Tribute to a Friend

As I am moving forward with launching The All Selling Is Social Podcast, I’ve been reminiscing about my podcast journey.? One thing I thought of recently was my first ever podcast appearance.

It was on Mark McInnes’s B.O.S.S. Podcast (Best of Social Selling/Best of Sales Skills).

I don’t think Mark knew it was my first time being interviewed on a podcast, but I do remember him as funny, calming and professional.? I remember being super nervous that night- we were recording at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (I live in NY) while it was 10 a.m. where Mark was in Australia.

We hit it off and had a great discussion about LinkedIn and social selling, and I must have done ok, because he invited me back two more times.

So naturally I was thinking that I needed to have Mark on my podcast once it’s launched.

Then a second thought popped into my head- Mark’s witty and insightful posts hadn’t crossed my newsfeed on LinkedIn in quite some time- Blast that Linkedin algorithm!

I pulled his profile up and suddenly had a bad feeling.? You know that feeling you get when you think something’s wrong but you can’t put your finger on it?? Yeah, that one.

I saw that Mark hadn’t posted any content or dropped a new podcast episode since July of 2024. That’s odd, because Mark was very consistent in his Linkedin content,

I reached out to a mutual connection I had recently engaged with from Australia and asked about Mark. That’s when my feelings that something was wrong were confirmed.

Mark had tragically passed away this past August while mountain biking at an Australian National Park.? Talk about a gut punch.??

With the invention of the computer, the internet, video communications and social platforms like LinkedIn, people have become more accessible.? There are more opportunities than ever before to meet someone from another country, another continent, and another culture.??

Mark described himself as a salesperson’s sales trainer.? Author of “Tactical Pipeline Growth: Winning the Outbound Battle for New Business” and founder of his own sales training company, Mark had a unique, all encompassing view of sales that was sorely needed in today’s sales training landscape.? He was open minded and definitely wasn’t afraid to have a healthy discussion with those he disagreed with.

I’m going to encourage you to revisit his podcast, his podcast appearances and YouTube videos, he still can teach us and by being better at this vocation of sales, we can honor him and his memory.

I’m purposely not tagging him or his pages for respect for his family and colleagues.? You can use Google, you know how to search, I’m confident you can find these sites on your own.