Find My Catalyst Podcast

Design with User Experience in Mind On this episode, Mike and Jody discuss user experience and designing with the user in mind. Questions Answered: Where are some areas that we may have designed without thinking about the user experience? How do we identify where we can improve our approach to designing for the end user experience? Key Takeaways: If you empathize with the user, put yourself in their shoes, you can identify so many challenges that you may not have considered. We get so focused on the outcome that we forget what the journey looks like and the experience that the customer goes through. User experience testing is so important. A mistake we make is sometimes we look at the problem through the wrong lens. Embrace and engage in the operation. Listen with intention to understand. The only way to overcome blind spots is to shift perspective. If you can reduce the amount of friction your customer goes through, you can create experiences that are significantly better than your competition. Show Links: Design of Everyday Things Pictures of the Honda Pilot battery compartment Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit Demystify Sales - the course  

Continuing with the 25 days of Christmas Movies with Lessons that apply to Business, Sales, and Life - Here are episodes 11 through 15. Also, the links to the original YouTube Videos follow. if you'd like to see me in costume. Day 11 - Break the Pattern - Christmas Story Day 12 - Level Up - Elf Day 13 - Overcoming Fear - Home Alone Day 14 - Question Timing - Christmas Vacation Day 15 - Rapport Building - Charlie Brown Christmas This series is brought to you by the Catalyst Sale Courses & Sprints - Watch for the 2020 Sprint of the Month Club to be Announced Soon. Catalyst Sale

Continuing with the 25 days of Christmas Movies with Lessons that apply to Business, Sales, and Life - Here are episodes 6 through 10. Also, the links to the original YouTube Videos follow. if you'd like to see me in costume. Day 6 - Bias - Elf Day 7 - Advocate - Christmas Story Day 8 - Creativity and Innovation - Christmas Vacation Day 9 - Teamwork - Charlie Brown Christmas Day 10 - Guiding Principles - Elf This series is brought to you by the Catalyst Sale Courses & Sprints - Watch for the 2020 Sprint of the Month Club to be Announced Soon. Catalyst Sale

The period between Thanksgiving & Christmas is one of my favorite times of year.  It is a time for reflection, family, food, faith, and preparation. This year I'm running a 25 Days of Lessons we can takeaway from Holiday Movies.  My objective with this project is to improve my comfort with video, highlight the small things that we may miss in some of our favorite movies, and have some fun. Here are the links to the original YouTube Videos, if you'd like to see me in costume. Day 1 - Kickoff & Don't Be A Washing Machine Day 2 - Simplify - Peanuts Day 3 - Know Your Path - Elf Day 4 - Communication without Words - Christmas Story Day 5 - Reflection - Christmas Vacation This series is brought to you by the Catalyst Sale Courses & Sprints - Watch for the 2020 Sprint of the Month Club to be Announced Soon. Catalyst Sale

On this episode, Mike is joined by Evo Terra. Evo is a podcast strategist with Simpler Media Productions. Questions Answered: Should organizations take advantage of podcasting as a way to communicate to employees? Why do organizations struggle with the idea of putting together a podcast? What are some advantages of communicating through the spoken word? How long does a podcast need to be? How can we avoid analysis paralysis?  What happens if you change the style mid-stream? What are some common mistakes people make when starting on this journey? How do you look at audio as a secondary activity? How can content be reused? What can I do if I want to get started podcasting? Key Takeaways: Podcasting is a lot easier than most people think. We are natural storytellers. Each episode should have a theme Design is important Intent is important Think about it as content marketing Figure out a structure first 25 - 30% of people listen to a podcast weekly Podcasting can be a dedicated communication channel for your business, but it is also ubiquitous. You can do totally private podcasting if you want.  You don’t want it to appear random.  There is very little correlation between how long it takes to enjoy a podcast and how long it takes to assemble a podcast. The best microphone to use is the one that you have and know how to use properly. Podcast listening is a found time activity. Show Links: www.evoterra.com Evo on Twitter Evo on Facebook  PHX Podcast Club Podcast Pontifications Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit Demystify Sales - the course

How Do You Select Your Sales Stack? Mike is joined by Dan Cilley and Steven Wright of Vendor Neutral. Dan is the Co-Founder of Vendor Neutral and Steven is a Certification Analyst. The Vendor Neutral mission is to simplify the Sales Tech selection at all levels.  This is a follow-up from an earlier podcast where Mike discusses the stack we use and implement with our Catalyst Sale clients. Questions Answered: Why do organizations come to Vendor Neutral for help? What is the Vendor Neutral S.T.A.C.K. framework? What are some internal questions we can start with? Why do folks struggle with these questions? What are the challenges with stakeholder alignment? How does empathy play a role? Key Takeaways: Vendor Neutral assessments are buyer facing Understand your own process first. What we need to look for more often than not is the emotional transfer, the buyer journey. Invest some of this thinking into both the Buyer and the Seller journey.  Remember your internal customers Show Links: www.vendorneutral.com Is Your Tech Stack Enabling Your Sales Org? Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit Demystify Sales - the course

Habit Creation, Workforce Performance, Communication - with guest Luke Thomas This week I am joined by Luke Thomas. Luke is the Co-Founder of Friday and a former colleague. Friday is building software that aids high-performing people in the habit creation process and improving performance at work. We discuss creating habits, communication tools we all use and how to get people motivated to start a habit. Questions Answered: How do we build and form habits? How do we get technology to compliment the people doing the work? How do we know which communication tool to use? Why do frameworks resonate with us? Key Takeaways: Having a trigger dramatically improves the probability that people will do the “thing” (task, habit, etc..) People process seeing emojis as a facial reaction. Text can be easily misinterpreted. Communication channels need to adapt. If you deliver the right thing on the wrong channel, it may not work. When you ask for information that people can provide behind a screen, you tend to get better data. In-person is the richest communication channel Show Links: www.friday.app luke@friday.app Luke on Twitter Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit Demystify Sales - the course

The Distress of Busyness Mike and Jody discuss how to combat the stress of busyness and eliminate feeling as though you are underwater.  “Stress is good, it’s distress that makes us feel bad.” - Lee Cockerell  Questions Answered: Is this distress real or is it manufactured? How do I get a handle on all that needs to be done? If we are feeling distressed, what do we do? Key Takeaways: Put a date or deadline on your to-do items. Otherwise, you are likely to put the task off again or never return to it. Be sure to have a process you use and then trust your personal processes. Focus on high impact items By pushing things off to tomorrow, you don’t actually address the challenge you have out there. Have a day to focus on the things that aren’t urgent but are important. Identify opportunities to do things that you really enjoy. Realize that you are not alone. You aren’t the only one who has had this level of stress.  We would love to hear how you combat stress in your life/business. Share your tips via twitter. Show Links: Link to Tweet Mentioned in the Podcast Gather Data Assess the Data Eliminate the Noise Ask For Help Start Moving Forward Reassess Mike on Twitter Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit Demystify Sales - the course

What can you find on the other side of risk? This week is a bit different, this episode was recorded live at Disney's Wilderness Lodge.  Jeff Noel and I had an awesome conversation around risk, what you'll find on the other side of risk, and the importance of doing things that are scary. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.  Make sure you engage with Jeff via Twitter or LinkedIn, to continue the discussion. Show Links Jeff's Podcast - If Disney Ran Your Life Jeff's Blogs Mind Body Spirit Family Health Work Health Jeff's Twitter Jeff's first episode on the Catalyst Sale podcast Call to Action Take Jeff's challenge, grab a piece of paper, write at the top of it, "I was put on this world to...", complete this sentence, paragraph, etc. until you bring yourself to tears. Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit Demystify Sales - the course

What happens when you get out of your office, and step into the operation? This week Justin Welsh joins me on the podcast to discuss a number of topics.  We discuss success and failure in sales, burnout and imposter syndrome, the transition from individual contributor to manager and leadership, and the importance of getting out and working in the operation. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.  Make sure you engage with Justin via Twitter or LinkedIn, to continue the discussion. Show Links Justin on Twitter Justin on LinkedIn The Official Justin - Justin’s Website   Call to Action How are you thinking about innovation in your organization?  How can you improve your capabilities and understanding by working within other groups, by putting yourself in their shoes? Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit Demystify Sales - the course