Rooted In Revenue

If you are in sales, you'd better know if you are transactional-focused or lifetime-focused when it comes to how you approach prospects and customers. There is no wrong version, but you need to know which you are. Your sales manager needs to know which you are too. That deep honesty will allow you to play to your strengths. The theme of this episode is two-fold - being in awe of the fantastic things people you encounter do and who they are, and knowing yourself to the core. If you don't like it, change it. There is also homework at the end from both of us. A favorite quote from The Big Kahuna is, "It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down'. That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other...” Jason Beck, this list of movies for sales professionals is for you.

It’s been proven that kindness in the workplace has a stunning ROI. Kindness decreases stress, reduces employee burnout, and builds increasing levels of happiness and satisfaction in the workplace.  Susan's guest is author Linda Cohen. They visit about the simplicity of transforming your business to incorporate kindness as a method of recruitment, retention, reputation without spending a lot of money. Her ideas are so simple you can start them today. Imagine a company culture where employees feel valued, recognized, and empowered enough to go the extra mile for customers and colleagues; where the leadership is able to be authentic, transparent, and connected to their team. The Economy of Kindness: How Kindness Transforms Your Bottom Line provides real-life examples of companies that have employed kindness as their secret weapon to build and maintain their organizations. Join Susan and Linda for this 20-minute discussion about The Economy of Kindness: How Kindness Transforms Your Bottom Line .

Christopher Lochhead wrote a book called Play Bigger. He was the CMO of Mercury Interactive and a couple of other real high-flying Silicon Valley startups and just an awesome guy. But he has a saying. He likes to say, "Thinking about thinking is the most important thinking you do. A lot of what we're talking about is stepping back because it's so easy to default to, Hey, I just raised my Series A; I'm in MarTech, let's go get somebody out of drift or let's go get a sale. Let's go find someone in Salesforce marketing. Let's go get a director from Salesforce to run our marketing. Oh, they'll crush it for us. And it's a natural default, right? And then a person comes in and because they weren't clear... And usually that person, they don't know how to vet. So, they're told this and they're super excited. Oh, wow. This is my chance. Put a stamp on it, but they forget that I'm not going to be in Salesforce anymore. Meaning, I'm not going to have, first of all, the Salesforce brand and just all the power of that.

Mark Donnigan from Growth Stage Marketing says, "It's important that a professional team work together and all the executives should be rowing in the same direction and all these kind of truisms, which are all true but there are some very profound implications to how we market and how we sell, which gets wrapped up in go to market as a result of the fragmented buyer's journey that we are in today." He also reminds us, "think about how you talk about yourself, how you talk about what you do. And even as a full-time employee, in fact, I could argue that as a full-time employee, it matters as much or even more because it's so amazing when you hear one person who just describes themselves in kind of the HR job description. What do you do?" Listen to the first half of this interview to walk away walking a little bit taller, and able to go into interviews with more confidence. ----more---- About Susan's Guest: Mark Donnigan designs and executes marketing programs and go-to-market strategies that build markets

If someone is completing a form, you never want your customer to take any action that they don't know what's next for them. They need to know what's next and how long it will take. This is just one tip from Sonia Portwood and Virginia Robbins from PCBB. Customer service can make or break your business. Look at everything that you do from the point of view of your customers and you can't go wrong.  Virginia reminds us to be brave when a customer leaves. Pick up the phone and ask what happened and how you could improve. It will only make you more successful. We made so many sudden changes last year and now it's time to review, adjust and make sure we are truly listening to our customers and incorporating their problems, hiccups, and complaints to be better at serving them to hopefully avoid repeating the mistakes. ----more----   About our guests: Virginia Robbins, Chief Platform Product Manager | PCBB Virginia Robbins has more than 40 years of experience in product development, technology, and operational

What are the questions you should ask before you select a network security advisor? What should you ask yourself? What are your accessibility needs? Be sure to include the factor of your team's cell phones. How secure are they? The simple requirement for facial recognition to login can save headaches and disasters. Listen to this short episode walking through the logic and some actionable tips. 

When we all were sent home suddenly, not everything was ready for this transition, including the security of the workspace we were cobbling together at home, in closets, on kitchen tables, our cars, coffee shops. Many companies have continued to evolve policies, purchase equipment for those working remotely. But many haven't been able to. This episode will help those companies start that thought process and catch up.  Michael says, "Treat your remote and home network the same way you would your corporate environment. Having policies in place that you review regularly helps you stay on top of this." Michael tells the story of someone who was able to work from home, but what the company didn't realize, she was sharing the computer with her student daughter. This left a lot of vulnerability because the company didn't send her home with a dedicated computer, or cite the requirements to protect company information and that of their clients. This episode helps us pick up where we left off when we started workin

Today, I am interviewing Craig Ostbo. I met Craig because Nina Hambleton, who was on our team, everybody loves Nina. She said, "You need to interview my professor because he's the real deal. And he knows everything about international marketing and has so much passion and joy for this." From a touring musician to the perfect timing getting into the natural, the organic, and sustainable world of products, and taking clients brands global is the story he's telling us today. He's also shared some free resources and advice. ----more---- From Craig: Here's a site where you can do a tremendous amount of research on market opportunities for different products in most countries of the world: https://www.trade.gov/export-solutions   Here's a site that gives you even more data/country reports if your product is made from an agricultural commodity. This is the Foreign Agriculture Service or FAS: https://www.fas.usda.gov/   It helps to know the Harmonized System Code for your product. This number identifies your pr

"I understand that your clients are your gold, and I'm not going to do anything to tarnish that." Doug C.   Who is your ideal client? do not be afraid to truthfully state it. Everyone is not our client. Dream it! You are not being ungrateful grabbing all the crumbs. Free up your time, free up your effort. What do you want your income level to be? Is that enough? It may be fine, everyone has their own level of gratification. ----more---- Some of us base it on time, not money. Why not have it accomplish both? Doug tells us his one thing, with a City Slickers' reference. His one thing was building an agency within the company. Listen in to hear how he did this and increased his revenue by nearly 850%! He also helps us recover when we need to identify a new 'best audience' without abandoning the old audience. Do not cannibalize your base overnight just to go after a new market.  It's easier to keep going with your existing clients and more profitable. Include your existing clients in your ideas. You will be

Continuing our discussions with Ledge on ways to quickly jump start your sales team, and ultimately your company's revenue and joy he tackles good vs bad leads and why they all need to be addressed. He says, "From the funnel standpoint, you can use some automation for that, but ultimately make sure you have sales and marketing work together on a human look at the discernment in your funnel. Is this a fit? Why is it not a fit? If it's not a fit are there any flags that I can indicate ahead of time from an automation standpoint?" He continues, "It's unethical to even try to take somebody's money for that when down the street there could be a provider that could help them out." Tune in for tips, insights, and your inspiration. ----more---- A bit about Add1Zero.co Lead-to-close sales execution for B2B tech companies ready to leap from 6 to 7 digits of revenue. Their team joins your team - under your brand - to pick up your leads as soon as they hit your CRM, engage and close them, and hand a signed client ov

Ever the optimist, Award-winning Magician, Scott Tokar, is looking forward to the irreplaceable trade shows he is a part of regularly. His corral of other performers know they can adjust and do online appearances, but nothing replaces the barker at a trade show driving people you never reached before to hear your message through entertainment. This episode of Rooted in Revenue first appeared on SLMA Radio.  Susan Finch interviews Scott to talk about adjusting, the value of performers to help carry the "hosting" load at virtual and in-person events, as well as how you can plan for when in-person events return or how to stand out with your hybrid or virtual event. ----more----   About Susan's guest: Scott Tokar, CEO Corporate-Fx Trade Show Magic Group Scott Tokar is unique among magicians, having focused solely on corporate entertainment (Infotainment) and visual communication, he is known today as a “specialist” in tradeshow magic and sales meeting motivation. Unlike his magical colleagues, Scott does n

Until you address the emotion in a volatile situation with compassion and respect, you will not diffuse a situation and may do more damage raising the intensity to a blistering crescendo. This is the continuing conversation that started a couple of weeks ago with Melissa Agnes. In this episode, we deep dive into one aspect of our response to a crisis, confrontation, and conflict as our brands and key people are bombarded with heavy emotion. ----more---- Some of what is covered is how to get ahead of high emotional relatability when you can never overcome emotion with pure logic. 1. Validate the emotion. 2. Relate to them on that basis. 3. Proof and logic to support your position and facts. The tips Melissa gives us will help us protect our brands, but also have more success diffusing situations in our everyday lives. You will want to take notes here. If you missed the first episode with Melissa, Crisis Readiness Equals Freedom, you can listen here >   About Susan's guest: Author of Crisis Ready: Bui

When I think of peace of mind in business, it comes from being prepared for the expected, as well as the unexpected. It's not all sparkle ponies, unicorns and laughter. Bad stuff happens. What we do to respond in those moments as leaders and team members can change the course of a company and set into motion a chain reaction of positive outcomes or a Coyote/Roadrunner death spiral into dust. A bit dramatic I know, but I wanted you to have a visual as I introduce you to an expert in crisis readiness, Melissa Agnes. You don't have to put this off. You and your company can immediately take steps to build your crisis readiness. You may have more in place than you think you do. Learn from Melissa Agnes who is the author of Crisis Readiness on Amazon.  ----more---- About Susan's guest: Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted speaker, commentator, an

Susan's guest is Richard Moore. Not only is he a successful architect, but he's a graphic artist and product designer. Richard talks about the unexpected lessons learned when he started mass producing products. With over 100 SKUs, he's been able to successfully refine the process. The first step, hiring someone specifically to manage the production process. They met through a Kickstarter program several years ago launching their Chimeras through Walrus Toys. ----more---- When Susan asked Richard how he balances his love of being an architect with product development, he tells her that it's not always balanced and that people need to get over insisting everything is always balanced, including the balance between partners in an endeavor. Just keep doing what you love. A quote he used to explain how fortunate he is was taken from architectural school, "Graphic artists always want to be product designers. Product Designers always want to be architects, and architects always want to be graphic artists." He an

  My guest today is Corinne McCormack for part two of the interview we did a couple of weeks ago about how to build a multimillion-dollar business. Yes, you can, and she has some final tips, advice, and strategies for you in this episode you don't want to miss. Here we go. I'm here with Corinne McCormack, and we have had some great interviews recently and there were a couple of topics though that I wanted to cover with her. Corinne, are you open, let's tackle those last two topics that we didn't get to do in our earlier shows. In your book, From Living Room to Boardroom: How I Launched and Sold a Multimillion-Dollar Business, you tell your whole journey. What I noticed in it is you were very upfront and open to talking about how you were able to borrow against your home to finance the start of your business. You're in New York. You had some equity, you were good. But what do you recommend for people with less than that type of option? Is that a deal-breaker if they can't get that initial funding? ----mo

This is the first part of an interview with author, entrepreneur, inventor, speaker - Corinne McCormack. My guest today is author, consultant, seasoned executive, and entrepreneur, Corinne McCormack. We are here today to talk about her new book, From Living Room to Boardroom: How I Launched and Sold a Multi-million Dollar Business. I have it and I love this book. Before I wanted to interview her I said, "Hey, I need your book so that I can read through, get a few chapters under my belt." I couldn't put it down Corinne, I loved it.  ----more---- Corinne McCormack: Thank you. I'm so glad to be here. It's great. Susan Finch: So many of you who have listened to my show before, you heard the show with Susan Finch, Susan E. Finch in New York, the voice and dialect coach extraordinaire, and Corinne is one of her friends. Corinne accidentally emailed me instead of Susan, and here we are. Corinne McCormack: I was emailing her about my new book, and then you replied, and I said, "Well, maybe you'd be interested

Karen and Susan cover where the typos are and how it can affect your credibility and make it more difficult for your sales team to build confidence with prospects. Listen to the full episode to get examples, details and an action list. Susan's List of task reminders to keep it current. Karen's secret tool to help you find the typos fast. Check your own site for links to internal PDF files, videos on a YouTube channel, too - those change over time, especially since people are converting personal channels to business channels. ----more---- Remember to use your Google Analytics or Search Console to: 1. Find the top pages for a YEAR that you need to start with checking, and go through the entire list.  2. In search console, check errors from crawls. Find out what's broken and what site or page is leading them there.   Need help? Contact Susan Finch. Sometimes you just need help getting started.

This lively visit with real estate agent, Kristina Smallhorn applies to all businesses who need and receive reviews. The video version linked in the bottom will have some how to tips, too.  Business reviews are not just for B2C and brick and mortar. ALL businesses need reviews in the right places where their potential clients go when considering them as as solution. This, along with what their colleagues and friends recommend play the biggest role in decision making before they even contact you. ----more---- My guest is Your Real Estate Whisperer, none-other than Kristin Smallhorn, a successful real estate agent in Louisiana. Her engaging YouTube channel is how I knew she was a great guest for this topic. But videos are what you EDIT and produce. Reviews - we do not control what people post. We can hope, we can ask for them when we have a successful transaction, but ultimately, we cannot control what others say about us - this gives reviews more credibility. Why do you think some businesses don't pursue

  Susan welcomes back author and impact training expert, Amy Franko, as a follow up to the book launch episode for The Modern Seller. Update on her book, wildly successful launch propelled her into the number one position for Kindle downloads in the category of Sales Techniques. We've continued to follow her tips, posts, appearances and the topic of The Why and the How came up. Her blog post titled, "What Distinguishes a Standout Seller?" led to this interview. There is not one answer, but Amy helps you determine the questions to have ready in order to guide the meeting, the presentation and ultimately - THE SALE. Be sure to sign up for her newsletters, guides and more. Definitely worth adding to your weekly research list for those AHA moments. AmyFranko.com - you will find her book, The Modern Seller there as well.

  Take a breath. Really, take a deep breath before you pick up the phone. While you're at it raise your arms, lower your shoulders, sit up straight, smile then make that call, walk into the meeting, take the stage. Speech patterns and bad habits can tune your audience out, even an audience of one, before you get further than your introduction. This will cost you revenue and waste everyone's time. Take tips from voice and dialect coach, Susan E. Finch. This show should have been a video - it was so much fun and packed with applicable tips to keep you from being annoying. The biggest culprits?  Women! Women 17 - 35 and this voice fry issue where they sound like they are swallowing their words. Next, the gutteral hiccup - that punch that only belongs in the Cockney community in London. ----more---- How about the fillers: Like, ya know, sooooo, and.... um, uhhhhh? Time to break yourself of those habits. They scream insecurity and require your listener/audience to strain to get to the point you are attemptin