Author: Joe Singer

This was my favorite podcast episode we have done so far!

Over 8 years ago as a personal science project I started daily meditation and breath work.

I do not believe MergedAnalytics or our podcast would exist if I had never begun meditation.

I only wish I began meditation earlier.

From the Yoga Woman on our website to our title of the “Take a Breath” podcast , Thom and I discuss our meditation process as well as our journey since beginning the daily practice that changed our lives both personally as well as professionally.

Below are the segment breakdowns…

:52 – 4:33 – Significance of the MergedAnalytics logo and yoga woman 

4:37 – 10:14 – Meditation 101

10:17 -13:36 – Knowing you can die at any moment is a great motivator

13:39 – 16:03 – Meditation is a practice

16:33 – 25:50 – Being genuinely nice is a super power

25:52 – 27:33 – 2 of the same actions can produce 2 different outcomes

Recommendations – 27:34 – 28:53

The benefits of cold emailing over cold calling is that your audience can digest whatever it is you are selling them on their own time….without being put on the spot and ambushed.

With that in mind…a tactic I am seeing with cold emailing is….someone emails me on Monday and by Tuesday morning if I have not replied….they email me again asking me if I had seen their first email.

This could go on 4 or 5 times during that same week.

I am here to tell you to Stop that tactic. It has the exact opposite affect on your prospect. You are pushing them away.

Instead …Send a clear, honest and concise intro email explaining how your product or service will improve the quality of their lives.

Be respectful of your audience’s time. Assume they are busy.

If you do not hear back…contact them again the following week and ask if you should still contact them on this subject.

Do not keep emailing them for the sole purpose to be on top of their email inbox. Be better than that. Your brand deserves better.

In the segment….Thom and I discuss this topic further.

mergedanalytics.com

#takeabreath#mergedanalytics#coldemailing

Thom StallingsMergedAnalytics LLC

Are you so busy that you could miss an obvious opportunity?

That is exactly what happened to Thom and me.

In this segment we discuss how being so busy presenting everyday made us oblivious to where we were having our most success.

It was only when we slowed down our pace that we realized we were not spending time in the right industry vertical.

We needed to skate to where the puck is and that is exactly what we did.

In our society, being “crazy busy” has become a status symbol but is being so busy all that great?

Often times to speed up…you need to slow down.

Remember that successful people say no more then yes.

Never confuse activity with success.

#mergedanalytics#takeabreathpodcast#marketingpodcastnetwork

Thom StallingsMergedAnalytics LLCMarketing Podcast Network

mergedanalytcs.com

Is your goal as an entrepreneur to be on Shark Tank?

If you were a singer is your ultimate goal to be on the Voice or American Idol?

These shows can certainly cut some corners and fast track a few lucky contestants to recognize success…but should winning these shows or even being a contestant be the ultimate goal?

While building your business….I believe it is good to keep shows like Shark Tank in mind not so much because you want Mark Cuban to invest in your company…but more for understanding why and when the Sharks invest in companies.

In this segment Thom and I discuss the value of shark tank as well as the idea of skating to where the puck is with your business.

Thom StallingsMergedAnalytics LLCMarketing Podcast Network

mergedanalytics.com

#mergedanalytics#sharktank#skatingtothepuck

Thinking of creating a Podcast?

My friend Seth Goldstein just published a book on podcasting that is free and you can get it on his Linkedin page.

Thom and I discuss the subject of creating a podcast in the following segment.

My Take …..The only way to start is to start.

You really never know what people will find interesting.

Create content that you yourself would listen to even if you were not on the podcast.

Talk about the process of you creating whatever it is you are trying to do professionally.

If you are building a business….talk about challenges and how you turned them into a success. Talk about how you overcame something that seemed to big to overcome.

Your stories are useful for others.

People want to know your successes….but they really want to know how the sausage was made. How you overcame obstacles both mental and in the physical world.

That’s our advice. Always Be Real. Talk about real things both good and bad and you have yourself a podcast.

Thom StallingsMergedAnalytics LLC

mergedanalytics.com

Marketing Podcast Network#mergedanalytics#bereal#podcasting

Is your goal as an entrepreneur to be on Shark Tank?

If you were a singer is your ultimate goal to be on the Voice or American Idol?

These shows can certainly cut some corners and fast track a few lucky contestants to recognize success…but should winning these shows or even being a contestant be the ultimate goal?

While building your business….I believe it is good to keep shows like Shark Tank in mind not so much because you want Mark Cuban to invest in your company…but more for understanding why and when the Sharks invest in companies.

In this segment Thom and I discuss the value of shark tank as well as the idea of skating to where the puck is with your business.

Thom StallingsMergedAnalytics LLCMarketing Podcast Network

mergedanalytics.com

Do you use shows like Shark Tank in the right way?

Your goal should not be to get Mark Cuban to invest in your company rather…concern yourself with questions like….do you have a company that Mark Cuban or the other sharks would want to invest in?

Do you understand the situations as to when the Sharks agree to invest?

For example….they seem to invest most when a company owner has no debt but has committed sales orders that they need to fulfill and deliver.

Companies that have orders….but not the resources to fulfil those orders…..they get investment money.

The main goal of your business is NOT to be on Shark Tank rather….it should be to create a business that the Sharks would be fighting each other over because they want to invest with you .

Skating to where the puck is….

The same can be said about building an audience for your podcast.

Do not worry if you have an audience….rather create content that is worthy of an audience.

Create content that you would listen to if it was not your show.

This was a great episode where Thom and I discuss Shark Tank along with other topics including….

– Skating to where the puck is with your business
– How important it is to use the products you sell
– How Marketing Agencies should use tools like MergedAnalytics
– Our recommendations for other shows and books

#takeabreath
#mergedanalytics
#marketingpodcastnetwork

mergedanalytics.com

We often work with Commercial Construction, Engineering and Design firms.

By the time these types of companies learn about opportunities…it is often to late to enter bids to win the business.

One of our Construction Customers uses the intelligence that MergedAnalytics delivers to engage as early as possible in the sales process.

As companies with construction needs do their due diligence research by clicking through this construction company’s website….our customer is receiving intelligence from MergedAnalytics about who the company is, what pages they are spending time on, how many times they return etc.

Here is what our customer does when they receive intelligence that they believe is an opportunity….. they create marketing slicks based on the content they know was viewed on their website and they send hard copies to that prospect along with a box of cupcakes.

By engaging with their prospects as early as possible in the sales process….they are now able to bid earlier on projects than ever before.

Early engagement with prospects leads to early bids which leads to more wins!

#earlyengagement#mergedanalytics#aecindustry

What is the measurement of a great lead generation partner?

The easy answers range from….
– do they deliver the right leads from the right target
– do they write great copy as well as great creative
– are their lists fresh

Those answers are obvious.

Anyone can get a list and start blasting emails out.

What is less obvious but extremely important is…. does your lead generation partner understand how to generate leads within your desired audience in a way that avoids the risk of your brand and email domain being blacklisted from email servers and social media sites like Linkedin?

Your lead gen partner has to be an expert as to how to navigate and handle those types of blacklist situations.

Thom and I discuss this topic in the following segment…

mergedanalytics.com

By nature we seek patterns. So when we have success in one scenerio…it is easy to want to go out and find other opportunities that fit the profile of that successful experience.

Life does not always work out that way ….in either direction.

There will be times when you think there is no opportunity but because you showed up ….an opportunity presented itself. Life is hard.

There is no manual . Show up. Have the conversation. One foot in front of the other. Keep going.

Thom and I discuss how dangerous it is to make assumptions. #mergedanalytics#takeabreath