Ep 090: Prioritizing Strategy And Culture Over Technology For Business Growth

by Brad Friedman

Prioritizing Strategy And Culture Over Technology For Business Growth

The Digital Slice Podcast is brought to you by The Friedman Group, LLC

Join Brad Friedman and Ryan Ruud as they chat about developing the right strategy and culture to enable your business to grow.

Ryan Ruud is the Founder & CEO of Lake One, a modern marketing partner that helps B2B companies drive sales and marketing transformation. Lake One embeds virtually with their clients to provide strategic guidance and hands-on support as they build and optimize
revenue systems. He started the firm in 2014 and has led it through double digit growth every year since, attracting funded startups to enterprise clients.

Prior to launching Lake One, Ryan established his career by merging a love of storytelling and content with an insatiable curiosity for technology. With roots in broadcast journalism, he cut his teeth in both radio and tv studios while earning his Bachelors and Masters in
Journalism and PR respectively.

His marketing career took him from leading PR & Communications for AdTech company, NativeX (acquired by Mobvista in 2016), establishing Digital Marketing for B2B Ecommerce SaaS Company Four51 (acquired by Sitecore 2021), to building and managing a Digital Marketing and Demand Generation Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) for some of the country’s largest credit unions prior to starting Lake One.

In this Episode:

Ryan talks about the importance of a CRM.
Ryan talks about the top two CRMS on his reccomend list.
Ryan talks about internal culture shifts.
Ryan talks about taking the necessary time to develop a connection with your buyers whether you are in sales or marketing.
Ryan also talks about how to get the average contract value to increase along with the lifetime value.

Quotes from this Episode:
“So at that point, thinking about what processes are we doing right now that are manual, that the CRM come in can come in and replace with automation?” – Ryan Ruud
“There was no concept of, hey, a cloud-based system could have a form from the CRM, capture the data, route it directly to who needs to respond to that incoming lead.” – Ryan Ruud
“I think that, yeah, in a lot ways technology can either ruin relationships and ruin marketing because it's really easy to put everything on autopilot.” – Ryan Ruud
“People buy into the belief of all the things that are possible with them. Because these platforms are really good at marketing themselves.” – Ryan Ruud
“Really make sure that you have that strategy and culture piece in place before you start thinking about the technology.” – Ryan Ruud

Resources:

Ryan Ruud:
LinkedIn: Ryan Ruud
Twitter: Ryan Ruud
Website: Lake One
Special Listener Downloads: Exclusive Downloads

These are the products we mentioned today:
Gift Giving: Evabot
Lately: Lately

And, here's the link to my calendar for the two slots I have open to give you a sample coaching session: Coaching Session With Brad

Brad Friedman

Twitter:

@BradFriedman

@FriedmanGrp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefriedmangroup

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfriedman/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-friedman-group-llc

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/friedmansocialmedia

Website: https://friedmansocialmedia.com

Books
“Brad Friedman on Digital Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
“The Small Business Owner's Guide To Inbound Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
“100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions,” by Ross Brand with a chapter by Brad Friedman

Here's the equipment we use and recommend:

Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone http://amzn.to/2hWshL8

Heil Sound PRSM Champagne Shockmount http://amzn.to/2hUMVen

Heil Sound PL-2T Overhead Broadcast Boom http://amzn.to/2hXTvB1

RODE Videomic Shotgun Microphone https://amzn.to/3cZp2fD

Logitech C920 Webcam http://amzn.to/2hNhiQk

Roland R-05 Digital Recorder http://amzn.to/2zZ2vN4

Neewer 6×9 foot Green Screen https://amzn.to/35G4K6u

Elgato Key Light https://amzn.to/3ial9Fg

LED Lighting Kit https://amzn.to/35GBPiW

Desk Mounting Stand https://amzn.to/3qanNxM

These products and more can be found at our Amazon Store Front
https://www.amazon.com/shop/bradfriedman

Our favorite Social Media Management Tool is AgoraPulse
https://friedmansocialmedia.com/agora

We highly recommend you use TubeBuddy to up your YouTube game!
TubeBuddy https://www.tubebuddy.com/TheFriedmanGroup

Libsyn is the Host of The Digital Slice Podcast. Just use our Libsyn code SLICE at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/libsyn to get up to 2 months of free podcasting service with Libsyn! Get your show on Apple Podcasts, get critical show-building stats—Libsyn even does video!

Streamyard is the tool we use to stream to all major platforms simultaneously directly from a browser. We also use Streamyard to record The Digital Slice Podcast because of its ability to provide us with crystal clear audio and 1080p video. Sign up today for free at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/streamyard

Launch your video Membership course or subscription website community with Uscreen. Uscreen helps creators like you build and grow their online video business with membership sites. See what you can do with Uscreen! https://friedmansocialmedia.com/uscreen

Be sure to sign up for the Brad Bot at TheBradBot.com To get reminders when I go live on Facebook and to receive freebies and other content from The Friedman Group, LLC.

AFFILIATE LINKS
Thank you for trusting me with my honest opinion on future purchases you may make after listening to this podcast. I am always completely transparent with you. As a friend of The Friedman Group, LLC you allow me to be able to use affiliate/referral links when suggesting items for purchase. Please know I am a customer myself or have done sufficient research to feel comfortable sharing these links with you. When you click on a link and purchase the item I may receive a small “commission.” This allows me to continue to provide you with quality content and doesn't affect you in any way at checkout.

Not every link is a referral link and some appear here because my guest spoke about them and I want to make it easy for you to check 'em out. Thank you!

Ep 089: Marketing Your Business: Tips From A Dojo Master

by Brad Friedman | The Digital Slice

Ep 089: Marketing Your Business: Tips From A Dojo Master

by Brad Friedman

Marketing Your Business: Tips From A Dojo Master

The Digital Slice Podcast is brought to you by The Friedman Group, LLC

Join Brad Friedman and Eric Holtzclaw as they chat about business, technology, and people, along with how to help businesses find their identities and core values, craft their visions, and establish their brands.

Eric Holtzclaw is a visionary and the “idea guy.” He is a serial entrepreneur, with nearly 30 years of experience, who has a knack for founding companies, sometimes unintentionally. His start-ups include one of the first profitable internet enterprises and a company that appeared on the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing list three years in a row.

In 2018, Eric took the advice he usually gives other entrepreneurs and formed the full-service marketing firm, Liger Partners, combining his three loves: business, technology, and people. At Liger, Eric is the Chief Strategist and Dojo Master. He is the resident expert in guiding businesses to find their identities and core values, craft their visions, and establish their brands. Liger Partners is recognized as a 2021 Best and Brightest Business to Work For in Atlanta and in the nation, an honor earned by the firm’s agility and ability to quickly pivot marketing efforts in response to COVID by leveraging technology and digital channels.

Eric has contributed to magazines and online publications and wrote the book, “Laddering: Unlocking the Potential of Consumer Behavior.” He’s also a host of The Claw podcast where he interviews business owners and entrepreneurs, allowing them to share their insights and expertise. Out of all the ideas he’s brought to life, Eric says his daughter is his greatest one.

In this Episode:

Eric talks about the importance of really understanding your customer persona.
Eric talks about the need to create marketing that is visceral and makes me either love it or hate it.
Eric talks about how to create content that converts.
Eric talks about the common mistake of trying to make your website perfect.
Eric also talks about marketing our businesses being along game with no quick fixes.

Quotes from this Episode:
“Marketing is a combination of technology and understanding your customer. And so if you can put those two things together, you can build some pretty effective marketing strategies and tactics.” – Eric Holtzclaw
“If you do personas effectively, you will deeply understand your customer base, and you can start to predict the way they're gonna answer a question.” – Eric Holtzclaw
“It needs to be visceral. On the marketing side, either make me love it or hate it, make sure I'm talking about it.” – Eric Holtzclaw
“One of the biggest mistakes I see B2B companies make is that they ignore some of the tactics that B2C use..” – Eric Holtzclaw
“To think about creating content that converts, don't think about your company like a catalog.” – Eric Holtzclaw

Resources:

Eric Holtzclaw:
LinkedIn: Eric Holtzclaw
Facebook: Liger Partners
Twitter: Liger Partners
Instagram: Liger Partners
Website: Liger Partners
Book: Laddering: Unlocking the Potential of Consumer Behavior

And, here's the link to my calendar for the two slots I have open to give you a sample coaching session: Coaching Session With Brad

Brad Friedman

Twitter:

@BradFriedman

@FriedmanGrp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefriedmangroup

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfriedman/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-friedman-group-llc

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/friedmansocialmedia

Website: https://friedmansocialmedia.com

Books
“Brad Friedman on Digital Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
“The Small Business Owner's Guide To Inbound Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
“100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions,” by Ross Brand with a chapter by Brad Friedman

Here's the equipment we use and recommend:

Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone http://amzn.to/2hWshL8

Heil Sound PRSM Champagne Shockmount http://amzn.to/2hUMVen

Heil Sound PL-2T Overhead Broadcast Boom http://amzn.to/2hXTvB1

RODE Videomic Shotgun Microphone https://amzn.to/3cZp2fD

Logitech C920 Webcam http://amzn.to/2hNhiQk

Roland R-05 Digital Recorder http://amzn.to/2zZ2vN4

Neewer 6×9 foot Green Screen https://amzn.to/35G4K6u

Elgato Key Light https://amzn.to/3ial9Fg

LED Lighting Kit https://amzn.to/35GBPiW

Desk Mounting Stand https://amzn.to/3qanNxM

These products and more can be found at our Amazon Store Front
https://www.amazon.com/shop/bradfriedman

Our favorite Social Media Management Tool is AgoraPulse
https://friedmansocialmedia.com/agora

We highly recommend you use TubeBuddy to up your YouTube game!
TubeBuddy https://www.tubebuddy.com/TheFriedmanGroup

Libsyn is the Host of The Digital Slice Podcast. Just use our Libsyn code SLICE at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/libsyn to get up to 2 months of free podcasting service with Libsyn! Get your show on Apple Podcasts, get critical show-building stats—Libsyn even does video!

Streamyard is the tool we use to stream to all major platforms simultaneously directly from a browser. We also use Streamyard to record The Digital Slice Podcast because of its ability to provide us with crystal clear audio and 1080p video. Sign up today for free at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/streamyard

Launch your video Membership course or subscription website community with Uscreen. Uscreen helps creators like you build and grow their online video business with membership sites. See what you can do with Uscreen! https://friedmansocialmedia.com/uscreen

Be sure to sign up for the Brad Bot at TheBradBot.com To get reminders when I go live on Facebook and to receive freebies and other content from The Friedman Group, LLC.

AFFILIATE LINKS
Thank you for trusting me with my honest opinion on future purchases you may make after listening to this podcast. I am always completely transparent with you. As a friend of The Friedman Group, LLC you allow me to be able to use affiliate/referral links when suggesting items for purchase. Please know I am a customer myself or have done sufficient research to feel comfortable sharing these links with you. When you click on a link and purchase the item I may receive a small “commission.” This allows me to continue to provide you with quality content and doesn't affect you in any way at checkout.

Not every link is a referral link and some appear here because my guest spoke about them and I want to make it easy for you to check 'em out. Thank you!

Ep 088: A Blueprint For Scaling Your Business

by Brad Friedman | The Digital Slice

Ep 088: A Blueprint For Scaling Your Business

by Brad Friedman

A Blueprint For Scaling Your Business

The Digital Slice Podcast is brought to you by The Friedman Group, LLC

Join Brad Friedman and Jon Morris as they chat about a blueprint for scaling your business, that emphasizes spending money for sales and marketing.

Jon Morris is the founder & CEO of Ramsay Innovations and a serial entrepreneur. Prior to Ramsay, he established Rise Interactive in 2004, with prize money from his second-place finish in the University of Chicago’s prestigious New venture Challenge. Over the next 16 years he grew Rise from a one-person shop to one of the largest independent marketing agencies in the world, selling in 2018. While pondering his next move, he realized that he was most energized when connecting and helping fellow entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

Ramsay Innovations is the product of this inspiration. Like at Rise, Jon developed a proprietary, tech-enabled approach for surfacing hidden financial insights that drive critical business decisions. Ramsay Innovations’ mission is to transform marketing agencies by providing them with world-class, agency-specific finance management and strategic planning at a fraction of the cost.

In his spare time, Jon enjoys spending time with his wife, three daughters, and two dogs. He loves soccer, having played on his alma mater’s team, Kenyon College, and he now coaches his daughter’s two soccer teams.

In this Episode:

Jon talks about the importance of understanding your gross margin, when you want to grow your business.
Jon talks about determining your net revenue and then the cost to support that revenue for your clients.
Jon talks about automating as many processes as you can.
Jon talks about the two question test.
Jon also talks about the 4 goals every business should have every year.

Quotes from this Episode:
“Your number one sales goal should be to never lose a client due to performance.” – Jon Morris
“If growth is important to you, then you have to spend a large percentage of your revenue on sales and marketing.” – Jon Morris
“I'm a huge believer in building technology and trying to automate as many of these processes as you possibly can.” – Jon Morris
“If you want to grow your business, but you don't put any money into sales and marketing, you're probable not gonna grow.” – Jon Morris
“And if you go and invest, you know, in high risk investments and that rainy day fund disappears, well then you put your own business at risk.” – Jon Morris

Resources:

Jon Morris:
LinkedIn: Ramsay Innovations
LinkedIn: Jon Morris
Facebook: Ramsay Innovations
Twitter: Ramsay Innovations
YouTube: Ramsay Innovations
Website: Ramsay Innovations

And, here's the link to my calendar for the two slots I have open to give you a sample coaching session: Coaching Session With Brad

Brad Friedman

Twitter:

@BradFriedman

@FriedmanGrp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefriedmangroup

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bfriedman/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-friedman-group-llc

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/friedmansocialmedia

Website: https://friedmansocialmedia.com

Books
“Brad Friedman on Digital Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
“The Small Business Owner's Guide To Inbound Marketing,” by Brad Friedman
“100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions,” by Ross Brand with a chapter by Brad Friedman

Here's the equipment we use and recommend:

Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone http://amzn.to/2hWshL8

Heil Sound PRSM Champagne Shockmount http://amzn.to/2hUMVen

Heil Sound PL-2T Overhead Broadcast Boom http://amzn.to/2hXTvB1

RODE Videomic Shotgun Microphone https://amzn.to/3cZp2fD

Logitech C920 Webcam http://amzn.to/2hNhiQk

Roland R-05 Digital Recorder http://amzn.to/2zZ2vN4

Neewer 6×9 foot Green Screen https://amzn.to/35G4K6u

Elgato Key Light https://amzn.to/3ial9Fg

LED Lighting Kit https://amzn.to/35GBPiW

Desk Mounting Stand https://amzn.to/3qanNxM

These products and more can be found at our Amazon Store Front
https://www.amazon.com/shop/bradfriedman

Our favorite Social Media Management Tool is AgoraPulse
https://friedmansocialmedia.com/agora

We highly recommend you use TubeBuddy to up your YouTube game!
TubeBuddy https://www.tubebuddy.com/TheFriedmanGroup

Libsyn is the Host of The Digital Slice Podcast. Just use our Libsyn code SLICE at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/libsyn to get up to 2 months of free podcasting service with Libsyn! Get your show on Apple Podcasts, get critical show-building stats—Libsyn even does video!

Streamyard is the tool we use to stream to all major platforms simultaneously directly from a browser. We also use Streamyard to record The Digital Slice Podcast because of its ability to provide us with crystal clear audio and 1080p video. Sign up today for free at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/streamyard

Launch your video Membership course or subscription website community with Uscreen. Uscreen helps creators like you build and grow their online video business with membership sites. See what you can do with Uscreen! https://friedmansocialmedia.com/uscreen

Be sure to sign up for the Brad Bot at TheBradBot.com To get reminders when I go live on Facebook and to receive freebies and other content from The Friedman Group, LLC.

AFFILIATE LINKS
Thank you for trusting me with my honest opinion on future purchases you may make after listening to this podcast. I am always completely transparent with you. As a friend of The Friedman Group, LLC you allow me to be able to use affiliate/referral links when suggesting items for purchase. Please know I am a customer myself or have done sufficient research to feel comfortable sharing these links with you. When you click on a link and purchase the item I may receive a small “commission.” This allows me to continue to provide you with quality content and doesn't affect you in any way at checkout.

Not every link is a referral link and some appear here because my guest spoke about them and I want to make it easy for you to check 'em out. Thank you!