Host: Susan Finch

When I think of peace of mind in business, it comes from being prepared for the expected, as well as the unexpected. It's not all sparkle ponies, unicorns and laughter. Bad stuff happens.
What we do to respond in those moments as leaders and team members can change the course of a company and set into motion a chain reaction of positive outcomes or a Coyote/Roadrunner death spiral into dust. A bit dramatic I know, but I wanted you to have a visual as I introduce you to an expert in crisis readiness, Melissa Agnes.
You don't have to put this off. You and your company can immediately take steps to build your crisis readiness. You may have more in place than you think you do. Learn from Melissa Agnes who is the author of Crisis Readiness on Amazon. 

Susan's guest is Richard Moore. Not only is he a successful architect, but he's a graphic artist and product designer. Richard talks about the unexpected lessons learned when he started mass producing products. With over 100 SKUs, he's been able to successfully refine the process. The first step, hiring someone specifically to manage the production process. They met through a Kickstarter program several years ago launching their Chimeras through Walrus Toys.

 
My guest today is Corinne McCormack for part two of the interview we did a couple of weeks ago about how to build a multimillion-dollar business. Yes, you can, and she has some final tips, advice, and strategies for you in this episode you don't want to miss. Here we go.
I'm here with Corinne McCormack, and we have had some great interviews recently and there were a couple of topics though that I wanted to cover with her. Corinne, are you open, let's tackle those last two topics that we didn't get to do in our earlier shows. In your book, From Living Room to Boardroom: How I Launched and Sold a Multimillion-Dollar Business, you tell your whole journey. What I noticed in it is you were very upfront and open to talking about how you were able to borrow against your home to finance the start of your business. You're in New York. You had some equity, you were good. But what do you recommend for people with less than that type of option? Is that a deal-breaker if they can't get that initial funding?

This is the first part of an interview with author, entrepreneur, inventor, speaker - Corinne McCormack.
My guest today is author, consultant, seasoned executive, and entrepreneur, Corinne McCormack. We are here today to talk about her new book, From Living Room to Boardroom: How I Launched and Sold a Multi-million Dollar Business. I have it and I love this book. Before I wanted to interview her I said, "Hey, I need your book so that I can read through, get a few chapters under my belt." I couldn't put it down Corinne, I loved it. 

 
Susan welcomes back author and impact training expert, Amy Franko, as a follow up to the book launch episode for The Modern Seller. Update on her book, wildly successful launch propelled her into the number one position for Kindle downloads in the category of Sales Techniques. We've continued to follow her tips, posts, appearances and the topic of The Why and the How came up. Her blog post titled, "What Distinguishes a Standout Seller?" led to this interview. There is not one answer, but Amy helps you determine the questions to have ready in order to guide the meeting, the presentation and ultimately - THE SALE.
Be sure to sign up for her newsletters, guides and more. Definitely worth adding to your weekly research list for those AHA moments.
AmyFranko.com - you will find her book, The Modern Seller there as well.

 
Take a breath. Really, take a deep breath before you pick up the phone. While you're at it raise your arms, lower your shoulders, sit up straight, smile then make that call, walk into the meeting, take the stage. Speech patterns and bad habits can tune your audience out, even an audience of one, before you get further than your introduction. This will cost you revenue and waste everyone's time.
Take tips from voice and dialect coach, Susan E. Finch. This show should have been a video - it was so much fun and packed with applicable tips to keep you from being annoying. The biggest culprits?  Women! Women 17 - 35 and this voice fry issue where they sound like they are swallowing their words. Next, the gutteral hiccup - that punch that only belongs in the Cockney community in London.

Hey CMOs, CEOs how do you have your SDRs embrace an external group of SDRs to train your existing team on how to secure that first meeting and take it to conversion? 
Our guest is Whitney Marshall, Co-Founder of Qualified Meetings. Their goal is to operate as an extension of your sales team – our only goal is to convert highly qualified opportunities that meet both of our standards. 
Why wouldn't you invest in a proven process and full-service program that will predictably grow your pipeline, while simultaneously providing data intelligence, resulting in an improved go-to-market strategy based on real data and conversations? Or do you think hand your reps a call list, sitting them in the corner telling them to dial their little hearts out and close deals is enough training?

 
Teresa Huber and Susan Finch talk about the importance of an ADA compliant website. When most marketing departments think of disabilities and ADA compliance, they think about blind people, those in wheelchairs and more obvious issues. Don't forget about those with dyslexia, those who are color blind, hearing disabled. You may not realize how much of your buyer personas include people with a variety of disabilities. Why would you want to exclude them from viewing your site, doing research on your site and ultimately paying for your product or service? Join us for some interesting facts and example, as well as tools to do a quick assessment of your existing sites.
Visit her website - you will learn VERY interesting facts immediately on the home page. 
Tools for quick assessments so you can initially know, "... just how bad is it?"
webaim.orgachecker.ca

Author, Barbara Weaver Smith joins Susan Dec. 6 for this episode (listen live on this site at the right). Her first book, Whale Hunting, exposed us to how to succeed in landing larger accounts. Whale Hunting provides your B2B company with a clear, step-based model for successfully finding, landing, and harvesting whale-size accounts–the kinds of accounts that transform your business. It can mean the difference between merely surviving and thriving spectacularly. But you have to be smart and you have to be prepared!
In this episode we go to the next level: Whale Hunting for Global Accounts.
Some of the tips covered help you get in the mindset and secure your partners and team to handle this global accounts.
A big tip is that perhaps you've heard of the US Department of Commerce, but you may not know what they do or can do for you and your business. This is a VERY helpful partnership. The episode gives you specifics of how they help businesses small and large secure global accounts. You can go to their (somewhat dry) site here >
Changing your thinking of your business and your clients is the most critical piece. They are ready to be global or already are. You need to make sure you fit into that picture to enjoy a bigger version of your current status with them as a supplier. Be the solutions for ALL locations, all divisions. 
Expanding your team will most likely be necessary. BUT your clients may have more in place to assist you than you realize. 
Time to make some new partners, as well. EVERYONE can grow and be more successful with your new mindset, including your clients. AND you will build strong loyalty from them.
Listen in and take notes.

My guest is Heather Williams, the Vice President of Business Development at Strategic Dynamics, Inc. Heather helps organizations sell more effectively to their customers . She works with several healthcare companies but also works with other industries as well including finance. Heather works with senior level executives and HR to ensure organizations are hiring the right talent for all positions. Today we are discussing her book, “Selling to Hospitals & Healthcare Organizations.
To sell effectively in this new ecosystem today’s sellers must understand the role and function of hospital and alternate site personnel and their language. We call this Business Acumen. Sellers that understand the language and business of hospitals receive immediate credibility, which is a foundation for building communication and trust.
As hospitals migrate from a fee-for-service reimbursement methodology to payment for value, based upon patient outcomes; they are creating new business models and new relationships with insurers, physician practices, single and multi-specialty community clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, diagnostic imaging centers, specialized treatment service centers, specialty hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and other healthcare entities.
Available on Amazon
Buying the book will keep you in the loop for updates and book 2 coming out in 2019.
In this episode we cover:
Who would find this book useful?
Anyone who is calling on Hospitals or Healthcare Organizations. This includes, sales personnel, marketing, operations (for equipment implementations) or product service personnel.
Sellers must understand the role and function of the hospital and their personnel (the jobs they perform) and then be able to speak their language.
Private citizens will also find this book useful if they want to increase their knowledge base about healthcare organizations and personnel. After all we all need healthcare and it helps to be more knowledgeable about our options, the different institutions and the people who deliver the care.
What is included in the book?
The book is broken up in 2 parts and then 4 Appendices
Hospital Business Acumen & Clinical Terms
Hospital Physician & Key Healthcare Personnel
The Appendices includes Acronyms & Medical Industry Abbreviations, Anatomical Orientation Terms, several Healthcare Agencies & Organizations, and lastly some common Prescription Terms
How do you use this with your clients?
We let them know this is available and a great resource for on-boarding new company personnel who do not have any healthcare experience or who may be required to call on personnel in a new department or entity that was not previously served.
For those that have experience, this is a great resource to keep on-hand as reference There may be a Healthcare acronym that you may not be aware that is in the book.