The Growth Signal

Big companies say AI let them cut their middle managers. Small and mid-sized companies are listening, and some of them are about to copy that move. Patrick Carter thinks that's a huge mistake. Patrick is the founder of Edge Advantage Group. He spent 35 years leading sales teams and training the leaders who run them. Alyssa Nolte comes back with a hot take of her own: a lot of those big-company lay...

If you sell a service, you're in hospitality. Jessica Millhiser, owner of JMills Consulting, joins Alyssa Nolte to talk about building your business around the client experience instead of the other way around. Jessica has worked in service roles her whole career, from serving and bartending to running operations, and she brings that lens to anyone who serves clients: consultants, agencies, accoun...

Paul Burani says AI is coming for a lot of what you do all day. He also says that's good news. Paul is the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Atlas Primer, and he joined Alyssa Nolte to argue something most people miss: if everyone has access to the same AI, the advantage moves to the things AI can't do for you. Here's the part that stuck. We all agree practice makes people better. We all kno...

If your team can't make a move without checking with you first, this one's going to sting a little. Nathan Wolter is a professional EOS implementer, and he opens with a hot take most business owners feel long before they can name it. Every business eventually starts running at the capacity of its owner. Not because you're a bad leader. Because nothing got built that runs without you. And the good...

AI is getting blamed for layoffs it may not actually be causing. So what happens when fear moves faster than the technology? Victoria Pelletier joins Alyssa Nolte to challenge the idea that companies are already replacing huge parts of their workforce with AI. Her take: many leaders are using AI as cover for cuts they needed to make anyway. The bigger risk may be what that story does to trust insi...

What if your customer success metrics are measuring the wrong thing? Jacquelyn Goldberg believes NPS and strong relationships are not enough. If customers cannot see real business value, even customers who love you may still leave. Alyssa Nolte and Jacquelyn Goldberg rethink what customer success should look like when budgets are tight, AI is changing how work gets done, and leaders expect clear r...

Getting customers is hard. Keeping them is even harder. Alyssa Nolte sits down with Shawn Boehme to rethink one of the biggest mistakes businesses make. Most companies think they have a sales problem, a marketing problem, or a customer success problem. Shawn argues they actually have a communication problem. If your customer journey feels disconnected, this conversation will help you see why. From...

Alyssa Nolte and Cameron Magee talk referrals. One phone call beat millions in ad spend. Here's the case for why that's worth your next 30 minutes. Cameron Magee's company spent multiple seven figures on sales and marketing over the last few years. One referral from a friend beat all of it. If you're pouring money into ads and lead gen but ignoring the people who already trust you, this episode wi...

Your wallet is your vote. Are you actually using it? Most people complain about bad customer experiences and then go right back to the same companies. Rick Denton says that's the real problem. Alyssa Nolte and Rick Denton dig into why customers have more power than they think and why they refuse to use it. If you work in GTM, lead a CX team, or just wonder why companies keep getting away with bad...

Are you sitting on a decision right now? Waiting for the perfect moment? Nathalie Dorémieux says that moment is not coming, and the problem will still be there tomorrow. Alyssa Nolte and Nathalie Dorémieux get into what it actually looks like to stop overthinking and start moving. Nathalie is a membership site strategist who helps entrepreneurs build and launch memberships with real momentum. This...

Your marketing strategy isn't broken. Your workflow is. If growth feels stuck, most people reach for a new strategy. Beth Trejo says that's the wrong move and she has 14 years of running a social media agency to back it up. Alyssa Nolte and Beth Trejo dig into why "strategy" has become a catch-all excuse for workflow and ownership failures and what to fix first. Why listen? If you lead a marketing...

AI will not fix a broken process. Sawsan Hamawandy joins Alyssa Nolte to rethink how companies build better buyer experiences before they rush into AI. Too many teams want the shiny new tool, but their lead forms, demo process, sales handoffs, and follow-up steps are already full of friction. Sawsan makes the case for getting the basics right first. If your process is hard for people to follow, AI...

Most people think the best referral is a direct introduction. Joel Miller thinks that might be the worst kind. What if the strongest leads come from people who discovered you on their own, trusted you before they ever reached out, and showed up already knowing your story? Joel joins Alyssa Nolte to rethink the future of customer relationships and explore why building an audience may be more valuab...

Most businesses are fighting the wrong battle. They cut prices, offer discounts, and race to the bottom hoping to win more customers. But what if the better strategy is to stop competing on price altogether? Alyssa Nolte sits down with John Dwyer to explore a simple idea that has helped businesses generate more leads, increase conversions, and stand out in crowded markets: give buyers a reason to...

Customer success teams are drowning in admin work while customers expect more personalization than ever. Abby Hammer says AI is about to change that. Not by replacing relationships, but by finally making real customer relationships possible again. Alyssa Nolte and Abby Hammer dig into what autonomous customer success actually means, why most companies are thinking about AI the wrong way, and how c...

Good speakers do not just talk more. They listen better. Alyssa Nolte sits down with Lynn Neillie to rethink what great communication actually looks like in sales, leadership, and business relationships. If you have ever felt awkward speaking on camera, struggled through sales calls, or wondered why some people instantly make you feel heard, this conversation will click immediately. Lynn shares wh...

You can’t build great AI on top of bad customer behavior. And sometimes… businesses are the ones creating the behavior. After a frustrating moment in a dentist waiting room, Alyssa unpacks how outdated systems, unnecessary friction, and “required” fields are quietly training customers to give incomplete, inaccurate, or fake information. Because when the process feels like busy work, people stop tr...

If ChatGPT had to recommend one person in your industry tomorrow… would it say your name? Alyssa Nolte and Chris Panteli unpack why personal branding is no longer just for influencers, authors, or celebrity CEOs. AI search is changing how people discover businesses, experts, and service providers. Instead of showing a list of companies, tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are starting to recommend a...

AI can write faster than you. But it might also erase what makes you worth listening to. Alyssa Nolte and Dave Gulas dig into what happens when everyone uses the same tools and starts to sound the same... and why that’s a real risk for your brand, your content, and your customer relationships. This conversation challenges the idea that more content equals better results. Instead, it pushes you to...

Progress beats perfection. Especially in sales. What if growth is not about doing more, but doing small things better? Alyssa Nolte and Ben Wright rethink customer relationships through a simple but powerful idea: progress creates momentum. Perfection creates delay. If you lead a team, run a business, or want to improve how you sell, this conversation will challenge how you think about growth. Ben...

Most marketing advice is built to fail you. Not because you’re doing it wrong… but because it was never designed to work the way you think. Alyssa Nolte sits down with Rachel Allen to rethink what actually drives sales today. Funnels, hacks, and “proven systems” promise results, but most ignore how buying really happens. This conversation breaks that down in plain language and shows a better path...

Growth isn’t luck. It’s built on purpose. If you think successful companies just got lucky, this will change how you see growth. Alyssa Nolte sits down with Kathie Feng to break down a simple but powerful idea: growth is engineered. Not guessed. Not hoped for. Built step by step. They talk about what actually drives growth at different stages and why most founders get stuck when they try to scale....

Most small businesses don’t own their marketing… they rent it. And it’s costing them more than they realize. Alyssa Nolte sits down with Sara Nay to unpack a simple but powerful idea: if you don’t own your ads, website, or data, you don’t control your growth. This conversation challenges how businesses work with agencies and pushes you to rethink what “good marketing” actually looks like. If you’v...

Most leaders say the right things. Few actually live them. If your team feels confused, stressed, or unsure what’s expected… this is why. Alyssa Nolte sits down with Adriana Vaccaro to challenge a simple but uncomfortable idea: we don’t know how to lead. Not because we lack tools, but because our actions don’t match our words. This conversation pushes on what leadership really looks like in practi...

Most sales outreach feels fake right now. And people can tell. If your growth depends on trust, this should concern you. Alyssa Nolte and Mark L. Vincent dig into why AI-driven sales outreach is breaking customer relationships instead of building them. What looks like scale is often just noise. And worse, it can damage how buyers see your brand before you ever speak to them. This is a conversation...