STP032: Where Do Sales Come From? with S. Anthony Iannarino and Scott Messer
We’re excited to bring you our first “Smashing the Plateau” Face Off, featuring S. Anthony Iannarino and Scott Messer, two titans in the sales field. Listen to Anthony and Scott weigh the many sides of closing a deal on this episode.
Topics include…
- How to approach sales prospects
- Why the personal relationship is secondary
- How sales is a form of leadership
- Why closing isn’t so bad after all
- How one deal is actually many smaller sales
S. Anthony Iannarino is the President and Chief Sales officer for SOLUTIONS Staffing. Scott Messer is the Principal at Sales Evolution.
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STP031: Finding Your Sales Story with Eric Keiles
Sales and marketing expert Eric Keiles sees the opportunity in today’s shifting business environment. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” Eric talks about strategy following tactics, telling your story, and finding a partner to balance you out.
Topics include…
- How to handle inbound leads
- Why you shouldn’t talk about yourself
- When you don’t need marketing
- Why curiosity could be your best asset
- The real role of today’s salesperson
Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Square 2 Marketing, Eric Keiles is a leading sales and marketing strategist focused on pioneering a new marketing methodology.
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STP030: Creating a Moment of Impact with Wendy Lipton-Dibner
Personal and organizational development expert Wendy Lipton-Dibner dishes some tips on how to delegate effectively, how to deal with fear, and how to overcome personal hurdles on this episode of “Smashing the Plateau.”
Topics include…
- How to recognize your hidden fears
- Why there is freedom in structure
- Finding out what’s really important
- How to use information you already have
- Using your investments to their max
Wendy Lipton-Dibner is the Founder of The Action Movement
, and President of Professional Impact, Inc. Wendy is a 3-times best-selling author known for her unique strategies for content marketing and delivery.
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STP029: Staying Relevant in the Social Era with Rick Frishman
Veteran author and speaker Rick Frishman has made a living in the publishing industry by hacking into the psychology of customers and employees. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” he discusses how to optimize day-to-day tasks and reach the goals you care about most.
Topics include…
- The importance of being accessible
- How to get fans raving about you
- Why selling is the last thing you should do
- How to forgive yourself for falling short
- The formula for a perfect online presence
Rick Frishman is a best-selling author, publisher, speaker, and the founder of Media Connect. He works with many of the top book editors, literary agents, and publishers in America.
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STP028: Learning From the Woman the Experts Go To For Advice with Debbie Allen
Expert strategist in the fields of business growth, marketing, and branding, Debbie Allen discusses the importance of being specific and staying interesting on this episode of “Smashing the Plateau.”
Topics include…
- Why self-promotion takes practice
- How to get out of your head to succeed
- Getting ready for a virtual future
- How to handle being a commodity
- How to take your expertise public
Debbie Allen is an international business and brand strategist. She teaches small business owners and entrepreneurs how to turn their passion, skills, and talents into branded expertise.
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STP027: Staying Current in the Social Landscape with Marty Monaco
Working in the social media space, Marty Monaco is constantly forced to adapt his strategies. So you can bet he’s learned how to stay current. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” Marty talks about recovering from rejection and how he decides where to go next.
Topics include…
- How to choose a path among many options
- The secrets to finding the perfect partner
- Why rejections aren’t all that bad
- How to deal with the frustrations of waiting
- When not to put all your eggs in one basket
Hopskoch Founder and COO Marty Monaco is an experienced entrepreneur and business development professional with more than 20 years in management consulting and enterprise software delivery.
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STP026: What Doing the Right Thing Really Means with Doreen Gebbia
Doreen Gebbia recalls her experience with starting a business and the challenges that come with scaling on this episode of “Smashing the Plateau.” She tells us about the struggle to recover from a national disaster and how a strong circle of associates helped pull her business out.
Topics include…
- How to make opportunities happen
- Using your network to get through tough times
- How to turn disappointment into a learning experience
- When to draw boundaries and say “no”
- Why integrity may matter more than prosperity
Doreen Gebbia is the President of eRichards Consulting, LLC. For 15 years, she honed her skills in sales and marketing, while overseeing projects with leading advertising agencies, retailers and publishing houses.
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STP025: How to Think Like a Buyer with Kevin Charlton
UK telephone sales coach veteran Kevin Charlton knows the Internet age is flipping the old ways of selling on their head. Customers do their homework. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” Kevin offers salespeople some tips to slow down, stop selling, and just listen.
Topics include…
- Putting yourself inside the head of a customer
- When to listen and when to sell
- The homework all salespeople must do
- Why you should keep your grandmother in mind
- Keeping customers’ emotional pain in mind
With nearly 20 years in telephone sales training in the United Kingdom, Kevin Charlton is the Managing Director at Steer Development.
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STP024: Making the Most of Your Emotions with Tracy Dennis
Professor, expert in emotional psychology, and developer of the app Personal Zen, Tracy Dennis gives tips for making even the most stressful days a positive experience, for entrepreneurs and the general public.
Topics include…
- How to stop thinking negatively
- The real reason anxiety is keeping you down
- How to ensure your day ends right
- Why the DIY approach boosts mental health
- The secret to finding your inner Zen
Tracy Dennis is a professor at Hunter College’s Department of Psychology. She is also the developer behind the app Personal Zen, which helps users reduce their anxiety through interactive games.
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STP023: Why Do People Do The Work They Do? with Rajib Chowdhury
Building businesses from the inside out is Rajib Chowdhury’s main focus. Without the right values to back up employee behavior, sales will never break through plateaus. On this episode, Rajib discusses the ultimate ways to build strengths in a staff and much more.
Topics include…
- Why belief should come before skill
- How to avoid traffic-driven goals
- The secret to getting employees to really learn
- How to best use people’s strengths
- Why the size of the organization doesn’t matter
Rajib Chowdhury is the Founder and Managing Director of Paathshala Learning Solutions, a start-up organization that focuses on employee development at the grass roots level.
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STP022: How to Get Yourself Out of the Pricing Game with Pia Silva
Branding expert and strategist Pia Silva delves into the topic of revamping a company’s image on this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” with some wisdom thrown in about how to run a business when your partner is also your spouse.
Topics include…
- What branding really means (and why it matters)
- Why the best brands always evolve
- How to get out of the pricing game
- How branding supports your sales
- Getting rid of assumptions between partners
Pia Silva is a Founding Partner and Brand Strategist at Worstofall Design, a boutique branding company whose mission is to pair deep, emotional connections with strategic business thinking.
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STP021: Bringing In The Ringer with Al Rivera
Al Rivera has learned firsthand the upside of hiring outside help. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” he tells us about his struggles with trying to do it all and why stepping aside is actually the exact thing leaders need to do sometimes.
Topics include…
- Why sincerity has nothing to do with leadership
- How to know when to hire outside talent
- Where stress actually comes from
- The trick to combining logic and intuition
- The importance of a leadership scorecard
Al Rivera is the CEO of ERH Contracting, which provides full-service remodeling and additions for residential and commercial buildings.
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STP020: Learning to Win In Good Times and Bad with Paul Berkman
Financial consultant Paul Berkman believes gray hair is an asset in his field. On “Smashing the Plateau,” you’ll hear him talk about overcoming the frustrations of unmet expectations, holding yourself accountable, and not fearing down markets (whatever your field).
Topics include…
- How to overcome the frustration of getting stuck
- How to turn adverse market conditions into an advantage
- Why helping clients see the big picture helps you
- The best time to show your real worth
- The asset of an always open mind
Paul Berkman is a Financial Consultant at AXA Advisors. He specializes in investments and life insurance policies, retirement and estate planning, and disability services.
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STP019: Managing Like a Marine with Larry Sharpe
Former Marine Larry Sharpe infuses his military background into his management consulting and executive coaching business, Neo-Sage. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” he discusses the need for internal motivation and creating a mistake-friendly environment.
Topics include…
- When emotions must come before logic
- The 3-step plan for business growth
- How to decide on growth strategy
- The most important 30 minutes of your week
- Why leadership trumps management
Larry Sharpe is the Managing Director of the Neo-Sage Group, providing corporate training and management consulting to professionals in the industries of finance, technology, media, real estate, luxury, and healthcare.
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STP018: The Matchmaker’s Balancing Act with Brooke Wise
Matchmaker Brooke Wise relays the challenges she faces with keeping her personal life and professional life separate. The first step, she says, was not taking it personally when people’s first reaction to her career was: “Really?” She discusses this topic and more on this episode of “Smashing the Plateau.”
Topics include…
- Why you shouldn’t justify your prices
- How to blend the personal and professional
- The struggles of discussing your numbers
- Why good work matters most
- How to avoid the wrong clients
Brooke Wise is the Founder of Wise Matchmaking, a private full-service relationship and matchmaking company that caters to men and women in the Greater New York City area and around South Florida.
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STP017: Business in the Year of the Video Blog with Alex Vachon
Video and television producer, consultant, and filmmaker Alex Vachon gets into the finer points of turning the passions of film into a career of networking, overcoming hurdles, and flipping negatives into positives on this episode of “Smashing the Plateau.”
Topics include…
- Trusting yourself to get unstuck
- Why you should be asking retirees for advice
- How to get clients to keep coming back
- The key to staying ahead of the game
- Why you should stop seeing rejection as a negative
Alex Vachon is the Founder of Cartouche Creations, a NYC-based video and television production company that helps companies big and small deliver their content for the sake of marketing and public relations.
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STP016: Creating a Culture of Openness with Fi Haywood
Fi Haywood, who co-founded Café Style Speed Training, explains the principles that underlie her signature “Café Style” method in this episode of “Smashing the Plateau.” She discusses collaboration, creativity, and why workplace culture could be what makes or breaks your company.
Topics include…
- What makes the “Café Style” approach so solid
- Using language to everyone’s advantage
- How big failures can turn into learning opportunities
- Finding the right time and place for emotions
- Why intuition could be your biggest asset
Fi Haywood serves as the Training and Development Lead at Café Style Speed Training, where she personally designs games, exercises, and creative strategies designed to uncover the hidden ways in which employees interact with one another.
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STP015: Finding Your Platform For Creativity and Business with Keith Arem
Keith Arem has had a remarkably successfully career in almost every branch of the entertainment business. He is probably best known for his pivotal role in creating video games like Call of Duty. On “Smashing the Plateau,” Keith discusses the elements that make a creatively minded businessperson most likely to succeed.
Topics include…
- A unique approach to goal-setting
- What all innovators can learn from video games
- How to make your audience pay attention
- How to spot and seize promising opportunities
- The best time to ask for help
Keith Arem is President of PCB Productions and PCB Entertainment. With more than two decades of experience as a video game talent director, designer, director, composer, and writer, Keith has worked on some of the industry’s biggest properties.
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STP014: How to Sell More and Guess Less with Scott Messer
Scott Messer is a pioneer of an approach that takes the guesswork out of sales. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” Scott talks about what the best salespeople all have in common, how to see the world from a potential client’s point of view, the mechanics of leaving your comfort zone, and much more.
Topics include…
- How “anti-sales” could be your best revenue booster
- The secret of healthy and productive risk-taking
- How to get your employees working on overdrive
- The true value in knowing what you’re good at
- Why you should never be the most talented person in the room
Scott Messer and his company Sales Evolution LLC have revolutionized how companies approach their sales tactics. He is also co-author of the business novel The Outcome.
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STP013: The Advantage of Being Anonymous with David Zweig
David Zweig is convinced that today’s constant focus on self-promotion is killing productivity and creativity. In his book Invisibles (Penguin) and on this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” Zweig discusses how staying in the shadows is an oft overlooked common denominator in the success strategies of many of the world’s most prominent people.
Topics include…
- How to get noticed without overtly seeking attention
- The real reason your marketing isn’t working for you
- The quiet power of listening
- What happens when you give people their space
- Pursuing collaboration, not competition
David Zweig is an author, lecturer, and musician. His most recent book Invisibles: The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion is an ode to the voiceless engines of progress in business and a guide for business owners looking to uncover the people who can most help them achieve success.
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STP012: How to Get Better Once You’re Already Good with Ruben Quinones
Ruben Quinones is unafraid to discuss the fears he’s had to conquer in his professional journey. In this episode, you’ll learn how to channel your own fears to continually add to your skill set so that you never become stagnant in pursuit of your goals.
Topics include…
- The power of facing your greatest fears
- What it really means to communicate effectively
- Why you must treat honest feedback as your best friend
- What advantageous professional relationships look like
- The competitive advantage of having a thick skin
New Media guru Ruben Quinones deals with the challenge of adapting to rapidly changing technology every day. He is the Digital Director at iFuelinteractive, Director New Media at Path Interactive, and the Creator of the Facebook Analytics dashboard Social Tofu.
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STP011: Why Risks Aren’t Reckless with Wesley Hein
Wesley Hein likes to talk about risk, whether it’s the risk of starting a new business, the risk of staying where you are, or the risk of sticking with your dream when everyone is telling you to abandon it. As the founder of Enigma Records (the label responsible for signing such musical artists as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crue, and Devo) and early Silicon Valley pioneer, Wesley knows about risk better than most.
On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau,” Wesley discusses his views on unique perspective on risk and how you can use it to your advantage.
Topics include…
- What passion actually means
- Conquering the first step: pulling the trigger
- Why accepting the fear of failure is mandatory
- Finding success in unexpected places
- How to turn personal struggle into group triumph
Wesley Hein is the CEO of Master Channel (formerly Idea Den), a branding company that blends content, commerce, and community. Throughout his career, he has repeatedly found himself at the forefront of whatever new opportunity seemed the most exciting.
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STP010: The Power of Community in Business with Christina Lattimer
After years coaching influential business leaders, Christina Lattimer was finally inspired to bring them together in an online community where they could discuss their most challenging issues. What happened next went far beyond anything she ever dreamed of. On this episode of “Smashing the Plateau” Christina discusses her unusual transition from corporate employee to business owner, how she built her powerful online ecosystem, and the leadership strategies that have sustained her throughout it all.
Topics include…
- How to keep your cool when you’re feeling vulnerable
- The ins and outs of making important transitions
- What we can learn from bad managers
- Why staying consistent is so essential
- Growing your following from 300 members to 10,000
Christina Lattimer is the Founder of the e.MILE Community, a chattering hub of leaders looking to improve their ability to guide a team and execute. Christina specializes in leadership development, coaching, and consulting. She mentors managers and is an expert in human resources, as well as an accomplished leadership author.
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STP009: The Real Core Of Leadership with Joanne Rogovin
Are leaders supposed to be more or less emotional than their staff? Why should they take the rap for someone else’s error? On this week’s episode of “Smashing the Plateau” you’ll hear from leadership expert Joanne Rogovin, who gives us the details on what effective leadership looks like. Joanne is a titan in the exploding leadership coaching industry. She specializes in helping executives solve problems at the top that have the potential to fatally infect the entire organization if they go unchecked.
Topics include…
- Why leaders should be the ones to take the fall
- The importance of seeing change as nonlinear
- Why you should stop worrying about day-to-day issues
- How to build the right kind of relationships
- The role of emotions in leadership
Joanne Rogovin, Principal at Change Leadership Consultants, has more than 30 years of experience helping to mentor, mold, and empower leaders. She has worked alongside Change.org as a leadership coach in both the profit and non-profit sectors, providing guidance to people and giving them tools to communicate their visions.
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STP008: The Performance Of Business With Vivek Tiwary
Vivek Tiwary refers to illustrious manager Brian Epstein, the so-called “Fifth Beatle,” as his historical mentor. He uses Epstein’s tenure with the legendary rock band as a model for every aspect of his business, and the result has been a wave of successes. On “Smashing the Plateau” you’ll hear Vivek discuss the importance of choosing your own historical mentor, the real way to make sure you can do what you love and why you should constantly be saying, “Yes!”
Topics include…
- How to use challenges as sources of inspiration
- Why the key to being persistent may be closing your ears
- Learning from the past to work smarter today
- Why you should be multitasking right now
- How roadblocks are actually opportunities
A New York Times best-selling author, Tony Award-winning producer, and CEO and President of Tiwary Entertainment Group, Vivek Tiwary has carved out more than a niche for himself in the worlds of theater and business, and he succeeds tremendously in both. In addition to the award winning graphic novel and upcoming motion picture The Fifth Beatle, he has been behind such hits as The Producers, American Idiot, and A Raisin in the Sun starring Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, to name a few.
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