The Summit Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Outreach culture is in a fever pitch and everyone on LinkedIn knows there is value in using it as a sales tool, but what happens when outreach is lazy?  Getting the most out of connections on LinkedIn isn't a spray and pray numbers game.  It's about following a process. Michal Bohanes has a unique three-step process to help sales professionals connect and sell effectivel...

Send us Fan Mail 2020 was the year email was supposed to die, then COVID hit and every company reached back to 2005 and leaned into spray and pray.  Why do so many companies get email marketing wrong?  Find out in this episode with special guest Lauren Meyer. Sends are up, opens are up, but there is little change in the click rates - what does this mean and why are your customers expecting somethi...

Send us Fan Mail Sales isn't easy.  If it was it wouldn't pay well, and everyone would do it.  When companies hire sales people, too often they focus on putting them into a process and making sure it's followed to the letter.  But what happens when a potential client doesn't respond well to the process?  Should you just move on? If you ask Eddie Green, the number one problem wi...

Send us Fan Mail Did your career path place you in marketing by accident?  Many marketers are converted from other career paths, and for those who find themselves in a situation where they aren't formally trained, there is a lot to learn. In this chat with author Tom Spitale we sit down and discuss the ever-changing dynamics of marketing.  Tom shares his insights on: What makes an accidental...

Send us Fan Mail No one has 2.3 kids, but most companies speak in generalities when building personas.  Anyone who's ever built a persona or an ideal client profile knows targeting is key.  Can you have too many personas?  How does market research really work? In this episode Matt and Kyle sit down and discuss: How marketers are complicating personas Yes there's a ROI on market research...

Send us Fan Mail When someone says Agile Marketing, too often it rooted in buzz words.  Agile Marketing is a viable strategy for teams to perform faster and stay focused.  But why does Agile Marketing work for some, and others fail miserably? The answer might surprise you.  In this episode we sit down with Stephen Brent May, owner of One Foot Over, to discuss Agile Marketing. In this episode, Step...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a sales guy turns into a marketer?  They write a book about the best way to grow your business and call it "The Golden Toilet." Steve Brown sits down to talk about his book and practical ways businesses can implement simple changes to realize exponential growth. In this episode Steve and Kyle discuss: What is marketing automation? Where web design misse...

Send us Fan Mail Successful outside sales men and women thrive on interacting with people, excel by reading body language, and build relationships effortlessly.  So what happens when COVID-19 takes away the natural selling avenues?  They adapt or run the risk of becoming obsolete.  Adapting to a stress-filled environment without what makes a rep great, while carrying a huge quota isn't easy. ...

Send us Fan Mail In the world of technology, new ideas are boundless.  For entrepreneurs, this means endless possibilities for a new SaaS offering or creative way to go to market.  But what happens when billion-dollar unicorns start to fall flat?  Or when the predictive outbound model begins to stall? What will companies do when faced with a pandemic? If you spend anytime chatting with Justin Gray...

Send us Fan Mail Entrepreneurship isn't easy.  For some, the idea is born out of technical aptitude.  For others, it's about filling a market void.  And for a rare few it's about disrupting a market.  Tech entrepreneurs are predominately male, so what does that mean for women who have a great idea, product, or see a need in the market? In this episode, we dive into what entrepreneur...

Send us Fan Mail Building a social media following and online presence is no easy task.  Gaining followers on Twitter takes different skills than likes on Facebook or follows on Instagram. So how do you build a loyal following of like-minded people? It's not as hard as you might think, but the answer might surprise you.   Join us as Darius Tan and Kyle Hamer discuss: What it takes to grow you...

Send us Fan Mail Passive income is a myth.  Or is it?  Many people don't realize that podcasting is a growth market opportunity and if you ask Kristin Molenaar you can use podcasting to create a passive income stream for your business.   What does that mean, affiliates, commission, paid ads? Nope, Kristin has a special formula on how you can use your expertise + podcasting to generate a stead...

Send us Fan Mail Today's high growth, rapid market share acquisition, and performance-driven marketing focus by companies leave a lot to be desired when programs and campaigns hit the market. Why?  Because companies too often rely on the wrong things to get the results they need. What are the critical components of a high performing marketing team?  In this episode, we sit down with Douglas K...

Send us Fan Mail We've all had a bad boss, but would we admit to being one? In this episode, Tom Byrne and Kyle Hamer sit down to talk about what it takes to lead. Tom shares his story about how he rose in the managerial ranks and quickly learned he had leadership all wrong. About Tom Byrne As a successful manager with 20 years of experience, Tom is able to combine his love for management and...

Send us Fan Mail Rebranding is a waste of time.  Don't believe us, then listen in.  Finlay Kerr, Co-Founder of Frejiz, breaks down branding and rebranding.  Many companies spend their time and money focused on the art, the colors, and the visual component in their branding but forget to uncover their brand essence . In this episode, we discuss how SaaS companies, consumer brands, and large be...

Send us Fan Mail Software as a Service (SaaS) is changing at a rapid rate.  How companies prepare their organization to build, test, and deploy software has never been easier, and yet so many still resist the digital transformation.   Automating your sales and marketing process will have a positive impact on the revenue.  Should you only modernize your current systems or should you leapfrog the co...

Send us Fan Mail The Chief Marketing Officer is under fire, but it's not for the reasons you might think.  Marketing is better understood by many, and yet still shrouded in mystery, but across the globe, we are witnessing the Death of the CMO. Answering this riddle is as complicated as it is fascinating.  On The Summit Podcast, this week, our guest Andrea Lechner-Becker sits down to discuss h...

Send us Fan Mail Content marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Digital Marketing - oh my!  Where should you begin, what should you do, and how do you get the most out of your limited resources?  SEO is changing and the algorithms are becoming more human.  So how do you capitalize on it? In this episode of The Summit Lorraine and Kyle discuss: How marketing is becoming more like sales Using conten...

Send us Fan Mail COVID impacted everyone this year, and many enterprises had to update their go to market strategy.  How did they do it, and what are they doing to prevent another surprise skid? In this episode of The Summit, Josh Wagner and Kyle Hamer sit down and discuss how large companies are pivoting and building even more diverse go to market strategies. About Josh Wagner Josh started out li...

Send us Fan Mail If you were in outside or field sales when COVID hit - it was an immediate impact to the way you sell and manage a pipeline. Selling face to face is now done over Zoom or a phone call versus on a shop floor or over a beer.  Quotas didn't change, but the way the sales team generated business did.   What does this mean for the sales professional who's built a career on cha...

Send us Fan Mail Event marketing may never be the same after COVID-19.  A world of in-person events was forced to migrate to virtual almost overnight.  The impact was an exploding  world of virtual events, where many left the attendees missing in-person events.  It's safe to say online meeting fatigue and the lack of human interaction is having a drastic impact on field sales and marketing te...

Send us Fan Mail Marketing is changing and the old lead game is dead.  If your company is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result, it might be time to disengage from the monotony of the same old marketing tactics.  Marketers talk about content, but executing it well means understanding your customers and focusing on what matters.  Find out what 3 things marketing leade...

Send us Fan Mail Call my leads.  Give me something to call.  Sound familiar, if you said yes, then your sales and marketing teams are not aligned and likely driving your organization crazy.  How do you fix it? In this episode we talk with Shawn Finder, CEO of Autoklose, and discuss just how easy it is to align your teams.  During this conversation he showcases the 5 simples steps to getting teams...

Send us Fan Mail The only way to grow your book of business is with a firm handshake and looking someone in the eye.  For years, suppliers, manufactures, and contractors have been growing their client list with strong character, good jokes, and doing what you say.  Digital marketing, email, social media, and COVID-19 are propelling sales and marketing into a new era.   If it ain’t broke, don’t fix...

Send us Fan Mail It wasn't long ago that selling face to face was the preferred way for many sales professionals to call on clients.  Then COVID-19 hit and put everyone in quarantine.  Even with the country re-opening, many offices are adopting a work from home policy making it challenging for outside reps to return to their normal selling patterns. What does this mean for the sales professio...