5/25/10: Jacqui Chew Talks Marketing Strategy, Mike Schinkel and Marna Friedman on The Business of WordPress Conference
Jacqui Chew of iFusion Marketing
GFR interviewed Jacqui Chew of iFusion Marketing today. Jacqui is an expert on developing and executing go-to-market strategies for emerging and established brand that produce results. During her career, Jacqui has accumulated 15 years of experience delivering multi-channel marketing, public relations and business development programs to global companies in the enterprise software, Internet, information security and consumer products and services sectors. Previously, she held leadership positions at CoreCard Software, Manning, Selvage & Lee, PeopleSoft, Silverpop and Stonesoft. She has also consulted at such Fortune 1000 businesses as Chupa Chups USA, eBay, IBM e-Business Services and SSL International. Jacqui had some great advice for startups and small businesses. Definitely listen to the interview.
Mike Schinkel
Next up we were joined by Mike Schinkel and Marna Friedman. They are the organizers of The Business of WordPress Conference coming up on June 22-23rd. We talked a little bit
Marna Friedman
about why WordPress is such a great platform and content management system for small business owners. The Business Of WordPress Conference is for non-technical business people who need a marketing roadmap for improving their organization’s web presence and who have chosen or are evaluating WordPress for their web platform. Find out more about what is being offered at this great conference or visit their website for more information.
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5/18/10: Andrea Arena shows us how to be in “2 Places at 1 Time,” Johnny Knatt prepares us for the new the new Avatar work culture and Chris Colston has advice for tech businesses
We had an ACTION PACKED show this week! Three great guests, and three great insights on how entrepreneurs can build successful businesses.
First up was Andrea Arena, owner of 2 Places at 1 Time, a corporate concierge serving cities throughout the U.S. and Canada — and she started the whole thing (literally) from her car. And what was the big “ah-ha” revelation that propelled her from local entrepreneur to national multimillion dollar enterprise? Instead of selling her service to individuals, she went direct to large corporate clients and convinced them to offer her service as a benefit to employees, making them more productive during the business day. As a secondary market, she also offers her services as a loyalty program for companies serving high net worth clients. Andrea’s business is the perfect example of how taking an existing, proven business model and giving it a little “tweak” can equate to incredible success.
Johnny Knatt is one of the principles at ODHR Consultants and works with companies on a lot of HR-related activities. The focus of our discussion though was on personnel development, building an organization that fosters the right kind of culture in an increasingly virtual workplace. It’s also very important, according to Johnny, that companies work hard to build cultures that are not only willing to change but also encourage change. This interview is an absolute MUST listen for anyone who is in a management role in their business.
Batting third on GFR was Chris Colston, who has spent his career working in management roles in large technology businesses. Now an entrepreneur, Chris has started his own firm, the BizTech Group, whose objective is to bring multiple technology businesses together for mutual gain. His group of tech entrepreneurs and managers meets once a week and Chris and his partners use the sessions to facilitate group mentoring, networking and accountability. Chris acknowledged that a lot of technology firms keep themselves in “silos”, isolating themselves from the business world at large and Chris is looking to change that, one group of businesspeople at a time.
Thanks to all our incredible guests for joining us this week!
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5/11/10: Brand Strategy with Dorian Usherwood
This week we were joined by Dorian Usherwood of branding consultancy Dauhaus and he offered some insights on branding. The first great tip he gave was that good brands are based on a solid foundation of values; branding can’t be faked and it can be difficult to try to impart a deeper meaning on a brand after the fact.
The worst mistake you can make when naming your company? Dorian says it’s never a good idea to give your business a name just because it sounds cool, or because you like it. There needs to be a connection between your name and your brand and what you are trying to achieve as a business.
This was a terrific show and thanks so much to Dorian for taking the time to join us!
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05/04/10: Personal Branding with David Cohen and the Atlanta Street Food Coalition
What is a personal brand and why do you need one? That’s what we asked David Cohen of Equation Arts who is an expert on personal branding. The reality is that you have a personal brand whether you know it or not. The question is, “What are you doing to highlight the positive traits of that brand while downplaying your shortcomings?” Nobody’s perfect after all. David offered some great insight about what people can do to promote themselves and get to do more of what they like doing and less of what they dislike doing. We also talked about the difference between your professional and personal brand and how the two intersect. He had some great free advice as well which is “Be yourself.” Like us, David is a big fan of authenticity. He thinks people need to be themselves but obviously the best version of themselves that they can be. Definitely listen to this interview. Great advice for all of us!
Next up we were joined by Hayley Richardson and Greg Smith, founders of the Atlanta Street Food Coalition. Both Erik and I are huge street food fans but the only problem is we can’t get good street food in our own city (legally, anyway)! Street food has been around forever but there’s a new breed of street vendors popping up around the country that are serving up not only gourmet cuisine but healthy, locally-grown produce as well as creative entrees and desserts. Many of them have large numbers of fans who follow them (literally) as they post their whereabouts on sites like Twitter and Facebook. In an economic climate where opening a restaurant might be out of the question, a food truck is a more affordable alternative. We 
really hope Hayley and Greg get some help with their efforts. They’ve only been around four months but Hayley said that there is a lot of interest. While they wait on the laws to change, they’ve begun organizing events around the city on private property. They just had an “Urban Picnic” at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market downtown. For more information, follow the Atlanta Street Food Coalition on Twitter or Facebook and via their website. We really enjoyed having them on the show! Thanks, guys! :)
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4/20/10: Getting past the gatekeeper with RareAgent’s Marge Bieler
This week we were joined in-studio by Marge Bieler, CEO of RareAgent, an Atlanta metro-based firm that helps businesses with both phone-based and online sales and marketing initiatives.
A good portion of our discussion was devoted to the the common reasons that calling campaigns fail, namely having a poor-quality list and an inability to get past the “gatekeepers” — the executive assistants who generally stand in between you and your executive or C-level prospect. But Marge gave us a lot of good advice in how to overcome that obstacle, including befriending your gatekeeper and having a clear value proposition that will help you more easily convince that individual that they should allow you access to their employer.
This show is a MUST listen for anyone currently engaged in — or considering — a phone-based sales program. Thanks to Marge for joining us and for being such a terrific guest!
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4/13/10: Online Marketing with author Brandon Eley and Jake Rothschild of Jake’s Ice Cream and Irwin Street Market
Wow! What a great show we had today! And, for our live listeners…extra goodness because Erik forgot to press record the first time around. Doh! :) But, hey, we got to spend extra time with Brandon and Jake so it was no big deal.
Our first guest was Brandon Eley. Brandon is an Interactive Director at Kelsey Advertising & Design, entrepreneur, author, and professional speaker. Brandon has 10 years of experience in online marketing and e-commerce from both the perspective of an e-commerce retailer and that of a consultant. Brandon is the co-author of Online Marketing Inside Out, and speaks about online marketing at conferences and organizations all over the world. He also co-authors the SitePoint Tribune email newsletter that reaches over 200,000 web professionals weekly. Brandon is also the owner of 2BigFeet.com, an online retailer of large men’s shoes, as well as several other websites and blogs. Our question is: When does this guy sleep? In all seriousness, Brandon had a LOT of great information to share with our listeners. His book is a must read for anyone in business. It’s full of practical advice that a small business owner can use right away. For instance, he pointed out that email marketing is one of the best tools for communicating to your customers because it is inexpensive and has a fairly high conversion rate. His free advice was to make sure that you are collecting contact information and asking customers if you can put them on your mailing list because while social media may be great, email is still a great way to reach out to your clients.
Next up we had Jake Rothschild join us. Jake is a food entrepreneur extraordinaire. Jake founded the Award-Winning Jake’s 
Ice Cream in 1997 and since then has brought the good people of Atlanta (and beyond) flavors like Chocolate Slap Yo’ Mama, Nutter Nanner Elvis and Red Velvet Cakescream. In 2006, Jake established The Irwin Street Market as a place where food entrepreneurs could come and grow their own businesses. Recently the Georgia Department of Agriculture granted what is now known as the Irwin Street Community Kitchens, official shared kitchen status. They are one of three such enterprises in the state. Jake loves helping his fellow foodies navigate the many hurdles that come with food entrepreneurship and sees the effort as one of the ways he is determined to pay it forward. Jake resides in Historic College Park where in his “spare time” he grows peaches, figs, grapes and mint. His free advice was “pursue your passion” and “don’t be afraid to fail.” We love Jake’s positive energy and what he is doing to help other small business owners realize their dreams. Irwin Street Market is also launching a new outdoor market that starts this weekend. Definitely check it out if you are in the area.
A big thank you to both our guests for joining us and for their extra time! We had a blast! Have a great week everyone!
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4/6/10: Our big “comeback” show with Brian Patrick Cork, Justin Daniels and Kim Kilgoar
Yes, GFR is back from our SXSW induced spring hiatus and we didn’t do a bad job knocking the rust off. We kicked off with a roundtable discussion with two old friends of the show, entrepreneur extraordinaire Brian Patrick Cork and business attorney Justin Daniels. Both Brian and Justin had some fantastic insight on the mistakes that entrepreneurs tend to make. Two themes seemed to come up again and again and both bear further repetition here: first, build a team of trusted advisors and, second, do not wait until it’s too late to call your lawyer.
We also had recruiter Kim Kilgoar of Paradigm Recruiting Associates in studio who talked about how she managed to build a successful, profitable recruiting practice (founded in 2009) as unemployment was on the rise.
It was a great show, thank you to all our guests and we’ll see you next Tuesday!
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2/23/10: Sue Sullivan from Hot Squeeze + Robbie Kukler and Michael Erickson from Fifth Group Restaurants
Laura, GFR's great Guest Host!
Today’s show made me hungry. All we talked about was food! It was great though because I had an awesome guest host, Laura Scholz, filling in while Erik is on vacay.
First up we were joined by Sue Sullivan from Hot Squeeze. Sue is an Atlanta-area entrepreneur who was a caterer for a long time before making the leap into the retail food business. She had used the Hot Squeeze recipe in her catering business for years and then finally decided that she should bottle it and sell it. Four years and a lot of hard work later, she has a great product that a lot of people love! She didn’t go the traditional route though. Most people start by making batches of their products for family and friends and then selling at farmer’s markets and growing from there. She went straight to the New York Fancy Food Show. The rest is history and again, a lot of hard work. Sue is a self-described “workout-aholic” so she has a lot of energy. Her free advice to anyone looking to launch a product was to be ready for the long hours. She’s still going it alone but you can tell just from talking to her that she is passionate about this product and won’t rest until it’s on every table in America. She calls it “ketchup for adults.” I love that! If you’re looking for her online, she’s got a Facebook and Twitter page and there’s even an iPhone app! As for the product, it can be found in Whole Foods as well as many other specialty grocers and online.
Michael Erickson and Robbie Kukler
Next we were joined by Robbie Kukler and Michael Erickson from Fifth Group Restaurants in Atlanta. Robbie began with just one restaurant, South City Kitchen which turns 17 this year. The other Fifth Group restaurants are: La Tavola, El Taco, Ecco, South City Kitchen Vinings and their catering/special events company Bold American. Michael is the Director of Marketing for Fifth Group restaurants and does a great job using social media to spread the word about promotions and upcoming events. We talked about how their marketing efforts have changed with the new media phenomenon. They said that they do far less print advertising and that any that they do today is focused on publications which might be in hotels or for tourists. Michael uses Facebook and Twitter primarily to connect with guests and monitor what people are saying about any of the Fifth Group restaurants.
One thing we learned which I think is pretty amazing and because Atlanta doesn’t really tout itself as a “green” city as much as it should is that Ecco has NO DUMPSTERS. They compost or recycle everything. That is amazing! So, whenever you eat there, you can feel good knowing that you aren’t contributing to the landfills. Surprisingly, Atlanta is actually ahead of the curve on the environmentally-friendly efforts in the hospitality industry. Robbie got the chance to showcase that at recent conference for event planners which was held at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Robbie and Michael’s free advice was that you really have to love what you are doing. Michael used to be in advertising and now gets to use those skills in an industry he is more passionate about. Robbie also said that being a restaurateur is hard work and anyone considering getting into the business needs to be prepared to work long hours and have well over six figures to invest in their business since they won’t be making any money for at least the first eighteen months.
Thanks to all of our guests and to Laura for being such an awesome guest host! See you next week!
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2/15/10: Talking Small Business Legal Issues with David M. Walker and Workshifting with Steve Rae of Roam Cafe
One of the most daunting challenges about going into business for yourself is the legal aspect of it. Chances are you aren’t an attorney and when you’re working with a limited budget, the prospect of writing a $5,000+ check for a retainer to hire an attorney may be out of the question. Enter TheBom, attorney David Walker’s answer to helping small business owners and startups without bankrupting them before they’ve even gotten the doors to their business open. The Business Owner Movement (BOM) is an innovative concept where David spends every Saturday from 10-12 helping startups and entrepreneurs over the legal hurdles that may be holding them up. For a small fee, attendees can come learn from David as well as other small business advisers. They can even leave a BOM session with an LLC formed.
David is passionate about helping small business owners. He began his legal career as a corporate attorney but realized that he wasn’t helping the community of people that he was most passionate about–small business owners. He left the high-powered corporate world and now really loves helping small business owners realize their dreams of becoming their own boss and not having an income cap. David had some great free advice and you can find him at www.DavidMWalker.com or www.thebom.biz
Next up we talked to Steve Rae from Roam Cafe here in Alpharetta. Roam is a unique concept for those small business owners
or corporate employees who may not have permanent office space. For any of us who have tried to have a serious meeting at a coffee shop or restaurant, you know how challenging it can be to do that. Roam is a game changer in this regard because it offers great open space but also has private meeting rooms and a forum room if you needed to conduct a larger meeting or training. Unlike a co-working facility, you do not need to be a member to come to Roam. They offer food and beverage service in their open area. And, memberships start at just $50 and go up to $150/month. With the highest level of membership, the great thing is that you get reciprocal privileges at other business and golf clubs making this a really great value and alternative to permanent office space. With more and more people “workshifting” or working from anywhere, it’s nice to have a place that provides not only a social environment but one where you can be more focused and professional as well. Roam has terrific coffee, by the way. So if you want to try it, stop by and mention Gravity Free Radio and you’ll get a free cup of coffee and a guided tour of the space.
For everyone here in Atlanta, we hope to see you on Thursday at Strongbox West for our marketing presentation and book signing. 6:30pm. RSVP here.
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02.09.10: OUR BIGGEST SHOW EVER! Shawn O’Keefe of SXSW Interactive, Tom Lynch of Worthwhile Wine, Dru Dalton of Realthread.com, and Isabella Padua from Zielo Dreamwear!
This was a show full of great guest with great stories and terrific free advice.
We started with Shawn O’Keefe from SXSW Interactive (SXSWi). Shawn is the producer for this year’s conference. We talked about the fact that SXSWi has been steadily growing–rapidly over the past two years–and that attendance is expected to be up over 40% this year. Last year there were about 12,000 attendees for the conference which is considered one of the premier technology, developer, and social media conferences. Taking place in Austin, TX each year, SXSW Interactive is part of a three-part conference which also includes Film and Music. What’s cool about this conference is the way the panels are chosen. With over 2,000 entrants, the job of the organizers is to narrow it down but that process is helped by the Panel Picker which allows attendees to vote on what panels they would like to see each year. For such a big conference, it is incredibly well-organized and I know that Erik and I are looking forward to speaking this year.
Next up we were talking socially-responsible business practices in for-profit businesses. We had Dru Dalton from Realthread and Tom Lynch, founder of Worthwhile Wine. Realthread uses environmentally-friendly ink for its products but also gives back by supporting children in Africa. Worthwhile Wine imports sustainably made wines, but also runs their operations guided by “triple bottom line” business principles; the focus is on Profit, People, and Planet (versus the more traditional philosophy of business that is only focused on Profit). They both said that running a socially responsible business is much more rewarding but that you can’t just do it as a marketing ploy. It has to be something that you truly believe in and are willing to invest the effort (and perhaps extra money) in to making it successful for both yourself and the cause you are supporting.
Our last guest brought me a pair of pajamas. It’s a wonder I didn’t put them on right then and there because they are soooo soft! Isabella Padua, one of the three founders of Zielo Dreamwear, talked about what encouraged them to get into the business of designing comfortable and fashionable sleepwear. She talked about some of their biggest surprises–the demand for plus sizes which are some of their best sellers–as well as what she would do differently if she were starting over. She claims that being more organized has been really key in helping them continue to grow. Her free advice was to be flexible and be willing to adapt and change with your business. And, they are offering a 40% discount to any Gravity Free Radio listener until next Tuesday. Go to www.zielodreamwear.com and enter the code “gravity” when checking out to take advantage of that great offer!
Announcements:
We’ll be at Strongbox West on February 18th for a presentation and book signing for Marketing: Unmasked. RSVP here.
Great show and we’ll see you all next week!
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Our 1 Year Anniversary show! 2/2/10: Amy Pedersen of Slimpressions + Michael Tavani from ScoutMob
We had a fantastic time in-studio today chatting with two terrific Atlanta-based businesses. Amy Pedersen of Slimpressions talked about some of the unexpected highs of entrepreneurship and how she and her sister-in-law built their business — selling slimming shapewear to women — completely from the ground up from manufacturing to distribution and marketing.
Michael Tavani introduced us to ScoutMob, a local web business featuring one incredible discount every day and talked talked about their innovative model for promoting local businesses via web, email, text message and iPhone. ATLians should definitely visit the web site and sign up for the daily updates.
More details will be available soon, but be sure to mark your calendars for February 18th when Erik and Stephanie will be doing a book signing and presentation at Strongbox West.
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1/26/10: Holly Green, Author + Pete Canalichio of Licensing Brands, Inc.
Great to have Holly Green on Gravity Free Radio again! She’s been busy having written some chapters for two separate books: Shift Happens and A Cup of Cappucino for the Entrepreneur’s Spirit. She gives us some great advice for how to make 2010 an even better year than 2009. She’s really focused on strategic planning and believes that any business needs to make sure they are 100% focused and that they keep focused on their goals or as she says, “Get clear on winning.”
Next up we were joined in the studio by Pete Canalichio who is an expert on licensing which is a very interesting business topic. We both learned a lot about what big brands are looking for in a licensee and vice versa. He also talked about how to balance your private products with your licensed products. Pete is heading off to Vancouver soon where he is working with Coca-Cola’s their licensing program with the Vancouver Organizing Committee.
Definitely a very interesting show so if you have any questions about strategic planning or licensing, listen to this one!
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1/19/10: Mike Michalowicz, The “Toilet Paper” Entrepreneur + Billy Hoffman of Zoompf
Both guests we had today were awesome! Mike made us laugh and Billy brought in HOT Krispy Kreme doughnuts. (Hint: If you would like to be on Gravity Free Radio as a guest, feel free to bribe us with doughnuts.)
Mike is best known as The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and is the author of a book by the same name. His book, website, and blog are great resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur philosophy is based on the notion that not only can one start a business with fewer resources (his analogy being a near-empty roll of toilet paper that you have to work with), but that having fewer resources can actually work to your benefit. For example, having fewer resources can force the business to address an issue in highly innovative ways versus simply spending money blindly to solve it. Great free advice from Mike at the end of the interview.
Next up was Billy Hoffman from Zoompf. Given Billy’s high energy and personality, it’s no wonder that he created a company that helps makes websites faster. Zoom + Oompf was the inspiration for the name which we love. According to the Zoompf website, here’s what Zoompf does:
“Zoompf analyzes your entire web application for over 150 performance deficiencies. Zoompf detects a wide range of performance problems, from the obvious (like HTTP compression and caching) to the advanced (like CSS rule issues, web font issues, WordPress and other applications), and Zoompf even identifies performance issues with Flash and Silverlight and Ajax.”
We couldn’t have said it better.
Definitely two very informative guests. Download the podcast and get some great advice from both guests!
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1/12/10: Todd Miechiels and Jamie Turner talk conversion rates and SEO
Welcome to our first show of 2010! Search engine and B2B marketing expert Todd Miechiels (author of SOWGRO) joined us on the air along with our good friend Jamie Turner of The 60 Second Marketer to talk about conversion rates, search engines and setting good goals for online marketing efforts.
This was definitely one of the most eye-opening sessions we’ve ever done on the topic of online marketing and search engine optimization in particular. Todd and Jamie talk through the what’s and why’s of conversion rates online, how you track them, how you impact them and pitfalls to avoid along the way. We also discussed the basics of landing pages and what to expect from search engine optimization efforts.
This is a must listen!
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12/15/09: Michael Berthelot and Jim Caruso of Media First PR
Michael Berthelot and Jim Caruso tell small business owners what they can do to prepare for 2010.
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12/8/09: Brandon Sheats Talks WordCamp Atlanta, TurnHere’s John McWeeny Discusses Video For Small Biz, and Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk Talks About Marketing for Professional Services Firms
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12/1/09: Jennifer Bonnett Talks About Entrepreneurship and Startup Chicks
Jennifer Bonnett has been in technology for 22 years and in the startup community for about ten years. But, when she looked around, she noticed there weren’t many other women showing up to some of the startup events here in Atlanta. She began Startup Chicks after Startup Weekend last year because out of about 120 people who participated in Startup Weekend, there were only six women. What began as a way to get some entrepreneurial women together for drinks once a month has flourished into a community of like-minded women who support and encourage each other in their ventures. Jennifer believes that women feel more comfortable in a group like this and ultimately it gives them the confidence to pitch their ideas into larger audiences.
Jennifer is also part of a new startup called XpenseTrack which was launched over this most recent Startup Weekend here in Atlanta.
To find out more about Startup Chicks check out their website at http://startupchicks.net or follow Jennifer on Twitter.
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11/24/09: Bert Dumars of Rubbermaid and Chuck Blakeman Talk About What Little Brands Can Learn from Big Brands (and vice versa!)
What works for big businesses isn’t always something that could work for a small business (and vice versa) yet there are a lot of commonalities between the two. We talked to Bert Dumars, VP of E-Business and Integrative Marketing about the strategies some of the brands of Newell Rubbermaid have executed to grow their business. He maintains that an integrated approach to marketing whether you are a big brand or small brand is always best. Don’t just put all of your eggs into one basket such as social media, for example. It should be part of an overall strategy that may include print and/or television ads if applicable. And, make sure you know who you need to reach. If you’re in a B2B space, your target audience may only be a very small number. A lot of the brands of Newell Rubbermaid aren’t all that big so they employ marketing strategies that would work well for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The most important thing is to be tenacious, persistent, and think of ways to work effectively within whatever budget you have.
Next up we had Chuck Blakeman from Denver, Colorado author of Making Money is Killing Your Business. Chuck thinks small business need to learn strategic planning and long-range marketing planning from big business and not cling the “random hope” philosophy of doing business. He also thinks that marketing processes are important for small business. Big businesses do this well but small business owners get bored and don’t stick to the “recency and frequency” formula. You need to see your customers recently and on a consistent basis. Most small businesses are so focused on the passion of what they do that they can’t build a good business. They are so focused on their craft that it gets in the way making money.
It was great to talk to both Bert and Chuck. If you are a small business owner, definitely check out this show!
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11/17/09: Real-Life “Mad Man” Patrick Scullin and Mike Schinkel from Ignition Alley
So, Patrick did not show up with a drink in hand so I guess things in the ad world have indeed changed from what we see on Mad Men. He did, however, show up with his cane and pillows as he was just two weeks out from hip replacement surgery so we appreciate him making the tremendous effort to come talk to us. As guests go, he has one of the most interesting backgrounds–he actually joined the circus at one point–in terms of all the places he has worked and lived. After many companies and many moves, he finally realized is that he isn’t a very good employee and joined forces with two former Ogilvy + Mather execs to form Ames, Scullin O’Haire, an Atlanta-based advertising agency back in the late 90s. He talks about how they first started out and what has changed in the past decade. He doesn’t believe advertising is dead. It’s just changed. Definitely listen to this interview. Good stuff in it! And, follow Patrick on Twitter or via his blog. He’s quite the funny guy!
Next up we had Mike Schinkel from Ignition Alley. He was also joined by one of his loyal members, Edison Thomaz who heads up Slife Labs. Ignition Alley is the first co-working space in Atlanta but it goes so far beyond just providing a physical space for people to go hang out and get their work done. They are truly interested in forming a community of entrepreneurs who can help each other and help develop Atlanta into one of the next big hubs for startups. Mike and his business partner, Tim Dorr (who couldn’t join us) have some very big plans for Ignition Alley. If you live in Atlanta and are looking for someplace other than a coffee shop to work, definitely check out Ignition Alley located just off Ponce de Leon near midtown.
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11/10/09: Chris Brogan Talks About Trust Agents and Jamie Turner, THE 60-Second Marketer Joins Us in Studio
We’ve interviewed some fabulous guests on GFR but it was a real treat to have Chris Brogan join us to talk about his new book that he co-wrote with Julien Smith, Trust Agents. Also joining us in studio was Jamie Turner, (who Erik likened to Ozzie Guillén ) who is the Chief Content Officer for the 60 Second Marketer, an online magazine that provides tools, tips and tutorials for marketers around the globe.
Chris talked about why he and Julien decided to go the traditional publishing route for their book and about being followed by robots. :) We also discussed some of the future trends we see happening in social media–everything from augmented reality to how social media will ultimately change how companies do business.
A big thank you to both Chris and Jamie for joining us today. Definitely download it and listen to it. It’s full of some great free advice from both of them.
Have a wonderful week everybody!
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11/3/09: Steve Bistritz, Author of “Selling to the C-Suite”
This week we were joined by Dr. Steve Bistritz, author of a new book on sales strategy called “Selling to the C-Suite.” Of all the reasons to read the book though the biggest one may be in the way it’s written. Where most sales books are written from the perspective of a seasoned sales professional providing anecdotal tales and suggestions about what made them successful, Bistritz and his writing partner Nicholas A.C Read wrote Selling to the C-Suite from the executive’s perspective, an important decision that we discussed at length during our interview.
The other significant lesson that we learned during this interview was the importance of finding the “relevant executive” to target during the sales process — and it may not be the executive who wrote the RFP or called you in for a meeting. This was a terrific interview with a true expert and we definitely encourage that you listen to the podcast below. Anyone looking to get in touch with Dr. Bistritz should visit his website http://sellxl.com.
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10/20/09: Sharon Drew Morgen and BB Webb
Our show today show featured two very impressive women in business. We began with Sharon Drew Morgen author of Dirty Little Secrets, featuring tips and tricks on how to sell more effectively by changing the rules of the game.
After the break we spoke with BB Webb, an Atlanta-area entrepreneur who has a thriving event company focusing on bridal receptions. BB is the owner of the Carl House in Auburn Georgia.
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10/13/09: Shotput Ventures and Looxii
If you recall earlier this year, we were joined by Jeff Hilimire who is one of the partners with Shotput Ventures. Shotput Ventures is a ” a technology startup accelerator fund that focuses on capital-light web services companies and assists in the conception phase” according to their website. But, they are so much more than that to the entrepreneurs who go through the program. They mentor these young entrepreneurs and help them come up with a viable business at the end of the program which they are planning to do again next summer. Joining GFR today was Sanjay Parekh from Shotput Ventures along with Adam Rice and Daniel Lipton from one of the SV companies called Looxii (look-see).
Looxii offers businesses a simpler solution for navigating and understanding the social web. Their customizable apps make it easy for users to track what’s relevant to their company on Twitter, blogs, and in the news. With Looxii apps, users can streamline marketing reports and research, identify new advertising venues, and improve marketing strategies. For more information, go to www.looxii.com
For information about some of the other companies from the Shotput Ventures Class of 2009, visit their website at http://www.shotputventures.com/class-2009
A big thank you to Sanjay, Adam, and Daniel. We’d love to talk with any of the other Shotput Ventures companies so consider this an open invitation!
See you next week everyone!
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10/6/09: Robyn Cobb of Cliqset + Jennifer Jacobson
Jennifer L. Jacobson is a communicator specializing in Public Relations, Brand Identity, and Strategic Sales. As a Public Relations Professional, Jennifer creates powerful campaigns that have had her clients featured on Oprah & Friends, DisneyFamily.com, The Huffington Post, and The American Marketing Association’s Marketing News. As a strategic sales professional, Jennifer has the unique ability to grow a sales campaign from the ground up and turn cold leads into clients almost overnight.
Jennifer joined GFR to talk about her book, 42 Rules of Social Media for Small Business.
Next we had Robyn Cobb from Cliqset to discuss this new social media site. Cliqset lets you aggregate your information from other social services, communicate and share in real-time, and create individual conversations around different items that you or a friend shares with the service.
They are just now in private beta and will be going live soon so definitely check it out!
Thanks for a great show and see you next week!
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