The Action Catalyst

Jay Baer has spent 23 years in digital marketing, consulting for more than 700 companies during that period, including 32 of the FORTUNE 500. His current firm – Convince & Convert – provides digital marketing advice and online customer service advice and counsel to some of the world’s most important brands like The United Nations, Allstate, Cisco, and Cabela’s. His new book, Hug Your Haters, is the world’s first modern customer service manual, showing how companies large and small can benefit from the enormous increase in online complaints and customer feedback. His second book, Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype, was #3 on the New York Times business best seller list, and a runaway #1 Amazon best seller. Jay speaks approximately 60 times per year world-wide, often with lessons about how businesspeople can use today’s shifts in technology and consumer expectation to gain or keep more customers. Show Highlights: 80% of businesses say they provide superior customer service. 8% of their customers agree. @JayBaerYou need to respond to every customer on every channel every time. @JayBaerBusinesses focus too much time on customer acquisition and not enough time focusing on the customers they’ve already earned. @JayBaer30% of customer complaints are never answered or responded to. @JayBaerCustomer service is becoming a spectators sport. People can see when you don’t respond to complaints online. @JayBaerWe need to stop answering customers only in the channels we are comfortable with, and start answering customers on the channels they actually prefer. @JayBaerCustomer service is the new marketing. @JayBaerOnly 47% of the people who complain on social media expect a business to get back to them at all.Hug your onstage, online haters. Answer their complaints. It will blow their mind and win their heart. @JayBaerYou may not be able to out work your competition, but you can out love your competition. @JayBaerThe most overrated thing in the world is praise. @JayBaerInside every complaint is a kernel of truth and an opportunity to get better. @JayBaerHaters are our most important customers, but we treat them like our least important customer. @JayBaerSocial media doesn’t create negativity, it’s just puts a magnifying glass against it. @JayBaer The Action Catalyst is a weekly podcast hosted by Dan Moore, President of Southwestern Advantage, the oldest direct-sales company in America, and Partner with Southwestern Consulting. With more than 45 years in sales leadership and marketing management, Dan has a wealth of knowledge to share on how to make better use of time to achieve life, sales, and other business goals. Each week, he interviews some of the nation’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing meaningful tips and advice. Subscribe on iTunes and please leave a rating and review!

Rusty Shelton - first spoke at Harvard on the changing world of PR and marketing at the age of 23. Today, as CEO of Shelton Interactive, he leads one of the country’s fastest-growing digital marketing and PR agencies. Founded in 2010, Shelton Interactive features a unique and forward-thinking communications model that integrates PR, social media, graphic design, website development, and SEO—services that are normally handled by multiple agencies—under one roof. The company has launched more than 30 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. Barbara Henricks - is president of Cave Henricks Communications, a full service media relations and consulting firm, specializing in book publicity, media strategy for thought leaders, and platform development. Barbara has spearheaded campaigns for some of the biggest names in business today, including Jack Welch, Tom Rath, Ram Charan, Larry Bossidy, Maria Bartiromo, Clay Christensen, and Marcus Buckingham. A former journalist at NBC, Henricks has represented over 40 bestsellers during her publishing career. Show Highlights: Every individual and brand is a media outlet whether they realize it or not. @RustySheltonTraditional media is being heavily challenged more and more by new media every single day. @barbarahenricksThere are no gatekeepers in media anymore. Making a noisy online world, now deafening. @barbarahenricksThere is a massive opportunity to communicate and interact with anyone now, but few people know how to do this well. @barbarahenricksDo you own your real estate online or is it on rented property? @RustySheltonThere are three types of media: Owned, Earned and Rented @RustySheltonWhen you own your media, you can leverage that to get access to your audience any time you want to. @RustySheltonSocial media is rented real estate. It’s relevant and needed – but not totally controlled by you. @RustySheltonMicro media allows you to make constant impressions and manage strong relationships with your audience. @barbarahenricksTwitter and LinkedIn are the two most used and relevant platforms for sales people. @RustySheltonThe power of perception for sales people is key because they should be seen as a person of authority in their industry. @RustySheltonHow easy are you to find online? If you aren’t discoverable, how can you expect to grow an audience? @barbarahenricksNever sacrifice your credibility. Always be accurate and always be authentic. @barbarahenricksThe more connection to your audience that you own (email list, subscribers, etc.) the more leverage you have over the long term. @RustyShelton The Action Catalyst is a weekly podcast hosted by Dan Moore, President of Southwestern Advantage, the oldest direct-sales company in America, and Partner with Southwestern Consulting. With more than 45 years in sales leadership and marketing management, Dan has a wealth of knowledge to share on how to make better use of time to achieve life, sales, and other business goals. Each week, he interviews some of the nation’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing meaningful tips and advice. Subscribe on iTunes and please leave a rating and review!

Andrew Davis has wrangled for The Muppets and written for Charles Kuralt. He’s marketed for tiny startups and Fortune 500 brands. He is the author of two books, Brandscaping and Town Inc. In 2001, Andrew co-founded Tippingpoint Labs, where, as the chief strategy officer, Andrew and his team helped companies like Putnam Investments, Breville and TomTom. Drew has led the charge to change the way publishers think and how brands market their products in a digital world. Today, after selling Tippingpoint Labs, Andrew Davis shares his insights and ideas in workshops and speaking engagements around the world. He's been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, International Business Times, The Boston Globe, CBS News and hundreds of other media outlets. Show Highlights: In the future, everyone will be in sales. @DrewDavisHereVideo is a massive shift in marketing. Don't tell your audience, show your audience. @DrewDavisHereMarketers will spend less time creative a lot of content and focus on sharing consistent content. @DrewDavisHereYou can have great traffic, but generate zero leads. It's about quality over quantity. @DrewDavisHereIf you want to build a digital brand, do these three things: provide quality and unique content, be consistent, remain relevant. @DrewDavisHereRemain relevant to your audience by posting content that stays on brand that is relevant to them. @DrewDavisHereConsistently deliver your content. This builds a solid digital relationship built on trust.@DrewDavisHereGet rich by targeting a niche. @DrewDavisHereFind your niche, target directly to them and watch your business grow. @DrewDavisHereBuild a relationship with your audience through a content based brand. @DrewDavisHereIf you want a successful business, think like a media company. @DrewDavisHereContent builds relationships, relationships are built on trust, and trust is what drive revenue. @DrewDavisHere The Action Catalyst is a weekly podcast hosted by Dan Moore, President of Southwestern Advantage, the oldest direct-sales company in America, and Partner with Southwestern Consulting. With more than 45 years in sales leadership and marketing management, Dan has a wealth of knowledge to share on how to make better use of time to achieve life, sales, and other business goals. Each week, he interviews some of the nation’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing meaningful tips and advice. Subscribe on iTunes and please leave a rating and review!

Tim Sanders is a New York Times bestselling author, public speaker, and former Yahoo! executive. He joined Yahoo! through the acquisition of Mark Cuban's Broadcast.com in 1999. Tim uses his business expertise to help some of the world's biggest brands lead their teams to greatness & close deals. Tim is the author of four books, including the New York Times bestseller Love Is the Killer App: How To Win Business & Influence Friends. It’s been translated into over a dozen languages and has been featured in Fast Company, USA Today, the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor and on CNN. His other books include Today We Are Rich, The Likeability Factor, Saving the World at Work and his most recent book, Dealstorming Show Highlights: Dealstorming is the combination of brainstorming and deal making. @sanderssaysWhen you put brainstorming and deal-making together you solve all the problems that stand between you and the complex sale. @sanderssaysThe secret to dealstorming is to invite everyone involved in the problem to be apart of the solution. @sanderssaysA true top producer is a team builder. @sanderssaysYou are not an island. You can’t achieve true greatness by yourself. @sanderssaysIf you are good a dealstorming, you build a team and solve the problem quickly. @sanderssaysInvite peers to work together and build relationships so they can solve problems quicker. @sanderssaysYour competition is the status quo. You don’t sell a product or a service, you sell change. @sanderssaysAs a salesperson, you’re going to make contact with the informers, influencers, and signers. There is no such thing as a decision maker anymore.No one decides on anything on their own anymore. @sanderssaysYou need to learn enough about your client to know and understand their painful problem. @sanderssaysProper conception of the right deal to sell to the right person at the right time will cut your sale cycle in half. @sanderssaysAnything you can do that reduces your prospects time to decide by 20% increases your sales by 200%. @sanderssaysLong-term relationships are built by selling something that works. @sanderssays The Action Catalyst is a weekly podcast hosted by Dan Moore, President of Southwestern Advantage, the oldest direct-sales company in America, and Partner with Southwestern Consulting. With more than 45 years in sales leadership and marketing management, Dan has a wealth of knowledge to share on how to make better use of time to achieve life, sales, and other business goals. Each week, he interviews some of the nation’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing meaningful tips and advice. Subscribe on iTunes and please leave a rating and review!

This week's podcast is highlighting a life story from one of our Southwestern Consulting™ coaching clients. Dr. Ray Queener is the Superintendent of Cambridge Isanti School District (5,000 students) in Cambridge, MN. He is dedicated to creating a better culture in his school district and becoming a stronger leader. Putting action behind that goal, he partnered with one of our accountability coaches to guide him through his goals. Dr. Queener's accountability and leadership coach is Kristen Hartnagel. Kristen specializes in leadership, vision, team engagement and motivation. Her passion is changing lives and creating strong sales cultures. She is an expert at training, coaching and personal development. Tune in to this week's unique show to get a glimpse of a real life story about accountability and the benefits of partnering with a coach to accomplish your goals in life. Show Highlights: How are you able to make significant changes to affect the way your team learns? @Queener1Be creative and innovative in everything you do. @Queener1The biggest complaint I hear is, “I just don’t have time.” @Queener1Look at what is happening in your life. Step back and ask yourself if there is anything you could do better – even by one degree. @KristenHartnageGather your team and find out what they believe in. Bring those beliefs to life. @Queener1Find out how you will treat and respect each other as a team and vice versa. This strengthens your team. @Queener1Once you clearly define your culture, you take one step closer to living it out every day. @Queener1 The Action Catalyst is a weekly podcast hosted by Dan Moore, President of Southwestern Advantage, the oldest direct-sales company in America, and Partner with Southwestern Consulting. With more than 45 years in sales leadership and marketing management, Dan has a wealth of knowledge to share on how to make better use of time to achieve life, sales, and other business goals. Each week, he interviews some of the nation’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing meaningful tips and advice. Subscribe on iTunes and please leave a rating and review!