Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Show Notes: Brian Ortiz talks to Will Bachman about their use of various tools and CRM systems to manage their LinkedIn presence which has 70,000 followers.  Brian talks about his history in marketing, his move into real estate investing, his purpose on LinkedIn, and the CRM tools he uses. Brian explains how he manages the actual inflow of messages, especially when dealing with heavy volume. He ta...

Show Notes: LinkedIn has become a powerful platform for professionals to connect, share insights, and build their personal brand. But how can executives effectively leverage LinkedIn to maximize their content strategy? To answer this question, Will Bachman talks to Justin Nassiri, founder of Executive Presence, who conducted a comprehensive analysis of client posts on LinkedIn. Justin talks about...

Show Notes: Will Bachman welcomes Alex Boyd, the founder of Revenue Zen, a B2B organic growth marketing firm. Alex talks about organic growth marketing and how it is simply sharing knowledge about a product or service through platforms like websites, forums, and social media without relying on paid advertising. Alex's strategy works because clients are drawn to the content and reach out to him. He...

Show Notes: Chris Heivly and Will Bachman discuss the concept of startup communities and the importance of building them. Chris is the co-founder of MapQuest, which was sold to AOL for $1.2 billion, and the author of the Build the Fort. His second book, The Startup Community Builder's Field Guide, focuses on how five simple lessons learned as a 10-year-old can set entrepreneurs up for startup succ...

Show Notes: In this episode, Will Bachman talks to Adam Braff, a former McKinsey partner who specializes in data analytics. Adam has been using chat GPT to explore how this powerful tool can be harnessed for data analysis. He explores the implications and potential impact of this innovative approach. The Quest for Analyzing Quantitative Data The ability to analyze quantitative data using generativ...

Show Notes: Keith Durst runs Friends of Chef (FOC), a consulting firm that works at the intersection of hospitality and real estate. Keith has worked on major projects in 15 different states, and he lists several projects they have worked on in New York City, such as Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Center, the Whitney Museum, and Blackstone's corporate headquarters as just a few of his projects.  Reim...

Show Notes: Oscar Trimboli is the author of How to Listen and the host of the podcast Deep Listening. He talks about the importance of listening in the context of an initial discussion with a client, and highlights the importance of being present and mindful in the conversation, and to focus on understanding the other person's perspective. Oscar stresses the need to be aware of underlying emotions...

Show Notes: Will Bachman and John Horn talk about competitors and how they should be taken into account when formulating a strategy. John points out that lowering the price is an easy response to a new product or market entry, which can prevent success. He suggests that understanding the competitor's mindset is a key element to predicting their next move and positioning oneself for success. He als...

Show Notes: David A. Fields talks about the purpose of outreach emails and how to ensure they are effective. The purpose of outreach is not to sell, but rather to create conversations. He talks about both  'cold' outreach, which is to contacts who you don't know and 'cool' outreach, which is sending emails to people who the sender knows, but who have not been in contact in a few years. He also cov...

Show Notes: Will Bachman and Ashlee Horn spoke about her practice, which focuses on coaching new sales leaders. Ashlee outlines the problem she is trying to solve that 50% of new sales leaders fail within the first year. She speaks about the lifecycle of a sales manager and why sales leaders are so important to an organization. She explains that she focuses on those who are new to frontline sales...

Josh Leibowitz spent 13 years at McKinsey and was elected partner in New York. He then moved to Miami and grew the office there before joining Carnival, the largest leisure company in the world. He talks about the  ideas behind Parenting MBA, a book that aims to help parents give their children the skills they need to be successful in life. Josh joined the cruise line Cunard as Chief Strategy Offi...

Show Notes: Mahan Tavakoli is a consultant, leadership coach, and host of the podcast Partnering Leadership. He talks about his podcast, the incredible guests he has had on his show, and his time at the Dale Carnegie Leadership Institute. Mahan has been an avid podcast listener for over a decade, and he decided to launch his own podcast in 2020. His podcast focuses on the journey of CEOs and leade...

Show Notes: John Driscoll is the President of Walgreens Boots Alliance and the co-host of the second largest healthcare podcast on YouTube, CareTalk. In this episode, host Will Bachman welcomed John to the show. John has extensive experience in the healthcare industry, having played a leading role in creating successful companies like MedCo, Surescripts, Oxford Health Plans, and Care Centrix. John...

Show Notes: On May 12, 2023, Chad Oakley, CEO of Charles Aris, a top retained search firm in the US for placing former and current management consultants, spoke to members of Umbrex about the current state of the job market for consultants. Chad gave an introduction to Charles Aris and spoke about their strategy practice. He encouraged attendees to ask questions to make the conversation interactiv...

Show Notes: Evan Polin, founder and operator of Polin Performance Group, talks about how his firm helps professionals in the service industry build their businesses and grow their practice. He helps them get in front of their ideal clients, make sure they're not giving away their expertise for free, and qualify opportunities more quickly. He also helps them take a strategic approach to problem sol...

Show Notes Sarrah Rose is an executive intimacy coach who runs the firm CEO on Fire. CEO on Fire helps senior level executives optimize their lives. Sarrag works with clients to help them achieve personal growth and spiritual development. She has been working in this field for the past 10 years, and rebranded to CEO on Fire to focus on executives specifically.  Sarrah works with primarily male sen...

Show Notes Author Jimmy Soni kicks off the conversation by explaining why the PayPal mafia is more noteworthy than other large startups. Soni explains that he wrote the book to document not only the business successes, but also the personal stories of the founders. He explains that the market has been good and that people can learn a lot of new things from the book. Soni reveals that his favorite...

Show Notes: David Newman is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), marketing expert, speaker, and founder of Do It! Marketing . In this episode, Will Bachman and David discuss his new book, Do It Selling . The book is organized with 77 instant action ideas that can be used to land better clients, bigger deals, and higher fees. The book is  divided into micro chapters which focus on topics such a...

Show Notes Greg Fincke is a Managing Director at Equiteq, a global sector focused investment bank that works with entrepreneurs in the IT services and management consulting sectors to create exit strategies. They have offices in London, Singapore, New York with smaller outposts around the globe. They typically advise on companies with 3-25 million EBIT range, and revenue up to $200 million. The fi...

Ulrich Riedel and Will Bachman discuss Ulrich's unique cold lead generation process via LinkedIn. Ulrich advises to respect the leads and to be careful to select only candidates who would benefit from this process and to be careful not to spam. He shares why he chose to find leads this way and explains why  there is more upside than downside to his process. He explains that the process involves se...

Show Notes Ulrich Riedel and Will Bachman discuss Ulrich's unique pricing model for independent consultants. Rather than being paid upfront or daily rates, Ulrich gets paid a percentage of the value he creates for the client at the end of the project. To make this type of pricing model possible, Ulrich needs to make sure certain conditions are met, such as creating value for the client, measuring...

Show Notes Tony Martignetti and Will Bachman discuss the importance of maintaining energy and excitement as a solopreneur or independent professional.  They talk about taking an assessment of the tools and different parts that you have been working on for your business. It is important to check in with yourself and ask what it is that you really want and what you are driving towards. It is necessa...

Show Notes: Nick Shevelyoff is a cybersecurity expert who recently left his role as Chief Information Security Officer at Silicon Valley Bank to pursue consulting services. In the mid-1990s, Nick Shevelyov began his career in technology. He soon became interested in cybersecurity and went on to work for a boutique security consulting firm. Shevelyoff later spent years working in Enterprise Risk Se...

Show Notes In this episode, Will Bachman explains how independent consultants can set up and use a paid CRM system.  While a spreadsheet is a great place to start when setting up a CRM system as it is free, and can help you understand which features of a paid system you would like to have, Will explains why, at one point,  you might want to upgrade to a paid CRM system, and how CRM systems offer a...

Show Notes In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman explains how independent professionals can use a spreadsheet as their CRM system. A spreadsheet can be an effective first step before investing in a paid CRM system, and for independent professionals, the most fundamental use of a CRM spreadsheet is to keep track of the people, organizations, and project opportunities, in addition to confirming...