In this Expert Insight Interview, Steven Goodman discusses business succession and succession planning. Steven Goodman is the President and CEO of SHG Planning and an estate planning and business-succession specialist.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

• The reasons why people avoid succession planning
• The emotional and personal implications related to business succession
• How to get around these difficulties and deal with the problem anyway

Focusing on the Present

Many people know what succession planning is, and most would agree that it is a good thing, but unfortunately, not enough people actually do it. There are a couple of big reasons for this.

Firstly, people who own businesses are constantly putting out fires, and they focus on what’s important today. Every day they wake up with ten things they have to deal with, and for them, it is tough to pull away from that and focus on the future.

Emotional Implications

The second big reason has to do with the fact that succession can be a very difficult emotional decision in family businesses. Most parents spend their lives doing everything they can to show their kids equal amounts of love and attention. However, in the matter of business succession, things are not that simple.

Suppose you had three kids, and only one of them was involved in your business, while the other two decided to forge their paths in other careers. It can be exceedingly difficult to choose how you would divide your business between them. Giving them each a third of the company would likely lead to disaster, as two of them know nothing about it while giving it all to one child could cause trouble on a personal level.

Avoidance Is Not the Answer

Obviously, avoidance is never a very good strategy, so people should be looking at succession planning even in the problematic scenarios outlined above. These are difficult decisions to make, but we’ve seen throughout history that many businesses have collapsed once the original driver exited the scene.

To deal with this problem, it is best to have someone who allocates some time exclusively to managing your business’ succession and keep the ball rolling. Also, you’ll need a team of advisors whose egos won’t get in the way of achieving the best results for you and your family.

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.

In this Expert Insight Interview, Naketa R. Thigpen discusses the patterns that are blinding our brilliance and holding us back and how, if we can dig a little deeper, we can create better relationships, both professionally and in our personal lives.

Naketa R. Thigpen had broken barriers and glass ceilings nearly ten years ago when she architected her professional skill set as a psychotherapist, trauma specialist, sexologist, relationship expert with strategically infused tenets of breakthrough success coaching to raise the bar and create ripples inside the personal development industry.

This Expert Insight Interview discusses:

• Naketa R. Thingpen’s background and motivation to get involved in this field
• How untreated childhood trauma and personal problems can hold us back
• Why it is necessary to be honest and compassionate with yourself first

Dealing with Your Inner Child

One of the reasons Naketa decided to dive deeper into relationships and intimacy for power couples specifically was that she noticed the effect of untreated childhood trauma on us as adults.

As a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, and trauma specialist, she noticed how the wounds of our inner child could not only impact our adult lives but also drive many of our decisions in all of our key relationships.

Bridging the Love Gap

We can often see that someone’s personal life if left undealt with, can show up and reflect on how they lead, whether they “show up” fully, and how they interact with their customer in terms of intimacy and the overall experience they’re providing.

What Naketa wanted to do was create a way to close the “love gap” that was happening to her patients personally, so they could not only show up fully as humans in this world but create a legacy, teaching other humans also to carry out these redefining concepts for the world.

Being Compassionate with Yourself First

When we turn up for work, we often think that we have to “park everything at the door.” While there are certain things that we should not mix with our business lives, each one of us has issues, human traits, and things that come to us from our past and our upbringing that are getting through and impacting everything, but we refuse to acknowledge them.

Regardless of the type of business, you’re involved in; you’ll likely be dealing with humans on the other end. That means they want you to be empathetic, compassionate, and sincere, and it is really difficult to present yourself that way unless you’re empathetic, compassionate, and sincere with yourself first.

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 to feel comfortable in public speaking? In this Expert Insight Interview, Seth Donlin discusses developing confidence in public speaking to deliver your message right. Seth Donlin is a Founder and Head Coach at Awen Coaching, a marketing and communications coaching firm specializing in coaching entrepreneurs to identify, attract, and connect with their ideal clients.

The interview discusses:

• The fundamental fear
• The Imposter Syndrome
• Authenticity on the stage

The Fear

The most fundamental fear that people have when it comes to public speaking is being thought less of by a group of people. Public speaking is a skill to be taught and becomes pretty easy once you overcome initial obstacles. Obstacles arise once you start getting too much into your head. When having a regular conversation with friends, people are usually great speakers. But the moment they stay in front of an unknown audience, they start to analyze everything they say or do.

The key to public speaking is to shift the mindset to serve the audience. Public speaking event is not about the speaker but the audience. The speaker is providing some value for the audience. Thus, the more you focus on adding value for the audience, the less time you will have to think about negative things.

The Imposter Syndrome

Probably all people felt at least once in their lifetime the Imposter Syndrome. And the ones who haven’t are definitely not experts on their subject matter like they think. Everyone who knows their subject matter also knows that there is so much unknown left to discover. Thus, if you experience Imposter Syndrome, that means you know quite a lot, and you should be sharing your expertise with the world.

Moreover, being an entrepreneur means that you will be doing 95 percent the same thing as your competitors, and only five percent will be different. Thus, to succeed, you have to be ready to make those five percent as you go. Do not be afraid to be creative and try new things. You might succeed right away, or you might fail and learn a lesson for the next time. Successful entrepreneurs constantly operate on that five percent edge where they do things as they go.

Authenticity

The common mistake people make is trying to create a persona for the stage. Instead, be authentic. Be the best version of yourself on your best day. Think of the day when you were 100 percent best you and recreate how you felt, thought, and acted that day. That way, you are performing for the public but in a very authentic way. Moreover, when you are telling stories, go with the relatable ones. Nobody wants to hear crazy stories, but the ones they can resonate with and understand the point.

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.

If people know better how to give and receive feedback, they can avoid many unpleasant situations. Thus, in this Expert Insight Interview, Beth Wonson discusses mastering feedback. Beth Wonson is an executive coach, leadership consultant, and Founder and CEO of Navigating Challenging Dialogue, helping people to have meaningful and drama-free conversations.

The interview discusses:

Resistance to feedback
How people receive information
Setting the right environment
What to look for in feedback

The Resistance to Feedback

Many people resist getting feedback because it would interrupt the self-image that they have already created in their minds. And the reason why people resist giving feedback is that they do not want to ruin that self-image for others and possibly ruin relationships with them. Resistance also comes from not being taught how to give proper feedback. People usually give a commonly known “sandwich feedback,” consisting of saying something nice, something negative, and then back to something nice. However, that type of feedback leads nowhere.

The Information

As much as people like to hear feedback, leaders avoid it. When giving feedback, that feedback should be about the experience that has happened recently. Annual performance meetings are not feedback. Feedback is talking about where one’s skills are now, where they need to get, and empowering one to start developing a plan to get there. Empowerment builds engagement and drives people to accomplishments.

The Environment

Calling someone to the office to get feedback already sets a very formal tone and puts that person in a defensive position. Instead, company culture should include the feedback as a part of the regular meeting or casual conversation, so it does not feel like a special event. That way, people feel more comfortable and give much more valuable insights.

Also, company culture should encourage that the feedback does not go only from superior to the subordinate. Everyone should be able to give and receive feedback. Many leaders are afraid of getting feedback because they fear they won’t be seen as an expert anymore and will lose control. Becoming comfortable with not being an expert is essential. Being transparent and vulnerable with people builds trust and creates more engagement.

The Reflection

When reflecting on the feedback you have just received, look for two things. First, look for the themes underneath what people have told you. For example, maybe they have given you a couple of different angles, but the overall theme is that you should work on communicating more clearly. And secondly, think about how it felt to get the feedback with that delivery method. Being on a receiving end is an excellent way of experiencing and learning from it for the future.

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 to become more creative, productive, and successful with resilience? In this Expert Insight Interview, Angie McDonald discusses being resilient as a busy professional. Angie McDonald is a Founder and CEO of IAM Consulting and Wounded2Wonderful Coaching, Board Certified Grief Support and Transitional Life Coach, empowerment strategist, published author, and keynote speaker.

The interview discusses:

• Meaning of being resilient
• Being stuck in the comfort zone
• Focusing on your purpose
• Being intentional in creating new dynamics

Resilience

Even though many people think that resilience is the ability to “hang in there,’ resilience is much more. It is one’s authentic sense of innovation, learning, and pivoting in hard times. Metaphorically speaking, resilience is noticing the seasons. Seasons change, and so do our visual perspectives and moods. For instance, sometimes we feel exactly how the winter feels – cold, dry, and not enjoyable. The key is to notice that negative state and to work on figuring out what has caused it. Using time to do retrospection and self-discovery is the only way to learn and grow from an unfavorable situation.

The Comfort Zone

Sometimes, it is hard to recognize your own resilience and remember all the challenges you have overcame so far. People often get too comfortable with the “life is not fair” mindset, feeling sorry for themselves. And the reason why they go into that comfort zone is the fear of coming to another side which is acceptance, growing from your pain, and rediscovering yourself.

The Why

The best way to get moving from the mental place caused by grief and loss is to focus on your purpose. When you focus on your why, you enable the “how” part as resources, people, connections, and new opportunities, to come to you naturally. But again, that requires time alone with yourself to do retrospection and soul searching.

Intentionality

This pandemic has made us see how beautiful yet fragile life is. Thus, we have to enjoy our time. Due to circumstances, so many people have to spend more time at home with their families. And there is a chance to relearn how fulfilling life can be in the presence of others. Being with loved ones in a healthy and supportive environment can positively impact one’s focus and productivity.

Also, it is very beneficial to create new family dynamics and find ways to enjoy moments. For instance, small gestures of intimacy such as walking together or having a movie night, if done constantly and intentionally, become rituals. Being intentional in building new habits builds up a foundation for new paths and successes in life.

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.

If you have a passion for something, show it to the world and make money from it. In this Expert Insight Interview, Brian Burke discusses the importance of being passionate and committed to your business. Brian Burke is Chief Mac Man at SellYourMac.com, and his company managed to buy and sell more than $42 million worth of Apple products.

The interview discusses:

• Focusing on a niche market
• Branding
• SEO and organic growth
• Recruiting in sales
• Sustainable Growth

Niche Market

Nobody can be an expert in everything. It is much better to find a niche you like and want to grow in. The point is to find a way to make the customer experience as frictionless as possible by easing your processes. Apple, for instance, provides an excellent customer and user experience. So, if you are in the buy & sell field, shipping empty boxes to your customers enables them to send out their products easily. Always look to make the experience positive for the customers and not for the company.

Branding

Working on your online presence is also much easier when you constantly start being associated with your niche. Being able to stand out by showing your authenticity is the real differentiator in sales. When you brand yourself to the world, you must be your unique self because the audience notices when somebody is faking it.

SEO and Organic Growth

The competition nowadays is fierce. Thus, invest time and effort in creating a lot of high-quality content for your customers. It is necessary to maintain the top ranking on SEO. It takes a lot of grind, perseverance, and commitment to making something sustainable for many years. Also, once the company growth starts to take off, it is essential to let go of doing things that prevent you from focusing on higher-value things. For instance, you might not be part of the sales process anymore, but more focused on future strategies and finding business opportunities.

Recruiting

In sales, willingness to go above and beyond ensures the customer experience. Also, since reviews and referrals are critical in sales nowadays, being determined to turn around every negative review from a customer. When customers have issues with the product or service, they want to feel heard and understood. Enabling all communication channels, validating, and trying to solve all customer issues is a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Sustainable Growth

Two sides of the business need sustainability and growth, the individual and B2B side. The individual side requires constant technology innovation and pursue of ways to ease and speed up customer processes. On the B2B side, active branding, networking, and strengthening online presence will ensure the natural flow of new customers.

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.

Would you consider working remotely or partly remotely in the future? In this Expert Insight Interview, Jennifer Katrulya discusses technology considerations for companies that will stay virtual or try a hybrid model. Jennifer Katrulya is a Partner at Citrin Cooperman, co-leading outsourced accounting and advisory group and working in a sales team.

The interview discusses:

• Management part
• Social part
• Hybrid Model
• Future of hiring process

The Management Part

The main thing for companies that consider staying virtual or implementing a hybrid model should be to focus on social and management areas. Management part means tracking work progress up to its completion and reviewing customer satisfaction regularly.

However, before focusing on technology, the company’s processes need to be well structured. Many companies were not even aware that they do not have well-defined processes until they tried to operate at scale virtually. The procedure documentation, whole-day workflow, clear rules, and other guidelines are critical. Moreover, there is so much technology out there. Thus, the key is to choose one that will integrate well with other ones. Every tool, from accounting software to communication software, has to contribute to the company’s operations.

The Social Part

In terms of the social part, implementing things that drive a feeling of social connection is essential. People can develop good internal relationships virtually as well. Nowadays, some people can have an excellent collegiate relationship without ever meeting each other in person. But it is a leader’s job to make sure employees are engaged and connected.

Also, having one-on-one convos between employees and managers is valuable for creating an optimal working environment. Virtual work requires a different work environment from office work. It requires more flexible working conditions such as flexible work hours and results-oriented management instead of micromanaging. Performance-based management and compensation are the best way to incentivize employees. However, for the remote work model to work successfully, leadership has to communicate the expectations of working remotely in advance.

Hybrid Model

While returning to the office and continuing the remote work are simpler business models, the hybrid model is the most challenging one to implement. The reasons for that are the cost of having double equipment, security on that equipment, and the downtime between moving from the office to the home office and vice versa. However, employers are committed to figuring out the best ways to incorporate the hybrid model into their companies.

The Future

In the future, these work models will also affect the hiring process. Some companies already let their employees choose how, when, and from where they want to work. Also, during an interview, recruiters ask questions adjusted to current working trends and take video presentations more seriously.

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.

There are patterns in people’s leadership behaviors. Thus, in this Expert Insight Interview, Darcy Luoma discusses how to overcome obstacles that stand in the way to achieving peak performance. Darcy Luoma is the creator of the “Thoughtfully Fit” leadership model, leadership coach, professional speaker, and author.

The interview discusses:

• Engaging your core
• Internal practices
• Agility
• Stretching for acceptance

The Core

In every physical exercise, strengthening your core muscles is essential. Thus, metaphorically speaking, engaging your mental core creates stronger relationships and reduces conflicts. The key is to pause, think, and act. Since the internet allowed us immediate and reactive responding, many people need to relearn how to pause and think. For example, imagine getting a triggering email from your boss. Make a pause and think about why this email makes you feel that way. After you stopped and thought about it, now you can act more consciously when replying.

We all have triggers that usually go back to our childhood, and until we recognize them, they will continue to come back to us in different situations. Making a pause enables you to think and look for other choices you have and things you control.

Internal Practices

We live in such a fast-paced world that we tend to forget how essential it is to take some time for ourselves. Being alone and focusing on your thoughts and ideas makes you mentally well-rested and more productive. Make a pause and think about all the things you automatically say yes to when someone asks you. Do you really want to do those things? Do you consider doing them as good use of your time? And do those things align with your values? It is again about choice and control. If you do not think doing that would be the best choice for you, you should say no to it.

Agility

Many people say yes automatically because of the fear of being disliked or not fulfilling the expectations. Especially during the pandemic, we experience many challenges and much anxiety. Thus, agility is the practice of intentional and thoughtful responding at the moment instead of unconscious reacting.

Acceptance

Being flexible enough to accept others how they are and not how you would want them to be is a big challenge for many. Instead of trying to change people or be mad at them for not acting a certain way, choose to be flexible, let go of it, and be happy. Practice finding a mental place that is the best use of your time and energy. It makes you calmer under pressure. Start with small steps to build your confidence, and then gradually move to bigger things.

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.