race each other to the bottom on profit just to win that next new client.

A co-opetition strategy is a better alternative to competing. Nicole shows you how to collaborate with competitors and helps you learn how to collaborate with them, resulting in more client wins, opportunities, and room for growth.

Nicole calls this innovative strategy in collaboration "coopetition." But it's more than a strategy; it's a way of life for Nicole. It's the guiding principle behind her leadership, her teaching, and how she and her team serve their industry.

If you take and apply the insights and wisdom Nicole shares on co-opetition strategy, you'll unlock a world of new opportunities and forge partnerships, and perhaps even alliances, with former competitors. This will position you perfectly to charge into 2024.

• How Nicole defines coopetition
• Why Nicole sees collaboration and co-opetition strategy as one and the same
• Why you are losing out if you are not pursuing collaborations with competitors
• What are the three types of collaborators Nicole discovered in her research
• How to set up a framework that will set you up for success in building collaborations

• Want to learn more about co-opetition strategy? You can find Nicole here:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolemahoney/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MahoneyNicole
• Destination on the Left Podcast: https://breaktheicemedia.com/podcast/
• Stronger Together: Building World-Changing Business Collaborations
• Travel Alliance Partners: https://www.tapintotravel.com/
• Learn more about co-opetition strategy by tuning in to this podcast by Nicole Mahoney: The 3Cs of Successful Collaboration, with Nicole Mahoney

Additional Resources:

• • Website: www.predictiveroi.com
  • Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
  • Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group

I am thrilled to welcome our special guest expert to this episode of Sell With Authority, Mark Levy. Mark is the Founder of Levy Innovation and has an impressive track record of helping clients break free from the sea of sameness.

He’s done it over 25,000 times for prominent figures like Simon Sinek, heads of divisions within two different White House administrations, the Strategy unit of the Harvard Business School, the CEO of Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen, and even individuals associated with Major League Baseball who have spoken at the United Nations.

I invited Mark to join us today because he’s a true expert in solving a chronic problem that many agencies and consulting firms face — the challenge of standing out in a crowded market. Mark understands that even though you and your team might be branding, demand generation, or PR experts when it comes to showcasing your own uniqueness, it can feel like you’re the cobbler’s kids.

Standing out in a crowd is the key to success, strategically showcasing your unique qualities in a sea of competitors to capture attention and gain recognition. Candidly, one of the most effective ways to attract a steady stream of right-fit clients into your sales pipeline is to stake your claim, own the ground you’re standing on, and, most importantly, stop sounding like everyone else.

Mark and I focus on how to pick the right story to tell and strategies for standing out in a crowd — because by telling it — you step away from the sea of sameness in a real and differentiated way.

• Why agencies and consulting firms excel at helping clients but struggle to differentiate themselves
• The common challenges that agencies face when being stuck in the sea of sameness
• Standing out in a crowd is the key to attracting right-fit clients
• How agencies can distinguish themselves authentically
• How to artistically select the perfect narrative to set your agency apart

• Website: https://www.levyinnovation.com/
• Learn more about standing out in a crowd by tuning in to this virtual event by Mark Levy: How to Differentiate Your Company — Even If You’re in a Hard-to-Differentiate Industry
• Explore effective techniques for standing out in a crowd and discover Mark’s insights here.
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levyinnovation/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LevyInnovation

We’re getting our Predictive ROI clients together for our next 2-day Intensive on Wednesday & Thursday, November 15th & 16th, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon Central on Zoom.

It’s a private client-only event designed to help everyone in the room move their businesses further faster.

Would you like to join us?

Just email Stephen (Stephen at Predictiveroi.com) with the word “ONWARD,” and we’ll be in touch with the full details, calendar invites, and Zoom links.

• • Website: www.predictiveroi.com
  • Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
  • Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group

Sales call strategy — For over 30 years, Stephen Woessner has been in the trenches of agency new business strategy working alongside and consulting with hundreds of agencies, business coaches, and consultants — teaching them how to plant their flag of authority within the markets they serve, grow their audience, and fill their sales pipeline with a steady stream of right-fit clients so they can win new business.

Stephen founded Predictive ROI in 2009 and remains its CEO and co-owner, working alongside his business partner, Erik Jensen. Stephen hosts the “Onward Nation” and “Sell with Authority” podcasts with listeners in over 140 countries and over 1,000 episodes. His agency new business and marketing insights have been featured in major media, and he’s the bestselling author of five books, including his latest entitled, “Sell With Authority.”

Sales call strategy is a must in today’s modern business. In this solocast episode of the podcast, Stephen shares his insights and strategies around how to architect your next sales call so you help your prospect move closer to becoming your next new client — without feeling like you are trying to “close” the sale.

This solocast also serves as a preview of Day 2 of our upcoming 2-day Intensive on November 15th & 16th, 2023. More details below.

• Create your own version of our “Help Me Understand…” worksheet
• Effective sales call strategy
• Link the “Vital Priorities” and “Issues” from the worksheet into the proposals you write
• Structure your proposals using five ingredients that will make it easy for a prospective client to say “YES!”
• Apply our “seeding and opening loops” sales closing technique
• Share your value ladder / service levels / offers with your prospective clients in full transparency you are selling without selling

• • Learn more about Sales Call Strategy by tuning in to this episode of Stephen: Transform Your Sales Pipeline, with Stephen Woessner
  • Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
  • Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group
  • Stephen’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/
  • Order your free paperback or Kindle copy of our Book: Sell with Authority
  • Learn more about Sales Call Strategy, and you can find Stephen here

On this episode of Sell With Authority, Predictive’s own strategist and scientist Hannah Roth, and I are joined by special guest expert John Emmerson. John is currently Director at London Agency, a healthcare specialist communications agency.

John and his team have a depth of expertise in helping clients speak the “local language” of their clients – and their client’s clients. John’s approach to unique industry insights helps his clients not only earn a strategic seat at the table – but also keep it.

Effective marketing requires localization and a deep understanding of those nuances of each market. John calls this “the private elevator,” — and Hannah and I ask John to walk through and shine a bright light on every aspect of the strategy — because it’s brilliant!

If you take and apply the insights and wisdom John shares during this episode — you’ll be in a much better position to help your clients help their clients, which in turn — will shorten your sales cycle.

• What are the benefits of niching down
• Why it is critical to speak the local language of your prospects
• What is the “Private Elevator”
• How to get and keep your key to the Private Elevator
• What are the mistakes that cost people the key to the elevator

Resources:

• Website: https://londonagency.com.au/
• LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-emmerson-1804132a/
• LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/london-agency-pty-ltd/

Strategic selling techniques — On this episode of Sell With Authority, we focus our time and attention on a goal that will help you roar into 2024 and crush it throughout the year — how best to leverage your smarts in content and self-promotion that enables you to sell from a position of authority — without looking self-promotional.

I am excited to welcome Lisa Bragg. Lisa is the Founder of MediaFace, a Toronto-based content and consulting firm. She has literally written the book on how to talk about success, Bragging Rights: How To Talk about Your Work Using Purposeful Self-Promotion.

Lisa’s book provides a structured approach and framework to enhance your visibility through purposeful self-promotion. She is sharing her invaluable insights and expertise on how to be genuinely helpful to your audience while promoting your work effectively, ultimately moving the needle in your business.

• Why you should market to where you want to go
• How you can craft a signature story in which your right-fit prospects can see themselves
• How to teach in both helpful and meaningful ways
• Ways to best leverage your smarts and best strategic selling techniques
• How to sell from a position of authority without sounding self-promotional

• • Want to learn more about unique and effective strategic selling techniques? You can find Lisa here:
  • LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisabragg/
  • LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lisa-bragg-consulting/
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThatLisaBragg/
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatlisabragg
  • Bragging Rights Riff Tool: https://www.lisabragg.com/listener-love
  • Learn more about strategic selling techniques by reading this book: Bragging Rights: How to Talk about Your Work Using Purposeful Self-Promotion by Lisa Bragg

Steps in the sales process — I am over the moon excited to welcome our special guest expert, Karl Sakas, on this episode of Sell With Authority. Karl is the author of three books, including Work Less, Earn More, and more than 400 articles on agency management. Karl shares how he has helped agencies work less and make more.

Aren’t we all looking for strategies, tactics, tips, tricks, the things that we can put into motion to work less and make more?

For today’s conversation, Karl and I are leaning into some work he’s done alongside agencies. Specifically, a very simple — which does not mean simplistic — three-step process he uses to create big wins for agencies.

If you take and apply the wisdom and insights for steps in the sales process that Karl shares with us, you will close out your Q4 stronger than ever before. And you’ll be well-prepared to make 2024 a roaring success.

• Why Karl is the go-to resource for agency owners, coaches, and consultants
• The three-step process Karl uses to create big wins for agencies
• Why niche is the very first step in Karl’s process
• Steps in the sales process and the value of honing your approach to make it more understandable and profitable
• How to delegate for not just efficiency but also team growth

• Learn more about the Steps in the Sales Process, and you can find Karl Sakas here:
• LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlsakas/
• LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sakas-&-company/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SakasAndCompany/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarlSakas
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SakasandCompanyTeam/
• Work Less, Earn More
• Learn more about the Steps in the sales process by tuning in to this podcast by Karl Sakas: Sales proposals, scope creep, SOPs, and client account growth: Agency Q&A

Additional Resources:

• • Website: www.predictiveroi.com
  • Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
  • Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group

On this episode of Sell With Authority, we have a special encore guest expert, Tom Martin, who has been in the trenches of the agency business for over 30 years.

How to cold call? Tom is an internationally recognized sales and marketing keynote speaker and the Founder of Converse Digital. He helps agencies just like yours and mine strategically turn conversations into clients, and today, he is sharing some invaluable wisdom on how to do just that.

Recently, Tom wrote a game-changing blog post about raising the bar of excellence in how we show up on LinkedIn, not just for content but also for making those all-important connections without coming across as pushy.

We are focusing on the right LinkedIn approach for Tom's encore episode. Here’s the reality — the more you educate, share, and lead with valuable content, the more trust you build with your audience, clients, and right-fit prospects.

These teaching moments on how to cold call will also become excellent biz dev opportunities for you and your team in Q4 of this year, and you'll be in a wonderful position to roar into 2024.

• Why you should optimize your LinkedIn profile
• Tom’s strategy on how to cold call with content strategy methodology
• How to open doors with right-fit prospects without sounding pushy
• The results of Tom’s LinkedIn automation experiment
• Why you should just stop selling and just start helping

• • Learn more about How to Cold Call and find Tom Martin here
  • LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommartinjr/
  • LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conversedigital/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomMartin
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConverseDigital
  • Agency Business Development Resources: https://conversedigital.com/agency-business-development-resources
  • Painless Prospecting Newsletter: https://conversedigital.com/painless-sales-prospecting
  • Building Connections That Matter: LinkedIn Sales Prospecting Strategies For Introverts
  • How To Sell Your Agency's Services Even When You Hate Selling
  • BSGC Pricing Approach & Template: Use Promo Code HolyBananas for 25% off Regular Price
  • Learn more about How to Cold Call by listening to our first interview with Tom Martin: How to Never Be Without Prospects

My Predictive team and I are looking forward to helping you close out Q4 strong so you can roar into 2024 and crush the year. In the fast-paced reality of marketing agencies, your success depends on more than just creativity and strategy. It’s about building an effective sales process.

That’s where my very special guest expert on this episode of Sell With Authority, Jason Swenk, and I are focusing our time and attention. Agency owners and consultants — just like you and me — are facing common challenges. Clients and prospects are taking longer to approve work, delaying payments, and making the business landscape a bit trickier to navigate.

Jason Swenk is the Founder of Agency Mastery 360, a very unique consultancy designed to help marketing agency owners just like you and me, grow their agencies faster.

Sales pipeline stages? A discussion about the sales process has never been more relevant. Candidly — clients and prospects delaying work is a reality we all face, and now is the time to cast as many fishing lines as possible in the right ponds. But remember — those lines must be connected to an effective sales process to avoid driving yourself crazy with extra work and limited results.

I encourage you to listen to this episode as Jason shares insights on building a top-notch sales process to catch the right clients, reel them in, and juggle the endless responsibilities.

• Why having a great biz-dev system in place transforms your agency from a burden to an asset
• Sales pipeline stages: How to understand your ideal client profile, or ICP, and align it strategically
• How to find and train the right sales people
• How to pick your niche
• What are the components of a top-notch sales process
• How to knit together niche and team to create an effective sales process

• • Website: https://www.agencymastery360.com/
  • Learn more about sales pipeline stages by reading this article by Jason Swenk: 3 Elements of a Proven Agency Sales Process
  • LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonswenk/
  • LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agency-mastery/
  • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jasonswenk
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jswenk/
  • Access to Agency Mastery Resources: https://www.agencymastery360.com/resources
  • “Accelerating Your Agency: An 8 Systems Playbook For Growing Your Agency Faster”
  • Gain deeper insights into sales pipeline stages by reading this article entitled Building the Right Sales Team to Grow Your Agency.