On this episode, we welcome back Dan Pfister to the program.  Dan is the founder of StrategicWinBack.com. 

He’s also the co-founder of two other businesses where he's helped generate over 50,000 customers, and has worked with brands like Fidelity Investments and people like Tony Robbins.

Strategic Win-Back’s sole focus is re-engaging and re-activating lost, forgotten and disengaged clients. To learn more about the exceptional ROI that winning back past clients can generate. 

Website:  https://www.brightmove.com/

On this episode, I have a conversation with Dr. David Arrington — author, speaker and the Principal and Chief Operating Officer of Arrington Coaching.  They fundamentally help executives realize their vision and create sustainable change through 3-dimensional coaching. David shares his journey as a first-time founder and the key lessons he learned.  He also shares leadership and culture best practices. 

Key 1st Time Founder Lessons:

• “I would argue that it's all pivots….if you're not pivoting, you're probably not moving forward”
• “Everybody wants to make a million dollars with their business, very few people do, because most people don't have plans. They just have an aspiration”
• “Stop reading books about growing your business and just work on your business”
• I love the Colin Powell, quote, he would say that when he had 70% of the information, he would make a decision, he would move forward. This is when he was a general in Battlefield situations”
• When we look at culture, I like to think of it as the air of an organization because I say no one notices it until it stinks, right. You have a culture you always when you get two people together, you're creating a culture. The problem is most cultures are and they're not intentional”
• “I would early on bring on people who are going to help you make money. Because that's why businesses go out of business because of cash flows……cash flow covers a multitude of sins”
• “Good leadership is almost hidden under a co-located environment….bad leadership becomes very visible when you go remote.”

David’s Contact Information

Website: arringtoncoaching.com/   

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/dmackarrington

LinkedIn:  linkedin.com/in/dmackarrington

Book:  https://arringtoncoaching.com/promotable-book/

On this episode, I have a conversation with Jack Chen, the CEO and Co-Founder of SWIDIA (a performance marketing partner for high-growth companies and venture-funded startup). Jack worked for 10+ years in the content and influencer space before co-founding SWIDIA.

Jack and team are changing the way brands are thinking about growth marketing.

They take a four-pronged approach to growth: Strategy, Media Planning, Conversion Centric Creative and Analytics. The results have been incredibly impressive. They are working with brands such as Cameo, Dude Wipes, Radish and many others.

Key 1st Time Founder Lessons: - The keys to really scale a company, you need to make sure that everything you're doing is trackable, measurable and scalable. - How complimentary skills between the co-founders (Creative & Analytics) was the right combination for SWIDIA. - Don’t copy someone else’s story, create your own. - The difference between performance marketing and traditional agency marketing and how to incorporate into your growing business. - How 1st Time Founders should be thinking about performance marketing in their growth plans. - How to successfully work with operating partners to assist with growth and the key questions to ask.

On this episode, I have a conversation with Ethan Beute.  He’s the Chief Evangelist at BombBomb, an innovative and high growth software company.  Ethan is also the Host of the very popular The Customer Experience Podcast, and co-author of Rehumanize Your Business, which is a hands-on guide to adding simple videos into your communication mix in order to build trust, save time, and truly connect with people. 

On this episode:

The powerful psychology behind why video flat out works to grow any business.

How to use video to communicate more clearly, connect with people more effectively and get higher conversions.

Video messages are highly valuable and simple to do and why this is a competitive advantage

Why ALL companies need a Chief Evangelist leading the charges.

Bonus, that we don’t discuss in the episode, Ethan has a great post/mini-white paper on how first-time authors can write a book.  It is a can’t miss resource on his web page.

Also be sure to check out BombBomb's podcast as well here.

On this episode, we welcome Govind Balu, Founder and CEO of QuXigma. Govind has over 3 decades of experience in the data and analytics space. He was the lead data scientist at companies such as Bank of America and Allstate prior to starting his own company.

His mission is to make data and analytics accessible to all companies and help them prioritize on value and customer experience. We discuss not only the why but more importantly how companies of any size, but especially startups can and should be leveraging data, analytics and ultimately machine learning.

#LessonsInGrowth:

• Data in itself, is not valuable; it is converting the data into information that allows the business to make better decisions.
• Two keys for startups- build a data foundation to collect and consolidate all of your data and start converting your data into information
• 3 key areas of positive impact- targeting the right prospects, sales conversion rates, up-sell/cross-sell and customer retention.
• The “barriers to entry” for startups to use data and analytics have mostly been eliminated.
• Using data and analytics to measure and analyze customer experience.

Website: https://www.quaxigma.com/

This is the second installment of our new weekly series: Lessons in Growth.

Each week, Brett will share thoughts and perspective on a single topic. This could be something top of mind, in the news or questions I receive from my customers or audience. Feel free to shoot me a note if there is a topic you want me to cover.

In today’s episode, I share my perspective on the top 5 reasons startups successfully scale. 

I hope you continue to enjoy the new segment.  We will still have the longer form interviews every Tuesday. 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bretttrainor

www.BrettTrainor.com

On this episode, we welcome Brandon Mateika, the Founder and CEO of Sales and Marketing Inc. a growth agency dedicated to taking the confusion out of sales and marketing.  This is Brandon’s second visit to the show. In episode 2, Brandon and I discussed the importance and the foundational need of product/market fit. If you haven’t listened to it yet, do yourself a favor and go back and listen.  It is still one of our most referred to episodes.  

Today, Brandon and I go deep on the what, why and how of competitive analysis.  This is a must listen if your business growth is stalled or you are in the early stage of starting your business.  Brandon shares in detail how to perform your own analysis and the eye-opening results you will experience.  

Key #LessonsInGrowth:

• Competitive analysis will drive your messaging, positioning and in many cases your offerings.
• Identifies the 13 key variables you need to measure against customer importance and competitive strength and how to use this as a differentiator
• How this 3-4 hour time investment can get your business unstuck and positioned for high growth.

Website:  https://www.salesandmarketingus.com/

If you are a regular listener to the show, you know that I usually have discussions with guests.

This is the first in a new weekly series where I do a deeper dive into a single topic.  This could be something top of mind, in the news or questions I get from my customers or audience. Feel free to shoot me a note if there is a topic you want me to cover.

In today’s episode, I take deeper dive on the power and the potential competitive advantage that data and analytics can provide a startup.

I hope you enjoy the new segment.  We will still have the longer form interviews every Tuesday. 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bretttrainor

www.BrettTrainor.com

On this episode, we welcome Sue Tyrrell and Kala Liebe to the program.  Sue is the founder and CEO and Kala is the Chief Experience Officer for a company called Hands Up Communications. 

Hands Up is a single point of contact for language access needs. They offer offer a mixture of interpreting, translating, and captioning solutions. 

Their story is an interesting one. Sue started the company, merger with a company in 2015 then took the company back and partnered with Kala to build what is now known as Hands Up Communication.  It is a cautionary tale about failed partnerships and ultimately having the right complementary management team.    Key #LessonsInGrowth:

• Why the keys to success are having a very solid executive team
• The pros and cons of strategic partnerships (and mergers) and what to look for
• Why dissolving the merger was a better path to growth for Hands Up
• How a complimentary skill set allowed Hands Up to flourish
• Warning signs that a potential partnership may not be right for your business

On this episode, we welcome Tim Caito. Tim is a Senior Partner at ForceManagement.  He combines more than 30 years of sales, management, professional development and business consulting experience to help selling and buying organizations, challenged by dramatic shifts in market conditions, win better deals and improve critical seller-buyer relationships.  He helps companies define and articulate their unique differentiators and value drivers. 

Key #LessonsInGrowth:

• Messaging must come from the perspective of your customer not your company
• Understanding the Zero Moment of Truth for your customers
• Why you MUST be an expert on your customer problems
• How to avoid the common disconnect between sales and marketing
• If technology or pricing is your differentiator you are on a race to the bottom
• These are only scratching the surface of what we discuss.