The Academy - Your source for business growth.

Today on The Academy we’ll be talking with Cortney Ayers and Lauren Zils, two extremely experienced marketers who currently lead many of the efforts here at our digital marketing agency Sanctuary. Some of the topics that you’ll hear about today include: What does the Director of Strategy do? What is the best thing about being a strategist? What trends are we seeing right now? What are the top busi...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be giving you a summary of the book Traction by Gino Wickman. This is part 3 in the series that should wrap up our summary. So if you haven't heard parts 1 and 2, head over there now to start from the top. In summary, The book outlines a blueprint called The Entrepreneurial Operating System that's designed to help you structure and run things in a way that takes...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be giving you a summary of the book Traction by Gino Wickman. This is part 2 in the series. So if you haven't heard part 1, head over there now to start from the top. In summary, The book outlines a blueprint called The Entrepreneurial Operating System that's designed to help you structure and run your business in a way that takes your business to the next level...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be giving you a summary of the book Traction by Gino Wickman. The book outlines a blueprint called The Entrepreneurial Operating System that's designed to help you structure and run your business in a way that takes your business to the next level. If you're just starting out with a new company, or you've been trying to grow your business and you feel stuck, the...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be exploring the concept of reinvention. For me, this idea is closely linked to many of my personal feelings, and my company's core values. High-performing people and great companies that are focused on excellence are never happy with the status quo, they're always continually improving and growing, with the goal of working toward their long-term goals and pushi...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be talking about how we can work together better as a team. We'll be using Patrick Lencioni's book The 5 dysfunctions of a team as a guide along the way. How does this relate to business growth? Well, in my opinion, the success of your department or company, as a whole, comes down to having the right people who are able to work together to accomplish the co...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be talking about email. No, not how to send an email to your friends and family. We all know how to do that. But as marketers and business owners, we need to use email to create and strengthen relationships with our business friends that we call customers and clients. We'll start by explaining why email marketing might not be quite as obvious as you might think...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be talking about the basics of SEO, Search Engine Optimization. We'll start by explaining how it all works and then work to help you craft an actionable plan to get things rolling in the right direction. Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of any online marketing effort. By moving up in search rankings, you can bring more visitors to your websi...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be talking about one of our favorite topics, the Inbound Marketing Methodology.  Inbound is a popular methodology for today’s marketing teams, and for good reason. In this episode, we'll not only dive into the basics of how inbound can change your approach to marketing but also how you run and grow your business. Inbound turns traditional marketing and sale...

Today we’re going to be chatting with Josh Hostetler to learn how he made the jump from working in corporate finance to becoming a successful home builder. Josh, who grew up climbing job site dirt piles and honing his hammering skills on scrap lumber, now runs the company after obtaining a degree in Business from The Ohio State University.  Josh later obtained his MBA in Finance and holds a C...

Today on the Academy we’re presenting episode 5 of our series on SEO for local businesses. Are you in charge of marketing a business that serves a specific town, city, or local region? Would you like to be found online when local people search for what you do? Then this podcast series is for you.  Getting found online if you're a local business is extremely important. It doesn't happen a...

Today on the Academy we’re presenting episode 4 of our series on SEO for local businesses. Are you in charge of marketing a business that serves a specific town, city, or local region? Would you like to be found online when local people search for what you do? Then this podcast series is for you.  Getting found online if you're a local business is extremely important. It doesn't happen a...

Today on the Academy we’re presenting episode 3 of our series on SEO for local businesses. Are you in charge of marketing a business that serves a specific town, city, or local region? Would you like to be found online when local people search for what you do? Then this podcast series is for you. Getting found online if you're a local business is extremely important. It doesn't happen automaticall...

Today on the Academy we’re rolling out episode 2 of our series on SEO for local businesses. Are you in charge of marketing a business that serves a specific town, city, or local region? Would you like to be found online when local people search for what you do? Then this podcast series is for you. Sound good? Let’s jump into it! Getting found online if you're a local business is extremely importan...

Today on the Academy we’re going to begin a series on how businesses that provide services to a specific local region, can position themselves better online. There are specific things that you need to do to even get on the radar and many more that will help you rise above the competition. Are you thinking about starting a business that serves a specific town, city, or local region? Would you like...

Today on the Academy we're going to be delivering our last episode in our series about starting something new, and great. In this episode, we're going to be talking about some important concepts that are essential to your success like perseverance, and yin and yang. Running a successful company, year after year is hard. But starting a company is where most people ultimately fail. Our company is no...

Today on The Academy we’re going to be continuing our series about starting something new, and great. This might be a new business. But it could also be a new product, division of your company, or even starting a new hobby or reaching a personal goal. Sound intriguing? Let’s jump into it! Running a successful company, year after year is hard. But starting a company is where most people ultimately...

Running a successful company, year after year is is hard. But starting a company is where most people ultimately fail. Our company is now into its second decade of success and growth and we've learned a thing or two along the way. As I mentioned in the last episode of this series, you need to quit talking about doing it and get yourself some experience. Then believe in yourself. Surround yourself...

Today we’re going to be chatting with Gwen Walsh. Gwen’s career includes experiences ranging from being a Vice President at KeyCorp and managing over 500 people to being a solo entrepreneur and executive performance consultant. As Vice President at KeyCorp, Gwen was focused on increasing speed to market, product quality, employee productivity, and morale, all while she was acknowledged as a high p...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be taking another short break from business growth advice, and looking back to find inspiration and advice about how to "start" something great. This might be a new business. But it could also be a new product, division of your company, or even starting a new hobby or reaching a personal goal. Running a successful company, year after year is his hard. But starti...

Today on the Academy we’re going to be taking a short break from business growth advice, and looking back to find inspiration and advice about how to "start" something great. This might be a new business. But it could also be a new product, division of your company, or even starting a new hobby or reaching a personal goal. Running a successful company, year after year is his hard. But starting a c...

Inbound is about building relationships by being helpful and human.  It has been said that people are inundated about 2,000 times a day on average with outbound marketing interruptions. People these days are pretty much sick and tired of being marketed to and they are not only ignoring more and more outbound tactics, but actively looking for ways to aggressively block these tactics. Everythin...

Today on the Academy I wanted to give all you business owners and marketers a little bit of inspiration instead of talking about specific tactics and concepts. Sometimes we all need a little spark of inspiration to keep us going and I hope today's podcast will be just that for you. “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins–not through strength but by perseveranc...

Today on the Academy we’re discussing the concept of nurturing a sale through the buyer's journey. We'll be talking about specific tactics, as well as concepts like why your marketing and sales teams should be working closely together and aligned throughout the entire process. At least half of the leads that actually come to your company are not remotely interested, or ready to buy. They're just b...

Today on The Academy we’re going to be listening in on a wide-ranging conversation between Kelly Brown and Tom Murphy. Both Tom and Kelly have deep experience and insight into running a business, marketing, and growing businesses, and specifically, very deep knowledge about digital marketing. Kelly is the CEO of Sanctuary - A Digital Marketing Group. He has 25+ years of experience leading entrepre...