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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