More on Podcasting

Do you answer your phone for cold calls?

By nature I am an introvert so cold callers are at a disadvantage when they call me under most conditions.

Even when I am in need of the product or service the cold caller is calling about…I still rush them off the phone.

I suspect I am not alone. Most people do not even answer their if they do not recognize the incoming number.

A few weeks back Thom and I received a lot of good feedback from a podcast where we discussed our own hypothesis that Podcasting in many cases is warming up prospects better then cold calls. For this reason…B2B podcasting is taking off.

You should check out the #MarketingPodcastNetwork that is run by Jason Falls for more B2B podcasts.

Anyway….the hypothesis we discussed was not made up…but based on our own experience while running our company #mergedanalytics .

Because of our podcasting…when we speak to prospects they often feel they know us already and have spoken to us before that initial call…..all because they have listened to our podcast.

Thom and I discuss this more in this segment…

The full podcast can be found here…https://lnkd.in/gv_VASUt

mergedanalytics.com

Thom StallingsMergedAnalytics LLC

#b2bpodcast#takeabreath

How Stories build trust

Do you use stories during your sales process?

Everyone likes a good story especially when they are authentic.

The best communicators understand that real stories whether they are positive or negative can be the most effective tools for getting people to understand whatever it is they are trying to teach you .

When a story is told the right way…the listeners should be able to apply the message to their own situation and learn something from it.

We use stories often to illustrate how companies sometimes even in the same vertical leverage #mergedanalytics. in different ways.

In this segment….Thom tells a story of one of our Engineering Customers and how they use MergedAnalytics to curb their competitors from poaching their key talent.

I had not heard of MergedAnalytics being used in this way before this story!

mergedanalytics.com

Entrepreneur Health Hacks

The word “entrepreneur” usually triggers certain preconceived notions about the people who take the quantum leap from a job to running their own business.

I find many think being an entrepreneur is for a certain type of charismatic genius. Unlimited riches are often associated with being an entrepreneur as well.

In reality…in most cases those ideas could not be further from the truth.

Entrepreneurs are often lonely, have a low self esteem and experience high levels of mind bending stress on a daily basis.

As the saying…”heavy lies the crown”.

Having said the above…being an entrepreneur could also be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of a lifetime.

Eating what you kill, having incentive to be creative on a daily basis and ultimately creating a better life not just for your customers but for yourself and coworkers in the process is an amazing feeling.

Entrepreneurs must make all aspects of personal health (mind, body and soul) their highest priority.

It is a marathon ….not a sprint.

There are hacks that you can do on a daily basis to make sure you stay in the game and cultivate a mindset that will allow you to perform at your highest levels.

Thom and I discuss some hacks specific for the entrepreneur in this segment.

Another episode of the Take a Breath podcast

Show Notes –

00 – 3:38 – More on how podcasting is taking the place of the cold call

4:01 – 10:01 – How stories build trust

10:02 – 11:22 – Founder Sellers

11 :23 – 17:43 Always remember to take care of yourself too!

17:49 – 21:49 Founder Pitfalls and some hacks to help along the way

21:52 – End – Great ideas do always mean Great business

mergedanaltyics.com

#mpn #mergedanalytics

Is Zuckerberg following the proper process for Meta?

Is Mark Zuckerberg following the correct process with his plans for the Metaverse?

Raising money or in Zuckerberg’s case…having access to billions at his disposal is many times the worst possible scenario when creating and building a new company.

Having a limited amount of money forces your focus on the mission critical aspects of launching your new business. Having a large sum of money can give you a false sense of security especially if you have raised it from a VC firm. “My idea has to be good…look how much money we raised from the VC firm”!!!!

There are countless examples of amazing well funded ideas that never go anywhere because certain things were not understood before going live.

Just because you solve a problem…does NOT mean you will have a successful company.

– It took 70 years for the light bulb to go mainstream because people preferred Gas Lights. – A technology that would have made Radiologists almost irrelevant was never adopted because Doctors refused to adopt the technology that would put many radiologist out of work.

– A new Keyboard that would have sped up typing was never adopted because people are used to the QWERTY keyboard standard.

– At the Turn of the 20th century combustible automobiles beat out electric vehicles

To launch a successful company….you need to understand….

– the buying process

– the end user

– the ecosystem

… and so much more.

Which brings me to Zuckerberg. He unilaterally pledged $10 Billion annually for the next 10 years and changed the name of his business because he was positive the Metaverse is the next thing.

Listen to this segment for more. mergedanalytics.com Thom Stallings MergedAnalytics LLC #mergedanalytics #nailitthenscaleit

In-house lead gen vs hiring outside firm

Do you know what it costs your business to get one qualified lead?

The real cost takes into account all of the …

– content creation
– cold email campaigns
– social media campaigns
– cold calling
– follow ups
– schedule and rescheduling

MergedAnalytics

After you understand the cost of getting just1 qualified lead….then I ask…what is the cost to convert that lead into a customer?

– Demos
– Meetings
– Contracts
– Trial periods
– and more…..

If are thinking… well….it does not cost anything because I do it all myself you are mistaken.

Your time has a cost associated it with both in dollar terms and opportunity cost.

What else could you be doing with your time instead of searching for qualified leads.

You may think you can NOT afford to hire a lead generation firm but after you calculate how you are spending your time and the real costs associated with that time…you may start to understand the value of hiring a quality lead generation firm.

To me…the real issue is in finding a quality, trustworthy and proven lead generation firm.

In this segment….Thom and I discuss the benefits of hiring a lead gen firm vs. doing it yourself.

mergedanalytics.com

New use case for MergedAnalytics – Poaching Prevention

Are you nervous your key employees could be poached?

An Engineering/Design firm that is a customer of ours called to tell us how grateful they are for using MergedAnalytics and how it has made an immediate impact for their organization.

The reason….recently some key members of their top talent have left their organization….poached away by their competitors.

MergedAnalytics can help you figure out what content to display on your website.

After putting our pixel on their website….they have uncovered many of their competitors spending time on the “MEET the TEAM” page learning not only the names of their targets but also information as to what they are working on etc.

As a result our customer has amended those pages on their site so their competition will not have as easy of a time figuring out who they would like to poach.

This is an interesting use case for #mergedanalytics that I had not considered before last week.

mergedanalytics.com

#aecindustry

Signs you should NOT ignore during the presales process

Have you ever had the feeling that you should NOT engage with someone based on a couple of interactions either via Linkedin or Email?

If they are a major pain in presales…how will they be when they are a customer?

It is hard when you are looking for new business. Taking on a wrong account can literally ruin your business.

Although I have been so ridiculously wrong handful of times ….most of the time when my spider senses tell me not to engage…I should have listened.

Thom and I discuss this topic in this clip.

Our website…Mergedanalytics.com

You can find the full podcast here… https://marketingpodcasts.net/show/take-a-breath/

Podcasting in place of Cold Calling

I have a theory on B2B podcasting and how it’s growth and success is directly correlated with the demise of B2B cold calling.

In this segment of “Take a Breath ” Thom and I discuss how cold calling is being leveraged to get people to become familiar with you and your brand on their own time rather then being put on the spot during a cold call.

What are your thoughts how podcasting is being used by B2B organizations?

mergedanalytics.com

#takeabreath#mergedanalytics

Do you have influencers?

Do you have influencers?

It takes time and some luck to find them.

I view anyone who refers us business as an influencer.

Yesterday we had a large National Engineering firm sign on to use MergedAnalytics because an Architectural firm they work with told them about all the business they can directly tie to the timely actionable intelligence #mergedanalytics delivered to them.

In the AEC world (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) ….finding opportunities early in the process before initiatives become public means these firms can proactively make contact and bid earlier.

Earlier bidding means….winning more deals.

When you have others selling your product for you because they have had real success with it….that is the ultimate promise land in the marketing world.

mergedanalytics.com