Today, Meridith talks with sales guru Carson Heady.

They discuss how he accidentally got into sales. They also talk about why sales has a reputation for being such a challenging profession., the importance of investing time in training people, and having good processes in place.

Meridith and Carson also discuss burnout, having ruthless discipline around your schedule, and how Carson constructs his list of non-negotiables daily.

Carson tells Meridith his thoughts on the importance of building relationships, supporting others, and the power of networking to build those relationships.

They also discuss the pressure of sales, and Carson tells Meridith the two things you need to be concrete about when looking for your next job.

Finally, hear about Carson's new book Salesman on Fire, and where you can get a copy.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonvheady/

https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/

Today, Meridith talks with Lori Richardson of Score More Sales. Lori founded Score More Sales in 2002 to help companies grow revenues through strategic sales efforts, using lessons learned from 20 years in B2B sales and leadership roles.

Lori tells Meridith how her grandmother, who ran multiple clothing apparel stores, inspired her and how she ultimately got into sales.

They discuss what prompted Lori to start researching why there weren't more women in sales and what working in a male-dominated industry is like.

They go into the differences in selling between men and women and learning how to find your way as a woman in a male-dominated profession.

Lori talks about her group Women Sales Pros. She tells Meridith how the members help each other and how the group encourages business owners to change their hiring processes.

They also discuss the work to get more women to speak on the main stage at business conferences.

Lor tells Meridith about her new book, She Sells, and why she wrote it as a guide for more managers to hire more women.

Finally, Lori gives Meridith tips from the book and tells her what she thinks are the biggest mistakes companies are making right now.

https://www.scoremoresales.com/

https://womensalespros.com/shesells/

https://womensalespros.com/

Today Meridith is joined by sales expert Matthew Pollard. Matthew is the author of The Introverts Edge and his new book The Introverts Edge to Networking.

Matthew started his sales journey by searching YouTube for sales system videos to improve his selling technique. Through watching as many videos as he could, he found a system that made sense to him, implemented it, and his sales career took off. 

Meridith and Matthew discuss the best sales technique, whether introvert or extrovert, which is finding ONE sales system that works for you and implementing it. Matthew believes that people who apply a methodical system are the most successful. Find out why he thinks introverts also make the best salespeople.

They go into the importance of consistency, the importance of doing the research before you jump on a sales call, and how storytelling builds rapport and can work quickly to clinch the sale.

Matthew tells Meridith why networking and storytelling are critical. A story designed to entertain, engage, and share emotion creates rapport easily and makes the customer see themselves in your story and you as the logical choice to work with them.

Finally, Matthew answers some listener questions.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpollardspeaker/

https://matthewpollard.com/start-here

https://matthewpollard.com/theintrovertsedge/networking

https://matthewpollard.com/theintrovertsedge/book

Today Meridith talks with The Sales Evangelist Donald C. Kelly. As The Chief Sales Evangelist for The Sales Evangelist, Donald oversees business development strategies for small to mid-size organizations. He conducts workshops, and keynote presentations, designs sales processes, offers sales team training, and coaches sales, individuals, and executives. In addition, Donald is the host of The Sales Evangelist podcast, which is heard in over 155 countries. 

Meridith and Donald talk about how he grew up in Jamaica and thought he was being a businessman, not selling. He tells Meridith the inspiration for his podcast name, how he became known as The Sales Evangelist, and why he loves spreading his message so enthusiastically. 

They discuss the misconception people have about sales and how to get past that notion to let people know you have a solution to a problem they have. You are also there to educate and give people enough knowledge to buy from you.

Donald tells Meridith he thinks if you have a valuable solution to a problem, it is your moral obligation to offer assistance and educate people about it.

Meridith and Donald go into showing your enthusiasm for your product or service, and getting them to experience your product is the best way to reach your audience.

They also discuss the importance of talking to your clients and getting testimonials about why they love your product or service. They will tell you everything you need to be able to sell your product more efficiently.

Finally, hear Donald's analogy on the Boy Scouts' tin foil dinner and see how that translates to the business world.

https://thesalesevangelist.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldckelly/

https://www.instagram.com/donaldckelly/

Today Meridith talks with the founder of A1 Garage Doors, Tommy Mello. 

Meridith and Tommy talk about how he went from $50,000 in debt to building a $100 + million company.

They discuss his struggles and how he discovered the key to business success: following KPIs, SOPs, and checklists and having a great team.

They dive into really understanding your numbers, what you should track and what you focus on.

They get into what Tommy looks for when he hires employees and how he retains them. It's NOT just about the money. Hear how he loves to invest in his employees.

Tommy also talks about why he thinks the CFO is the most important person in the company.

They also discuss the four KPIs that can run any business and the three ways to make money.

Tommy tells Meridith about his new book Elevate: Build a Business Where Everybody Wins and when and where you can get a copy.

Finally, Meridith and Tommy dig into why 2023 could be the year of the biggest opportunity, even in this economy.

https://homeserviceexpert.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommymello/

https://book.elevateandwin.com/order1665131650563

This week Meridith talks with Dee C. Marshall about talent, diversity, and engagement.

Dee is the CEO at Diverse & Engaged, where she speaks three languages, leadership development, workplace culture, and diversity. Her corporate clients retain her when they have a challenge, attracting engaging or retaining diverse workplace culture. Dee is also the co-host of the Brown Table Talk Podcast and serves on several committees.

Meridith and Dee talk about ESG, Environmental and Social Governance, and how that relates to being a responsible leader and what that has to do with talent in the workplace. They also discuss how Dee helps leaders solve problems by attracting diverse talent to an organization.

They delve into the changing demographic of the workplace now, why it is critical to focus on diverse talent now more than ever, and what spurred the tipping point of the diversity shift.

Dee tells Meridith why inclusive leadership is so important and how she works with clients to understand cultural competence, lead people through a cultural lens, and understand diverse dimensions in the workplace.

They discuss how to be a leader who supports cultural diversity while living in a location with little diversity. 

Finally, Dee gives two pieces of advice to business owners struggling with turning uncertainty into competitive advantage.

https://www.diverseandengaged.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deecmarshall/

Today Meridith welcomes workforce thought leader Cara Silletto to talk about talent engagement, acquisition, and employee retention.

Cara is an expert at figuring out why people are leaving and, more importantly, how to keep them longer. She is focused on bridging generational gaps and reducing turnover. She talks about everything from proper onboarding and that new hire experience to bridging generational gaps, making managers more effective in their roles. Cara also includes compensation in the conversation and talks about the general culture. 

Cara and Meridith discuss the importance of proper onboarding in the workplace and how to attract, recruit and keep employees. They also talk about creating an environment where people want to work. They dive into the outdated mindset of some employers when it comes to hiring as opposed to the larger demographic of people who want a workplace where they can be valued and heard. Meridith and Cara cover the Great Resignation and why Cara thinks this has been in the works for years leading up to Covid.

They also discuss the fallacy that nobody wants to work and the many factors that contribute to the abundance of jobs available, including the near-zero legal workforce immigration in 2020 and 2021 and how this impacts the labor-focused positions across the country. They talk about employee retention and the importance of a proper recruiting function, including better onboarding, new hire experience, a cross-training plan, career development, and having great managers. Finally, Cara tells Meridith what she thinks are the most prominent mistakes organizations make regarding talent.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carasilletto/

https://www.magnetculture.com/

Joining Meridith today is Bill Treasurer, owner, and founder of Giant Leap Consulting for over 20 years. Giant Leap Consulting is a courage-building company that helps people in organizations drive out fear to get superior performance and be more courageous in their interactions with one another. Before that, Bill worked with Accenture, one of the world's largest management and technology consulting companies. He was their first full-time internal executive coach and was coaching leaders who outranked him and had more leadership experience.

Meridith and Bill discuss leadership challenges in a post-Covid, hybrid work environment. They also talk about the most critical aspect of being a leader. 

Bill tells Meridith about his new book "Leadership Two Words at a Time" and how narrowing down problems into two words to resolve an issue can be beneficial and make taking action inevitable. They cover the importance of the book's three sections: Leading Yourself, Leading People, and Leading the Work. Hear which one Bill thinks is the most crucial to be a great leader.

Bill talks about the inspiration from one of his earlier books, Leaders Open Doors, and the brilliance in its simplicity. Finally, bill shares his best advice for setting your 2023 goals with Meridith.

https://www.giantleapconsulting.com/

[email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/courage/

Meridith's guest today is communications specialist Stacey Hanke. Stacey is the author of the book; Influence Redefined…Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday® and founder of Stacey Hanke Inc. She has trained and presented to thousands to rid business leaders of bad body language habits and to choose words wisely in the financial industry, healthcare industry, government, and everyone in between. Her client list includes FedEx, McDonald's, Google, Kraft Heinz, Nationwide, Boeing, Discover, and Oracle. In addition to her client list, she has been the Emcee for Tedx.

Stacey tells Meridith what communicating with influence is and why it is so important, not only in the business world but in life. Communication is the core of everything we do. They discuss why it is critical to record yourself to find out how you come across verbally and non-verbally and why you need to understand your communication style's impact through your listeners' eyes and ears.

You'll want to hear Stacey's three steps to communicating with influence. They also cover the importance of responsiveness. Finally, Stacey tells Meridith why she strongly believes in continued personal and professional development.

https://staceyhankeinc.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceyhanke/

https://twitter.com/StaceyHankeInc

https://www.facebook.com/StaceyHankeInc?ref=hl

https://www.youtube.com/staceyhanke

Influence Redefined...Be the Leader You Were Meant To Be, Monday to Monday; https://staceyhankeinc.com/book/

Ranked by Global Gurus in the TOP 30 SALES TRAINERS, Joe Pici is a strategist for top sales professionals and a coach specializing in results-driven sales training through Rapport Mastery™. Since 1992 he has functioned as a catalyst for sales teams and individuals, helping them sharpen their skills for creating appointments and closing sales through his live phone call workshops. Rapport Mastery™ sales training, a methodology exclusive to Pici & Pici Inc., is a powerful skill builder which is straightforward to apply.

COO and co-founder of Pici & Pici Inc., Joe is also co-author and intellectual resource behind the books Sell Naked on the Phone and Sell Naked in Person. In addition, Joe has expanded his knowledge and coaching expertise into a comprehensive, turnkey system for success in sales. 

Today, Meridith talks with consultative, outbound sales expert Joe Pici. Joe and his wife, Dawn, specialize in helping people generate leads and master live, outbound telephone calls to book quality appointments.

Meridith and Joe discuss the biggest challenges in sales right now. Joe tells Meridith why he thinks having a sales process is the most critical aspect of sales. A good process will work in any economy. 

They cover the most essential parts of the sales process, from how many ways to generate prospect leads to follow-up, proposals, and closing the sale.

Joe talks about the importance of the sales leader's role in training a good salesperson.

Find out what sales mean to Joe and why it's not about closing the deal. They also discuss the difference between consultative and transactional sales and why sales get a bad rap.

Hear about Joe's love of outbound, live calls, and the art of scripting.

Text the word "salesedge" to 55678 for a link to Joe's free 20-minute masterclass webinar, "The 9 Essentials of Sales Success."

Call 407-947-2590 for a complimentary cup of Joe

https://www.piciandpici.com/

https://www.sellmorevirtually.com/