Topics Covered In This Episode Distinguishing Sales and Marketing: Mercer and Jeff explore the roles of sales and marketing, highlighting how they intersect yet specialize in distinct functions as businesses evolve. Nuances of Sales and Marketing: The discussion covers the differences between one-to-many (marketing) and one-to-one (sales) approaches, with marketing setting the stage for sales activities. Bridging the Gap: Emphasizing the need for sales skills in marketing, Jeff and Mercer discuss how understanding customer objections and beliefs can enhance marketing effectiveness. Challenges in Integration: The hosts address common issues like marketing and sales silos, poor lead quality, and the importance of aligning efforts for better outcomes. Optimizing Marketing Strategies: It is important to comprehend the customer journey and integrate sales processes with marketing strategies to create effective campaigns. Streamlining Sales and Marketing: Jeff discusses integrating sales and marketing by managing offers as a unified process, leading to consistent growth and improved results. Have a question or feedback about Business Unfiltered. Record an audio message https://s.bcast.fm/business-unfiltered-with-chris-mercer-and-jeff-sauer?episode=v855lry8

Topics Covered In This Episode Five-Year Forecasting for Business Growth: Jeff and Mercer dive into the aspirational goals of a five-year business forecast, highlighting potential growth and challenges. They discuss the "paper billionaire effect" and the importance of a solid business model and market competition. Financial Projection Tools: Jeff introduces a spreadsheet tool for tracking revenue growth and explains how to project client gains/losses and retention rates over five years. He emphasizes the value of financial projections in making operational adjustments. Overcoming Fear with a Five-Year Vision: The hosts reflect on the importance of having a clear five-year vision to overcome impostor syndrome and make significant business decisions. Mercer shares personal experiences and the benefits of journaling to visualize future progress. Setting Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs): The discussion stresses the importance of pushing beyond comfort zones to achieve substantial growth. Maintaining Long-Term Goals with Vision Boards: Mercer practices regular reviews and updates his long-term goals through journaling. The hosts discuss balancing focused work with strategic planning and the significance of revisiting goals every six months. Aligning Teams and Systems for Goal Achievement: Jeff emphasizes the critical role of alignment and systems in scaling a business. The conversation includes the need for regular goal reviews and the courage to set long-term objectives, despite fears of falling short. Leadership and Long-Term Planning: The podcast wraps up with insights on the role of leadership in creating and sharing a five-year financial forecast. Both advocate for long-term thinking, involving the team in goal setting, and prioritizing revenue and profit goals for sustained success. Have a question or feedback about Business Unfiltered. Record an audio message https://s.bcast.fm/business-unfiltered-with-chris-mercer-and-jeff-sauer?episode=q80qx40n

Topics Covered In This Episode First Pricing Experiences: Mercer shares his initial approach to pricing his WordPress training video site, highlighting the pitfalls of undervaluing work by basing prices solely on creation time. Freelance Pricing Tips: Jeff emphasizes the importance of realistic pricing, advising freelancers to divide their annual income by 500 hours instead of 2000, suggesting a rate of $100/hour to reflect the true value of freelance work. Project-Based vs. Hourly Pricing: The hosts discuss the benefits of project-based or retainer models over hourly pricing. Jeff advocates for these models as they offer more sustainable revenue streams and better reflect the effort and value provided. Adjusting Rates for Consulting: The episode covers strategies for raising consulting rates based on market standards and the consultant’s experience. Jeff stresses the importance of justifying price increases with proven results. Understanding Client Segmentation: Jeff advises charging high prices to small businesses and emphasizes targeting larger clients who can afford and appreciate higher-value services. Understanding the demand and supply curves is crucial for effective pricing. Value-Based and Dynamic Pricing: The hosts explore value-based and dynamic pricing strategies, advocating for a balance between value and price. They also discuss the significance of maintaining consistency in revenue and profit margins for business stability and growth. Have a question or feedback about Business Unfiltered. Record an audio message https://s.bcast.fm/business-unfiltered-with-chris-mercer-and-jeff-sauer?episode=q80qz74n

Topics Covered In This Episode Jeff shares stories of business owners who had to reassess and retake control after stepping back when things didn’t go as planned. Mercer and Jeff discuss the pitfalls of delegating without proper planning, emphasizing the importance of implementing mature processes for new opportunities. They highlight the challenge of over-engineering early-stage issues and the value of letting teams learn from their mistakes to foster growth. Jeff addresses the risk of hitting growth ceilings due to the founder's involvement, suggesting strategies like reverse sabbaticals to gain fresh perspectives. Both emphasize the need to set teams up for success, learn from failures, and implement retention strategies to avoid losing key personnel. Finally, they discuss the importance of personalized attention for high-ticket customers, resolving issues quickly, and training teams to handle similar problems independently. Have a question or feedback about Business Unfiltered. Record an audio message https://s.bcast.fm/business-unfiltered-with-chris-mercer-and-jeff-sauer?episode=2nx0qlqn

Topics Covered In This Episode Mercer and Jeff examine business profits, discussing gross, net, and gross margin, and the implications of effectively managing these profits. They emphasize the importance of reinvesting profits for business growth and stability, highlighting the balance between investment and cash optimization. Next Jeff and Mercer explore strategies for building a strong business team, including effective hiring and the benefits of outsourcing to increase productivity. Managing and separating finances is crucial, they share insights on setting aside profits for personal use and separating personal and business accounts. The duo then discuss diversifying investments across various assets like stocks, small businesses, and real estate as a strategy for long-term growth. Finally, they stress becoming an owner rather than just an operator, with advice on investing in startups and prioritizing ownership for long-term success and wealth. Have a question or feedback about Business Unfiltered. Record an audio message https://s.bcast.fm/business-unfiltered-with-chris-mercer-and-jeff-sauer?episode=68rrvw58

Mercer and Jeff discuss the balance between physical and digital tools for business efficiency. ClickUp streamlines processes, and essential tools like Zapier and Circle are highlighted. They evaluate community management tools, collaborate via Canva and Google Workspace, and explore AI tools like 11 Labs and Otter.ai for productivity improvement.

Topics covered include the distinction between mentorship and coaching, personal insights from hosts, qualities of effective coaches, patterns of self-sabotage, transformational coaching, risk vs. reward in coaching investments

Hosts revisit their 2024 predictions discussing unexpected changes in business trends, a flat economy projection, AI advancements leading to staff reduction, AI consolidation affecting job positions, future trends emphasizing data privacy and skilled trades revival

The podcast discusses the importance of balancing paid and organic strategies on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. They compare the effectiveness of LinkedIn for professional networking to Twitter and Instagram. Emphasizing the value of focusing efforts on one primary platform before syndicating content across others using AI, they highlight the success of Mr. Beast on YouTube and Pinterest's unique user behavior for business marketing.

Debunking the myth of visionary leadership, exploring the roles of visionaries and integrators in business, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and dialogue, discussing the visionary-integrator model, defining roles and responsibilities within organizations