Above The Business

Today on the leadership podcast, Colleen Francis joins Bradley to discuss sales in and out of the insurance industry.  Colleen is driven by a passion for sales – and results. A successful sales leader for over 20 years, she understands the challenges of selling in today’s market. Clients note her frank, no-nonsense approach to solving problems and addressing opportunities – an approach that delivers sales results.In this episode, they discussed the importance of salespeople receiving coaching, the changing sales landscape, creating urgency around the sale, and finding good salespeople for your team.Whether maximizing revenue from sales teams or seizing new market opportunities, Colleen works with businesses to develop the right sales strategies for success and delivers practical approaches to ensure it sticks. Colleen’s results have attracted clients such as Chevron, John Deere, NCR, Trend Micro, Merck, Abbott, Experian, Royal Bank, Mosaic, Dow, and hundreds of other industry-leading companies.Time and time again, clients who work with Colleen note her frank, no-nonsense approach to accelerate sales while reducing effort and increasing profits. Colleen’s practical strategies deliver immediate and lasting results.Colleen is an award-winning writer, consultant and bestselling author of popular sales books including the recent Right on the Money. A recognized thought leader in sales leadership, she is an inductee in the Professional Speaker Hall of Fame and has been named the #1 sales influencer to follow by LinkedIn.Learn more about Colleen, get your copy of her book, and find more sales resources at https://www.engageselling.com

Wondering what the #1 reason is for salespeople to fail?  You’ll find out in this episode!  This week on the leadership podcast, Jeffrey Gitomer, co-host of the Sell or Die podcast, joins Bradley to discuss sales.  Jeffrey is known as “the King of Sales,” having authored many #1 best-selling books on sales, providing over 40 corporate presentations each YEAR, leading “The Insiders Club” for highly motivated and successful salespeople, and offering powerful free resources to empower salespeople.In today’s episode, Jeffrey and Bradley discussed the belief system needed for sales.  Bottom line?  You need to believe in what you’re selling.  If you don’t think that your product or service will actually improve the lives of others, you’re not going to be as motivated in sales.They also discussed the importance of referrals.  You’ve probably heard this discussed before, but when one of the top sales leaders in the world says it, it’s worth hearing!  Referrals are the best leads you can have, because that person’s friend or family member believes in what you’re selling just as much as you do.Jeffrey Gitomer is a creative, on-the-edge writer whose expertise in sales, customer loyalty, and and personal development is world-renowned.  His insightful, humorous, and in-your-face approach has made him popular in corporate environments across the world.  His audiences learn from a real world approach to sales and walk away with advice they can take to the streets the very next moment.  You can find all of Jeffrey’s resources at www.gitomer.com

Today on the leadership podcast, Jonathan Milligan joins Bradley to talk about sharing your message and selling your offer.  Jonathan is the author of Your Message Matters: How to Rise Above the Noise and Get Paid for What You Know.Jonathan shared his 3 P’s for Thought Leaders and Industry Experts who want to share their message.  They are Purpose, Passion, and People.  You should believe in the purpose of your message, be passionate about the results you offer, and know who you’re marketing to.He and Bradley also discussed their parallel concepts of “Next Right Thing” and “Do This Next.”  They agreed on the importance of knowing how to put your priorities into order so that your actions are the most effective.Jonathan is also a blogger, speaker, and online business coach. He has spent the last decade guiding and directing creative professionals on how to pursue meaningful work. Since 2009, Jonathan has run his own portable lifestyle business online.Today he teaches others how to build a business with their passion, story, or message.  You can learn more about Jonathan and get your free copy of his book, Your Message Matters, when you visit https://www.yourmessagemattersbook.com/ 

This week on the leadership podcast, Bradley sits down with return guest Craig Wiggins.  They discussed changes in business operations, marketing, and hiring in a post pandemic landscape.  Craig shared his thoughts around what changed in business since the last time he was on the podcast.Craig Wiggins started his insurance agency in 1996 with 0 customers and 0 clients… Today he has built one of the largest agencies in the country with 4 locations in 2 states and over $40,000,000 in annual premium. Craig and his Agency consistently win top awards and recognitions year after year. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020. In this episode, he spoke directly to insurance agencies.  He encouraged owners to remember that coverage is more important than price.  After all, anyone can undercut a price, but not everyone can provide coverage that will serve their customers.  In fact, he noted that if an insurance agent doesn’t do a good job, they may set their customer up for major problems down the road.Craig also encouraged owners to remind their team members of this fact.  An insurance agent is the #2 most important person in someone’s life.  You need to remind your team that what they do matters!He has found that when marketing your business, traditional methods have become more effective.  This means that centers of influence, referrals aka introductions, and even direct mail have been offering some great returns.  This is in direct contrast to standard practices over the past few years that have emphasized online reach.Craig talked about how to find truly great team members. A lot of people will lull into thinking that it’s easy to just post a job opening and get a bunch of applicants.  However, the kind of people you’re looking for may not be on Indeed or Monster. Have a high number of applicants doesn’t always mean they are qualified.He and Bradley discussed the value of having a second in command. This person would be responsible for operations and implementation of the vision.  Craig used the term Implementor to describe this person.  Their conversation included the importance of knowing when it was time to hire for this role, and what compensation should look like.Ready to learn how to succeed in a post-pandemic business world?Learn more about Craig and his coaching at www.craigwigginscoaching.com

Today on the Leadership Podcast, Bradley sits down with Cole Cubelic. Cole is a former Auburn University offensive lineman and captain, joined ESPN in 2011 as an analyst covering the SEC and Sun Belt Conference football games. He works at AL.com as a sports analyst, providing analysis and film room explanations of key battles on the offensive and defensive lines. He co-hosts Mcelroy and Cubelic In The Morning on WJOX 94.5 FM. He has worked as an analyst on SEC Network and ESPN3 telecasts, and has also been a weekly guest on The Paul Finebaum Show. In fall 2017, he joined SEC Saturday Night, the franchise that features SEC Network’s marquee college football game each Saturday – as a field analyst, alongside analyst Jordan Rodgers and commentator Tom Hart. He also covered select games as a field analyst for XFL on ABC.Cubelic previously hosted “The Cube Show” on 730 AM-WUMP, worked for the Sun Belt Network from 2009-13 and was a radio personality at WZZN from 2010-13, where he was the co-host of “Cubelic & the Kid” and “Monday Night Blast Off” on 97.7 FM in the Huntsville, Ala. area.

This week on the leadership podcast, Bradley interviews Chris Ronzio. Chris is the founder and CEO of Trainual, a leading SaaS platform that transforms the way small businesses onboard, train and scale their teams.  They discuss the 4 P’s of team building, including Profile, People, Policies, and Processes.  Chris emphasized the importance of assessing people in this order to find the best team members.  He shared how understanding who was completing a task (Profile & People) was more important than simply teaching Policies (the what) and Processes (the how). Chris is the host of “The Fastest Growing Companies” and “Organize Chaos” podcasts as well as the author of the best-selling book “The Business Playbook - How to Document and Delegate What You Do So Your Company Can Grow Beyond You."You can learn more about Chris at www.chrisronzio.com

In this episode, Bradley interviews Atul Minocha. He is a partner at Chief Outsiders, a national marketing consulting firm that helps CEOs accelerate growth. His recent book, Lies, Damned Lies, and Marketing was named Forbes' #1 book to read for entrepreneurial success and is an Amazon best-seller. He's sharing his top advice for CEOs and owners!With experience in startups and Fortune 500 companies like Honeywell, Kodak, and Toyota, Atul works in a wide range of industries, from automotive and healthcare to industrial goods, technology and SaaS.  Atul loves to work on business growth problems that have been stewing for some time.

How many of you have given away a pen with your logo on it?  You’ve definitely gotten one from a business before!  Today’s guest challenges the idea of swag in favor of gifts.  John Ruhlin, author of Gift·ology, joins Bradley to discuss how to develop client relationships based on likeability and trust.While becoming the #1 performer out of 1.5 million sales reps for one of the world’s most recognizable brands, John developed a system of using generosity to gain access to elite clients and generate thousands of referrals. This system is founded on the principle that through giving to clients, you will be able to generate customers who not only stay but also refer more business to you.John and his firm now help automate this gifting process for individuals and organizations like UBS, Raymond James, DR Horton, Keller Williams, the Chicago Cubs, and Caesar’s Palace. John and the Gift·ology team can help any individual turn their clients into their own personal sales force to drive exponential growth.You can learn more about John and his firm, as well as the principles of Gift·ology when you visit https://giftologygroup.com/start-here/

Today on the leadership podcast, Bradley sits down with Andrew Bartlow, an expert in Human Resources and Talent Management.Andrew leads Series B Consulting, which helps businesses to articulate their people strategy and accelerate their growth, while navigating rapid change. He also founded the People Leader Accelerator, which is the preeminent development program for startup HR leaders.He’s worked with clients like Masterclass and many others to help them overcome obstacles in a hyper growth phase. For the first time ever, he wants to share his lessons on podcasts.Andrew is also the co-author of “Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organizations,” has a master’s degree from the top program in his field, and has been CECP, SPHR, Six Sigma, and executive coaching certified.Andrew has 25 years of Human Resources and Talent Management experience at organizations across a wide spectrum of sizes, maturity stages, and industries.

This week on the Leadership Podcast, Bradley interviews Dave "Mr. Accountability" Anderson.  He is a leading  international speaker and author on personal and corporate performance improvement. After an extensive career in the automotive retail business  Dave, along with his wife Rhonda, began  LearnToLead - entering its third decade - with the  goal to help individuals and organizations reach  their personal and corporate potential. The author of 15 books, most recently Intentional  Mindset: Developing Mental Toughness and a Killer  Instinct, and host of the wildly popular podcast,  "The Game Changer Life," Dave's no-nonsense  messages impact readers and listeners in over 154 countries. Dave has spoken in twenty one  countries and presents 100+ times annually to a  wide array of businesses, athletic teams, and  nonprofits. His immediately applicable messages, energized  and dynamic presentation style, and unmatched  content positively focus, equip, and inspire teams  to do better - and the principles he shares  resonate with audiences from a broad spectrum of  industries. His direct, often humorous, and somewhat  politically incorrect approach has earned him the  nickname, "Mr. Accountability," and his in-the trenches background of starting and running  world-class businesses, coupled with his relatable  non-academic approach creates unmatched  connection that resonates with his audiences and  moves them to action. Dave and Rhonda are also co-founders of Matthew 25:35 Foundation, which helps feed, clothe, and  house under-resourced people worldwide. In his  personal time Dave enjoys the martial arts and  holds a second degree black belt in karate. He has  been married over three decades to Rhonda, and  enjoys life as a grandpa immensely. Find LearnToLead at https://www.learntolead.com/ and the Matthew 25:35 Foundation at https://matthew2535foundation.org/