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He / She who asks the right questions, leads the conversation right. - Here’s the most impactful thing you can start doing this year (and forever) before all of your sales meetings.

SANTA’s PICKLE BALL SHOWDOWN Had so much fun playing and sharing time with our incredible team Fulcrum Sales and Marketing that we forgot to take a real group photo. Best match of the day was Prancer and Rudolph v. Santa and Cupid @lafayettepickleballclub was a blast!

Check out what my lil dude wanted to make a video about. He came by for a sick day and wouldn’t accept no for an answer when I told him he couldn’t be in the video. Lol.

“Don’t be a chump… eat Popcorn Pump.” That was the slug line of a fictitious Popcorn brand I presented at an Innovation Conference I attended on scholarship my Senior year at UL. As I presented the brand Popcorn Pump to the 1,000 plus attendees… I stared right into Mr. Matt Stuller’s eyes hoping to making an iota of an impression. He went right after me and slayed the crowd with a super luxurious popcorn brand complete with the most high-end ingredients. I immediately thought… “who in the heck is going to buy that? Who could afford $150 / lb for popcorn?” Everyone’s going to want a popcorn packed with protein… right? I’ve reflected a lot on that day and here’s the juice… Just because you see yourself as a customer in the market, doesn’t mean there’s a market worth pursuing. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of consuming your own product and being the “first customer” but so many go all in on a product simply because THEY think it’s a game-changer. Looking back… a premium popcorn has precedence, margin, demand, etc. A protein packed popcorn was cool to me. A college kid with very limited experience, taste, and buying power. - Thanks Mr. Stuller for all you’ve done for Acadiana and beyond. You truly are a legend. Also, thanks for being a mentor from afar and a customer to Fulcrum Sales and Marketing! - Also, thanke Bob Miller for selecting me as the winner of the Innovation Scholar all those years ago.

Comment “IDE” and I’ll send you a full blown wireframe schematic of the sales funnel complete with conversion numbers, responsibilities, etc. Initiate Develop Enhance It’s really that simple when it comes to customer relationships… but, simple doesn’t always mean easy.

Are you attending MedAxiom - An ACC Company’s #CVTransforum in Denver next week? Comment below or send us a message! We’d love to learn more about your cardiology practice goals and explore how we can work together to achieve them. Let's connect! Learn more about this event: https://hubs.la/Q02SW8PL0 #CVL #CVTransforum #CardiovascularInnovation #HealthcareTransformation

Sooo many companies forget the importance of channel relationships and indirect selling. I get it. Everyone wants to go direct to the customer - but the reality is is that working with and through others is how human beings solve problems (buy things). If you’re struggling to go direct, ask yourself these questions: 1. Who has the trust of my end-customer? 2. Who knows about the customer problem I solve, even before I do? 3. Who can increase the value of my product / service before it gets to my customer? 4. Who can help my customer extract even more value from my offerings? Go!

Townsend Wardlaw and Clayton George have helped me to truly understand that the pie is infinite. And that reality, comes from who you be. Do you like these reflections on business history?

I don’t believe that everything is a negotiation. Similar to how I don’t believe every bit of pushback is objection. Most of the time people are seeking clarity and / seeking to be heard. But, sometimes…. it’s a full blown negotiation, baby! And in that context, here’s the two primary things you need to be aware of: 1. You must be prepared. Know what’s your priority and know what’s not. The more clarity you have around that, the better. 2. Build the muscle memory to respond to any concession request with “if I do that… then, I’d ask you to do this…” Fueled with the clarity of priority and the various ways you can achieve that priority… you are sure to get a better outcome!

You may have heard the term “Bootstrapping” - here’s my take on how to take a big complicated idea and distill it down to a simple concept you can start executing now. My friend Seth Godin at altMBA authored The Bootstrapper’s Bible which is my GO TO resource on this topic. Do yourself a favor if you have a business idea… simplify it into its core service function, try to get paying customers for that service. You’ll learn the right things that way.