The Bacon Podcast with Brian Basilico | CURE Your Sales & Marketing with Ideas That Make It SIZZLE!

Kurt Scholle is an entrepreneur who understands what it is like to own your own business and to be responsible for the livelihoods of your employees. He measures business success only one way: profits. He founded Web Asylum in 1996 and has had equity interests in a couple of local Internet Service Providers that delivered high-speed Internet and reliable web hosting.

Website success and social media are passions. Kurt speaks on developing successful website strategy, Internet Marketing and Social Media, including Twitter and Facebook workshops.

Join his Facebook Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/websiteroiguy or Email: [email protected]

I luckily learned a lesson back in the 1980s when I worked at AT&T. During a performance review, my supervisor said, “Son, you are an expense. I can hire two people for what you are asking for and I would do better with that than with you alone. So the answer is NO!” Let me repeat that… “YOU ARE AN EXPENSE”

I realized that if I did not make a change, no one would do it for me. I needed to leverage my time, and leverage the time of others in a way that was successful, repeatable, and valuable to clients in a way that they would want to invest in and integrate my solution into their business.

I started with writers (people who could do it better than me) and started to build systems around them. Next, I found people who could manage websites, create emails and social posts, and topped it off with a project manager who had extensive corporate experience. I can bring people into some consistency of repeatable projects with room for them to learn and grow with other clients.

This model allowed me to bring in an expert at just the right time to complete a task and then let them focus on other customers they were working with. The key was a level of expertise, that could work the client’s ebbs and flows of needs and wants. It allows them to access an incredible pool of talent who bring creativity and innovative solutions to keep them at the forefront of trends.

In this episode, we will explore… how to look at what you do as an invaluable resource to your clients or bosses, and not just as an expense.

He is the author of the bestselling book “Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organisations and Life” which includes a Foreword by Visa founder Dee Hock.

Aidan is the host and founder of the Innovation Show, broadcast globally and on national radio stations in Ireland and Finland.

Aidan is a Change Consultant and Executive Coach. He works with organizational teams to improve how they engage and innovate.

He is a champion for change and has reinvented his own career after rugby. Aidan worked in transformation for digital, innovation, and now culture and leadership.

Aidan played over 100 times for Europe’s most successful teams: Leinster and Toulouse and represented Ireland.

He developed the digital eco-system for Communicorp Media Group, served as Head of Innovation for Ireland’s National broadcaster, and worked as an innovation consultant for Global company Katawave.

Today he sits on the board of National Broadband Ireland, rolling out connectivity to the remotest parts of Ireland.

He developed and delivers a module on Emerging Technology Trends in Trinity College Business School, ranked 1st in Ireland and in the top 100 globally.

Let’s face it… Procrastination and Perfection have a purpose, but they pause progress. Progress is perpetuated by the processes you put in place. But all too often, we can put progress in purgatory by procrastinating or perfecting our processes. Do you know what phrase causes consternation constantly? “That’s not how we do it here!”

I view a process as a series of steps that takes a phase of a project from concept to completion. The better you can define the steps, the more you can control the process.

I view systems as a series of processes, done in a particular order, that turns that series of processes into a project.

Stuff happens. When a ladder is missing a rung or step, it does not mean you can’t keep climbing, but it often requires some improvisation.

A good marketing system has two pieces that work in concert. First is content creation and the other is content distribution.

In this episode, we will explore… how processes and steps can create a good system, and how “This is not how it’s done here” puts progress in purgatory!

Chip’s first experience with the tech sector started in 1994 after downloading the first Netscape browser (now Firefox) and led him to join his first startup a year later. He’s worked for and advised high-growth ventures and Fortune 500 companies in online media, internet infrastructure, PCs (Dell & Lenovo), and most recently, Fintech & Gov Tech SaaS companies, in addition to serving as CEO for a US commercial 3D printing manufacturer.

In 2014, Chip started Flywheel Advisors, helping early and mid-stage companies (Consumer and B2B) to identify and drive sustainable growth and scale by leveraging customer feedback and insights.

Lastly, a fun fact: Chip was the first to place a keyword ad buy in 1997 (Yahoo!)

Why is a very powerful word. It provokes conversations and promotes thoughtful responses. Simon Sinek thought it was so important he wrote a book about it “Start with Why”. He said that “What” is the action, “How” is the method, and “Why” is the purpose or promise. He says, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”

I did an interview with Mark S.A. Smith where he said that in the B2b sales and marketing world, “C-Level customers only care that you solve their problem, and don’t get them fired!” I have to agree somewhat, but I want to add that they have a WHY also. Maybe it’s about their family? It could be their employee or customers, or back to what I said before, it could be their passions.

All so often we tend to focus on the “What” or the “How”. “Our software will find hidden customers.” “Our training will help you retain employees.” And, “Our machine has better up-time, leading to more profits”. What’s missing is the WHY. Why do they want more customers, happier employees, or more uptime from their machines? It’s not a simple answer but probably more complex issues, but while everyone is shouting the “What” or the “How”, you can stand out by emphasizing the WHY.

In this episode, we will explore… What is you “WHY” and how to align that with your perfect customers’ “WHY”?

With the proper knowledge and coaching combined with an inspiring vision, I believe anyone — person, team or organization — can dramatically improve their performance.

I help companies understand the art-of-the-possible to sell more products and services, to more customers, more often, and with greater profitability. I do this by leveraging digital, big data and analytics to create future-proofed experiences and offers that integrate the business and IT. My passion is to build the compelling brands, offers and integrated operating models including digital cores that deliver more human-centric, engaging and efficient customer and employee experiences.

I’ve worked with global leadership teams as an operating line executive and as a strategy consultant.

I have led teams that have implemented global digital transformations, developed a new first-in-kind 800-store retail chain in the UK called Sainsbury’s Local, created the strategy for UBS to become the number one wealth management brand in the world, and identified new product opportunities in apparel and beverages. I also have made plenty of mistakes: my goal is for others to benefit from the lessons I have learned.

My career also includes creating and sharing thought-leadership in numerous publications (e.g., Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Forbes, Fast Company, Property 360, Pharma Executive, AdAge) and global conferences (e.g., keynote speaker at IBM Think, Nielsen Consumer360, The Economist Marketing Summit, World Bank IFC Leadership Summits, corporate meetings).

In 360 feedback co-workers consistently note my bold thinking, exceptional teamwork, deep commitment to coaching and mentoring, extensive business knowledge, and energetic leadership.

I have an MBA from Harvard.

When I say “Whiff” what do you think of? Are you imagining a baseball, moving at 100 mph, dropping out of the strike zone as the batter takes a swing at strike three? Or are you thinking of waking up, and catching the smell of BACON wafting throughout your living space?

Have you heard the term “WIIFM”? I have said that people tune into two different radio stations… “WIIAM” and “WIIFM”. WIIAM stand for “What is interesting ABOUT ME”, and WIIFM stands for “What’s In It FOR ME”.

Many marketers use WIIAM or FOMO (fear of missing out) as a motivator to get people to pay attention to their posts and emails. You see it all the time.

The attraction action you want them to take is to reach out, on their terms, when they are ready. That means it could take multiple interactions with your content. It can take days, weeks, months, or years. You can never predict if and when that day will come.

In this episode, we will explore… What is WIIFM, WIIAM, FOMO, and the meaning of BACON?

Bill Guertin (pronounced like “13”) is a positive voice for change and is the leader of the “7 Voices” Movement, whose purpose is to hear, recognize, and minimize the effects of the negative Voices inside people’s heads and to implement simple strategies to make positivity a life-choice every day. As a sales trainer, he’s worked with the ticket sales departments of over 100 professional sports teams throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico, and he serves as Chief Learning Officer of ISBI 360, a virtual training network specifically for executives in sports and entertainment.

Bill has over 30 years’ experience in sales and leadership, including 20 years in broadcast media as a sales rep, sales manager, and General Manager of radio properties in the Midwest.

When he is not working, Bill spends quality time with his wife, Sherri, their three grown boys, and their families who enjoy Sundays together watching the Chicago Bears. He serves as a Board member of the Baylor University Center for Sports Strategy and Sales and volunteers for the Kankakee County Humane Foundation.

Having worked with many non-profits in the past, the biggest hurdle they have to overcome is resources. If they want in for free, someone has to dedicate or donate the time. Otherwise, they have to find someone they can afford and pay for that to be implemented.

That is what I call the Strategy vs. Plan Conundrum. A strategy without a plan has no action. A plan without a strategy has no purpose (or measurable outcomes). You need both to succeed.

As I stated before, a plan without a strategy or a strategy without a plan is often doomed to fail. But even if both are honed to perfection, you need resources to execute it all. As I said, non-profits are often cash-strapped, which is why they rely on volunteers or donations to survive. That’s the same with for-profit businesses.

The death of a great strategy, and plan… is often waiting until all the pieces are in place before you begin to execute. So you have to roll up your sleeves and get to it while finding people to take over and carry the ball farther and faster than you can.

In this episode, we will explore how a strategy needs a plan and a plan needs a strategy… and how to successfully bring them together!