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AI pinpointed the exact stage where my ecommerce funnel was hemorrhaging sales, and the answer wasn't where I expected.In this video, I walk you through how to audit your own funnel, identify the weakest stage, and stop wasting time fixing the wrong problem.Watch me trace $299,000 in ad spend from 26 million impressions and 639,000 outbound clicks through product views, carts, initiated checkouts, and 11,820 purchases. Rather than guessing, I benchmark every stage against its performance target and eliminate the metrics that are already healthy.In my funnel, AI zeroed in on checkout: only 17% of initiated checkouts converted to purchases against a 40% target. I also walk through the Shopify change we made, moving from a three-page checkout to one page and watching the number climb to 30%.You'll see how to copy my Funnel Builder, connect your own data, rule out the healthy stages, and focus on the conversion point that is actually costing you sales.Subscribe to learn more marketing.#Ecommerce #ConversionRateOptimization #Shopify
Most CHROs have a fraud problem they didn't sign up for. Deepfakes in video interviews. Synthetic IDs at the application stage. AI-generated credentials that pass every automated screen. Only 31% of CHROs say they're confident in their ability to prevent hiring fraud, and the technology making it easier gets more sophisticated every quarter. Nik Daruwala, Vice President of Sales at Checkr, has spent 21 years in B2B technology sales, including thousands of direct conversations with HR leaders trying to protect their hiring funnels without losing speed. Checkr powers background verification for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart, and was the first API in the background check industry. In this episode, he covers: Why hiring fraud appears at every stage of the funnel, from the initial application through post-hire monitoring, and what a continuous identity verification strategy actually looks like in practice How CHROs should be thinking about partnering with their CISO to address a risk that's moved from the cyber stack into the talent pipeline https://thehrmixtape.com/episodes/trust-at-speed-hiring-fraud-deepfakes-and-the-identity-risks-chros-cant-ignore-with-nik-daruwala Why the speed-versus-safety trade-off in hiring is a false choice, and what good looks like when both coexist in the same program Timestamps [00:00:39] Context: this conversation was recorded live at the Checkr booth at SHRM 2026 [00:01:01] How enterprise hiring changed over 24 years: global sourcing, the normalization of remote hiring, and why the explosion of application volume made quality screening harder [00:02:50] The CHRO anxiety most people aren't talking about: making sure candidates throughout the funnel are actually who they claim to be [00:04:13] Only 31% of CHROs have confidence in their ability to prevent hiring fraud, and why the AI tools now available to candidates are changing that threat surface fast [00:04:39] The three identity threats CHROs weren't trained for: deepfakes in interviews, synthetic IDs at the application stage, and AI-generated credentials that pass automated screens [00:06:44] Why most organizations are reactive on hiring fraud, and the parallel to the early days of cybersecurity: you don't prioritize it until you have your first incident [00:08:42] Where fraud actually shows up across the hiring funnel: application, interview, background check, and continuously post-hire [00:09:41] The speed-versus-compliance trade-off is a false choice, and why the best hiring programs don't ask their teams to make it [00:13:27] Nik on what it actually means for trust to be a competitive advantage, and why that should be the north star for every hiring program [00:16:00] The two-to-three year horizon: AI automating talent sourcing and administrative tasks, continuous monitoring as table stakes, and why the hiring decision stays human Brought to You by Paylocity Paylocity is the fastest growing unified platform for HR, Finance, and IT. Paylocity brings your people, processes, and data together in one place so HR leaders can spend less time managing systems and more time doing the work that actually moves their organizations forward. Learn more at paylocity.com Keywords: hiring fraud, background checks, identity verification, deepfakes, synthetic IDs, AI-generated credentials, CHRO priorities, talent pipeline security, hiring at scale, continuous monitoring, background screening, hiring compliance, HR technology, Checkr, credential fraud, HR risk management, fraud prevention, remote hiring risk, AI in hiring, talent operations
AI search optimization is rewriting how buyers find businesses, and SEO alone no longer gets you in the answer. Callum Kennard, Head of Sales at ClickSlice, joins David Hill to unpack the difference between SEO, GEO, and AEO — and what it takes to get recommended by ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Most people think AI killed SEO. It didn't. SEO became the infrastructure layer underneath a much bigger system, and the businesses figuring that out right now are getting a first-mover advantage in a $750 billion market. Three things you'll take away: Why SEO didn't die — it became the foundation AI search is built on How reviews, content, and reputation drive whether an AI names your business The first-mover window that's open right now, and what to do inside it Small brands are already outranking household names like Argos and IKEA in AI recommendations. Callum explains how — and what you can do this week without a multi-year timeline or a seven-figure budget. CONNECT WITH CALLUM KENNARD ClickSlice: https://www.clickslice.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/callum-kennard/ GET 14 DAY GO HIGH LEVEL TRIAL https://www.gohighlevel.com/?fp_ref=david-i-hill-training25 CONNECT WITH DAVID Website: https://www.davidihill.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidihill/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidihill Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidihill X: https://twitter.com/davidihill TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@davidihill YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidHillcoach SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-persistent-entrepreneur/id1081069895 #SalesTraining #AISearchOptimization #PathToSalesMastery #DavidIHill #ThePersistentEntrepreneur #PersistentEntrepreneurPodcast #SalesLeadership #lessonsfromthemat
Why Your Business Won't Let You Go - Letting Others Take Ownership You have hired good people. You have tried to step back. And yet, every time something important goes sideways, it still lands on your desk. Jason Henneberry says that is not a people problem or a systems problem. It is a dependency problem, and it has a specific structural cause. Jason is the founder of Dependency Design, a senior partner in a national Canadian mortgage brokerage with more than 600 professionals, and the author of "Why Your Business Won't Let You Go," which you can download free at dependencydesign.com. He built and sold a technology product to Rocket Mortgage, nearly went bankrupt in 2008 after committing a full consumer marketing budget into a market that was about to collapse, and has started from scratch at least twice. He knows what the trap looks like from the inside. In This Episode: Why handing over a task and handing over accountability are two completely different acts The moment you step in to fix something, what you actually teach your business The blast radius principle: how to let your team fail safely and build real ownership Jason's three C's framework: Clarity, Capacity, and Commitment How to design compensation so salespeople, administrators, and leaders each care about what they actually control Why launching a new product line before your core is stable is a structural trap, not just a strategic mistake What Jason learned from losing nearly everything in 2008 Key Insights: Every time you rescue your team from a problem, you teach the entire business that you are the solution. The rescue and the trap are the same act. Real delegation means handing over the outcome, not just the task, including the outcome of failure. Before branching into anything new, ask honestly: could I generate the same return by doing five to ten percent more of what I am already good at? Compensation alignment is structural. Sales on revenue, administration on task fulfillment, and leadership on gross profit creates a team where everyone cares about what they control. Starting over with hard-won knowledge is not losing. It is compounding. About Jason Henneberry: Jason Henneberry is the founder of Dependency Design and the author of Why Your Business Won't Let You Go. He has built and operated multiple successful companies, serves as a senior partner in a national brokerage with more than 600 professionals, and has spent 30 years leading founder-driven organizations. Jason works with producing team leads, small business owners, and operators who feel the weight of growth but cannot clearly see where it's coming from. His work challenges the common advice to simply delegate more, work harder, or install better systems. Instead, Jason helps leaders see where responsibility has quietly settled inside their organization. Through his structural lens, founders learn to distinguish between chosen dependency and accidental dependency, reduce invisible fragility, and build businesses that grow without getting heavier. His approach is observational, practical, and grounded in real operational experience, not motivation or hustle culture. Links: Website: https://dependencydesign.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonhenneberry/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonhenneberry/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JasonHenneberry Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@richersoul Richer Soul Life Beyond Money. You got rich, now what? Let's talk about your journey to purposeful, intentional, amazing life. Where are you going to go and how are you going to get there? Let's figure that out together. At the core is the financial well being to be able to do what you want, when you want, how you want. It's about personal freedom! Thanks for listening! Show Sponsor: http://profitcomesfirst.com/ Schedule your free no obligation call: https://bookme.name/rockyl/lite/intro appointment 15 minutes If you like the show please leave a review on iTunes: http://bit.do/richersoul https://www.facebook.com/richersoul http://richersoul.com/ rocky@richersoul.com Some music provided by Junan from Junan Podcast Any financial advice is for educational purposes only and you should consult with an expert for your specific needs.
US office vacancy sits at 13.8% while rents rise and inventory actually shrinks. CoStar's Phil Mobley breaks down the two-tier office market at mid-2026. Phil Mobley, National Director of Office Analytics at CoStar Group, joins Michael Bull, CCIM to explain why the office headlines and the office market have stopped matching. National vacancy peaked at 14.1% a year ago and now sits near 13.8%, with four consecutive quarters of positive absorption totaling roughly 20 million square feet. For perspective, that full year of demand would have been one decent quarter in 2018. The supply side is where this cycle breaks from history. New construction starts are running about 5 million square feet per quarter, a generational low, and for the past two quarters CoStar's data shows outright supply contraction: more office space is being demolished or converted than delivered, which has never happened before. Mobley also corrects the most common misconception about the office recovery. It is not simply Class A winning and Class B losing. Trophy assets, the top 5% of inventory, are performing strongly, and solid B and B-minus buildings serving price-sensitive tenants held up better than most people assume. The real occupancy damage landed on A-minus and B-plus product caught in the middle: not distinctive enough to compete with trophy space, too expensive to compete on price. Also covered: why AI has been an unambiguous demand tailwind so far and the venture-capital risk hiding inside it, why return-to-office gains raise foot traffic without raising space needs, how New York and Dallas preview where the rest of the country is heading, why lease sizes have run 15% below pre-pandemic levels for nearly three years, and the capital markets shift as institutions climb back from 10% to 15% of office deal volume to around 20%, buying buildings to keep them as office. Plus the point every landlord should sit with: the total vacancy number is not the relevant number. Competitive vacancy is, and a landlord without capital to fund tenant improvements does not really have leasable space. In this episode: 00:00 Is Office the Buy of the Decade? 01:19 The US Office Market: Smaller, but Recovering 02:22 Vacancy at 13.8% and Four Quarters of Positive Absorption 04:30 New Supply: Generationally Low and Now Contracting 06:02 Trophy vs. A-Minus: Where Occupancy Actually Collapsed 10:34 AI and Office Demand: A Tailwind With an Asterisk 14:13 Return to Office: Foot Traffic vs. Space Demand 16:40 Why New York Led, and How the Country Became Dallas 21:12 How Much Vacant Space Is Actually Leasable? 23:02 Tenant Improvement Capital and the Rise of Spec Suites 25:29 Lease Sizes Down 15% From Pre-Pandemic 27:01 Office Investment Sales: Institutions Are Buying Again 30:33 User Buyers, Two World Trade, and Occupier-Driven Construction 32:48 Forecast: Vacancy, Rents, and the Next 6 to 12 Months 34:36 Capital Is King: Corporations Building Their Own Space Connect with Phil Mobley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-mobley/ CoStar Group Website: https://www.costar.com Connect with Michael Bull & The Show: Michael Bull, CCIM Bull Realty, Inc https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbull/ For more commercial real estate market data, sector forecasts, and video episodes, visit CREshow.com. America's Commercial Real Estate Show is brought to you by our proud sponsors. TCN Worldwide: Commercial real estate property management, leasing, and sales solutions across the US and globally. Learn more: https://www.tcnworldwide.com Build Out: The ultimate product suite for commercial real estate brokerage firms looking to streamline their business. Learn more: https://www.buildout.com Bull Realty: Regional commercial real estate brokerage services headquartered in Atlanta, delivering market intel and strategies. Learn more: https://www.bullrealty.com Commercial Agent Success Strategies: Twenty-one cloud accessed commercial broker training videos with slide deck action notes. Learn more at https://www.commercialagentsuccess.com/ #CRE #CommercialRealEstate #OfficeMarket #OfficeSpace #RealEstateInvesting #CREForecast #OfficeVacancy #CoStar #TenantRepresentation #BullRealty
Most Shopify brands do not need to send more emails. They need better automations.Omnisend analysed 27 billion emails and found that automated messages generated 37% of email sales from just 2% of sends.In this Tea Break Talk, Nick breaks down the three Shopify email automations every ecommerce brand should build first - welcome flows, abandoned cart emails and browse abandonment.You'll learn how to turn more visitors into customers, increase repeat purchases, use SMS more effectively and avoid the biggest mistakes brands make with email marketing.You'll learn:Why sending more campaigns does not always create more revenueHow to build a welcome series that converts new subscribersHow abandoned cart emails recover lost sales without relying on discountsWhy browse abandonment is an overlooked Shopify growth opportunityWhich email metrics actually matter for ecommerce growthHow email and SMS should work together throughout the customer journeyIn this episode:(00:00) - Why more emails don't mean more sales(00:40) - The data from 27 billion emails(02:05) - Why automation wins(04:00) - Building the perfect welcome series(08:50) - Better abandoned cart emails(10:35) - Browse abandonment strategy(12:25) - SMS marketing that converts(16:30) - Email metrics that matter(20:35) - Omnisend email marketing(22:25) - The 7-step email marketing audit(25:10) - Final takeawaysListener offers:Omnisend - 30% off paid plans for three months with code WINNINGWITHOMNISEND.Ships-A-Lot - Improve fulfilment costs, shipping margins and customer experience.Yoast - 15% off Shopify and WordPress with code WWS15.Inventory Planner - Free seven-day inventory bootcamp.About Winning With ShopifyWinning With Shopify is powered by Spec Digital, a PPC & SEO agency for ecommerce brands.
This is a free preview of a paid episode (44 min), exclusively available on our subscriber-only premium feed. Become a premium subscriber to tune into the full episode: https://cubicletoceo.co/podcast Questions about our premium podcast subscription? Send us a DM @cubicletoceo When a copycat company rips off your IP, sometimes the best course of action isn't to challenge them, but rather to spotlight them. Sounds counterintuitive, but that's exactly the approach that created an explosive marketing campaign for Ceres Chill, the original breastmilk chiller. In today's case study, founder and inventor Lisa Myers breaks down Ceres Chill's Dupe Drop: a campaign inviting customers to trade in knockoff chillers for the real thing. The results speak for themselves: the campaign reached 72,000 people (75% of them brand new to Ceres Chill), over 900 dupes were traded in, and Ceres Chill saw an 80% jump in orders — all accomplished organically. Lisa didn't out-lawyer her competitors. She out-marketed them, and let their own knockoffs do her selling for her. To continue our series on leveraging IP in your business, this episode is a reminder that your IP isn't just a legal shield, it's a growth lever. Connect with Lisa: Cereschill.com IG: @cereschill Look at Lisa's patent drawings: https://www.cereschill.com/pages/patent-info If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Post a screenshot & key takeaway on your IG story and tag us @cubicletoceo so we can repost you. Subscribe to our premium feed for case-study style interviews every Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What separates elite performers from everyone else isn't skill, strategy, or preparation. It's psychology. Collin Henderson knows this firsthand. A former Division I wide receiver at Washington State University, seven-time author, and host of the Master Your Mindset podcast, Collin has spent his career cracking the code on peak performance — training number one NBA draft picks, Heisman football finalists, and top sales teams at Nike, Amazon, Salesforce, and Alaska Airlines. His new book, The Oz Method: Psychological Secrets of Influence for Sales, Leadership, and Life (IdeaPress, 2026), delivers a parable-driven framework inspired by L. Frank Baum's classic — and it just might change the way you sell, lead, and communicate forever. In this episode of the Business of Story, Collin reveals why sales psychology beats sales strategy every time. We unpack his five-part story framework — Set the Scene, Establish the Challenge, The Growth Journey, Face Your Fear, Resolution — and explore why the brain is hardwired to respond to problems before solutions. Collin also shares why your identity is the hidden ceiling on your performance, how "trauma, drama, daddy and mama" shapes the way high achievers either freeze or fly under pressure, and why boring will put you out of business faster than any competitor. This is a masterclass in the psychology of influence, the neuroscience of storytelling, and the courage it takes to communicate when the moment gets biggest. What you'll discover in this episode: The five-part story framework every seller, leader, and communicator needs to master. Why psychological readiness trumps preparation in high-stakes moments. How to close the gap between what your team can do and what they actually deliver Connect with Collin Henderson at thecolinhenderson.com and on LinkedIn and Instagram @ColinHendersonCoach. Find The Oz Method wherever books are sold. Learn more about the Business of Story at businessofstory.com.
Do you ever leave a sales conversation wondering what your prospect really meant? Maybe you're trying to interpret an email, guessing why someone asked a certain question, or deciding what offer to make before you've truly understood what they need. As a service-based woman entrepreneur, this is a common place to get stuck. In case you can relate, this episode offers a simple mindset shift that creates more confidence in your sales conversations. Instead of making assumptions, Nikki shares how curiosity, thoughtful questions, and clear invitations create stronger client relationships and more natural sales conversations. The Transformation Before listening, you may find yourself: Wondering what a prospect really means instead of asking. Preparing your offer before you understand what your prospect actually needs. Feeling pressure to have all the answers before the conversation begins. Hoping the conversation naturally moves toward a sale. After listening, you learn how to: Replace assumptions with curiosity. Ask questions that reveal what your prospect actually needs. Guide sales conversations with clear invitations instead of persuasion. Feel calm, confident, and clear because you know what to ask next. What You Learn In this episode, Nikki shares: Why assumptions often get in the way of relationship-based selling. How asking better questions leads to stronger sales conversations. Why a Consultation Map creates more confidence than following a script. The role invitations play in moving someone through the Selling Staircase. How every response, hesitation, and objection provides valuable information that guides your next step. The Ask, Invite, Gather Information, Decide Framework When you're unsure what to do next in a sales conversation, remember this simple process: Ask. Replace assumptions with thoughtful questions that uncover what your prospect actually needs. Invite. Guide the conversation to the next step with a clear invitation instead of hoping they'll naturally move forward. Gather Information. Listen carefully to their response. Every answer, hesitation, objection, or question gives you valuable information. Decide. Use what you've learned to determine your next step instead of relying on assumptions. Sales confidence grows when you stop guessing and start gathering information. A Quote Worth Remembering "It's not your job to persuade someone to buy. It's your job to create a space where an honest answer can be given and a decision can be made." Try This This Week The next time you're preparing for a sales conversation, resist the urge to guess what your prospect is thinking. Instead, use Nikki's framework: Ask one thoughtful question. Issue one invitation. Gather information from their response. Decide what to do next based on what you learned. Notice how much calmer and more confident you feel when you're responding to information instead of assumptions. Who This Episode Is For This episode is especially valuable when you: Feel uncomfortable with selling because you worry about saying the wrong thing. Want sales conversations to feel natural instead of scripted. Tend to overthink what prospects mean. Want more confidence in consultative selling. Are ready to enroll more clients through relationship-based sales conversations. Resources Mentioned Nikki's Consultation Map framework. The Selling Staircase framework. Sales Practice Sessions inside the Sales Maven Society. Additional Sales Maven podcast episodes about sales confidence, sales communication, consultative selling, and how to sell without being pushy. Strategic Next Step When you're ready to create more confidence in your sales conversations, explore Nikki's coaching and training resources at Sales Maven. Discover practical, relationship-based sales strategies that allow you to confidently enroll more clients while staying true to your values. About Nikki Rausch Nikki Rausch guides service-based women entrepreneurs who feel uncomfortable with selling to confidently enroll more clients through natural, relationship-based conversations. Through practical strategies and proven frameworks, you learn how to create consistent business growth while staying true to your values. Whether you're building sales confidence, improving client enrollment, or refining your sales communication, Nikki shows you how to create sales that feel natural and results that feel inevitable.
Click here to register for the Delulu Sales Challenge $10 : https://heartartistry.thrivecart.com/delulu-sales-challenge/
Sales reps who cannot speak the language of business are going to get exposed fast.In this episode, John sits down with Kevin Cope, founder of Acumen Learning and co-author of Business Acumen for Sales Success and See the Big Picture, to talk about why business acumen is now one of the most important skills in sales. Kevin shares lessons from his time at the Covey Leadership Center, the start of Acumen Learning, and 25 years helping companies close the gap between functional expertise and real business understanding.If you are in sales, leadership, RevOps, enablement, or any role where you need to speak with executives, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about cash, profit, assets, growth, people, discounting, cashflow, AI, and how to connect your solution to the business results buyers actually care about.Want to build stronger business acumen and sell with more executive relevance? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.What You'll LearnWhy business acumen is one of the first skills sales reps need to buildWhy round-number discounts can signal weak negotiation and weak business understandingHow a small discount can create a much larger hit to profitabilityWhy cash, profit, assets, growth, and people give reps a clearer business lensHow salespeople affect cashflow before and after a deal closesWhy AI research only matters if reps can translate it into business relevanceHow curiosity helps reps use AI as a learning tool instead of a shortcutKevin Cope is the founder of Acumen Learning and co-author of Business Acumen for Sales Success and the bestselling See the Big Picture. He built his career at the Covey Leadership Center, joining just before the release of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and later served as president of international for the combined organization following its 1997 merger with Franklin Quest to form Franklin Covey. Through Acumen Learning, Kevin helps organizations close the business acumen gap and connect everyday decisions to cash, profit, assets, growth, and people.Connect with Kevin Cope on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrcope/) and grab his book, Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company, at https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Big-Picture-Business-Credibility-ebook/dp/B07DPWFK7T?ref_=ast_author_mpb, to build the business acumen that earns you a seat at the table. Learn more about Acumen:Website: https://www.acumenlearning.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acumenlearning/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AcumenLearningFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcumenLearning/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/acumen-learning/?viewAsMember=trueJohn Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today's AI-driven sales environment.Connect with John Barrows:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter
Send us Fan MailOn this episode of Mondays Down Under, Lee Salisbury and Nick are joined by AIS Water's Lee Moore and Technical Director Blake for a deep dive into commercial saltwater chlorination.AIS Water has worked in salt chlorination for approximately 35 years, developing systems for everything from swim schools and splash parks to resorts, 50-meter competition pools, coastal pools, and enormous lagoons containing millions of liters of water.The conversation explores why more commercial aquatic facilities are moving toward onsite chlorine generation—and why their success depends on selecting actual commercial equipment, correctly sizing the system, and maintaining proper water chemistry.The three major benefits are convenience, safety, and long-term cost savings. Generating chlorine onsite can dramatically reduce the handling, storage, transportation, and manual transfer of liquid or granular chlorine. It can also reduce the risks associated with chemical spills, damaged dosing lines, incorrect chemical mixing, and chlorine gas entering an occupied pool.But not every “commercial salt system” is truly commercial.The guests discuss facilities that attempted to meet massive chlorine demand by plumbing together banks of residential chlorinators—including one installation containing an astonishing 95 residential units. Besides creating a maintenance nightmare, these improvised systems can introduce excessive head loss, restrict circulation, shorten cell life, and still fail to satisfy the pool's chlorine demand.Proper sizing requires far more than knowing the pool's volume. AIS Water considers actual peak bather load, water temperature, turnover rate, sunlight exposure, cyanuric acid use, environmental conditions, operating hours, and the facility's location. Two pools of identical size—even pools located only a suburb apart—may require substantially different chlorine production capacities.And just when you thought pool chlorination could not get any stranger, the discussion turns to horse pools, seal enclosures, sea lions, natural salt contributions from swimmers, and one exceptionally important unanswered question:Just how much chlorine does a sea lion prefer?You will have to return next Monday for the conclusion.In this episode: Why commercial aquatic facilities are adopting onsite chlorine generation The safety risks associated with storing and manually transporting chlorine How salt chlorination can reduce long-term operating costs Why an electrolytic cell is a consumable—not a failed chlorinator How commercial-grade anodes can provide significantly longer cell life The difference between residential and commercial chlorination equipment What happens when dozens of residential chlorinators are installed in one system How excessive head loss can compromise circulation and turnover Why peak bather load is critical when sizing a chlorinator How sunlight, shade, temperature, rainfall, and surrounding buildings affect chlorine demand Commercial systems ranging from low-salinity water to direct seawater The unusual challenges of chlorinating pools for horses, seals, and sea lions Guests: Lee Moore, Sales and Marketing, AIS Water Blake, Technical Director, AIS Water Hosted by Lee Salisbury and Nick on Mondays Down Under, part of the Talking Pools Podcast network.US certifications for AIS Commercial products. Certified to the Highest International Standards – AIS commercial chlorination systems are independently certified to NSF/ANSI 50 for swimming pool equipment safety and performance, UL 1081 for electrical safety, and are approved for installation in Los Angeles County, one of the world's most stringent regulatory environments. These certifications provide independent assurance that AIS products meet rigorous standards for quality, reliability, and safety, giving consultants, operators, and asset owners confidence in specifying AIS for demanding commercial aquatic facilities. Support the showThank you so much for listening! You can find us on social media:FacebookInstagramTik TokEmail us: talkingpools@gmail.com
Episode Summary In this episode of the Work at Home Rockstar Podcast, Tim chats with Matt O'Neill, owner of Matt O'Neill Real Estate and Tide Property Management, and a happiness coach. Matt shares his path from hating engineering and a soul-crushing nine-to-five sales job to becoming a real estate agent, only to realize that client work had given him "40 bosses" instead of one. That realization led him to hire and train agents, and eventually build a property management company designed for recurring cashflow he could own without operating it day to day. Matt also opens up about a major setback: an overleveraged home-flipping business that nearly cost his family their home when interest rates doubled in 30 days. He shares what he learned from Morgan Housel's The Psychology of Money about never risking survival money and being able to withstand a 30 percent drop. The conversation covers his obsession with sales and marketing, testing channels like YouTube, hiring by core values, protecting company culture, and his decision to work less so he can spend more time with his four kids. Matt also talks about his book, The Good Mood Revolution, and his approach to happiness coaching. Who is Matt O'Neill? Matt O'Neill teaches that happiness is a choice, even when life gets tough. His work has positively impacted over 100,000 people worldwide. His book, Good Mood Revolution: Igniting the Power of Conscious Happiness, became a #1 bestseller in seven categories on Amazon and has earned over 140 five-star reviews. Matt emphasizes the power of conquering negative thought patterns, and shares that there are eight bad moods, and that understanding these emotions is key to moving through them and returning to joy. Matt and his wife have four young children while running two successful businesses with $8 million in revenue and over 80 employees. His company has been recognized as the #1 place to work among 470,000 companies in South Carolina. Connect with Matt O'Neill Website: https://www.mattoneill.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goodmoodmatt/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodmoodmatt/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-o-neill-02528057/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpPkoHyB_z57WPEWZtPbg7g TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@goodmoodmatt Host Contact Details Website: https://workathomerockstar.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/workathomerockstar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workathomerockstar LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmelanson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WorkAtHomeRockStarPodcast Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/workathomestar Email: tim@workathomerockstar.com Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:30 From Engineering to Sales 03:06 Real Estate Freedom Myth 04:23 Building a Real Business 06:54 Facing Fear and Risk 11:31 When Plans Go Wrong 14:53 Leverage Lessons and Barbell 22:34 Sales and Marketing Obsession 26:19 Hiring and Culture Fit 33:45 Working Less for Family 38:38 Happiness Coaching and Book 39:16 Favorite Band and Wrap Up Disclaimers Personal Experience, Not Financial Advice This episode includes personal stories about business loans, leverage, and investing decisions. These reflect one guest's experience and aren't financial advice, so please check with a professional before making financial decisions of your own. Coaching and Mindset Perspective Our guest shares his own approach to happiness and mindset coaching. These are his personal views and methods, not medical or psychological treatment.
Thank you for tuning in to The Prosperous Woman Podcast!In today's episode, Claire gets real about what turns your online content into actual sales — and exactly what to do if you're still hearing crickets. Learning how to effectively sell through your content doesn't have to be a mystery. This episode is for you if you're ready to learn a simple process for creating content that converts.Inside this episode:What might be missing if you're creating content regularly but your DMs are empty The fundamental difference in approach between what women buy and what they don'tHow to communicate the details of your offerings in the right way so that makes people are excited to buyReady for more?Follow Claire Sellers on InstagramFor the woman ready to start a business - join Claire's 4-month business birthing program The Dream Accelerator For the woman scaling to multiple 6 figures - Join The Opulence Mastermind
Today with Michael Barbarita: You already know the feeling. You glance at the checkbook, you see a number that looks okay, and you decide that's good enough. You don't open QuickBooks. You don't look at your gross profit percent. Some part of you is afraid that if you actually looked, you might not like what you'd find. Michael Barbarita has spent thirty years inside businesses just like yours, first as an owner himself, growing a retail company called Ski Town USA from two and a half million dollars to eight million in under five years, and now as a fractional CFO through his company, Next Step CFO, working mostly with owners in the trades. He told LuAnn something simple that changes how you think about your numbers for good: the time to look is when it's cloudy, not when it's raining. Michael doesn't ask his clients to become accountants. He gives them five numbers, what he calls the vital five, and a rhythm for checking them. Sales, gross profit, gross profit percent, and net profit get pulled from your weekly P&L, and for most owners, that report is already sitting in your accounting software waiting to be opened. Cash is the one exception. That number gets checked every single day, because cash is what can sink you fastest, and it's the one number you can't afford to only glance at once a week. LuAnn connects Michael's framework directly to something she and her husband Vin have pushed Exciting Windows members toward for years, a fifty five to sixty percent gross profit margin. Once you're actually watching your gross profit percent every week, you have a real answer to whether you're anywhere close to that target, instead of a guess. The conversation goes further into why so many business owners let their accounts receivable slide, and Michael's five components of what he calls a compelling offer, the framework he uses with clients to get them out of competing on price. LuAnn ties it back to something she's said for years, that you have to sell the transformation your work creates, not the blind, the shade, or the drape itself. If pricing and margin are the piece that's nagging at you after this one, go back and listen to WTFP #199, Solo Margins Matter, for the fuller case on what discounting below a healthy margin actually costs your business. More About Michael Barbarita: Michael Barbarita has owned and operated Retail, Manufacturing and Service companies over the last 30 years. One of the retail companies he operated called “Ski Town USA” grew from $2.5 Million to $8.0 million in less than 5 years. One of the products he manufactured was “Cookies To Scoop Frozen Cookie Dough” and was featured on the QVC Home Shopping Network and was selected as one of the top 20 products in the State of Massachusetts in 1997. He has sat on the Board of Directors of 5 different companies. He was a Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for a large specialty retailer. He was Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for all of his previously owned companies as well. Michael has been involved in the structuring of leveraged buyouts. He has experience in owning both commercial and residential investment real estate. He also has experience exporting and doing business on a global scale. He is an award winning public speaker. He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and majored in Accounting. Connect with Michael Barbarita: Website Our Favorite Links Windowworksnj.com Exciting Windows What's new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour 2025 Watch the Docuseries! https://www.luannnigara.com/cob Purchase LuAnn's Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn's Website LuAnn's Blog Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast Other Shows Mentioned: Episode 199: What Would Lu Do?: Margins Matter: Why Discounting Puts Your Business at Risk
Life stage changes bring opportunities to talk with your clients about their coverage. Bobby Nerum and Danica Stover explain how leveraging this strategy adds real value to client interactions. Even better? They explain how naturally agents can cross-sell both life and under-65 health insurance through every stage of life. Visit the Life & Annuities Resource Center Get Connected:
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Leads finden ist für viele Vertriebler echte Handarbeit: recherchieren, Listen bauen, anschreiben, nachhaken. Mühsam und langsam. Die Frage ist also: Wie viel davon kann KI heute übernehmen – und wo brauchst du weiterhin den Menschen? Thuy Ngan Trinh ist Geschäftsführerin der Digitalberatung A11, dem früheren Operations-Arm hinter dem Investor Project A. Mit ihrem Team baut sie Vertrieb für unterschiedlichste Unternehmen auf und weiß deshalb genau, welche KI-Tools im Sales wirklich liefern. Wir sprechen darüber, wie du in fünf Prozessschritten dein Lead-Management automatisierst: vom ICP, den du dir per LLM definierst, über Leadlisten mit Clay und Ocean.io, automatisierten Outreach mit The Growth Machine, die besten Note-Taker und CRMs – bis zur Frage, ob ein einziger Agenten-Stack alle Tools ersetzen kann. Du erfährst... ...wie KI-Tools den Vertriebsprozess von der Lead-Generierung bis zum Abschluss optimieren. ...welche Tools wie Ocean.io und Clay für effiziente Lead-Listen sorgen. ...wie personalisierte Nachrichten und Follow-ups den Vertriebserfolg steigern. __________________________ ||||| PERSONEN |||||
03 August 2026: Abu Dhabi’s property market continues to record strong annual gains—but is momentum beginning to slow? Sean Swinburn, Director of Valuations at ValuStrat, gives us a first look at its Q2 2026 data, with quarterly capital value growth easing to 2.1%, its weakest pace in two years. UAE petrol prices have risen for August as renewed geopolitical tensions push Brent crude back above $100 a barrel. Rustin Edwards, Head of Sales at VKG, examines the volatility driving global oil markets and what it could mean for prices at the pump. Plus, UK barrister Byron James has become the first foreign lawyer admitted to the UAE Roll of Advocates. He joins us to discuss what the milestone means for foreign lawyers, international law firms and the UAE’s position as a global legal hub. And Samsung has unveiled its lightest Galaxy Z Fold yet, weighing just 201 grams. Fadi Abu Shamat, Vice President and Head of Mobile Experience at Samsung Gulf Electronics, takes us through the Fold8’s biggest upgrades and discusses what a price tag above $2,000, or around AED 8,000 could mean for demand in the GCC.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Allen covers Dominion’s $800M tariff hit, Eversource’s 84% profit drop, Nordex’s record quarter, and a looming floating wind vessel shortage. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Good Monday, everyone. Let us start this week with a number. Eight hundred million dollars. That is what tariffs on steel and aluminum added to Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. Dominion President Bob Blue shared the damage on a second-quarter earnings call. Two hundred and thirty million dollars … just in the latest quarter alone. That is on top of the five hundred and eighty million from the quarter before. The project is eighty-one percent complete. Thirty-one turbines are already spinning … producing more than four hundred and fifty megawatts. But the finish line just moved. Completion is now expected by the end of twenty twenty-seven. Weather delays. Vessel maintenance. And some particularly complicated turbines to install. Blue says the project will still save customers money. And Dominion expects to pocket more than five hundred million dollars in savings from grid upgrade cost shifts. The total price tag … eleven-point-six billion dollars. Now … if Dominion is feeling the squeeze in Virginia … Eversource up in New England is feeling something worse. The utility’s second-quarter profit dropped eighty-four percent. Net income fell to just fifty-three-point-seven million dollars. Why? A one-hundred-and-sixty-four-million-dollar charge tied to the offshore wind projects they already sold. South Fork Wind. Revolution Wind. Eversource got out of offshore wind back in twenty twenty-four … but the bills keep coming. Higher-than-expected payments to Global Infrastructure Partners are dragging down the bottom line. So one company builds through the pain. Another walks away … and still pays for it. But here is some good news. Over in Hamburg, Germany … Nordex just posted a quarter that would make any CEO smile. Sales up sixteen percent. EBITDA … more than doubled … to two hundred and twenty-four million euros. Margins hit ten-point-three percent. Net income … one hundred and eleven million euros. Up from thirty-one million a year ago. And orders? Up thirty-two percent. Three-point-one gigawatts of new turbine orders in just one quarter. Their total order book now stands at eighteen-point-four billion euros. Nordex CEO José Luis Blanco confirmed the full-year guidance. The onshore wind giant is not just surviving. It is thriving. Now … let us go to sea. Classification society ABS says floating offshore wind is about to create a brand-new problem. Not enough ships. A new report says demand for large anchor-handling vessels and multipurpose support vessels will surge as floating wind projects go from small demonstrations to full commercial scale. Here is the number that tells the story. A single one-gigawatt floating wind farm needs about one hundred and ninety-eight anchors … and nearly two hundred kilometers of mooring lines. That is far more than a single deepwater oil and gas platform. ABS says shortages in certain vessel classes could hit as early as twenty twenty-nine. Global floating wind capacity is expected to grow from about two hundred and seventy megawatts today … to fourteen gigawatts by twenty forty. The race for ships … has begun. And speaking of ships … Japan just finished building one. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines held a naming ceremony in Nagasaki for the Wind Whale. Japan’s first coastal deck carrier built specifically for offshore wind. One hundred and forty-nine meters long. A flush deck designed so that monopiles, towers, blades and nacelles can roll right on from the stern. It even has dynamic positioning … so it can transfer cargo directly to installation vessels at sea. Built in China by Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering … the Wind Whale will carry foundations from a factory in Okayama to construction sites around Japan. A country that once built ships for oil … now builds them for wind. And finally … back home in Iowa. The state Supreme Court ruled that the CEO of Global Fiberglass Solutions can be held personally liable for dumping thirteen hundred used wind turbine blades across the state. CEO Donald Lilly and another executive argued they were never in Iowa. The court disagreed. Lilly signed the contracts. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird put it plainly. They were hired to recycle used wind turbine blades. Instead … they dumped them. Four hundred blades piled up along Interstate 35 near Ellsworth alone. The lesson? You can build an industry on clean energy. But you still have to clean up after yourself. So what does all of this mean … if you work in wind? It means the money is real now. Projects are not getting canceled. They are getting more expensive. And that changes the math for every engineer, every project manager, every supply chain director reading a bid today. Tariffs come and go. But an eleven-billion-dollar project does not stop on a dime. It means the vessels you need may not be there when you need them. If you are planning a floating wind project for the early twenty thirties … your vessel strategy should already be on paper. It means manufacturers who kept their discipline … who held their margins and grew their order books … are the ones writing the next chapter. And it means accountability is coming to every corner of this business. You cannot just build turbines. You have to manage the turbines. This industry asked the world to trust it with the future of energy. That trust comes with responsibility. And that is the state of the wind industry for August 3rd, 2026.
Why I Deleted Half My Programme (And Sales Went Up)"What this episode's about:Loads of us think a bigger course = better value. So we keep bunging more modules and bonuses in to make the price feel justified. But all that does is make it impossible for anyone to actually finish... and an unfinished course helps nobody.In this episode I talk about why you need to delete have your programme if you want to make more sales! PS have you downloaded the 10 Min Lead Generator? Get in bound leads without sending spammy DMs CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOADGET IN TOUCH Message me at helen@helenwalkercoaching.com Follow me on Instagram Connect with me on LinkedIn Watch this podcast on YouTube
HaytersTV reporters Nick Callow and Dan Bennett discuss the latest transfer news, with Manchester United reportedly interested in Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Basecamp Research's co-founder Glen Gowers discusses the firm's ambitious plans to sequence a trillion genes. Gowers talks about how he lived his business idea by taking a portable lab onto an icecap, how he defied investor's advice and employed field scientists and diplomats ahead of computer scientists, and how he hoped the firm will one day help solve the antibiotic resistance crisis in healthcare.
In This Hour:-- Firearms trainer Clark Aposhian breaks down what's known about the murderer in Idaho who was stopped by a good guy with a gun.-- Colorado passes new laws designed to make it more difficult and more expensive to buy modern rifles.-- Tips for learning to use an optic on a carry pistol.Gun Talk 08.02.26 Hour 2Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gun-talk--6185159/support.
Don’t get left behind on AWS! Don’t get left behind on AWS! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this episode, we go deep inside the AWS Marketplace with Louise Strandoo, who spent nearly a decade building AWS’s marketplace business from the ground up and now leads partner development for AWS’s data, analytics, and storage practice. Louise unpacks COST, the six-pillar framework her team built by studying what actually separates hypergrowth startups and billion-dollar sellers from partners who treat marketplace as a side project. We break down why operational excellence has to be in place before you ever enable your sales team, why executive sponsorship from the top of the organization is what keeps a marketplace strategy from collapsing into a single point of failure, and why product-led growth is no longer optional now that buyers, and increasingly AI agents, expect to try, buy, and deploy software without waiting on a human to close the loop, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwyAP7yVy3I Key Takeaways Success on AWS Marketplace requires a comprehensive framework like COST, not just a simple checklist of tasks. Your product must be something customers actually want to buy, not a subpar offering used merely to test the waters. Operational excellence is required to ensure your marketplace motion has the sustainability to scale globally. Product-Led Growth (PLG) is essential for enabling frictionless procurement, especially as buyers shift toward agent-driven AI solutions. Executive sponsorship is critical; building a strategy without leadership buy-in will prevent it from gaining real traction. Sales alignment ensures reps are appropriately compensated and friction is removed, preventing them from avoiding marketplace transactions. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags AWS Marketplace framework, COST methodology, product-led growth, agentic procurement, hyperscaler ecosystem, operational excellence, revenue friction, private offers, co-sell acceleration, strategic collaboration agreements, resilient architecture, cloud commitments, organizational transformation Key Tags Louise Strandoo Audio Episode [00:00:00] Louise Strandoo: Salespeople, rightly so. They don’t wanna introduce something that’s going to add a complexity to the deal. They’re like, why would AWS wanna be involved? [00:00:11] Vince Menzione: You can feel it happening. The ecosystem is shifting beneath us, the way Hyperscalers are partnering, how AI’s remaking the channel and what it means to win in 2026. [00:00:22] Louise Strandoo: Welcome to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. I’m Vince Menzi. Own [00:00:26] Vince Menzione: your host. And each week I sit down with leaders at the intersection of technology, partnerships and outcomes. The voices shaping how ecosystems actually work. We talk about what’s real, what’s changing, and what it takes to lead in this era where the partner channel isn’t just part of the strategy. [00:00:45] Vince Menzione: It is the strategy because being in the room changes everything. Let’s start. [00:00:53] Louise Strandoo: And Louise Strand, come on out. Come on up. Uh, our first, our first [00:00:59] Vince Menzione: Amazon executive at, at this session. Not our first ever, but our first at this session. [00:01:06] Louise Strandoo: Happy to be [00:01:07] Vince Menzione: thrilled to have you. I, why don’t we sit down on an, um, I’ll have you sit here and, you know, you get, take one of the ultimate partner pillows with you since you’re a first assignment attend. [00:01:15] Louise Strandoo: Wonderful. [00:01:16] Vince Menzione: Uh, [00:01:16] Louise Strandoo: good [00:01:17] Vince Menzione: to hear. So great to have you. I thought maybe we’d start, maybe, uh, with you, uh, explaining your role. Then we can start talking about costs, which is the subject is like near and dear, and we’ll talk about that, about what that is. But I want to keep people on their pins of their seats right now. [00:01:33] Vince Menzione: So tell us, tell us more about you and your role and your journey at AWS. [00:01:37] Louise Strandoo: Yeah, well thanks for having me. Good to see everybody in the room. Um, so my name’s Louise. I have spent the better part of the last nine and a half years at AWS and I spent almost that whole time, probably around eight years. In AWS Marketplaces business Development organization, um, I joined to help startups figure out how to scale their business on the marketplace. [00:02:00] Louise Strandoo: And from there, I grew into a number of different roles, helped ISVs figure out how to scale their marketplace business of all sizes. Um, I worked with some of our top sellers on the marketplace, figure out how to really scale their revenue through the marketplace. Today I am actually the lead of the data analytics and storage partner development team. [00:02:20] Louise Strandoo: Nice. Within the US Tech partnerships organization. So it’s been a really cool transition to go from like all marketplace focused. And throughout that time, marketplace kind of became the center of partnerships. Yep. Within our partner program. Um, so now I manage PDMs and partners and we still talk a lot about marketplace. [00:02:40] Louise Strandoo: Also everything else that we do as a partner. So it’s, um, it’s been a fun journey. [00:02:45] Vince Menzione: And we were talking about this earlier, like you started with Marketplace and then moved out where all the other organizations started from partnership and moved into marketplace. Mm-hmm. Almost the other up. And you have built a framework costs [00:02:59] Louise Strandoo: mm-hmm. [00:03:00] Vince Menzione: Characteristics of successful sellers. And I have a set of operating principles about successful partnering. So I’m really intrigued about this conversation. I was hoping you could walk us through it, like what are these characteristics and where do most partners fall short in terms of characteristics? [00:03:18] Louise Strandoo: Yeah, so, um, like all really good things, cost was an effort that I built alongside a bunch of other really smart people. And we started to have this conversation about what does, uh, you know, what does success look like? We we’re focused in the beginning, in my marketplace journey on getting. Partners to sell on the marketplace, getting them to list and adopt the features. [00:03:41] Louise Strandoo: And of course they’re like, why would we do this? And we’re like, that’s a great question. Let’s figure out like really what the why of this whole thing is. And as we started to get partners who were startups and some of our really large partners activated, we started to see all kinds of value and how marketplace was helping co-sell and all this good stuff. [00:03:59] Louise Strandoo: And we needed to figure out like how do we identify what is like the lightning in the bottle? So we looked across some of the most, uh, hypergrowth companies on the marketplace. Mm-hmm. Some of those startups that had really propelled into major success stories. And then some of those like really scaled enterprise sellers, the one [00:04:17] Vince Menzione: that got to a billion dollars. [00:04:18] Louise Strandoo: Exactly. The market, our billion dollar market market. Billion dollar sellers. Right? Yep. And we looked at what are the common characteristics that all of those partners embody. Yes. And how do we kind of. Define a framework that is not a checklist because a lot of us were doing that at the time. Here’s all the things that you should do to make it work well. [00:04:34] Louise Strandoo: It doesn’t really work from partner to partner. Everyone has a unique go-to market strategy. Yeah, so we developed costs to kind of be this overarching tool that partners can use to say, do we have the right kind of fundamental approach to how we’re going to market with AWS and how we’re thinking about the marketplace. [00:04:51] Louise Strandoo: Do we have the right tools to like bring our overall go-to-market strategy to A AWS and to the marketplace so we’re not doing two separate things. That was sort of the genesis of the idea. Makes [00:05:02] Vince Menzione: a lot of sense. [00:05:04] Louise Strandoo: So, um, the characteristics, there’s six of ’em. I won’t go into detail about every single one. [00:05:11] Louise Strandoo: Oh, [00:05:11] come [00:05:11] Vince Menzione: on. We’ll do that one. Yeah. We have some people in the room that are gonna be intrigued by this. Go ahead. [00:05:16] Louise Strandoo: So, um, the first pillar is. Partnership with AWS, you can’t do marketplace without figuring out what, what’s your overall partner strategy, right? So how are you using the partner programs to drive differentiation in your business? [00:05:30] Louise Strandoo: Yep. How are you using our funding programs to elevate the parts of your business that you really wanna accelerate? Um, and how are you thinking about your partner strategy with AWS overall? [00:05:40] Vince Menzione: Interesting. [00:05:41] Louise Strandoo: The second one is, uh, selection on AWS marketplace. [00:05:44] Vince Menzione: Product selection. [00:05:45] Louise Strandoo: That’s right. [00:05:45] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:05:46] Louise Strandoo: You gotta have a product on the marketplace that your customers wanna buy. [00:05:49] Louise Strandoo: I think the biggest thing that partners have done wrong over the years is they think, let’s do crawl, walk, run. We’re gonna put something up there that we’re not, you know, really excited about, but we’ll see how it does and then we’ll try to invest from there. [00:06:03] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. [00:06:04] Louise Strandoo: If you put something out there that nobody knows how to sell, then that you’re not excited about, your customers aren’t probably excited about it either. [00:06:09] Louise Strandoo: There’s no reason it’s gonna do well in the marketplace. [00:06:10] Vince Menzione: Yeah. It makes no sense to me. [00:06:12] Louise Strandoo: Yep. So you gotta have something good. You gotta have your marquee product, and then you wanna use features that are gonna help buyers actually access that product in a way that’s frictionless. Yeah. The third one is operational excellence. [00:06:25] Louise Strandoo: So that’s looking at how are you structuring your organization and investing in all the right processes that you need to scale the business. Reporting at a global scale, understanding how to recognize revenue and thinking about all of the in-between moments of. Being on the marketplace, creating an offer, how does your sales team gonna get in touch with you when you need to send that offer out? [00:06:47] Louise Strandoo: And how are you making sure that an alliance person isn’t trying to find an outlet in a random corner of an airport to send a private offer to a customer? All of that structural stuff to make the, the motion scale. [00:07:00] Vince Menzione: So we’re talking product led growth versus. One off or [00:07:04] Louise Strandoo: all of it? All of it. Okay. No matter what kind of partner you are, you have to have operational excellence. [00:07:08] Louise Strandoo: Yeah. To make sure that your marketplace and your partnership motion has sustainability and scale. The next two, I’ll kind of go through fast. There is, yeah. Um, partner commitment to marketplace revenue. So what do you really want Drive from a revenue perspective, right. How do you get your leaders bought in on that, and how do you set a goal that dictates what you’re doing? [00:07:28] Louise Strandoo: And then how do you define sales alignment? From a structural perspective to say we’re gonna remove friction that could get in the way of the field selling this thing. We’re gonna remove things that are, um, negating reps from wanting to go through marketplace because it’s impacting their comp. Yeah. Or it’s really hard. [00:07:46] Louise Strandoo: All of that kind of structural stuff goes into the sales alliance. [00:07:49] Vince Menzione: So there’s, yeah. I wanted to take this apart a little bit too, if you don’t mind. No [00:07:52] Louise Strandoo: problem. [00:07:53] Vince Menzione: Because I think about this a lot. So when you start talking about an organization, you’re talking about what this, we’ll call it an ISV Sure. Or an si, but. [00:08:00] Vince Menzione: You know, ISPs primarily is where it all started. They need to get their internal operational excellence. Right, exactly. Which means their, their ops piece. Yep. And their sales execution. They’re gonna to market all those things. The sales alignment side. Is that their sales teams [00:08:18] Louise Strandoo: correct. [00:08:19] Vince Menzione: Are compensated properly so that they don’t go around the systems. [00:08:22] Vince Menzione: Exactly right. They’re aligned. They’re aligned to go drive the right results. [00:08:25] Louise Strandoo: Exactly. [00:08:26] Vince Menzione: Because they’ve made commitments as well. [00:08:28] Louise Strandoo: Yeah. [00:08:28] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:08:29] Louise Strandoo: And I always talk about marketplace, like it is transformation. It’s different. It’s not what you’re doing today. [00:08:35] Vince Menzione: That’s right. [00:08:35] Louise Strandoo: Salespeople, rightly so. They don’t wanna introduce something that’s gonna add a complexity to the deal. [00:08:43] Louise Strandoo: They’re like, why would AWS wanna be involved? Stay away. So if that is already there and then on top of that Mm, they don’t get paid as much when they go direct. [00:08:53] Vince Menzione: Right? Right. [00:08:54] Louise Strandoo: They’re not gonna go through the market nice. [00:08:55] Vince Menzione: No, they’re not. [00:08:55] Louise Strandoo: They’re not gonna bring anything to you and the partnership team saying like, Hey, we really wanna figure out how to make this engine work with AWS So we have to do as much as we can to remove that friction from the experience. [00:09:06] Vince Menzione: So, you know, you mentioned private offers, which made me think about like product-led growth versus private offers. ’cause it’s, it feels like marketplace from the beginning. It’s changed. It [00:09:15] Louise Strandoo: has, [00:09:16] Vince Menzione: you’ve been doing this for a number of years. You were first to market with a marketplace. There was, I’ll call a lot of friction because there was channels and other, other routes to market direct selling. [00:09:27] Vince Menzione: Tell us, take us through some of those experiences. Yeah, yeah. Like what was that like? And then obviously you built cos because you had a lot of field engagement with these organizations trying to get them to go do it the right way. [00:09:38] Louise Strandoo: Right? [00:09:39] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:09:39] Louise Strandoo: So it’s interesting actually, when we built the marketplace. [00:09:42] Louise Strandoo: It was completely like a product-led growth motion, as in let’s just figure out a way to let AWS customers find amis in the marketplace. Developers are gonna go get it, and they’re just gonna buy it without any additional push from the field or like co-sell. That doesn’t need to happen. Then we heard from customers, Hey, this is great. [00:10:02] Louise Strandoo: But what we really want is also to be able to buy bigger contracts. We wanna customize our contracts, we wanna negotiate price when we’re buying this on behalf of, you know, large organizations. We’re not just buying what’s on the shelf. We need something more custom. So we introduced this concept of private offers to make sure that we could bring all of that customization into the process. [00:10:23] Louise Strandoo: And then we heard from customers saying, uh, we want to purchase from our preferred channel partners. We really wanna make sure that we’re, you know, not losing that source of, um, engagement with our really critical partners. So we had to figure out, hey, how can we make it so that we’re not competing with the channel? [00:10:41] Louise Strandoo: ’cause we’re not really a channel at all. Right. So we had to go and build our platform that allowed for channel partners to sell through the marketplace and augment that private offer piece to say, Hey, if you want, you can have a channel partner resell your product through the marketplace. So today we kind of see all of those as just different routes to market and different ISVs are gonna embrace different routes to market. [00:11:04] Louise Strandoo: First, the really important thing about costs is that it’s. Pushing partners to think about bringing their go to market strategy that works outside of the partnership to the marketplace. Mm-hmm. So if you’re an ISV that doesn’t sell with channel today, don’t start with channel partners on the marketplace. [00:11:21] Louise Strandoo: Right. If you don’t do product-led growth today, probably figure that out before you start doing it on the marketplace. Yeah. But if you’re doing those things, if you’re not doing those things, you should look at why not, and could we be doing those things and then we have the ways to bring it into your strategy with AWS marketplace. [00:11:38] Vince Menzione: So what separates the partners who kind of build this flywheel of success that you describe from those who treat it maybe as a side project? And do you, do you see less and less of that today too? I wanna, I wanna ask you. [00:11:50] Louise Strandoo: No, I think, um, the more mature the marketplace gets [00:11:57] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:11:58] Louise Strandoo: The more obvious some of the, uh, characteristics of success become and the more important. [00:12:06] Louise Strandoo: Embodying that framework becomes for partners as they grow to become the next billion dollar seller, right? And become the next a hundred million dollar seller. Um, I think a couple things come to mind for me. The first thing is that like at AWS overall, we talk a lot about like resilient architecture. We talk a lot about what does it look like to drive successful transformation. [00:12:29] Louise Strandoo: All of that has to happen in the partnership. Partners that have really strong marketplace motions with AWS, they do not have single points of failure. They are not expecting an alliance lead to manage everything and then have the business collapse if they leave. [00:12:46] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:12:46] Louise Strandoo: They figure out how to delegate and get buy-in from leadership so that they have multiple folks invested in the strategy for multiple angles so that there’s scalability and sustainability. [00:12:58] Louise Strandoo: Without that. You could do all the things right with costs and if there’s res, if there’s no resiliency, if there’s, if there’s a single point of failure, it doesn’t scale and it doesn’t last. [00:13:09] Vince Menzione: It’s so funny ’cause you haven’t seen my seven principles of, of successful partnering, but we talk about growth mindset, we talk about executive commitment and then clarity on your vision and what you’re hoping to achieve. [00:13:21] Louise Strandoo: Yeah. [00:13:22] Vince Menzione: Like that’s your internal victory. You’ve gotta get those things right. That’s exactly what you just said. A hundred [00:13:26] percent. [00:13:26] Louise Strandoo: And you can’t, you, you know, like if you don’t have that executive sponsorship, [00:13:30] Vince Menzione: yeah, [00:13:32] Louise Strandoo: great. You’ve done the cost framework, but where are you gonna go with it? [00:13:35] Vince Menzione: And it’s not just the sponsorship, it’s. [00:13:38] Vince Menzione: Up in, from the top of the organization all the way down to the selling floor. Completely. Right? [00:13:42] Louise Strandoo: Completely. [00:13:42] Vince Menzione: Everybody has to be aligned. Resources, investments all need to be aligned to this. Mm-hmm. [00:13:47] Louise Strandoo: Mm-hmm. [00:13:47] Vince Menzione: We’re speaking the same language earlier. A hundred percent. I love it. I love it. I love it. Um, so what does, we talked about product-led growth, but I want to maybe jump in here a little bit more. [00:13:58] Vince Menzione: Because I think it’s, it’s becoming more prevalent today, isn’t it? Yeah. It’s like, you know, we talked about private offer. It was really private offers, at least my perspective was a few years ago, I wanna buy something from you. Oh, you have a cloud commitment. I can access the cloud commitment. [00:14:13] Louise Strandoo: Yeah. [00:14:14] Vince Menzione: And so it was always the private offer thing that was going on behind the scenes, which required a lot of internal resources to go drive. [00:14:19] Louise Strandoo: Yep. [00:14:20] Vince Menzione: Let’s talk about product led growth. ’cause that becomes a fly more of a flywheel that’s automated Yeah. And allows you to sell while you’re sleeping kind of thing, you know? [00:14:28] Louise Strandoo: Totally. [00:14:29] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:14:30] Louise Strandoo: So I think, um, we have heard a lot from customers saying, okay, when we really need to negotiate and we need something custom, we wanna be able to do that. [00:14:40] Louise Strandoo: But we also wanna be able to purchase things quickly. We don’t wanna have to go out to dinner every time we need to upgrade, uh, like our licenses and get a new contract. We wanna be able to experiment and pick the things that resonate best with the line of business users that are, you know, increasingly taking some of that buying power. [00:14:59] Louise Strandoo: And I think especially now that we’re entering into, you know, the unprecedented, unprecedented times, it’s everything is AI like. There is more, um, pressure than ever to have users quickly figure out, does something add value to me and my business right now? And if it does, then I’m gonna keep using it, and if it doesn’t, I’m gonna go to the next thing. [00:15:22] Guest: Right. [00:15:22] Louise Strandoo: Product led growth is really about eliminating some of that I would say. Paperwork at the start of the process and putting the power in the hands of the user to say, can this product solve your challenge? And as more and more buyers are looking at Agen solutions, they wanna be able to try something, see if it works, and then quickly buy it without having to go through a whole bunch of steps because they have work that needs to be done right now. [00:15:54] Louise Strandoo: So the marketplace, that was our roots, like we started with this PLG motion. So we have all of that foundation to do it, and we’ve spent a lot of time over the last two, three years, like really investing in that from our engineering and roadmap perspective to build a whole bunch of features and capabilities that support product-led growth. [00:16:11] Louise Strandoo: We have things like free trials request, demo request, a private offer if you want to. Um, we introduced something, you know, last year that was an express private offer experience. Hey, you know, you want custom pricing. Request it and we’re gonna give it to you right away because the vendor has populated rate cards. [00:16:26] Louise Strandoo: Right? So all of those things I think are really important right now to say, yeah, when your customers like, wanna get going, now let’s stop. Putting barriers in the way and let your product actually show its value immediately. [00:16:38] Vince Menzione: And you were actually putting buttons or making buttons available Yeah. For people’s websites. [00:16:42] Vince Menzione: Exactly. So they could just say, click here and [00:16:43] Louise Strandoo: buy. Absolutely. We buy with a Ws. You can click from your own website, your own marketing pages to route them to the marketplace. If that’s the preferred way to transact, [00:16:50] Vince Menzione: yeah, why not? [00:16:51] Louise Strandoo: Yeah. [00:16:52] Vince Menzione: So you mentioned ai. We talked a little bit, I call it the tectonic shifts. [00:16:56] Vince Menzione: We, we’ve seen this incredible transformation happening so fast. And now we’re talking about agents. Right. And, uh, John Yo was over here from, uh, earlier from Sugar talking about like, what happens if the buyer is an agent? [00:17:08] Louise Strandoo: Totally. [00:17:09] Vince Menzione: Let’s talk about that. [00:17:10] Louise Strandoo: Yeah. I mean, I think that PLG and like is the right thing to enable a agentic procurement. [00:17:18] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:17:19] Louise Strandoo: If, um, you know, like in the, uh. 2019 when private offers were like, that was the big boom. We were like getting people to sign up on the marketplace. All we were focused on was private offers. So many sellers would have products on the marketplace where you’d click and purchase it and it would just say, thanks for buying, and it’d be like, we’ll get in touch with you and like a 24 hours and then we’ll figure it out. [00:17:42] Louise Strandoo: No worries. Thanks for buying. If that doesn’t work. If you’re an agent, it doesn’t work. An agent would be like, okay, this is like a dead end, right? Yeah. Agents are gonna look for products that they can purchase and begin using instantaneously. So yeah, product-led growth is like a really good, um, strategy that ISVs can use to future proof their business and make sure that they’re not just catering to an evolved. [00:18:06] Louise Strandoo: You know, procurement persona who maybe is looking for that faster transaction, but also preparing for that agent persona. Yeah. That is gonna be helping make software procurement scale. [00:18:17] Vince Menzione: So what do the partners in the room need to do to rethink how they think about this? [00:18:22] Louise Strandoo: I think there’s a couple things. I think you know, number one, you can look at the cost framework and start to use it as a jumping off point to evaluate your business. [00:18:31] Louise Strandoo: You can look through a bunch of resources that we’ve put out around costs, and one of the first blogs that I wrote has a Buzzfeed style quiz. You can go through and be like, where are we at? And if you realize after you run through that exercise that you’re farther away from where you wanna be in terms of partnering with AWS, it’s a really good dump like starting point to be like, great, here’s the challenges. [00:18:56] Louise Strandoo: But the biggest message I would relay to the partners is. Do not wait to try to go build this and then bring it to your executives and say, look what I built. It’s not gonna go anywhere. You need to go and use that as the cry to your leadership team. Like escalate. Now here’s the opportunity that we have with AWS. [00:19:17] Louise Strandoo: Let’s look at all of the awesome studies that we and our partners have put out over the years. Look at your competitors that are in the marketplace, your competitors that are partnering with AWS, and start there by saying, we’re. Behind or we’re missing in these areas. We could be doing, you know this, to make our product more a ag agentic ready. [00:19:37] Louise Strandoo: We could be doing more in marketplace to ensure that we’re capitalizing on the private offer business, and we need to figure out how we’re gonna drive commitment now so we can go and build this if you try to build it. Then show the value later. It’s gonna be really hard to then be pushing that boulder up the hill. [00:19:55] Louise Strandoo: So the more that you can lean into getting the sponsorship early on, you’re gonna have a much easier time then navigating, you know, all the hard work that comes with partnership co-sell, um, and, and everything kind of fun that we get to do once we get to go to market with our partners. [00:20:10] Vince Menzione: Do you have one piece of advice for each one of the. [00:20:13] Vince Menzione: Conditions or characteristics for, for, for this group to follow or [00:20:17] Louise Strandoo: think about? I think that, um, the, we didn’t talk about the last one, which is a good one to end on, which is enablement. [00:20:22] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:20:23] Louise Strandoo: Enablement starts with like most of the time, ISVs in particular, and this, it goes for channel partners as well. [00:20:30] Louise Strandoo: They’re like, we gotta enable the field go and enable all the salespeople why they should do all this stuff. You have to do these things like in some sequence though. So if you go and enable the field, everybody do marketplace and they’re like, how? Where do we go, right? Do we send you the leads? Are we slacking you? [00:20:47] Louise Strandoo: Like are we emailing? Like what do we do? You have to then go back and be like, actually, our operational excellence isn’t sorted out. We need to do that first. And who needs to be enabled from that side of the house? Like don’t forget to enable your rev ops teams, your deal desk teams, all of the teams that are kind of essential to making your partnership with AWS Hum need to be enabled in the way that is relevant for their business. [00:21:10] Louise Strandoo: So when you, you know, think about like what do you need to do across all the pillars? It’s gonna be different depending on what your go-to-market focus is. If you’re a hundred percent focused on selling through SIS today and through channel, maybe product-led growth is not the top priority, but then you need to go and figure out, okay, so how have we. [00:21:28] Louise Strandoo: Figured out which partners we wanna work with on AWS and how have we enabled them and have we communicated that enablement to our salespeople? Are we removing unnecessary barriers to them transacting? That’s what you really gotta figure out. So it’s really about looking at how you execute outside of marketplace, outside AWS, figuring out what that, what are the strongest pieces that you do in your business today, across those pillars, and then asking to replicate that with your partnership with AWS. [00:21:56] Vince Menzione: Nice. So to the room here is, um, if someone in this room doesn’t, does one thing differently on the marketplace, what should it be? [00:22:08] Louise Strandoo: There’s so many things I can think about. I think like first [00:22:12] Vince Menzione: you’re coaching ’em [00:22:13] Louise Strandoo: individually, [00:22:13] Vince Menzione: by the way. Just think about it that way. [00:22:15] Louise Strandoo: One of the first things like, it depends on where you’re like, where you’re at in your journey. [00:22:18] Louise Strandoo: So like, quick show of hands, who is, um, a partner that is like using the marketplace today? [00:22:26] Vince Menzione: There’s quite a few actually. [00:22:27] Louise Strandoo: Okay. Awesome. Thank you for helping drive the marketplace. So for those of you that raised your hands, like my sentiment to you all would be figure out how you are incorporating marketplace as the center of your strategy with AWS. [00:22:44] Louise Strandoo: We are increasingly using marketplace as the point of scale for all things about partnership. All things funding are like increasingly requiring some hook into marketplace. So we can actually provide more funding and scale increase like more. So think about like how do you use marketplaces that like center of your partnership, um, for those of you that are not on the marketplace today and are thinking like, is this something that is valuable to me? [00:23:15] Louise Strandoo: Is this something that I should think about and do? You should absolutely. Go look at who are your competitors? Who are the folks that are already out there on the marketplace and, and why aren’t you there? And then you should start to look at what are the characteristics of successful sellers to map out What could we do and what’s the kind of order of operations that we should take to figure out like, how do we get there? [00:23:40] Louise Strandoo: How do we have a plan from the beginning to get buy-in for our partnership with AWS so that we’re not going about it, expecting that it’s gonna just like drive a bunch of leads to the business. It’s not what it does well, but it is gonna help accelerate the way that you co-sell with AWS, which can be a tremendous value add when done appropriately. [00:23:58] Louise Strandoo: So I think, yeah, like figure out the right way that it’s gonna unlock business value depending on what’s most important to your priority. Um. Today [00:24:08] Vince Menzione: we have about three and a half minutes, and I, I’m eager to see if there’s any questions. I, I, um, I, John’s right here with the mic and I love that. I love the, want to get the interaction here in the room. [00:24:19] Louise Strandoo: Yeah, [00:24:20] Vince Menzione: it’s a great group. [00:24:25] Guest: Oh, [00:24:29] Vince Menzione: can they light up that mic? Maybe [00:24:33] Louise Strandoo: Good. [00:24:37] Vince Menzione: There you go. That’s fine. There you go. It’s working. Alright. [00:24:41] Guest: Thank you so much. This is a really great presentation, first of all. I love it. Um, I’m actually part of the, uh, the GSI, so I work cognizant. My name is Ana Hill, um, and I’m manage alliances with ServiceNow. Um, our goal is in the really near future to really engage with all the hyperscalers in sell. [00:25:00] Guest: So that’s one thing. But my interesting, my question is how do you, how, how does AWS measure success? Of the partners who are on your platform, what are the metrics? How do you determine which partners are actually successful and what other partners can use to learn from that? [00:25:19] Louise Strandoo: Yeah, that’s such a great question. [00:25:21] Louise Strandoo: So, um, something that I think is like super helpful that you bring up is cost is not a, um, a scorecard that says everybody that does all these things is a good partner. It’s basically inputs that we have come up with that are supposed to help with the partnership outcomes. Um, so partners, we measure a whole bunch of different things. [00:25:47] Louise Strandoo: I think PDMs and my team carry goals across like seven different categories. There’s a couple of big things that we look at. We look at the revenue that you drive through the marketplace, so whether that’s through private offers or through your self-service business or through. Selling through a reseller, or if you are the reseller, like what is that resell business or driving? [00:26:05] Louise Strandoo: Um, we look at what are the opportunities that you’re bringing and sharing with AWS and that you’re launching. So through our lead sharing mechanism. Not only what are you launching, but what are you sharing with us that is qualified that you’re bringing the field into? Um, we look at things like migrations and migration, realized revenue. [00:26:25] Louise Strandoo: How are you helping drive customers to the cloud? And how are you helping customers not just get everything set up, but you start actually using it. Um, so we really are gonna look across like a multitude of those metrics and when we look at like which partners are kind of leading the way. We’re gonna start to look at the revenue in those buckets, right? [00:26:44] Louise Strandoo: Like who’s sharing and bringing and growing with us? Who’s bringing more opportunities to engage before it happens on the marketplace? Who’s actually completing that transaction? And then who are helping who, who are the partners? Kind of like leading those big types of transformations, migrations, and, and realize revenue. [00:27:00] Louise Strandoo: This is really great. Yeah. Yeah. [00:27:04] Vince Menzione: Thank you. Any other questions? Come on. We’ve got 30 seconds left. We have time for that one last question. Run over there. John. Come on. [00:27:17] Guest: Thank you again, a great, uh, presentation. One question I had is, uh, this morning, right Jay from, uh, oia, right? He identified a whole bunch of, uh, companies that are doing. [00:27:28] Guest: More than a billion dollars in revenue with AWS. [00:27:30] Louise Strandoo: Mm-hmm. [00:27:31] Guest: What would you say are one or two top qualities among these companies that help some drive? I can give [00:27:36] Louise Strandoo: six. And they’re all of these. Yes. [00:27:39] Vince Menzione: The cost, [00:27:40] Louise Strandoo: but like, I think, um, so I love it. Yeah. My, my team we’re working on some content to better capture, like Yeah. [00:27:48] Louise Strandoo: You, you’ve gotten there, you’ve done the six basic things. Now what happens when you’re a billion dollar business? What does it look like there? It’s a lot of the same stuff, right? Like billion dollar billers on the marketplace. They embody that resilience, for example, in their operational mechanisms. [00:28:03] Louise Strandoo: They’re moving beyond the point of there being like one person that creates private offers and they’re like just part of the partnership team. They activate their, um, their deal desk to really manage private offers and marketplace business at scale. They’re integrating their pipeline to share deals proactively through their CRM system and they have really targeted enablement that is. [00:28:24] Louise Strandoo: Really pushing to the field to make sure that every person in their team understands the value of cloud value of AWS and how marketplace accelerates the pipeline. So the more mature that you become as a marketplace seller, like the more that cost is relevant to help keep you on track and be that kind of north star to say like, you could do a cool bunch of stuff with us, but here’s really where you wanna check and see, like what can you do to evolve the business to the next stage? [00:28:49] Vince Menzione: What you’ve said is so like impactful and we have some experts in the room that do this. They help these organizations better understand it’s really getting into your field organization to help them understand how to. How to show up for meetings with AWS re, like how to, how to, uh, co-sell together, how to think about going after these opportunities. [00:29:09] Vince Menzione: What, when you’re, when you’re talking to customers, potential customers about their cloud commitments, like what are the right questions to ask in the pro? There’s so many things, like I’m sure the costs six has like 150 each [00:29:21] Louise Strandoo: Easily [00:29:21] Vince Menzione: steps. Yeah. You know, to it. [00:29:24] Louise Strandoo: Yeah. And I think like, just to follow on that. [00:29:26] Louise Strandoo: Um, we have partners who have gone and they’ve been like, okay, we’re getting a strategic collaboration agreement with AWS. We’re getting funding, and if they don’t have this, it doesn’t work. It doesn’t work. It fails. So this is really like, yeah, it’s about building that resilient architecture to say, if we go big, do we have the execution plan to succeed? [00:29:47] Louise Strandoo: You can’t start with a plan to say, give us a bunch of funding and we’ll go do it. Your salespeople will say. Know what that is. Don’t care. Yeah. So you have to put all of that, you know, all of those building blocks in first to make sure that we can actually execute. [00:30:01] Vince Menzione: You need alignment from the executive suite down to the selling floor. [00:30:05] Louise Strandoo: A hundred percent. [00:30:06] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:30:06] Louise Strandoo: Yep. [00:30:06] Vince Menzione: That’s really what it’s all about. [00:30:07] Louise Strandoo: Yep. [00:30:08] Vince Menzione: Louise, thank you so much. It’s been incredible. So great to have you join us. Thank you [00:30:15] so [00:30:15] Louise Strandoo: much. Yes, thank [00:30:16] Vince Menzione: you. [00:30:16] Louise Strandoo: Thank you, [00:30:16] Vince Menzione: thank you. Thanks for listening to The Ultimate Partner Podcast. If today’s conversation resonated. Share it with a partner leader in your network. [00:30:26] Vince Menzione: Subscribe where you listen, and head over to the Ultimate partner.com for show notes related content and the resources for this episode. And if you haven’t already, now’s the time to register for the Ultimate Partner Live event in Reston, Virginia, October 26th through October 28th. Until next time, keep showing up in the rooms that matter because being in the room changes everything.
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What if we told you that one of the most innovative, data-driven companies in Grapevine sells luxury flooring? Would you believe they're an omnichannel retailer with an emphasis on customer service... even though their primary strategy is online?Today, we're asking the team at Flooret to explain how they plan to revolutionize a 100-year-old industry that most of us walk right over.
2021年9月云南贵州卷听力第一节听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题,从题中所给的 A、B、C 三个选项中选出最佳选项。听完每段对话后,你都有 10 秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。1. Where is Alice now?A. In New York.B. In London.C. In Chicago.2.What does the woman think of the cake?A.It's not very fresh.B. It's not tasty.C. It's not expensive.3.What will the man do?A.Wait for a few minutes.B. Go to the room upstairs.C.Put off the meeting.4.How many times has the woman seen this movie?A. Twice.B.Three times.C.Four times.5.What is the woman going to do?A.Show photos.B. Goon a trip.C. Attend class.第二节听下面 5 段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有2--4个小题,从题中所给的 A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前,你将有时间阅读各个小题,每小题5秒钟;听完后,各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。听第6段材料,回答第6--7小题。6. What is the danger of eating ice cream according to the man?A. Putting on weight.B. Catching a cold.C.Having a headache.7.What is the probable relationship between the speakers?A.Husband and wife.B.Teacher and student.C.Father and daughter.听第 7 段材料,回答第 8--10小题。7. Where was the boy this morning?A. In the classroom.B. In the art museum.C.At Ms. Green's house.9.How did Ms. Green feel about the boy's painting?A. It was boring.B. It was strange.C. It was pleasing.10.What is the topic of the conversation?A. An oil painting.B. A famous artist.C. An art lesson.听第 8 段材料,回答第 11--13小题。11. What does the woman say about raising a kid while working?A. It's a hard task.B. B.It requires skills.C. C.It keeps her busy.12. What does the woman's husband do at home?A. Do more housework.B.Care more about their kid.C.Spend more time reading.13.What does the woman often do with her kid?A. Do exercise.B.Take pictures.C. Go shopping.听第 9段材料,回答第14 至 17小题。13. What is Jennifer doing?A.Hosting a meeting.B.Serving a customer.C.Having an interview.15.What does Jennifer learn from her previous job?A.Sales techniques.B.Interpersonal skills.C.Language knowledge.16.What was Jennifer's worst experience at work?A.Receiving an unreasonable phone call.B.Arguing with the manager.C.Dealing with a complaint.17.What will Jennifer do next?A.Make a decision.B. Apply for the position.C. Wait for a call.听第 10段材料,回答第 18--20小题。18.What is Mary Glen?A.A lovely shop.B.A holiday place.C.A farmer's market.19.Where does the speaker suggest riding bikes?A.Along the River Dent.B. Along the Soli.C. Along the Evergreen Trail.20.Why does the speaker give the talk?A. To do promotion.B. To introduce the town of Soli.C. To discuss a sport.答案1-5BABAC 6-10 CABAC11-15BAACB 16-20 CCBCA录音材料 Text 1M:Alice! So nice to see you. I thought you went to New York. Why are you still here in London?W: It was my sister who went to New York. And she's in Chicago now. I've been here the whole time.Text 2M:Linda, have a taste of this cake and tell me what you think.W:OK. Hmm… I'm afraid it has gone bad. When did you buy it?Text 3M:Excuse me, isn't the staff meeting at 9:30? I've been waiting here for ten minutes, but nobody showed up.W:You're in the wrong room. It's one floor up.M:Oops! Thank you.Text 4M:Hey, you come to watch the movie again. Weren't you here yesterday?W:Oh, yes. I saw it last week and I saw it again yesterday. I always see my favorite movies four or five times.M:Here's your ticket. Have a nice time.Text 5W:Bob, your trip sounds wonderful, but I have to go now. My biology class starts in a few minutes.M:Oh, sorry, Caroline. I didn't mean to hold you up.Text 6W:It's hot today. I'd like to have some ice cream. Do you want some, dear?M:No, thank you. Do you know the danger you face when eating ice cream?W:Yes, gaining weight.M:No, not that. Have you heard about brain freeze?W:No, what's that?M:For many people, eating ice cream or drinking an icy drink too fast can produce a terrible headache. It usually hits in the front of the brain.People also call it “ice cream headache”.W:Okay. I see. You know what? After all these years, you sound more and more like my father.Text 7W:Mike, what lessons did you have at school this morning?M: We had art, but we didn't go to the classroom. Ms. Green took us to visit the museum in town.W:How come? What did you do there?M: We looked at paintings by famous artists.W: I wish I had been with you. Did anything attract you?M: A lot. But my favorite painting was by Picasso. It looked very strange.W:Did Ms. Green explain something about the paintings?M:Yes, and after that we made pictures for a competition. I drew a picture of Ms.Green. It looked like a Picasso painting.W:Did she like it?M:Ms. Green wasn't very pleased, and she thought it dull. So, I didn't win.Text 8M:Cindy, as a working mother, how do you balance work and family?W: It takes skills. It's an art, I should say. But raising a kid while working is not as hard as most people think.M:You mean it's not difficult?W:No, if you know how to share your responsibilities properly. My husband does more housework, and I take more care of our kid. I try to spend as much time with our kid as possible. She joins me in my daily activities.M:What do you mean?W:Working as a model, I do a lot of exercise every day to stay fit, and I encourage our kid to do it with me. It's like play to her. As a result,I'm fit, she's fit, and we spend time together.M: I see. What else do you do together?W:Things like reading picture books and going to the park.M: I really like your ideas.Text 9M:Nice to meet you, Jennifer. Can you tell us a few things about yourself?Perhaps your work experience.W:I'm a university student in my final year, and I major in English. I've had several part-time jobs, including office work and sales.M:What was your office work about?W: I worked at the reception desk and did some paperwork.M:What did you learn there?W:I received phone calls and met customers most of the time. And I supported staff from different departments at times. So, I learned to deal with various kinds of people.M:Did you apply any of the knowledge you got at university?W:Yes, I think I did use some of the language knowledge.M:What has been your worst experience at work?W:Well, once I met a customer who came to make a complaint. I tried my best,but he was just being unreasonable. I had to refer him to my manager. It was a hard day.M:Okay. Now, do you have any questions for us?W:No, not at the moment.M:Thank you, Jennifer. We have a number of people applying for this position,and we will call you with our decision within two weeks.W:Okay, thank you.Text 10W:Mary Glen, built on a working family farm, is a perfect place for holiday.Here, you'll find everything you need. We have five wooden houses with all modern facilities. Mary Glen is just three miles from the busy town of Soli, where you'll find quite a few lovely shops and great farmers' markets.The area around Mary Glen is great for riding bikes. So, do bring your bikes and try the Evergreen Trail, or you can go running along the River Dent. After a busy day, relax in our game room where there are lots of card games. Try a family holiday at Mary Glen. With prices as low as 425 pounds a week, you can't go wrong.
Titans On Tomorrow Ep. 1 with guest Anson Frericks Presented by Ethos: https://ethos.com/titans In a new show on business and finance at this transformative time for the global economy, Ben Shapiro talks directly with the founders, CEOs, and investors building the next decade. Anson Frericks spent 11 years climbing to the top of Anheuser-Busch, becoming President of Sales and Distribution. He watched in horror as the company he loved traded its relationship with customers for an elitist stakeholder capitalism scorecard. Anson saw the Bud Light collapse coming before it cost the company $30 billion in market value, writing the definitive account of it in his bestseller Last Call for Bud Light. Ben and Anson break down: • What really happened inside Anheuser-Busch before the Dylan Mulvaney fiasco • Why BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard have outsized power over corporate America, and how Strive is fighting back • Whether corporate neutrality is enough, or if conservatives need to push harder • Why he left the culture wars behind to build an AI company tackling serious mental illness • What's next as AI, biotech, and capital markets reshape the American economy - - - Today's Sponsors: Ethos - Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/titans. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. VCX - VCX, by Fundrise, gives everyone the opportunity to invest in the next generation of innovation, including the companies leading the AI revolution, space exploration, defense tech, and more. Visit https://getVCX.com for more info. Cardiff - If you've been in business for at least a year, and are pulling in $20,000 a month in revenue, apply now for up to $500,000 in same day business funding at https://Cardiff.co/ben. Real growth. Fast funding. Cardiff—Borrow better. ZipRecruiter - 4 out of 5 employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for FREE today at https://ZipRecruiter.com/DAILYWIRE - - - DailyWire+ Become a Daily Wire Member and watch all of our content ad-free: https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe
In this episode Rob gets accused of stealing a childs toast at a breakfast buffet on holiday.... Parenting Hell is a Spotify Podcast, new video episodes available everywhere every Tuesday and Friday. Please subscribe and leave a rating and review you filthy street dogs... xxx If you want to get in touch with the show with any correspondence, kids intro audio clips, small business shout outs, and more.... here's how: EMAIL: Hello@lockdownparenting.co.uk Follow us on instagram: @parentinghell A 'Keep It Light Media' Production Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: hello@keepitlightmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kari Capone 10x'd her knitting-kit sales after one shop-floor conversation landed her in Wirecutter. Here is exactly how she did it and how you can too. The post 649: This Founder 10x’d Her Sales From One Conversation in Her Shop With Kari Capone appeared first on MyWifeQuitHerJob.com.
Sarah Wang and Kimberly Tan are joined by Jesse Zhang and Ashwin Sreenivas, co-founders of Decagon, to discuss the evolution of enterprise AI agents, why the company increasingly relies on open-source models, and how it is helping some of the world's largest companies deploy AI in production. Decagon has become one of the fastest-growing AI companies by building agents that automate customer support, sales, and operational workflows. Jesse, Decagon's CEO, and Ashwin, its president, explain how the company is building enterprise AI at scale. They unpack why Decagon moved most of its inference to open-source models, how latency, evaluation, and fine-tuning shape production AI systems, and why enterprise AI requires far more than simply plugging into frontier models. The conversation also explores forward-deployed engineering, enterprise sales, AI's impact on jobs, and why application companies will continue to thrive alongside the foundation model labs. Resources: Follow Jesse Zhang on X: https://x.com/thejessezhang Follow Ashwin Sreenivas on X: https://x.com/AshwinSreenivas Follow Sarah Wang on X: https://x.com/sarahdingwang Follow Kimberly Tan on X: https://x.com/kimberlywtan Stay Updated:Find a16z on YouTube: YouTubeFind a16z on XFind a16z on LinkedInListen to the a16z Show on SpotifyListen to the a16z Show on Apple PodcastsFollow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
July 30th, 2026 Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X Listen to past episodes on The Ticket’s Website And follow The Ticket Top 10 on Apple, Spotify or Amazon MusicSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Learn more on how to break into medical device sales: https://click.newtomedicaldevicesales.com/yt-507
Learn how to build a sales process that creates trust, scales with your team, and frees founders from being the only person who can close deals. Most founders don't actually have a lead problem—they have a sales dependency problem. When every important sales conversation depends on the founder, growth eventually hits a ceiling. Revenue becomes unpredictable, hiring salespeople becomes frustrating, and the business struggles to scale beyond the founder's personal capacity. In this episode, Charles Gaudet sits down with sales expert, author, and military veteran Dan Rochon, author of Teach to Sell, to explore how founders can replace high-pressure sales tactics with a repeatable, trust-based system that anyone on the team can learn. Together, they discuss why great sales conversations feel more like teaching than convincing, how rapport and curiosity outperform pressure, and why the best sales organizations build systems—not superheroes. If you're looking to scale your business beyond seven figures without remaining the bottleneck, this episode is packed with practical strategies you can implement immediately. KEY TAKEAWAYS: Why founders become the biggest sales bottleneck Many entrepreneurs unknowingly build businesses where every important sales conversation depends on them. That creates growth ceilings, limits valuation, and makes scaling nearly impossible. Stop selling the product—sell the transformation Customers don't buy features. They buy the journey from their current frustrations to their desired outcome. Great salespeople sell the destination, not the vehicle. Trust beats pressure every time High-pressure sales tactics may occasionally generate short-term wins, but they destroy long-term relationships. The best sales conversations help prospects make confident decisions instead of forcing them into one. Curiosity is one of the most valuable sales skills Exceptional salespeople spend far more time asking thoughtful questions than delivering presentations. The quality of the conversation is determined by the quality of the questions. Rapport isn't small talk Real rapport comes from demonstrating genuine interest, doing your homework before the call, actively listening, and meeting prospects where they are—not asking about the weather. Systematize your sales process before hiring salespeople Many founders hire experienced sales reps without documenting how their own sales process works. Without a repeatable playbook, even talented salespeople struggle to succeed. How to interview great salespeople Instead of relying on resumes, role-play real sales conversations during the interview process. Watching candidates think, listen, ask questions, and handle objections reveals far more than previous experience alone. Teach your team to sell—not just close When your sales process is built around education instead of persuasion, it becomes far easier to train new team members, create consistency, and remove founder dependency. Emotional intelligence is a competitive advantage The best salespeople recognize changes in energy, adapt their communication style, and prioritize understanding before attempting to influence. The best businesses build trust that scales Predictable revenue comes from predictable sales conversations. When trust, messaging, and communication become systems rather than individual talents, businesses become significantly easier to scale—and ultimately more valuable. RESOURCES MENTIONED: Dan Rochon Website: https://teachtosellbook.com Book: Teach to Sell Follow Charles Gaudet & Predictable Profits: Facebook: https://facebook.com/PredictableProfits Instagram: https://instagram.com/predictableprofits X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/charlesgaudet LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/charlesgaudet Learn More: Predictable Profits: https://www.predictableprofits.com Free Founder Community: https://www.predictableprofits.com/community Join Here: https://start.predictableprofits.com/community Growing your business is hard—but it doesn't have to be. The Beyond 7 Figures podcast brings you the strategies, systems, and conversations that help founders build businesses that are more predictable, scalable, and profitable. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe so you never miss another conversation designed to help you build beyond seven figures. Mixed & Edited by Next Day Podcast info@nextdaypodcast.com
On this Iron Sights episode recorded live on the vendor floor at TTPOA Conference, Scott Howell sits down for a collab with the TTPOA Podcast hosts Brandon Hernandez and Matt Smith. Their guests are Brad Ortiz, Director of Sales for the Law Enforcement Division at Silencer Shop and former officer, and Dewayne Manson, Project Manager at the American Warrior Association, to dig into the thing the Law Enforcement community has been slow to confront: the compounding weight of moral injury, and why the reactive system built to support officers is failing the people who need it most.The conversation goes deep on what moral injury actually is, how it differs from PTSD, and why the officer who has never been in a critical incident can be just as broken as the one who has. Brad and Dewayne walk through what a culturally competent clinician actually looks like, why baseline brain and blood health mapping belongs in the academy, and how the American Warrior Association's R3 program is embedding proactive resilience training directly into TTPOA's regional structure, the first partnership of its kind nationally.But this episode isn't just about mental health. It's about identity. What happens to the guy who IS the job when the job ends? Brad gets personal about his own struggles stepping away from full-time law enforcement, Dewayne shares the moment his teenage son had to pick him up after a DUI, and Scott connects it all to the broader truth that your calling and your identity are not the same thing, and that confusing the two is costing officers their health, their relationships, and sometimes their lives before and after retirement.The back half gets into the business world and how everything these men learned going through doors, managing teams, and serving their communities translates directly into relationship-based sales, leadership under pressure, and building something that outlasts the badge. If you've ever told yourself you're not capable of anything outside law enforcement, this one is going to challenge that story hard.In this episode:• Moral injury is NOT PTSD: it is the cumulative damage caused when you perpetrate something, fail to prevent something, or are ordered to act against your moral compass, and it compounds silently over an entire career without a single critical incident ever being the trigger• Culturally competent clinicians are practitioners who have lived the lifestyle or are married to someone who has: Dewayne walked out of his first VA appointment when the counselor opened with pronouns, then found a female therapist married to a 20-year infantry veteran and experienced a completely different outcome• The American Warrior Association's R3 program is building proactive resilience frameworks inside agencies, including regional resiliency coordinators, vetted clinician networks, and fully funded Warriors Refuge retreats where flights and lodging are free to eligible officers and spouses• Brad Ortiz's Sound Off program at Silencer Shop donates $2 per purchase to a vetted nonprofit fund, and every individual officer purchase routes through silencershop.com where buyers work directly with Brad and Chris• The inflection point analogy: moral injury deposits are made silently every shift, just like compounding interest, and what looks like a single critical incident blowing up is actually the hockey-stick moment on a years-long accumulation nobody was tracking• Social media pile-ons after a justified OIS caused Brad more lasting moral injury than the shooting itself, a blind spot no clinician or debrief ever addressed until he found the right cultural fit in counseling• Baseline blood panels and brain mapping done at the academy level would give officers a before-and-after reference for physiological change across a career: the greater endocrine system and brain health are being completely ignored while TRT gets all the attention• The law enforcement skill set transfers directly into business leadership: problem-solving under pressure, decision-making without perfect information, ownership of mistakes, and relationship-first sales are all things operators have already built on the job, they just don't recognize it as a resumeChapters:0:39 Iron Sights mission statement and welcome2:02 Introducing Brad Ortiz and Dewayne Manson2:49 Brad's background: The Uncommon Line podcast9:40 American Warrior Association programs overview11:43 Resilience training inside TTPOA: the first of its kind12:08 What moral injury actually is and why it's not PTSD14:20 Culturally competent clinicians: Dewayne's personal story31:52 Compounding critical incidents over a career38:37 Social media pile-ons as a hidden source of moral injury44:55 Identity vs. calling: challenging how officers define themselves1:12:18 Relationship-first sales, legacy brands losing ground, and the business parallel1:21:46 How to access AWA, R3, and SoundOff resourcesMentioned:Brad Ortiz — Director of Sales for the Law Enforcement Division at Silencer Shop, former law enforcement officer and fugitive investigator, and former host of The Uncommon Line podcast, joined as a guest to discuss the SoundOff program and the AWA partnership.Dewayne Manson — Representative of the American Warrior Association, infantry veteran who served in Afghanistan and contracted there through 2020, shared his personal journey through moral injury and recovery as context for AWA's R3 program.Matt Smith — Co-host of the TTPOA podcast with 21 years on SWAT, co-hosted this live conference episode alongside Scott Howell and competed in the TTPOA shooting competition the day prior.Brandon Hernandez — Region 7 Director and Director of Training for TTPOA, co-host of the TTPOA podcast, referred to on air as the celebrity of the group when a passerby stopped to greet him.Anna Heil — Associated with the American Warrior Association, attended a TTPOA show in St. Louis and briefed other state organizations on the AWA partnership afterward.Chris — Works alongside Brad Ortiz at Silencer Shop on the SoundOff individual officer program, mentioned as a direct point of contact buyers will reach at soundsoftshop.com.Neil Noakes — Former Chief of Police of the Fort Worth Police Department, cited as an example of a career officer who, when asked how many critical incidents he had been on, simply said he had lost count.Simon Sinek — Author and speaker known for the concept of finding your 'why,' referenced when Brad Ortiz challenged every officer in the room to examine the deeper reason behind their career and identity.
U.S. grocery unit sales declined for the fifth consecutive month, raising new questions about the long-term health of the grocery industry. Chris Walton and Josh Hahn discuss what's driving the slowdown, from inflation and SNAP changes to GLP-1 medications, online grocery, and shifting consumer shopping habits. ▶️ Watch the full Fast Five episode here: https://youtu.be/_GsTHL9DBYA
Send us Fan MailAs a thank you for 200,000 subscribers on YouTube, Nick and Yvan are going live to celebrate -- there will be flash sales and giveaways plus a live question and answer!Shop 20% off sale: https://diydetail.com
Episode Overview What happens when 25 years of retail sales leadership collides with real estate? Paul Durbin, team leader of the Durbin Home Team out of Newark, Ohio, found out firsthand. In just two years in the business, he's closed more than 70 transactions and over 20 million dollars in sales volume, including a six-figure month in real estate before finishing his third full year. In this episode, Paul Durbin joins John Kitchens to unpack his 25-year retail career, from unloading trucks to running a district of 10 stores, two states, and 1,200 employees, and how that trial by fire built the exact skill set real estate rewarded him for. Paul shares the mentors who shaped him, why adaptability and consistent communication matter more than any script, how he thinks about team compensation and incentives, and why articulating value beats negotiating splits every time. Key Topics Covered Paul Durbin's 25-year retail sales and leadership career, and why he says "sales chose me" The mentors who saw potential in him before he saw it in himself Why adaptability, consistency, and communication are the top attributes of a great leader Accountability as the defining attribute of a great team member How Paul thinks about compensation, incentives, and team splits Why joining an experienced team leader accelerated his path versus going solo The behaviors behind his first six-figure month Notable Quote "Value articulated is value appreciated." — Paul Durbin Connect With Us Ready to buy back 15-plus hours a week without guessing between AI and hiring? Save your seat at 7FigureBP.com for our live Thursday training. Want a plan built around your business? Book your 7 Figure Audit at 7figurecall.com. Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @johnkitchenscoach.
Rest.That sounds peaceful… until you're someone who loves building, executing, and moving ideas forward.We start believing that everything depends on us.This episode of The Estherpreneur Podcast explores the difference between motion and obedience, the spiritual cost of constant striving, and why the real enemy of sustainable leadership isn't ambition—it's self-reliance.If you're a Christian business owner carrying the weight of your calling on your shoulders, this episode will challenge how you think about trust, stewardship, and the role of rest in building something that lasts.The Estherpreneur Podcast is for CEOs, founders, and faith-driven entrepreneurs who are growing—but something feels misaligned. Whether it's your structure, your clarity, or your capacity, this show helps you identify what's off and what to focus on next.Hosted by Edna Harding, author of "The Ugly Side of Sales 2.0" and founder of Favor & Wealth, a business growth strategy firm that helps leaders scale with clarity, structure, and biblical alignment.
Darin Decker returns to the PricePlow Podcast for Episode #228, his fifth appearance on the show and his first since becoming VP of Sales at Alpha Lion. He joins Mike and Ben for a full walkthrough of the biggest SuperHuman relaunch in years: five reformulated pre-workouts, a rebrand from black to red, and the debut of a new ingredient called Tensia. Alpha Lion built its name on SuperHuman, and starting July 31, the entire sub-brand gets a V2 treatment. SuperHuman Original, Pump, Extreme, Jacked, and Burn all return with updated formulas, a new Superhuman Energy System, and packaging built around the idea that red means activation. Jacked adds PeptiPump and the novel probiotic-derived Tensia alongside its existing PeptiStrong content, while Burn stays untouched because, as Darin puts it, you don’t fix something that isn’t broken. Decker also walks through Alpha Lion’s pricing overhaul, its GNC weight-management win with the Burn2O system, and why the brand is leaning into retail instead of chasing Meta ad spend. Subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite platform and sign up for Alpha Lion alerts before diving in. https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/darin-decker-superhuman-228 Video: Darin Decker Unveils the New Red SuperHuman Lineup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz68mzZXxDo Detailed Show Notes: Darin Decker Returns for the SuperHuman Relaunch (0:00) – Introductions (1:00) – Betting on Powdered Pre-Workout, Not Beverages (3:15) – Why Superhuman Is Getting Its Own Spotlight (5:30) – Same Burn, New Name: The Superhuman Energy System (7:15) – Solving Superhuman’s Pricing Puzzle (11:45) – Jacked Gets a Peptide-Powered Muscle Focus (12:30) – The Storyteller Hire: How Darin Landed at Alpha Lion (17:00) – Winning Weight Management at GNC (20:45) – Formulating Alongside GLP-1s, Not Against Them (22:30) – Why Meta Ads Don’t Move Pre-Workout (26:30) – Retail as De-Risking: Dodging the Amazon Trap (29:00) – Keeping the Fun (and Flavors) Alive (31:15) – Dialing In Caffeine, Servings, and Delayed Release (34:30) – Tensia: A Probiotic That Makes Its Own Nitric Oxide (37:00) – Jacked as Burn’s Muscle-Building Sibling (38:15) – Not Every Pre-Workout Should Do Everything (42:30) – Vincamine, Collabs, and a Famous Equity Partner (45:00) – “Blocking and Tackling”: Alpha Lion’s Back-to-Basics Playbook (46:45) – Superhuman Core: The Amazon Entry Point (56:30) – Launch Timeline: July 31 Online, August In Stores (58:15) – Pre-Workout vs. Energy Drinks: Is the Category Still Growing? (1:02:30) – Slow and Steady: Why Hardcore Pre-Workout Users Aren’t Going Anywhere (1:04:30) – Darin’s Own Stack, Flavor Renames, and Ditching Artificial Colors (1:08:00) – Unveiling the Red Tub: Black Was the Warm-Up, Red Is the Switch (1:11:15) – A Stallone Movie Powers the Rebrand (1:13:00) – Final Thoughts and What’s Next Where to Follow and Learn More Connect with Darin Decker and Alpha Lion LinkedIn: Darin Decker Instagram: @alpha.lion … Read more on the PricePlow Blog
This interview is with Colin Eddy of NW Wine Company. In this interview, Colin talks about his growth within the industry and the growth of NW Wine Company.Colin talks about growing up in Texas and working in restaurants at an early age. When he transitioned to a big steak house, his wine journey began. This restaurant offered over 100 wines by the glass and were looking for someone to manage their wine program. Colin stepped up and got to taste a plethora of wines, even traveling around the world to taste more. When Colin realized he couldn't stay in restaurants forever, he reached out to wine reps he had worked with to switch careers. Eventually, Colin was asked to come to Oregon to work at Penner-Ash Wine Cellars until it was sold to Jackson Family Wines.James discusses his next move after losing work at Penner-Ash. Colin had known Laurent Montalieu from being at Penner-Ash and was hired at NW Wine Company through recommendations. In the 10 years he has worked with the company, they have doubled in vineyard acreage and expanded in number of employees as well. Starting in sales, Colin wanted to lead. When the company hired international sales employees, Colin rose to Senior VP of Sales. Now, he also creates his own wine at NW named after his son, Daniel Ford.Later in the interview, Colin talks about his other involvements in the Oregon wine industry. Colin has been largely involved in Oregon Pinot Camp serving as the treasurer, Vice Chair, and eventually Chair. He truly believes in the program and cannot wait to act as a mentor to future members. He was also offered a spot of the board of directors and fulfills in the role with great honor.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at NW Wine Company in Dundee on July 21, 2026.
New Cyber Truck data puts Ford to shame; Matt Farah has a driving update on his airplane-engine-powered Meyers Manx; when they sold bricks; a Cadillac limo you should want; Grand Seiko ambassador; and Patreon questions include: Did America make ANY good cars in the 80s?? Are Boxsters and Caymans undervalued? The old commuter cars we'd love to drive What to do with that family heirloom car Isn't that just a rebodied Boxster? The WORST thing spilled in a cabin was... Used EV for $20k? Are people cross-shopping the C8 with Porsche and Ferrari? Why do people hate the Grand Seiko Spring Drive? Would we ever race dirt bikes? The best cat toys are Why doesn't every car have an LSD? Ever miss the C5 Corvette or Fox Body? How to fail after the first time Our experience with the C208 CLK And more! Recorded July 28, 2026 The TST hoodie jackets: https://www.thegrottomenswear.com/thesmokingtire/ Tickets to our LIVE show at the Irvine Improv are going quick! https://improv.com/irvine/event/the+smoking+tire+live+feat.+smith+and+sniff+with+matt+farah%2C+zack+klapman%2C+richard+porter%2C+and+jonny+smith/14213624/ DeleteMe Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to www.joindeleteme.com/TIRE and use promo code TIRE at checkout. Avants Go to https://www.Avants.com and use code TST for 10% off your membership! Use Off The Record! and ALWAYS fight your tickets! For a 10% discount on your first case go to https://www.offtherecord.com/TST Want your question answered? Want to watch the live stream, get ad-free podcasts, or exclusive podcasts? Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thesmokingtirepodcast Instagram:https://www.Instagram.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Instagram.com/therealzackklapman Enter to WIN our AMAZING 2025 Porsche 911 Turbo S!! https://www.dreamgiveaway.com/tickets/porsche?promo=SMOKINGTIRE Promo Code Offer: Get 4X bonus tickets with any donation of $25 or more. With every donation you are helping benefit some wonderful veterans' and children's charities. Podcast Promo Code: SMOKINGTIRE Want your question answered? Want to watch the live stream, get ad-free podcasts, or exclusive podcasts? Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thesmokingtirepodcast Use Off The Record! and ALWAYS fight your tickets! Enter code TST10 for a 10% discount on your first case on the Off The Record app, or go to http://www.offtherecord.com/TST. Watch our car reviews: https://www.youtube.com/thesmokingtire Tweet at us!https://www.Twitter.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Twitter.com/zackklapman Instagram:https://www.Instagram.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Instagram.com/therealzackklapman
Send us Fan MailApparently, caring is cool again, which is unfortunate because some of us just got really good at pretending not to care. On this episode of Mike & Blaine, we're talking about why effort, enthusiasm, and actually giving a damn are making a massive comeback after years of “too cool to try” corporate apathy, detachment, and fake indifference.We take a deep dive into cringe culture, modern workplace apathy, terrible dating advice, and businesses that act like returning a customer's phone call would somehow ruin their mystique. But beyond the banter, there is a powerful business strategy hidden here: radical effort is your ultimate competitive advantage.In today's crowded market, standard "professionalism" without personality is just boredom wearing a collared shirt. Companies that hide behind slow responses, generic corporate speak, and passive customer service are rapidly losing market share to competitors who demonstrate genuine enthusiasm and care.In this episode, we break down key business tactics and strategic takeaways:Customer Experience (CX) as a Differentiator: Why over-delivering and relentless responsiveness beat playing "hard to get" every single time.Building Authentic Brand Loyalty: How injecting real personality into your marketing turns passive buyers into brand advocates.Culture & Employee Engagement: How to combat disengagement and quiet quitting by building a work environment where taking pride in performance is celebrated.Sales & Strategic Execution: Why caring about your client's outcomes creates trust faster than any polished sales pitch.Grab a cold beer and join us as we ask whether trying hard was ever really the embarrassing part—or if caring is actually the secret weapon your business strategy has been missing.Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LouDPrRM9YYLove the show? Head over to mikeandblaine.com to buy us a beer and support the podcast!We want to hear from you! beer@mikeandblaine.comListen to all our episodes at mikeandblaine.comLearn about:Cash Flow Mike who trains CPAs to provide effective advisory to their clients at cashflowmike.comDryrun Cash Flow Forecasting for the office of the CFO where they get finance teams out of spreadsheets at dryrun.comThanks to our Beer Sponsors:Karen Hairston from 3S Smart Consulting CPA Larry Weinstein, the Cash Flow Cowboy from Houston Texas Neighbor Pat Devin Trey MiltonWatch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LouDPrRM9YY#TryingIsCool #CringeCulture #CustomerExperience #Chalant #BusinessStrategy #Entrepreneurship #CustomerService #Leadership #SmallBusiness #BusinessGrowth #SalesStrategy #CorporateCulture #MikeAndBlaine #Podcasting #Apple #Nike #Starbucks #HubSpot #Salesforce #Shopify #HarvardBusinessReview #IncMagazine #ForbesSupport the showCatch more episodes, see our sponsors and get in touch at https://mikeandblaine.com/
Baby Talk Presented by Keeneland Sales | Saratoga Saturday 2-Year-Old Preview | August 1The future stars of Thoroughbred racing take center stage on this episode of Baby Talk Presented by Keeneland Sales!Join Mikee P. and Dean Roethemeier, Director of Keeneland Sales, as they break down the loaded lineup of 2-year-old races at Saratoga on Saturday, August 1, including the prestigious Grade 2 Saratoga Special. Get expert insights into the pedigrees, sales backgrounds, and racing potential of the most exciting juveniles on the card before they hit the track.Many of these rising stars trace their roots to Keeneland Sales, and Dean also previews the upcoming Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the world's largest and most influential Thoroughbred auction. Learn what buyers should expect, which pedigrees are generating the most buzz, and why the September Sale continues to shape the future of racing around the globe.Whether you're looking for betting angles, future stakes stars, or simply want to learn more about the next generation of elite racehorses, this show is packed with valuable information from one of the industry's leading bloodstock experts.Presented by Keeneland Sales, connecting buyers and sellers of the world's finest Thoroughbreds. Learn more about the upcoming Keeneland September Yearling Sale and the complete sales calendar at Keeneland.com.
Most photographers aren't studying photography anymore — they're studying Instagram. In this solo episode, D'Arcy confesses to a decade of studying the wrong things — algorithms, funnels, hooks — and makes the case for what comes after the creator economy: the artist economy. It starts with Gene Kelly, soaked to the skin and swinging off a lamppost, and the strange grief of watching real devotion. Inside: The sentence the whole episode is built on — you cannot consistently photograph what you refuse to cultivate within yourself. How apprenticeship became consumption The 4 S's (Story, Style, Structure, Sales) turned ninety degrees into an artistic framework Creative Studies: the practice D'Arcy wants to name for the industry Her own year of study — novels, old films, daily writing, ten rolls of film at a family session Why The English Edit retreat exists, and Claire's story One study to start this week. Join D'Arcy's Sunday letter at darcybenincosa.com — where the stories she doesn't post get told, and where every future creative study is announced first.
(July 30, 2026) Here’s what to know before you upload your medical data to an AI program. Sales are so low, California wineries are burning their Vineyards. Wait… Gen Z wants flip phones? Sending armed agents to reporters’ homes is a threat to free press and whistleblowers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Want to Start or Grow a Successful Business? Schedule a FREE 13-Point Assessment with Clay Clark Today At: www.ThrivetimeShow.com Join Clay Clark's Thrivetime Show Business Workshop!!! Learn Branding, Marketing, SEO, Sales, Workflow Design, Accounting & More. **Request Tickets & See Testimonials At: www.ThrivetimeShow.com **Request Tickets Via Text At (918) 851-0102 See the Thousands of Success Stories and Millionaires That Clay Clark Has Helped to Produce HERE: https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/testimonials/ Download A Millionaire's Guide to Become Sustainably Rich: A Step-by-Step Guide to Become a Successful Money-Generating and Time-Freedom Creating Business HERE: www.ThrivetimeShow.com/Millionaire See Thousands of Case Studies Today HERE: www.thrivetimeshow.com/does-it-work/
Want to Start or Grow a Successful Business? Schedule a FREE 13-Point Assessment with Clay Clark Today At: www.ThrivetimeShow.com Join Clay Clark's Thrivetime Show Business Workshop!!! Learn Branding, Marketing, SEO, Sales, Workflow Design, Accounting & More. **Request Tickets & See Testimonials At: www.ThrivetimeShow.com **Request Tickets Via Text At (918) 851-0102 See the Thousands of Success Stories and Millionaires That Clay Clark Has Helped to Produce HERE: https://www.thrivetimeshow.com/testimonials/ Download A Millionaire's Guide to Become Sustainably Rich: A Step-by-Step Guide to Become a Successful Money-Generating and Time-Freedom Creating Business HERE: www.ThrivetimeShow.com/Millionaire See Thousands of Case Studies Today HERE: www.thrivetimeshow.com/does-it-work/