Manage Smarter

Jeb Blount is the author of thirteen books including Fanatical Prospecting, Sales EQ, Virtual Selling, and his latest book, Selling in a Crisis: 55 Ways to Stay Motivated and Increase Sales in Volatile Times - which is the topic of today's discussion. Jeb advises a who’s who of the world’s leading organizations and their executives on the impact of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills on customer-facing activities. He is among the world’s most respected thought leaders on prospecting, sales, leadership, and customer experience. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Jeb discuss:   ·       The real secrets to selling more in a crisis ·       Why you need more than charm and a great personality to close sales in a crisis ·       Why you must stop swimming naked and put your bathing suit on ·       Why you don’t get into buckets with crabs  "We assume we are succeeding because we are so awesome at what we do. But as the saying goes, don’t confuse a bull market with brains. During cycles of abun

Dr. Lakeya Cherry, DSW, MSSW, ACC is an executive leadership coach who has dedicated her career to the growth and development of individuals and the organizations they are a part of. As an ICF Certified Coach, a StartingBloc Fellow, a Google #IamRemarkable Facilitator, and a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, she believes that when leaders are empowered to reach their fullest potential, they will be able to support those around them more effectively. Dr. Cherry holds the title of Chief Executive Officer of The Network for Social Work Management, an international organization dedicated to strengthening and mobilizing diverse social impact leaders. Her approach is informed by her Doctorate in Social Work from the University of Southern California as well as her M.S. in Social Work from Columbia University, and her B.A. in Psychology and Legal Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Lakeya discuss:   ·       Definition of inclusive managing ·      

Matt Tenney works to develop highly effective leaders and sales professionals who achieve extraordinary, long-term business outcomes – and live more fulfilling lives – as a result of realizing high levels of self-mastery and more effectively serving and inspiring greatness in the people around them. Matt is a social entrepreneur and the author of the highly acclaimed books Serve to Be Great: Leadership Lessons from a Prison, a Monastery, and a Boardroom and The Mindfulness Edge: How to Rewire Your Brain for Leadership and Personal Excellence Without Adding to Your Schedule. Matt is also an international keynote speaker, a trainer, and a consultant with the prestigious Perth Leadership Institute. His clients include Wells Fargo, Marriott, Keller Williams, Salesforce, United Airlines, and many other companies, associations, and universities. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Matt discuss:   ·       The dynamics of this unusual job market ·       Core needs of your teams to retain talent and reduce

Give Sandra Halling the business equivalent of a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle and she can make it look like the picture on the box. As founder of The Data Mavens, she’s dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and executives design their workflow and systems to feel organized, have peace of mind, and prioritize what matters to them. Sandra is an expert on platforms like Deltek Vision, Notion, and ClickUp but her real priority is helping you develop better work habits by achieving Aligned Productivity—that is to say, aligning your work with your values. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Sandra discuss:   1 - People Before Process and how an empathetic human-first culture can revolutionize a business 2 - Strategic planning to prioritize projects that actually move the needle 3 - Data structure, UI, and how that impacts the user experience when learning new applications 4 - Definition of Aligned Productivity and how it can boost company performance   "The #1 mistake managers make is they do not consider the h

For the past 20 years, Skot Waldron’s work for clients such as J.P. Morgan Chase, CDC, Georgia Tech, Royal Caribbean, Sesame Workshop, The Home Depot, and The Coca-Cola Company has included national and international communication programs. Skot Waldron is an internal communication strategist who uses his extensive knowledge of brand development to build loyalty amongst individuals, teams, and organizations. Unlike most communication programs out there, Skot coaches leaders and employees to become liberators using programs that are simple, scalable, and sustainable for the long term. He believes the influence you have, your alignment as an organization, and your ability to execute effectively all begin with you and how you communicate.  In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Skot discuss:   -Communication challenges all agency types experience -Healthy disagreement facilitation to foster the creative process -Tips on communication, transparency and difficult conversations -The #1 problem leaders have w

John Robertson is the Founder and President of FORTLOG Services. John built his services with a focus on an encouragement-based approach, resolving root causes as opposed to treating crisis and transition in the workplace symptomatically, as is often the practice. A trusted thinking partner with 30+ years of assisting individuals and organizations manage all forms of crisis/ change, John leverages a values-anchored ethos as a leadership development specialist, helping organizations and individuals to define the new norm and thrive. Over the years, John has gained extensive and diverse experiences working with Indigenous peoples [First Nations], first responders, small-medium businesses, non-profits, churches, communities, municipalities, educational, health care, families, and EAPs. John’s qualifications include Conversational IQ™, psychological health and safety advisor, ICF coach, Resilient Leadership, crisis intervention instructor, numerous psychometric tools, Certified Trauma Treatment Specialist (CTTS),

Michelle Tillis Lederman, one of Forbes Top 25 Networking Experts, and MG100 Coach, is the author of four books including the internationally known, The 11 Laws of Likability, and also the book, The Connectors Advantage. Michelle is a connection creator and CEO of Executive Essentials, which provides customized communications and leadership programs for fortune 500, non-profit, university and government clients. A former finance executive and NYU Professor, Michelle is a regular in the media appearing on NBC, CBS, Fox, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, CNBC, and others. Michelle is known for helping people work better together and advance their individual impact.   In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Michelle discuss:   ·      The 11 Laws of Likability ·      Michelle’s definition of credibility and trustworthiness ·      What to do before, during and after a networking contact to install likability and boost your relationship networking ·      Definition of the Law of Energy and how to access

Darrell Amy is on a mission to help great companies grow revenue. With 27 years of B2B marketing and sales experience ranging from mid-sized local companies to enterprise organizations, Darrell has diverse experience across the sales and marketing landscape. He has trained thousands of salespeople in solution selling, created digital marketing strategies for hundreds of companies, and consulted with Fortune 500 technology companies. He knows what works—and what doesn’t. He’s the author of the best-selling book Revenue Growth Engine, How To Align Sales and Marketing To Drive Accelerate Growth. He’s the host of the Revenue Growth Podcast on the C-Suite Radio Network and the co-host of the Selling From the Heart podcast. He’s a member of the Forbes Business Council and a C-Suite Advisor.  In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Darrell discuss:   -How to drive higher revenue by sales and marketing alignment -How a revenue focus is a more holistic approach to growing your business -5 Ways to Analyze your sa

Teresa Mitrovic is the founder of ORO Collective, as well as a consultant, coach, course creator and author specializing in performance, psychological safety and trust. In her past life as a corporate leader, when the increasing demands of senior leadership clashed with single parenthood, coaching as a leader was the solution. With workloads reset, team cohesion and alignment gained, performance improved and profit tripled. She has lived and worked internationally, delivering keynotes and workshops to clients large and small and authored the book ‘The Currency of Connection - how trust transforms life, relationships and work’. Now based in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and dog, she works internationally - and virtually - coaching top executives from companies like Barclays, Hasbro, Disney, and Accenture.  In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Teresa discuss:   ·      Why leaders should care about psychological safety and high trust environments? ·      How to create trust that neutralizes work

In the cutthroat world of tech, Neil Day is a battle-tested veteran. With 40+ years of experience in the industry, he’s led technology teams at Walmart.com, Shutterfly, Blue Bottle Coffee, and more. Now he’s fighting a new battle as CTO of R-Zero, the first company built from the ground up to tackle the transmission of pathogens in the COVID-19 era. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Neil discuss:   ·      Differences managing at a startup vs. a large tech company ·      Balancing learning quickly and getting to market ·      How tech must support sales so they have max credibility in go to market strategy ·      Leadership who “fly to close to the sun” and mix ego with the brand launch  "One mistakes startups make is overinvesting in platform too early. You just don’t know what your final product is going to look like." – Neil Day  Build Credibility and Effective Leadership with the Manage Smarter Podcast. Join hosts Audrey Strong and C. Lee Smith every week as they dive into the aspects and conc

Chandler Bolt is an investor, the CEO of Self-Publishing School & SelfPublishing.com, Forbes 30 Under 30, and the author of 7 bestselling books including his most recent book titled “Published.”. Self Publishing School is an INC 5000 company the last 3 years in a row as one of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the US.  In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Chandler discuss:   ·      How to find the “why” of writing a book and how to pick your topic ·      How to leverage your book to grow your business ·      Best practices on book length ·      4 P’s of a best-selling book ·      Pain pills vs. negativity strategy BOOK SPECIAL FOR OUR LISTENERS: Get Chandler’s “Published” book free! First 50 people to sign up get a free book at this link. PUBLISHEDBOOK.COM/SMARTER  "When it comes to writing, marketing, and publishing a book, the first step to take is discovering your purpose for beginning the journey in the first place." – Chandler Bolt   Build Credibility and Effective Leadership with t

Joining us today is Jeff Risley, the Chief Growth Officer at Saxum. With 30 years of experience in marketing, business development, strategy, consulting, sales, organizational growth, and relationship building, combined with the drive to create a better world, Jeff is here to help you make some meaningful change in your business when it comes to sales credibility and marketing. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Jeff discuss:   ·      How marketing can help boost sales ·      Why sales professionals need to behave more like doctors than salespeople ·      Tips on keeping up with the changing marketing landscapes ·      How he guides clients to producing business results that are for the greater good-Purpose Driven Business ·      How to create a common language with your team to encourage greater emotional intelligence in the workplace.  "The #1 mistake managers and leaders make is not being emotionally intelligent. We have for so long rewarded thinking intelligences -- hard skills. But leadership

Michael “Buzz” Buzinski is a life-long entrepreneur, a digital marketing thought leader, an author, and the Chief Marketing Officer of Buzzworthy Integrated Marketing.. He has worked with over 1200 service-centric businesses and helped their digital marketing deliver more predictable and profitable clients through their website. Using the Rule of 26, Michael can double any business’s website revenue. Michael’s sole mission is to help entrepreneurs avoid the time drain and frustration of managing profitable digital marketing campaigns and reduce the prevalence of entrepreneurial poverty across the country.   In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Michael discuss:   ·      Rule of 26 definition and strategy to boost traffic, sales and conversion rates ·      Junk traffic and how to filter it out ·      Recommended messaging to keep traffic and increase conversions ·      Best positioning for service businesses to appeal to clients and how to find your niche to appeal to prospects ·      Calculating the a

Julie is a virtual-selling thought leader and the author of three books including the recent, "Look Me In The Eye: Using Video to Build Relationships with Customers, Partners, & Teams," which was named Top Sales Book of 2021. Through her Selling On Video Master Class and coaching, Julie helps sales leaders and teams to leverage video in a way that drives sales. In addition to a successful career in sales and leadership, Julie worked as a professional actor appearing in over 75 plays, commercials, films, and television shows, including HBO’s Sex & The City In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Julie discuss:   ·      Mistakes salespeople make while on camera online that damages their credibility ·      Strategies for body language, eyes and facial expressions to improve your digital credibility online ·      How to use peripheral vision exercises and energy levels to build online sales credibility ·      Why salespeople need to keep their online camera ON even if the prospect or client has theirs off ·

Lee Salz is CEO of Sales Architects, business consultant and an expert in sales differentiation. When salespeople aren’t winning deals at desired levels or price points, executives and business owners turn to him. He is the bestselling, award-winning author of six books, including Sales Differentiation. His sixth booked is entitled Sell Different!, which presents all-new sales differentiation strategies to outsmart, outmaneuver, and outsell the competition. In this podcast and vodcast for sales managers, Audrey, Lee and Lee discuss:   ·-How to identify your unique differentiators ·-Analysis of touchpoints you have with prospects and current clients -How sales managers can break out of a mindset rut and drive themselves and their team to better performance -Why Lee hates the word "closing" “Salespeople are so heavily focused on trying to differentiate what they sell that they forget they also have an opportunity to stand out from the competition." –Lee Salz Build Credibility and Effective Leadership with th

Robin Hills is the director of Ei4Change, a company specializing in educational training, coaching and personal development focused around emotional intelligence, positive psychology and neuroscience. He has taught over 250,000 people in 185 countries how to build resilience, increased self-awareness and understanding of others. His educational programs on resilience and emotional intelligence cover the most comprehensive and detailed education of any emotional intelligence organization and are today used in educational establishments in South Africa and India. Robin is also the author of 2 books and has through his work developed the experiential coaching methodology Images of Resilience to support cathartic conversations around resilience. He has delivered key-note speeches at conferences across the world including at Harvard University and sits on the North West Committee of the Association of Business Psychology. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Robin discuss:   ·       How to identify how ot

Jonathan Brill is our guest---he helps leaders turn disruption into opportunity as a speaker and advisor. He is the author of ROGUE WAVES: Future-Proof Your Business to Survive and Profit From Radical Change. He was previously the Global Futurist at HP. His companies have developed over 350 products for organizations like Samsung, Microsoft and the US Government. He creates intellectual content for TED, HBR, Fast Company, Bloomberg and many other organizations. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Jonathan discuss how to ride changes into the future with confidence, leadership, credibility and clarity. They also discuss:   ·       4 Major techniques for knowing about the future, no matter what field you’re in ·       Definition of Rogue Wave and how to reset expectations to successfully ride it out ·       More accurate ways to predict the future right or wrong given current information ·       Future of labor shortages, automation ·       Salespeople job changes in the future and what to expect ·  

Carol Kaemmerer took what seemed like shockingly bad news, and turned it into an amazing opportunity. After a surprise downsizing in the Fortune 500 company she served as a consultant, Carol found that her 20 years of marketing communications experience there provided a perfect set up for helping professionals build their online brand. LinkedIn, she recognized, is an integral part of that brand-building. But many brilliant leaders, are unable to articulate their brand effectively on LinkedIn, and that was a weak link in their online reputation. Since 2011, Carol has focused her communications expertise on helping C-suite executives and senior leaders use LinkedIn powerfully, creating positioning and messaging that reflects their business passion with authenticity. Her book, LinkedIn for the Savvy Executive, was originally published in 2016; the book was revised and published in its Second Edition in January 2021. Carol is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, Certified Virtual Presenter,

Michael Tanner is a leadership veteran and expert in building credibility and effective leadership. He has more than 28 years of highly engaged and practical experience. His company is called Credible Leaders and you can find it at credibleleaders.com. Through successful leadership positions of increasing scope, ranging from the U.S. Marine Corps infantry to C-suite executive, Michael is constantly increasing his knowledge and experience as a leadership practitioner. Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in leadership. He prides himself on leveraging his unique combination of education, skills, and experience to harness the greatness within his clients and unleash the possibilities of their leadership potential. Michael believes that leadership should positively impact lives, not just business results. He is dedicated to be the servant leadership coach that equips all leaders to impact the lives of those they lead. In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Michael di

Jennifer Mackin is a ForbesBooks author of Leaders Deserve Better: A Leadership Development Revolution, and a leader of two consulting firms – CEO of Oliver Group, Inc. and President and Partner of Leadership Pipeline Institute US. As an author and speaker with over 25 years of consulting experience, she is a recognized leadership development influencer, having worked with CEOs, human resources managers, leadership development leaders, entrepreneurs, and other senior leaders in all industries. She earned her BS in marketing from Indiana University and her MBA from Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University In this podcast for managers, Audrey, Lee and Jennifer discuss how to create a leadership development revolution, including:  ·       The lack of a pipeline of emerging leaders in the workplace ·       The damage lack of preparation of younger leaders can cause nationwide ·       How senior leaders should be involved and aligned in professional development of leaders of long-term business planning ·