Podcasts about hitwise

The Contrarians in front of a live audience at Fortress Melbourne discuss Qantas' acquisition of TripADeal and Ben Gray PE Genius, Adrian Giles incredible Hitwise exit and building Fortress and the guys look deep into The Reject Shop.

Summary: We explored the dynamic intersection of StratOps and marketing operations, emphasizing the fusion of traditional marketing foundations with evolving tech trends for effective strategy formulation. Darrell emphasizes balancing technical skills with strategic acumen for career progression in marketing, and the need for diverse career paths beyond managerial roles. We also touched upon the transformative impact of no-code tools and the ever-changing martech landscape, highlighting the importance of a product management approach in martech stack management and the value of experienced professionals in tackling technical debt. We finish with insights on effective knowledge management, internal communication strategies, and the need for harmonizing front-end and back-end functions in martech operations to align with overarching company goals.What's up everyone, today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Darrell Alfonso, Director of Marketing Strategy and Operations at Indeed.com. About DarrellDarrell began his career at Trumpia wearing multiple hats and later joined Leaf Group to lead a team focused on demand generation and marketing automationHe then took on the role of Director of Global Marketing at Hitwise, a data enrichment startup and later served as Director of Communications at the American Marketing Association, focusing on educational contentHe then ventured into the enterprise world into the esteemed role of Global Marketing Operations Lead at Amazon Web Services, the widely adopted cloud data platformDarrell's also a Course Instructor at MarTech Alliance for a brand new 8 week course on all things Marketing OperationsHe's the author of the Martech Handbook, covering effective use and scaling of martech with case studies and expert insightsAnd most recently he's moved over to Indeed.com as their Director of Marketing Strategy and OperationsDarrell, thanks so much for your time today. I feel like this is a long time in the making, we probably should've had you on years ago, truly appreciate all the love you've given us.Reinventing Marketing Operations with Strategic PlanningDarrell was a keynote speaker at MOps-Apalooza a few months ago and walked the audience through his refreshed pillars of MOPs success. He dived into the transformative approach he has developed for marketing operations, focusing on strategic operations (StratOps). This concept represents a significant shift from the traditional technology-centric model to a more holistic, strategy-focused framework. Darrell's initiative, developed in collaboration with industry leaders like Mike Rizzo, aims to realign marketing operations with broader business objectives.Historically, marketing operations has been synonymous with budget planning and organizational design. However, in recent years, the focus has expanded to include technology management. Darrell emphasizes that these behind the scenes components, though seemingly abstract, play a crucial role in a marketing team's functionality. The new framework he proposes integrates traditional aspects of marketing operations with the evolving demands of martech, signaling a union of past practices and current trends.Darrell's new pillars of MOPs success:Technology management (platform ops, engineering)StratOps (budget, planning)Enablement and PMO (PM, process design, adoption)BI + Insights (reporting, analytics)Darrell's personal involvement in the development and oversight of StratOps within his team highlights the practical application of these concepts. The transition to strat ops involves answering complex questions that impact a marketing team's operations, such as deciding between centralized or decentralized structures, optimizing the use of technology stacks, and involving legal teams in campaign management. These critical questions, previously scattered across various departments, are now being centralized under the strat ops function, demanding a more cohesive and strategic approach.Key takeaway: Emphasizing StratOps within marketing operations leads to a more cohesive and comprehensive strategy. This approach effectively combines traditional marketing foundations, such as budgeting and planning, with the continuously evolving trends in technology. By integrating these elements, marketing teams can craft strategies that are both grounded in proven methods and agile enough to adapt to new tech advancements. This balance ensures that marketing initiatives are not only technologically advanced but also strategically sound, maximizing the impact and efficiency of marketing efforts in a dynamic business environment.Balancing Technical Skills and Strategy in Marketing OpsDarrell shares his insights on the balance between platform knowledge and strategic skills. This topic is particularly relevant in the martech field, where professionals often grapple with the decision of prioritizing technical skills or broader strategic understanding. Darrell's perspective, shaped by his experience and industry polls, offers valuable guidance for marketing professionals at different stages of their careers.In the early stages of a marketing career, Darrell advises focusing on in-demand technical skills. His reasoning is based on job security, a crucial factor in today's dynamic job market. Mastering technical aspects like platform knowledge can provide a solid foundation and open up various opportunities. Darrell reflects on his career journey, noting that such skills have been a significant factor in the professional growth of many, including himself.However, as one's career progresses and reaches a subject matter expert level, Darrell suggests a shift in focus. He recommends dedicating more time to developing strategic skills while maintaining technical expertise. This advice stems from his observation of the industry, where professionals often continue to emphasize technical skills, potentially limiting their career growth and impact. Switching the focus to strategy can lead to a surge in career progression and the ability to drive more significant results.Darrell's approach is not just theoretical but is backed by his surveys on LinkedIn. While the initial poll indicated that platform knowledge was most beneficial, the follow-up survey revealed that strategy is often viewed as the strongest skill set among marketing professionals. This discrepancy highlights a common aspiration among marketers to excel in strategy, even if their day-to-day work is more technical.Key takeaway: For marketing professionals, the path to career advancement involves a strategic shift in focus. Early in your career, prioritize developing in-demand technical skills for job security and growth. As you become a subject matter expert, transition your focus towards strategy, dedicating more effort to understanding and implementing broader business strategies. This balance between technical proficiency and strategic acumen is key to maximizing impact and progressing in the marketing operations field.Navigating Career Paths in Marketing OperationsDarrell explores the nuances of career development in marketing operations, focusing on the transferability of skills across different platforms and the unique journey of individual contributors. His insights provide a valuable perspective for professionals considering their career trajectory within the martech industry.Darrell points out that core technologies in various platforms, such as marketing automation tools and CRMs, share fundamental similarities, typically rooted in relational database concepts. This commonality makes it easier for professionals to transfer skills from one platform to another, despite differences in interface or workflow processes. This adaptability is crucial in an industry where technological landscapes are constantly shifting.However, Darrell emphasizes that career aspirations are highly personal and vary significantly from individual to individual. For some, career success might mean working remotely with flexible hours, while for others, it could involve leading large teams and driving substantial impacts. This diversity in career goals necessitates a more personalized approach to career planning and growth.Darrell also addresses the current trajectory of careers in marketing, particularly the emphasis on people management as a measure of success. He highlights a discrepancy in the industry, where individual contributors, unlike their counterparts in engineering or product management, often face limited growth paths if they prefer not to manage people. This one-dimensional view of career advancement, he argues, can lead to ineffective leadership and dissatisfaction among professionals who are better suited to individual contributor roles.Darrell advocates for a change in this perspective, proposing that the marketing industry should offer more diverse and respected pathways for individual contributors. This change would not only provide more fulfilling career options but also improve the overall quality of leadership within the industry.Key takeaway: Skill transferability across marketing platforms is relatively seamless due to underlying technological similarities, aiding career flexibility. However, the marketing industry needs to broaden its approach to career growth, especially for individual contributors who may not aspire to people management roles. Embracing diverse career paths that respect and reward individual expertise, separate from managerial responsibilities, can lead to more satisfied professionals and effective organizational leadership.The Role of No-Code Tools in Marketing OperationsDarrell shares his perspective on the evolving landscape of no-code tools in marketing, highlighting their strengths and limitations. His insights are particularly relevant for marketers grappling with the balance between using accessible tools and understanding the underlying technology.No-code tools have revolutionized the way marketers approach tasks like website building and email campaign management. These tools offer simplicity and efficiency, enabling users to create and deploy projects quickly. Darrell acknowledges the appeal of these tools, especially for those who may not have extensive coding knowledge. They democratize the creation process, making technology more accessible to a broader range of professionals.However, Darrell emphasizes that despite the advancements in no-code technologies, the need for fundamental coding knowledge hasn't diminished. Understanding HTML, CSS, and JavaScript remains crucial, especially when it comes to customization and troubleshooting. He notes that while no-code tools are prevalent in tech and SaaS industries, this isn't necessarily the case in the broader global business landscape. Many companies still rely on traditional technologies, with a significant portion not fully embracing cloud technologies or advanced no-code platforms.Darrell also points out that while no-code tools can accelerate initial results and simplify certain processes, they often fall short when scaling up or needing significant customization. In such cases, engineering and development expertise becomes necessary to address complex challenges, maintain systems, and personalize experiences. The current capabilities of no-code and low-code platforms may not yet match the demands of larger scale, brand-specific, or highly personalized marketing operations.Key takeaway: No-code tools offer significant benefits in marketing operations, providing ease of use and speed in project deployment. However, a deep understanding of underlying technologies remains essential, especially for customization and scaling up projects. As the industry evolves, balancing the convenience of no-code solutions with technical expertise will be crucial for marketers to effectively manage and optimize their operations.The Future of the Martech StackDarrell shares his vision for the future of martech tools, delving into how the industry's ecosystem might evolve. His insights provide a glimpse into the dynamic nature of marketing technology and its potential trajectory in the coming years.Darrell anticipates that while the number of tools in a marketer's arsenal might remain constant, the composition and capabilities of these tools will likely change. He posits that the martech industry is cyclical, with larger companies often acquiring smaller, innovative point solutions to expand their market share. This acquisition strategy is driven by the desire to capture a larger share of the enterprise wallet, a sector where most of the financial opportunities lie.However, Darrell notes that maintaining a broad range of capabilities for a diverse customer base can be resource-intensive and may stifle innovation. Innovation, he suggests, typically originates from smaller startups that have fewer constraints and are more willing to take risks. These startups introduce new ideas and technologies, which are then absorbed into larger companies' portfolios, perpetuating the cycle of consolidation and innovation.Looking ahead, Darrell highlights data warehouse native technologies as a key area to watch. He has observed how these technologies enable marketers to get closer to data and create better customer experiences. While hesitant to predict that the entire future martech stack will be data warehouse native, he acknowledges the impressive capabilities these technologies bring and is enthusiastic about their potential to shape the future of marketing.Key takeaway: The martech landscape is expected to remain dynamic, with a consistent number of tools but evolving capabilities and composition. The cyclical nature of innovation and consolidation will drive these changes, with smaller startups pioneering new technologies that larger companies eventually integrate. Data warehouse native technologies are emerging as a significant trend, offering marketers enhanced capabilities and closer data interaction, indicating a promising direction for the future of martech tools.Revolutionizing Martech Management with Product ThinkingDarrell delves into the concept of managing martech stacks with a product management mindset, a transformative approach gaining traction among marketing operations teams. His explanation provides a roadmap for how marketing teams can adopt strategic product management principles to enhance their operations and decision-making processes.The idea of treating martech management like product management isn't entirely new, but it's gaining popularity due to its effectiveness. Darrell observed that many marketing ops teams independently adopted this approach, suggesting a natural evolution in the field. He theorizes that the close collaboration with product teams has led marketing professionals to adopt similar methodologies and frameworks.Strategic roadmapping, while it may sound complex, is essentially about creating a plan of action over a specific time frame. Darrell explains that adopting product management frameworks in marketing operations, particularly in decision-making and prioritization, can significantly improve efficiency and outcomes. He notes that humans are generally not great at prioritization, especially when multiple factors are involved. This challenge is where frameworks like weighted scoring and the RICE (Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort) model become invaluable.Darrell has adapted the RICE framework for marketing purposes, replacing 'Reach' with 'Marketers' and 'Impact' with 'Revenue.' This adaptation allows marketing teams to prioritize tasks more effectively, considering the impact on fellow marketers and revenue generation. He emphasizes the importance of long-term thinking in roadmapping, using the creation of reports as an example. By adopting a product-type mindset, marketing teams can move from creating ad-hoc, limited-use reports to developing universally accessible dashboards that provide greater value over time.Key takeaway: Adopting a product management approach to martech stack management can revolutionize how marketing teams operate. By implementing strategic roadmapping and prioritization frameworks like the adapted RICE model, marketing operations can become more efficient, focused, and impactful. This shift in mindset encourages long-term planning and decision-making, leading to more effective and comprehensive marketing solutions.Tackling Martech Technical Debt and Maintaining ContinuityDarrell addresses a critical concern in the martech industry: managing technical debt and ensuring continuity despite the inevitable turnover of skilled professionals. His insights shed light on the challenges and strategies for maintaining effective martech operations over time.The migration from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4, as Darrell notes, exemplifies the ongoing challenges in managing martech tools. A common issue in this realm is the abandonment of systems like Google Tag Manager when the responsible expert leaves the organization. This scenario often leads to significant technical debt, a burden that many companies struggle to manage.Darrell emphasizes the immense value of an experienced martech professional. The departure of such an individual can set a company back significantly, sometimes by months or even years. This impact highlights the importance of recognizing and retaining skilled martech staff. Darrell observes that successful companies often understand this and make efforts to maintain continuity in their martech teams.Technical debt, according to Darrell, usually arises from inexperience and short-term thinking. It represents the accumulated cost of past decisions that were not scalable or sufficiently integrated with other tools. Addressing this debt is challenging but not insurmountable. Darrell suggests that bringing in a highly skilled martech professional can be a solution. An expert with the right skills and experience can effectively prioritize tasks, match people to the right roles, and gradually alleviate the burden of technical debt.Key takeaway: Effective management of martech technical debt and continuity requires recognizing the value of experienced professionals in this field. Their departure can significantly impact an organization, underscoring the need for strategic hiring and retention practices. Tackling technical debt involves long-term thinking and prioritization skills, making seasoned martech professionals indispensable for navigating and optimizing a company's martech strategy.Enhancing Team Expertise and Prioritizing Documentation in MartechDarrell discusses the importance of knowledge sharing and documentation in martech, especially in dynamic environments like startups where turnover can be high. His insights emphasize the value of not just possessing knowledge but also disseminating it within a team.The loss of a key team member can be a significant setback for a company, especially if that individual held critical knowledge not shared or documented. This situation is as much a management issue as it is about the individual. Effective managers should encourage and prioritize documentation and knowledge transfer. This approach not only mitigates risks associated with turnover but also enhances the overall capability of the team.Documentation in startups is often deprioritized due to the fast-paced nature of these environments. However, its importance cannot be overstated, particularly in startups where frequent changes in staff are common. Creating robust processes and thorough documentation allows for smoother transitions when new team members join and helps address technical debt more efficiently.Darrell stresses the role of senior team members in developing the skills of their junior counterparts. This development is not just about technical skills but also strategic thinking. By elevating the expertise of the entire team, senior members can focus on higher-level challenges, such as innovation. Innovation, as per Darrell, should not solely rely on external vendors or martech tools. Instead, it should come from internal ideation and learning from various sources, including other industries and adopting frameworks from fields like product management.Key takeaway: Effective knowledge management and documentation are crucial in martech, particularly in fast-paced startup environments. Senior team members and managers should prioritize the development and documentation of processes, enabling the entire team to grow technically and strategically. This approach not only safeguards against the loss of key personnel but also frees up space for innovation and creative problem-solving, ensuring the team's resilience and adaptability.Mastering Internal Communication in Marketing OperationsDarrell shares his insights on the crucial role of internal communication in marketing operations, particularly as companies grow in size. His approach highlights the importance of ensuring that the impact and results of the marketing team's efforts are shared broadly and frequently within the organization.In smaller companies, the impact of marketing operations is often immediately apparent due to the close proximity of team members. However, as companies expand, this visibility diminishes. Darrell learned, especially during his time at AWS, that a significant portion of his role involved internal communication and alignment. In large enterprises, he notes, as much as 50% of time can be dedicated to this task. He emphasizes that effective communication is not just a necessity but also a skill to be honed, especially in large organizations.Practical ways to enhance internal communication include quarterly business reviews, bi-weekly newsletters, and maintaining an internal wiki. These tools serve multiple purposes: they keep team members aligned on projects and roadmaps, offer onboarding material and tutorials, and provide recorded versions of key meetings for reference. This comprehensive approach ensures that even new employees or those unfamiliar with the marketing ops team can quickly get up to speed without extensive one-on-one briefings.Darrell likens good internal communication to being an active player on a sports team. Just like a player calling for the ball signifies readiness to contribute to the game, effective communication within a company signals a team's preparedness and willingness to collaborate for shared success. This approach not only improves the efficiency of the team but also fosters a culture of openness and collaboration.Key takeaway: Effective internal communication is essential for marketing operations, especially in larger organizations. By implementing structured communication strategies like business reviews, newsletters, and internal wikis, marketing teams can ensure that their efforts and impacts are understood and appreciated across the company. This not only enhances team visibility but also fosters a collaborative environment where every team member is informed, engaged, and ready to contribute to the organization's success.Bridging Front-End and Back-End in Martech OperationsDarrell discusses the integration of front-end and back-end elements in martech, emphasizing the role of attribution tools as a bridge between these two functions. His insights offer guidance on aligning technological and team dynamics to enhance overall marketing operations.Attribution tools have become increasingly important in modern martech, serving as a crucial link between the analytical backend and the customer-facing front end. These tools allow for better demographic information and improved data integration into marketing automation platforms. The challenge, however, lies in effectively leveraging these tools to ensure seamless communication and value exchange between the different facets of a marketing team.Darrell advocates for a cascading OKR (Objectives and Key Results) goal-setting framework to guide the integration of technology within marketing teams. This approach ensures that the goals of the marketing operations team align with and support broader marketing and company objectives. If efforts within the marketing ops team aren't directly contributing to these overarching goals, it indicates a misalignment that needs addressing.Moreover, Darrell highlights the dual focus of marketing operations: serving both the marketers and the end customers. He rejects the notion of prioritizing one over the other, instead proposing a balanced approach where the needs and pain points of both marketers and customers are equally considered. This dual focus should be reflected in the roadmap and priorities of the marketing operations team, aiming to resolve challenges faced by both internal teams and external customers.Key takeaway: Successful martech operations require a harmonious integration of front-end and back-end functions, facilitated by tools like attribution software. Utilizing a cascading OKR framework ensures alignment with company-wide goals, while maintaining a dual focus on both marketers and customers enables the development of effective strategies and solutions. This balanced approach is key to maximizing the value and impact of martech initiatives, ensuring that both internal and external needs are adequately met.Finding Joy and Balance in a Multifaceted Marketing CareerDarrell shares his personal experience on maintaining happiness and balance in a diverse and demanding marketing career. His insights provide valuable lessons for professionals in any field, especially in the dynamic world of martech and marketing operations.Darrell attributes much of his career satisfaction to his genuine passion for the field. He recounts a memorable experience in Australia, where he had the opportunity to dine with Scott Brinker and Juan Mendoza, with the iconic Sydney Opera House as a backdrop. During this encounter, they discussed the very topic of balancing work with personal happiness. Darrell likened his professional activities to engaging in a hobby, comparing his enthusiasm for marketing operations to someone enjoying their favorite pastime. This perspective transforms work from a task into a source of enjoyment, akin to playing a video game or indulging in a hobby.This approach to work, seeing it as a hobby or a passion, allows Darrell to remain motivated and satisfied despite the various demands of his career. He recognizes that this mindset is not universal and acknowledges that others may not share the same level of enthusiasm or may not be in positions that allow such enjoyment. Darrell's experience with Scott and Juan reinforces the idea that finding joy in one's work can significantly contribute to overall career satisfaction and balance.Key takeaway: Passion and enjoyment in one's work are essential components for maintaining happiness and balance in a demanding career. Viewing professional activities as a hobby or a source of fun, as Darrell does, can transform the way one approaches work, leading to greater fulfillment and motivation. This mindset is particularly valuable in dynamic fields like marketing, where the blend of creativity, technology, and strategy offers endless opportunities for engagement and innovation. However, it's important to recognize that this approach may not be applicable to everyone, and acknowledging the need for change is crucial when work becomes draining or demotivating.Episode RecapDarrell starts us off with a focus on StratOps within marketing operations, underscoring the importance of merging traditional marketing foundations with evolving technology trends. This approach is pivotal for crafting strategies that are simultaneously grounded and agile, maximizing the impact and efficiency of marketing efforts in a dynamic business landscape. It's a blend that ensures technological advancement does not overshadow strategic depth.Career progression in marketing was another focal point. Early career professionals should hone in-demand technical skills for growth and security. As expertise deepens, the shift towards strategic understanding becomes essential. This balance between technical know-how and strategic acumen is vital for impactful career advancement. The discussion also highlighted the need for the industry to recognize diverse career paths, respecting individual expertise over managerial roles, which can lead to more effective leadership and satisfied professionals.A significant portion of the conversation revolved around the use of no-code tools and the evolving martech landscape. No-code tools simplify project deployment but demand a solid understanding of the underlying technologies for customization and scaling. As for the martech landscape, it's expected to remain dynamic, marked by a cycle of innovation and consolidation. Data warehouse native technologies are emerging as key players, indicating a promising direction for future martech tools.Adopting a product management approach to martech stack management is a game-changer. Strategies like the adapted RICE model can make marketing operations more efficient and focused. This shift encourages long-term planning and comprehensive solutions. Additionally, managing martech technical debt and ensuring continuity are crucial, highlighting the value of experienced professionals in strategic hiring and retention.The podcast emphasized the importance of effective knowledge management and internal communication in martech, especially in fast-paced environments. Prioritizing process development and documentation is key for technical and strategic growth. In larger organizations, structured communication strategies like business reviews and internal wikis are essential for team visibility and collaboration.The successful operation of martech hinges on the seamless integration of front-end and back-end functions. A cascading OKR framework aligns with company-wide goals, while focusing on both marketers and customers ensures the development of effective strategies. This balanced approach is essential for maximizing the value and impact of martech initiatives, catering to both internal and external needs.✌️ —Intro music by Wowa via UnminusCover art created with Midjourney

What lies ahead for marketing operations? How can it become more strategic and impactful?Darrell Alfonso has spent the past ten years answering these questions through his work at companies like AWS and Indeed. He's also dedicated himself to moving the discipline of marketing ops forward as an author, teacher, speaker, and thought-leader. In this episode, he shares his vision of how marketing operations can encompass both strategy and technical expertise and describes how MOPS practitioners can level-up in their careers. Thanks to Our SponsorMany thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak. If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform. You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that's slick, modern and beautiful. When they're done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button. What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it's got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners. Try Knak About Today's Guest Darrell Alfonso is a 2x Marketo Champion, course instructor, Author of "The Martech Handbook", and frequent speaker and thought-leader. He's held marketing and operations leadership positions at Indeed, Amazon Web Services, Hitwise, and the American Marketing Association. https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellalfonso/Key Topics[00:00] - Introduction[00:58] - Darrell's definition of marketing operations: the art and science of executing great marketing. Key pillars: planning and strategy, technology management, process design, analytics, business alignment. [02:48] - Evolution of marketing ops from being tech-centric to business-centric. [04:59] - Challenges of that evolutionary process. Potential discomfort within ops of moving into a role where they have revenue accountability. MOPS people have an allegiance to craft, but should focus on what the business needs. [07:43] - Risk of feeling powerless or misunderstood. Need for operators to better communicate our value. [09:25] - Darrell's background in communications and how it's impacted his career. The importance of communication within operations and how it's helped him grow as a leader. Internal communication is not about being self-promotional. It's about playing together effectively as a team (analogy of a sports team). [14:43] - How Darrell's role combines both strategy and operations. Strategy is the set of choices we make in service of an objective. Tactics at one level of the business become the strategy for the next level. Discussion of how this applies within Darrell's current company. [26:08] - Description of Darrell's team and how it functions. How marketing technology sits within a separate Business Systems function. [29:46] - What Darrell's ideal org structure would look like. Pros and cons of separating tech into a Business Systems group. Need for technologists to have technical leadership. Similar issue applies with SDRs and whether they report into marketing or sales. [36:25] - Building a personal brand in marketing operations. Benefits and how to do it. Difference between personal branding and cultivating an audience. Resource LinksThe Marketing Operations Handbook: A Complete Guide to Marketing Operations - Darrell referenced this book, by revenue operator Michael McKinnon, several times during the episode. Learn MoreVisit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter: Newsletter

Nude Birding Olaf Danielson has made a hobby out of birding without any clothes. Olaf is an author, religious scholar, storyteller and adventurer. He will share some of his favorite stories of seeking out rare and exotic avian wildlife... while naked as a jaybird. Listen Now Who is Tracking Your Pet Purchases? With the pet industry growing so fast, any information that can be gained from your purchases for your pets is going to be extrapolated every way possible for those companies which profit from your spending habits. Search data pulled by Hitwise from major pet supply websites in June shows the majority of both cat and dog owners, or at least those doing the buying for their pets, are women and that the women who own dogs make nearly twice as much as those who have cats. Listen Now Training Pit Bulls for Good Jeff Jenkins is the ringleader for the Midnight Circus, a pit-bull agility performance that shows the often-misunderstood dogs in a positive light. He's helping youngsters train their pit-bulls to do tricks instead of fighting. Listen Now Pet Crematory Intentionally Gives Back Wrong Ashes A pet cemetery and crematory in Illinois is accused of deceiving clients by giving them ashes that were not be from their deceased pets. Police found three deceased animals inside an old freezer at the facility and fortunately one of the animals had been micro chipped. Authorities contacted the owner who said they had already received their cat's ashes. But the only thing illegal in this case was misrepresenting ashes of an animal because pet crematories in Illinois are not regulated. Listen Now Are Kittens and Puppies The Key to a Successful Marriage? You're thinking love, communication, trust, common interests and that kind of stuff, right? But, a new study from the University of Florida says it could also be cute, cuddly puppies, kittens and bunnies. The team of psychological scientists found that to break the 'familiarity breeds contempt syndrome' or boredom that can happen in long-term relationships, couples can make better associations with their spouse through a positive stimulus like puppies and bunnies. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Self-confessed contrarian thinker and provocateur since childhood, Martin Lindstrom is an international branding expert and one of the world's leading authorities on the metaverse. Here he joins Geoff Tuff of Deloitte and Des Dearlove of Thinkers50 in a fascinating conversation about branding as an emotional construct, the power of small data, and lying on a bed of Lego.In the 1990s, Lindstrom pioneered how to build brands on the internet and has since coined terms such as clicks & mortar, contextual marketing, and texting. He has published eight New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including Buyology (2008), Small Data (2017), and The Ministry of Common Sense (2021).In 2022, Lindstrom launched the “Engineering our Dreams” project – a $22,000,000 metaverse experiment, with the multi-pronged purposes of understanding human behavior, the role of businesses, brands, work environments, and ethical standards in virtual worlds. Co-founder of several multi-billion-dollar startups, including YellowPages.com and Hitwise, Lindstrom is a Thinkers50 Ranked Thinker, listed by TIME magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people, and named by LinkedIn as 2021's most influential business thinker in the USA. He is the founder and chairman of Lindstrom Company.This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives' participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.

Nude Birding Olaf Danielson has made a hobby out of birding without any clothes. Olaf is an author, religious scholar, storyteller and adventurer. He will share some of his favorite stories of seeking out rare and exotic avian wildlife... while naked as a jaybird. Listen Now Who is Tracking Your Pet Purchases? With the pet industry growing so fast, any information that can be gained from your purchases for your pets is going to be extrapolated every way possible for those companies which profit from your spending habits. Search data pulled by Hitwise from major pet supply websites shows the majority of both cat and dog owners, or at least those doing the buying for their pets, are women and that the women who own dogs make nearly twice as much as those who have cats. Listen Now Pet Crematory Intentionally Gives Back Wrong Ashes A pet cemetery and crematory in Illinois is accused of deceiving clients by giving them ashes that were not be from their deceased pets. Police found three deceased animals inside an old freezer at the facility and fortunately one of the animals had been micro chipped. Authorities contacted the owner who said they had already received their cat's ashes. But the only thing illegal in this case was misrepresenting ashes of an animal because pet crematories in Illinois are not regulated. Listen Now Training Pit Bulls for Good Jeff Jenkins is the ringleader for the Midnight Circus, a pit-bull agility performance that shows the often-misunderstood dogs in a positive light. He's helping youngsters train their pit-bulls to do tricks instead of fighting. Listen Now Are Kittens and Puppies The Key to a Successful Marriage? You're thinking love, communication, trust, common interests and that kind of stuff, right? But, a new study from the University of Florida says it could also be cute, cuddly puppies, kittens and bunnies. The team of psychological scientists found that to break the 'familiarity breeds contempt syndrome' or boredom that can happen in long-term relationships, couples can make better associations with their spouse through a positive stimulus like puppies and bunnies. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Welcome to the AIM High podcast, hosted by Twink Field, CEO and Founder of White Marble Marketing, for The Association of Investment Marketers (AIM). AIM creates content and resources designed specifically for marketers within the investment management world. The AIM High podcast is built around conversations with a range of experts talking about the industry, product, practical tips and personal development for marketers in the investment industry. AIM is passionate about marketing being recognised as an influential and strategic part of a business and provides investment marketers with resources, events and courses to help them improve industry knowledge, develop their careers and build their network.Subscribe for alerts for AIM High, with a new episode every two weeks and find out more about what AIM offers at investmentmarketers.comThis week Twink is joined by Heather Hopkins from NextWealth and Fergus McCarthy from Standard Life Aberdeen, to discuss the UK advisory market. They bring insight for understanding who your clients are and what journey they’ve been on to get to this point.Heather Hopkins is a data and research expert specialising in retail investment distribution, and founded NextWealth to help platforms, life companies, asset managers, financial advisers and technology companies see what’s next in wealth. Previously Heather has held positions including the head of Platforum, a market-research firm servicing the UK platform market owned by Centaur Media, and the head of research for Hitwise, an internet data analytics company, working from London and Tokyo.Fergus McCarthy has more than 20 years' sales experience in the financial services industry, having worked in senior roles at BNY Mellon, Investec Asset Management, Martin Currie and AXA Investment Managers before joining Standard Life Aberdeen as UK Distribution Director. Leading the Regional Accounts team, he discusses utilising the breadth of his industry experience to deliver the Investment and Platform ambitions in the UK Wholesale market.Themes covered in the podcast include:• Helping advisors with customer acquisition• Sales and marketing working together to bring the clients voice into the business• Understanding the target market• Creating consumer ready content• Reaching advisors with shrinking sales teamsIf you would like more information about market research into the industry, NextWealth and the Personal Finance Society (PFS) have published a comprehensive benchmarking study for financial advice businesses. It covers the profile of financial planners and their firms, the future of financial advice businesses, investment propositions, technology infrastructure and outsourced support.You can download the free report here: https://investmentmarketers.com/podcast/aim-high-the-changing-uk-advisory-market/

In this episode, we speak to Tessa Court, who is the CEO and founder of IntelligenceBank. IntelligenceBank is a Melbourne startup founded in 2009 which helps content marketers manage digital assets, creative content approvals and compliance, and creative project management. IntelligenceBank also helps marketers ensure that their content meets standards set by industry regulators. With that in mind, IntelligenceBank’s typical clients operate in regulated industries such as financial services, health care, travel and food processing & manufacturing. Tessa started the company to come up with a solution to problems she experienced while running sales operations for a startup. Prior to IntelligenceBank, Tessa was a member of the Executive Team at Hitwise, an audience measurement firm, where she managed the global expansion of the company into Asia, the US and the UK. We talk all things marketing, compliance and workplace culture. 

Nude Birding Olaf Danielson has made a hobby out of birding without any clothes. Olaf is an author, religious scholar, storyteller and adventurer. He will share some of his favorite stories of seeking out rare and exotic avian wildlife... while naked as a jaybird. Listen Now Who is Tracking Your Pet Purchases? With the pet industry growing so fast, any information that can be gained from your purchases for your pets is going to be extrapolated every way possible for those companies which profit from your spending habits. Search data pulled by Hitwise from major pet supply websites in June shows the majority of both cat and dog owners, or at least those doing the buying for their pets, are women and that the women who own dogs make nearly twice as much as those who have cats. Listen Now Pet Crematory Intentionally Gives Back Wrong Ashes A pet cemetery and crematory in Illinois is accused of deceiving clients by giving them ashes that were not be from their deceased pets. Police found three deceased animals inside an old freezer at the facility and fortunately one of the animals had been micro chipped. Authorities contacted the owner who said they had already received their cat's ashes. But the only thing illegal in this case was misrepresenting ashes of an animal because pet crematories in Illinois are not regulated. Listen Now Training Pit Bulls for Good Jeff Jenkins is the ringleader for the Midnight Circus, a pit-bull agility performance that shows the often-misunderstood dogs in a positive light. He's helping youngsters train their pit-bulls to do tricks instead of fighting. Listen Now Are Kittens and Puppies The Key to a Successful Marriage? You're thinking love, communication, trust, common interests and that kind of stuff, right? But, a new study from the University of Florida says it could also be cute, cuddly puppies, kittens and bunnies. The team of psychological scientists found that to break the 'familiarity breeds contempt syndrome' or boredom that can happen in long-term relationships, couples can make better associations with their spouse through a positive stimulus like puppies and bunnies. Listen Now

Nude Birding Olaf Danielson has made a hobby out of birding without any clothes. Olaf is an author, religious scholar, storyteller and adventurer. He will share some of his favorite stories of seeking out rare and exotic avian wildlife... while naked as a jaybird. Who is Tracking Your Pet Purchases? With the pet industry growing so fast, any information that can be gained from your purchases for your pets is going to be extrapolated every way possible for those companies which profit from your spending habits. Search data pulled by Hitwise from major pet supply websites in June shows the majority of both cat and dog owners, or at least those doing the buying for their pets, are women and that the women who own dogs make nearly twice as much as those who have cats. Pet Crematory Intentionally Gives Back Wrong Ashes A pet cemetery and crematory in Illinois is accused of deceiving clients by giving them ashes that were not be from their deceased pets. Police found three deceased animals inside an old freezer at the facility and fortunately one of the animals had been micro chipped. Authorities contacted the owner who said they had already received their cat's ashes. But the only thing illegal in this case was misrepresenting ashes of an animal because pet crematories in Illinois are not regulated. Are Kittens and Puppies The Key to a Successful Marriage? You're thinking love, communication, trust, common interests and that kind of stuff, right? But, a new study from the University of Florida says it could also be cute, cuddly puppies, kittens and bunnies. The team of psychological scientists found that to break the 'familiarity breeds contempt syndrome' or boredom that can happen in long-term relationships, couples can make better associations with their spouse through a positive stimulus like puppies and bunnies. Training Pit Bulls for Good Jeff Jenkins is the ringleader for the Midnight Circus, a pit-bull agility performance that shows the often-misunderstood dogs in a positive light. He's helping youngsters train their pit-bulls to do tricks instead of fighting. Read more about this week's show.

In episode 37 of The Startup Playbook Podcast, I interview Gavin Appel, the co-founder of Onestack, which partners with amazing entrepreneurs to accelerate growth through experience and connectivity. Gavin has over 20 years of experience in the startup, corporate and venture capital industries. He was the General Manager of Sinewave Interactive, Australasia's first Search Engine Optimization company, before becoming the Senior Vice President and CTO for Hitwise and being responsible for managing the global product development team. He then joined Square Peg Capital as a Partner.  Square Peg is one of the leading VC firms in Australia, counting companies such as Uber, Fiverr, Stripe and Canva in it's portfolio. Gavin is now the co-founder of OneStack, which partners with scale stage companies to help them grow their business. In the interview, Gavin shares what startups should look for in investors, the key criteria to scale effectively, the importance of hiring the right talent and when to start fundraising. Show notes: Webcrawler Lycos Excite Looksmart Hitwise Square Peg Capital Onestack Blackbird Ventures Zoom Unlockd JJ Stripe Onestack (Twitter) Gavin (Snapchat) Live Podcast Interview with Nick Crocker (Blackbird Ventures) Australian Podcast Awards – Voting Feedback/ connect/ say hello:  Rohit@startupplaybook.co @playbookstartup (Twitter) @rohitbhargava7 (Twitter – Rohit) Rohit Bhargava (LinkedIn) Credits: Intro music credit to Bensound The post Ep037 – Gavin Appel (Co-Founder – Onestack) on the challenges of scaling startups appeared first on Startup Playbook.

This episode emphasizes the importance of overcoming your fears when it comes to handling your business, particularly your people.    Fears such as:   - Hiring employees for the job, training them well, only to encounter the possibility that they might just leave after all in a short while    - Hiring a person who comes in, undergoes training, then makes the job quite easy for you -- this creating sales and profits, only to end up becoming better than you then later put up his own company.   We also discuss how crucial it is to make sure that you hire the best people, the techniques on how to have your people handle your business operations for you, the disadvantages of hiring the cheapest labor, and why your employees should always feel satisfied by the pay and benefits they get from your company.   Check it out, share it and let me know what you think!   Resources Mentioned   http://www.tropicalentrepreneur.com/   Want To Work WIth Me?   Visit http://www.JeremyReeves.com or email me at Jeremy@JeremyReeves.com   Enjoy!   Transcript   Jeremy Reeves:  Hey guys, this is Jeremy Reeves here back again with another episode of the Sales Funnel Mastery podcast.   Today, we have on the line, Josh Denning, and Josh is the founder of Authority Factory.  He is author of the book, Authority Marketing; chief editor of authority marketing magazine; and host of the authority, the podcast.   So he helps businesses find just beautiful balance where your lead flow and your sales acquisition becomes predictable, controllable, consistent, and repeatable.  So, he actually does a lot of the same things that I do.  So, I think it would be a pretty cool call.  And he is also the founder of tropical entrepreneur which focuses on showing entrepreneurs how to build a business that offers both financial and time freedom so you can enjoy your life while running a wildly profitable business.   So Josh, welcome to the call.  We are excited to have you.   Josh Denning:  Yes, it's great to be here and thank you for that awesome intro.   Jeremy Reeves:  Yeah, sure, sure, sure.  Yeah, so I was actually just on Josh’s podcast.  So that was a fun one and so we figured we would kind of swap podcast interviews because we both have pretty interesting things to say and come out from similar, but different perspectives.  So, I think you are going to enjoy this one.   So, before we get into the questions, why don’t you tell everybody a little bit about yourself, your history, how you get in to things, and what you're focusing on now.   Josh Denning:  Yeah, totally.  So, I have been in the digital marketing at agency industry or space for about 12 years now.  I kind of got into that it was like, I’ve been working, I’ve been doing digital marketing stuff in the finance area for businesses that I was working for.   I had a finance company as well and I was looking for change and that change at one point actually led to, I don’t really love saying it now but, network marketing solely to that whole idea but I knew from day 1 having been in sales since I was a kid, since I was about 14.  Selling blueprints of family was the recipe for failure so that led me to hunt for a way to do lead generation online and led me to systematize lead generation initially with some guys out of Canada, 2:35 and then after that my 2:38 as well.   That was kind of the first introduction to really heavily systematize elite generation in selling using multiple traffic sources and squeeze pages and all the responders and funnels and everything like that and I did that while I build up my first kind of 30,000 person list and stupidly, even I was actually getting like 3-4 conversions every day, this was back in 2004, I have gone back into finance industry and I let my order responder monthly payment lapse.  So, the 30,000 person list that I have built up got deleted and I have to start everything again from scratch.   Jeremy Reeves:  That’s rough.   Josh Denning:  Just to walk away from it for half of that for about couple of years and then came back and got back into and around the Frank Mass Control 1.0 launch period and kind of going to that whole thing again and started doing -- well, didn’t really do product launches quite a while actually after that, but you know, I studied models after a while and traffic secrets and under achiever lesson and decided that instead of trying to do it from home that I would join getting to the agency world and land a job with Hitwise which was $10,000 a month minimum commitment type of digital marketing versus the old paper clicking conversion rate optimization and worked on stocks of Australia’s largest companies campaigns.   I did that for a couple of years and awesome to be flying out to Melbourne every 4:13 for training for some of the best digital marketers in the world and sales trainings and camp management trainings.  It was just amazing experiencing and awesome corporate training but luckily, in the digital marketing space which I love and then went from there to Bruce Clay and became an SEO analyst for a year because we were not allowed to speak to clients and feed them on the tools.   So, that was awesome as well and I did that for about a year and a half I think and then I took a 4:43.  Actually, no.  I went from there to do a product launch piggybacking, telemarketing for 4:53 and that was really the first time through online marketing where I would generate a serious full time income working from home like I'm only working few hours a week and we were just throwing out blogs using 5:06 to rank blogs on page 1 and stick bonus off and stick a review often.     We move 5-6 units up to 2000 more product and put 50% of the revenue in our pockets for commissions.  I did that for ages and sometimes you know there was paid launch 5:32 say 5:35 launch for example the same week or the same 4th night, we might pull in $20,000 in commissions.   So that was amazing, that was a really, really good period and it was after that that I ended up taking a year and a half off because I’ve went through a couple of bad break up and just wanted to get away from business for a while and just clean my head and figure out what's going to do next and ended up in Thailand and joined another digital agency and within a year I was or actually within 3 months, I was a sales manager, within 6 months was the channel sales manager and then about 6months after that I was the channel sales director and then SEO director in the Asia-Pacific sales and business director and then a partner and then ended up getting off to rebuild that business up to kind of about $6,000,000 a year in retaining clients.   Going after the 10% equity in the business wasn’t super fun of the way the amount of money that was being reinvested back in the clients.  We are getting great results but I just had a slightly different view of things and I guess I just wanted to get on with my own entrepreneur life being a full liner and captain of the ship and so I left there and started up on my own agency again as a sole liner and within 8 months build it up to about $50,000 in recurring revenue and that kind of brings it to now.   Jeremy Reeves:  That’s awesome.  That’s a very cool story.  That’s a good one.  Nice.  So on this one we can talk about a million different days.  I have a feeling we could sit here for probably the next 6 hours and just kind of talk back and forth about all this but I think what's kind of dive into more of like, you know the time frame and the leverage, you know all that kind of, you know like, more of a tropical entrepreneur kind of stuff because you know I think that’s something that a lot of people are missing in their life and there is so much, there are so many entrepreneurs that are so overworked and you know, they never take vacations and they never get away from the business.   I actually had a client recently, actually I am still working with her.  She is on 7:53 -- before I started working with her, she didn’t take a vacation in 8 years and you know that’s kind of ridiculous.  So I actually did funnel day with her and within -- I kind of -- sometimes I push my clients kind of hard when I feel that they can take it and when they really need it and so I think it was within like 2 or 3 weeks, I got her to take a vacation.     So she emails me and she took a 2-week vacation completely unplugged with her husband to the point where like she didn’t even have her cellphone for 2 weeks and that’s after 8 years of not going on vacation or doing like you know getting away from business from 1 day.  You know, I have actually just talked to her this morning before we talk and since that happened, like her entire life has changed, and it's that just one shift of realizing that you're not chained to your business.   So I want to dig in to that.  So with that, you know what do you think is the biggest challenge that people face when they're trying to do that, like when they're trying to you know kind of go from that place of working all the time to starting to put systems in place and leverage their business and you know just create more time freedom, you know, be able to take days off and you know and going on vacations actually unplugged and that kind of thing.  You know, what's the big challenge do you think?   Josh Denning:  For sure, we just feed on that with systems but before that, before we kind of jump in to the systems processes, you know, people and those kind of things that are really needed to make it happen is that the first thing that I need to overcome is that it's really it's the fear.  So you know a lot of entrepreneurs, I think, can be more theory based in some ways than employees are, and it's a terrible place to kind of be and the fear is that you know they actually leave.     They are not there.  The plates are going to stop spinning.  All the plates going to fall or you know whatever that they just don’t trust their team enough to keep the business growing and all they just haven’t put in that thing yet because they haven’t you know executed on starting to hire and taking the risk.   Whatever is done in business is that when you pull the trigger on a new hire and you know you really take the care and try to make a good hire and find the right hire and train them in everything is that even if you're like revenue, you feel like it's not quite where it needs to be to make that next higher.     If you make that higher and you make it right magically, your revenue will probably pretty quickly catch up to be where you were already if not better because all of the sudden the manual tasks that you have been doing are being done by someone else or the next person idea may be in the profit creator and then you know there is more money coming in because of that and then there is, you know, you double the velocity of your revenue, but if it's the manual task that have been taken off the plate which is where a lot of entrepreneur’s spinning wheels then all of the sudden your freed up to do more income creation.     So you get that person covered, but I think you have to first overcome the fear that there are people, you can hire people to do what you are doing right now then one of them might do it quite as well as you immediately find the right people and they might be able to do it better than you are right now and that’s hard to swallow initially for a lot of entrepreneurs.   Jeremy Reeves:  Yeah, it's true though.   Josh Denning:  But who do you want to find people that are better than you at that’s the course you arrive.  That’s the whole thing with creating a freedom-based business.  It's all about finding stars and superstars, putting them in a roll where their core strengths are and letting them go to work and leaving them to it.  You know, give them all the training they need, give them the standard operating procedures, _____ up those, introduce them to the right people that they need to help them, and then just let them go and you’ll be surprised by what they can do to your business.   So, do you really get that freedom to be able to walk away, there are a couple of things the staff, the systems, and the sales.  So you need to get really good at staffing and growing your team.  You need to get really good at creating the standard operating procedures that your staff are going to use to do all the works from when you're not there, and you need to become heavily sales focused.     You need to become, you know, you need to have a really good, good, excellent sales people and sales system, the marketing system to bring in those leads of always revenue coming in and then you need again those staff and the team better in your operations department to make sure that the sales that are being brought in are being handled in an exceptional level keeping those customers happy, getting amazing results and you know just letting it go and then even more so, the company even grows more while you are away.     You need to put people in place that are responsible within your organization for recruitment training and growth and then you will end up with a business where you can actually run while you are not there, but not only run when you're not there but actually get bigger while you're not there.   Jeremy Reeves:  I actually heard a story, I forgot if it was one shopping cart maybe and he was -- that’s one of the big things he was afraid of and this was years, years, and years ago.  I'm not even sure if it's the right company, it was one similar kind of company and I remember hearing the story that he was really afraid to leave because he was like, “Oh my God, everything is going to dry up, it's going to, you know all the fires are going to break out and when I come back my business be crumbled blah.. blah..” and so he went on just as a test like a 2-week vacation and he came back and his revenues jump like 10% and then he kept increasing and he went like a month and 3 months and eventually, I feel like he ended up selling, I forgot if it was his portion or the whole company I forgot, but he got it to the point where he realized the longer he was away, the faster the business grew.  It's kind of funny because you know entrepreneurs, we all have big egos and we think that you know we are like the best person ever and you know, if we leave everything is going to go to hell, and it just doesn’t happen that way.  If you have not set up the right way.   So, with that, I think you covered you know.  A lot of it is just a limited mindset.  It is just fear that is the block there.   Josh Denning:  Yeah, that was really under a lot of it.  If you can get pass that mindset limitation and get comfortable with empowering people, putting them in positions to actually you know take charge and get things done and be willing to walk away and just let them do it and make some mistakes, learn from their mistakes, the amount of time where I'm super busy and I have got, because I have got like 10 people in the Philippines and I have got about 10 people in Thailand, I got people in Australia, and I have got couple of people doing some old things with me in the US as well and, like my even Skype is going crazy all day, my Google chat is going crazy all day, my emails crazy all day and I'm also have a phone clients all day and doing other stuff all day.     You know at times, I got like a staff go skyping, google plus, ping, and email when they want something and I'm just busy for an hour and then I get off the call and I see “Oh don’t worry I solved it, oh don’t worry I have done it, or actually we got that fixed.”  They don’t need you as much as you think initially.   Jeremy Reeves:  I actually have, I have a system in place with my employees that they have to, when they have a problem they are not allowed to ask me for help unless they try to solve it for minimum of 15 minutes.   Josh Denning:  That’s awesome.   Jeremy Reeves:  Yeah, and then only then after that 15 minutes then they can ask if they have actually, you know, they sat down they tried to plan it out, they strategize it and just can't figure it out, then they can ask and that actually helps quite a bit.   Josh Denning:  They sound small but they are little hinges that ______.   Jeremy Reeves:  Yeah, it really is.  Probably saves you at least several questions every day.  So go along with that.  What are the things that you touched on before, which I think, is a really important and I can see people kind of glancing over it.  Is hiring people that are better than you are.  Hiring stars, you know, everybody -- when they're trying to hire people it's always like, “Oh, whose the cheapest” and so talk about that like do you have any insights on hiring the right people.  Looking after or finding those stars or having you know criteria or qualifications or anything like that in place to help find those people.  You know, basically, any insights that would help people with that.   Josh Denning:  Absolutely, and I'm going to piggyback of what you have said there with like, “who’s the cheapest.” Who’s the cheapest I recon is one of the agreements, the greatest agreements that is leading, you know, that is creating the statistics that’s like out of a hundred businesses in the first 3 years, 70 of them failed or whatever it is and then over next 5 you know 10 of the 20 have failed and over the next 5 of the 10 have failed and over the next 5, 4 or so like 1 left 20 years away when you just said is one of the biggest reasons for that like you want to really try and it doesn’t always mean that you need to pay the most for them.  It's not necessary that be, definitely I don’t want to go with the cheapest.  That’s catastrophic.   We look for the very, very, very best we can find at the right price and I'm like we went all paid like good but I'll say to them, “but look, I am going to give you an opportunity where way more than that because I'm going to say that in our company I know that my SEO guys is getting good results, rankings are up, so my account managers can get more upsales because you know clients were buyable when they are doing well and the sales people, the frontend sales people when they are ______ to clients and they can show good ranking that helps them sell more.   So there is synergistic pull right.  So we got to beat like a target each month and if that target gets hit each month and we going to break off somewhere between 5% and 10% depending and I'm going to give that back to split that across over the team members.  So that’s financial reward, finances on everything but they're a little bit more than I think is sometimes crackup.     These days, people are definitely do like to get money and feel like they are going to get more for their invested time not just that you know, if I work harder you just get richer like what about me, so you want to try to make sure that if your employees work bust their ass and work hard to really grow your company, you know, you incentivize them, give them something back for that as well because you are getting rich, help them to get rich as well.   The other thing as well is really and I'm just starting to implement this now and I'm not a master of it but I'm a big fan, I have been studying for a while like Tony Jay stuff, culture, mind to Mindvalley stuff with Vishen Lakhiani in Malaysia.  I have been over to his offices a few times to see what he is up to and businesses like that, doing that kind of stuff like you really need to sell the mission to your team members.     You really need to try that you know install that you try and you create an industry change in business here.  You really try to make the impact in the worlds of the businesses and the clients that you're helping and you also want to create an environment where your team are going to learn to become world class and again get everything they need to really grow themselves and become more and you know all that kind of stuff and make it fun, make it like a little bit -- like a team, a great team, not ______ your family but almost, but a team that has fun, that does well, they get incentivize, teams growing may create a big impact.   I think that’s one of the things you know I am no master of that.  I'm really trying to nail that myself now but I think that big now with getting great people communicating that in your job advertisements and doing things like getting them to send in a video resume of themselves because immediately that we doubt like all of the people that you going to be lazy because _______.   Jeremy Reeves:  That’s a good point.  I like that.   Josh Denning:  And it allows you to see like their personality and stuff and if you like working with them and you could see a bit of a spark and there is just something about them, things like that I think make a huge difference in creating a really good team.   Jeremy Reeves:  Yeah.  I remember, I actually -- and that must be -- now that you say, I think it's true.  I got a client a long time ago.  This is actually, probably at least 5 years ago, something like that, 4 or 5 years ago where I saw that he was -- this is when I was actually still like going out and looking for like prospecting for clients, but I saw that this one guy that I want to work with was looking for people and so I got this big giant tube, it's like a 3 foot tube and there is -- and I bought this piece of paper, this is like giant pink piece of paper it was like 2 x 3 feet and I basically sent it to him and on the piece of paper it had a link to a URL and on the URL I was basically giving my like -- you know my pitch, but in video, and he read that and I think it was within like 48 hours.   I talked to him the next day and then I think it was in like 48 hours he hired me and he was like nobody else went through any like even a remotely the effort to do that and I ended up working with him and I ended up being a probably $125,000 client because of that.  People respect when you put in that extra effort even when you're not getting paid.     Even with my clients now, I sometimes kind of depend on the client, but like I sometimes will do things even before to help them map out the process, like the funnel that we’re going to do or whatever it is.  People respect that and they appreciate it and you almost always win the business because they, it's kind of like, if you're putting in that much effort now, you know, what's going to be like when you are actually getting money to do it.  You know what I mean?   So, yeah I definitely, I like that video idea, I'm going to start doing that.  Okay, so with that, I think a lot of that was gold and I actually wrote several things down that I'm going to put in place in my own business.  So, what's the biggest, you know, everybody has those “Aha moments” at certain points in their life.  So, what was one of your like huge “Aha moments” that made you realize how important it was that you like to start actually building in the systems and building a business that’s like more of a lifestyle business rather than a workaholic business?   Josh Denning:  Hmmm… interesting question.  Well, I do actually love what I do.  So I do really like to be doing it but I also love to get away as well, so I think 23:30people.  I just really, really love digital marketing and everything that we’re talking about, so that’s really liking a lot in some ways.  I mean not always, but in some ways, my work is like being in a holiday for me.  They probably hate me for saying that.   Jeremy Reeves:  Any employee would.   Josh Denning:  But look, a couple of things were you know when I learned to build sales team and I could be away and come back and revenue shoot up being 3-4 deals done for the day and that was a big chunk of money that was coming in without me having done anything except the upfront training and ongoing support and coaching until they became really good, that was huge.   One of the other big realization was when I realized that in a couple of agencies that even I thought that I would be going in to learn from them and get the expertise from them, that I actually knew more than some agency directors that I worked with.  It was really interesting.  There has been a lot you know, it's hard to pinpoint one, but I guess I have a lot bold moment every, you know, beat one every few months and a couple of 2 massive once a year kind of thing.   Jeremy Reeves:  Yeah, that’s how I am too.  Every once in a while, you kind of just sit there and it just hits you and it's one of those moments where no matter what you're doing, you like sprint to the nearest piece of paper and write it down.  My wife always finds it amusing.  I always look back and she is laughing at me, but it's always funny.   Okay, with all that said, you covered a lot of stuff, so now let’s get into a couple -- just like a small and don’t put too much because I do not want people being overwhelmed by it, but if you were to help someone and I just say it's a service business or you could do it you know, product business or whatever it is.  If you were to help them, someone has come to you, and say “Hey, I want to work half the time, and it doesn’t have to be that much, I know it's a big jump or cut down 25% of my hours.     I want to go from working 60 to 45 in the next 90 days, what would be your process, like a step-by-step thing to help them do that and I know it's kind of a broad question, so if you want to pick like a specific business then that’s fine but just kind of general overview of the steps you would take to start this process, maybe not finish it but at least get a quick win, you know.  So what would be your process for that?   Josh Denning:  That’s an awesome question.  I really like that question, actually.  So, it's all about the system, right.  It's all about developing a mechanism that is going to bring in qualified people or even you know, they don’t even need to be qualified but it's going to bring in people and it's actually going to do the shifting for you and see if that, you know, the nonqualified people, the semi-qualified people and stick them on a 26:40 sequence and hire the qualified people and push them through as quickly as possible to get them actually on the phone.   So, if was going to work with someone that try to get in 90 days to a point where they could work 75% less, it would all be about building that system and the kind of steps that things are going through now to do that as first you know, like I'm sure you do.  Just get really, really clear about who is their best customer is, not just any of their customers but who did very best type of customer is that burns them the highest dollar value per sale and even may be more than that.     The highest high profit per sale so not always the highest profit but sometimes a little product might be the highest profit rarely but you know, maybe.  The highest high profit per sale and then really hone in those people and figure out, you know one of their top 3 problems of the top things that they frequently asked questions and they figure out from the questions they should be asking as well.  Build a few content pieces so probably for 8 problem, 3 different content pieces or a blog post, a podcast, and may be a video as well and all of those would go in the blog and then those what those it going to be is they're actually going to be the bait for the lead magnet.   So, were going to then amplify those with good paid traffic.  So, I'm going to choose problem one paid traffic source initially like may be Facebook ads or Youtube ads at the moment.  We are going to -- instead of creating constant content, we are going to really heavily focus on the promoting a few pieces of content that we create each month and each pieces of content address one big idea, one big problem, and really solve it, like make it a mother of all content piece.     We promote that at the bottom of that or after a minute of being on that.  It's going to throw up a lead magnet or you know pump up that magnet potentially and the lead magnets are going to be relevant to the content piece.     So, it's a real like close kinect with a person that is consuming that piece of content and then the first 2 emails that they get deliver them the report, all the checklist or a cheat sheet or a video or whatever it is and then the first 2 emails that they get will frame them into the process that’s coming up but also reference what they just consumed and that lead magnet is also is going to be 75% content but the last 25% to 15% of it is actually going to either send them to another page to actually book of call to buy something or depending on the situation that might send them to a low price offer or might send them to webinar or in my case, all three.   But then so -- we’ve got 3 different types of problems right.  So the purpose of the framing is that the first 2 emails are going to frame the problem and then we’re going to probably set up another you know 4 to 6 emails that are all the same so that the first 2 front frame ones like with this whole sequences are super relevant to them and then the next email is going to get more information and just kind of warm them up and keep trying to push them onto a core or push them down into another piece of content like a webinar if they are not ready yet or you know another video sales letter.     Always be moving back towards going to pushing them back to the core to get on the core strategy call or a consultation call or actually to inquire about a quote. Really were how to build that frontend mechanical system for them so that we can use paid traffic to promote those content pieces that are going to leak to a lead magnet.     It is going to educate and sell and the lead magnet is going to lead an email sequence that going to educate and sell and throughout that email sequence that is educating and selling, we can only 30:49 more content pieces like webinars, like videos, like even possibly another podcasts in giving content selling in counseling warming people up to get them on the phone to buy a high-priced service or 31:04 software or information product free membership site or whatever it is.   For me, it's all about systematizing the frontends to get the sales working and then once that’s working, if we got that done within 90 days and we start to look at trying to put more team members in.  So, all you are doing is the highest value work and then may go to 180 days or 360 days, we don’t want to get someone in there that we are going train with your scripts to do the phone base selling.  Now, possibly, you don’t any have to do anything as the business just runs completely fine.   Jeremy Reeves:  Nice.  That was absolutely beautifully put.  It goes right all along the lines of like based of someone if asking me to that question, it would be extremely similar to that.  So, I think you are on the right path there.  Yeah, I mean that was beautiful.  I would very highly recommend rewinding this and going back and write it like mapping that out because it is spot on.    Nice, nice, nice.  Yeah, that was awesome.  So, we are coming up on our time here.  I know both of us have scary schedules today.  So, before we head off, you gave some awesome content and I'm sure there are people on here that are, you know, would like some help in kind of reducing their time in setting up their systems and all the stuff that you do.  What type of person would you be looking for to help and what’s the best resource for them to go to and for either the businesses they have?   Josh Denning:  I guess there is really just two types of people that I hope so.  One type of person is, you know, the person that have not really gotten started yet.  It's just like looking to learn and working to gather information, maybe wants to do something online like affiliate mapping, gets started or something like that or maybe just really looking to get lots more business knowledge, wisdom, and information and then learn from a lot of different people while they are figuring out they want to do.     For that person, tropical entrepreneur and also tropical entrepreneur right now for hosting this podcast listeners may undergo and give away my free gift which was the Guru Siphon Formula.  It was a $797 product when I first launched this and it goes right through from end to end how I did the guru piggybacking and make a thousand dollar commissions multiple times in a week when I was doing them and it's still very completely relevant now, completely relevant strategy still works.     It's like 30 hours of video content manuals, resources, links to where and how to get becoming a guru, one of the big guys affiliate 33:53 video process to go through.  You get over to tropicalentrepeneur.com now.  You will see a popup that will come up and if you just open that, we will get that for you or just contact me.  If you open the tropicalentrepeneur.com, the popup will be there and I will get that for you.   For people who already got a business and they like what they just heard about creating that systematized scenario, he will be getting 75% more free or you just want to grow your traffic or you are just really looking to get an awesome private content marketing system in place to get yourself up to 10,000 to 20, 000 unique visitors a month authorityfactory.net is my private consultancy where I help people build those systems and grow their traffic and do conversion optimization and things like that and I am, of course, happy to do a free 45-minute consultation with you where we can build out a road map.     If you like it and you want to talk about the price me doing it for you, the we can do that.  If you don’t, then you can take it away and go and do it yourself or maybe bring it to Jeremy and do it with him.   Jeremy Reeves:  I like the extra plug in there.  Alright, well thanks again.  What you have provided is absolutely awesome and hope everybody got a lot out of it.  We will see you next time and thanks for joining us again.   Josh Denning:  Thanks, Jeremy.   Jeremy Reeves:  Thanks, bye.  

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