Russell Lookadoo, a Fractional Chief HR Officer, talks about the challenges small business owners face in hiring and managing staff. Russell shares insights on the importance of emotional connection in leadership, the pain points of hiring, and the need for clear communication and strategic planning. He emphasizes the significance of understanding one's ideal client profile and the necessity of creating a supportive work environment that fosters growth and innovation.

Email Russell to continue the conversation.

Connect with Jay

Email me at jay.kingley@fractionalmaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Marley Wagner discusses the evolving landscape of customer engagement and marketing strategies in B2B companies. They discuss the importance of retaining existing customers, the challenges of communication between marketing and customer success teams, and the need for a cohesive digital engagement strategy. Marley shares insights on identifying pain points, the significance of product-market fit, and the steps companies can take to improve customer retention and engagement. The conversation highlights the urgency for businesses to adapt to changing customer expectations and the competitive landscape.

Email Marley to continue the conversation.

Connect with Jay

Email me at jay.kingley@fractionalmaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Ben Wolf, founder and CEO of Wolfs Edge Integrators provides fractional Integrators and COOs to growing mid-market companies. Ben's focus is on building a roster of team-first Integrators to serve clients. Ben provides deep insight into the challenge the solo fractional COOs face in building their business and how Wolfs Edge Integrators solves the business development challenge. He also shares his move from an independent contractor model to one of partnership.

Email Ben at bwolf@wolfsedgeintegrators.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

Nabeel Ahmad of Changeforce.AI believes that "Empathy, or lack thereof, is the big reason why organizations fail to change or be successful at it." Companies are often very good at defining what needs to change but are far less accomplished about how to do it. Nabeel observes that there is a lot more information, emphasis and even success on personal change than on larger organizational efforts. He offers the surprising observation that measuring change more often, say from annually to quarterly, will speed up the rate of change. Nabeel provides a 5 step implementation process for any organization trying to orchestrate one or more change efforts. Listen to the end to hear about the details of his gift for our listeners.

Show highlights

01:29 Implementing change within an organization is much more of a struggle for organizations than individuals

02:45 Empathy is in short supply

04:35 The strategic planning process often gets in the way of effective change

08:35 How you speed up change and make it more effective

11:34 Prioritization makes the difference - you probably can't do them all at the same time

15:52 Effective change requires engaging and listening to employees

20:04 5 key steps to implement a successful change initiative

24:46 Learn about Nabeel. Email Nabeel at nabeel@changeforce.ai

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Robyn Bolton of MileZero states, "Innovation is a leadership problem and that is a very uncomfortable truth to recognize." Most leaders recognize the importance of innovation but they are dragged back by their compensation to focus on the next quarter or at best fiscal year. Innovation must be looked at like an investment rather than a one-off event. Most organizations are not set up to innovate effectively so step 1 is to acknowledge where you are on your journey. Robyn points out that public companies who are recognized as innovation leaders often get a 90% stock market premium compared to those who are not. Robyn takes us through what an organization needs to do to create a culture of innovation. Listen to the end to hear the details of a very special gift she is offering our listeners.

Show highlights

02:13 Innovation is fostered or destroyed by leadership not ideas

04:17 It's a myth you need an innovative leader to have an innovative organization

05:35 How you resolve the tension between innovation and your short-term financial objectives

07:33 Innovation is a long term investment not a short term event

08:52 Benefits to leaders who drive innovation

13:33 What you need to do to create a culture of innovation

16:58 Learn about Robyn. Email Robyn at robyn@milezero.io

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Toi B. James of RedInk Enterprises argues persuasively that without Belonging, DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) programs will miss the mark on impact. "Culture is not what you say it is. Culture is dictated by the collective.", Toi explains. Employees must feel valued. You want your staff to say "I like what I do and I like working here". It is only with this attitude that you will get the most out of your employees. And belonging is what gives each member of an organization a purpose and sense of ownership. Toi explains in detail what a business owner needs to do to successfully implement a DEI&B program. Listen to the end to take advantage of her free gift.

Show highlights

01:50 DEI only goes so far without Belonging

03:24 Belonging is what gives each employee a sense of purpose and ownership in the organization

05:04 The business case for Belonging

06:32 How to implement a DEI&B program

07:58 What actions must a leader demonstrate for the organization to take this initiative seriously

10:35 How the decision maker benefits from instituting a DEI&B program

15:19 Learn about Toi. Email Toi at contact @redinkenterprises.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Hugh Gallagher of the Gallagher Search Group advocates businesses should structure and manage their recruiting function like they would a sales team. Staff recruiting with go getters who are high performers, incentivize them like you would your sales people, and watch the talent roll in. Hugh looks at recruiting as a production function not a support role. He makes a compelling case for changing how you do recruiting. He doesn't believe that recruiting should always be under HR. Consider putting it in the line organization. Hugh leaves us with the key steps to implement a production driven recruiting function.

Show highlights

03:16 The problem with recruiting is that it needs to be treated as a production role; not as an HR support function

05:08 Manage and incentivize your recruiting like you would manage and incentivize your sales team

07:53 How you build a high performing recruiting function inside a big organization

09:02 Managing a high performing recruiting team requires metrics, incentive compensation, and the right type of person for the role

10:28 Benefits of structuring your recruiting function as a production rather than support group

14:45 What you do to implement a production-based recruiting organization

17:13 Learn about Hugh. Email Hugh at hugh@gallaghergroup.us or call him at +1.610.246.7400.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Caleb Sinn of Social Bloom talks about how many high volume (needs hundreds to thousands and beyond of clients) businesses are getting their outbound marketing totally wrong. They've been fed a line from so many lead gen firms that you should only expect a 0.5% conversion rate while Caleb believes the bar should be 8 times that or 4%. Too many high volume businesses are using low ROI spray and pray marketing campaigns and they aren't coming close to maximizing their potential. Caleb provides 6 specific steps you need to take to get your lead generation program where it needs to be.

Show highlights

02:19 What outbound marketing techniques should high volume businesses use

03:58 You do get results from Spray & Pray but the ROI is often very low

04:57 The difference between 0.5% and 4% conversion rates

06:47 Why lead gen companies will tell you to be happy with campaigns that convert at 0.5%

07:26 Benefits from doing outbound marketing effectively

08:50 6 steps to implement an effective outbound marketing program

10:40 Learn about Caleb. Email Caleb at caleb@socialbloom.org

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Lisa Perry of Perry Consulting starts by asking what makes a company want to choose you? It all comes down to your brand and what is going to make a customer choose your brand over a competitor's. Lisa is emphatic that doing a lot of marketing activity not connected by a well thought out strategy will lead to a brand that will fail to resonate. She states that 90% of consumers don't feel a strong loyalty to a brand which she believes is a great opportunity. Lisa gives 4 steps to help you hyperfocus your brand on what makes you unique for your customers.

Show highlights

02:29 Tactics disconnected to a strategy drive too much of a company's marketing activities

04:20 Key elements of your branding strategy

05:43 What is a brand?

07:06 Hyperfocus your brand on your uniqueness

09:54 4 things that make customers choose your brand

13:19 Implementing an effective brand strategy

15:35 Learn about Lisa. Email Lisa at perryllisa@gmail.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

When you're everything to everybody, you're nothing to nobody. Dr. Tracey Jones of Tremendous Leadership sings the praises of focus in your business and in your life. Citing many authors and motivational speakers throughout our interview, Tracey lays out the case that being successful requires focus. Focus is what puts fire in your belly and gives you resilience. She provides 3 key things you need to do to achieve focus. Listen to the end to find out what resources Tracey will share with you to help you get there if you reach out.

Show highlights

02:06 When you're everything to everybody, you're nothing to nobody

05:48 If you suffer from mission drift, you aren't going to be successful.

07:27 How you get focused

10:44 Focus puts fire in your belly

17:07 3 steps you can take to get more focused in your business and in your life

22:06 Learn about Tracey. Email Tracey at tjones@tremendousleadership.com or call at +1.717.701.8159

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Will Dukes of Sales Partners Florida argues that bringing in revenues requires you look at your marketing and sales activities like a campaign. Answer the questions, "What am I trying to sell" and "Whom am I trying to sell it to" and then develop a campaign targeted to do that. Will advises that you have to act with intention not randomly in coordinating all your sales and marketing activities. He provides a 5 step approach to building a campaign for your sales activities. Listen to the end for his gift to understand how growing up as a farmer has informed his work in sales.

Show highlights

01:22 Branding, marketing, sales, and retention are different parts of the same process.

04:34 When it comes to getting new clients, you need to think about all your activities as a campaign

07:40 Act with intention, not randomly

11:37 Benefits from using a campaign approach to marketing and sales

19:25 5 steps to follow to implement a campaign approach to client acquisition

24:39 Learn about Will and what farming has to do with it. Email Will at willd@spfla.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Laura Templeton of 30 Second Success shares the underutilized concept of Workforce Marketing. Laura recommends arming your employees with the right message so they can represent you to all of the stakeholders they come in contact with - on and off the job. In addition to new customers, your current employees can play a key role in attracting new talent to your organization. Laura explains why so many client and employee referrals programs often fall short of expectations. She gives 4 steps on how to implement an impactful workforce marketing program. Listen to the end to find out the details of Laura's gift for our listeners.

Show highlights

02:44 Look at all your employees as part of your marketing team

03:59 The story of how a forensic accountant represented her employer to a potential customer

05:58 How to tap into your employees as resources for your marketing

07:16 Benefits from implementing a workforce marketing program

08:42 Impact on recruiting talent

10:31 How to implement a workforce marketing culture

14:16 Learn about Laura. Email Laura at laura@30secondsucces.com. Book a time to talk with her at http://calendly.com/30secondsuccess/30min.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Mac McKeon of MacguyverTech emphasizes that protecting your business from cyber criminals and hackers is a continuous ongoing activity not a one-time or annual task. Hackers are getting more sophisticated all the time, including using Artificial Intelligence. Mac states that it's not uncommon to get 500 - 600 hack attempts per day! This is an ongoing war with no detente in sight. Small businesses are attractive targets for hackers because they lack the defenses and vigilance found in larger enterprises. You need both systems and procedures for your people to have effective cybersecurity defenses. Listen to the end to hear why Mac's email signature mentions a big funeral.

Show highlights

02:43 Cybersecurity is a continuous not one-off process

05:21 By the time you realize you've been hacked, the criminals have been in your systems for 6 months

06:16 Small businesses can be more attractive, that is easier, targets than larger enterprises

10:06 Hackers are using social engineering to attack the weakest part of a company's defenses: the people

18:44 3 key steps to reduce the risk of getting damaged by a cyber attack

20:21 Insurance that doesn't insure

22:46 Learn about Mac. Email Mac at mac@macguyvertech.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

... so why are you still doing them?

95% of fractional executives base their sales process on starting with a discovery call or conversation. How do you know if your prospect has one or more issues that you can help them with if you don’t ask? Whether you must do a discovery conversation depends on your level of genius or as the lawyers like to call it your intellectual property.

Fractionals with insight and wisdom don’t do discovery conversations because they don’t need to discover. Prospects engage with these fractionals to discover the truth as to why they are in pain or why an opportunity seems out of reach. In this discovery conversation, the prospect learns from the fractional the path forward allowing them to go from squalor and misery to prosperity and success.

If you have insight or wisdom, then stop doing discovery calls and start helping those in your target market discover what’s holding them back. Every time you do a discovery call, you are telling your prospect you’re average.

Connect with Jay

Email me at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com to set up a conversation to discuss your gap and if it is large enough what you can do to close it. Also email me if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Andrea Featherston of Featherston Strategies admonishes that perfectionism kills opportunity particularly when it comes to launching a new product. She advises to look at product launch as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event. You need to collect a lot of data during launch so you know what you need to improve on a go forward basis. Andrea provides the 4 key steps you need to follow to successfully launch your new product or service. Listen to the end to get a gift she's offering our listeners.

Show highlights

03:02 Getting a new product or service to market is a journey not a one-time event

04:07 Perfectionism kills opportunity

07:34 The right product launch process will give you a lot of data to help you improve your results

11:38 4 steps to follow to launch your new product or service

14:12 Learn about Andrea. Email Andrea at andrea@featherstonstrategies.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Guy Powell of ProRelevant is famous for winning a large bet with an airline executive that every aspect of the effectiveness of marketing could be measured quantitatively. Guy won his $5 because he never claimed it could be measured for free. But he makes a critical point that the return on investment of allocating some of your marketing budget to measuring its effectiveness is astronomical. In this episode of the Best Kept Secret Guy shares the 4 steps to implement a marketing effectiveness program and why any CMO who wants to keep their job needs to put this front and center of a company's marketing efforts.

Show highlights

03:13 The challenge to taking a data driven approach to marketing effectiveness

04:43 You can measure anything you do in marketing if you're willing to spend the time and money

06:59 How to measure the effectiveness of your marketing

10:58 The explosion of data requires sophisticated analytical methods including machine learning and artificial intelligence

11:55 The return on investment from marketing effectiveness studies can be phenomenal

15:30 Avoiding the embarrassment of failing in full view of the public

17:23 4 steps to implement a marketing effectiveness program

21:16 Learn about Guy. Email Guy at gpowell@prorelevant.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Joshua Goldberg of Nath, Goldberg & Myers enlightens us on why it takes so long to get a patent improved and on a little known secret that can cut the decision time from 2-4 years to 1 year. The cost to take advantage of this program by the USPTO is only a few thousands of dollars and you have to fill out the expedited application by the book and perfectly execute the process or it will get tossed out. But if you're a company, either established or venture backed, and establishing ownership of your intellectual property is critical to your success, then the return on your investment will be off the charts.

Show highlights

03:18 It can take 2-4 years to get a patent approved and in that time you risk have the technology move on

04:49 Why it takes so long to get a patent approved

06:24 You can get your patent approved in only 1 years if you know the secret

09:20 Why it's worthwhile to pay the small fee to accelerate the decision making process

14:54 Wha you need to do to accelerate the patent approval process

18:28 Learn about Joshua. Email Joshua at jgoldberg@nathlaw.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

John Christie of Tab Eastern Kansas makes a persuasive argument that the customer experience must be at the center of your Business DNA. You have to start with knowing what your clients want before you can deliver an experience and service that will keep them around. John warns you can't guess what your clients want and there is no substitute for one-to-one conversations with your customers. John lays out exactly how you do that and then gives 4 steps you need to follow to create an amazing customer experience.

Show highlights

02:50 Why customer service is so hard to get right

03:43 What you need to know to deliver great customer service

05:58 How to find out what your customers want

08:37 You learn from every customer interaction you have

10:02 Customer service drives customer satisfaction and employee retention

13:50 A great customer experience creates a positive business ecosystem

15:10 4 primary steps to create the right customer experience for your entire business.

17:34 Learn about John. Email John at johnchristie@tabeasternks.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Lee Barnathan of LB Communications is fed up with all the poor copy on websites. His research indicates that 95% of all website copy is focused on features, functions, and here's what we do. But Lee succinctly points out that if you want to get business from your website you got to talk in the language of your target market's pain points and what you do to get rid of that pain and get them the results they are looking for. He reminds us that your customers are listening to radio station WIIFM so you better communicate on that same bandwidth: What's In It For Me! Listen to the end for a compelling gift Lee is offering our listeners.

Show highlights

02:02 Why the copy on 95% of all websites is written so poorly that it hurts results

02:47 The invasion of the computer bots

04:10 When you sound average, the only things that matters to the buyer is price.

06:08 What's in your head is only with copy that is written from your customers' perspective.

07:54 The impact of compelling copy

10:52 Use this 4 stage persuasive marketing framework to improve your website copy.

12:57 Learn about Lee. Email Lee at lee@leebarnathan.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Brandon Rollins, founder of the Pangea Marketing Agency, is adamant that marketing is there to generate revenue and not masquerade as a cost of doing business. You've got to measure your metrics and critically evaluate marketing efforts that aren't generating a sufficiently high Return On Investment. Brandon likes using the cost of client conversion as his go to metric. He recommends at least a 5 to 1 return if not more on any marketing initiative. Brandon lays out a 5 step program to implement a successful marketing program. Listen to the end to find out the details of a valuable gift he's offering our listeners.

Show highlights

02:06 Why you can't look at marketing as a cost of doing business

04:14 How you need to think about marketing to be sure you get a return on your spend

06:51 Cost per conversion is a key metric you should use in evaluating your marketing spend

08:03 Why you should take an objective look at the return on your marketing spend

11:32 5 steps to implement a successful marketing program

14:51 Learn about Brandon. Email Brandon at brandonrollins1@gmail.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Wesleyne Greer of Transformed Sales argues that hiring the person with the best sales skills will always win out over the sales person who has the most industry experience. It's easier to learn a new product than it is to learn how to sell. Wesleyne observes that a great salesperson can't overcome a poor product but you can't save a poor salesperson with a great product either. Wesleyne offers a 3 step solution to finding the right salespeople for your company. Listen to the end for a special gift she's offering our listeners.

Show highlights

01:43 Businesses are making the mistake of prioritizing industry experience over sales expertise

03:19 Despite promises, it's rare when a salesperson can bring their book of business with them to their new employer

04:07 Win by teaching your product to a strong salesperson

05:20 A great salesforce cannot overcome a mediocre product. And a mediocre salesforce can fall short of the potential of a great product.

6:44 Strong sales skills will outperform industry knowledge every day

10:24 The 3 steps you must follow to hire the right salespeople

12:50 Learn about Wesleyne. Email Wesleyne at wgreer@transformedsales.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Email jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com to learn more about Centricity and the Best Kept Secret show.

Frank Olivo of Sagapixel dropped a real truth bomb in telling us that the objective of an effective SEO campaign is to generate qualified traffic not any traffic. And you can't do that without first really nailing the profile of your target market and what you want them to do when they come to your website. Frank provides a compelling case study showing how effective a quality over quantity approach to SEO can be. He then gives us a 4 step implementation process to get the SEO results you are looking for.

Show highlights

02:19 SEO should focus on getting qualified traffic not any traffic

03:22 Searches with intent or quality traffic is more important than how much traffic

04:28 Start with your target customers and what their problems are

07:59 Is SEO a once and done process?

10:38 The benefits from prioritizing quality over quantity

14:46 4 steps to implement an SEO program

17:29 Learn about Frank.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Rob Bovarnick, lead partner of Bovarnick and Associates gives the inside view on how a business owner can get the most out of their outside corporate attorney. Rob advises that you should look at your outside corporate counsel in the same way as you do your Primary Care Physician. A healthy dose of prevention punctuated with necessary assignments when problems arise. As Rob observes, when it comes to your relationship with your business attorney, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Show highlights

02:15 Too often lawyers are the Department of No

03:04 It works better when you contact your lawyer sooner rather than later

04:31 Your corporate attorney is the equivalent of your primary care physician for your business

05:50 How often should you meet with your outside corporate attorney?

07:51 What's up with that 6 minute billing increment?

11:34 How to find and retain a fractional general counsel for your business

14:05 Learn about Rob Bovarnick. Email Rob at rmb@rbovarnick.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called The Guide To Getting The Right Clients At The Right Time. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

If a small business owner wants to grow their business, they have to rethink how they're going to approach marketing and get out of the marketing lane, emphasizes Reb Risty, founder and CEO of REBL Marketing.

Marketing is getting more complex and it's hard to know every single platform and type of marketing and tool and strategy. Being able to bring in knowledge and talent on a fractional basis to fill those gaps for you is essential to having a successful marketing function. The range of expertise that you’ll need to market your business successfully is too broad and dynamic for a small business to have an internal team of full-time staff do it well. The W2 full time employment model is not agile and nimble enough to work for a small business.

Risty recommends that small businesses bring in a fractional CMO to take point and manage the appropriate specialists on a contract and project basis. Flexible working relationships are what the talent wants and the business can afford.

Listen to the end for a special gift Reb is offering our listeners that will help you get your marketing on track.

Show highlights

01:50 Why business owners overwhelmed by marketing

03:23 Complexity is driving the need for marketing specialists hired on a fractional basis

04:36 Marketing is following the medical model of a Primary Care Physician plus a wide variety of specialists as needed

07:55 Creating the right type of marketing team for your business

10:29 The traditional W2 employment model isn't nimble and agile enough for the marketing needs of small businesses

14:34 The talent economy for marketing

17:22 Learn about Reb. Email her at reb@reblmarketing.com. Call her at +1.858.848.7325

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Ross Stockdale works with SMB B2B service companies as a fractional CMO to help them grow profitably in 12 months or less. His approach is to take owners out of the marketing seat and into the investor seat. Ross's formula for success is Leadership + Strategy = Growth. Ross believes that marketing a business is about communicating to clients and prospects where they are, not where you are. Adapting the messaging, target audience, offer, and service to the market works better than wishing the market would bend to your will.

Email Ross at j.ross.stockdale@gmail.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

“You need to mandate end point protection for all remote users if you are going to protect yourself from being hacked”, recommends Steve Ferman of Etegrity.  In 2018, the odds of suffering a data breach were 1 out of 4 and 80% of companies aren’t prepared.  Using a multilevel approach to security for your core IT infrastructure isn’t enough if a hacker can get access via your remote workers because they don’t have end point protection in place.

Steve also observes that most hackers aren’t targeting your business specifically but they are scanning a long list of IP addresses to see where it is easy to get in. It doesn’t matter whether you have 5 or 5,000 employees, you’re just a random IP address.

Simple, preventative measures can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars and keep your company from ruin. Steps that Steve recommends include MFA or multi factor authentication and MDM or mobile device management.  When it comes to passwords, Steve suggests a 3 step approach: require strong passwords, use applications like LastPass, or Keeper to secure your passwords and help you remember them, and force your users to change their passwords every 30 to 45 days.

Listen to the end to get the details of a gift that Steve is offering our audience.

Show highlights

01:36 End point protection for remote users helps prevent data breaches

02:56 Who's vulnerable to hacking and data breaches

04:06 What you need to do to protect your business from hackers and bad actors

04:55 The cost you'll pay if you don't protect your IT infrastructure

07:15 What steps a small business needs to take to adequately protect themselves from hackers

09:55 Learn about Steve. Email Steve at steve.ferman@etegrity.net or call him at +1.973.698.3511

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

“Local news is not dying, it's evolving” states Michael Shapiro of TAPinto.  There are thousands of towns that have no local newspaper or local news site.  What's replacing them are Facebook groups and forums and the equivalent filled with misinformation, disinformation, and rumors.  Michael believes that this is undermining our democracy and causing a lot of problems throughout the whole country. The solution is to create a sustainable, scalable model for local news to serve every single town in the country.

For Michael, the key is creating a network of individually owned and operated local news sites where they can share content with each other seamlessly. They can sell advertising for each other seamlessly. Advertisers, whether local, regional, or national, have one point of contact that they need to deal with who can help them market across the country.

“You can create a profitable local news site or even a mini network of local news sites and have high return on investment with little overhead”, observes Michael. You want people coming back to your site every single day. You do that by providing original local news content that they can't get anywhere else, and doing it every single day for the residents of your town or your area.

Show highlights

02:15 Local news is a scalable business but it must be objective

02:56 What is local news?

04:34 Church vs. State in today's local news environment

06:15 What does the local news business model of the future look like?

07:54 The economics of the local news business

11:42 Learn about Michael Shapiro on his and TAPinto's story. Email Michael at mshapiro@tapinto.net or call him at +1.908.370.1158.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com.

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

One topical area that most people ignore to their detriment are Force Majeure clauses in their agreements which specify the rights and obligations of the parties when an "act of God" happens. War, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and pandemics can all be covered or not. Whether you have to deliver and pay or have an out in a contract can be determined by how that part of your contract is drafted.

James points out that contracts are legal agreements and how they are drafted and the words that are used matter greatly, particularly when one of the parties decides things are unfair after it is signed. While many think they have insurance to cover unforeseen incidents, many times the insurance won't cover or has an exclusion. James advocates that business owners should consider a yearly attorney review of all of their business agreements as a cheap extension of your business insurance.

Show highlights

02:27 Why business interruption insurance won't cover damages from pandemics

04:25 Force Majeure - what is it and why you should care

06:19 How a business owner should think about vendor management

08:00 Benefits to a business from properly managing their vendor agreements

10:37 3 steps to implementing an effective vendor management system

11:35 Learn about James and MPL Law. Email James at JSanders@MPL-Law.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Content isn’t king when it comes to doing SEO for your website says Marc Brookland of SEO Locale. There are a lot of factors like your backlink profile, how many trustworthy websites that you have that are talking about you and linking back to you, your on-page SEO, title tags, meta tags, headings, your internal linking strategy, and many more besides.  SEO is no longer a game that casual amateurs can win at.

Marc points out that even large companies, like Hubspot, sometimes get it wrong.  They had to delete over 3,000 outdated blogs on their website to reverse a traffic decline.  A robust SEO program considering a wide range of factors is often essential to being able to withstand the frequent changes Google makes to its algorithms. 

Comprehensive keyword research and competitor analysis is fundamental to creating an effective SEO strategy. Marc suggests a free tool you can use to do this work yourself.  Listen to the end for how to claim his gift of a free technical audit for your website.

Show highlights

01:55 Content isn't king when it comes to website SEO

02:43 What is important if you want to rank high on Google

07:23 Surviving a Google core algorithm update

08:48 Getting nailed by a Google algorithm change

11:15 Implementing an effective SEO strategy

12:48 The importance of competitor analysis when doing SEO

13:35 Learn about Marc. Email Marc at marc@seolocale.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Reggie Holmes of Enthuse Creative cuts to the chase saying, “business owners and business leaders tend to think of their brand as something that ultimately serves them as opposed to something that serves their customers.”  Reggie argues that your brand needs to speak to your customers and isn’t about you or your business.

There is a big difference between how a brand is expressed and how it is experienced.  While you’ll come up with the initial definition of your brand, you're inviting other people to help shape and share it. The market is going to have more of a say in what your brand is relative to anything you put down on paper.

Reggie advocates creating a brand that your marketplace can connect with because it leads to faster growth.  He feels that tying your brand to a purpose is a way to do this. Customers desire to connect to something that's bigger than themselves. Of course customers are looking for an answer to a problem, but they also want to connect at a much deeper, more human level. 

Reggie walks through the case of Dove soap to show how a purpose driven brand can have a large impact on the financial performance of a business. He then discusses how even a small business can replicate Dove’s brand strategy.

Show highlights

01:32 Business owners think of their brand as something that serves them as opposed to something that serves their customers.

03:41 Your brand is a dialogue

05:13 Difference between how your brand is expressed versus how it is experienced

06:46 Your brand should be about connection and driven by purpose

09:42 The Dove Soap case study

14:54 What you need to do to create a customer centric brand

17:06 Learn about Reggie. Email Reggie at reggie@enthusecreative.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

“You can’t serve clients without a clear direction or process,” counsels Susan Fennema, the Chief Eradicating Officer of Beyond The Chaos. Too often we think putting processes in place is a burden. The reality is that having the right processes in place sets you free.  It doesn’t weigh you down but allows you to be nimble and agile.

Bureaucracy when it’s done right is not our enemy of getting things done. Susan points out that it’s a tool to get rid of things that are repeated.  Importantly, it allows you to focus on serving your clients and not getting caught up in things that others can do better than you.

Susan advises business owners to write down the tasks they do and put a pay rate on each task to determine if it should be outsourced to a cheaper resource. Often times you can bring in a person for 5 - 10 hours a week to handle the getting organized tasks rather than need a full time resource.

Susan makes the compelling point that putting more effort into something that lacks structure and process could end up making things worse not better.  Without proper organization, structure, and process, you’re not running your business, it’s running you.

Show highlights

02:22 The right process doesn't weigh you down, it allows you to be nimble

03:20 Bureaucracy when it’s done right is not our enemy of getting things done

04:38 What's the pay grade on the tasks that you, the business owner, are doing?

07:14 Putting effort into something that lacks structure and process could end up making things worse

10:47 2 things you need to do to get organized

12:14 Learn about Susan. Email her at susan@beyondthechaos.biz

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

“Know what you want it to deliver up front and then build the program to get you to where you want to be.” advises Shelia Steinmark a marketing experience expert at MOGXP.  Operations and logistics are key to executing an experiential marketing program.  Shelia’s emphatic that you have to stop looking at pretty pictures and start paying attention to consumer engagement.

Marketing that works for awareness often doesn’t change consumer buying behavior. It’s no surprise that being authentic in your marketing is critical but she points out that you have to align your cause marketing efforts to what your company stands for and what your customers care about.

Shelia advises doing a day in the life of a customer and figuring out what and when they want to hear from you. She recommends creating a throughput model and using that to determine your tactics. The model should address how many people you’re going to touch, how you’re going to touch them, what type of engagement you’re going to offer, and the value of your program. 

Listen to the end to hear her 6 steps to implement an effective experiential marketing program. She’s got a gift to offer those who reach out.

Show highlights

02:12 Buying habits change by bringing a consumer and brand together not because of pretty pictures

03:02 You need to build a throughput model to determine the tactics of your experiential marketing program

05:29 Stop looking at pretty pictures and start paying attention to consumer engagement

06:16 Know what you want your program to deliver and then build your program to get you to where you want to be

11:35 6 steps to implement a proper experiential marketing program

14:04 Shelia's story. Email Shelia at shelia@mogxp.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay (jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com)

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Clicky AND Sticky not Clicky OR Sticky. Brad Schlachter, a fractional CMO now with Simpler Media Group, advises not to get caught up in vanity metrics that drive clicks at the expense of getting your traffic to engage and convert.  Startups and other rapidly growing companies often fall into the trap of scaling traffic rather than customers. Growing your vanity metrics isn’t the same as growing your revenues.

To obtain long term success you must focus on scaling the right customers, not just any customers. You have to consider not just the initial revenues, but margin, retention, engagement, satisfaction, among other metrics.  Brad emphasizes the need for every CEO and CMO to keep their eye on the prize, growth in profitable revenues for your business.

There is no magic formula or playbook to get there so the key is to fail quickly and learn rapidly. Experimentation is critical as is the need to be nimble and agile. Brad shares that based on how well you have alignment with the management team, and outside investors if you’ve gone down that path, it should take you weeks to months to figure out what works and then you should put money behind the effort to build the scale you need.

As a gift, Brad shares what OTT means and offers a white paper he wrote on that industry.

Show highlights

01:13 Sticky and clicky is what so many companies are missing out on. Don't be vain!

03:39 Focus on the right kind of conversions

06:30 A process of failing quickly and learning rapidly

08:24 Setting expectations and achieving alignment with management and outside investors

12:04 How long until you see results?

15:08 Brad's story. Email Brad at bschlachter64@gmail.com

16:59. What's a fractional executive and how are they different from consultants?

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

There's probably only one thing that contributes the most to making a business remarkable, either remarkably good or remarkably bad. It's an obvious one, but it can be tricky to get right.

The customer experience.

Admit it, as a customer; there’s nothing that will get you talking more about a business than the experience they delivered to you.

Keith Scandone of O3 World uses his own experience with JetBlue airline as a case study as a company that gets so much of the hard part right to deliver one of the best travel experiences out there but then totally blows it the minute a customer needs to engage with them.

If it’s so important, why is it so difficult? 

Listen as Keith talks to Jay Kingley on Centricity's latest Best Kept Secret podcast, on how you to have to deliver on 4 critical dimensions to pull it off and shares the 3 steps that every business needs to do to deliver a world-class experience that customers will find remarkably positive.

How do you provide a great customer experience and leading to client loyalty? Send me an email at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com to tell me how you get it done.

Show highlights

01:37 What companies are getting wrong about the customer experience journey

04:07 How to fix your customer experience - start by looking first in the mirror and then listening

05:39 Jet Blue - the good, the bad, and the ugly

10:29 How you win by getting your customer experience right

12:54 Don't forget about the employee experience

13:56. 3 things you should be doing if you want to deliver a great customer experience

18:39 Keith's story. Email Keith at keith@o3world.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

It's not personal. It's just business. How often have we heard that? But, it's the mantra small business owners need to keep in mind when you're thinking about not taking your cybersecurity strategy seriously because you think "It won't happen to me."

60% of small businesses that are hacked or suffer a ransomware attack will be out of business in 6 months. Your source of income, your legacy, the reason you get up in the morning is gone.

Cybersecurity is the thing that everybody’s talking about but nobody really knows what you need to do. On this week’s Centricity's Best Kept Secret show, Victor Calabrese of deskside talks with CEO, Jay Kingley and explains why more small businesses are targeted for ransomware than large, well-known businesses that get all the headlines. 

Learn how hacker schools are pumping out the black hats by the thousands and why it makes sense for them to target small businesses first.

Victor shares 6 practical things that any sized business should do to get you cyber secure. It reminds me of the advice they give you on how to keep warm on bitterly cold days. Hint - it has something to do with layering.

Show highlights

02:25 Who's the target for hackers and ransomware

04:34 Hacker school

05:24 What you need to do to protect your business

08:43 60% of businesses who get hacked close down within 6 months

11:09 Cybersecurity insurance

16:21 Learn about Victor. Email Victor at victor@deskside.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Ryan Walter is a Managing Director with ProCFO Partners - a marketplace for senior level fractional CFOs. ProCFO Partners believes the financial function is not just about managing and reducing cost but serving as a catalyst for growth. ProCFO Partners provides expert part-time/fractional CFO’s who ride co-pilot with you looking out the windshield ensuring you achieve your goals and strategies.

There is no upfront cost to join ProCFO Partners provided you meet their criteria which Ryan walks through in the video. Payment is made as a percentage of revenue during your affiliation with them.

Email Ryan ryan.walter@procfopartners.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

Instead of investing in the shiny new thing, Ilene Rosenthal of White Space Marketing Group recommends exploring what valuable marketing assets you already have lying around your business.  In this week’s Best Kept Secret podcast, Ilene shares the story of how a client saved tens of thousands of dollars by doing an inventory of marketing assets they already paid for and repurposing those in a highly successful reach out campaign.

CEOs need to evaluate their marketing activities the same way they evaluate all elements of their business by focusing on what’s important, testing different options, and stopping spray and pray marketing. You can’t rely on outsourced resources to set your marketing roadmap when you wouldn’t do that in any other area of your business. 

Ilene shares her 3 steps you need to take to get the most out of your marketing efforts and spend.  She has a special gift for you if listen to the end.

Show highlights

02:09 CEOs are strategic about everything except marketing

04:23 What CEOs have to do to get on top of their marketing

05:22 When hiring junior marketing staff is a mistake

07:45 Marketing tactics won't work if strategy and objectives aren't set

10:04 Look at what you already own before paying for the shiny new things

16:15 Importance of being channel agnostic

20:46 Learn about Ilene. Email Ilene at irosenthal@whitespacemarketinggroup.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.coms

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Hatfield vs. McCoys. Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi. Marketing vs. Sales. We all like a good rivalry but not when it’s inside your business.

Kyle Hamer of the Hamer Marketing Group has played on both sides of the marketing - sales rivalry, as he articulates In Episode 3 of our Best Kept Secret show. Kyle makes the astute observation that sales are driven by revenues, and marketing focuses on lead generation. When they aren’t on the same team, sales blame marketing for generating the wrong types of leads, and marketing blame sales for their inability to close their given leads.

So what can you do to get both sides to collaborate to improve close rates on leads to clients by 30 - 40%. Listen in as Kyle speaks with Jay Kingley of Centricity and spells out the 5 key steps you can take to end the family feud. 

There’s an incredible free gift at the end.

Show highlights

02:05 Why it's so hard to get marketing and sales into alignment

03:33 How should a business owner think about bringing marketing and sales together

05:55 The impact on customer experience

07:58 Tangible and intangible benefits of playing in the sandbox together

11:54 The 5 steps you need to take to end the family feud

17:22 Learn about Kyle. Email Kyle at khamer@hamermarketing.com

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Great marketing requires great content, and great content comes from talking to your customers. They’ll tell you what they want to know. That should drive the content you create.

But it won’t matter if you don’t have a consistent distribution strategy. You’ve got to meet your clients where they are rather than expect they will come to you. LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or Tik Tok - go where your clients hang out.

Listen to Chris’s Provocative Perspective on how to supercharge your marketing with content that engages, is distributed through the right channels, and what you need to do to make sure it’s seen. 

Show highlights

02:01 Become a media company no matter what your business is

03:20 Two audiences for your content but don't forget distribution

05:50 Three goals your content should achieve

11:58 Drive more revenues by acting like a media company in your marketing

16:12 Steps you need to take to drive your content marketing activities

21:14 Learn about Chris

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Learn how to turn an EAP offering from a cost of employment to generating a $3 return for every dollar invested with the proper design of the program.

Anyone who has worked in the corporate world is familiar with an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) offering. They are marketed as part of a company’s benefits package to deal primarily with mental health issues to complement the physical health focus of traditional health insurance. Unfortunately, most of these programs are designed to tick the box. In reality, due to cost, they have long wait times and a limited number of visits which aren’t sufficient to solve the underlying problems.

In Centricity's The Best Kept Secret show, Tyler Zalucki, an employee benefits consultant with The Trion Group a Marsh & McLennan Agency, laid out his Provocative Perspective on why EAP offerings are largely ineffective at dealing with mental health problems and how to turn them from a cost of employment to generating a $3 return for every dollar invested with the proper design of the program. 

Show highlights

01:42 EAP offerings are ineffective at fully addressing mental health recovery

03:30 The truth about how EAPs really work for users and employers

04:50 How companies need to use EAPs

07:09 The return on investment to an employer from a well designed EAP offering

09:39 What employers need to do to make EAP offerings work

13:36 Learn about Tyler. Email Tyler tyler.zalucki@trion-mma.com

Listen to the end for two free gifts!

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@centricityb2b.com

Sign up for a free one hour workshop called Start Attracting Your Ideal Clients In 5 Easy Steps. The workshop will show you how to tap into the 80% of demand for what you do that is not available to your competitors at up to 20% higher margins where your clients will see you as the only qualified person to turn to for help.  This predictable flow of clients that seek you out for your insight and guidance will increase your confidence, allow you to focus on doing what you do best which is serving your clients, and give you the financial returns your business is capable of generating.

Email Henning at henning.schwinum@vendux.org

Zach Selch of Global Sales Mentor brings over 35 years experience in international sales for manufacturing companies. His speciality is in creating 3rd party distribution networks as an extension of your internal sales team. Zach has onboarded over 1,000 channel partners in 135 different countries. Hear why Zach says it's critical that you support your distributors not manage them. Zach says your distributors aren't your customers they are your sales channel and you must manage them as such.

Email Zach at zach@globalsalesmentor.com.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

Henning Schwinum is the founder and CEO of Vendux - a market place that connects fractional sales executives to clients. Vendux reduces the friction for a client bringing on a fractional sales executive using their proprietary PerfectMatch™ system to identify the ideal sales leader matched to their unique business requirements. Vendux has been in business for almost 5 years and has over 700 fractional and interim sales executives in its database.

Henning shares his own journey which motivated him to start Vendux to help fractional sales executives overcome their number 1 challenge which is to get clients. Henning emphasizes that Vendux is one channel to market and should never be your only channel to market. There is no cost to become part of the Vendux community.

Email Henning at henning.schwinum@vendux.org

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

...so why are you marketing yourself as average?

The tragedy is when a fractional executive who is in the top 20% of their peers in terms of the impact they can make on their clients goes to market as if they are average or worse. In this podcast, I take you through how to identify and communicate your genius that clients so desperately need and are happy to pay for.

The challenge you and everybody else has is that you spend all your time and have clarity about the genius that makes you great at what you do. This is in the trees and weeds of your service delivery. But the genius that your clients care about in your marketing and sales efforts is the intellectual property at the forest level embodying your insight and wisdom. But as you know, you can't see both your trees and weeds and your forest and you've got to be in your trees and weeds.

I'll give you that path forward on how you can resolve this seemingly intractable conundrum so you can build a business that gives you the income to fund your lifestyle, make a material impact on your clients, get paid, and do it all on your terms not someone else's.

Connect with Jay

Email me at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com to set up a conversation to discuss your gap and if it is large enough what you can do to close it. Also email me if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Karina Mikhli is the founder, muse, and CEO of the largest Fractional Executive community - Fractionals United. She's grown the community from 0 to 6,500 in a bit more than a year. Fractionals United provides its members with a range of reasons to join from a supportive community, education, partnerships with other fractionals, and a range of benefits you might find in corporate but not as a solo business person.

Karina shares what she believes are the big challenges for fractional executives and her advice on how to overcome them. Did you know that membership is free? Learn why this is a community that should be on your list to join and participate.

The best way to connect with Karina is on LinkedIn. You can also visit the Fractionals United website.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

John Arms is an inspirational voice in the Fractional Executive community who extolls the benefits of executives throwing off the yoke of the corporate world and making a professional impact on their terms.

John leads Voyageur University where he and his partner provide copious education and teaching on how to join and thrive in the fractional ecosystem. John drops his wisdom throughout the show. His mantra is "learn, learn, learn, learn. Fractional will be normal in 5 years. Your ability to thrive here depends on how aggressively you embrace learning about it. From us. From others. From people talking about leadership, innovation, and growth in relevant, interesting and meaningful ways."

Email John at john.arms@voyageuru.com and visit the Voyageur University website.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

The First Step To Building A Great Business Is To Know Your Gap.

Every service provider is pitching and hard selling every Fractional Executive on how they can help you build a great business, get all the clients you want, and make a ton of money. Before you pay attention, you first need to reflect on the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Einstein famously observed that "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

If your gap is small then you want the same result every day, so embrace the status quo and you have no need to make big changes in your business. You can safely tune out all the pitches and hard sells you're getting 20 times a day. But if you do have a gap that is uncomfortably large, then you need to heed Einstein's advice and make some changes in how you are doing your business.

Connect with Jay

Email me at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com to set up a conversation to discuss your gap and if it is large enough what you can do to close it. Also email me if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Omid Sadati discuss the importance of product market fit for early-stage companies. Key takeaways include:

• Product market fit is crucial for the success of early-stage companies.
• Founders need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and continuously learn and grow.
• Critical and strategic thinking are essential in navigating the complexities of achieving product market fit.
• Engaging with customers and validating assumptions is key to understanding their needs and preferences.
• Frameworks and models can be helpful, but they should be used in conjunction with critical thinking and a deep understanding of the business context. Entrepreneurship is about finding meaningful problems and solving them in a meaningful way.
• Understanding people and their motivations is crucial in building successful products and businesses.
• Product market fit is about aligning with the customer's vision and serving their needs.
• Collecting feedback and validating ideas is an important part of the product development process.
• Resilience and curiosity are key traits for personal and professional growth.

Connect with Omid on LinkedIn.

Connect with Jay

Email me at jay.kingley@fractionalmaven.com to set up a conversation to discuss your gap and if it is large enough what you can do to close it. Also email me if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Jamie Munoz is the Founder and CEO of Catalyst Integrators®. Catalyst Integrators helps badass full time Integrators easily make their career transition to fractional and support them with community, coaching and clients.

Jamie explains how the EOS ecosystem works and how her company supports fractional integrators in getting clients, forming community, training and education, and perhaps most importantly having fun doing what they love.

Email Jamie or visit her website.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

Nancy Fox runs the Fractionals Connections Community. The FCC is a professional and business development community - learning, collaboration, networking and business growth. Their mission is to help fractional execs build a thriving fractional executive business, with a continuous pipeline. Nancy shares her wisdom on why free is never free and what fractionals should focus on in order to build a successful business.

Email Nancy or visit their website.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.

Will Simpson is a renaissance man. He's a Fractional COO, book author, and former professional poker player. Will compares himself to a wet blanket and stresses how the role of a COO is make the visionary's dream become a reality. He emphasizes the importance of people over product and how reaching across the aisle to those in different roles is a key success factor. Will shares how his experience as a poker player provided him with experience necessary to become a top COO.

Email Will or schedule a conversation at his website.

Connect with Jay

Email Jay at jay.kingley@referabilitymaven.com if you're a fractional executive, fractional community leader, or fractional community marketplace proprietor and would like to be a guest on our show.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here.