Sell With Authority

AI technology advantages and disadvantages — On this episode of Sell With Authority, I’m joined by guest expert Kevin Maney. Kevin is a bestselling author, an award-winning columnist, and has been writing about tech and category design for over three decades. I knew this would be an excellent opportunity to pick his brain and learn more about how to embrace AI.

His depth of expertise in category design, combined with his knowledge of emerging technologies such as AI, make him the perfect guest for today’s conversation.

We’ll discuss how embracing AI can help lower costs, improve team capacity, and increase project quality and business development. But more than that, we’ll explore how embracing AI can help businesses design and dominate a new category, strengthen their niche, and differentiate themselves from the competition.

This conversation with Kevin is sure to provide valuable insights and context for anyone looking to step away from the sea of sameness and establish themselves as true authorities in their industry.

• Adopting AI will help lower costs and increase project quality and business development, exploring the practical aspects of AI technology’s advantages and disadvantages.
• Why emerging tech provides valuable insights into how advancements will impact industries in the short and long term
• Kevin’s definition and insights on category design
• The formula for identifying new categories in changing contexts
• Why AI is key for designing and dominating a new category
• The foundational work Kevin credits for influencing him

• Website: https://www.categorydesignadvisors.com/
• Don’t miss out on our insightful conversation with Sharon Toerek about AI technology advantages and disadvantages: AI and Intellectual Property Rights
• Learn more about AI technology advantages and disadvantages by tuning in to this podcast: Being Different Matters: Talking the Future of AI with Author Kevin Maney
• LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmaney/
• LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/categorydesign/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kmaney
• Play Bigger Book: https://www.categorydesignadvisors.com/play-bigger/

Karley Cunningham is my wicked smart guest expert on this episode of Sell With Authority. You may remember Karly joining me on the podcast back in episode seven. But if you happen to be meeting Karly for the first time, she’s a brand strategist & business growth accelerator.

Karley is the founder of Big Bold Brand Inc. and she’s an expert in helping business owners, just like you and me, seek out and find their strategic advantage to create bold differentiation and to stand out from the sea of sameness.

I invited Karley back to take a deeper dive into the topic of differentiation. We discuss how to attract right-fit clients who are eager to work with you and pay a premium fee because they can see, hear, and feel how you’re actually different.

We also candidly delve into the challenges that we here at Predictive faced in our Starting Block program and how Karley helped us overcome them.

• Why differentiation is essential for your business to attract right-fit clients and increase revenue
• How to identify your unique selling proposition and communicate it effectively
• Karley’s process for helping businesses differentiate themselves and stand out in their industry
• The importance of understanding the perspective of right-fit prospects from the outside before they cross the threshold to work with you
• How Predictive’s experience working with Karley to differentiate our Starting Block program improved our sales process

Resources:

• Website: www.bigboldbrand.com
• LinkedIn Personal: linkedin.com/in/karleycunningham
• LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/big-bold-brand/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrandMaven
• Sell With Authority Episode 7: Your Fundamental Beliefs and Truths Matter, with Karley Cunningham

I am so excited about the latest episode of Sell With Authority! Hannah Roth, Predictive ROI’s own mad scientist and strategist joins me as we introduce a brand new framework fresh out of the Predictive lab. Hannah often works in the trenches helping clients define and achieve their business goals, overcome challenges, and find new opportunities for growth. She loves helping people, and being on the front lines alongside agency owners, coaches, and strategic consultants is where she thrives. 

We’re calling this framework “how to turn ranting into revenue.” We’ve created a strategic process for how to articulate your rant, how to connect your rant to business issues and challenges that your clients and prospects face every day, and then how to help them provide solutions. Which, of course, then drives revenue for you and your team. As always, Hannah has cooked up a few surprises along the way because she always does, where she seems to never miss an opportunity to turn the tables on me and then put me in the hot seat.

What you will learn in this episode: 

• How to invite our right-fit prospects to take a position on a topic and discover their true passion and motivation
• What is “analysis paralysis,” and how can we avoid it
• How our new framework will help you take control of your sales pipeline and finally solve the feast or famine of biz dev
• Practical and tactical steps for turning problems, or pain points, into opportunities
• Why working in the trenches with our right-fit clients will improve their confidence and value proposition
• When we will host an open Q&A to share this new framework virtually live

Ways to contact Hannah:

• Email: Hannah.Roth@predictiveroi.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-roth-387a6b223/

Resources:

• Website: www.predictiveroi.com
• Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
• Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group
• Order your free paperback or Kindle copy of our Book: Sell with Authority

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.”

How to find your ideal client? In this solocast episode of Sell With Authority, Stephen shares his insights and strategies for finding and attracting ideal clients for your business.

Drawing from his own experiences as a lifelong baseball fan, Stephen explores the parallels between the game and the world of business, highlighting key strategies and insights that will help you and your team be more successful.

While exploring these parallels, Stephen uses baseball analogies to illustrate the concept of getting “at bats” with potential clients and how to scout out and attract clients who are right-fit for your business. He also discusses the importance of having a well-defined customer avatar and using data to track and optimize your marketing efforts.

Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this episode offers valuable tips and strategies for how to find your ideal client and attracting your ideal clients and taking your business to the next level.

• The concept of getting “at bats” with potential clients and how to find your ideal client
• The importance of understanding your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to attracting right-fit clients
• The power of building relationships and delivering value to win over clients
• The role of communication and feedback in maintaining successful client relationships
• How to continuously evaluate and adjust your approach to attract and retain the right-fit clients
• Strategies for crafting a compelling message that resonates with your audience
• The power of social media and networking in attracting clients and building relationships

• • Learn more about How to Find Your Ideal Client by tuning in to this Episode of Stephen Woessner and Colleen Gallagher:  Make Yourself an Easy Yes for Right-Fit Clients
  • 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 How to Find Your Ideal Client and you can find Stephen here

If you’re meeting Sharon Toerek for the first time — she’s the founder of Legal and Creative and the host of the rock solid awesome podcast, The Innovative Agency, and an expert in how to protect intellectual property. And in full transparency — she is Predictive’s wicked smart intellectual property attorney, and she has brilliantly helped us navigate how to protect our intellectual property and turn that IP into income. 

For example — back in May 2015 — my team and I had the idea to launch a daily podcast called Onward Nation. We hoped hosting a daily podcast with amazing and super-smart guests could be a good business development strategy. 

But — our first step wasn’t to begin recording episodes or building out PredictiveROI.com with helpful content.

Nope.

Our first step — or, more accurately — my first call — was to Sharon.

Why?

Because if Onward Nation as a podcast went on to be successful — we knew that having Sharon’s expertise involved at the onset would help us maximize any revenue opportunities that spun out of the show and ensure that any IP created — intentionally or accidentally along the way — was protected.

The result?

Onward Nation attracted listeners in 141 countries and quickly became a top-rated show on Apple Podcasts.

I was also approached and offered a contract to write a book about everything we knew about podcasting, which became the bestseller “Profitable Podcasting” and sold more than 10,000 copies worldwide.

Okay — full transparency moment here — from a revenue perspective — Onward Nation also drove over $4 million in new revenue into Predictive because it opened the door to new clients as a result of the Trojan Horse of Sales Strategy you may have seen or heard my team and I teach. 

But here’s the reality — none of these result outcomes would have been possible without Sharon’s smarts around protecting intellectual property — and then leveraging it into new revenue streams.

Okay — I hope what I just shared gives you 4 million reasons why this episode might provide you with the insights, tips, and recommendations you need to build brand-new revenue streams while learning how to protect intellectual property in the process.

Sharon has had a front-row seat to the creativity of many agencies and will share her insights on how the right systems and strategies built around the knowledge and assets you already have can create new revenue streams to help you scale. 

I promise you — applying what Sharon maps out during this episode will help you protect your intellectual property — and then — give you some ideas on how to monetize your IP so it turns into a profitable revenue stream.

Okay — here’s what you’ll learn from this episode about how to protect intellectual property:

• How to protect intellectual property begins with understanding the IP Triangle Framework of: 1) brand, 2) content, and 3) transactions
• How you’re likely already sitting on intellectual property inside your agency and uncovering it can act as a driver of demand for your main service lines
• How conducting some old-fashioned market research can help uncover options for generating license fees, productizing some assets into an offering, or other revenue opportunities
• Why protecting your revenue streams through copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, licensing agreements, or other forms is critically important
• Why thinking strategically about how to protect intellectual property and how it fits into the overall business strategy is essential for your business’s short- and long-term success and potentially opens up options for your personal wealth

Resources:

• Website: legalandcreative.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharontoerek/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonToerek
• The Innovative Agency Podcast

Additional Free Resources:

• Subscribe to our new “Sell with Authority” podcast. Learn how to attract a steady stream of well-prepared prospects into your sales pipeline and convert them into right-fit clients. Everything you need to move further faster is shared in full transparency. Go here for all the episodes.
• Order your free copy of “Sell with Authority” in paperback or Kindle. Honest — no hoops to jump through. All you need to do is go here and enter your mailing address. No credit card for shipping. Nothing.
• Join our free “How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline” Facebook Group. Over 1,000 agency owners and strategic consultants just like you are looking to move further faster by sharing best practices and what’s working for them. But — as Susan Baier recently said, “It’s not about the numbers, it’s about the SMARTS contributed to this wonderful, generous community!” Go here for details.

I’m excited for you to meet our special guest expert today — Brian Gerstner.

If you’re meeting Brian for the first time — Brian is the founder and president of White Label IQ, which provides white-labeled digital services and skill sets in design, development, and paid media for agencies across the country. Brian is also an expert at building, creating, and nurturing strategic partnerships. 

You may have already met Brian when he was our guest expert during our open-mic Q&A on February 8th — and our topic was strategic agency partnerships.

We focused on how the right agency partnerships can grow your top-line revenue — how the right partners can grow your bottom-line profit — and how to find the right partners.

You can find the full recording inside our free Facebook group here. 

And holy bananas — the insights Brian shared during the Q&A sparked a bunch of great questions from everyone in the room. So much so — after the Q&A — I asked Brian if he would be game to join me today on the podcast so we could take more time and peel back the layers around how agency partnerships work and why he’s so keen on them as the fuel to move further, faster.

Winning partnership? In my opinion — Brian is uniquely suited for the agency partnership discussion because of his staunch beliefs around abundance — instead of scarcity — and — that success comes not from successfully competing against and beating others but by successfully collaborating for the benefit of the client.

That’s a true agency partnership. 

So today’s conversation will be about “how” to build the right agency partnerships that will help you move your agency to that next level.

And I will tell you — as you build your authority position and fervently claim the ground you want to own — finding and developing right-fit agency partnerships becomes easier because you have clarity around “WHO” you want your agency to serve. And candidly — who your agency serves best — that clarity becomes evident to your prospective partners just like it does with your prospective clients.

Here’s the reality — your authority position makes it easier for prospects and partners to say yes to you.

So buckle up — you’re about to get an in-the-trenches, practical, and tactical master class on winning partnership. 

Brian and I share how to find them, build them, nurture them, and drive your top and bottom-line growth so you and your team can move further faster.

• What is an agency partnership, and how might the right one help you move further faster
• How can the right partnership help you do what you do better
• Why the best partnerships are built on a foundation of both clarity and trust
• How you can take Brian’s agency partnership model — flip the script — and use it as part of your business development strategy
• Why agency partnerships must always create a win/win scenario and never lose/win or win/lose
• Establishing a winning partnership strategy — key to accelerating your agency’s growth, fostering collaboration, and achieving mutual success with your strategic allies.

• Learn more about winning partnership by navigating this website by Brian Gerster — You can find it here
• Download our WHO Framework and replace your dry sales pipeline by attracting a steady stream of well-prepared, right-fit clients who want to work with you and are eager to pay a premium price.
• Order your free “Sell with Authority” copy in paperback or Kindle. Honest — no hoops to jump through. No credit card for shipping. Nothing.
• Seeking insights on winning partnership? Join our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group. Over 1,000 agency owners, business coaches, and strategic consultants just like you have joined us inside the free group. And — as Susan Baier recently said, “It’s not about the numbers, it’s about the SMARTS contributed to this wonderful, generous community!” So if you’re looking for a great place to ask questions, access all of our Q&A recordings, and play full out alongside other amazing, awesome, and generous people — join us.

Closing a deal in sales — St John Craner is the Founder of Agrarian, an agency based in New Zealand that helps agribusinesses grow using digital strategies and marketing campaigns. They provide instruction and coaching to underperforming rural sales teams by utilizing sales psychology and human-centered selling techniques that can significantly enhance sales performance.

St John and his team work with their clients to develop a customized strategic sales system to generate consistent leads and income. Specifically, they focus on the principles of sales psychology, which will be the main topic of our discussion today, centered around closing a deal in sales.

Closing a deal in sales? During our conversation, St John tells us why he believes selling is the root cause of sales problems. We’ll explore strategies for generating curiosity, building influence, and ultimately closing deals without making prospective clients feel pressured. Join us and listen in while St John takes us behind the curtain and shares how we can signal buyer safety because he believes you will close more sales when you do it correctly.

• The principles of sales psychology and human-centered selling focus on closing a deal in sales.
• How we can signal buyer safety to our right-fit prospects
• Why St John believes the problem with sales is selling
• How we can generate small but impactful moments of curiosity that pique the potential client’s interest and encourage them to engage in meaningful conversations
• The power of the phrase “Tell me more” in the process of closing a deal in sales.
• Why positioning and pricing are correlated

• Website: https://www.agrarian.co.nz/
• Learn more about closing a deal in sales by reading this article from St John Craner: how sales can boost your rural business.
• LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stjohncraner/
• LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agrarian/
• Free Ebook & Resource Tools:http://www.ruralsalessuccess.com/
• Learn more about closing a deal in sales by listening to this podcast: St John Craner And Darren Talk Marketing And Sales For Agribusiness

Greg Bray is the President of Blue Tangerine, a digital marketing and website development agency that specializes in helping home builders grow their sales. They achieve that goal by helping clients build a better website and drive more qualified traffic to the site, all while using data analytics to measure results. Greg considers it a privilege to lead this team of talented professionals.

Greg began developing home builder websites in 2000 and has been hooked ever since. The tools have matured since that time, but one thing hasn’t changed: the goal to grow sales! 

In 2006, as VP of Operations, Greg purchased the company and achieved his dream of owning his own business, renaming it Blue Tangerine Solutions. In 2014, he partnered with Triad Analytics to expand the agency’s marketing services. In 2017, the companies formally merged and became today’s Blue Tangerine.

Tips for hosting an event? Greg enjoys teaching the techniques and skills that he’s learned. He can explain complex technical topics in easy-to-understand language. He has presented at the International Builders’ Show (IBS), the Southeast Building Conference, the Best Home Building Practices Summit, the New Home Sales and Management Retreat, as well as other webinars and events. He is proud to be the founder and co-host of the Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast and Summit.

There’s another important piece to add to Greg’s already impressive resume and that’s Blue Tangerine’s authority position — it’s where Greg and I are going to focus our time and attention today. Greg and his Blue Tangerine team are the creators of the Annual Home Builder Digital Marketing Summit. We will discuss Greg’s leadership and Blue Tangerine’s influence within the digital marketing industry, as well as their dedication to organizing the Annual Home Builder Digital Marketing Summit.

• Why and how Greg and his team started the Annual Home Builder Digital Marketing Summit
• Why the initial step for creating the event was crucial to establish a clear vision and goal
• Latest and effective tips for hosting an event
• Why the Summit is not only a marketing tool for Blue Tangerine but also an opportunity for business development
• How being on stage and owning the room from an authority perspective has benefited Blue Tangerine
• The various ways partners and sponsors can amplify an event from a dollar strategy standpoint
• The pitfalls Blue Tangerine faced and what Greg might do differently when looking back

• • Learn more about tips for hosting an event, and you can find Greg Bray here
  • LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbray/
  • LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-tangerine-llc/
  • Podcast: https://www.buildermarketingpodcast.com
  • Summit Link: https://www.buildermarketingsummit.com/
  • Learn more about tips for hosting an event by tuning in to the Builder Marketing Podcast with Greg Bray

Building your sales pipeline explained thoroughly with the help of Hannah Roth. She is Predictive ROI’s mad scientist and strategist (That is her actual title, by the way). Her background as a Fisheries Biologist coupled with her experience as a small business owner has allowed her to offer a unique perspective synthesizing data analysis with strategic insights.

Hannah often works in the trenches helping clients define and achieve their business goals, overcome challenges, and find new opportunities for growth. She loves helping people, and being on the front lines alongside agency owners, coaches, and strategic consultants is where she thrives.

Hannah holds a Bachelor of Science from Valdosta State University and is currently enrolled in Harvard Business School with a focus on Business Strategy.

I asked Hannah to join me on this episode of Sell With Authority to share her insights on building your sales pipeline that we use here at Predictive ROI in our own business development. It’s called seeding and opening loops, and it removes friction from the sales process.

And – HOLY BANANAS – her perspective and wisdom around this powerful business strategy will be super helpful for the next time you are meeting with a right-fit client!

• How we define seeding and opening loops
• The ingredients in the recipe for seeding and opening loops
• Why it is crucial to keep your client’s lens in the center when seeding and opening loops
• How to seed and open loops with an existing client
• How to start building your sales pipeline and find right-fit prospects
• Ways that you can take and apply this sales process  in your business development strategy

• Learn more about building your sales pipeline by continuing to listen to Hannah Roth in Episode 67
• Website: https://predictiveroi.com/
• Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
• Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group
• Order your free paperback or Kindle copy of our Book: Sell with Authority
• Learn another approach to building your sales pipeline with St John Craner

• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-roth-387a6b223/
• Join us in our free “How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline” Facebook Group

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.”

Prospecting tips? Here at Predictive ROI — we believe that most agencies, coaches, and consultants go about sales and new business development in the least effective, most painful way possible — and that there’s a better way. We call it the Sell with Authority Methodology.

We also believe that we’re entering the era of the AUTHORITY. And if you occupy the coveted “expert” status — you’ll be afforded the highest level of confidence and trust from your clients, prospects, and other stakeholders during the new business process because you have a depth of knowledge and point-of-view that can’t be denied or easily replicated.

Everything we teach and share in our practical and tactical agency new business strategy sessions are designed to help agencies, coaches, and consultants capitalize on the huge shift taking place in business development today. In our hyper-competitive market for awareness and attention — you should look to plant your flag of authority and then leverage this position to fill your sales pipeline with right-fit prospects while developing deeper relationships with existing customers.

And we hope today’s episode that breaks down our fastest agency new business strategy will help you move closer to the goal of building and scaling your business.

• What is our fastest agency new business strategy
• Prospecting tips: how we refined the Trojan Horse of Sales Strategy and linked it with building our “Dream 25” list of prospects
• How to decide which prospects make the list and which don’t (You can download the WHO Framework here)
• What’s the ideal cadence for staying in touch with each prospect, and will you just send gifts? Discover effective prospecting tips for maintaining communication.
• How much budget should you invest in building a relationship with each Dream 25 prospect?
• Will your Dream 25 list — and the criteria you used to build the list — ever need to shift?

• Increasing sales through the Trojan Horse of Sales Strategy (podcast episode)
• Learn more about prospecting tips by tuning in to this episode of Sell with Authority: How to Attract Prospects, with Brent Weaver
• Uncover more information about prospecting tips by listening to Stephens discussion on Why you need to use the Trojan Horse Strategy
• How to build your Dream 25 strategy (podcast episode)
• Go long with your Dream 25 strategy (podcast episode)
• Why your Dream 25 matters (podcast episode)
• Download the WHO Framework here to “find & identify,” “emotionally and logically connect,” and “niche deep dive.”
• Our fastest agency new business strategies are detailed in our Sell with Authority book. Order your free paperback or Kindle copy here.
• Why pivoting your agency niche will help you sell better (Interview with Drew McLellan for the Build a Better Agency Podcast)