Podcast 541: Cloze Customer Relationship Cloud Based Software with Alex Cote

If you follow my blog then you know that I am a bit of a geek and someone who is always looking for better ways to build relationships, stay in touch and do it more effectively.   I recently stumbled across a new cloud based platform called “Cloze“.  I happen to have tried out the 14-day free trial of the software, then purchased the software for my personal use.

So what makes Cloze different from all the thousands of CRM systems out on the internet?  Simply stated is aggregates data and information about your friends, clients and prospects from across several social media platforms and has a user friendly user interface that really makes is intuitive to use and become more productive.  Believe me this cloud based system is not like any other CRM you have encountered, but once you give it a whirl you will see what I am speaking about.

In this interview with Alex Cote one of the founder of Cloze we discuss the differentiators in the software and some of the new things in development.  I know everyone who enjoys staying on the cutting edge of technology, and wants to start using as system to make them more productive then you will certainly appreciate Cloze.

If you want to download the 14-day free trial please click here, ( for a 10% discount when you are ready to purchase, please use this code tun3pam2ok6wyb9n) if you want to read some of the Tweets click here to be directed to the organization’s Twitter page and read what users are raving about!!!!

I hope you enjoy this great interview with Alex Cote co-founder of Cloze.

Podcast 540: Beyond Referrals with Bill Cates

I certainly review a variety of books for my podcast interviews, and I am always looking for authors and content that can be applied to real work applications.

I have to say that Bill Cates  and his new book entitled ” Beyond Referrals” is one of those books that almost anyone in the business world can read and gain useful insight into building relationships, and getting referrals to perpetuate their business.

Bill speaks with me in our interview about building what he refers to as a “Referral Mindset”  Bill states that beliefs and awareness of referrals is ultimately what will determine your success in obtaining more referrals.  If you believe something is possible, then you will see the opportunities.

Bill asks the reader to ask themselves three (3) questions: 1) Are you committed to referrals?  2) Do you believe asking for referrals is safe?  3) Do you have a process to generate referrals?  In our interview together we explore these questions and more about building a business based on referrals.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with the master of referrals Bill Cates about his new book “Beyond Referrals” , if you want more information about his book please click here to be taken to his website, or click here to go to his Twitter landing page.

Podcast 527: Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention with Ben Parr

Have you tried to capture someone’s attention these days? Do feel like to have to set off a flair in front of their face just to get a few minutes of their focused attention? That is the way that I feel sometimes.

I am certain that in our world today many of us has a bad case of Attention Deficit Disorder, and it is not all the fault of the individuals.  Our world and the things in it that require our attention has increased exponentially.  As a matter of fact we use to speak about Moore’s Law and that the computing power would double every two years, now who know how frequently it is doubling today?

Google receives 4,000,000 searches every minute.  For more fun stats on the amount of data we deal with daily,  just click here to be directed to Data Never Sleeps 2.0 graphic and article. 

Ben Parr the author of Captivology: The Science of Capturing People’s Attention has been studying how to capture people’s attention.  He has come up with some very interesting facts, there are three types of attention-immediate, short and long term attention.  He also states that you can capture all three of these types of attention with what Ben refers to as the “seven captivation triggers.  In my interview with Ben we explore the captivation triggers and the research behind them.

I recommend that you listen to and get a copy of Ben’s book if you are in the business trying to capture the attention of your customers, or just your fellow workers.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with Ben Parr on his new book “Captivology“.   You can learn more by visiting his website by clicking here, or Facebook or Twitter.

Podcast 514: Stand Out with Dorie Clark

This is my second interview with Dorie Clark, and each time we speak I learn so much about branding and marketing myself.  While not a master at the subject if you want to learn more I suggest that you listen to my interview with Dorie, and get a copy of her book entitled ” Stand Out-How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It.” 

What impresses me so much about Dorie is her sincerity and mastery of the topic.  In our world today many of us are vying for the attention of someone to listen to our idea and this  is becoming more and more difficult to capture their attention.   We have so many many people competing for attention of our target audience that it frequently seems like a red ocean out there, clogged with social media posts, tweets, emails and a myriad of other ways to distract who we would like to attract to our message or idea.

Stand Out uses real life stories and studies from top business thinkers like Seth Godin and David Allen, and experts in realms as diverse of genomics and urban planning. Dorie guides the readers through the process of developing their own breakthrough ideas, and then building a passionate following around them.  I encourage you to listen, learn and apply some of what Dorie teaches and speaks about for it is incredibly powerful.

If you want to learn more about Dorie and her new book “Stand Out” please click here to be directed to her website, or click here to connect with her on Facebook.  Enjoy this great interview with someone who will change the trajectory of your career.

 

Podcast 494: Pocket Man with Scott Jordan

There is no doubt that Scott Jordan the founder of ScotteVest is a passionate man.  He has built a fashion technology brand of clothing into a $50 million dollar business.  I recently had the pleasure of doing an interview with Scott,  about his new book entitled “Pocket Man” and we discussed everything from his strained relationship with his father, to the wonderful women in his life–his mother and wife Laura.

Scott’s story is not just another rags to riches journey, he is passionate about teaching others to follow their dreams.  That anyone can do what Scott did with passion, promotion and a lot of drive.  Scott has always moved fast and believes in speed, even when it comes to making decision in business.  Scott states that you can learn more from a day of doing than you can from a week of thinking.  He obviously is a man of action, and willing to take calculated risks.

Scott started in his fathers business selling cemetery plots, this is a tough sale to say the least but Scott learned a lot from being involved in the family business , and he attributes much of his success from what he learned from his father.  Passion for what you do is at the foundation of shameless personal promotion, and Scott appearance on Shark Tank and turning down a $1,000,000 offer might have been the culmination of a great promotional effort.

If you want to learn more about Scott Jordan and ScotteVest you can click here to be directed to their website.  You can also click here to watch a great video about the vests that Scott Jordan’s company makes that hold all of your technology gear.

Podcast 481: The Mindful Marketer with Lisa Nirell

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing author Lisa Nirell.  She has another new book that has just been released entitled ” The Mindful Marketer.”  

In Lisa’s new book she questions traditional marketing methodology, and provides the reader with alternative ways to implement effective marketing strategies.   Lisa states that the traditional chief marketing officers are facing extinction because of the use of big data, and how it is transforming the way we work as marketers.  She states that that modern marketing leaders are expected to be tech savvy, data driven brand ambassadors on the vanguard of change.

I appreciate Lisa’s approach to this book.  She exposes how our always-on mindset and the consistent need for speed and innovation has created an environment of mindlessness.  She states we need to stop, breathe and reflect mindfully on future opportunities and daily decisions if we are to effectively make deep meaningful connections with our customers.    Lisa recommend a “middle path”, a nexus between data-fueled, analytical thinking and creativity to a humanistic approach to marketing.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with a leader in the marketing industry.  If you want to learn more about Lisa you can click here to be directed to her website.

 

Podcast 388: We First-How Brands & Consumers Use Social Media To Build A Better World by Simon Mainwaring

 

Simon MainwaringIt is not often that I come across a book and author that has life transforming ideas, and ideas that I believe will have a positive impact on our world.

I recently interviewed author Simon Mainwaring about his new book entitled “We First-How Brands & Consumers Use Social Media to Build A Better World.”  His  book is not only a must read for anyone in business, but for anyone who is part of the socially responsible movement and wants to impact the world for the better.

Simon really believes that we need to transform the engine of capitalism  because our current structure is not performing in ways that benefit the whole. As the title of the book eludes, we need to move to a “We First” instead of a ” Me First” mindset.   He points out that the book is not about doing away with capitalism, is is about recognizing the advantages of capitalism as a generator of progress and prosperity, but at the same time acknowledging the mounting criticisms–if left unchecked, a capitalist system will run off it own rails.  Many noted economists, thought leaders, and social visionaries around the world are all recognizing that capitalism has become dysfunctional.  It has lost is way as an effective, self-regulating, and sustainable economic system. It has devolved into a single-minded pursuit of profit and wealth for a small elite at the expense of the overall society.”

We First points out that the unresolved tension between self-interest and selfishness is no a philosophical debate.  It is at the root of corporate and individual economic behavior, shaping how brands and consumers participate in capitalism on a daily basis. It affects the choices we make about our use of natural resources, or habits of consumption, our views of investment and profit, our attitudes toward both poverty and ethical business conduct, and the political debates that ultimately determine what type of society we want to live in.

If you are interested in reshaping your personal beliefs, and join a movement that will have a positive impact on how we consume good and services then I highly recommend that you read and study Simon’s new book “We First“.  He also has an amazing course which is both available on the Internet, and there is an upcoming live event in the Los Angeles area in March of 2013.

If you are interested in  Simon’s course offering please click here to be directed to a landing page with more information about the event.  I will be taking the course and attending the live event, you will not want to miss this opportunity.    If you purchase admission to the on-line course you are entitled to attend the live event in Los Angeles in March of 2013, and you are eligible to bring a non-profit of your choice at absolutely no cost.

You can also watch a very cool presentation that Simon did at TED Talks by clicking this link.

 

I hope you enjoy this great interview with a man that is going to change our world, through influencing our choices, consumption and behaviors.

Podcast 384: Small Message, Big Impact with Terri Sjodin

 

Terri SjodinI don’t believe their is a person alive that has not been put in the awkward position of being asked “what do you do?”; and for one reason or another we can’t seem to get the answer out to our mouth in a short simple statement.  In Terri Sjodin’s new book entitled ” Small Message, Big Impact-The Elevator Speech Effect” Terri guides and directs not only the sales and marketing person, but anyone how to crate a effective elevator speech.

As Terri states ” In this day and age of information overload and busier schedules, we’re limited to fewer opportunities to get people attention, and often only 140 characters to get our message across.  Attention must be earned, and faster than ever, or your opportunity will be gone before you know it.  Whether you’re faced with a chance encounter, a one-on-one meeting or presentation for thousands, only a well-crafted elevator speech can take your message and bridge the gap between the goals you set and the results you want.”

In my interview with Terri she provides some of the steps required to build an effective elevator speech.  She speaks about case, creativity, and delivery the three fundamentals of developing a great elevator speech.  Terri states you have to have s solid and persuasive case, along with a thoughtful, creative and intriguing message combined with a delivery which is genuine and enthusiastic. Once you complete Terri book “Small Message, Big Impact” you will have crafted a compelling message.  She takes you through the process and provides examples of wonderfully crafted elevator speeches.  If you are someone who is consistently dealing with the public either in sales, marketing or customer service Terri new book is a must read.

Terri also has a wonderful book trailer that you can watch by clicking here, or you can access forms and tools on how to develop your own elevator speech by clicking here.  I hope you enjoy this wonderful podcast with author Terri Sjodin.
 

Podcast 370: Platform Get Noticed in a Noisy World with Michael Hyatt

Michael HyattIn my recent interview with Michael Hyatt the  CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, and the author of a wonderful new book entitled “Platform-Get Noticed in a Noisy World” we discuss what is required for someone to get noticed in this very noisy and crowded world we live in today.

Michael is one of the top business bloggers and holds the #1 spot as a Leadership blogger. No doubt he is extremely well qualified to speak about getting noticed and building a platform.

He states that “competition has never been greater and people are more distracted than ever.  That being said, never before have there been so many ways you can connect with people if you do it right.  Michael states that there are two critical parts of the success equation: a compelling product (the what) and a significant platform (the who). 1) Create products that people would love to use 2) Create products that solve problems in unexpected ways 3) Create product that exceed your customers’ expectations.

We also speak about what Michael refers to as the WOW Experience, of which he states has some combination of the following ten (10) elements:

Surprise , Anticipation, Resonance, Transcendence, Clarity, Presence, Universality,  Evangelism, Longevity, Privilege.    He says that being successful means becoming the expert in recognizing WOW when it shows up.  More importantly, it means being able to recognize it when it is absent–and insisting that you ask yourself to deliver it.

Michaels’ new book is loaded with tips and ideas to help anyone who is attempting to develop a platform.  What I really enjoy about Platform, Get Noticed in a Noisy World is that the chapters are short 3-4 pages, easy to digest and filled with very useful tips and information that you can put to use immediately.  If you are someone wanting to get noticed in this noisy world, then reading Michael’s new book is a must.

If you would like to download a free chapter and watch an informational video about the book, then click here to learn more.  You can also click here to be directed to the Facebook page.

 

Enjoy this wonderful interview with author Michael Hyatt.