Find My Catalyst Podcast

This week, Mike and Jody discuss marketing and the how-to's of building landing/sales pages.  Questions Answered: How do you distinguish between what works in the market and what you like to see when building landing pages? What belief has led people to draw out long landing pages? What are some common design mistakes people make? When you refer to the offer, what is that? Is there an order to the...

On this episode, Mike is joined by Steve Anderson. Steve is the author of The Bezos Letters. Questions Answered: How does Amazon do it? How are they growing? What is your approach to research? Why do we struggle going deeper? How do we work on understanding our flywheel? How do we make the complex simple? What does it mean to be dynamic? Key Takeaways: Bezos is the master of risk. He understands t...

This is the tenth in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Execution is a topic that is really important to me.  Specifically helping people, teams, and organizations get better at...

This is the ninth in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Eric is the Chief Operating Officer of TeamSupport, expert in support and customer experience, and a friend.     Question...

In this episode, Mike and Jody discuss clarity and focus and the importance of both in Sales, Business, and Life.  We are including this in the topic specific curated list - because of the focus on two important topics.  This was recorded prior to the series launched last week, however I believe the content is relevant. Questions Answered: What is the difference between clarity and focus? How do t...

This is the seventh in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Myra is awesome, she is a creator, a curator, and collaborator.  We have connected a couple of times at various learnin...

This is the sixth in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Jeff Noel is a friend, podcaster, speaker, and educator.  He knows mindset, and he joins me today to discuss it.   Questi...

This is the fifth in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Lee Cockerell is a retired executive with the Walt Disney Company, and someone who has battled with anxiety and depressio...

This is the fourth in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Jody Maberry is a friend, podcaster, producer, marketer, and former park ranger.  He knows communication, and he joins m...

This is the third in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Dan Cockerell is publishes the Come Rain or Shine Podcast weekly, and he is a retired executive with the Walt Disney Comp...

This is the second in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Brent Schlenker is a community builder, and founder of the Learn Train.  He joins me today to discuss Community.   Quest...

This is the first in a series of short episodes where we will focus on specific topics that are relevant to today's working environment.  Many of us are making the transition to remote work, working from home, leading distributed teams, navigating our own personal experiences.  Dr. Erin Weiss is Clinical Psychologist, practicing in the Houston area.  She joins me today to discuss Empathy.   Questi...

Sales Career Guide Mike is joined by Andy Racic and David Weiss authors of Your Definitive Sales Career Guide. On this episode they discuss why they decided to write a book about a career in sales, and how to execute if this is something you are interested in exploring. Questions Asked: Why do people avoid the Sales Profession? It seems as though colleges are starting to bring in Sales Programs, w...

Ford vs Ferrari - Discussion with Jeff Bajorek  This week on the Jeff Bajorek joins Mike to discuss one of the best movies of 2019 - Ford vs Ferrari.  They share lessons that you can apply to Sales, Business, and Life, that come from the meeting. He's Jeff Bajorek - he'll help you rethink the way you sell®. I'm Mike Simmons - I build sales machines. Key Takeaways Put yourself in the shoes of your...

Managing Director and Partner, Two Sigma Ventures - Villi Iltchev This week Villi Itchev joins Mike to discuss diversity in experience, investment, entrepreneurship, remote work, and lessons learned.  Villi has a multi-fadeted background to include: investment banking with Merrill Lynch, mergers and acquisition with Salesforce, an executive with Lifelock, and head of strategy with Box.  Questions...

Continuous Learning, Creativity, and an Awesome Future - with Guest Don MacPherson Mike is joined by Don MacPherson. Don is the Founder of 12 Geniuses where they are educating leaders of today and building leaders of tomorrow. Questions Answered: What are some things you are excited about that will improve sales? What are the risks with technology? How can we be more creative around continuous lea...

Masterminds - Time to Invest In Yourself With Others Mike and Jody are joined by Dan Cockerell as they discuss the benefits of attending a Mastermind. Questions Answered: What were some moments from the Mastermind that struck you? What is the benefit of a Mastermind? Why should we seek out a Mastermind event? Key Takeaways: Clarity, simplify and focus Don't fall in love with the idea Keep it simpl...

Difference in Selling - B2B, B2C, Products, Services - Does it Matter? On this episode, Mike and Jody discuss whether or not there is or should be a difference in selling different products/services. Questions Answered: Is there a different approach to selling different things/items i.e. products vs services or B2C vs B2B? Key Takeaways: There is not a difference in the foundational items related...

On this episode, Mike is joined by Clint Clarkson. Clint is the Founder of eLearning Alchemy and is an author of L& D Scenes - Comics for Learning Professionals. Mike and Clint discuss the value of comics in business today as well as how to get our creativity flowing. Questions Answered: Why can we convey an interesting message in comics?  How do you do it so it doesn't take away from the story? H...

A Buyer-Centric Approach to Sales Mike is joined by Tom Williams, CEO of DealPoint. They discuss sales process, common mistakes and taking a buyer-centric approach to Sales. Questions Discussed: What does trusted advisor mean? Why are we uncomfortable with the silence? What is buyer-centric selling? How can a buyer-centric approach help to reduce the risk of a stalled sales cycle? How do you build...

On this episode, Mike and Jody discuss the importance of communication in sales and the steps we can take to improve. Questions Answered: Why do we struggle with communication? How can we practice? What can we do to ensure that what people hear is what we believe we said? When it comes to asking questions, what is your favorite approach? Key Takeaways: We can always get better Record role play ses...

Create Togetherness - Author Jeff Davis On this episode, Mike is joined by Jeff Davis. Jeff is the author of the new book, Create Togetherness. He is also an international keynote speaker. Questions Answered: Why write the book now? If we are all operating within the same environment/domain, why the disconnect between Sales and Marketing? How does vocabulary play a role in communication? How can w...

On this episode, Mike is joined by Camille Clemons. They discuss life, work, kids, control and butchering quotes. Tune in to hear favorite quotes from both Mike and Camille.  Questions Answered: Are there quotes you like to lean on or triggers you use to help you maintain focus? How do you find the tool to help you if you don't know what it is? Why don't we ask questions? How do you navigate the i...

Getting 2020 off to a Great Start 2020 is just about here (well, less than 18 hours away).  How are you prepared, what will you do differently, and how will you get the year off to a great start? Mike and Jody discuss on this episode. Questions Discussed How do we get the year off to a good start? What are you doing differently? Why do we continue to struggle with focus and execution? Key Takeaway...

Continuing with the 25 days of Christmas Movies with Lessons that apply to Business, Sales, and Life - Here are episodes 21 through 25. Also, the links to the original YouTube Videos follow. if you'd like to see me in costume. Day 21 - Let Your Team Dance - Charlie Brown Christmas Day 22 - Know Your Metrics - Elf Day 23 - Island of Misfit Toys - Rudolph Day 24 - Be World Class - Elf Day 25 - Roles...