Dare To Differentiate

Stewart Gandolf built a hugely successful digital marketing agency for healthcare companies using SEO and PPC ads. His company is currently planning for a pivot, so Stewart takes some time to reflect with Susan on how he would build a digital marketing agency today now that he’s reached the buyout stage.

Lead generation is just a small part of the work agency owners need to do to produce steady, lasting business growth. In today’s conversation, Susan and Joe Pope discuss how marketing agencies can build their own marketing pipelines designed with long-term growth in mind.

More companies are out there creating more content, but instead of informing consumers, it’s simply overwhelming them. Mike Sweeney shares 5 content-driven marketing strategies  that will help companies cut through the noise and reclaim their customers’ attention.  

The jump from $1 million to $5 million in revenue isn’t simply a case of luck or hard work. Set aside the idea that you simply need to hustle harder, and listen to business advisor Brad Farris as he shares his strategic plan for how agency owners can  move into the next phase of their business.

For more traditional industries like manufacturing that have traditionally relied on trade shows or face-to-face conversations, moving to digital marketing was always a low priority, says Jeff White. But the COVID-19 pandemic created a huge shift in the marketing space, and B2B businesses have had to follow suit.

Marketing agencies, consulting firms, subject matter experts are all in the business of providing ideas. In this episode, Susan Tatum talks with Patrick Dodge, CEO at Creative Marketing, about how to help clients, partners and prospects through chaotic times with creative, actionable ideas to solve big challenges.

Corporations are destined to fail when they lose their ability to change, says author Joseph Jaffe in his 2018 book, Built to Suck. And 2020 is proving him right. In this episode, Susan Tatum picks Joseph’s brain on business survival, growth, the entrepreneurial advantage and how to be ready to move fast as the economy opens up - or doesn’t.

For all the terrible challenges business owners face in 2020, there is actually some good. If we approach this right, many firms will not simply survive but will come out stronger because of it. In this episode Susan Tatum talks with Ben Lack, CEO of Interrupt Media, about the opportunities to focus, to become essential to our clients and to strengthen the bond with those we love.

Much of human behavior remains the same because so many things that drive our behavior are innate and hard wired. But context changes things enormously - even beyond recognition. Whether caused by a pandemic or the growing influence of AI in our lives, buyers are looking at their choices through a different lens. In this episode, Susan Tatum interviews Matthew Willcox, author and founder of behavioral insights consultancy, The Business of Choice, to learn more about what has changed and what has stayed the same.

There are so many insights that we could get from understanding how behaviors, as hard-wired in our DNAs, tend to dictate how we react in different situations. Chairman and CEO of DNA Behavior, Hugh Massie, sheds light on the truth about this and how it is so. Covering our financial decisions in the way we handle pressure and emotions, he points to the unknown behaviors we took on from when we were born that seem to derail our performance. Hugh puts that in the context of how we manage money, build businesses, develop relationships with clients, and lead better. Take a deep dive into this interesting topic and use the behavioral insights and wisdom to take control and empower yourself even more.

Just as there’s always a reason for everything that’s happening, there’s also a process for everything that we do. In business, the effectiveness and efficiency of a process can mean the difference between a six-digit company and a seven-digit company. The Founder of Processology, Michael Wilson, joins Susan Tatum to explain the impact and importance of being able to untangle your process in the correct places. Michael discusses the critical role of making a predictable process in scaling and maintaining a smooth operation. He also goes back to the basics, which is communication and talks about why and how it’s still a big factor even with today’s technology-driven environment.

If you believe that live videos can help yup our business game, scale your business, and create a wider network, then this episode will inspire you. Susan Tatum sits down with Nicole Sanchez, the Founder of Digital Rockstar, to talk about the advantages of going live to build greater relationships. Building trust by letting customers see “behind the curtains,” providing answers to customer questions in real time, and authentic, two-way interaction are some of its many returns. Nicole also shares advice for planning and practice along with understanding the things that may stop you from going live. What are you waiting for? Learn from Nicole on how to be more confident with your live videos and be an inspiration to many.

Business networking groups can be a huge boon to you and your business if you fall in with the right crowd and learn to communicate the way you need to. Otherwise, these groups can just end up being a waste of your time because they won't lead you where you need to go. The Founder of Collaberex, Jonathan Rosen, gets into what you need to look out for in business networking groups that you're looking to join. Getting into and participating in these groups can take a huge amount of effort, so make sure you're channeling your effort somewhere worthwhile. Join Susan Tatum, Mindi Rosser, and Jonathan in this episode to learn how to look for business networking groups that can and will suit your needs.

In this episode Susan Tatum sits down with Lee Eisenstaedt, Founder of Leading with Courage Academy to discuss Leadership Development and it's impact on Differentiation Discussion revolves around: 1. Developing a culture of leadership development 2. Nurturing Self-Awareness; seeing your strengths and your weaknesses 3. Asking the most important questions: How am I doing? What can I do better? Listen to this episode and more like it by subscribing to Dare to Differentiate here!

In this episode Susan Tatum sits down with Robert Grossman, Managing Partner at Black Diamond Leadership to discuss High Performance Leadership. Topics discussed include: 1. Building a more collaborative and empowered work environment 2. Transitioning Millenials into the new work environment model 3. Using High Performance Leadership to create an environment where workers can thrive and feel that they understand the organizational goals. To listen to this and other episodes subscribe here!

In this episode Susan Tatum sits down with Josh Sweeney, CEO & Founder of EpicCulture to discuss Company Culture and its impact on organization success! Josh discusses: 1. Culture's financial impact on the organization and the importance of measuring it 2. Competing for talent with a strong company and work environment 3. Managing risk involved with the shortage of talent in today's market To hear more great episodes of Dare to Differentiate subscribe here!

Susan Tatum sits down with Eric Michrowski, CEO at Propulo Consulting to discuss his ideas around differentiation. Eric's goal has always been differentiation by finding your specific niche and staking your claim.  This allows you to craft a very specific strategy you want to focus on. Focusing on people and work design through process transformation.

In this episode Susan Tatum sits down with Adam Landrum CEO at Up&Up Agency.  Adam's company works with Colleges and Universities helping them develop their brand to attract more of the right kind of students that are a fit. Adam discusses how being authentic to who you are helps to differentiate your brand and attract the right kind of customers.  The goal is to help clients become the best version of who they already are!  

In this episode Susan Tatum sits down with Jim Hohl and Lucas Garvin, Co-Founders and Co-CEO's of The Thought Leaders Institute. Jim and Lucas discuss their efforts at differentiation by utilizing the concept of addition by subtraction in carefully creating your ideal client persona and defining a very clear description of the exact kind of person you want to work with. They discuss crafting your niche, writing effective copy and clearly systematizing your business for effective results and scale.

Differentiation can take on many forms and exclusivity in an industry or market can be a powerful differentiator.   In this episode Susan Tatum sits down with Jason Bland, Co-Founder of Custom Legal Marketing.  Jason talks about how using exclusivity helps his organization provide a deeper focus to clients and build a stronger marketing plan.

In this episode Susan Tatum sits down with Craig Hall, Founder of Marketing Wiz to discuss differentiation in the Wealth Management Space. Craig shares his expertise and discusses the role of automation in branding a business, focusing through positioning, and a narrow targeting which leads to a more human interaction with your clients.

Technology is wonderful! But has it caused us to become too user focused? In this episode Susan Tatum sits down with Dario Priolo, Founder and President of JK Research to discuss building your differentiation strategy through buyer focused marketing content. Dario talks about how relevance is the key to gaining client trust and how the proliferation of ineffective marketing content is a result of technology driving marketing rather than customer interaction driving it.

Susan Tatum visits with James Robert Lay, CEO of Digital Growth Institute to discuss growth in the digital space through diagnosis of your key specialization and focus factors. Many businesses get caught in the trap of the "operating mode of doing" without the realization that this spirals them into a very dangerous place. James talks about how a business that wants to build deep level expertise must develop a specialization and focus on a niche as their only path forward in a heavily commoditized world.

Susan Tatum welcomes Ethan Beute, VP of Marketing at BombBomb and author of the book "Rehumanize your Business" to discuss the use of personalized videos to market your services. In today's technological world the same old text based emails with the same old formats get lost in the clutter of message overload.  Personalized videos which engage with your customer or prospect in a human way lower the barriers and help you powerfully connect and  build a relationships.  Listen to Ethan and how he is differentiating in a new and untapped fashion.    

Susan Tatum visits with Henry Kaminski, the Brand Doctor.  Henry is a Brand Strategist That Ties Mindset, Strategy and Design All Together To Help Entrepreneurs Save time and money and Win More Business.

Curt Anderson is an eCommerce Consultant working relentlessly to help US manufacturers execute eCommerce strategies. In this episode, Susan sits down with Curt to discuss: 1. Finding your passion and applying it to your strengths and core business 2. Seeking out what the market needs rather than what they want 3. Developing strategies in an eCommerce world that engage consumers and end users with proprietary products 4. Avoiding "Sacred Cowitis"...this is how we have always done it and we are not going to change"

Today's guest is Shawn Freeman, Founder & CEO of TWT Group, Inc. Shawn is growth-minded, understands what it takes to grow a successful business and delivers tremendous results for his clients. Many people can talk the talk, but Shawn does it both. TWT. Want to know what the letters mean? Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Not really, it’s Trust. Wisdom. Technology. Why on Earth would an IT company put technology last? Because we understand that people, relationships and sharing knowledge are all more important parts of our job than the technology itself.

"When you come off as caring and confident, people intrinsically know that you know what you are talking about and that you care"  So says Mike Saunders, The Authority Position Coach.  Mike has taken the concept of content marketing to the next level by stressing Authority Positioning in developing your brand. In this podcast Mike will discuss the development of a strong personal brand through authority positioning.  He will lay out the need for authority positioning assets that will distinguish you from your competitors. Companies need a proven marketing plan to increase revenues. In order to do that, they need higher returns on every marketing dollar they spend resulting in more clients, more profit and more impact!

In this episode Susan talks with Greg Linnemanstons, President of the Weidert Group, about his focus on marketing for complex B2B industries. Greg shares: How the decision to focus has made his firm more relevant and valuable to his clients, to the point where he now regularly turns away business. He stresses the benefits of specialization to all of his clients. How to build confidence in the direction your business is going As Greg says, “it's a lot easier to focus when you a deep authentic confidence in the direction that you're going and you can't have that until you've proved it”

In this episode we join Serenity Thompson, Managing Partner of A23 Advisors, a boutique consulting firm serving travel tech, hospitality, adtech, fintech and ecommerce companies. Serenity shares her unique viewpoint on using controversy to differentiate, including: Why many companies shy away from controversy even when they shouldn’t. When and where to use controversy. How to turn a controversial stance into a conversation

In this episode we join Dave Orecchio, founder & CEO of inbound sales and marketing agency, Bristol Strategy to talk about how to structure an inbound marketing program to attract only ideal clients into your funnel. Dave shares his experience with inbound, including: Why conventional prospecting tactics don’t work anymore. Matching your website workflow to the buyer’s journey for information. How to increase the number of qualified visitors while decreasing the number of irrelevant visitors filling out your forms.

In this episode we join Anna Goldsmith, Partner & Copywriter at The Hired Pens, to talk about standing out in a crowded market. Anna shares how business model decisions have made her company: a stronger partner for their clients able to hire more skilled talent Plus how to use copywriting to differentiate from competitors. As Anna says, “the more you can target, the more business you'll get because you'll find your people and you know how to talk to them”.  

In this episode we join Lawson Abinanti, founder of Messages That Matter, author and expert on the topic of positioning. Lawson shares his viewpoint on positioning, including: The difference between positioning and brand. Why it’s critical that your positioning is unique. What to do if your best position is already taken. How differentiation affects the sales cycle. MarketingProfs: Improve Your Marketing Communications with Insights from NeuroMarketing

Dare to Differentiate is a podcast for business owners in crowded industries who want to learn how to rise above the noise. The world is a busy place, filled with companies trying to stand out, only to end up producing nothing but noise, leaving buyers scratching their heads, trying to make sense of it all, or worse—actively ignoring you. That’s where Dare to Differentiate comes in. It’s a show all about learning how to take your business to the next level not through gimmicks or tactics, but by simply rising above the noise. By differentiating yourself from the rest of the crowd. By focusing not on doing everything for everybody, but on doing a few things—for the right people—with excellence. In this inaugural episode host Susan Tatum discusses her business philosophy, background and goals for the show So if you’re ready to leave the herd, then you’ve come to the right place.