Why Failure Is The Biggest Catalyst For Change (video)

In this Expert Insight Interview, Alina Timofeeva discusses failure. Alina Timofeeva is a multi-award-winning female leader in cloud, data, and digital. She is also a TEDx speaker, mentor, and podcaster. Her TEDx talk Fail but Never Give Up has over 355,000 views, is getting translated into 30 languages, and is in the top 10 world’s most-watched TEDx speeches.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

Why failure can be the biggest catalyst for change
How to take action even when you don’t feel like it
Getting past the obstacles of failure and rejection

Failure

Failure is a loaded word, and people interpret it in many different ways. Although it has the same meaning, it has a different connotation for most people. For Alina, failure is when you want to do something, but you don’t get the outcome you wanted to achieve.

In her talk, she put out a lot of arguments that failure is an opportunity to grow, so instead of looking at it as a setback, you can see it as a way to develop and become a better person. Our biggest lessons often come from failure.

Action

It often takes hitting rock bottom for us to make real, fundamental changes, but not everybody is equipped to do that. So, how can people reorient their attitude to failure and look at it and embrace it as a learning opportunity or an opportunity to change and grow?

For Alina, the answer to this question lies in action. People tend to wait for a sign to take action, and she believes that this is the wrong approach. Do not wait for inspiration; take action, even if you just take small steps.

Overcoming the Pain

Sometimes people allow themselves to think that other people have a better idea of how good they are and set the agenda for their life going forward. Instead of allowing that to happen, successful people look for the next best step to move forward.

The important, and most challenging part of this entire idea, is that it is pretty hard to find this change in your mindset. For example, when Alina moved to the UK, she applied for 500 jobs and got declined for 497 of them. No matter how persistent you are and how upbeat your personality is, getting rejected 497 times still hurts. Getting past this pain is what separates the biggest winners from the rest.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Bulletproof Selling: Systemizing Sales for the Battlefield of Business (video)

In this Expert Insight Interview, Shawn Rhodes discusses his book Bulletproof Selling: Systemizing Sales for the Battlefield of Business. Shawn Rhodes is a global expert on pivoting in challenging environments. As a war correspondent with the US Marine Corps, Shawn traveled to more than two dozen countries learning how elite teams execute their most demanding missions.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

How Shawn Rhodes got the idea to write his book Bulletproof Selling
Shawn’s experience with the US Marine Corps
Why he thinks US Marines are “bulletproof”

Living with the Marines

Shawn’s role as a war correspondent was to embed inside combat teams as a US Marine. He was enlisted and carried a rifle alongside his camera and notepad. His task was to go around and try to understand how the US Marines could accomplish what most people consider to be impossible.

These men and women routinely volunteer to go into a building where they know people are waiting to do them harm, even though 50% of them will not leave that building under their own power.

Why Marines Are Special

As Shawn observed the US Marines across multiple combat tours, he realized that there was something special about these men and women. Not because they were incredibly brilliant, not because they were Mensa-level intelligent, and not even because they were exceptionally experienced — some were only 18 or 19 years old.

These folks are bulletproof. They know where a potential enemy will be hiding, and they know how not to injure each other as they go through with live weapons, grenades, rockets, and ammunition inside these tightly packed houses.

Bulletproof System

Finally, Shawn figured out the reason why US Marines were bulletproof. It was not because they had been hit by a meteor or bitten by a radioactive spider. These high-performing teams were bulletproof because of all of the times their predecessors hadn’t been.

They had a system of processing and debriefing each mission. Instead of just hanging up the phone and entering a quick note into the CRM like most salespeople today, the Marines analyze in detail what went well on each mission, what went wrong, what they could do better, what their company could help them with next time, and so on. This is something all sales teams can benefit from.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

What it Takes to Start a Sustainable Fashion Brand (video)

In this Expert Insight Interview, Shannon Lohr discusses what it takes to start a sustainable fashion brand. Shannon Lohr works with entrepreneurs from all over the globe to launch sustainable and ethical fashion brands the right way from the start.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

The concept of sustainable and ethical fashion
How Shannon got her start in the industry
What aspiring fashion entrepreneurs should focus on as their first steps

Sustainable and Ethical Fashion

The terms “sustainable” and “ethical” have taken on a life of their own. Back when Shannon started in the fashion industry, it was almost an oxymoron to say “sustainable fashion,” but it is a huge buzzword today. It refers to thinking about the supply chain and how your clothes are made.

A sustainable fashion brand uses potentially sustainable fabrics, natural or recycled fibers, upcycled fabrics, etc. On the ethical side of things, sustainable brands try to work with factories that pay their workers a fair and living wage. These are just a couple of the factors that contribute to this idea. There is also the clothes’ lifecycle, packaging, and other things that go into making a product more sustainable for the planet.

The Early Days

Shannon started a fashion brand back in 2010, wanting to do it sustainably and ethically, but she didn’t really know what that would entail. She dove into the research, talking to everyone from farmers in Missouri to professors in Texas and eco-friendly supermodels in Brooklyn.

She realized that fashion is a very problematic industry, so the first step she decided to take was to localize the supply chain. All of her brand’s fabrics, materials, manufacturing, and packaging were sourced within a 50-mile radius within the US, which was unheard of at the time.

Finding your Niche

The fashion industry is crowded and highly competitive, especially for start-up brands that probably do not have the venture capital behind them and do not have endless resources and money.

So, the fastest way to find your customer and hit the ground running as soon as you come out onto the market is to figure out what problem you’re solving for your target demographic. Identify who your niche, ideal customer is, and what problem you intend to solve for them.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Have the Right Mindset and Breaking the Negative Cycle (video)

In this Expert Insight Interview, Sallie Wagner discusses building resilience with MSG (Mindset, Skillset, and Get Off Your Asset). Sallie Wagner is a best-selling author and speaker. She is your life consultant and alchemist, guiding you to identify and get rid of habits and behaviors that you keep trying to change, fears and phobias that drain your power, and liming beliefs and decisions that no longer move you in the direction of your goals.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

The MSG (Mindset, Skillset, and Get Off Your Asset) approach
How building a skillset can help us change our mindset
What it takes to build the right mindset and break the negative cycle

MSG

Mindset, Skillset, and Get Off Your Asset, or MSG, are concepts that encapsulate a lot of fundamental coaching principles and life principles. It all starts with mindset — how we perceive ourselves and the world around us.

We have a lot of limiting beliefs, and our decisions are often driven by negative talk that goes on in our heads that tells us we can’t do this or we shouldn’t do that. This is something that we must overcome through our mindset.

Skillset-Mindset Connection

Sometimes we need a new skillset to have the right mindset because we’re not always taught to have an attitude that will move us forward. Building a skillset stack enables us to have multiple complementary skills to do what we want in life.

Taking action is a significant skill, which is where Get Off Your Asset comes from. How many chronic procrastinators do you know? Perhaps you are one. It is a professional skill to take action, and all three of the concepts encapsulated in the MSG approach are necessary if we want to achieve what we want in life.

Breaking the Cycle

Having the right mindset is not just about thinking happy thoughts like Peter Pan. There is a lot of work involved in it. The first step is being mindful of what we’re thinking and what our current mindset is. We have a lot of negative talk going on in the back of our minds, and we often don’t even notice it because we’re focusing on what is in front of us at any given moment.

Just like apps running in the background of your phone, these negative thoughts “drain your battery” and slow things down. We need to become aware of these thoughts, understand what feelings come from them, understand the actions that come from those feelings, and interrupt the cycle to make a real change in our lives.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

The Power of Following Leaders (video)

In this Expert Insight Interview, Ruben Gonzalez discusses the power of following the leader. Ruben Gonzalez is a professional speaker and author. He has competed in four Winter Olympics in the luge, despite having started at 21, when most competitors in this discipline are already in their prime.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

How he got into the luge and how resisting his coach’s advice held him back
Why and how he decided to change his focus and start listening
How being in control keeps us in our comfort zone and prevents us from improving

Resistance

Ruben got into the luge because he got excited about the Olympics despite not being much of an athlete. He decided to find a sport that fit his strength, which was perseverance. That hard-headedness and determination helped him stay in the game long enough to learn the skills even at a relatively late age.

On the other hand, the same hard-headedness hurt him because he always resisted following his coach’s advice. He kept looking for a coach or a mentor throughout his life but would always resist their guidance.

Changing the Focus

For three Olympics, Ruben resisted following the leader. It wasn’t until about two years before the Vancouver Olympics that everything changed. He was training for the Olympics, hoping to qualify and become the oldest athlete there at the age of 47.

The problem was that the number of participants was reduced for these Olympics from 50 to 40, and Ruben was usually ranked around #45 globally. He decided to try a new approach and start listening to his coach immediately. This enabled him to change his focus and improve his time enough to qualify. Changing his focus changed everything for him, and he was sliding better at 45 than he did when he was a kid.

Comfort and Control

So, what is it that holds people back from listening to advice? According to Ruben Gonzales, it is about control. He wanted to be independent and in control, which is a nice way of saying he didn’t like people telling him what to do.

Being in control feels safe, but it keeps you in your comfort zone, and you can’t improve in your comfort zone. Letting go is scary, but it gets you out of your comfort zone so you can improve.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Sales and Marketing for Local Businesses (video)

In this Expert Insight Interview, Laura Nelson discusses sales and marketing for local businesses. Laura Nelson is the VP of Marketing at Signpost and a local business advocate.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

The marketing options for small businesses
Why metrics tracking and measuring is crucial for success
Offline marketing methods for local businesses

Basics

If you have a small or local business, there are so many options for marketing — from traditional to digital — that it can be completely overwhelming. So how do you decide as a local business what the best marketing approach is?

Many local business owners have limited budgets, so they can’t just invest in everything and see what sticks. There are many choices, so what Laura recommends for all local businesses is to invest in foundational things first. This includes optimizing your Google Business profile to reflect your business online accurately. It is incredible how many companies still don’t utilize Google Business and other similar tools, which always seem to be an afterthought.

Metrics

Beyond the basics, there are many ways that you can go, including software programs and lead generation strategies, both online and offline, in your community. What is vital for any local business owner is to make sure that they keep track of what they do.

The marketing activities required for success will be different across industries and communities. You can’t improve on anything unless you measure it first, and getting dialed in requires experimentation and refinement.

Traditional Methods

Although we’re bombarded with digital marketing, traditional offline methods should still be a part of any local business’s marketing efforts. If you’re a business that does work in the field, and you have a fleet of vehicles or even just one car, you have an opportunity to brand yourself and get your business’s name out around town.

A simple way to do this is through an effectively designed truck wrap. Moreover, you could use a leaflet distribution service to reach your local audience and drive growth. It’ll enable you to stay ahead with tangible solutions. Other methods include building a referral program. Referrals as a concept are not going away, and if you make it easy for your happy customers to refer you to their friends and give them some perks, they’ll be glad to pass along the message.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

How Deep Connection Delivers Maximized Sales (video)

In this Expert Insight Interview, Justin Cunningham discusses how deep connection delivers maximized sales. Justin Cunningham is on a mission to create positive change. He works to empower people, revealing what stops us, what unlocks us, and what we can do about it to unleash our gifts to the world.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

The difference in the sales approaches of small businesses and large companies
How to connect with prospects on an emotional level
Showing interest in enabling the customer’s future

Small Business vs. Large Company

Justin has worked as a sales trainer with small businesses and billion-dollar companies like Coca-Cola and Mercedes Benz. During that time, he has learned that a lot depends on the type of sales role you’re in.

For example, if you’re in a small business, it is much easier to get into relationship selling, and you can rely on that. On the other hand, if you’re employed in a large company, you typically have a quota to hit with your sales. This means there’s often a disconnect regarding what is most important, depending on where you’re employed. Smaller businesses tend to favor forming deep relationships, while larger companies try to maximize the value received from each customer.

Maximizing Customer Value

Whether small or large, every company would like to maximize its customer lifetime value. We’ve all heard that people buy emotionally and defend it logically. The only way to truly connect with somebody on an emotional level is to ask them a lot of deep questions and establish more than a basic rapport.

To make a premium sale, you probably need to ask the customer more than 20 questions to get anywhere near understanding what their problems are. Justin decided to take that methodology to every level at which he worked with people. He discovered that salespeople don’t generally spend the time forming a deep connection with the prospect.

Forming a Connection

You need to understand your customer’s past. Once you know that, it is much easier to match their values. This leads to the prospect feeling like you understand them on an entirely different level compared to most salespeople.

The idea is to show the client that you’re interested in enabling their future, rather than simply giving them a sales pitch. This leads to a more-than-optimal opportunity to maximize your sale. However, it doesn’t come from the mindset of winning the sale but from a mentality of forming a deep connection.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.

Positive Influence and Heartfelt Resilience in a Time of Adversity (video)

In this Expert Insight Interview, Elias Kanaris discusses his book Leading from the Stop: Positive Influence and Heartfelt Resilience in a Time of Adversity. Elias Kanaris is an author, professional keynote speaker, executive coach, leadership trainer, and entrepreneur. He has frequently spoken to audiences in the I.T., telecommunications, insurance, financial services, real estate, and education sectors across thirteen countries on four continents.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

The book’s story and Elias’s inspiration to write it
How a small town in Newfoundland banded together to help 7,000 strangers
How the people of Gander were able to react so well to this crisis

Background

It was an ordinary Tuesday, and Elias Kanaris was at his parents’ house in Wimbledon, in South London. He was supposed to take a trip from London Heathrow to Chicago, so he went to the airport and got on the plane. Halfway through the flight, the pilot came on to say that there had been a significant incident. As a result, the Federal Aviation Authority shut down all airspace.

His plane became one of the 38 diverted to the Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada. Elias and the rest of the passengers spent five days in Gander as guests of the Salvation Army because the day in question was September 11, 2001.

Emergency

The town of Gander had 9,300 residents at breakfast time. By the time 38 planes had landed, they served supper to 16,000 people. How does a town cope with that? No emergency plan covers adding another 7,000 people to your population instantly.

What Elias observed during this period was all about leadership and resilience, as the people of Newfoundland came together to look after the passengers of these planes and make sure they could survive this traumatic experience.

Crisis Management

The Gander airport had been abandoned for a long time before this incident. It used to be a stopover point between Europe and North America, but planes could suddenly go much further without refuels with jet engines, so it got bypassed.

So, when many lost and confused people suddenly arrived at Gander, its residents were not exactly prepared. Luckily, they understood they needed to be there for these people and help them. Everybody was coping with the experience differently, and the people of Gander and the Salvation Army did a great job in crisis management.

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.