Strategy & Action

Today on the show, Strategy + Action = Running Your Expert Business with Systems

Taylorr Payne is with us today from SpeakerFlow.  He and his business partner Austin Grammon have created this amazing solution for experts - speakers, coaches, consultants, and authors at all levels of their business.

The folks they serve are successful in what they're doing, but they often don't have the systems to run the business aspect of what they're doing or to truly scale. 

What Taylorr and his team have done with SpeakerFlow is solve those massive pain points, but then also provided the training and resources around all of this.  It's one thing to have the systems in place.  It's another thing to have the right mindset when you go into using these systems to make your business better and to actually want it to grow because you can handle that growth. 

So we cover a lot of topics in this episode including the fantastic podcast that they run, Technically Speaking, the marketing partnerships that they've developed so well, and the evolution of the core offer of SpeakerFlow.

Today on the show, Strategy + Action = The Power of Consistency

Jake Thompson and I just had a phenomenal conversation. I'm so excited to bring this to you. We cover so many topics in this one!

Usually, on the show, we like to kind of dig in around one main theme.  And my idea going into this was to talk about how to take consistent steps to get you to your end goal.  And we definitely get there in this one.

But we talk about so many aspects of how Jake helps people.  He's got a book called Compete Every Day.  His company with the same name which is both a clothing brand as well as speaking and coaching and training around this concept of improving and taking those kinds of necessary actions to get to your end goal. B

We dig into so much around this from how he got started, how he made a big pivot in his brand, including how maybe he did too much of a pivot at once, but it was still all worth it.  And he's doing just a phenomenal job right now helping large organizations and individuals through some of the same work to really improve their lives and improve their companies to get where they want to go.

As you'll hear in the interview, we just go right into it without the usual "Welcome to the show" banter.  It was great to catch up.  I know Jake from back when I was in Dallas through my good friend and past guest, Julian Pacino.  It's an amazing thing when you get really wonderful driven people in your life.  They attract more of them and I've had the good fortune to know some amazing people.  Jake is definitely one of them.  And I'm really excited to bring this interview to you.

Introducing the The Hardest Working Man on LinkedIn!

In this episode, we learn how to make sales like an actual human being instead of some caricature of a salesperson who only thinks about the numbers.

Dale Dupree is on the show and he is leading his own Sales Rebellion to change the way people think about sales and how salespeople operate.

He is a creative genius when it comes to finding new and unique ways to break the norm and get the attention of his prospects.  He uses his superpowers for good, of course, by making sure that everyone he interacts with understands that what he wants more than anything is to truly connect and get to know who they are and how he might be able to help.

We dive into so many great stories of hilarious ways he's gotten the attention of people he's tried to sell to and what this world of sales really means to him personally.

Today on the show, Strategy + Action = A LinkedIn Style Mindset

JD Gershbein is on the show today and we dig into developing your LinkedIn Style. 

This goes beyond LinkedIn and really applies to all the ways you can show up online or offline.  This gets into intentionality about when you're going to show up somewhere, what's your style?  Not necessarily the "I'm going to be that person who just lights up the room and dressed impeccably," although that's always great to strive for as well. 

But it really gets into just how you're going to show up.  We certainly do dig in a lot around how you present yourself on LinkedIn so that when somebody is considering connecting with you that the two and a half seconds that they go to your profile, or they see you putting out content of some kind, what's what version of you that they see?

It really pays to be purposeful and intentional with that as a reflection on you as a professional, your company if you own your own business or the company you're working for. 

And JD brings up the point that LinkedIn is still a business community.  So, just like how you're going to show up a certain way when you're interacting in the business world, a lot of that applies here on LinkedIn.  And so what JD has done is really gone full force into creating this LinkedIn Style Guide, his newsletter where he helps his audience with their style.  And then he speaks on this subject and works with clients to help develop their style on LinkedIn so that they show up the best way possible. 

So we have a blast in this conversation and we even get into how improv and what JT is doing all tie in together and the community he's building around that. 

Today on the show = A Scientific Approach to Business Transformation

We're talking to Don Schmincke today. And his consulting specialty is really unique.  At a quick glance, you think, "Oh, a business consultant goes in to help CEOs and their organizations to change and improve, etc." 

When you take just a little bit deeper dive, even past the books he's authored and the speaking engagements, you see how different his approach is.

Don comes from the scientific research and academia side of things from MIT and Johns Hopkins. And he's taken this approach to business that dates back hundreds of years that gets into the inner workings of humans, why they do things, and how to get them to do them better. 

We dig deep into how he goes beyond the typical strategy session that companies often go through - often immediately just jumping into tactics rather than zooming out and not just looking at the company overall, but looking at the marketplace, looking at competitors, looking at competitors you hadn't thought of before and really crafting a more complete strategy around that. 

Then these companies can go and apply the necessary tactics, but until you have that strategy, none of the tactics are going to work long term. 

I encourage you to jump into this full episode and see how Don developed and is using this different approach to consulting to help organizations improve not by simply putting a new mission statement on the wall, but by actually measurably improving the company with increased sales, increased market cap, etc. 

Today on the show, Strategy + Action = Going Live to Build Your Brand and Your Network.

In this episode, we've got Cameron Toth.  He is doing an amazing show called Biz Dev Live on LinkedIn, as well as a one called the Master Connector Show with wonderful past guest, Steve Spiro.

And they're both bringing it when it comes to showing up and doing these Live episodes on LinkedIn. It's such a powerful platform. The choice to be on camera and interview folks and have that kind of content going out there is certainly strong.  But the specific choice to do it live brings with it a next level of confidence and professionalism that needs to be there.

Part of that choice that we get into is not wanting to edit anything, which can certainly save you time on the backend.  But also, it forces you into a consistent schedule. It's powerful, and not only inviting guests but having those guests show up when you have this set schedule that Cameron talks about. 

We get into these benefits, long term and short term benefits of doing this kind of initiative to grow your business as well as your personal brand and how the two certainly go together. 

We also dive deep into what Cameron has going on with his main company, Toth Event Staffing, how that can grow because of the show, and the benefits of having the show to him as a person, not just a business owner. 

Check out this full episode and certainly, connect with Cameron!

Today on the show, Strategy + Action = Building a Platform for the Growth of Your Business.

Today, we're talking to Brett Williams, founder of RPAgency.

He's put together not only a marketing agency but built this amazing platform, first, internally for his own use, and now he's built it out so that it's licensed to other folks. So if you want to start a marketing agency and kind of bring everything through there, there's a franchise model, there's a white label model.

We also dig into what it would take for you to create something similar even if you have a business that has nothing to do with marketing.  How can you take these same concepts and apply them?  It's a great, important mindset and practice that you should have anyway, as you're building your business moving from freelancer to business owner.

Today on the show, Strategy + Action = Developing a Community to Grow Your Business 

Today we're talking community with Jake Jordan.  I came across an article that he wrote on LinkedIn around Community and it gave me half an excuse to bring him on the show. Because there are 100 things I can talk to Jake about and we usually do when we get together. 

So I really wanted to talk to him today about this concept of community when it comes to building your business.  

And we're not talking about a community you can build with an audience or clients.  Or even the connotation some people have that involves networking groups.  Those are both important, too.  

But what we're talking about is that core group of business owners who can help you level up and really dig into things that either you're having an issue with, or you don't even know is an issue but others see it and help you with it.  And really have that accountability. 

And a big part of this concept is that it's not a "nice to have".  Having some version of this is mandatory for your business to thrive, especially at the kind of speed I'm sure you want it to.

Check out this episode for this concept of Community and several other big things Jake has going on.

Today on the show, Strategy + Action = The Power of Connecting Authentically

Steve Spiro is on the show today. And we dig into one of my favorite topics in the world, which is connecting. And we both use this term very purposefully and strategically because it goes far beyond what a lot of folks would a pile of simply networking: meeting new people, growing your business that way, etc.  

That is one part of Connecting, certainly.  And for us, networking is not a "four-letter word".  Some people have a negative connotation to it around being forced to go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting or something like that. 

The other reason for the term, though, is that it goes deeper than just networking.  It's not simply meeting somebody, and maybe you'll do business together one day.  It's really leading with the fact that my goal is to connect with this other person, learn their story, dig in, and see what they're all about.  And then maybe there's  business to be done, or I know someone who needs their service or whatever that might be.  

But it's that connection first. 

We really talk about this concept of connecting authentically, and we go deep into what that actually means.  Because it's one thing to have your intention be that connection that I just described, but it's a completely different thing for the other person to feel it. And there are some things that go into it that may seem like, "I shouldn't have to think about that. That's just being a human."

But often, there are very purposeful things that we need to do to make sure that the other person feels that intent that we have.  So I encourage you to dive into this episode with us and if you have that negative connotation of networking or things like this, hopefully, this gives you a different perspective on that and will help ease those fears or anxiety around it.

Today on the show, Strategy + Action = Recruiting with Engaging Content.  

Julian Placino is on the show today.  I've had the great fortune to know Julian for several years now from the beginnings of his show Pathways to Success, to leaving his full-time job to start his own company.  

We dig in specifically around the business he's created to help companies recruit at a level nobody else is doing ...

...in a way nobody else is doing, taking his amazing skills as a recruiter, and then his skills as a media creator and combining those into a system for companies to reach candidates that aren't even looking and to convince those who are looking to consider them.

As Julian points out in the show, "Everyone wins when a company is fully staffed."

We're in a time right now when there is massive competition for hiring great talent.  And companies need to not just "have a great company culture" ... that we hear about a lot, right?  They need to be able to show that candidate how their culture really is different and what they really value and show it in a way that's going to help that candidate make that quick decision.  Julian is creating systems for companies to empower their entire staff to bring in top talent and funnel them to internal recruiters.

Julian brings us some incredible insights around the power of personal branding as well:

- When you can see content as a way of creating passive income for your reputation, then you will start to see its real power.  "I create a piece of content once and it pays me over the lifetime as social equity."

- "Increased access to people gives you increased access to opportunity."

We dig into Julian's background quite a bit, but we spend a whole lot of time around this new amazing offer and what he's doing for companies now.