Podcasts about your crm

In the fast-paced world of real estate, having a well-structured CRM is paramount to ensure that no opportunities fall through the cracks. As a real estate sales trainer and coach, I emphasize that the primary function of a CRM is to manage your contacts and the relationships you build with them. This involves not just storing names, numbers, and email addresses, but also meticulously recording communication notes, dialogue, and crucial events. However, the most vital feature of any CRM is the ability to schedule and track your next activity, particularly your follow-up. For those engaged in lead generation, especially cold calling, a designated "next call date" is non-negotiable. Without it, the chances of a lead being lost are incredibly high. While you might believe you can manage without these systems initially, as your lead generation efforts become more effective, you'll quickly find yourself overwhelmed and unable to maintain consistent communication with a growing database of potential clients. When a new lead enters your system, the first step is to identify their motivation, primarily based on their timeline. This allows you to categorize them appropriately within your CRM, whether as hot, warm, or cold. This categorization, again, is intrinsically linked to time – when are they looking to transact? Consequently, your CRM should enable you to map these leads across your calendar, with a clear "next activity" or follow-up campaign scheduled. Interestingly, many software programs seem to obscure this essential "next contact" feature. Reflecting on the pre-internet era, agents relied on physical contact managers, books, or cards to record notes and track when they last communicated with someone. Organizing these chronologically, based on the next planned interaction, proved more effective than alphabetical sorting. The evolution of CRM technology brought significant advancements, moving from DOS-based systems to Windows applications that prominently featured the "next call date." These early digital tools often included functionalities like auto-dialers to streamline communication. Regardless of the platform, the core principle remains: identify a lead's motivation based on their timeline and schedule the subsequent contact accordingly. A general rule of thumb is that if you think a follow-up is needed in a month, schedule it sooner, perhaps in three weeks. The key is to proactively position yourself for timely communication based on the lead's readiness. As leads progress to a "hot" stage, indicating a potential contract within 30 days, the frequency of contact needs to increase significantly, potentially to every three to five days, utilizing a strategic blend of communication methods. Effectively managing your CRM involves more than just scheduling calls. It requires a multi-faceted approach that includes automated elements like letters, emails, and texts, especially for non-responsive leads. While text messaging can be effective, it borders on active pursuit and requires careful consideration of the lead's engagement level. Analyzing the probability of engagement is crucial, and the advent of AI holds promise for understanding behavioral patterns that influence conversion. Losing leads is an inevitable part of the business, and reflecting on why they were lost can provide valuable insights. Often, it boils down to the "dentist theory" – a lead might have an underlying need (like a cavity) but isn't ready to address it immediately. Your CRM helps you track these "patients" and follow up appropriately, ensuring you're top-of-mind when their pain point becomes acute. Building a strong relationship based on "know, like, and trust" is essential for being chosen as an agent. This choice often comes down to a personal connection ("love") or perceived value ("money"). While you can't always compete with established personal bonds, consistent communication and demonstrating value through your follow-up efforts can strengthen your position. Identifying a lead's motivation and timeline is crucial for tailoring your communication strategy. Asking the right questions about their reasons for moving and any associated conditions will help you determine the appropriate frequency and method of contact. However, it's important to acknowledge that people's plans can change, and you need to adapt accordingly. When dealing with seemingly dismissive leads, resist the urge to write them off entirely. The initial point of contact might not have been the best way to reach them, or their circumstances might have changed. Persistent yet strategic follow-up is key. It's better to risk being perceived as slightly pushy than to lose a potential deal due to a lack of communication. This requires a conscious decision to prioritize follow-up and respect the intentions you set when initially logging the lead in your CRM. By diligently adhering to your scheduled activities and genuinely engaging with your database, you significantly increase your chances of converting leads into successful transactions. Make "Follow-up Friday" a cornerstone of your weekly routine, dedicating time to reconnect with every lead and reassess their current situation.

Welcome to Monday Morning Pep Talk! In Episode 268, I'm covering a simple but powerful principle that separates top advisors from the rest:

Send us a textThe #1 question in the mortgage world: What's the best CRM? The real answer? Most loan officers are using them WRONG.In this episode of The MLO Project, Frazier and Michael break down why CRMs always seem to disappoint—and it's not the software's fault. Too many LOs expect a CRM to fix their business when it should be the other way around.Here's the truth: Your CRM won't save you. Your plan will. They'll show you how to stop overcomplicating things, set clear non-negotiables, and make your CRM work FOR you. Automation won't build your business—but learning your CRM will. Tune in and level up!00:00 Introduction to the Hottest Mortgage Podcast00:39 Why Your CRM Sucks01:24 Common Misconceptions About CRMs03:27 Choosing the Right CRM for Your Needs06:09 The Importance of Learning Your CRM10:32 Simplifying Your CRM Usage13:33 The Role of Automation in CRMs15:49 Scalability and Community Support22:06 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsConnect with us at themloproject@empowerlo.comSchedule a demo at empowerlo.com

Welcome to Monday Morning Pep Talk! In Episode 267, I'm tackling a question I hear all the time: "Where do I start with a CRM?" Many advisors struggle with setting up their CRM. They know they need it but feel overwhelmed about where to begin. If that sounds like you, you're not alone. A well-structured CRM is the foundation of a predictable and enjoyable business—helping you stay top of mind, build trust, and create consistent opportunities. But getting started is often the hardest part. This episode will give you a step-by-step roadmap to set up your CRM without the overwhelm.

Is your CRM just an expensive contact list? In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with John Golden, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Pipeliner CRM, to reveal how businesses can turn their CRM into a revenue-driving machine.Your CRM should work for you, not against your team. John shares expert insights on aligning CRM with your sales process, embracing automation without losing the human touch, and getting your sales and marketing teams to collaborate effectively.Key Takeaways00:00 – Introduction: Is your CRM working for or against you?02:00 – The common pitfalls of CRM adoption04:30 – Why your CRM needs to align with your sales goals08:15 – How AI and automation can enhance your CRM experience12:40 – Practical steps to increase CRM adoption in your team17:05 – Sales and marketing collaboration: A winning strategy22:30 – Real-world case studies of successful CRM transformations27:50 – The future of CRM: Trends and technologies to watch33:20 – Actionable tips to make your CRM your secret sales weapon38:00 – Where to learn more and get free resourcesTweetable Quotes"Your CRM should feel like an ally, not an obstacle." – John Golden"If your team hates using your CRM, it's time for a change." – Jeff Mains"AI in CRM? It's all about balancing automation with personalization." – John Golden"A well-used CRM is the secret weapon of top-performing sales teams." – Jeff Mains"Success isn't about the tools; it's about how you use them!" – John GoldenSaaS Leadership LessonsCRM Alignment is Key: Your CRM should fit seamlessly into your sales process, not the other way around.Adoption is Everything: A CRM is only valuable if your team actually uses it. Focus on usability and training.Automate Without Losing the Human Touch: Use AI to enhance efficiency, but remember that relationships still drive sales.Sales + Marketing Collaboration = Success: A well-integrated CRM helps align both teams for better revenue outcomes.Track the Right Metrics: Move beyond vanity metrics and focus on KPIs that impact growth.Guest Resourcesjohn.golden@pipelinersales.comWebsite: https://www.pipelinersales.com/X: https://x.com/JohnGoldenFRREpisode SponsorSmall Fish, Big Pond – https://smallfishbigpond.com/ Use the promo code ‘SaaSFuel'Champion Leadership Group – https://championleadership.com/SaaS Fuel ResourcesWebsite - https://championleadership.com/Jeff Mains on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkmains/Twitter -

Ready or not, 2025 is here and so is our biggest FREE event of the year! Packed with insights on the top 3 AI trends coming in 2025 and how to position your firm to WIN, lawyer hot takes on controversial topics, the chance to win epic productivity giveaways like a brand new iPhone 16, and so much more! Hosted by Sam Mollaei, Esq. Only 76 seats left! Register now before it's too late: https://bit.ly/lawyerclubfiesta24 In this episode, Sam Mollaei and Neil Tyra dive into the transformative power of AI in revolutionizing your law practice.Whether you're looking to automate tedious processes, improve client engagement, or stay ahead of the competition, their discussion sheds light on the practical tools and trends reshaping the legal industry.Key Takeaways from Sam and Neil:1. AI Agents for Law Firms: Automating Client Engagement and OperationsAI agents automate client intake, lead qualification, and document collection, freeing lawyers for higher-value work.This paves the way for fully autonomous law firms.2. Decision Support Systems (DSS) Integrated with Your CRM for Smarter InsightsDSS tools within CRMs offer actionable insights for client follow-ups and case prioritization.Predictive analysis helps firms make better decisions and identify risks.3. AI-Enhanced Legal Research and Document ReviewAI speeds up legal research and analyzes case law with precision.Tools like Casetext and Kira Systems make document reviews faster and more cost-effective.4. Bonus: AI-Powered Litigation Prediction and Outcome AnalysisAI predicts case outcomes by analyzing past results and judge patterns, refining strategy.Tools like Lex Machina improve decision-making and client satisfaction.5. Bonus: Generative AI for Legal Document Drafting and Contract AutomationGenerative AI speeds up legal drafting and contract automation with customizable templates.Tools like Casetext and Lawgeex reduce errors and increase efficiency. "Once you bring AI into the picture and it's able to give you insights, you can turn a five-figure case into a seven- or eight-figure case." — Sam Mollaei"When I was in litigation, a motion for summary judgment in the PI world was the most legal research-driven undertaking we did. The whole idea of gathering the right cases and shepherding them is tailor-made for AI." — Neil Tyra

Today's show answers the #1 question in Facebook roofing groups. Everyone has an opinion about CRMs, but who can you trust? Join Dave Sullivan, John DeLaurier, and their guest, Scott Tebay as they tackle the big question: “What's the best CRM for roofers?”Scott Tebay is the owner/operator of Rainstoppers Roofing, and he's been in the construction industry for almost 20 years. Scott is committed to providing 5-star service to every customer by being professional, responsive, and courteous at every step of the roofing process. Scott hosts the Small Town Roofer Podcast and lives with his wife and two young sons in Marietta, Ohio. What you'll hear in this episode:Understand the WHY of a CRM in light of your entire sales processThe best question to ask: “What problems do I have that I need to solve with a piece of software?”What is a CRM—and why do I need one?What is most important in a CRM?The key that is missing in most CRMs is the communication tool that builds the know, like, and trust factor.Scott's perspective on eliminating company phones for his employeesAccountability for every single team member through a CRMJohn's perspective on the advantages of ProLine regarding speed to lead, customized proposals, and 5-star reviewsAutomated follow-ups let the customer know that you want to work with them. Automations work!Your CRM can help track your KPIs.Scott's take on how a CRM performs a sales manager role for his companyResources:Connect with Scott Tebay: Website, Email, and the Small Town Roofer PodcastSchedule a demo with ProLine!Connect with John DeLaurier: Peach State Roofing and LinkedInSet up a FREE strategy call with Dave and get a few tips on how you can improve your business: https://davesullivan.as.me/free-strategy-callInterested in learning more about our 1-on-1 coaching, our mastermind groups, or our fractional professional services? Email me at dave@theroofercoach.com. or text me at (510) 612-1450.No Plan? No problem. Download our FREE 1-Page Business Plan For Roofing Contractors https://theroofershow.com/plan.Vetted Sponsors Of The Roofer ShowHave RUBY answer your phones and tee up the sale by leaving a great first impression. Use this link to get up to $150 off your first month's service: http://get.ruby.com/theroofercoach.Automate your Follow-Up and close more sales with ProLine. Get started for FREE at https://useproline.com/. Use promo code “Dave50” for $50 off your first month's service!Our newest...

Your CRM software isn't just some technical database that should be hidden away somewhere. If you've got it, flaunt it! And, congratulations, you've made it through the first quarter. So, what checkups should you be doing on your marketing campaign? ___ As you meet people, either online or out in the wide world, you should be considering each and every new connection as a way to grow your CRM database. It takes time and discipline to do it right, but it's totally worth it to grow your business. Gyi and Conrad discuss the possibilities that lie within a robust CRM system and how to meaningfully and effectively leverage those connections.  We're 90 days in, everyone. How did Q1 go for you? Gyi and Conrad outline all the things lawyers and marketers should start measurably seeing after three months in the full swing of their marketing strategies. Is your target audience working? Are you hitting your priorities? What needs to change? The guys talk through all the questions you should be asking and the benchmarks you should be reaching at this point in the year.  The News: So, what should we expect from Google in the next 12 months? Well, Conrad just did a session on it at Mass Torts Made Perfect, so he'll give you an overview! Universal Analytics is seriously done-zo on July 1, so if you're still using it, get out now.  LocalU is coming to Detroit, and Gyi gets to help! LocalU taps into industry leading experts to teach about stellar SEO content. Check it: LocalU Detroit 2024    Mentioned in this Episode: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Diverse Marketing || 30 Days In - LHLM Episode Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok

Your CRM software isn't just some technical database that should be hidden away somewhere. If you've got it, flaunt it! And, congratulations, you've made it through the first quarter. So, what checkups should you be doing on your marketing campaign? ___ As you meet people, either online or out in the wide world, you should be considering each and every new connection as a way to grow your CRM database. It takes time and discipline to do it right, but it's totally worth it to grow your business. Gyi and Conrad discuss the possibilities that lie within a robust CRM system and how to meaningfully and effectively leverage those connections.  We're 90 days in, everyone. How did Q1 go for you? Gyi and Conrad outline all the things lawyers and marketers should start measurably seeing after three months in the full swing of their marketing strategies. Is your target audience working? Are you hitting your priorities? What needs to change? The guys talk through all the questions you should be asking and the benchmarks you should be reaching at this point in the year.  The News: So, what should we expect from Google in the next 12 months? Well, Conrad just did a session on it at Mass Torts Made Perfect, so he'll give you an overview! Universal Analytics is seriously done-zo on July 1, so if you're still using it, get out now.  LocalU is coming to Detroit, and Gyi gets to help! LocalU taps into industry leading experts to teach about stellar SEO content. Check it: LocalU Detroit 2024    Mentioned in this Episode: The Bite - Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Newsletter! Diverse Marketing || 30 Days In - LHLM Episode Leave Us an Apple Review  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on YouTube  Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on TikTok

The phrases "Let's keep it simple" or "all we need is" are things we hear quite often when implementing CRMs, but simple isn't enough. Your CRM also has to serve your needs; otherwise, people won't see the point in using the new system. To get there you must ask yourself, "What's the problem we're solving for?" The goal with this question should not be simple, it should be complete. Jess chose this episode for our Best of RevOps Show series because her and Doug dive into how you define what complete is, what the real problems are with your CRM, and how your problems impact your CRM configuration.If you like the show, please subscribe and share the episode. For updates on new episodes follow us on:Twitter/X: @dougdavidoff, @JessDCardenas & @demandcreatorLinkedIn: Lift Enablement, Doug DavidoffYou can also watch the video version of the show on our page. Thanks for watching and remember you can't solve your upstream problems, downstream.

In this episode of "Rethink the Way You Sell," hosted by Jeff Bajorek, listeners are invited to take a fresh look at Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Jeff delves into the common misconceptions about CRMs, arguing that they are not just management tools but essential sales tools that can help salespeople stay organized and win deals. He shares his personal experience with CRMs, including how a simple Excel spreadsheet became a vital tool in his sales career. The episode also explores the importance of using CRMs for personal benefit rather than seeing them as a burden imposed by management. Jeff emphasizes the value of taking a step back on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to review opportunities and keep track of ongoing deals. He challenges listeners to rethink their approach to CRMs and recognize their potential as a means to close more deals. Whether you're a seasoned sales professional or just starting in the field, this episode offers a different perspective on CRMs that could transform the way you sell. Most CRM systems are implemented incorrectly, and it's NOT the system's fault. (1:59) How a simple CRM systems saved Jeff's sale (7:30) Your CRM is not just a management tool, it's a sales tool (12:21) Download my latest ebook https://jeffbajorek.com/8reasons Listen and follow my podcast, Rethink the Way You Sell for weekly episodes! https://linktr.ee/rethinkpod Music and Editing by @Doug Branson Additional Music by @Blue Dot Sessions

Your CRM stages are lying: Prospecting, Qualification, Demo, Proposal Just go step by step and you close the deal. Right? The reality is, there is no ONE buyer. There's 10 or more. Each one of these has their own decision-making journey.

Your CRM is the most powerful tool in your arsenal.

No More Small Businesses With Ai5/11/23IBM Reportedly Prepares to Halt Hiring for Jobs That Could Soon Be Replaced by AIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfn01Z1ZUbcIBM CEO Arvind Krishna Says A.I. Will Make More Jobs Than it Will Replacehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUX7DkQrVyYRhinoLeg 50 Job Titles with Descriptionshttps://s3.us-central-1.wasabisys.com/rhinoleg-backoffice/Docs/RhinoLeg50.docxIn the next 36 months, about 8,000 jobs will be replacedCEOs want 2 things:MoneyMore moneyPrompt 1Antonio T Smith Jr is teaching a class right now. He asked me to tell you to give him 50 jobs that artificial intelligence will replace in the next 5 years. I need a list of 50 and you don't have to give me a description, just job, title, or industry is good enough. ChatGPT ResponseData Entry ClerkTelemarketerBookkeeping ClerkCompensation and Benefits ManagerReceptionistCourierProofreaderRetail SalespersonMarket Research AnalystAdvertising Sales AgentTaxi DriverFast Food CookInsurance UnderwriterTravel AgentReal Estate BrokerToll Booth OperatorInventory ManagerParalegalBank TellerAgricultural WorkerCustomer Service RepresentativeCredit AnalystLoan OfficerCashierAssembly Line WorkerTextile WorkerHotel Desk ClerkLibrarianPostal Service WorkerNewspaper DeliverySports RefereeTrain OperatorMeter ReaderMail SorterWarehouse LaborerTranscriptionistPhoto ProcessorParking Enforcement WorkerConstruction LaborerSurveyorAircraft Cargo Handling SupervisorSecurity GuardFarm Labor ContractorFilm and Video EditorInsurance Claims ClerkOrder ClerkPayroll and Timekeeping ClerkProcurement ClerkShipping and Receiving ClerkSwitchboard OperatorPrompt 2Antonio T Smith Jr told me the 8,000 jobs will be replaced in the next 5 years by Ai. Please analyze this list and give me another 50 regardless of industry that do not repeat this list.ChatGPT ResponseMedical TranscriptionistSewing Machine OperatorGaming DealerPharmacy TechnicianHousekeeping CleanerBaristaLegal SecretaryReservation AgentFast Food ServerBartenderTaxi DispatcherCasino DealerPrint Binding and Finishing WorkerWatch RepairerInsurance Policy Processing ClerkMail CarrierLibrary TechnicianData AnalystReport WriterOffice ClerkTelemarketing Sales AgentBudget AnalystAccountantBank Loan OfficerDesktop PublisherIT Support SpecialistTechnical WriterStock ClerkHR AssistantSales RepresentativeLogisticianPurchasing AgentCost EstimatorReal Estate AppraiserFinancial AnalystTax PreparerBill and Account CollectorSewers, HandPhotographic Process WorkerNew Accounts ClerkBrokerage ClerkOrder FillerFile ClerkInsurance AppraiserFreight AgentRadio OperatorAvionics TechnicianClinical Laboratory TechnicianNuclear Power Reactor OperatorOccupational Therapy AidePrompt 3I am a CEO of a small business, and I am looking to replace 500 jobs in my industry with Ai within the next year. My industry is [your industry], and I am giving you a list of 10 job titles. Please analyze this list of 10 and tell me how these job titles can be maximized to increase my bottom line by $100,000 a year. With each job title and each analysis, give me a short description of how you would use this job title in my industry, which is [your industry]. It is important that you use my industry. ChatGPT ResponseData Entry Clerk: In an AI-powered CRM industry, this role could be replaced or enhanced by automated data entry systems. This could save time, reduce human error, and allow for real-time data updates. The cost savings from minimizing errors and accelerating the data entry process could significantly contribute to your bottom line.Telemarketer: AI can automate certain tasks of a telemarketer, such as scheduling calls and following up with leads. Automated voice systems or chatbots can handle initial customer interactions, filtering out uninterested leads and saving human agents for more promising or complex cases. This increases efficiency and reduces costs.Bookkeeping Clerk: AI systems can handle a lot of the routine tasks of a bookkeeping clerk, such as invoicing, payroll, and financial reporting. This reduces the likelihood of errors and frees up time for your financial team to focus on more strategic tasks, like financial planning and analysis, which could improve your bottom line.Compensation and Benefits Manager: AI can automate and streamline many aspects of compensation and benefits management, such as tracking employee performance, determining appropriate compensation, and managing benefits enrollment. This allows for more accurate and efficient management of employee compensation, which can help retain top talent and improve overall productivity.Receptionist: AI can replace or assist receptionists through automated scheduling systems, call forwarding, and visitor registration. An AI virtual assistant can handle inquiries 24/7, improving customer service and freeing up human staff for higher value tasks.Courier: In an AI-powered CRM business, physical courier roles may be limited. However, if documents or hardware need to be moved, drones or automated delivery systems could be used to reduce costs and speed up delivery times.Proofreader: AI can automate many aspects of proofreading, such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation checks. This could improve the quality of your content and communication, enhancing your brand image and customer satisfaction.Retail Salesperson: In the context of AI-powered CRM, an AI sales assistant could replace or enhance the role of a retail salesperson. It can provide customers with personalized product recommendations, manage inventory, and process orders. This can lead to increased sales and customer satisfaction.Market Research Analyst: AI can automate and enhance many aspects of market research. It can analyze large data sets to identify trends, segment customers, and predict future behavior. This can provide more accurate and timely insights, leading to better decision-making and strategy development.Advertising Sales Agent: AI can automate many aspects of advertising sales, such as identifying potential clients, personalized outreach, and tracking campaign performance. This can increase advertising sales efficiency and effectiveness, leading to increased revenue and profits.Taxi Driver: In the context of your industry, this might relate to the delivery of services or products. Automated scheduling and routing could optimize the efficiency of these deliveries, reducing costs. Moreover, your CRM could potentially offer solutions to taxi companies, providing AI-powered dispatching and routing, leading to increased sales and profits.Fast Food Cook: This could relate to the execution of routine tasks in your business. AI can automate repetitive tasks, improving efficiency and reducing errors. In terms of your CRM, if it's catering to fast food chains, an AI-powered system could predict order volumes and optimize food preparation times, enhancing customer satisfaction and sales.Insurance Underwriter: AI can automate the risk assessment and policy pricing, improving efficiency, accuracy, and consistency. This would save time and reduce costs in similar risk evaluation tasks in your business. For the CRM aspect, AI could offer predictive analytics and automated risk assessment features to insurance firms, enhancing your product offering.Travel Agent: An AI system can automate and personalize recommendations, bookings, and customer service, improving customer satisfaction and sales. Within your CRM, this could translate to providing intelligent recommendations and automating follow-ups with leads and customers.Real Estate Broker: AI can automate property matching, price estimation, and lead generation, improving efficiency and effectiveness. Similarly, your CRM could potentially offer features tailored to the real estate industry, such as automated property matching and personalized client follow-ups.Toll Booth Operator: This might relate to payment collection within your business. AI can automate payment processing and fraud detection, reducing costs and improving cash flow. As for your CRM, you could offer automated payment processing and fraud detection features to clients in industries that collect tolls or fees.Inventory Manager: AI can automate and optimize inventory management, reducing costs and improving service levels. This could translate into your CRM offering AI-powered inventory management solutions, potentially increasing sales and customer satisfaction.Paralegal: AI can automate legal research and document review, improving efficiency and accuracy. Within your CRM, this could mean providing intelligent search and document analysis features, making it more attractive to legal firms.Bank Teller: AI can automate transactions, customer service, and fraud detection, improving efficiency and security. Your CRM could potentially offer tailored solutions to banks, such as AI-powered customer service and fraud detection features.Agricultural Worker: AI can automate crop monitoring, irrigation, and harvesting, improving efficiency and yields. This might mean that your CRM could offer features like predictive analytics and automated task management to clients in the agricultural industry.Customer Service Representative: AI chatbots could handle common inquiries, freeing up human agents to handle more complex queries. This reduces costs and potentially improves customer satisfaction. You could also offer an AI chatbot feature in your CRM, enhancing your product offering.Credit Analyst: AI algorithms can automate credit risk assessment, reducing errors and bias. This could translate to cost savings in any financial risk evaluation within your company. For your CRM, you might offer AI-powered credit risk assessment features to clients in the financial sector.Loan Officer: AI can automate the loan application and approval process, improving efficiency and reducing bias. Similarly, you could offer AI-powered loan processing features in your CRM, making it more attractive to banking and finance clients.Cashier: In a CRM company, this could relate to payment processing. AI can automate payment collection and fraud detection, reducing costs and improving cash flow. You could also offer these features in your CRM to clients in retail and other sectors.Assembly Line Worker: This might relate to the execution of repetitive tasks in your company. AI can automate such tasks, improving efficiency and reducing errors. Your CRM could potentially offer workflow automation features to clients in manufacturing and other sectors.Textile Worker: This could relate to quality control in your company. AI can automate quality checks, improving consistency and reducing costs. Similarly, your CRM could offer AI-powered quality control features to clients in the textile and other industries.Hotel Desk Clerk: AI can automate booking and customer service tasks, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction. Within your CRM, you might offer AI-powered booking and customer service features to clients in the hospitality sector.Librarian: In a CRM context, this could relate to data management. AI can automate data categorization and retrieval, reducing errors and saving time. Your CRM could also offer AI-powered data management features, enhancing its appeal to various sectors.Postal Service Worker: This could relate to the delivery of services or products in your company. AI can automate scheduling and routing, improving efficiency. Similarly, your CRM could offer AI-powered delivery scheduling features to clients in logistics and other sectors.Newspaper Delivery: In a digital context, this could relate to the distribution of content or information. AI can automate content distribution based on customer preferences and behavior, improving engagement. Your CRM could offer AI-powered content distribution features, enhancing its appeal to media and other sectors.Sports Referee: This could relate to quality assurance within your company. AI can automate checks and balances, reducing errors and maintaining high quality. In terms of your CRM product, you could offer AI-based quality assurance features for clients that need to enforce rules or standards.Train Operator: In a metaphorical sense, this could relate to running operations smoothly. AI can automate and optimize various operational tasks, improving efficiency and reducing costs. Moreover, your CRM could offer AI-based operations management features for industries that have complex scheduling or routing needs.Meter Reader: This could relate to the measurement and analysis of business metrics in your company. AI can automate data collection, analysis, and reporting, improving accuracy and speed. Your CRM could offer similar features to clients who need to regularly track and analyze data.Mail Sorter: This could relate to sorting and managing incoming customer inquiries or requests. AI can automate this process, ensuring inquiries are promptly and appropriately addressed. This feature could also be included in your CRM for clients that receive high volumes of customer communication.Warehouse Laborer: This might relate to the management of digital resources in your company. AI can automate the organization and retrieval of these resources, improving efficiency. This kind of resource management feature could be valuable in your CRM for clients that manage large amounts of digital assets.Transcriptionist: AI can automate transcription, saving time and improving accuracy. This could be useful within your company for transcribing meetings or customer calls. Similarly, a transcription feature in your CRM could be valuable to clients that record customer calls or meetings.Photo Processor: In the context of your business, this might relate to processing and analyzing visual data. AI can automate this, providing insights more quickly and accurately. This feature could also be included in your CRM for clients that use visual data in their business.Parking Enforcement Worker: This could relate to enforcing rules and standards in your company. AI can automate monitoring and enforcement, reducing errors and improving compliance. A rule enforcement feature in your CRM could be valuable to clients that need to monitor compliance with certain standards or regulations.Construction Laborer: This could relate to building and maintaining your CRM platform. AI can automate many aspects of software development and maintenance, improving efficiency and reducing errors. This could result in cost savings and more rapid product updates.Surveyor: This might relate to understanding customer needs and preferences. AI can automate survey distribution, response collection, and data analysis, providing insights more quickly and accurately. An AI-powered survey feature in your CRM could be valuable to clients that want to better understand their customers.Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisor: This role can be analogous to managing the flow of data or services in your business. AI can automate and optimize the handling of data or services, improving efficiency and reducing costs. Your CRM could also offer AI-powered data management and optimization features to clients in industries that handle large amounts of data or services.Security Guard: This could relate to security measures within your digital systems. AI can enhance security by automating threat detection and response, reducing the risk of data breaches and improving trust. Your CRM could offer similar AI-powered security features to clients, enhancing its appeal.Farm Labor Contractor: In a metaphorical sense, this could relate to managing resources in your company. AI can automate resource allocation and optimization, improving efficiency. Your CRM could offer similar AI-powered resource management features to clients, particularly in industries that require resource optimization.Film and Video Editor: This could be related to the editing and customization of user interfaces or customer experiences. AI can automate the customization of interfaces or experiences based on user preferences and behavior, improving customer satisfaction. Your CRM could offer similar AI-powered customization features, enhancing its appeal.Insurance Claims Clerk: AI can automate the processing and evaluation of claims (or in your company's context, complaints or requests), improving efficiency and accuracy. Your CRM could offer similar AI-powered features to clients in the insurance sector, making it more attractive to them.Order Clerk: This could relate to the management of customer orders or requests in your company. AI can automate the processing and tracking of orders or requests, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction. Your CRM could offer similar AI-powered order management features to clients.Payroll and Timekeeping Clerk: AI can automate payroll and timekeeping tasks, reducing errors and saving time. This could result in cost savings for your company and could also be a feature in your CRM for clients who need to manage payroll and timekeeping.Procurement Clerk: This could be related to the procurement of services or digital resources in your company. AI can automate and optimize procurement processes, reducing costs and improving efficiency. Your CRM could offer similar AI-powered procurement features to clients, especially those in industries that involve complex procurement processes.Shipping and Receiving Clerk: In a digital context, this might relate to the sending and receiving of data or services. AI can automate and optimize these processes, improving efficiency and reducing errors. Your CRM could offer similar AI-powered features to clients in industries that involve the exchange of large amounts of data or services.Switchboard Operator: This could relate to the routing of customer inquiries or requests in your company. AI can automate the routing of inquiries or requests, ensuring they are promptly and appropriately addressed. Your CRM could offer similar AI-powered routing features to clients who receive a high volume of customer communication.Prompt 4Antonio wants me to build the payroll department, but he doesn't want any employees. He wants it to be completely Ai driven. With that being said, I want you to give a 25-step process to build an Ai driven payroll and timekeeping department for the Ai driven CRM company. It is vital that these 25 steps are not general steps as Antonio and the company has the resources such as machine learning, deep learning, and Ai skills to pull this off. Your task is two-fold. First, give me the first 25 steps. Second is to teach me and give me the tools at your disposal to accomplish these 25 steps.ChatGPT Response1. Define Your Objectives: Clearly outline the tasks you want the AI to perform, such as calculating wages, making payments, tracking working hours, handling tax deductions, and generating reports.2. Understand Regulatory Requirements: Research and understand the legal and regulatory requirements for payroll and timekeeping in the jurisdictions where your employees are located.3. Gather Data: Collect historical payroll and timekeeping data. This data will be used to train your AI models.4. Clean the Data: Preprocess the data to handle missing values, outliers, and inconsistencies.5. Data Analysis: Perform exploratory data analysis to understand patterns and relationships in your data.6. Feature Engineering: Identify relevant features in your data that the AI models can use to make accurate predictions.7. Define AI Model Metrics: Define the metrics you'll use to evaluate your AI models, such as accuracy, precision, and recall.8. Split the Data: Split your data into training, validation, and testing sets.9. Choose Model Architectures: Select appropriate machine learning or deep learning architectures for your models. For example, you might use a combination of regression models for wage calculations and classification models for regulatory compliance.10. Train Models: Use your training data to train your models.11. Validate Models: Use your validation data to tune your models and select the best performing ones.12. Test Models: Use your testing data to evaluate your models' performance. Make sure they meet the metrics you defined earlier.13. Interpret Models: Use techniques like SHAP or LIME to understand how your models are making decisions. This is especially important for compliance with regulations that require explainability in AI.14. Set up an AI Infrastructure: Set up the hardware and software infrastructure needed to run your AI models in production.15. Automate Data Pipelines: Build automated data pipelines to preprocess new payroll data and feed it into your AI models.16. Integrate Models into Infrastructure: Integrate your AI models into your infrastructure.17. Develop User Interfaces: Develop user interfaces that allow users to input data and retrieve outputs from your AI system.18. Implement Security Measures: Implement measures to protect sensitive payroll data, such as encryption and access controls.19. Build a Monitoring System: Build a system to monitor your AI models' performance over time.20. Test the Entire System: Conduct end-to-end testing of your entire AI system.21. Plan for Maintenance: Plan for ongoing maintenance of your AI system, including regular updates to your models and infrastructure.22. Train Employees: Train any remaining employees who will interact with the AI system on how to use it.23. Deploy the AI System: Deploy your AI system in production.24. Monitor and Update the System: Regularly monitor your AI system's performance and make updates as needed.25. Continual Learning: Implement a system for your AI models to continually learn from new data and improve over time.These steps may require a variety of tools and skills, including knowledge of machine learning and deep learning, proficiency in programming languages like Python or R, experience with AI frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch, and understanding of data management tools like SQL. You may also need to use cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure for your AI infrastructure, and data visualization tools like Tableau or PowerBI for data analysis and model interpretation. Prompt 5I am ready to build this: Define Your Objectives: Clearly outline the tasks you want the AI to perform, such as calculating wages, making payments, tracking working hours, handling tax deductions, and generating reports. Please analyze my list below and build out my logic and basic implementation to have Ai accomplish all I have listed. Please make any improvements as needed.ChatGPT ResponseTo build an AI solution that can handle the tasks you outlined, we need to break down each task into sub-tasks and identify where AI can be most beneficial. Here's an AI-based implementation plan based on your list:1. Monitor Staff Attendance DailyUse facial recognition or biometrics for attendance tracking. AI can process this data in real-time.Anomaly detection algorithms can identify any unusual patterns in attendance, such as frequent late arrivals or absences.2. Collect, Review, and Verify Timesheets and Work ChartsNatural Language Processing (NLP) can be used to interpret unstructured timesheet data.Machine Learning (ML) algorithms can cross-verify timesheet data for accuracy, comparing it against project timelines, expected work hours, etc.3. Prepare Monthly Salary SheetsML algorithms can automatically calculate monthly salaries based on the data collected, including adjustments for PTO, overtime, bonuses, etc.4. Process Payroll Paperwork for New EmployeesOptical Character Recognition (OCR) and NLP can process and digitize paperwork, extracting relevant information to be added to the payroll system.5. Update HRIS and Payroll DataAutomate updates to HRIS using AI. Any changes in employee status trigger automatic updates in the payroll system.6. Stay Updated on Payroll-related LawsAI can be used to constantly scan and analyze legal databases and websites for updates to laws and regulations, alerting you when relevant changes occur.7. Provide Information on Payroll Policies and BenefitsAn AI chatbot can be programmed to answer common employee queries related to payroll and benefits.8. Investigate and Resolve Payroll and Timekeeping ComplaintsAI can assist in initial complaint triage, identifying the nature of the issue and routing it to the appropriate department or person for resolution.9. Prepare Month-end and Year-end ReportsAI can automate the generation of financial reports by pulling data from the payroll system and applying the necessary calculations and formatting.10. Maintain and Update Employee Information in Payroll RecordsAI can automatically update employee records whenever a change is detected (e.g., address change, bank account change, etc.).To accomplish this, you'll need a diverse set of tools and technologies, including machine learning and deep learning libraries (like scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch), NLP libraries (like NLTK, spaCy), OCR tools (like Tesseract), AI platforms (like IBM Watson, Google AI), and more. Programming languages like Python and R will also be essential.Remember, while AI can automate many tasks, it's crucial to have a human in the loop for supervision, especially for tasks involving sensitive personal data.Prompt 6What else can we add to this to improve our Ai capabilities?Closing ThoughtsWhen doing all of this, don't look at the progress for a year; just keep showing upVertical leadership/ownership takes timeYou are the greatest thing that happened to this planetThere is nothing more sacred to this world than youThere is nothing on this planet that God loves more than youIf you're not living your dreams, you must learn to lean in and give into the presentFall in love with losing as fast as possibleSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-secret-to-success/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, we speak with Spencer Dusebout, CEO of Aidium, a leading CRM platform. Spencer shares his insights and expertise on How to Get Maximum ROI from Your CRM, providing practical tips and strategies for getting the most out of your CRM investment.From understanding the key features and capabilities of your CRM platform to developing effective workflows and automations, Spencer's advice is invaluable for anyone looking to streamline their business processes and improve their bottom line.As a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader, Spencer brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table, and his insights are sure to help listeners achieve greater success in their businesses.To learn more from Spencer and connect with him directly, be sure to visit Aidium's website at www.aidium.com/.Get the Case Study: Chris Coghill Closed $36 Million in Agent ReferralsJoin the Podcast Community in Facebook Here

Insider Secrets - Debunking Technical Sales Myths - PART 2We're debunking 5 more technical sales myths! If you haven't seen PART 1, CLICK HERE https://youtu.be/upZn7ZEaAzQ “YOU HAVE TO KNOW EVERYTHING TECHNICAL TO SELL” When it comes to selling, it's all about learning about your prospect's problems and connecting them to a solution. Too often, sales techs show up and throw up a presentation showcasing all the specs of their product and service when instead, they should be learning about their prospect to make the sale. As long as you know enough, you're good to go - anything more specific is an opportunity to get back to them with more information from your team.“TAKE YOUR TIME ON SENDING YOUR QUOTE” That quote should be in your prospects hands ASAP. Own the sale and the situation, and gain the trust of your clients by sending them a complete and diligent quote after you've acquired the information and answers you need.“I DON'T NEED TO UPDATE MY CRM SYSTEM” While it's great to have handwritten notes, sometimes you forget a thing or two. Your CRM system serves as your central database and collection point for everything. Keep it organized and updated - it will reward you with a solid gameplay and analysis.“I LEFT IT ALL ON A VOICEMAIL” Attention spans are short nowadays, and the age of long voicemails is long gone. Leave your two-minute voicemails with your beepers and car phones; voicemails should be no more than twenty seconds and sent with a text, an email, etc. Text messaging does better in leading toward a meeting.“ALL LEADS ARE GOING TO COME TO ME” Get out there and start hunting. What marketing brings you is the cherry on top, the bare minimum. If you want to start living the lifestyle you want and smashing your goals, you have to put in the work and put a system in place. Subscribe to this channel and check out videos on the topic. If you are ready to take it a step further, enroll in Technical Sales University: https://technicalsalesu.com/#technicalsales #mythsofselling #kylemilan __________Subscribe For More Video Content :https://www.youtube.com/kylemilan__________Say Hi on Social:LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylemilan/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylejmilanFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/KyleJMilan/__________Connect For Business:MFG Tribe: https://mfgtribe.comMFG Tribe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mfgtribe/Technical Sales University: https://training.technicalsalesu.com/enroll

In this week's Saturday Strategy Session, we chat about 3 steps to decluttering your business. One of the books I read recently was ‘Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff' by Dana K. White. In the book, Dana shares 5 tips for getting rid of overwhelm and clutter for good. I found this book super helpful, so I decided to declutter my business and applied 3 simple steps to do so. Your CRM, services, programs, clients, and even marketing are some of the many components of your business that can be decluttered. This episode dives into the elimination, evaluation, and implementation phases of getting your business organized. I would love to know what part of your business you'll be decluttering with these 3 steps, and how it goes for you!Key Takeaways/Episode Timestamps:The 5 steps from the book ‘Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff' {5:21}The first step for decluttering your business {09:46}The second step for decluttering your business {11:44}The third step for decluttering your business {15:53}Links and Resources:FREE audience audit call → marketscalegrow.com/audienceauditDream List Essentials Facebook Ads Course (opening end of January 2023) → http://marketscalegrow.com/dlewaitlistFree download → Facebook Ad Targeting GroupsDecluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff by Dana K. White (book mentioned in episode): https://Decluttering-Speed-Life-Winning-Never-Ending/___Find me on Instagram @heyitsjenzaiaEmail Me: hello@jenzaiadimartile.comJoin the Facebook community: The Market, Scale, Grow Community

EPISODE NOTESSkip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese. Download the Rubber Cheese 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the first digital benchmark statistics for the attractions sector. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.  If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast Competition ends January 31st 2023. The winner will be contacted via Twitter.   Show references: https://www.convious.com/https://twitter.com/MrTicketeerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/andypovey/ https://blooloop.com/technology/news/convious-consumer-pricinghttps://blooloop.com/technology/news/convious-digital-trends-webinar/ Andy Povey joined Convious in November 2021 as managing director for UK and Ireland. Andy has worked in the attractions industry since the early nineties when he began as a ride operator at Chessington World of Adventures. He stayed with the Tussaud's company and later Merlin Entertainments for another 18 years, working in a variety of operational jobs at Rock Circus, Madame Tussauds, and central support, where he was responsible for the group's ticketing systems. After Merlin, he worked for Gateway Ticketing Systems for ten years, opening and then overseeing their UK operation, before transferring his experience to the Convious team. Outside work, Andy enjoys visiting attractions of all shapes and sizes with his family. Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in, or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode, I speak with Andy Povey, Managing Director, UK and Ireland for Convious. Andy shares with us the five key digital trends attractions shouldn't miss out on and research into dynamic pricing for theme parks and tourist attractions. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue.Kelly Molson: Andy Povey, it's so lovely to have you on Skip The Queue podcast today. Thanks for coming on.Andy Povey: Thank you. It's my absolute pleasure.Kelly Molson: And I know you've been a bit poorly. So let's just state now, poor old Andy has had COVID, and he's got a little bit of a cold today. So be kind to him.Andy Povey: It's man flu.Kelly Molson: It's always man flu, Andy. Right. As ever, we're going to start with icebreakers and I've got a really good one for you. So how would you describe your job to a three year old?Andy Povey: Oh, to a three year old? Well, I've got eight year old twin girls. So as far as they're concerned, daddy gets to go to zoos and theme parks without them, which is not brilliant. But no, I make computers work, I suppose.Kelly Molson: Make computers work for cool attractions like zoos and theme parks. I think that's perfect.Andy Povey: Absolutely.Kelly Molson: Good job, Andy. We'll talk more about that later. Okay. What one thing would you make a law that isn't one already?Andy Povey: That's a really difficult one.Kelly Molson: They're always difficult, Andy. It's always.Andy Povey: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're being mean to me. Yeah. Oh, I'm in our office in Amsterdam at the moment, so I'm traveling a bit. And I do have a theory that you should never, ever fly from an airport where people feel it's appropriate to turn up in flip flops.Kelly Molson: Well, even if you're traveling back from holiday and it's a bit warm.Andy Povey: So the law would be, if I'm at the airport, and I'm waiting in the back to get to Carousel, you need to get out of my way.Kelly Molson: I think that's fair. Everyone goes a bit savage at the airport. Don't you think? You know when you go into London, and there's a certain way that you act on the tubes to get to places. You've got to walk really, you've got to be very determined, haven't you?Andy Povey: Absolutely.Kelly Molson: That's how I feel when I go into London. I've got my London walk on. And I feel it's a bit like that at the airports as well. Everyone's all in it for themselves. They don't care about anyone else around them. It's all just-Andy Povey: No, no. Get out of my way.Kelly Molson: Yeah. It's a good law, Andy. Right. Everyone has to get out of Andy's way at the airport. That's the law. Nice. Okay. And this one, I've asked a few people this one. Because I really like this one. What would you buy as you exit through the gift shop?Andy Povey: I'm not really into things. I'm much more of an experience kind of person. So if there was another experience, or something to enhance the experience, then it would be something like that.Kelly Molson: Okay. Good answer.Andy Povey: Yeah, something to enhance the experience.Kelly Molson: Good answer. I like that, Andy. And we'll talk about that a little bit more later as well. What would your twin girls pick? What would be their things from the theme park?Andy Povey: Oh, cuddly toys. You must be the same. Shelves and shelves and shelves of these things in the house.Kelly Molson: My daughter is doing incredibly well from all of the visits though that I have been on recently. Yeah. Let me tell you the gift shops, I've been [inaudible 00:03:28].Andy Povey: Squish 'em alls.Kelly Molson: To the gift shops. Yeah.Andy Povey: What do they call them?Kelly Molson: Squishy animals, all sorts of stuff. She's now got from various attractions that she's never been to that I'll have to take her to, to say thank you.Andy Povey: No, when mine were the same age as your daughter, I went to Orlando a few times for IAAPA. And I would buy them Mickey Mouse and Mini Mouse cuddly toys, and bring them home. But because they'd never seen anything to do with Disney, these were just referred to as Boy Mouse and Girl Mouse.Kelly Molson: Oh, bless them.Andy Povey: They didn't know what Mickey Mouse was.Kelly Molson: Oh. And I'm sure they do very well now.Andy Povey: Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.Kelly Molson: All right, Andy, what is your unpopular opinion? What have you prepared for us?Andy Povey: I actually did a poll of my colleagues in the office, because I was looking at something to do with Eurovision, and actually trying to work out whether my opinion was unpopular or not. And unfortunately it wasn't. So Eurovision massively overrated is my opinion of this.Kelly Molson: Gosh. So-Andy Povey: I knew we were going to fall out over this.Kelly Molson: Well, it's not just me. There's a lot of listeners that you are going to make very unhappy about that statement, Andy. Not to mention Rachel MacKay, who, if she hears this, I don't know how she's going to feel the next time she sees you. So that is for you to feel awkward about.Andy Povey: You asked for an unpopular opinion.Kelly Molson: Okay, let's put it out there. How does everyone feel about Eurovision? I feel like this is definitely going to be an unpopular one, Andy. Thank you. Right. Okay. Andy, so you have got over two decades in the attraction sector, self proclaimed attractions industry nerd. I think that's fair. Tell us a little bit about your background, and how you ended up working in the sector.Andy Povey: A colleague did tell me the other day that it's actually 30 years, and I was trying to hide away from this. Yes, I am old. So many, many years ago, started a temporary seasonal job at Chessington World of Adventures, having left college without a clue about what I wanted to do when I grew up. My first job was driving the train around the park at Chessington, and absolutely fell in love with the attractions industry. And then stayed with Merlin or The Tussauds Group, which then became Merlin Entertainment for about 18 years, and doing all sorts of different jobs. So that's how I fell into it. And I've never looked back.Kelly Molson: It's a really common theme actually, from guests that come on who've gone to work in a theme park or an attraction as what they probably thought would be a temp job for a while. And then absolutely loved every minute of it, and then have just risen through the ranks. Whether they've stayed in one group or they've moved around. But they've just continued to learn, and learn, and learn, and progress. And that comes across so frequently with our guests. It sucks you in.Andy Povey: It absolutely does. And it's a great industry. And I love the fact that you can build a career within our industry from starting right at the bottom, and just work your way up. I think it's a testament to the industry.Kelly Molson: What kind of roles did you work in then as you moved your way up?Andy Povey: So I did four years at Chessington as a ride operator. Then went to Rock Circus, which was a subsidiary of Madame Tussauds in the Trocadero and Piccadilly Circus in Central London. It was there for four years, and we were told that someone from head office was going to come and install the till system and tell me how to make it work. At which point I went, "Oh, maybe not." So I went and became that person.Kelly Molson: Oh, you were a tills man?Andy Povey: Yeah, I was. It was a tills man. So I started in ticketing before the internet.Kelly Molson: Yeah.Andy Povey: Before anybody really knew what the internet was, and then moved to Madame Tussauds for a short period of time, and then to what was Tussauds Group head office in Tottenham Court Road looking after all of the till systems for the organisation. And then did that for about 10 years, and then left, went and joined the supplier that we were using, Tussauds, so gateway ticketing. I was with them for 10 years. Basically convinced them to set up a UK office, and I ran the UK office for 10 years. And then after COVID, decided it was time to go and do something else. So came across Convious, the company I work for now, and whose office I'm sitting in today. And that's it, really. That's a very brief summary of Andy's career.Kelly Molson: Excellent career. I'd like to hear a little bit about Convious. So I am aware of you, and I think that most people at the moment would be aware of Convious. They're everywhere. Convious are everywhere.Andy Povey: Yeah. We're bright pink, and we shout a lot.Kelly Molson: And they're pink.Andy Povey: Don't know what they do.Kelly Molson: You have fantastic stands, events that we all attend. But I think there's something really different about Convious. Can you just tell us a little bit about it?Andy Povey: So it's not just what Convious are doing. There's something going off in the whole world of technology that the sales force are referring to as the fourth industrial revolution. And so competing with third industrial revolution from sort of 1949 to 2010, the fourth industrial revolution's all about data. And five years ago everyone was talking about big data. That was the buzzword that was everywhere. So we were just storing loads and loads of information. The fourth industrial revolution we're seeing now is actually doing things with that data. Because there's no point in just paying for a load of storage somewhere, if you're not going to do anything with it.So what we're doing at Convious with that data. It's really sitting on top of our partner's websites rather than being a page that you go off to, and gathering as much data as we possibly can. So we pull in long range weather forecasts, we're pulling in all sorts of information about how people are interacting with the website. And ultimately just using it all to drive sales and increase sales for our partners.Kelly Molson: I know that the weather thing is a really small thing of the system. It's a tiny thing, but it's the thing that sticks in my head the most. Because I just think it's blooming genius. I know. It's such a small thing, but it's such a clever thing to have.Andy Povey: It really does affect attendance at so many attractions. And I love Dom Jones when he was talking to you. I love his take on the weather, of actually, if you're going to blame the weather, you should also give the weather credit when you have a great attendance.Kelly Molson: I agree. Yeah, I love that quote from Dom. So it is really interesting in terms of what Convious do. Because I think that one of the things that attractions could be better at is using the data that they already have in more sophisticated ways. And the Convious platform allows you to do that really easily. Because let's face it, marketing teams are overstretched in attractions. And they can be quite small at times as well. We had Danielle and Ross on from Drayton Manor a few weeks ago. And the two of them pretty much head up their department. And I know they're a head of marketing as well. But that's a small team for what is a significant attraction.Andy Povey: Yes. Yeah, yeah.Kelly Molson: So anything that we can help to put in place for those teams is ultimately going to make it easier for them, and make it better. And they'll be able to understand better what their customers are actually doing.Andy Povey: And ultimately it's about making it easier for the customer. There's a whole focus on personalization at the moment, again, across the industry. So rather than it being one too many, it's one personalisation. And looking at, if we know something about the customer, so take me for example. I buy family tickets, and I love industrial heritage. So Google knows that about me, and Google will tell every website that I go to, that's who I am. So if we've got a family offering as an attraction, then let's promote the family offering. If you've got an industrial heritage offering, let's promote the industrial heritage offering to the people who've identified that they are. Ultimately it's about giving people what they want.Kelly Molson: And that's the really smart bit, isn't it? That the system can identify the person that's coming, and show them the things that are more relevant to them from that attraction. Then the standard things that they might like, they might buy. But actually this is the one that they really want, because that's connecting with them at a completely deeper level. That's some of the stuff that I want to talk about today. So one of the things that's good about Convious, and I'd like to hope that Rubber Cheese are aligned in this way as well, is that when we think about talking to attractions, we're giving them things that are useful. I think, that ultimately from any marketing perspective is how useful can you be? This content that I'm putting out, what value does it bring somebody? And how can they engage with it? And is it helpful for them?And that's what I feel Convious does really well. And I see a lot of your articles on Blooloop for example. And a month or so ago there was an article about the five key digital trends for attractions as we roll into 2023. And I think that this is a really good time to talk about these things. Because people are doing a lot of planning at this time of year. They're in Christmas, which this year feels very busy, because it's the first Christmas people can-Andy Povey: It certainly does.Kelly Molson: It's the first one though, if you think about it, that people can actually go out and feel comfortable that the things they're going to book, they can actually do. Last year we still had that Omicron. Do we do big groups? Do we just stay inside a little bit longer? But this year feels busy. And I think that attractions will get through Christmas, have a brilliant Christmas. And then January will be that time when they go "Right, what are we doing? This is what we need to focus on now." So this is very pertinent. It comes at a great time. One of the key trends that you just mentioned was personalization. So you talked about making things relevant to your audience. Really, really relevant. Are we talking about exclusive here as well? Because we talk about that quite a lot. Exclusive events and things that they can only get at certain places.Andy Povey: Yeah, I think so. And I think that's one of the things that, not just around digital, I think it's one of the things that the attractions world will do to really weather the economic storm that we're going through at the moment. Generally what we've seen over the past 12 months is that if you've got a short event, or a short-term event, it tends to sell out. So looking at what you as an attraction can do that creates that exclusive event. So if you are a park, can you get Peppa Pig on site for two or three days? Can you get Paw Patrol there for a couple of days? So giving people their incentive to come, and come again, and come again. So not just being, this is the six weeks of the summer at my theme park. This is the Peppa Pig, fortnight, although two days. And this is the Paw Patrol for two days. So improving that repeat visitation.Kelly Molson: And what you talked about data, I guess that comes back to really understanding your audience.Andy Povey: Absolutely.Kelly Molson: So you need to be collecting the data to understand what those people want in the first phase to then be able to tailor your offering to what they like.Andy Povey: 100%. 100%. There's no value in creating a Peppa Pig experience if none of your visitors have got kids. A great way to waste a load of money.Kelly Molson: I don't need to see Peppa.Andy Povey: No. No, no, no.Kelly Molson: You can keep Peppa. So you talked earlier about what you like, and that Google knows that about you. How do attractions tap into that? I guess through advertising, right?Andy Povey: Well it's not just advertising. It's actually looking at... And you did the survey a few weeks ago about the attractions, and understanding Google Analytics, that kind of stuff. It's free. You do not need to pay to get Google Analytics data. It's there for you. And there are so many venues, and so many prospective clients that I'm talking to now, that don't have access to it. It's almost criminal. There are still vendors out there that don't share this information. So I suppose to come back and answer your question is, go and look at the data that you've got. Google Analytics will give you a view of everybody that's coming to your website.Kelly Molson: Find out who they are, what they like, and then give them what they want.Andy Povey: Well, yeah. But tailor something for them. So if you've got a large foodie audience, then look at your catering.Kelly Molson: Yeah, that's really good advice.Andy Povey: Can you put on a Heston Blumenthal event, or a Jamie Oliver event?Kelly Molson: Yeah, that's really great advice actually, taking it to that deeper level. The second key digital trend was about online and offline, which we're talking a lot about online and offline as well. So this isn't just about digital, but I guess one of the things that was mentioned was about digital experiences. And I guess you can talk about that from a pre-visit perspective. How do you engage people digitally before they turn up at your event? But also, once they're at your venue too. So digital experiences that deepen or extend the experience that you were already giving them. Can you think of any really good examples of that, that we could talk about from an attractions perspective?Andy Povey: That's really difficult. The reason that we go to attractions as human beings, is because we like doing physical things. We want to be with our friends. We want to be with our family. Particularly after COVID, it's has been difficult to go and see granny, and whatever. So it's safer to go and visit a park, or to visit a garden than it is to possibly all sit around in the lounge, having a cup of tea. I can give you an unusual example, I suppose. The Forestry Commission did something a few years ago with The Gruffalo, and it's an augmented reality thing.Kelly Molson: Yes.Andy Povey: So as a parent, you could sit your child on a tree trunk and hold up your phone, and the augmented reality would superimpose an image of the Gruffalo sitting next to your child. They pulled it within six months, because the parent is having this experience of looking at their child through a phone. Whereas the child's sitting there going, "Well, mummy and daddy's just on their phone again."Kelly Molson: "Where's the Gruffalo?"Andy Povey: "Mummy and daddy's just on their phone again. What are we doing?"Kelly Molson: Yeah.Andy Povey: So in that situation it's about getting back to reality, rather than being digital. So it's a really fine line. At what point does an app, or a park map, or something like that, at what point does it enhance your visit, versus intruding on your visit?Kelly Molson: Yeah, that's a really good question. It's really funny, because when you mentioned that, I was like, that's a perfect example of this, how digital interacts with nature. But you're right, aren't you? Because the child doesn't interact with it. They just see you pointing a phone at them again, or you interacting with your phone and not with them. I hadn't considered that, and what message that actually sends out to them while they're outside in nature as well.Andy Povey: Yeah. And so I'm not a [inaudible 00:18:44] who's going, no, no, digital should be nowhere near your experience. It should be there, and it should be enhancing. But actually really understand that it is enhancing. So if you talk to the guys from BeWILDerwood, I know there was a podcast with Hannah. They delight on the fact that you can't get a mobile phone signal in Norfolk. Because you should put your phone away. You're here to have a day out with the kids.Kelly Molson: Yeah, that's a really good point. I actually quite like it when I can't get any mobile signal, because it means that I'm present.Andy Povey: Yes, absolutely.Kelly Molson: It means I'm not worrying about having to check something. I'm actually not even that concerned about, oh I needed to get this picture for the gram. I just forget about it if I've got no signal. It's just not going to happen. One thing that we do have to think about though, from an online perspective, is about bookings. So what we have seen, and again we've seen this in our attractions website survey that we've just published, is that bookings are increasing on mobile year, on year, on year, on year. So we do have to think about that pre-visit, and how easy we make it for people to book tickets. So actually, someone asked me this question on LinkedIn yesterday. What's one of my top infuriations with attractions websites?And I said for me, I'm often on my mobile phone when I'm doing things, because I'm out and about and I might be booking my tickets on a mobile phone. And I really hate when you're forced to create an account before you can actually buy anything. And I'm like, "God, I've got literally five minutes before I get off the train, and onto the tube. And I've got no signal. And I've got to get this ticket. I don't want to be creating an account right now."Andy Povey: No, no, no.Kelly Molson: Just give me the ticket. I might get an account afterwards, but just give me the ticket.Andy Povey: That was one of the things from your report, wasn't it? The account creation is a massive turnoff to conversion. And for me, I never remember any of those passwords. So every time I go back to their store, I'm having to reset my password, because it's just an absolute pain in the butt.Kelly Molson: I'm with you. So there you go.Andy Povey: Don't do it.Kelly Molson: Top tip from this podcast. Don't make people do that.Andy Povey: Yeah. Don't do accounts.Kelly Molson: Two very angry consumers here.Andy Povey: Absolutely. 100%.Kelly Molson: All right. So number three on our digital trends list is increasing loyalty. Now this is a big one, isn't it? Right? So again, it's interesting. So from a personal perspective, again, I was asked about memberships. We have a National Trust membership, it renews in January. I'll absolutely be renewing it. It's great value for money. It gives us so many places locally that we can go to. It's not a free day out, but it's a great day out, and we can take quite long.Andy Povey: It feels like it.Kelly Molson: It feels like a free day.Andy Povey: Yeah.Kelly Molson: Yeah. But do attractions need to think a bit more about that now? So should attractions be rewarding loyalty? So member perks for example? Or just small things that members get for being a member, that you couldn't get unless you were a member?Andy Povey: Absolutely. It's almost those money-can't-buy experiences. So it doesn't necessarily cost the attraction anything to do these things. And you can go have a member exclusive event to walk a coaster track, or to a behind the scenes tour of something. But yeah, all right. It might cost you a couple of hours for a member of staff to put it on. Again, as we came out of COVID, the first people that came to your rotation, were your most loyal customers. They've come to see you as the first thing they can do. So as an attraction, you have the opportunity to harness that loyalty, and turn these people into advocates. And that's going to be your best marketing resource, where they're recommending to people to come along to you. So if you can deepen that relationship by rewarding, by sharing, then absolutely you should do it.Kelly Molson: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's understanding what they want as well. So when we talk about delivering what they want, should attractions be surveying their members, and finding out what more they can give them? And again, it comes back to the data thing again, doesn't it? How well do you know your audience? From a member's perspective, are you actually giving them what they want?Andy Povey: No, absolutely. And surveying's great, but there's so many other ways you can capture information about members and what they're doing that isn't actually going and asking them a question. It was interesting when we did the dynamic pricing consumer research. The responses that you get from people when they're answering a survey aren't necessarily what they're doing in real life.Kelly Molson: Interesting. Give us an example.Andy Povey: There was, 30% of people believe the airlines aren't charging dynamic prices. And I'm looking at this going, well, this can't be right. This is obvious. But actually, if you dig into it a little bit more, and we did with the guys from Baker Richards. And it's actually, the consumer's not looking at the price changing. The consumer's interested in the price they're paying for the date and time that they want to get on the plane. It doesn't matter that the price changes. It's how much am I paying today? What's my price now? That's a very long winded way of answering your question about the value of surveys.Kelly Molson: Yeah. No, it's really important, isn't it? So how else do you get to know your members? If surveys are giving us not quite the full picture, what other ways can we find out about-Andy Povey: So if you are looking at app, then obviously you are tracking, or you have the ability to track where people are going, how they're engaging, that kind of stuff. I was at IAAPA a couple of weeks ago in Orlando. And there's guys there with a new product that's actually harvesting location data from 200 different apps, and bringing all that, and presenting it back to you. Which I'm not a hundred percent sure that it is GDPR compliant, or [inaudible 00:24:44].Kelly Molson: Is that okay though? I'm not sure about that.Andy Povey: Yeah. But there it's looking at where people are going, how long they're staying there, and that kind of stuff. So that's one example. Going back to what we do at Convious, we don't capture addresses, postal addresses. Because we're not interested in old school CRM. We're not going to produce a mailing, a physical piece of paper and post it out to somebody. So why are you asking them to fill in all those fields with their address on?Kelly Molson: That's interesting. So even from a geographic perspective, it's not always relevant to understand where your customers are traveling from.Andy Povey: You can get all of that from the IP address that they're coming from.Kelly Molson: Sure.Andy Povey: So obviously it's really important to understand whereabouts in the country, and how far away your customers are from you, and that kind of stuff. But there are other ways to gathering that information, rather than traditional filling in. Back to your comment about filling in my address on the phone. Yeah, I've got fat fingers. I'm not going to type my address in on the phone.Kelly Molson: And I'm busy.Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah.Kelly Molson: It's not going to happen.Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.Kelly Molson: All right. Yeah. No, I like that.Andy Povey: Make it as simple as you possibly can for people.Kelly Molson: Yeah, absolutely. And the data's already there, so just gather it from the right place without giving people something else that they need to do. Good. Okay. All right. Well, our next one is about engagement, digital engagement. So digital engagement, from a marketing perspective, I always think about user generated content at this point. Because you're asking your visitors, from an offline perspective, you're asking them to engage with something that's at your physical attraction, but then you then encouraging them to share that digitally. So you're getting that double exposure and, you're also generating content from your users, which is invaluable for your marketing team. So that's the thing that I always focus on from digital engagement. What other things can we ask attractions to focus on?Andy Povey: A story someone told me many, many years ago was that their marketing guy actually ran a training session at this attraction, I can't remember which one, for staff on how to take the best photos.Kelly Molson: Oh that's great. Yeah.Andy Povey: You see a family, and mum or dad's taking a picture of the other parent and the kids, obviously the member of staff is going to offer to take the photograph for them. That's just human nature. That's what we do. But if you've already identified the most memorable background to put these people in, then the member staff can just move them slightly. And it improves and increases the rate of those photos being uploaded and shared.Kelly Molson: That's such a small thing, isn't it?Andy Povey: Isn't it?Kelly Molson: But again, that's genius. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get a better picture for people. They're more encouraged to share it. I love it. That's so clever. I hadn't even considered that. But again, that comes back to the people. People make places.Andy Povey: Absolutely.Kelly Molson: So you empower the people to make those things happen better for those guests. I love that. Yeah, great one. Okay. And then I guess reviews is something that's really important about engagement. And how do we encourage people to leave reviews about the venues?Andy Povey: It can be as simple as your post visit survey. Standard. Everyone's doing them.Kelly Molson: Ah, are they though? Are they though?Andy Povey: Well, yeah okay. Everyone should be doing them.Kelly Molson: Okay. Should be.Andy Povey: Everyone should be doing them. And then you can have some intelligence sitting behind it, that if you get a lot of high scores, whatever, then direct the consumer over to the review site at the end of the review. If you're getting some negative scores, then direct them to your customer service team and do something about it. As human beings, we're happy to share this kind of information, as long as we're getting something back from it. It's a transactional relationship at that point. So we talk a lot about harvesting data. But morally, you can't do that if you're not giving the consumer something back, and giving them a benefit for doing it. Back to your comment about accounts. What's the point of me creating an account? What's my benefit of doing this? There isn't one. I'm just going to get annoyed about it.Kelly Molson: This is the thing, actually. So most of the time when I've had to create an account to get my ticket, there hasn't been any further interaction other than someone's whacked me on their mailing list. And I'm probably going to unsubscribe from that mailing list, because I'm annoyed that I've had to make the account in the first place. So what is that benefit? Yeah. Think about if you are going to force people to do something, at least make it worthwhile for them than a newsletter. Just sticking them on the newsletter list is not going to cut it.Andy Povey: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And then for a long time I was on the Encore Hotels mailing list. I get an email from them a couple of times a week. And it started, Dear Povey, you-Kelly Molson: Dear Povey.Andy Povey: Dear Povey, you have got that so wrong. You cannot. Your CRM is so bad.Kelly Molson: Can I tell you though? So sometimes when I have to sign up for stuff and I have to put my company name, I get emails to Dear Rubber. That's not okay. I'm quite used to it, but it's still not okay.Andy Povey: No, no, no, no. So yeah. We're talking a lot about examples of how not to do it, than how to do it better.Kelly Molson: Well I think this is important, right?Andy Povey: It is.Kelly Molson: There may be attractions listening to this, going, "Oops, we might have done that. We might need to change that." So it's all relevant.Andy Povey: Oh no, on a positive. I got an email from Father Christmas yesterday. It's from an attraction we took the kids to last year to go and see Santa. And it's the first mail I've had from that venue since visiting, so 12 months. So I'm not getting spammed. And you see Father Christmas arrive in your inbox.Kelly Molson: Oh, that's nice, isn't it?Andy Povey: It's a very special moment. So that was very well done. Very well done.Kelly Molson: Yeah, that's really smart, isn't it? If you're just going to send one email a year, make sure it's from Santa.Andy Povey: Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.Kelly Molson: Right. Let's talk about pricing, because that's our number five key digital trends for attractions. Now pricing's really interesting. We've talked quite a lot about pricing recently. So we had Dominic on from Mary Rose, talking about pricing. We also had Simon Addison from Roman Baths, talking about pricing.Andy Povey: Yes.Kelly Molson: Let's talk about dynamic pricing, because it's something that we touched on just earlier when we were talking about the airlines and the surveys. So airlines use something called real time pricing. When a plane's almost full, the airline company's going to bump their prices up. Because they know they're going to sell out, and they know that somebody really wants that ticket, because they have to get somewhere on a certain day at a certain time. So it's a bit of a no-brainer for them. Is that something that attractions should be doing?Andy Povey: I think so. And as an industry, we've talked about dynamic pricing for the past 20 years. And when I was Madame Tussaud's, we implemented what then was peak and off-peak pricing. And so we changed the price of the ticket three times during the day. And actually, because we were very explicit about what the price was, we were stuck at this 1995 price point, and had been reluctant to change for a while. We actually increased our ticket yield by about 30%, whilst also increasing our value for money score, which seemed counterintuitive. And actually what was happening there was that the consumer was choosing how much they were going to pay.So rather than being told what the price was, the consumer chooses. So naturally we are more comfortable about a situation, where we feel that we've had some choice. Dynamic pricing does that. Real time pricing, which is where we sit at Convious just makes that run much more efficiently, much more quickly. So a lot of dynamic pricing consultancies out there at the moment will talk about changing prices every day, which if you think, generally people are buying tickets to an attraction three to five days before they visit. They're only going to see three to five different price points. Whereas the way the modern world is going, or the way we are is, we're changing prices, or we can change the price as a result of every single transaction.Kelly Molson: Does that make it more difficult from an operational perspective, if you're constantly changing your prices though? Is it harder to do your forecasting, for example, if that's your price strategy?Andy Povey: If you are forecasting on individual ticket price level, yeah, absolutely. So don't do that.Kelly Molson: Good advice.Andy Povey: Yeah. So every attraction that I've ever worked in and around has a target yield, or a target ticket price to achieve. And we've been doing variable pricing through all the coupons that get put out on all the leaflet racks that you see on every motorway service station. So you can't control how many of those coupons are coming back, and how much discount you're going to get. So having much more control makes it easier for you to manage that, and get the computer to do it. Obviously if you're sitting there changing the prices all the time, then yes, it's going to be a nightmare.Kelly Molson: Nobody wants that job.Andy Povey: No. And the other thing on dynamic pricing is, we still get hooked up on the idea that dynamic means increased, and it doesn't. If you're doing it properly, then it doesn't mean the price is going up necessarily. Obviously you get a better yield. But the guys at Pleasurewood Hills down in Lowestoft, they have a very transient market. So there are loads and loads of holiday parks in their area. So Mondays and Fridays are change over days. So their total addressable market on a Monday and a Friday drops by 50%, because people are packing up and going home. So if you drop the price on a Monday and Friday, or drop the price on a Monday and Friday. Someone who may have come on Wednesday, is now going to come on Monday or Friday, have a much better experience, because venue's not full. And so it smooths their demand. So there's a lot of science behind it.Kelly Molson: Yep. And that all comes back to data, what we started talking about, right?Andy Povey: Absolutely.Kelly Molson: Knowing-Andy Povey: Yeah, yeah, yeah.Kelly Molson: Knowing where people are coming from, what they're doing, how you can change their mindset about things just from the data.Andy Povey: Yeah. And actually watching what they're doing. So we have an artificial intelligence engine that sits behind what we're doing. And it can monitor in real time what's happening about your conversion rate. So if you put the price up by a pound and then your conversion rate drops by 5%, you've probably gone up too high. So drop it down a little bit. So just manage it better, I suppose, in summary.Kelly Molson: I think that's good advice for life in general, isn't it Andy?Andy Povey: Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.Kelly Molson: Just manage it better.Andy Povey: Just manage it better.Kelly Molson: This has been a great chat, Andy. Thank you. I think there's loads to take away from. So what we're going to do in the show notes. So there will be links to all the blog articles that we've mentioned today about the digital trends. And I believe there is a webinar that you ran about dynamic pricing as well. And I believe that we might have a link to that too that we could share, which would be great. But Andy, we always end our podcast by asking our guests to share a book with us, something that they love or they've really enjoyed that they think our listeners would also like.Andy Povey: So I've pondered this for a while, and I know that some of your previous people you've spoken to have got away with two.Kelly Molson: Yeah.Andy Povey: So I've got a request for two books.Kelly Molson: Oh, God. Okay.Andy Povey: One's a business book. Really simple, about a half hour read. It's called Who Moved My Cheese?Kelly Molson: Good book.Andy Povey: It's one of my favorites when I first read it 20, 25 years ago, something like that, it really gave me a different way of looking at change. So I really recommend that. And the other one is actually a book I love reading to my kids, called Oi Dog!Kelly Molson: Oi Dog! Great.Andy Povey: Oi Dog! Yeah. So there's a child in all of us. And that for me really just tickles all of my childish bones. Yeah.Kelly Molson: Oh brilliant.Andy Povey: So it works pretty well.Kelly Molson: Well, both of those books are right up my street. So Who Moved My Cheese? Unsurprisingly within a company called Rubber Cheese, you won't be surprised to know that somebody bought that for me when I set up the business. And that was nearly 20 years ago. So that was one of the first business books that I think that I ever read. And it did make a big difference about how you deal with change, and how you compartmentalise it into an easier way of dealing with. But Oi Dog! sounds right up my street. I'm going to put that on my list too? Right listeners-Andy Povey: Absolutely.Kelly Molson: So as ever, if you want to win a copy of Andy's two books, then if you go over to our Twitter account, you can just search for Skip the Queue, and you retweet this podcast announcement with the words, "I want Andy's books." Then we'll enter you into a draw to potentially win them. Andy, thank you. It's been lovely to chat today. I've really, really enjoyed it. I'm sure I will see you out in events soon. And if I don't see you-Andy Povey: Absolutely.Kelly Molson: Before, have a wonderful Christmas.Andy Povey: And to you. Thank you very much, Kelly.Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned.Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.. 

With just over two months left in the year, today I want to talk about how to finish the year strong. When you are focused and you have a plan, two months is actually quite a bit of time if you are focused on things that will actually move your business forward.  I also want to talk about something we don't often think about and that is decluttering. Specifically decluttering both your mind and your physical space. Here are 6 things you need to take a look at: Your marketing Your existing branding Your CRM and follow-up systems for your leads Your website Systems and processes Outsourcing If you take this time to review these 6 things now, you will be able to walk into January 1 feeling like your business is in order and you are ready to hit the ground running. Key Highlights: [00:01 - 06:16] Opening Segment • Let's dig into 6 things to do in the new year to finish strong • Make sure to take a look at what is working and not working • Why marketing is one of the most important areas to focus on in the new year Your marketing should be effective and aligned with your business goals [06:17 - 12:58] How to Finish the Year Strong • How probates are an evergreen niche and will always need your help There are many ways to learn about probates • Why having a website for your business is one of the most important marketing tools you have Ensure all your website pages are up to date and that any images are of high quality [12:59 - 19:35] Improve Your Business When it Comes to Marketing and Branding • It's key to have a professional About Us page that includes a video Explain how you can help the viewer's problem, and make sure all links on your website work • You should focus on creating a memorable customer experience • Having your systems up to date is crucial Determine what systems and processes need improvement [19:36 - 22:25] Closing Segment • How to outsource tasks to set You free Resources Mentioned: Invelo CRM: Just Click Here Carrot Websites: Just Click Here Last week's show:6 Things to Set Yourself Up for Success Next Year Key Quotes: "Take a look at what makes you miserable what you don't do well and what you constantly put off. And those are probably the things that you need to outsource." - Sharon Vornholt "Your brand is what people say about you after you walk out of the room." - Sharon Vornholt WANT TO LEARN MORE? Connect with me through my website, Instagram, and LinkedIn Or you can send me an email at sharon@sharonvornholt.com  Be sure to check out the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog and my course Probate Investing Simplified. Learn more about this podcast on iTunes, or Stitcher. If you liked my show, please LEAVE AN HONEST REVIEW, like, and subscribe!

There are certain times in our business where if you are going to move to the next level it is going to get uncomfortable. One of those things is spending money. On today's episode of The Real Estate Sales Podcast, Jimmy tells you the 5 biggest investments that top producers never regret.  Coaching It is never a bad idea to add accountability to your life. Adding a coach keeps you accountable and pushes you further.  Investing in a coach gives you another set of eyes to see things you might not.  Find a coach that has done what you want to do.  An assistant  If you are at a place where you are having difficulty keeping up with your business, now is the time to hire an assistant.  Have a very specific job description before you hire an assistant.  Invest in your CRM This is a financial investment and a time investment. Your CRM is the lifeblood of your business.  Do you have a CRM and is it optimized? The best CRM for you is the one that you will utilize.  A videographer/content creator You are going to need to become a media company that happens to sell real estate. Client gifts and client appreciation parties If you believe that this business is about relationships, start making relationships your business. The best way to do that is by saying thank you.  Try doing something with a local business, make a donation to a charity that they love, or have a painting done of their house. Make it personal.  Do you have a video or content idea perfect for your business? Share it with Jimmy! Connect with Jimmy Burgess on LinkedIn and Facebook and his YouTube channel.  If you like what you heard today, we'd love it if you'd share a rating or review and then subscribe to the podcast and tell others about it. You can find The Real Estate Sales Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, and our website, The Real Estate Sales Podcast.

We have just over two months left this year and as I was working on next week's podcast, it came to me that there is really something that comes before the topic of the next podcast which is, “Setting yourself up for success in the new year”. Now is the time for some front-end reflection and planning before taking those next steps to actually work on those things in our business. It's also time to think about leveling up. Making the decision to level up is all about your mindset. So, this week I wanted to create a mini-episode that lays out some pre-work; things you can do to prepare for the next episode. So here we go; this is going to be short and sweet! About Next Week's Show... Now I'll just give you a little "heads up" that in next week's show we will be talking about these 6 things: Your marketing Your existing branding Your CRM and follow-up system for your leads Your Website Systems and processes Outsourcing Next week, I'm going to give you some simple steps for getting all those things in order before the new year rolls around. We'll just go over how to freshen things up, and you will be able to do those things now (rather than later), AND it won't take a lot of time Key Highlights: [00:01 - 04:20] Opening Segment An overview of 6 things you need to do now to set yourself up for success next year Tips for marketing and communication You should make an honest review of how the year went and make a plan for next year [04:21 - 08:47] How to Level Up Your Business Organize your thoughts and get rid of any distractions Focus on three or four things that you want to improve Market yourself and build your brand throughout the year [08:48 - 09:55] Closing Segment Change your mindset and face your fears Make a plan and decide how you will take action Key Quotes: "People have to know about you to bring you deals, to offer you opportunities, and to come into your world." -  Sharon Vornholt "If you want people to do their best work in general, you need to give them more direction." - Sharon Vornholt WANT TO LEARN MORE? Connect with me through my website, Instagram, and LinkedIn Or you can send me an email at sharon@sharonvornholt.com  Be sure to check out the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog and my course Probate Investing Simplified. Learn more about this podcast on iTunes, or Stitcher. If you liked my show, please LEAVE AN HONEST REVIEW, like, and subscribe!

The fast pace of our industry makes it difficult to track cost, ROI, and even attribution. Your CRM only gives you so much and the question becomes: How do you bring the ‘data-verse' together? With this in mind Jonathan “JT” Thompson began to build a platform and process to support dealers and vendors within the automotive industry. Fill-a-Cart: https://dealertalk.io/fill-a-cart/ Automotive News Links: Nissan Lease Pay as You Go: https://jalopnik.com/nissan-to-offer-pay-as-you-go-lease-options-for-buyers-1849639482 Non-Tesla EV Momentum https://www.autonews.com/retail/non-tesla-brands-gain-momentum-new-ev-registrations Stellantis to Pay $5.6 Million https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/stellantis-unit-pay-56-million-resolve-california-emissions-probe-2022-10-13/ Carvana Licensing https://www.autonews.com/dealers/carvanas-michigan-license-remains-suspended-after-court-ruling Blog Post of the Week: Is Your Fixed Ops Ready for the Road Ahead? https://dealertalk.io/is-your-fixed-ops-ready-for-road-ahead/ Get more leads with our vendor partner foureyes.io https://lps.foureyes.io/free-trial?feac=ALL6T Create a better online experience for your service customers with our vendor partner FIXEDOPS DIGITAL. https://www.fixedopsdigital.com/online-marketing-solutions-for-your-fixed-operations-department/?utm_source=dtvms&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=partnership Deliver a more personalized experience for your leads and customers with our vendor partner Covideo. https://www.covideo.com/codirect/?utm_source=dealer-talk&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=auto Speed up your lead response time with our vendor partner Calldrip. https://www.calldrip.com/dtvms?hs_preview=xxAwWwPb-72725455961 Convert more website visits with our vendor partner RunMyLease. https://www.runmylease.com/lead-generation-tools.html Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 03:40 Fill-A-Cart 04:30 Digital Dealer 2022 19:00 Automotive News 28:20 Blogpost of the Week 32:00 Jonathan “JT” Thompson 41:00 Where is the Disconnect? 49:50 Power and Danger of Data 58:30 Educating the Dealer to Understand the Vendor Connect: Jonathan “JT” Thomspon https://www.amg.team/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-thompson-marketing/ Subscribe to My Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFzze5QDo48HAS2K1kc83Tg?view_as=subscriber --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dealer-talk/support

Your CRM will make you or break you --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/originatorsguide/message

If you've been using a CRM for a while, it might be time to audit what you've set up to ensure it's optimized for efficiency in your business! Whether it means reviewing your brand, checking automations, and using each of the features of your CRM, in today's episode, I'm walking you through your own self-paced CRM audit.[0:29] Audit Your CRM[01:11] Entered & Updated Branding Elements in Your CRM[2:03] Email & Calendar Connection[2:43] Thank You Page Redirect[3:19] Lead Capture Form & Workflow[4:06] Email Autoresponders[4:20] Email Templates[5:16] Proposal, Contract, Payment[6:18] Schedulers[7:06] Workflows & Automations[8:15] Say Thank You[8:41] Create To-Do Tasks in WorkflowsAre you looking to implement some time-saving automation into your business?  Check out my Dubsado VIP Experience and let me do all the heavy lifting!

To maintain a successful business, advisors need to have a system to manage client relationships. That is where a CRM or Customer Relationship Management system comes in. CRM provides a centralized place for advisors to store and track customer data, automate tasks, manage interaction, and cultivate relationships. In addition, CRM provides valuable insights that advisors can use to improve their business operations. In today's episode, Rusty and Robyn talk with Kate Guillen, Founder and Lead Trainer at Simplicity Operations Management. Kate has been working in the financial services industry since 2014 in a client service and operations capacity. In 2017, Kate joined an RIA as the Operations Manager. To streamline the firm's operational procedures, Kate utilized their Redtail CRM to standardize the team's systems for managing daily tasks, their calendar, the sales pipeline, and a proactive client service schedule. Kate talks with Rusty and Robyn about the world of CRMs (Customer Relationship Management) and how advisors can use these systems to get organized, stay on track, and build their businesses. Key Takeaways [02:48] - How Kate used Redtail CRM to manage her business. [05:46] - Kate's thoughts on Orion Advisor Solutions' acquisition of Redtail. [06:54] - What is CRM? [09:12] - CRM's role in advisors' day-to-day operations. [11:04] - The value of using CRM as a centralized hub. [12:33] - How CRM can be used to manage sales pipelines. [15:47] - How CRM can help advisors manage the inflow and stay organized. [18:09] - The benefits of automating tasks for advisors. [19:54] - How CRM automation feature helps advisors take time off. [21:04] - What tech stacks are and how they relate to CRM. [23:41] - How Kate maintains her mental and physical health to perform well. Quotes [08:29] - "Your CRM should be the hub of your practice and a one-stop shop to see everything going on for your clients, tasks, activities, new revenue opportunities, and accounts." - Kate Guillen [17:52] - "Workflows are a fabulous way of not having to reinvent the wheel every single time you go to do whatever the repeatable process is." - Kate Guillen [18:35] - "As a business owner, you want to know that your clients are being served by your team as well as you would serve them. And so, creating workflows, processes, and procedures that standardize how you handle whatever the request ensures that. It's repeatable and nobody has to recreate a process." - Kate Guillen Links  Kate Guillen on LinkedIn Simplicity Operations Management Don't Stop Me Now by Queen Redtail Technology Brian Towner Ben McKenzie Hayley Mandrup Calendly Zapier Pulse360 Hubly The Game with Alex Hormozi Financial Advisor Success Podcast The Advisor Lab Podcast Connect with our hosts Rusty Vanneman Robyn Murray Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts 1265-OPS-7/19/2022

When asked, “What's the best Customer Relationship Management Tool (CRM)?” I like to joke, “The best CRM is the one you will use.” And though this is mostly a pithy reply to a legitimate inquiry, in my experience just getting started and committed to using a CRM is one of the best actions one can take to get their sales humming.And yes, nonprofits can benefit from a CRM too. (One they will use, of course.)Your CRM helps you stay on track with outreach, check-ins, and where people currently reside in their engagement lifecycle with your organization. Using one effectively helps you build relationships and keep conversations and actions from falling through the cracks.Some of the more full-featured CRMs even help you keep your one-to-many outreach on track with email automations, funnel capabilities, and even social media management functionality that enables you to be more proactive with your outreach and improve your team's efficiency and effectiveness with social engagement. In fact, we wrote a whole post about getting organized with a CRM.That's why I'm so excited about today's guest, Lidiane (Liddy) Mocko. She's a CRM expert and the founder of CRM Growth Strategy and if you are interested in getting your CRM game on point, Liddy is your go-to person to make sure you are set up and running at peak efficiency.See, Liddy is steeped in the CRM world. She's a SalesForce expert and helps teams in both for- and nonprofit organizations get the most out of their systems. She not only helps organizations customize their platforms, but has a wealth of experience and knowledge she shares with the world to ensure that you get the most out of your CRM and engagement plan.This episode is a game-changer for those who currently have a CRM or those looking to add this valuable tool to their kit. I hope you enjoy it.Links: CRM Growth Strategy Salesforce GreaterGivingClickBidGiveLively Ask: If you are using a CRM, now is time for Spring Cleaning, go ahead and check in on people you haven't talked to in a while, pick up the phone or send some emails to get them reengaged with you and your organization. 

Far too often a CRM becomes a silent database containing stale data that is rarely ever revisited or put to good use. Your CRM is more than just a phonebook. Listen as Technology Solutions Consultant Jonathan Belair speaks with marketing expert Amanda Spicola as they discuss strategic methods for getting the cobwebs out of your CRM and putting your data to work for you. Hear the importance of pairing your marketing strategy with your CRM. 

On this week's episode of The Enrollify Podcast, we feature a special episode from our sister pod, CRMprov. CRMprov is a biweekly show that reveals how institutions can experience growth through technology. Tune in as higher ed enthusiasts Mickey Baines and Jamie Gleason partake in free-range dialogue around changes in edtech (including CRMs), vendor tutorials, insights on outcomes, industry adoption, and more!On this episode, Jamie and Mickey chat with  Shannon Zattola, VP of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Ursinus College, says this in our interview: “If you're not changing, you're dead in the water.” In fact, the past 24 months have been a test kitchen for higher ed trying, testing, changing, and responding.During this week's show, we discuss how the historic roles within the admissions and marketing offices are changing. Some of the recent transitions have been temporary and related to COVID-19. But others have come about because of changes in the ways our customers are consuming content and the availability of resources for today's prospects and influencers. Your CRM should play a key role in determining if your institution is successful in making necessary transitions. There's never a dull moment in this episode, or any episode of CRMprov — subscribe to be notified when new episodes drop. 

Amanda Rawls, a Mortgage Broker with Answer Home Loans, has become a top producer by thinking outside the box. Leaning on her experiences as a debt collector, she often takes on complicated Chapter 13 bankruptcy loans, which has allowed her to carve out her own niche within the Wholesale Channel. To keep up her production, Amanda has developed a CRM system that allows her to stay in front of past clients and leads, and even nurture leads who are not yet ready to buy a home. Amanda started her career as a bill collector, but she quickly found it draining. She left debt collecting to join the mortgage industry because she saw it as an opportunity to help people get into a home. In April 2018, after 10 years with a direct lender, Amanda rejoined the broker channel when she became a loan originator for Answer Home Loans. Now she's “taking care of others and serving hearts.” The key to her success? Thinking outside the box. Leaning on her background as a bill collector, Amanda has built a pipeline centered around Chapter 13 bankruptcies where she works with CPAs and bankruptcy attorneys. Carving out her own niche by taking on loans that other Brokers may avoid has allowed Amanda to become a top-producing broker. Part of that success comes from the relationships she has built as well. Amanda has built up a full pipeline of past clients and potential leads through her CRM. “[Your] CRM is the bread and butter of your business,” she said. With her CRM, she can organically stay in front of her clients with follow-up reminders and personalized gifts after closing. Amanda's biggest lesson in pipeline management was realizing she could choose who she worked with. That way, she has the opportunity to get to know her clients and needs instead of adopting a “churn and burn” approach that is common in retail operations. Amanda's parting advice: Stay true to who you are. When someone decides to get a loan with you, they are working with you because of who you are, so do things the way you want instead of how others think you should. Tailor your process so it works best for you. Ultimately, work hard and be honest and success and business will follow. Notes:Getting into the Mortgage Industry (1:49)Thinking Outside the Box (7:20)Building Relationships (12:05)Retail V. Wholesale (18:30)Parting Advice (27:23) This episode is sponsored by REMN

At the core of SalesDirector.ai is the conviction that a good sales stack always starts with good data. Your CRM is only as good as the data that it stores and this is often contingent on how good your sales reps are at logging and inputting the details of their activity. Visit Us:- https://www.salesdirector.ai/blog/2020/09/17/whats-the-difference-between-groove-co-outreach-io-salesloft-and-salesdirector-ai/

A customer relationship management tool is the heart of any business, it's how you control your ecosystem. Your CRM should manage the relationships with your potential customers and clients. In this episode we dive into what a CRM is and how it can help you manage relationships with your audience. It's time to build your funnels and establish your systems. Grab our Entrepreneurs Playbook Grab our FREE Business Plan Template Watch our FREE Automation and Workflows 101 Webinar Grab some fly merch Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn Follow Leander on Instagram Follow Leander on Twitter Follow Leander on LinkedIn --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spark-your-success/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spark-your-success/support

In this episode, Paul and Fab riff on sales processes and HubSpot. Often the sales process implemented in the CRM ends up being a list of tasks and to-dos. Your CRM is only a tool. Your sales process is the strategy you want to deploy to attract, find and engage new clients. This strategic effort is made up of three parts. If you're struggling with your sales process, you'll want to listen to this. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sales-marketing/message

Everyone loves a good unicorn story. But can you imagine being a mature business all of a sudden needing to go up against a major VC backed unicorn?By now, everyone knows the story of WeWork, but before the saga of Adam Neumann and SoftBank played out, WeWok was literally taking over the world. If you were in the co-working industry at that time, you were in WeWork's cross-hairs. If you are curious how a business can survive and succeed in the face of this kind of onslaught, you need to listen to this EXCLUSIVE David vs. Goliath story from Garrio Harrison.What you'll learn in this episode: How to work with your CFO to stress test your marketing plan What financial metrics are important for marketers to know and manage to, especially for those who aren't VC backed. How to analyze your CRM data to narrow in on your ICP The fundamental difference between how sales and marketing operate How to make marketing intentional by collaborating across teams The four stages of tackling marketing strategy What frameworks to use, to solve marketing problems Garrio's Recommendations: Make sure the math works for you. Trying to reverse engineer or replicate your competitor's strategy is often not the way to go, especially if their funding and business model is different from yours. Throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks, is not a fiscally responsible way to do marketing. Marketers need to understand managerial finance. Marketing needs to be aligned with business outcomes, which is more than just ROI and revenue. Marketers need to deeply understand the business model they are operating in. Your CRM will make you directionally correct, but you need to be talking with customers. You need to validate your CRM data. You need to have empathy for your sales team and your customer For new marketers, there are two things you need to learn: sales, and managerial finance. You'll need to listen to the full episode if you want to hear the Lightning Round, but here are a few highlights: Garrio considers cash-flow to be a core marketing measurement Garrio is looking forward to co-creating content, like this podcast, with the ICP If you have any LinkedIn SalesNavigator questions, reach out to Garrio - as he can't live without that tool Proofpoint's POV:There are so many things to like about what Garrio shared in this episode, that there isn't enough time or room in this section to provide our in-depth opinions on all of them. We, at Proofpoint definitely share a very similar outlook on marketing strategy and how marketing needs to operate within the business. Here are a few highlights to expound on a bit more: Marketers need to be good at business, not just marketing. Garrio specifically mentioned understanding sales and managerial finance, and I like to talk about business concepts and data concepts. All of that is to say that the only way a marketer can progress in their career, be promoted, etc. is by understanding the role that marketing plays within the business, not just understanding marketing strategy and tactics.As Garrio mentioned, marketing strategy needs to be intentional, and needs to ladder up to the desired business outcomes and overarching business strategy. You see this very often with marketers who have “shiny object syndrome”. They are so enamored with what's hot in the marketing world, that they don't stop to think about whether the new thing makes sense based on their business model, their business objectives, their company ethos, etc. This also happens often when marketers spend too much time worrying about what the competition is doing, which brings us to the next point. Spend less time worrying about your competitors, and more about how you can address the market and show your value proposition. The reality is that every business is different, even businesses within the same industry can have different funding models, capital structures, org structures, etc. So if you are only looking at what they are doing for marketing, without understanding the rest of their business, it will likely be a recipe for disaster. Marketing and Finance should be best friends. The “grumpy CFO” meme has been around for ages. And sure, there is some truth to it. But as a marketing leader you should aim to make the CFO your best friend. I am not talking about taking the CFO out for drinks. I am talking about taking the time to understand their world - have a working knowledge of managerial finance. Have a working knowledge of the business and revenue model you are operating in. And, when you come to your CFO, don't simply ask for more budget, but instead bring them into the conversation and work on stress testing your marketing plan.This is especially critical for earlier stage, non-VC backed businesses. You need to understand, for example, how your plan is going to impact cash-flow and what tradeoffs will the business potentially have to make in order to fund it. This was one of our personal favorite episodes, as we got to dig into the mind of a marketer turned COO, and understanding the operational aspects of your business and how marketing impacts them, is a critical skill. Plus the suspense, drama and great ending to the modern-day "David and Goliath" story in Garrio's EXCLUSIVE case study is epic!A bit more about Garrio:Garrio was born and raise in Jamaica. He's currently the COO of two amazing Minnesota-based organizations. One is a sales training company called Closers Media; as well as a revenue-focused marketing agency, Curious. Outside of working with clients, he dedicates time to community development and supporting the next generation of business leaders and works with the Silicon North Stars, a non-profit committed to inspiring young Minnesotans to become future technology leaders. You can learn more about their work at www.siliconnorthstars.org. Garrio is not just a shrewd business person and an intelligent marketer, he's first and foremost a family man and a constant fixture on the Peloton leaderboard.Helpful Links & Resources: Connect with Garrio on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrioharrison/ Follow Closers Media for all your sales training needs: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coffeeclosers/ Follow Curious to see what they are up to next: https://www.linkedin.com/company/discovercurious/ Connect with Mike & Gaby at Proofpoint: Mike's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/ Gaby's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/ LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llc Proofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTube Proofpoint Website: www.proofpoint.marketing

Everyone loves a good unicorn story. But can you imagine being a mature business all of a sudden needing to go up against a major VC backed unicorn?By now, everyone knows the story of WeWork, but before the saga of Adam Neumann and SoftBank played out, WeWok was literally taking over the world. If you were in the co-working industry at that time, you were in WeWork's cross-hairs. If you are curious how a business can survive and succeed in the face of this kind of onslaught, you need to listen to this EXCLUSIVE David vs. Goliath story from Garrio Harrison.What you'll learn in this episode: How to work with your CFO to stress test your marketing plan What financial metrics are important for marketers to know and manage to, especially for those who aren't VC backed. How to analyze your CRM data to narrow in on your ICP The fundamental difference between how sales and marketing operate How to make marketing intentional by collaborating across teams The four stages of tackling marketing strategy What frameworks to use, to solve marketing problems Garrio's Recommendations: Make sure the math works for you. Trying to reverse engineer or replicate your competitor's strategy is often not the way to go, especially if their funding and business model is different from yours. Throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks, is not a fiscally responsible way to do marketing. Marketers need to understand managerial finance. Marketing needs to be aligned with business outcomes, which is more than just ROI and revenue. Marketers need to deeply understand the business model they are operating in. Your CRM will make you directionally correct, but you need to be talking with customers. You need to validate your CRM data. You need to have empathy for your sales team and your customer For new marketers, there are two things you need to learn: sales, and managerial finance. You'll need to listen to the full episode if you want to hear the Lightning Round, but here are a few highlights: Garrio considers cash-flow to be a core marketing measurement Garrio is looking forward to co-creating content, like this podcast, with the ICP If you have any LinkedIn SalesNavigator questions, reach out to Garrio - as he can't live without that tool Proofpoint's POV:There are so many things to like about what Garrio shared in this episode, that there isn't enough time or room in this section to provide our in-depth opinions on all of them. We, at Proofpoint definitely share a very similar outlook on marketing strategy and how marketing needs to operate within the business. Here are a few highlights to expound on a bit more: Marketers need to be good at business, not just marketing. Garrio specifically mentioned understanding sales and managerial finance, and I like to talk about business concepts and data concepts. All of that is to say that the only way a marketer can progress in their career, be promoted, etc. is by understanding the role that marketing plays within the business, not just understanding marketing strategy and tactics.As Garrio mentioned, marketing strategy needs to be intentional, and needs to ladder up to the desired business outcomes and overarching business strategy. You see this very often with marketers who have “shiny object syndrome”. They are so enamored with what's hot in the marketing world, that they don't stop to think about whether the new thing makes sense based on their business model, their business objectives, their company ethos, etc. This also happens often when marketers spend too much time worrying about what the competition is doing, which brings us to the next point. Spend less time worrying about your competitors, and more about how you can address the market and show your value proposition. The reality is that every business is different, even businesses within the same industry can have different funding models, capital structures, org structures, etc. So if you are only looking at what they are doing for marketing, without understanding the rest of their business, it will likely be a recipe for disaster. Marketing and Finance should be best friends. The “grumpy CFO” meme has been around for ages. And sure, there is some truth to it. But as a marketing leader you should aim to make the CFO your best friend. I am not talking about taking the CFO out for drinks. I am talking about taking the time to understand their world - have a working knowledge of managerial finance. Have a working knowledge of the business and revenue model you are operating in. And, when you come to your CFO, don't simply ask for more budget, but instead bring them into the conversation and work on stress testing your marketing plan.This is especially critical for earlier stage, non-VC backed businesses. You need to understand, for example, how your plan is going to impact cash-flow and what tradeoffs will the business potentially have to make in order to fund it. This was one of our personal favorite episodes, as we got to dig into the mind of a marketer turned COO, and understanding the operational aspects of your business and how marketing impacts them, is a critical skill. Plus the suspense, drama and great ending to the modern-day "David and Goliath" story in Garrio's EXCLUSIVE case study is epic!A bit more about Garrio:Garrio was born and raise in Jamaica. He's currently the COO of two amazing Minnesota-based organizations. One is a sales training company called Closers Media; as well as a revenue-focused marketing agency, Curious. Outside of working with clients, he dedicates time to community development and supporting the next generation of business leaders and works with the Silicon North Stars, a non-profit committed to inspiring young Minnesotans to become future technology leaders. You can learn more about their work at www.siliconnorthstars.org. Garrio is not just a shrewd business person and an intelligent marketer, he's first and foremost a family man and a constant fixture on the Peloton leaderboard.Helpful Links & Resources: Connect with Garrio on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrioharrison/ Follow Closers Media for all your sales training needs: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coffeeclosers/ Follow Curious to see what they are up to next: https://www.linkedin.com/company/discovercurious/ Connect with Mike & Gaby at Proofpoint: Mike's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/ Gaby's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/ LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llc Proofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTube Proofpoint Website: www.proofpoint.marketing

Your CRM, or Customer Resource Manager, helps you manage marketing, pre-sales, and sales activities. But are you using the right CRM? Are you using the right CRM in the right ways? Is yours outdated or dysfunctional? Today we explore the value of planning your CRM. Look ahead to what you'll need it to do as you grow, and explore ways your CRM should be connecting to other software and applications you use in order to save more time and increase efficiency.

Are you wondering how to grow your business online? What used to work in the past doesn’t mean it’ll still work today. If you want to grow your business this year, you need to position yourself to win.  In this first episode of “Coaching Over Cocktails”, Tim and I are joined by Sashua Benay. Sashua is a transformation coach. She helps professionals go from the gridlock and frustration of their career to an empowered life.  Sashua has been part-time in her business sashuabenay.com for a few years, and made the transition to full time during 2020.  We had a chat with Sashua about what is holding her back right now, and gave her three simple ideas that she can implement straight away to grow her business.  WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER IN THIS EPISODE: Sashua’s business goals (4:38)  The thirst for learning (13:52)  Give yourself permission to rest (14:03) Set up your Facebook profile (16:16)  Link your Facebook group to your profile (17:44) Build connection on Facebook (18:10) The importance of congruence (19:29)  Interact with your prospects on Facebook (20:54)  Work on your website (21:23)  Put your free resource on your website (21:58) Speak to the curiosity of your customers (22:44)  Your CRM is the brain of your business (24:17)  For full show notes and links visit: https://samanthariley.global/podcast/277/

Your CRM system is key to managing your customer relationships and providing the customer experience to help you stand out among your competitors. While most organizations may use some form of CRM system, the adoption rate is low. Most CRM systems are either over-engineered, making them difficult to use and maintain, or under-engineered with data quality issues, a roadblock to CRM system adoption.In today's episode, we have our guest Seamus Ruiz-Earle, who discusses the core reasons for the low adoption of CRM systems among sales teams. He also discusses how to evaluate a CRM and the nuances of selecting a CRM for specific industries considering their unique business processes. Finally, he provides insights into why data integrity, security, and migration issues are essential to consider while selecting and creating standard operating procedures around CRM processes to avoid significant dollar expenses because of data corruption and integrity issues.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Your CRM is only as good as its data and the insights you derive, and AI can help surface and plot trendsYour business’s customer data is everywhere – in your teams’ email inboxes, calendars, IM platforms such as Slack and on social media – and, within those places, there are levels of data that offer invaluable insights into the relationships between an organisation and its network. And, in today’s knowledge economy, companies are seeking ways to make the most of this data to drive business forward.

Your CRM is the absolute most valuable thing that you own. If you ever hope to sell your business one day, your CRM is what is the new owner will want more than anything. Are you maintaining yours?

On this episode Kevin Ducey, President of Whiteboard CRM, joins Kellen and KT to talk about the value of CRMs. Kevin discusses the mistakes, challenges, and advantages when using a CRM along with how to make any CRM successful for your business. 5:00 CRM mistakes10:30 Using your CRM13:10 CRM advantages18:15 Expectations Quotes:“When you move to a CRM you have to understand that it isn’t going to be easy.”“If you don’t like the feel of your CRM, you probably won’t use it.”“Your CRM will be a nice referral machine if you use it right.”“When relating with a customer you are trying to build trust.”“Every hour you spend in your CRM will save you tenfold on the backend.”Key takeawaysCRM is about change, but you need to pick a CRM that fits your workflow. If you are going to have a CRM you have to commit to using it. You cannot properly or efficiently manage your database on a spreadsheet.A good CRM can help you improve in three areas; pre-1003, in process communications, and post-funding marketing. Your CRM will power an ultimate referral machine if you let it. If you are not viewing your CRM as a cost and not an investment, that is a problem. Links:Next Level Loan Officers - www.BecomeNL.comLoan Officer Events - loanofficerevents.comNext Level Coaching Call - https://nl.nextlevello.com/schedule-consultationebk1Ea8h Social Media:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NextLevelLoanOfficers/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwSyHzkvBri1YWJSH7df1CQLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/next-level-loan-officers/about/Text the word: nextlevel to 36260 to download our appThe Next Level Loan Officers Podcast is a proud founding member of the REAL Disrupt Podcast Collaborative. You can check our more awesome podcasts at REALDisrupt.com

Welcome to Your Operations Solved, for Wednesday, April 14th, 2021I'm your host, Channing Norton, of PC Solutions, and this is the Eleventh episode of our show,Listen to us Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday, or on our Saturday compilation episodes. If you find the show helpful or informative, please do give it a like on your platform of choice, or share it to someone else who might also enjoy it.With that out of the way, let's get started on today's headlineWashington state has voted to dismantle Community Broadband Restrictions, paving the way for municipal internet.So, Many states, municipalities, and cities have adopted laws limiting the ability of local governments to create internet providers to service their areas in the way that these areas have jurisdiction over their power and water utilities. This comes at the behest of the ISP industry, basically spectrum, comcast, and ATT, who see community run internet as very serious competition to their otherwise stagnant, monopolistic position in their respective markets. For washington state, this means the potential in 5 years time to have faster, cheaper, more reliable internet, which is valuable. We see that areas with community broadband become Technological Meccas, with lots of them building up a community of tech startups and major tech companies regional facilities VERY quickly after implementation, leading to general economic growth, and lots of benefits for existing businesses in the area that serve such companies, primarily the professional services and consulting industries. Better, more reliable, more available, and cheaper internet, which this heralds, also allows more people to work from home, which, prior to 2020, was not a significant issue for many business, but has surely become one. This regulatory change is the first step in bringing about all of these positive changes for affected areas. This has large implications for those outside of Washington as well. For over a decade, ever since Chattanoga, TN, became one of the first cities to implement community broadband, states and cities have been adopting these regulations banning themselves from doing the same and reaping the benefits, at the behest of these Internet Giants. This is a sign that the tide is turning in this matter, and we could see other states and cities follow suit, at a time when faster internet is essential to everyone for both businesses and consumers as the work from home revolution continues. In short, this is the first step to lower internet costs and faster, more reliable internet for offices in washington, and a tech boom in areas that develop such municipal broadband, as well as consumers in those areas, and possibly an indication of what is to come for those of us not operating out of Washington State. Finally, it can present a valuable business opportunity for those who could serve such a tech boom, especially if they get set up early, before the physical infrastructure does, in areas removing these restrictions.With that done, let's look at today's SolutionBetter Customer Relations Management for a better customer experience.So, You want to be able to communicate with your existing customers, especially if you are in the professional services, medical, or business to business space. You need to examine how your Customer Relations Management system is set up, and see if you are utilizing it to its full potential. Customer relationship management goes by many names depending on industry. For the Medical space, it's analog is the Practice management system. For my industry, IT services, it's a ticketing system. Fundamentally, this is the software that connects you to your customers. Every business not serving the consumer directly, and many that are, likely have some form of CRM hiding somewhere. Let's look at what it should be doing for your business specifically in regard to your current book of business.1. It should serve as a single source of truth in your business operations. Your CRM should state clearly and unambigiously, the status of every customer, every communication with that customer, and every bit of work previously performed or currently being performed for that customer, and the status of work planned for the future. This way, there is never ambiguity or question as to if a task got performed for a customer, you can always check your CRM. There's a saying in the IT industry "If it's not in a ticket, it didn't happen." If you live this, or its equivalent for your business, you will find a dramatic reduction in errors in work performed, rework, and the like. Furthermore, you'll be collecting valuable data in one, hopefully easy to access place to construct metrics and KPIs off of, which, even if you don't use it now, will be valuable going forward.2. Your CRM should be the hub of all business data, even data collected elsewhere. This is a part of the previous point, but a good CRM system should be able to be a hub for business data, and pull information from other software like your inventory system, to serve as a single pane of glass for most in your operations. It should also be able to push data out to other systems like your billing and accounting systems, to keep data in sync across your organization, and reduce data entry tasks. Thereby saving you labor and money.3. Automation, automation, automation. With your CRM being a data processing pipeline that pulls in data, gets that data worked on by your staff, and pushes it out to other systems, there's lots of potential to automate some of these processing tasks, or tasks beyond that. For instance, I mentioned in point 2 pushing data to your billing and accounting systems. Any good CRM with billing functionality should be able to automatically calculate the proper amount of an invoice, and send invoices out to customers automatically when needed, along with reminders, late fees, and the like, allowing you to almost completely eliminiate labor involved in accounts receivables.4. Customer self servicing. Customers like being able to assist themselves without talking to anyone. You also like customers being able to utilize your services without needing as much expensive interaction with your staff while still going away satisfied. You can use the capabilities we've already covered to implement systems on your website or elsewhere for customers to request and sometimes even recieve work without any interaction with your staff at all, which then gets pushed directly into your CRM, with no additional input. This can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent by your staff taking and fulfilling orders.5. In this respect, you can use your CRM predictively, to forecast future demand and supply, kind of like we discussed in our conversation about inventory management several weeks ago. This can help you plan staffing levels to ensure fewer wasted hours of labor.6. Finally, we can help keep our customers for longer by improving conversations with them. The example of this is automated feedback forms. Imagine if, after every order, your customers got a satisfaction survey. You'd hear about a lot more pain from your customers that can be fixed before those customers become former customers, allowing you to retain them longer and keep capturing their revenue, all without significant additional labor.All of this just scratches the surface of what you can do with your CRM, but we've seen how we can use ours to save time and incrase profitability at every stage of our customer journey. This is a topic we will come back to again and again in our podcast, so be sure to stay tuned. Next episode, we will talk about how these CRMs can potentially help you acquire more sales in addition to getting more profit out of your existing customer base.That's our show for today, thank you so much for listening. Tomorrow, join us for a conversation about what your CRM should be doing for your sales team in building new customers. In the meantime, check us out on the web at www.YourOperationsSolved.com, where you can join our newsletter, and opt to be notified of all our uploads. I will see you next time.

In this episode, Jeroen Corthout joins to discuss CRM best practices for B2B businesses and what insights you can apply in 2021. [00:00:35] Introduction: Jeroen Corthout, Co-Founder and CEO of SalesFlare Jeroen Corthout is the co-founder and CEO at SalesFlare, a CRM for small businesses selling B2B. They help CRM work by automating the data salespeople normally have to input manually and then unlock that data by helping salespeople stay on top of their customers and follow-up at the right times. [00:01:39] What are typical challenges when implementing CRM systems? How do people overcome them? What are the broad level struggles of CRM implementation? The main issue is that it's not being used, or it's not being used properly or enough. One common mistake that companies make is getting the wrong CRM because they haven't thought through what exactly it is they want to achieve. People know they need a CRM, so they just get one. The easiest way to get the right one is first knowing what it will be used for. Most companies that face challenges with CRM implementations are ones that happen without a lot of thought or are used in an old-fashioned way. As long as you begin by defining your objectives, have an implementation strategy, and a team together a to help make decisions, you will have more success. [00:11:21] How are B2B companies addressing the low utilization problem? How do you improve that? B2B businesses have to get away from the bad habits that were created a decade or more ago regarding the traditional ways to use a CRM system. It shouldn't act as big brother to look over people's shoulders and tell people what they should be doing or micro-managing. Rather, use it to embrace the power of technology. You can sync things automatically with inputs so that you're not burdening the sales team. [00:17:28] From now through the next 5 years, how is CRM going to look different? How are we going to use it different? What should people be considering adopting in their businesses to be ready for that? Data inputs and connecting systems are two big things. Integrations are certainly part of the future. You have to try to make it as simple as you can. There is a big difference between simply gaining access to data or being able to report data in your CRM system, versus actually having a system set up where you can interpret that data and turn it into something actionable. [00:26:24] How do you begin to use CRM to report data back in a way that you can actually begin to take action and do something with it? Seeing the emails that have been exchanged and the meetings and phone calls that have taken place is interesting, but then it goes beyond that. It's knowing what emails were actually opened, what links were clicked, and who went to the website. It also helps salespeople focus on what their customers are looking for. A customer may be looking at on your site but checking out the pricing or a product you didn't expect. It makes it so the sales team can judge the kind of things their customers are interested in and real-time data allows you to get in touch at the right time. [00:31:12] Where does CRM fit into aligning sales and marketing? How does it bring those two teams together? CRM systems come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some are more focused on sales and some are more focused on marketing. If marketing had to ask sales about every single customer, it would very inefficient. With CRM, there's data in a system that answers those questions. Marketing just has to look at the data and doesn't have to ask sales for their thoughts. They can use that data to make decisions about marketing. However, if one team is out of balance with the other, it's always creates disconnects. Especially when you start thinking about things at scale. Open communication between sales and marketing is key. Resources LinkedIn Profile - Jeroen Corthout Website - SalesFlare LinkedIn Profile - Dave Karr Website - Klyck.io Klyck Article - 5 Ways to Get More Value from Your CRM

In this episode, Jonathan Farber interviews Matt Thomas on his journey from over a year ago when Matt was last on the show to scaling by more than 50% during the pandemic. Matt is a high performance residential broker in Chicago, IL. In this episode, we dive into topics like: jumping into action during a slowdown, scaling massively and effectively, creating and using drip campaigns, and more! Top Takeaways: Taking the opportunity to leap forward when everyone else is stopping - 11:00 - 12:00 The core elements of your business won’t change, so make sure you’re doing those regardless In the areas that your competitors are backing off, position yourself to pick up the slack This is the best way to extract extra growth relative to the market as a whole How to handle massive scaling - 14:45 - 18:15 One of the biggest challenges is knowing when you need more people to stay efficient Try to identify your maximum output - where can you no longer get your best result Expanding should be a combination of new people for tasks and new systems for automation Implementing drip campaigns and other ways to stay top of mind - 19:45 - 22:30 Your CRM should get you on the right path by allowing frequent touches While you can get a bunch of leads cheaply from social ads, drip campaigns help convert leads Once someone starts to engage, then you can bring full service to them and build the relationship How to bring value to Matt Thomas: Find him on social and engage Resources: buffer.com lolo.gifts Book by Steve Sims: Bluefishing insiderealestate.com/kvcore cloudcma.com/real-estate-agents remine.com Social Links: bairdwarner.com/agent/106524-matt-thomas linkedin.com/in/mattthomaschicago facebook.com/mattthomas.bairdwarner Connect With The host, Jonathan Farber Here! jonjfarber@outlook.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanfarber1/ Instagram: @jonjfarb Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.farber.9 Facebook Group: Real Estate Mentorship Mastermind https://www.facebook.com/groups/860025821084224/ BiggerPockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/JonathanF29 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB8BJ8K5ILXdfOnsDWamVqw Schedule a time to talk: https://calendly.com/jonathan-farber/1-on-1-with-jonathan-farber-mmtr Apply to be a guest on the podcast here: https://forms.gle/YNmALHUvDvuMWVVFA

In this series we profile a recent marketing grad or a current student and answer some of their most pressing questions about the world of martech and how to be happy in your future marketing career. Justin Silver, listener and University of Ottawa student joins the show as our first featured #topmartechprospect.Justin's question for us: What does your “starter pack” for digital marketers” look like?Check out the meme we used to answer this question.Posting on Reddit: “how do I get a job without experience?”. Don't post this question on social. Want experience? Market yourself. Build a website. Build a social media audience.Last minute changes. Despite a documented process, there's always a last minute campaing request to hit quota. You just have to embrace it. Email is fast, but use it wisely. Manager in your title. Everyone is a marketing manager these days. Marketing has it's own milatiristic understanding of rank. Marketers love to invent titles for themselves. You need to realise that titles are secondary to the things you build. Friendly reminders. Are you really running a marketing operations project if you aren't sending weekly “friendly reminders” to people who have missed deadlines?ABM. Email everyone in the company, with the same unpersonnalized email, non stop. Don't. Do. This. Fire extinguisher. Carve out some firefighting time on your calendar if you're in MOPs. Things break. Things suddenly become priorities. Looking at the martech landscape and thinking “I need one of each”. FOMO in martech is a real thing. I'm not using x or y and I'm missing out. Digital marketing isn't about having all of the tech. It's about using your tech to the most that you can. Pocket talk translator for integrating tools together. Your CRM calls them leads, your marketing automation tool calls them people, your analytics tool calls them users. Translation required. Gotta get on {{insert.popular.trend}}. Bernie Mitts expired in what? 2 days? You don't have to be an early adopter for everything. Loading screens for days. Whether it's a big Marketo insteance or a long time frame report in GA, marketers battle with slow reports every day. You shouldn't need a gaming PC to run your automation software.--Show notes:Justin's LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/justin-silver-14b393108Justin's site: https://bit.ly/3cCSMPkConference mentioned: Legacy conference.--Intro music by Wowa via Unminus

Feeling Betrayed by Your CRM?Are you invisible to your prospects? Your applicants? Your borrowers? Is marketing a true competitive advantage for you as a lender? Can you offer real value to your partners through your market presence?This month we are focusing on creative content at Top of Mind.Lenders are feeling betrayed by full-service marketing platforms that show up totally empty.Even worse, lenders get locked in, often for three years at a time, working with a platform that nickel and dime them for every content piece created to compete in today’s burning hot market.It’s time to stand out. Surefire has been the content leader for years. We’d love to show you more of our award-winning content.

We made sure that you get the best of the best for our first ever episode for Dream Nation Real Estate Podcast! I am telling you upfront if you listened to this episode in full and not get the motivation, the knowledge, and the fire for you to get starting and bettering your real estate journey, I really do not what can. This first episode has been phenomenal, and I can not wait for all of you, our dear tribe, to benefit from it and blaze your path just like how our esteemed guest has. He is no other than, Mr. Joshua Smith, also known as GSD or Get Shit Done. Everyone can relate to Joshua’s early days in life and in his real estate career. Which will make you feel, if he’s done it, I definitely can too. Joshua came from being a college dropout and never made more than $10 an hour to enter the world of real estate. He was a nursing assistant working on the hospice floor. He entered real estate at the age of 23, making $20,00 to making it $280,000 in his first year. Today, he owns six businesses from a real estate company to a software company, a consulting company to a supplement company, etc. But he says real estate is what propelled him to achieve all these other successes. His journey is not always fun and prosperity though. Back in 2007, halfway through his career, he lost everything. Lost his entire life savings and went to a hundred thousand dollars of business credit card debt with lots of liabilities and big bills. Overcoming all of these adversities though, he says, is what makes him humble. Today, he is passionate to help other people learn and master real estate in his GSD mode platform. We are ever so fortunate to have 60 minutes of pure knowledge, wisdom and applicable tips regarding real estate, including mentorship, life truths, business building, leadership skills, and tactical tips that I am 100% sure will help you one way or the other to skyrocket your real estate game. Take notes, rewind this episode, and just apply what you will learn in this episode, because that is why I and my team do this, to bridge you to the best of the best minds there is in the real estate arena. Here’s What You Missed Understanding the power of mentorship and where we can get thoseWhy pain is the best teacherWhy real estate is an industry with a level playing field and how easy it is to dominateWhat are the 5 tactical steps to winning real estateIs Facebook profitable to use in lead generation?Tackling lead conversion problem2 things he should have done better at the beginningSuccess doesn't come without sacrifice Knowledge Nuggets [] “The purpose of my life is just growth and expansion in each aspect of my life, but the gist, it's like we got one shot at this journey called life and just to enjoy every experience as much as I possibly can and approach everything that I do with passion, with intensity.” [] I do everything I can to surround myself with people that I personally deem to be very successful, that I can learn and grow from. Sometimes it's somebody that you run into that you meet that just inspires you at a core level. Sometimes it is a personal circumstance that wakes you up and pivot. A lot of our belief systems are just shaped on our personal experiences and you have to have those different experiences to reshape your belief systems and keep pushing forward [] Until we experience pain, we usually don't wake up. Most are paying attention to the finances until they’ve lost their finances. And for me it's been that way. I'm doing a lot, I've done a lot of work and I continue to do a lot of work because I don't want to have that pain showing up for me to pivot, make decisions and whatever. Also, if we're intentional, if we we can learn from other people's mistakes. [] Don't run for pain. Pain is the best teacher. Pain and power come from the same place. Utilize the pain and ask yourself: The first thing I do with it is, what can I learn from this lesson? How did I get myself into this painful moment? What could I have done to avoid this? Now this has shown up, what can I do to get out of it? But what can I also do to make sure that I don't experience this pain again? [] There’s always outside circumstances we can't control. We need to focus on what we can control. That's the difference between a victimhood mindset and somebody who takes full responsibility and becomes a winner. [] ‘Cause in order to thrive, you've got to survive.” History favors here who is most prepared. [] I’ve never seen an industry that's more easier to dominate. I've never seen an industry that has big of a gap as ours. There's just not another industry exists out there that has the same opportunities. So that's why I'm so obsessed with the real estate industry. [] Power of mentorship. You can go high, go align yourself with mentors and other ways. I took my time, went out there and interviewed a ton of brokerages. I just wanted to align myself with the most badass that I possibly could in the marketplace. You gotta learn to be coachable. So spend the time to identify the right mentor to the point where you have the certainty, this is the right person. [] On discipline: What is the one of the most important things when it comes to creating success? It's discipline. If you look at discipline, what does that say? It's being a disciple to a plan.  [] Law of reciprocity. There's other ways of getting a mentor. Mentors can look like different things. Mentors can be somebody you follow on YouTube. It can be somebody that you get to know [] Tactical tips on real estate: 1. Get your tracking system in place. I'll track reach outs, conversations, appointments set, appointment conductions, clients, and then closings. 2. Get your CRM set up. Your CRM is your number one asset as a real estate agent in this industry. 3. Your buyer presentation listing presentation. Nobody has a lead problem in this business. Most have a lead conversion problem. 4. Your spirit of influence past clients. 5. More local market knowledge. [] On lead generation: The first thing that I want to say is to understand that 1. Everything works and nothing doesn't. So identify what you enjoy doing, what you like doing, I mean, what you're good at that is really important. Not only will I consistently do those activities for the long haul, but I'm also going to a master's degree. Consistency is the only magic pills. 2. Less is more. So, what I mean by that is I would rather identify one or two lead sources again that I enjoy, that I'm going to commit to for the long haul and master. 3. Get really clear on who your ideal client is. I'm going to show up where my ideal clients are now coming to me. [] Anything's possible, you can build whatever you want to build, create any model that you want to create. if you're a smart entrepreneur, then you can figure out how to scale any aspect. [] On advertising: There's so many ways to go out there and start pounding the pavement and get business and bring in revenue without having to spend money. But then, when you're ready to start investing into marketing, which marketing costs money, prospecting calls time. So then from there, Facebook is extremely profitable. you got to invest the time, you got to learn Facebook itself. [] All sales is pain and pleasure. I make sure that my ads for the people that I'm running, they're targeting the people with the pain. So making sure that the pleasure is showing up to the people with the pain. You got to know what your people want. [] Lead conversion problem: But if you're intentional with it and you spend the time to have the right strategy, you're going to crush an audience with Facebook ads with anything that you do. [] Success doesn't come without sacrifice. You've gotta be very clear on what you're willing to sacrifice, what you're not willing to sacrifice and so forth. Mastery happens when eyeballs aren't on you. You got to be willing to live your life today, like nobody else. So then that way you can go live your life tomorrow like nobody else. [] On what he could do better right at the beginning: 1. I didn't set my targets right in the beginning. I look at a business as a vehicle that allows me to go out there and live the life I want to live. 2. Not mastering a hiring process. You don't have a business until you can step away from it. [] If you want to continue to grow, the only way to bust through those capacities is implementing the right systems and then plugging the right people into, to oversee those systems. [] Quit listening to the fucking voice. Those voices are not you. Get very clear on what it is that you want to create in your life. And really, at the end of the day, our purpose and our mission in my opinion, is to become the people that we know we're capable of becoming. [] Everybody deserves success. Most people won't go after it, but it just boils down to what are the actions and the choices that you're gonna make. Anybody can go out there and create success, especially in real estate. Important Reads and Links Recommended person/group:                                                Kamille Rose Soler Joshua Smith Website:              https://www.gsdmode.com/Joshua Smith YouTube:             https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRVT1XOSdM4DhTUdA7Y9OSwJoshua Smith Instagram:           https://www.instagram.com/joshuasmithgsdJoshua Smith Twitter:                https://twitter.com/joshuasmithgsd Love #DreamNation? Check Us Out on Apple Podcasts!  At Dream Nation, we’re all about building dreams. We do that through podcasts that motivate, educate, and entertain our listeners with some of the best entrepreneurs from around the world to get you to the best tips to level up your game in business in life. If you enjoyed this episode and want to keep building your dream,subscribe to the DreamNation podcast using the links below. Catch your host on Instagram (@casanova_brooks) If you are in DreamNation, thank you! Feel free to leave a review or share with a friend.

This week Eric and I talk about the under utilized sales tool - Your CRM.How this database of customers should be worth more than your house.David Allens Book - Getting Things doneTo Contact Us:training@startst.com

How most sales and marketing teams think about CRMs is wrong. Most people think a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system helps manage customer data. OK. The definition isn't wrong, but it isn't complete either. Ultimately your CRM helps you generate more revenue. If your tool doesn't allow you to make more money, it's not a worthy investment. Your CRM should help: your salespeople close more deals by getting them to follow an optimized sales process your sales leaders coach their sales reps on specific weaknesses they have based on what they see in the system your marketing team build better emails, nurturing processes, and even improve your overall communications based on the info they can pull. This episode is part 1 of our CRM series. Today, we cover the what, how and why of an excellent CRM tool. Enjoy the show! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sales-marketing/message

How To Sell Your Speaking On The Phone James Taylor interviews Mark Hunter and they talked about how to sell your speaking on the phone. In today's episode Mark Hunter talks about how to sell your speaking on the phone. How To Sell YouMark Hunter, AKA "The Sales Hunter”, is a speaker and author who helps individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales, and profitably build long-term customer relationships. As a speaker Mark has shared the stage with such greats as Seth Godin, Tony Robbins, Arianna Huffington and Simon Sinek. Salesforce, Lenovo, Mattel and Kawasaki are just some of the companies that brought him in to help transform their people. What we cover: The dangers of going broad How to sell your speaking on cold calls How to sell your speaking to associations and corporations Resources: Mark Hunter Website Please SUBSCRIBE ►http://bit.ly/JTme-ytsub ♥️ Your Support Appreciated! If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on YouTube, iTunes or Stitcher and write a brief review. That would really help get the word out and raise the visibility of the Creative Life show. SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW Apple: http://bit.ly/TSL-apple Libsyn: http://bit.ly/TSL-libsyn Spotify: http://bit.ly/TSL-spotify Android: http://bit.ly/TSL-android Stitcher: http://bit.ly/TSL-stitcher CTA link: https://speakersu.com/the-speakers-life/ FOLLOW ME: Website: https://speakersu.com LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/JTme-linkedin Instagram: http://bit.ly/JTme-ig Twitter: http://bit.ly/JTme-twitter Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/IS-fbgroup Read full transcript at https://speakersu.com/how-to-sell-your-speaking-on-the-phone-sl073/ James Taylor Hi, it's James Taylor, founder of SpeakersU. Today's episode was first aired as part of International Speakers Summit the world's largest online event for professional speakers. And if you'd like to access the full video version, as well as in depth sessions with over 150 top speakers, then I've got a very special offer for you. Just go to InternationalSpeakersSummit.com, where you'll be able to register for a free pass for the summit. Yep, that's right 150 of the world's top speakers sharing their insights, strategies and tactics on how to launch grow and build a successful speaking business. So just go to InternationalSpeakersSummit.com but not before you listen to today's episode. Hey there, it's James Taylor. And I'm delighted today to be joined by Mark Hunter. I just met Mark Hunter, a National Speakers Association event and I said, I have got to get you on the summit because we had a really fascinating conversation. So if you don't know Mark, Mark Hunter, aka the Sales Hunter is a speaker and author who helps individuals and companies identify better prospects. more sales and properly build long term customer relationships. As a speaker Marcus share the stage with such greats as Seth Godin, Tony Robbins, Arianna Huffington and Simon Sinek, Salesforce, Lenovo, Mattel, and Kawasaki are just some of the companies that have brought him in to help transform their people. And it's my great pleasure to have Mark joining us today. So welcome, Mark. Mark Hunter Thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to our conversation. So share with everyone what's going on in your world just now. Well, what's going on my world just as we were talking beforehand, next week, at this time, I'll be in Bogota, Colombia, speaking there to it to an audience and then I'll return to the States, Kwik Trip to Florida and then it's off to Malaysia, where I'll be doing another program in beautiful Kuala Lumpur and both those cities have got great restaurants. So yeah, I do probably about 25% of my work outside the US. And what's fascinating is business does travel James Taylor globally. And I believe I mean you're you're on the road now about 200 days a year. You know, kind of roughly so so you're you have, you've got some serious air miles that you've accumulated over the years I'm guessing as a speaker, Mark Hunter right? Wrong or indifferent? Yes, I do. I have more miles than I'll ever use in my life. But, but you know what? It's all about connecting with people and the experiences that you pick up, which in turn, make every keynote you do. Every keynote I do is really a culmination of what I learned in the previous keynote. There's always something new there's always a new person you meet a new experience a new story to tell James Taylor when it will begin for you. Where did the you know the keynote speaking the professional speaking style for you? Mark Hunter Well, it began I was in court. I was in a corporate job for 18 year 18. Wow. 18 years. Yeah. And I just got simply tired of working for the corporation. And in that role, I had been kind of a corporate spokesperson. For my company, it was a large we are doing about $16 billion a year in sales US dollars. And I was doing a lot of this speaking at conferences and so forth, so I just I just quit, I literally just walked out the door and begin began doing a lot of consulting initially. And then began morphing into more and more training and speaking, see, really the keynote speaking drives everything else I do. Now, that's probably about 60% of my revenue. But it drives a lot of the other consulting opportunities I have the online activities I do some of the training I do, etc, etc. James Taylor So if you had to strip it all back is the speaking the one thing that you would ensure that you always wanted to do you or do you actually is a speaking just a vehicle in order for you to do consulting as a consulting where your heart really lies? Mark Hunter No, my heart is not in consulting. My heart's really on the stage. I love being on the stage. I third, I thoroughly enjoy being on the stage. But the nice thing about consulting is it provides you with the experiences it provides you with the insight it provides you with so to speak the behind the scenes Look, if all we do is keynote, I think we become kind of shallow because we see people at meetings and it's a very superficial type relationship when you have a chance to dig into companies and really understand them. And I think that's what clients who hire me today, that's what they like, because they said Marquis, you bring in the experiences because you've pretty much have have worked in every industry, and so many countries globally, that you bring a freshness, an outside perspective to an insight. James Taylor I'm going to talk about that kind of international the global piece in a minute, but I'm wondering when you got started as Speaker Who were those early mentors for you who the people that they can maybe take you under their wing or provided support or advice or mentorship. Mark Hunter Well, maybe that's why I started so slowly because I didn't have anybody who took me under the wing. You know, maybe that's, you know what I watched people like Tom Peters, I watched I watch, who are the thought leaders Tom Deming Who are the thought leaders out there in the business world? jack welch became a real mentor of mine. He doesn't know it. I don't even know him. But I mean, you know, watching him. So really, it kind of learned from just watching people from a macro perspective. Then I got involved in NSA and NSA was a terrific asset to me and it was able to really create a lot of very strong relationships. And then you just kind of keep going down the journey you keep you keep going down the road. And when you can get started in the speaking world, we were very clear that sales specifically as a topic you wanted to speak on or were you abroad a speaker at the start? And then you can, you can start to hone in on actually, the sales is the thing I'm really passionate about Angel Android can can sharing helping transform people in that way? Well, I made the mistake so many people did you have a check? I have a speech for you. You know, we all kind of so many people started off that way. And it was only after a few years that I really came into this You know, my background is sales. And when you have the last name of Hunter, it really works pretty well. So that's how I became the sales Hunter. And you know, it took me a few years to kind of morph into that. But when I did that, then I found my legs truly as a sales speaker. Now, that gives me the opportunity, I can run off and do some other things in terms of sales, leadership in some areas, but it really comes down to sales, which really is what business is all about. James Taylor So I know whenever I serve a speakers, people that maybe attend these summits, and I asked them what their biggest challenges are the sales, the getting the gigs part is like, probably the number one maybe, you know, maybe branding and other positioning. And I think privacy, maybe sales is, especially as people kind of get more into the business. So for someone that's watching this just now who is maybe like you, maybe they're coming from a corporate background, they're starting to move into really wanting to believe that this is something they really want to do. How should they be thinking about the sales piece What they do? Mark Hunter Well, you got to understand that you're going to spend 90% of your time in sales and 10% in the delivery of it. And I'll tell you what it's all about the telephone. I mean, if you can't pick up the telephone and make those calls to people who are not expecting your calls, guess what, you're probably not going to be very busy. We can write all the posts we want, put them out on the internet, we can do all the social media stuff and all and that's all good stuff. But I'll tell you what, my bank does not take clicks and likes. My bank takes dollars. So at the end of the day, I've got to be picking up the phone and I love making phone calls. That's what it's about. You have to remember, what are we doing when we deliver a speech? We're creating changed behavior. And what does that mean? That means it's got to start off with really the prospect who is the person I'm reaching out to? And I got to create a level of trust, a level of relationship with them, and only after that point, will they hire me? I mean, even today, I mean, I've been doing this for almost 20 years. I'm on the phone all the time making calls are they to cold calls? No, not really. But boy their calls and you know what, I love making them because that's where it all starts. You get the engagement because the phone call you made so James Taylor I'm wanting I'm thinking as a sales is a lot of people have got maybe a negative connotation about what sales is and what sale how to sell and, you know, think about this as it Glengarry Glen Ross You know, there's movies were always be closing and, and all those you know, there's things you hear all the time as well. I do remember one thing though from from that which was one of the other things we're in a kind of by the by in terms of the quality of your leads, and you know, you know, lead sales come from from leads. So I'm wondering, you know, at that early stage before you even get on those conversations, how are you thinking about the leads part of finding leads lead generation? Mark Hunter Well, yeah, that's huge. I always say inbound leads have depreciating value. outbound leads have appreciated value. Let me give you a quick 32nd overview of inbound leads. Somebody inquires on your. You can't, you can't on fast enough to call them back. I had a gentleman who filled out an online form on my website and it goes to my staff and it comes to me, I happen to be sitting in an airport, I got it, it would have been easy to sit there and say, I'll just let my staff handle it. There is a guy's phone number. I picked him up. I picked up the phone. I called him and he said, Wow, that's fast. I wasn't expecting you to call. I was expecting somebody reach out to me for a couple days. And I joke with him. I said, Well, I am the sales Hunter. And I do believe in prospecting. And he laughed. And within five minutes, we took that deal all the way from Well, I think I want you to have Have you come in and Keynote for my sales kickoff meeting to you are going to come in, I just have to get the approval for the funds. And you inbound leads have depreciate you got you got it you got to read you can't reach out to them fast enough and don't reach out to them. by way of an email pick up the phone and call I I can't stress this is a personal business this is a relationship business. And so I grabbed that now the outbound lead, I'm gonna you know, I may be calling you and I've got trade associations I want to do work with I may call them and they don't know who I am. But you know what I know if I leave a message they're going to go to my website, they're going to go out and Google me See that's where that that that that web presence that internet presence that you've created begins to take hold. And guess what I'm going to follow the the number one sales every morning in the shower. We are we are faced with the key word in sales. People don't don't realize this, but it's on the bottle of shampoo. It says repeat, repeat. You have to be willing to repeat, James Taylor repeat. I don't want you on the outbound piece. Any of the best salespeople I've ever met, they that they know their numbers. They're very, very clear. I need to be doing this number of calls and They're very, very clear on the numbers. So I'm wondering, you know, somewhat yourself, what are the numbers are important to you that you're always tracking? You're always wanting to be sure that you're kind of you're hitting those, obviously, apart from booking of keynotes. But what what are those kind of those lag? The lag or the, you know, in sales number? Yeah. Mark Hunter I always want to have three meaningful conversations every day. If I can't have three meaningful conversations, I haven't hit my number. And it's interesting, but I look at that come the end of the week. And I want to know, and this is one of the wishes. One of the things I've had many, many times when come Friday afternoon, I may be in my office and I'm tired. It's been a long week been traveling and I want to shut down but I go, you know what, I haven't made my number. And I pick up the phone and I make it and I make those calls back does funny but the last three Fridays I happen to have been in my office kind of unusual. And every week has been and yet every week, the last couple hours of the day winds up being incredibly productive because I start making calls calls start coming in momentum. Tim creates momentum. This business we have unfortunately too many wonderful speakers very talented, very gifted speakers who don't make it because they don't. They can't get the platform. Yeah, because they can't sell. You've got to be able to sell pick up the phone make the call. James Taylor I remember talking with david admin about this and he said a lot of the speakers they forget they forget that this the job is not speaking the job is getting the speaking gig or something or something along those lines. Mark Hunter All it is is to completely separate. Yes, yeah. James Taylor So I'm wondering now, for someone that maybe they just haven't had a lot of experience in sales haven't come from maybe a kind of sales background, but they realize, okay, this is important. I need to be developing these skills. I'm just wondering, just the first kind of question I'm wondering is like, when, in terms of the time of the interview usually suggest to get get on those causes early, getting them out of the way as quick as possible in your day, or are you thinking in terms of using time zones, because you're speaking a lot of different places, there's different time zones, and I'm also wondering when you're on the road When you think you know, your airports, you're traveling or you dinner wherever you are. How do you ensure that you can hit those numbers? Well, yeah, Mark Hunter it is. A I use time zones all the time. I 11. I live in the central part of the United States, but I'm using the East in the West and Asia and Europe. Yes, very much. So here's all key thing. I want to start off the day making my calls. That's very important. Why because it actually get, I get excited, I get jazzed making telephone calls. And other freaking out over this, but I get jazmyne that actually actually pumps me up. Now you may be afraid to make calls. So here's a tip that I suggest for you. The first call you make today, make it to somebody you know, maybe it's the next client, maybe it's somebody who you know, reach out to them. Just getting your lips move and just getting your conversation going. And here's the thing when you're calling somebody. And for instance, I break my business into into two parts associations and corporations, associations, I know have to book speakers because they've got meetings. So my conversation is going to be more along the line. What are you looking for when you bring in speakers? What are some of the challenges you have in getting people there? Now? It's not my content. No, it's it's what are you doing to get people there? What are you doing to get people engaged in your association? If I'm calling your corporation, my conversation is more around, you know, the challenges the corporation is facing new products are rolling out competitors, different conversations, you've got to it's not about selling a speech. It's about selling an outcome. It's helping them achieve their objective. James Taylor That's great advice. I mean, and that, that someone said to me recently, we just said, you know, they will look at you my site was just going through a renewal just now. And they said you know, the one your soul looks great and everything but you're you're not focusing on the outcome. Why do these people want to be so so that kind of goes down to the sales piece as well having those conversations, thinking about, you know, thinking the outcome first, and I'm wondering so you dealt with like one part about dealing with rejection. Getting those first calls getting them in early having that first one was maybe someone you know, but it may be when you get to how do you deal with the inevitable state that you will get rejected on courses that you have people will say no, for whatever reason. Is there anything in terms of how to, you know, build that resilience and yourself as a speaker as Sally is speaking? Mark Hunter Yeah. First of all, no is never permanent. It's only a moment in time you got it, you got to always remember it, no, is only a moment in time. And I know I'm not going to get every engagement. That's fine. I know. But all all I want to do is be able to keep the real, my objective of every phone call is to earn the right, the privilege, honor and respect to be able to reach out to that person again. So they may say, no, we're not interested. I said, Great. Hey, I want to really wish you the best in achieving your goals. And let's just keep in touch, and I'm going to reach back out to them. I might reach out to them again in a couple months. It might be six months it might be but I'm going to reach out them again. Nobody ever falls off my radar screen completely. James Taylor And as you start to build your career off, see now you speak globally speaking 25% of the time, you're speaking internationally as well. I'm wondering, was there a key, a key insight, a key maybe an aha moment, as you were developing your speaking career you went, Ah, okay. This is maybe why I need to be focusing on maybe in my the content of what I do or in terms of how I sell myself or perhaps something else in terms of how you're building your authority or your overall business. Mark Hunter Yeah, it's really, I'd say it's three things. One, it's being yourself, you have to allow your personality to come through and be who you are integrity in this business is the only sustaining value we're going to have. And if you are not off the stage, as soon as you are on the stage, you are dead. Now I'm in sales. This is interesting. So it's very interesting is when I'm on stage, I'm talking about sales. Guess what those practices I used to sell myself and better be the same had better be the same thing. So That's one Be yourself let your personality to it's about creating concepts and ideas that your audience can relate to and travel with them. I've written a couple books high profit pricing, assuming high profit selling high profit prospecting, and what is it around high profit you see that that that's kind of a focus of where I'm at, I'm helping you achieve profit and with that, then I've got very key talking points and so forth. The third piece is really creating your image and a big enough of a platform you know, really is a strange I, the expression has been made many many times but you become who you associate with, you know, you become most like who you hang out with. And it's very important that that Who are you hanging because that's who you get associated with. So I work to really create that brand and that brand image is as much me as it is the sales hunter and I'm proud of the brand, the sales hunter There are people who say, oh, you're in sales. I'm going to go, you know what my objective in sales is to help you see and achieve what you didn't think was possible. Yeah. Now think about that. That James Taylor makes that makes me feel pretty good. I love that. And it's actually it was interesting after that, where we met, and I had like a big stack of cards that usually when you leave an event, and I was I was thinking, I just on the flight back, I was thinking, who do I remember? And why do Why do I remember those people? I remember yourself and there's like three other speakers I you know, in terms of having conversation with people as they were speaking on stage, but just having conversations, and they had some, there was something in them in terms of the hook. In your case, I think it's the clarity of, of your of your message and what you're about. So it's really kind of straightforward and positioning. And for other people. It was just it was they had a way about them. It was something else but there was something there that can hook that made you want to say, tell me more, you know, tell me more and you can happen to find that. Mark Hunter Yeah. That brings up a good point. Because from an international standpoint, if you think about, you gotta have clarity of message. If the message is not clear, and there's not clarity in the message, it's not going to translate well. And I think this is what's allowed me to do, I'm making probably my sixth or seventh trip this next week to Colombia. Why? Because it's a clarity. And remember, they speak Spanish there. I don't speak Spanish very well, I don't speak I don't. The only language I speak is the language of business. And, and but it's the clarity of the message. You know, in a couple weeks I'm in Malaysia, I mean, I, as I clarity has to be there. James Taylor So as you were starting to kind of develop your speaking business you mentioned but moving into more speaking more globally as well. Is there any advice maybe someone new that's watching this just now they're already speaking, they've already got pretty good speaking business in whichever country at the end they're in with US or UK or Australia. But they really want now to start stretching their their wings a little bit and what about Would you give them was it is it best to maybe choose a couple of key territories? Or is it may be looking, you know, is it? Where do they begin in terms of thinking about those other territories? Mark Hunter Yeah, I've never chosen a territory and maybe because I'm the world's lousiest tourist. I mean, I've traveled all over the world and I can't tell you what's outside that hotel. I mean, I just, I'm a lousy tourist. I have done two things to really build my global business I've allowed by and you've spoken globally, there's somehow you've got, you've got the passport, you know, check. And so I've had companies. I've had Samsung, I've had Coca Cola I've had, I've had a number of companies Heineken, I've had a number of companies that have trap that I've allowed to have that have taken me globally to help them with their message. The other piece that I do is is there are local associations or local entities that I will turn Right to reach out to, you know, and that's a way for a new speaker, you know, you may be saying, Hey, I'm in this country here, how do I reach out to some organizations in that country? This is again, what NSA and the global speakers, you know, all wonderful opportunities that you say maybe I'm going to try to speak at one of those events, and then you build out your brand from there. The other thing that I've done is I've got clients that aren't even in the United States. I'm going in May, I will go to India. And this is with a Japanese company. They don't have any operations in the US but a couple years ago, they brought me to the Philippines. Now they're bringing me to India. How did they find me? They found me because of my global work with other companies. They it just it just begins snowballing, James Taylor isn't it? I know I was speaking to Frederick hiren. The other day, a great speaker from Singapore. And he was saying he made a very, very clear thing when you want to speak more globally, he said, he said I'm going to try and pitch myself primarily to speak The global conferences of those companies or those associations. And so he really went and made a beeline for speaking at the global because he knows if I speak for, you know, let's say Toyota might speak at their global conference, then all the leaders of all the other local, national, you know, versions of the company going to be there as well. And he said, he said, if you're any good, and this is the this is the really hard part isn't you've got to ensure that you're good. Otherwise, you said if you're not going and speaking, you're not going to have the bookings straightaway from that speaking, then you probably need to be looking at your, your craft, and whether you're speaking. Mark Hunter Yeah, that's a key point because I'll tell you what every speech has got to create another speech. And if you don't, I'm going to Malaysia here in a cup. I haven't even I haven't even been at this conference. I'm going to speak at Malaysia and I already got another lead off of it this morning from somebody who's going to be at the conference. So it's like, Okay, this is great. You know, something about speaking internationally to you have to be willing to fit in to their customs. Just go with it. I mean, I really try to be low maintenance, nothing, I'm speaking in India, and all of a sudden the power goes out and the room is dark and I just kept talking. Because I know that you know what the power goes out. And you know, in 20 seconds the generators will kick in and I did and the generators came back on and I know that you know what in another bit, they're gonna flick again as a generous go off and go back online. And it was amazing at lunch, the client came you said, Oh, thank you. You were excellent. You how many times you know, you really know us here in India because you know, our power goes out and because I just rolled with it, you just roll nothing fazes. James Taylor So there's a couple of quickfire questions that as we start to finish up, wasn't your speaker bag. What is it that bag that you carry with you to all your speaking engagements that the bits and pieces that you have there? What do you never leave home without? Mark Hunter What do I never leave home without my American Airlines? You know what I mean? Really, it's just my laptop, my iPad and my phone, you know, and I've got that I've got that universal charger, that universal connection code and you know, so forth. But I rely on Skype, I use at&t, I have a newer phone so I can I can make phone calls anywhere in the world, as long as I connect to Wi Fi. So I don't allow that's a key piece. I love making phone calls to other clients or the potential clients when I'm going in. Hey, I'm in Malaysia today, but I wanted to reach out to you and talk about Wow, that's cool. make phone calls when you're in other countries and just Hey, I happen to be in Colombia. I happen to me. Yeah, those are gold. So really, there's no tricks to the trade other than I'm always can. I'm always connected with my laptop, I'm always there. James Taylor Well, but when it comes to the sales pitch, I mean, obviously mentioned Skype as a tool that you use for that. Are there other tools that you use online tools, apps in order to ensure that you're always following up you're you have some way of being able to track all of this? Mark Hunter Yeah, I I'm really in between CRM. Systems right now. So my CRM system really right now is a notepad and an Excel spreadsheet. were evaluating some new CRM systems. But I haven't migrated to that. I had been using Zoho for a long time, but we're my work, we're going to migrate off it. The other thing I was gonna say, um, well, one of the best tools that I use to keep in touch LinkedIn, I'm all over LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a global business to business communication tool. I use that far more than Facebook. Facebook to me has got a very small slice. I know within the speaking community, a lot of people are on it. But LinkedIn is where I'm at. And along with that means that's beans. It's YouTube. That means it's James Taylor Twitter. And what about in terms of a book I think I love a book recommendation from you. It could be a book on can be one of your own books about book it could be on speaking it could be on the sales part or something in terms of mindset for speakers. Mark Hunter Yes. Well, I don't have a wall. Yeah, I buy the book right now that I absolutely. I can't reach you right now. It's on the floor principles by Ray Dalio. Ray Dalio. He is the CEO of Bridgewater group, I believe it is that is a huge, huge investment hedge fund. And terrific book, another book that I keep going back to, and he is an NSA member. Wonderful, wonderful Gentlemen, I have probably sold hundreds of I've given away hundreds of his books, Vern harnish. And the book scaling up, scaling up is a tremendous business book. And I almost universally whenever I'm with a medium sized company, somebody around 100 $200 million in sales, or even 20 or 30 million, and I meet the CEO, I always say, Hey, you know what, I'm going to send you a copy of this book. It's not my book, but I recommend it. And I get more comments back on that James Taylor one phone footage on the show is here as well. Mark Hunter Yeah, suggest other books. I'll tell you what, you want to become endeared to thought leaders. Send them copies of other people's books. Yeah. James Taylor That's huge. Yeah, absolutely. Actually, we I was I was talking to someone the other day about it. And I said, you know what we should do? Just get together, you know, a couple of thought leaders speakers, and almost put together a bundle that we sent to like co books of the month thing and we just cross, you know, collaborate with other speakers because I know a lot of speakers are doing it themselves for their own individual books, but wouldn't be cool if we had some kind of way that we could just club together. And we could just send out those books. Mark Hunter And we need to because we're in a very high margin business. I mean, our cost of goods Think About It is very, very low. Nobody invest in our business the way we should. So don't go say, Oh, it's a $30 book. It's a $20 book, get over it, send it send it, it's well worth it. Because if you get that full fee engagement, hey, that's pretty good margin. James Taylor Now, final question for you. I want you to imagine you woke up tomorrow morning, and you have to start from scratch. So you have all the skills, the sales skills, the speaking skills you've acquired over the years, all the knowledge, but no one knows you, you know, no one, your LinkedIn profile has been wiped clean. Your CRM has been wiped clean. What would you do? How would you restart? Mark Hunter Well, I would I would Google first Association And I would start with associations, I'd get a list. And I would start reaching out to 10 associations every day. And know that don't make 100 calls. Because the key and making those calls is the art of following up, you're going to call 10. Today, you're gonna call the next day. And you know what, a week or so later, you're probably gonna have to call those same 10. Again, you're gonna have to call again, I would start with associations, because you know, they have to book speakers, be flexible, be variable, and just get out there and make it happen. This is a wonderful, this is a wonderful business and I'm going to tell you something very interesting. It's easier to break into the business today than it's ever been. It's easier to create a name for yourself today because this little thing called the internet, I think it's gonna stick around I think it's gonna make it allows us to create a pretty big global footprint pretty quickly. And that's why I love I love I love speaking. And I love speaking globally because every opportunity creates another opportunity. James Taylor Now where should people go if they want to learn more about you, I know you have obviously you've defined a resource manager some of the books as well, but where's the best place for them to go to kind of learn more? Mark Hunter Well, the best place is the website, the saleshunter.com that's my website, the saleshunter.com. And hey, it's full of resources. tons. There's tons of free things, but you can sign up receive my weekly email, I send out a video every week I we put a lot of content out there because we believe you got to share. James Taylor Yeah, share to help other people. Mark. It's been an absolute pleasure speaking with you today. I'm so delighted, you know, we got a chance to meet at the NSA event when we had this conversation. So I really want you on this summit as well. So thank you so much for taking the time today and sharing your your wisdom and your knowledge, especially around the sales thing. I look forward to getting a chance to actually hear you speak on stage at some point soon. Mark Hunter Great. And thank you for all you do to help the speaking community. James Taylor Today's episode was sponsored by speakers you the online community for speakers and if you're serious about your speaking career then you can join us because you membership program. I'll speak as you members receive private one on one coaching with me hundreds of hours of training content access to a global community to help them launch and build a profitable business around their speaking message and expertise. So just head over to SpeakersU.com to learn more. #speakersU #speakerslife

Your CRM system offers you the opportunity to instantly access customers and their personal information. With the aid of an eMarketing tool, you can take that information and use it to create marketing campaigns that are scheduled to be sent out at specific times. In this episode How to Automate Your Customer Relationship Marketing. Find out how internet startups, side-ventures or small businesses can take action, make money and grow with the Empower Business Club at lenabenjamin.com/empowerbusiness. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/empower-business/message

Your CRM can either be your most valuable sales tool or your greatest waste of time. It depends on how you treat it and your mindset about it. On this podcast episode Jeb Blount explores why salespeople choose not to leverage the CRM and why this is a big mistake.

DIFFERENT MARKETING IDEAS FOR INSURANCE EP 30 - This episode is a follow up conversation to episode 29. If you didn’t listen, I would encourage you to listen to my conversation with Ben Page before listening to this one, so that the concepts will make more sense. Normally I would offer my thoughts at the end of the episode, but since our conversation was so long, and believe it or not, I edited out about 15 minutes worth, I decided to make it a two part series to be more respectful of your time. Aside from selling ideas, Ben brought up several topics from social media, online reviews, writing a book and referrals that I think we could explore a little bit. This will be a higher level look at those topics and maybe one day I’ll take a deeper dive into more of them.   REFERRALS So let’s start with referrals. I love talking about referrals. It’s the core of what I’ve spent the past 20 years doing. Helping professionals see the opportunities that come from a solid referral strategy. I thought I’d elaborate on the process a little here. It’s important that you get in the habit of telling people that you get most of your business from referrals. Remind people because they will forget. For those clients that you get from referral remind they regularly because they understand the value of doing business through referrals. If someone found you online, educate them on your referral process. I’m not suggesting that you pay for referrals or have any type of a contest for referrals. Personally I think that’s a little tacky. While there’s nothing wrong with sending a starbucks gift card or something like that when you receive a referral, I like to see that as a surprise, not something that is promoted. You want quality referrals, not just a referral from anyone with a license. The more you educate people on the type of clients you want to work with the more you will see that type of business referred to you. I also want to be clear about the educating people on referrals component. There’s a sleazy way to do this and a casual professional way to do this. The sleazy way is to ask for 5 names of people you can call. Ugh….I hate that and would never do something like that. I know some of you listening have done this and think it’s ok. It doesn’t work in my world. What I like is to plant the seed. Educate people and remind them, because they forget. Be casual but consistent and you will see referred business. It’s like I say on this podcast, if you like what you are hearing, please tell a friend or coworker. I’m asking for referrals, in a very subtle way. STRATEGIC PARTNERS In one of the other podcasts I produce called Business In Real Life, I did an episode on strategic partners. If you want to listen to it, I’ll link to it in the show notes, or look for the podcast and go to episode 7. You can also go to my website, selectbizteam.com and look for it there as well. That episode is about creating a marketing plan for  your strategic partners. For example, making a list of the strategic partners for your industry. As an insurance agent selling business insurance, these would include business bankers, business attorneys, CPA’s that work with businesses and financial advisors that do a lot of 401k type of business. If you are selling personal insurance, you might have realtors, mortgage professionals, financial advisors and and maybe a home builder  as your strategic partners. Start by making a list of 20 people in each profession. You could have 100 names that you are working with, but that’s ok. You’ll weed some out because they aren’t a good fit or they don’t do enough business to support the type of clients you work with. Once you’ve made your list, see who else knows them by checking LinkedIn, FB and other social platforms. Next step start inviting them to coffee. Have a list of questions you want to ask them about how they run their business and find out what types of clients they are looking for. You need to discover who they refer to , what it would take for them to refer to you and how you can best help them. Maybe you’ll offer a comprehensive review for their clients and have it approved through them before you show the client or maybe you offer to create an event together and invite a few clients to introduce to that strategic partner. The point is to start the conversation. For some, you might need to have a few, for others, you’ll only have one and for the last group you’ll find an opportunity to do something right away! The other part about working with strategic partners is tracking. This is the essential component of referral marketing. TRACKING THE DATA That’s a good segaway into talking about CRM’s. Ben brought this up in our conversation and I really think it’s worth elaborating on here. Old school, pre computers, we used 3x5 cards. We had several boxes we stored them in and made notes on them. It took a few minutes to write things out, but it was easy to take them with us, we didn’t need any electricity to make them work and the information didn't get lost in cyberspace somewhere! It was a system and I’m a big believer in systems. Today, all of that has been streamlined into the computer in the form of a CRM - client relationship management system.  Ben mentioned that a lot of agents are frustrated with the CRM their agency has so they use sticky notes, write things in a book or have an excel spreadsheet. They have several systems because there isn’t a good electronic tool to organize the sales function. When I first started using computers, I loved a program called ACT. I haven’t really found anything to replace it but their original online version was so bad that I had to move away. I’ve heard they’ve gotten better, but I’ve moved to a different platform today. Everything I do is in the cloud, so I needed something that would be mobile with me!  I’m currently using something called Zoho. I don’t love it, but it’s something I started using about 10 years ago. I went through the process of trying a lot of free programs and I must say, they didn’t have the customizing capability that I wanted. INFORMATION FOR YOUR CRM If you aren’t using a CRM or are thinking about it, I would suggest you start with an excel spreadsheet. Write out all of the data that you regularly collect on prospects. The basics like name, address, company, etc. are standard but what else are you collecting. Do you have their Date of Birth, spouses and children's names, do you collect their CPA, their financial advisor, their attorney information? I’d work with a spreadsheet for a few weeks, making sure you have all the information you want, then look for a CRM that allows you to customize the program to match your spreadsheet. A CRM is really just a glorified spreadsheet, but it also has some other features built in that make it more powerful than a spreadsheet. MANAGEMENT CRM OPPORTUNITIES From an agency principal perspective, having a good CRM is essential. Producers might come and go but having a CRM with a lot of prospect information is invaluable. Requiring your producers to use your CRM keeps all of the information in one location so that anyone can access it. If you have a producer that leaves, you’ll still be able to pursue the prospect because all of the information is in your CRM. One of the things you can do with the CRM is keep track of conversations. As an insurance agent, that’s essential and it’s also valuable for someone in sales. Your CRM should be able to identify who made the note, the date entered and allow for a follow up date to be set from that conversation. The better CRM’s will sync with your calendar and notify you each day of what tasks you need to complete. Now lets say you are tracking birthdays to send cards or call on their birthday….set the calendar in the CRM and you’ll be reminded. The right CRM will allow you to print out the calls and tasks for the day. This will keep the producer on task and not let any opportunities slip through the cracks. It also lets the agency manager see what is in the producers pipeline which can help with projections from a work flow and financial perspective. EMAIL MARKETING A good CRM will have a good email marketing component or will sync with one of the more common email platforms like Constant Contact or AWeber. You can set up ‘drip’ campaigns for prospects to stay in front of them throughout the year if you didn't win their business last time. I’ve had many people tell me that they use their google or outlook calendar to keep track of to do’s and prospects. That’s good for the individual producer but unless everyone has access to that calendar, a lot of information could get lost, so in the big picture, I don’t think thats the best route for an agency. TEST DRIVE YOUR CRM Do your research. As I mentioned in episode 29, SalesForce is a great program, but it’s not super easy to learn and can be very expensive. It can be modified to fit your business, but at a cost. HubSpot has a CRM that is free but I’d only consider that if you are a solo agency. It’s also very limited. I haven’t used the paid version so I can’t really comment on it. If you use hubspot, I’d love your feedback on the CRM tool they have available. Ask your peers what they are using. Take a test drive before you make a solid investment. Give a lot of thought to how you will use your CRM from seeing what’s in the pipeline and where the prospect is in the sales process to keeping track of strategic partners;  track your wins/losses; size of sales; marketing activities to develop the business and how many touches before you actually obtained a meeting. There’s so much data you can get from a good CRM that can help with your sales activities. Having all of this in one location allows the sales manager or the business owner great data or making decisions about managing the sales team and forecasting business. I think finding the right CRM can take awhile so if you aren’t using one now, just use the spreadsheet and try a few out before you make the big leap. This isn’t something you want to keep switching because it’s time consuming to set up and to learn to use effectively. GOOGLE MY BUSINESS Another area Ben mentioned and this was briefly, but I think its essential is online reviews. A simple place to start is Yelp and also GMB also known as Google My Business. If you haven’t set up these two accounts, please do so before the end of the week! Particularly GMB. That’s really an episode in itself. But think about it,  where do most people search….hopefully you said Google. Having your GMB account set up helps people find you easier. One of my clients is an accountant and she just moved to Delaware and will be working in both MD and Delaware. We had a conversation about GMB and the next week she set up her account in Delaware. She had 3 calls within 30 days for business in Delaware and that is the only type of advertising she did and I wouldn’t really call that advertising…..she just created her account and that’s how she was found. I would also recommend that you have your clients go to GMB and leave reviews. Unless something happens to Google, they’ll be seen there for awhile! IS THERE A BOOK IN YOUR FUTURE The last topic I want to talk about is writing a book. Stay with me….this might not be as unrealistic as you think. First of all, while it might seem like everyone is writing a book these days, there is no reason why you can’t be one of them. I mentioned in my conversation with Ben, that I use my book as a marketing tool. If I have a prospect I want to meet with, I’ll package up the book, and mail it to them with a note. ”Please enjoy and let me know what you think.’ I’ll call them a week later to make sure they received the book and then ask if I could have 5 minutes of their time to introduce myself. 80% of the time they say yes and then we take the conversation further. I was one of 5 co-authors of my book and we each had a different reason for writing it. Having a few co-authors made it easy to complete. Each of us had different tasks and the cost of production was reduced because there were several of us. So if you like the idea, consider bringing a few people together to write the book. BOOK MARKETING There’s a whole marketing strategy behind writing a book if you want to get recognized on Amazon and other book publishing platforms. If you use the book as I am, you don’t really need to worry about the marketing strategy but we were #1 Amazon best sellers for a short time! You can also use the book as a platform to get on other podcasts or as a guest blog post. Publicity is good for your agency! Wondering what would you write about….well, insurance is fairly boring so you might want to find something a little more exciting. What’s your niche in the business? Are you working with start up business owners? Companies with multiple locations? What if you wrote a book that talked about sales or marketing strategies for that specific niche? What if you wrote about leadership or HR issues? Risk management isn’t a bad idea either. I know some of this seems boring but so many people don’t know about these things. Don’t write a novel, just a small book maybe 20-50 pages. You could have it look like an ebook or you could make it odd shaped. I’m not suggesting that a book is going to make you famous, but it’s a unique way to create authority for yourself and deliver a calling card that is different than most of your competitors. SELF PUBLISHING There’s something called Create Space which is an amazon platform and you can self publish there and just order the number of books that you need. If you want to know more about any of the ideas I’ve mentioned in this episode, let me know. You’ll find people talking about referrals a lot, but CRM’s, online reviews and book publishing aren’t as mainstream! WRAP UP I’ll wrap up this episode with a thank you for listening. I hope some of the ideas got your attention. If I were to suggest you do one thing from this conversation it’s to make sure your agency has set up its GMB page. It’s simple to do. Just like you post on social media, be sure to post on your GMB page. Update the photo’s regularly too! ABOUT THE HOST This episode of the Business of Insurance is produced and hosted by Debbie DeChambeau, CIC, AAI, CPIA. Debbie is an insurance agent with an extensive business and marketing background. Her focus is helping insurance professionals be more successful. She is the co-author of Renewable Referrals and hosts two other podcasts Business In Real Life and Divorce Exposed. Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram.  Coming soon. Single and Over Sixty and Seniors We Love

If you’ve listened to Real Relationships for any length of time you know that the premise for the podcast and the business behind it is that relationships matter. It’s not just that they matter for increased business and profit, it’s that they matter for the long-haul to increase your quality of life. This episode features Nikki Beauchamp, a dynamic luxury real estate agent in New York City who has built her business on the referrals that flow out of the relationships she’s established. She’s a strong advocate for the power of relationships in building a business long-term. She and I chat about how she learned to build such cooperative relationships with her clients and what it means to make clients truly happy. You’ll enjoy hearing her perspective, on this episode. The power of relationships is seen long-term as you build a successful business. You can’t build an enduring business on a transactional approach - not without the process being harder than it needs to be. As I spoke with Nikki Beauchamp on this episode it became abundantly clear that the real power of relationships is that they progressively build a wider and wider network of connections that fuel your business through referrals, but only as you provide your first tier relationships with the service and value that places you “top of mind” in your industry. Find out how Nikki Beauchamp has done it and what you can expect to happen as you follow the same approach, on this episode. Your CRM will make no difference if you don’t first have a commitment to real relationships. Nikki Beauchamp says that she loves the software tools that help her stay connected with her clients and network, but they’d be digital dust catchers if she didn’t first have a commitment to making the power of relationships work for her business. She believes that the mindset that fuels an effective follow-up plan is key to MAKING it effective. It’s what drives consistency and enables the genuine interest in your clients to be expressed. You can discover the way Nikki Beauchamp looks at the issue of relationships as they relate to the ongoing growth of her real estate business, on this episode of Real Relationships. Be more interested in your client being happy long-term rather than the immediate transaction. Every business needs closed transactions in order to be successful. But if you focus on the transactions you’re potentially leaving a lot of future revenue on the table. The client involved in your transaction right now, or one of their friends or family members, is going to need the exact services you provide in the future. You want to serve your client during the present transaction in a way that makes you an obvious referral to those they know when that time comes. Nikki Beauchamp is a pro at building those kinds of relationships and she shares the mindset and approach she takes to build them, on this episode. You have to figure out a relationship management system that works for you. There’s no piece of software that magically creates the perfect network follow-up sequence. You’ve got to find one that fits you and the way you work. When Nikki Beauchamp found Contactually, it was the perfect system for her because she found it intuitive to the way she thinks. It’s been an instrumental part of her relationship building and maintenance systems and is one of the reasons she’s able to devote ongoing attention to her network of relationships. This conversation I had with Nikki Beauchamp is full of great relational insights so be sure you take the time to listen. Outline of this great episode [0:39] My introduction to my guest, Nikki Beauchamp [2:22] A story of client referrals that illustrates how Nikki Beauchamp builds her business. [6:00] The benefits of product knowledge when it comes to helping potential clients. [8:19] How Nikki Beauchamp has turned toward relationships in spite of feeling like an introvert. [11:53] How Nikki Beauchamp learned to build great relationships. [13:47] The process Nikki Beauchamp follows to discover if a person is a great fit to be her client. [16:15] The seeds that are planted through relational connections and how Nikki Beauchamp maintains her follow up and relationships. [22:44] What convinced Nikki Beauchamp it’s worth the time to stay connected with her network. [25:09] One piece of advice around building relationship Nikki Beauchamp wants you to know. Resources & Links mentioned in this episode Nikki’s website: http://www.nicolebeauchamp.com/ Connect with Nikki via Twitter Connect via LinkedIn Connect on Facebook

If your organization has built a patched-up partner management system by adding applications (or objects) to your existing CRM infrastructure, then it’s likely you are investing enormous resources to answer basic business questions. This is where a purpose-built partner relationship management (PRM) platform can significantly improve your business performance while reducing cost. How does it work? That’s what we will explore in this article. Until recently, most companies selling through the channel relied on automating their partner management workflow by using their existing CRM infrastructure instead of deploying partner relationship management (PRM) automation. However, when you try to manage certain program-related activities—things like marketing, lead management, incentives management, training and so on—with this kind of patched-up infrastructure, you will encounter three main problems. Lack of data flow – When you use an object-based (i.e., application-based) approach to expand your current CRM system as a PRM platform, it makes the flow of records—and therefore business intelligence—very hard to develop. This, in fact, is the fundamental reason you are not realizing your business performance, because your infrastructure is failing to give you the right information at the right time. Enormous maintenance costs – Every time you want to make any addition or change to a part of the platform, you have to worry about what components you will end up breaking. Also, limited IT resources prevent you from making the changes you need to keep moving forward as your channel evolves and changes are required. This can quickly make your organization’s channel infrastructure obsolete. Poor partner experience – If you have six different applications (yes, we have seen it) patched to an existing CRM infrastructure, it is highly likely that each of these applications have their own business logic flow and therefore different user interfaces. It becomes a nightmare for a partner to learn all these different apps. If you are reading this, nodding your head and saying, “Yes that's us, but we can never get out of this mess”—well, the reality is that you can get past the mess, provided you have courage, vision and true commitment. But how? Courage – To truly get out of the tangled web that you have woven over the years, you first need to muster organizational courage. Yes, I know. It's not easy, but the best approach is to engage multiple executive sponsors (cross-functional) and have this conversation. Lay out examples of poor partner experience, IT costs and change-management issues, but most importantly explain how these issues are affecting the organization’s ability to make the right decisions and perform at an optimal level. Vision – Once you have been able to muster executive support to start an evaluation process of what the end state could be, reach out to vendors like ZINFI and analyst firms to build a vision of what your PRM infrastructure should look like. Focus the discussion on key business questions you need to answer on a dynamic basis and the objectives you need to satisfy. Don’t get carried away looking at PRM features. Instead, begin by prioritizing key processes that are ripe for automation. Commitment – This is where a fully funded plan can make your vision a reality. When you have cultivated executive sponsorship, and you have created a vision of the end state and how it can drive profitable growth and a much better partner experience, now you need to focus on how to get there step by step. Your CRM didn’t get tangled up overnight; likewise, you can’t expect to untangle it in a quarter. Have a clear four-to-six-quarter implementation plan and then go at it in a focused manner. Once you have a migration plan to transition from your existing patched-up CRM system to a unified channel management framework using PRM, then you will need to focus on a few additional details regarding the sequence of the up...

The regular thunder::cast crew is joined by thunder::tech's Senior Director of Development Department, Bruce Williams, to discuss his recent blog post entitled “How to Get the Most Out of Your CRM.” Bruce outlines some useful tips for anyone considering investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) system or those who already have one up and running. Businesses big and small can maximize their investment and benefit greatly from a CRM to increase leads, boost closing rates and deliver superior customer service. A CRM is a unanimous purchase for most operations, so you should make every effort to get the entire team on board with your CRM and ensure that it's customized to suit the needs of everyone from the legacy sales force to brand new customer service reps. You don't want to miss this conversation covering CRM, ROI and other exciting TLAs (three-letter acronyms).

We discuss how you can leverage innovations taking place in direct mail with Daniel Gaugler, Chief Marketing Officer at PFL, a marketing technology company that provides sales enablement and marketing automation solutions for tactile marketing. You'll learn about some of the incredibly engaging new types of direct mail and how you can leverage print on demand technology and integration capabilities with marketing automation systems like Marketo and Eloqua to send affordable, high-touch direct mail items to your prospects and customers Why Direct Mail is Back in Vogue for B2B Marketing Innovations in Direct Mail Printing and Production What is Tactile Marketing and Why You Should Be Using It Ways You Can Integrate Direct Mail to Your CRM and Marketing Automation Systems

"Most dealers are using their CRM to manage customers and leads, while the more progressive dealers are using it to manage the relationship" Hunter Swift Are you and your dealership unlocking the true power of your CRM software? A CRM is so much more then a tool to enter customer information or remind a sales person to make a follow up call. Your CRM has the potential to be a marketing monster for your dealerships sales and fixed ops departments.   In this session of "The Dealer Playbook" we sit down with our friend and industry thought leader Hunter Swift. Hunter is not just a expert on auto dealer CRM best practices, he is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket. In case you do not know who DealerSocket is, they are one of the auto industries leading CRM providers.  Hunter dives right in with some easy no cost strategies and tactics dealers can execute to drive more sales and keep your service techs turning wrenches. He also discusses in detail the email  campaigns that his company's clients are getting the best results from plus some other creative yet easy ways you can pump a lot of business out of your current CRM. You have to check this out because Hunter knows his stuff!!!  The information in this episode will sell you more cars!  In this episode you will learn more about: -Successful email campaigns -Shifting sales peoples mindsets when it comes to your CRM -How to use your CRM for branding -How to use your CRM to build relationships  -Freshening up email templates -Creating automated campaigns that convert -Mining for customers in your CRM All that plus more that will help you not just get more out of your CRM tool but sell more cars, make more gross, get great CSI and build long lasting relationships with your customers.  Links and Resources mentioned in this episode: Follow Hunter Swift on Twitter for more great content to help you unlock the power of your CRM toolhttps://twitter.com/HunterSwift  Hunter's powerful article from Driving Sales Innovation Guide:http://drivingsalesinnovationguide.com/2014/04/crm-and-your-brand/ Great video from Hunter on database mining discussed in the episode:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-nK8jO0Wa4 We had a great time with Hunter Swift on this episode and hope you did as well.  Now it is your turn, leave us some feedback and let us know your thoughts or if Hunter missed anything.  Thank you again for dialing into the DPB podcast and we will see you next time!   

"Most dealers are using their CRM to manage customers and leads, while the more progressive dealers are using it to manage the relationship"  Hunter Swift Are you and your dealership unlocking the true power of your CRM software? A CRM is so much more then a tool to enter customer information or remind a sales person to make a follow up call. Your CRM has the potential to be a marketing monster for your dealerships sales and fixed ops departments.   In this session of "The Dealer Playbook" we sit down with our friend and industry thought leader Hunter Swift. Hunter is not just a expert on auto dealer CRM best practices, he is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket. In case you do not know who DealerSocket is, they are one of the auto industries leading CRM providers.  Hunter dives right in with some easy no cost strategies and tactics dealers can execute to drive more sales and keep your service techs turning wrenches. He also discusses in detail the email  campaigns that his company's clients are getting the best results from plus some other creative yet easy ways you can pump a lot of business out of your current CRM. You have to check this out because Hunter knows his stuff!!!  The information in this episode will sell you more cars! In this episode you will learn more about: -Successful email campaigns -Shifting sales peoples mindsets when it comes to your CRM -How to use your CRM for branding -How to use your CRM to build relationships  -Freshening up email templates -Creating automated campaigns that convert -Mining for customers in your CRM All that plus more that will help you not just get more out of your CRM tool but sell more cars, make more gross, get great CSI and build long lasting relationships with your customers.  Links and Resources mentioned in this episode: Follow Hunter Swift on Twitter for more great content to help you unlock the power of your CRM tool https://twitter.com/HunterSwift Hunter's powerful article from Driving Sales Innovation Guide: http://drivingsalesinnovationguide.com/2014/04/crm-and-your-brand/ Great video from Hunter on database mining discussed in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-nK8jO0Wa4 We had a great time with Hunter Swift on this episode and hope you did as well.  Now it is your turn, leave us some feedback and let us know your thoughts or if Hunter missed anything.  Thank you again for dialing into the DPB podcast and we will see you next time! 

http://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/podcast http://MakeEverySale.com * How to get the name of the economic decision-maker and how to get them at the final meeting, why you should ignore budgets * Great sales training helps grow sales but few companies provide great sales training * The four quadrants * Growth * Trouble * Even Keel * Overconfident * Sick and tired, sales are flat * Find those who have hit rock bottom * HubSpot has a report on selling in a pandemic * Email is picking up but engagement is dropping * So get back on the phone * Send personalized emails * Send drunk emails ( ../../../blog/jon-buchan-drunk-email ) * Send video emails ( ../../../blog/ethan-beute ) * The four personas you need in a startup * Visionary * Hacker * Designer * Hustler > > Decision-making units are getting larger so get smarter in your sales." * Relax * Seek to serve * Listen * "Tell me a time when..." Get all of the episodes and notes here ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast ). Join The Five ( https://info.thesaleswhisperer.com/thefive ) to make every sale. * We can't delete fast enough * Emails are horrible * Differentiate yourself * Have the desire to be just a little bit better * Your CRM spitting out form emails won't save you * Authenticity goes a long way Get all of the show notes for every episode of The Sales Podcast ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/podcasts/ ) with Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer® ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/ ). Use these resources to grow your sales: * Sell More This Month ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/30-day-sales-growth ) * Hire Better Salespeople ( https://talentgenius.simplybook.me/v2/ ) * Hire The Best Keynote Speaker ( https://www.wesschaeffer.com/ ) * Find Your Best CRM ( https://info.thesaleswhisperer.com/best-crm-quiz ) * Join the Free Facebook Group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/theimplementors/ ) Check out early episodes of The Sales Podcast: * Episodes 1 to 10 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-one-to-ten ). * Episodes 11 to 20 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/the-sales-podcast-episodes-11-20 ). * Episodes 21 to 30 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-21-30 ). * Episodes 31 to 40 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-31-40 ). * Episodes 41 to 50 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-41-50 ). Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-sales-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

http://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/podcast http://MakeEverySale.com * Make it easy for your buyers to buy * "Don't start a CRM company. The ocean always needs boiling." * What feature do you not need? * Salesforce won't let you delete more than one opportunity at a time * Most customers don't know what their own problems are * Salespeople can't follow a process * Salesforce is the safe decision but the worst, usually * "Let me guess. Is this one of your problems? > > Find the root cause of the customer's problem." * If they say what they want they don't want to listen * Prospects who don't listen just want a quote * Acknowledge they are experts in their own businesses * "What risks are you worried about?" * Lead with examples. Show them you have experience and expertise in their space. * "I've read a lot about your company and your situation, is this your problem?" * A well-educated guess will get you a long way down the sales process * Personal rapport goes a long way...but it only goes so far * Check in with the customer and ask them what they need to buy * Stop focusing 100% on your sales process and checkboxes * Make it easy for them to look good in their own organization * Your internal champion is putting their neck on the line * Provide them cover * Ask them... > > When was the last time you signed a PO of this size?" * Real decision makers say "I bring in my team and bounce ideas off them." * Share your plan with your prospect once you know what's going on and they are qualified * Reduce their risk * Have a good sales cadence merged with your sales engagement and CRM and challenge them on their current mode of business * Show them they are horribly wrong * "When was the last time your sales rep said 'Guaranteed closed by the end of the month.'?" * "I bet you're missing your forecasts...and I know why." * You know the underlying of their pain * Use a multi-media, multi-step engagement plan to touch on multiple points over time until you find the hot button * Focus on the process before login ( https://info.thesaleswhisperer.com/process-before-login-offer ) * Have dates on milestones * AEs vs. SDR quota * "No buyer ever argued with clear expectations." Get all of the episodes and notes here ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast ). Join The Five ( https://info.thesaleswhisperer.com/thefive ) to make every sale. * We can't delete fast enough * Emails are horrible * Differentiate yourself * Have the desire to be just a little bit better * Your CRM spitting out form emails won't save you * Authenticity goes a long way Get all of the show notes for every episode of The Sales Podcast ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/podcasts/ ) with Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer® ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/ ). Use these resources to grow your sales: * Sell More This Month ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/30-day-sales-growth ) * Hire Better Salespeople ( https://talentgenius.simplybook.me/v2/ ) * Hire The Best Keynote Speaker ( https://www.wesschaeffer.com/ ) * Find Your Best CRM ( https://info.thesaleswhisperer.com/best-crm-quiz ) * Join the Free Facebook Group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/theimplementors/ ) Check out early episodes of The Sales Podcast: * Episodes 1 to 10 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-one-to-ten ). * Episodes 11 to 20 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/the-sales-podcast-episodes-11-20 ). * Episodes 21 to 30 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-21-30 ). * Episodes 31 to 40 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-31-40 ). * Episodes 41 to 50 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-41-50 ). Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-sales-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Get all of the episodes and notes here ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/topic/the-sales-podcast ). Join The Five ( https://info.thesaleswhisperer.com/thefive ) to make every sale. * We can't delete fast enough * Emails are horrible * Differentiate yourself * Have the desire to be just a little bit better * Your CRM spitting out form emails won't save you * Authenticity goes a long way Get all of the show notes for every episode of The Sales Podcast ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/podcasts/ ) with Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer® ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/ ). Use these resources to grow your sales: * Sell More This Month ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/30-day-sales-growth ) * Hire Better Salespeople ( https://talentgenius.simplybook.me/v2/ ) * Hire The Best Keynote Speaker ( https://www.wesschaeffer.com/ ) * Find Your Best CRM ( https://info.thesaleswhisperer.com/best-crm-quiz ) * Join the Free Facebook Group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/theimplementors/ ) Check out early episodes of The Sales Podcast: * Episodes 1 to 10 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-one-to-ten ). * Episodes 11 to 20 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/the-sales-podcast-episodes-11-20 ). * Episodes 21 to 30 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-21-30 ). * Episodes 31 to 40 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-31-40 ). * Episodes 41 to 50 ( https://www.thesaleswhisperer.com/blog/sales-podcast-episodes-41-50 ). Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-sales-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy