It's pretty common for business owners to discuss with pride their growth in terms of revenues. "Our revenues have gone up by 18% this year," they might say with a glad nod in their head. And while this is both admirable and good news, it's not terribly indicative of how well the business is doing. For instance, revenue growth will almost always spike naturally with a brand new business. And that 18% year-over-year growth...that's probably underperforming for a startup. Also, what is missing wit...
Jun 10, 2025•5 min•Ep. 221
There is a company named International Business Machines...you know them as IBM...and there was a time when they ruled in the world of enterprise level computing. They still serve as one of the most prestigious and well performing companies in the world. But there was a time in the 80's during the early days of selling servers for large corporations that they absolutely reined supreme. It was a time when they were known simply as Big Blue. As a result of their dominance in the market, they had a...
Jun 07, 2024•5 min•Ep. 220
No one wants to be losing in business. Typically, losing is accompanied with the pain of getting hit negatively in the bank account. When you look at your year-over-year revenue charts, you want those arrows to be pointing up. You don't want to see them pointing down, and your spreadsheets covered with red ink. So what you do if your sales are disappointing? How do you respond if your revenues are retreating? Join Michael as he provides a most surprising answer....
Mar 02, 2024•5 min•Ep. 219
There is so much celebrated about the ability to persevere during challenging times in business. But, let's be clear. It's most enjoyable when the winds of opportunity are all around you. There are those sweet moments in the life of an entrepreneur when the business is growing at an unbelievable pace. The markets and the momentum are all going your way. But what happens when they suddenly are not? What is your response when times get tough? Hopefully, you have marketing strategy designed to resp...
Feb 11, 2024•6 min•Ep. 218
There are a plethora of shiny objects in the sales and marketing universe these days. There is flashy technology that is blinding in its capabilities. There are trendy new ways to get viral attention. It seems like everyone has some trick, hack, or groundbreaking new innovative approach. However, after the smoke clears and the mirrors are taken down, the foundations of marketing brilliance always survive the course of time. Those businesses that keep focused on these fundamentals are the ones th...
Feb 01, 2024•6 min•Ep. 217
One of the most valuable metrics in determining marketing strategies is something called "Customer Lifetime Value". This is a reference to the average overall revenue generated by customers who stay with your business for an extended period of time. The assumption is that during this time of being a happy customer, they will continue to make transactions and their value to you will increase month by month and year by year. This is why the best businesses have customers that stay with them a long...
Jan 23, 2024•6 min•Ep. 216
What makes marketing and sales so difficult in these times is there are so many moving parts. As in...there are literally thousands if not millions of moving parts in any effort you'll be making to communicate your value for the purpose of winning sales. Not only do you have multifaceted messaging for your products, services and business mission overall, but there are a vast array of ways to communicate these ideas from which you much choose wisely. This isn't even factoring in competitive influ...
Dec 28, 2023•7 min•Ep. 215
When it comes to being successful in business the bar is much higher than simply "getting the sale". Not only do you want them to say "YES" to you, but you want them to do it with clarity and confidence. Having a "barely YES" enter your building can create many issues and can lead to the sale ultimately being unprofitable. Why get the sale at all...if you can can't thrill your customer...and make it profitable as well? So...in order to achieve the goal of having them say YES with clarity and con...
Dec 16, 2023•5 min•Ep. 214
Have you ever asked yourself the question: "Why does marketing have to be so expensive?" This concern has been voiced by millions of entrepreneurs through the years. The truth in advertising is that it rarely pays a return on your investment. At least not the first time around. In most cases, you're doing well to break even on your advertising efforts, and oftentimes it's not until the second, third and even fourth purchase when that new customer acquisition strategy is making you a profit. Why ...
Nov 03, 2023•8 min•Ep. 213
One of the most important elements of being a winning business owner is learning all you can about marketing. Marketing is the pathway to success for your organization. It doesn't matter...sadly...how tremendous your innovation is on its own. If you can't market it properly, it won't get out of your garage. You would be shocked to know how some of the world's greatest inventions struggled to get off of the ground. Even the best ideas need high level marketing. So, in order for you to find succes...
Oct 10, 2023•8 min•Ep. 212
For most organizations hoping to be successful in their sales and revenue generation efforts, they are solely focused on hearing the word YES from their prospects and customers. Would you like to buy one of my products or services? Why yes, yes I would. The salesperson hears this and says YES! And gives fist pumps to the sky. And YES...yes is a pretty important word. However...yes is not the most important word in sales, contrary to many opinions. There's a much more critical word and it's one y...
Oct 01, 2023•7 min•Ep. 211
There is a reason why so many students graduate from college with marketing degrees, and then struggle initially in their roles as entrepreneurs. It's mostly because so much of that education needs to be unlearned. That is, when you're actually doing business in the real world. One of those classic lessons you'll get in Marketing 101 is about the 3 P's of marketing: Product, Price and Promotion. Now, while that basic construct can be a helpful teaching tool, if you focus on these three P's too m...
Sep 13, 2023•7 min•Ep. 210
Most businesses get launched with tremendous enthusiasm and fanfare. What's more fun than cutting the ribbon at your Grand Opening or seeing that building sign put up on the wall for the first time? For those launching online it can be the simple pleasures of seeing that beautiful new website LIVE for the first time, or watching with anticipation as your products suddenly become available on the global marketplace. After all of this exhilaration, the party starts to end for many business owners....
Aug 28, 2023•7 min•Ep. 209
Unfortunately, marketing has a tarnished reputation of sort. This is why so many entrepreneurs have such a mixed opinion on marketing. And truthfully, many entrepreneurs aren't completely clear on what marketing is and what it can do for their business. It's not their fault! Many marketers, mostly of the amateur variety, have clouded the waters, and confused the process of powerful, effective business growth strategy and messaging. They've led many business owners astray, and have influenced the...
Aug 16, 2023•6 min•Ep. 208
If you've been in business long enough you have certainly experienced some level of disappointment in one or more of your marketing efforts. It can be baffling at times, why certain products or services or initiatives just never get on a roll. After all...you've worked so hard to produce the very best service or product. In fact...there is a great buzz about what you're launching...people seem to be truly excited about its potential for them. However...there is one significant problem. They just...
Aug 10, 2023•8 min•Ep. 207
If you've been listening to the so called "Marketing Gurus" long enough, there are some terms you most definitely are going to hear over and over again. One of them is scarcity. They tell you that your marketing won't work without including the tactics of scarcity. These Gurus will teach you that you need to sell with scarcity...at all costs...even if it means stretching the truth. This is where they introduce the concept of floating marketing deadlines. Yet, there is something they don't tell y...
Aug 01, 2023•8 min•Ep. 206
One of the most important questions you need to ask yourself when it comes to marketing for your business is "Who Is Selling Who?" The reason is...so many entrepreneurs are falling prey to some of the oldest tricks in the books when it comes to making marketing and advertising choices. Because of this, they are making extremely poor decisions and therefore aren't getting the results they were expecting. It's easy to drift off the path of focusing purely on what matters most with your marketing. ...
Jul 25, 2023•7 min•Ep. 205
Who likes waiting? Who enjoys being stuck in traffic or standing in long lines? Nobody. It's dehumanizing. It can make you feel like cattle. And for those key decision makers, many of whom have an entrepreneurial mindset and they want to create momentum and experience growth...standing in line is the exact opposite. We don't like lines. We don't enjoy being stalled. When we know what we want, we want it now. This is exactly the human nature in all of us that you want to put to good use in your m...
Jul 18, 2023•7 min•Ep. 204
What would impressionistic paintings have to do with marketing? As it turns out, quite a bit in terms of being an art form. Impressionistic marketing is a term that describes one of the most quintessential elements of being successful in launching your products, services and brands. In fact, it also can make a significant difference in anyone's personal career. Impressions are so important in all aspects of branding, sales, marketing...and all along the customer journey. Join Michael as he expla...
Jul 04, 2023•7 min•Ep. 203
For many who take the entrepreneurial leap and risk so much to launch a business...well...they are hoping for a fairy tale ending. They want the stuff of dreams. The Hollywood success story. The win against all of the odds. Who doesn't? Who goes into business hoping to lose? No...we want our ideas to win, and we want to win big. We truly want that magical journey. We're all hoping for a fairy tale ending. Unfortunately, this is exactly what leads us to one of the most common and costly mistakes ...
Jun 22, 2023•6 min•Ep. 202
Having loyal customers for your business isn't just a lofty goal. It's actually, in most cases, a necessity. The reason for this is customer acquisition can be so expensive as a result of marketing and advertising costs, that you really don't get profitable with these new customers until they make multiple purchases. You often hear people talk about the "lifetime value" of a customer. When you end up keeping quality customers for a longer period of time, you generally end up with higher revenues...
Jun 12, 2023•7 min•Ep. 201
Here are five major truths that you're going to want to hear if you're a fan of podcasts. If you've ever thought about podcasting...or if you are a podcaster...these will be some of the most informative minutes of audio you'll ever enjoy. That's because you'll acquire valuable wisdom gained after several thousand hours worth of intensive research, content innovation, long, lonely editing work and helpful feedback received from listeners. These core suggestions might just give you the inspiration...
Jun 05, 2023•12 min•Ep. 200
The reality is every entrepreneur wants a shortcut. Everyone wants a hack when it comes to enjoying a successful business. We want to grow the business without having to spend too much time or money. We don't want to do it the hard way...we want it the easy way. The challenge is that most of these "marketing hacks" only work for a short time...and then they don't. Usually by the time it's being taught to you, it's already on the downside of becoming obselete. Fortunately there are exceptions to ...
May 29, 2023•7 min•Ep. 199
No one will argue the importance of creativity in marketing. Without powerful, fresh ideas, your strategies will fail. This is because there is such tremendous competition to be heard out there in your industry wilderness. Innovation is an extraordinarily critical part of marketing. Most people get this. They know they want creative designs, interesting messaging, and highly effective strategy. They want to build imaginative marketing infrastructure. Yet, when it comes to innovation in marketing...
May 16, 2023•6 min•Ep. 198
Most entrepreneurs get their messaging for their business all wrong. Many aren't totally clear on how to develop out their messaging. What is marketing messaging? Basically, your marketing messaging is the artful conveyance of all the value you provide to your customers...through words, visuals or actions. It's letting them know who you are, and more importantly, why they should care. It's extremely important. Because getting your messaging right...will make your marketing exponentially more eff...
May 04, 2023•6 min•Ep. 197
Many successful entrepreneurs make the very same mistake with it comes to marketing. This error, ultimately impacts their future success and causes them serious challenges down the road. If you can learn from their fundamental mistake, it will dramatically and positively impact your sales for many years to come. It comes down to having perfect timing when it comes to planting seeds of success. If you get this right in your business, you have a good chance of winning where too many others fail. J...
Apr 21, 2023•7 min•Ep. 196
There are so many business professors, coaches, and online courses teaching people the importance of the entrepreneurial mindset. So many of these teachings are centered around the simple, cheering persuasion of..."You can do it! Just do it! Go for it! You got this!" That's great...for you to get you started if you need that kind of encouragement. Yet...no one goes into business...just so they go into business. They go into business...because they want to win in business. And to win in business ...
Apr 03, 2023•6 min•Ep. 195
In marketing, there is a relentless parade of new innovations, ideas and viewpoints that are fresh and emerging in the discipline. From the most outlandish marketing strategies to the most sublime, they run the full gamut. And, of course, there are the hacks. There are always the hacks. Hacks are essentially, shortcuts...insider secrets, ways to get to the goal with a minimum amount of effort. For entrepreneurs and marketers, is breathlessly seeking out the latest hacks the best strategy to take...
Mar 15, 2023•6 min•Ep. 194
There are always going to be ebbs and flows in the world of business. Sometimes these highs and lows are only felt in your specific industry or with your particular lines of products and services. Other times, they are peaks and valleys in your own neighborhood, or city or country. And then there are those times of difficulty when the entire world is suffering a setback. It can certainly make you feel as the leader of your business as if there is nothing you can do to fight against these externa...
Mar 06, 2023•6 min•Ep. 193
Being in business isn't easy. Trying to onboard new clients and getting them on the pathway to success is difficult work. And, the challenge goes well beyond merely creating great services and products and supporting them with tremendous excellence. It would be great if that was enough, but the truth is it's not going to keep your customers from being frustrated. Even if you do everything right in your business from start to finish, you're still going to have customers who are frustrated and dis...
Mar 01, 2023•6 min•Ep. 192
