
Practical Pivots
Practical Pivots is the go-to source for startup leaders and investors asking, “What do we do next?”. Each episode, we talk with a wide array of experts to guide companies to disrupt the undisruptable, turn setbacks into scale-ups, and transform plateaus into pivots.
Latest episodes

Oct 7, 2020 • 31min
International Agency Trends, Podcasting Tips and Power Lifting with Growit Group’s Clodagh Higgins
#030: Clodagh and Steve talk about global trends in marketing and Clodagh’s latest upskill. They also get meta with the dos and don’ts of successful podcasting: Don’t underestimate the power of consistency, and do interview your father.

Sep 30, 2020 • 45min
Remixing Content, Influencing Culture, and Competitive Dodgeball with Foundation CEO Ross Simmonds
#029: Ross Simmonds shares how writing about dirt can be exciting and why marketers struggle with content promotion. He and Steve also talk portfolio theory, dodgeball, and obscure history—and Ross tells how Madden got him into marketing.

Sep 23, 2020 • 36min
The History of Agencies, Authority Marketing, and Overused Words with AMI’s Drew McLellan
#028: Steve and Drew cover why agencies are responsible for soap operas, how to establish authority as an agency, and what a cornerstone content strategy looks like. Drew also lets us know it's time to stop saying "unprecedented."

Sep 16, 2020 • 41min
Influencer Marketing and the Transformation of Advertising with Influence.co’s Niel Robertson
#027: Learn how a 19th century management consultant was way ahead of his time and hear what's next for the gig economy. Niel and Steve also discuss the fundamental shift happening in marketing right now and the single smartest question you can ask someone.

Sep 9, 2020 • 40min
Agencies, Accountability, and Anti-racist AI with SEO Superstar Mike King
#026: Mike and Steve discuss agency life, why Mike writes himself letters from his future self, our racist reality, and what we can do about it. Also, a technical rapper shares a few technical SEO tricks.

10 snips
Sep 2, 2020 • 48min
How to Craft Your Strategic Narrative with Andy Raskin
#025: A company without a story is a company without a strategy. Learn how to create a narrative that will reshape your buyers' journey, and hear Steve and Andy's thoughts on why LinkedIn, Andy's mom, and Ultimate Frisbee are all awesome.

Aug 31, 2020 • 11min
It's Not You, It's COVID with Agency Coach Brent Weaver
#024: Steve and Brent talk pivoting, niching, and the second wave of marketing trends. Also, it’s okay to say “I don’t know" sometimes—and it’s okay to build a BMX ramp in your front yard always.

Aug 26, 2020 • 28min
Coaching the Chicago Bulls and Coaching Digital Agencies with Chris Rudoph
#023: This week’s episode of The Verblio Show features Chris Rudolph, digital agency coach and founder of Freedom Business Family. A true lifelong coach, Chris began his career with the Chicago Bulls. Since trading ballplayers for business owners, however, his focus has been on helping clients find success in both their business and their work-life balance.In our conversation, we chat about his approach as a coach and the lessons he’s learned as a business owner himself, with a host of broad-ranging insights to dig into along the way:One bold step to get yourself out of the weeds as an agency owner (Hint: It will require you to actually have an OOO message)How agencies can lead with a strong ROI and quick win to set themselves apartThe importance of both goals and systems, and why you need two types of people on your teamWhy “how” isn’t always the right question – and what to ask insteadChris also has a special offer for our Verblio listeners: Check out their video at https://www.verblio.com/show for a link to schedule a free 1-on-1 Agency Growth coaching session with the man himself. https://www.verblio.com/The Verblio Show is your weekly cocktail of content marketing fun and fruitful conversation. Hear the full interview with Verblio’s CEO Steve Pockross and talk with more marketers, digital agencies, and an assortment of thought leaders anywhere you get your podcasts!

Aug 24, 2020 • 26min
3 Biggest Mistakes Agencies Make When Pitching with John Harris
#022: John Harris is leading something radically different and hugely ambitious: a "reverse holding company" for digital agencies. In this episode he shares how his Worldwide Partner‘s network creates super-powered teams through 70 agencies in 40 countries, why big brands seek out the advantages created by a network, and how his thinking can help your agency stand out among the 100,000+ agencies that exist in the U.S. alone.Note: Want your pitch to sound less like “we’re a digital agency, based on technology, with great people, who focuses on results”? Or hear more about what mistakes agencies make when pitching bigger clients, and how to avoid those mistakes? John’s seen it all, from big agencies to startup and enterprise brands and this is a particularly useful conversation to tune into.https://www.verblio.com/The Verblio Show is your weekly cocktail of content marketing fun and fruitful conversation. Hear the full interview with Verblio’s CEO Steve Pockross and talk with more marketers, digital agencies, and an assortment of thought leaders anywhere you get your podcasts!

Aug 19, 2020 • 34min
The Secret to Thought Leadership Content with Orbit Media Co-Founder Andy Crestodina
#021: "Advertising is ____, content marketing is ____." If you can’t fill in those two blanks (and make it catchy), you should definitely listen to this week’s episode of The Verblio Show with Andy Crestodina. Andy is co-founder of Orbit Media, a 19-year-old web design agency. He quite literally wrote the book on content marketing, which Jay Baer has called “The most practical book ever written about digital marketing." In our interview, Andy shares a literal wealth of knowledge about content marketing, productivity, learning, and much, much more: The one tweak you can make to turn content marketing from a years-long slog into a ‘results before you hit publish’ investment - The exact formula for thought leadership and the data to back it up - The opinions / observations / data hierarchy - What you should and should not do with best practices - Escapades in China, exercise in 2 minutes/day, wake time & productivity correlation https://www.verblio.com/The Verblio Show is your weekly cocktail of content marketing fun and fruitful conversation. Hear the full interview with Verblio’s CEO Steve Pockross and talk with more marketers, digital agencies, and an assortment of thought leaders anywhere you get your podcasts!