We wanted to try something different this year at the summit.  Not only did we want to have our all-day event, which would have an entire day focused on business growth strategies, we wanted to get more in-depth on a few topics that are crucial for a business' success.

In this episode, we discuss how you can improve your sales cycle.  Evan Sanchez who is the owner of Springboard Consulting has over 15 years of experience selling and teaching others how to harness the skills and assets they have already within their organizations to create customized programs that “springboard” sales teams to the next level.

Evan will be teaching one of our intensives on March 29th, and if you want to go more in-depth on closing more sales, I can't recommend this enough.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why knowing yourself and knowing the perception that people see you, is a key to building your business.
• The definition of a customer-driven sales process
• Why your company’s culture can make or brea...

Amy Blankson is co-founder of GoodThink, Inc and is an ambassador for helping to create happier, more productive workforces. In this episode we talk about ways to make technology work on your side to be more productive and teach your workforce to use it for your advantage.

We discuss:

• How technology is killing our happiness (and how to change that)
• Why technology may have taken an opposite stance on helping workforces become MORE productive
• How to use technology to create a more balanced life
• How to retrain your brain exactly what it processes

When I first met Rick and Tom with GMG Savings, I was honestly shocked as a business owner. My first response was where were you eight years ago when I started hiring for my business? My second question was how do more people not know about you? 

GMG Savings has a great concept where they help you in your business in various different ways, and the beautiful part is that they don't get paid unless they can find a way to save you money.  

No, this isn't all too good to be true. Between hidden fees we often miss along with government programs that as business owners, we just don't have time to keep up with, there are various ways we can pocket a lot more money in our business.

I love this topic because it's one that is crucial to the success and growth of any company. We have to hire, and we have to learn how to scale. However, if it's done incorrectly, it can be detrimental to our business. When done right, it can lead to profits and more enjoyment in your business. 

Knox Keith has built teams for some of today's largest brands and currently works for Merge Forward and helps companies with their digital and social media strategy. To do that, he needs to build a team of contractors to help him execute.

Knox gives some great tips and tricks in this podcast as we discuss just some of the following:

 - How to hire correctly so you can help determine your new recruits will be a great fit for the team as a whole.

 - How to set up your business so when you're bringing on new people they can quickly get up to speed on your process and what needs to be done.

- How to help keep the right culture, even on a team of contractors.

Video in your business in 2016 is no longer an option, it's a must. The great news is, is that there are so many ways to utilize it, and you don't have to have the perfectly produced piece in order to put it out to the world. Between Facebook Live (which is now available for all pages, not just verified ones), Periscope, YouTube, and many many more platforms, the sky is the limit on how you can use this to get more exposure for your business. 

Stephanie Carls of My Savy Life will be speaking on a panel about video. She talks about how she uses it in her business, and why it's such a crucial piece. How she got over the fear of video, and gives lots of examples and ways other businesses can use it in their business.

Cheri Garcia is one of those rockstar entrepreneurs who will figure it out and out hustle anyone who tries to get in her way.  She has overcome an addiction to drugs and no college education to learn the news and PR world, invent a popular product, and get over a half a million dollars of investment money for an app she helped to create.  Oh, and she jumped on an application from a guy who you might know, Mark Cuban, and ran with it to start making over $10K a month using it for her business.

Basically, she knows a thing or two about building businesses, and I’ve loved watching her rise to the top.

She will be at the Entrepreneur Summit talking about getting all kinds of free exposure from your business from PR to networking.  In this podcast she covered some of the secrets to her success.

In this podcast you will learn:

• An insight to the PR world, and why you should use it as part of your business strategy.
• Why press releases are a huge waste of time.
• The three things you mu
...

Hiring and building a company culture can be one of the hardest things you do in your business.  A recent study showed how only about 30% of Americans actually like their job.  That means there is a really good chance that someone working for you isn't happy.

So whether you're hiring your first employee or 100th, how do you create a culture and a place where they thrive?  How do you create a place they get excited to be a part of?

As a strategic architect, Daren Martin helps companies all over the country do just this.  He helps them engage the people who are working for them, and teaches companies how to get employees or contractors to thrive.

He'll also be speaking at the Entrepreneur Summit  about this very topic.  But in this podcast he breaks down how to transform the people working for you into some of your biggest cheerleaders.

Charles Horton has been a successful entrepreneur as early as 13 when he ran a landscaping business.  He then ventured into his first big business at the age of 16 when he started cashing checks at a local flea market.

He hasn't looked back since, selling his first company at 30, and then starting several others right after.  Charles new venture has him on pace to meet his next goal, which is to be a billionaire by the time he turns 50.

I loved sitting down with Charles to learn more about how he has been so successful. Here are just a few of the things you will learn in this episode:

• How Charles took his first business from an idea to a multi-million dollar sale
• Why he feels mentoring others is crucial, and why he thinks you should always be seeking mentors
• Why changing his mindset from telling others what to do to creating a company of owners, made his companies more successful.
• Why embracing fear became one of the biggest keys to success.

Erin Steed is the Founder of Working Women of Dallas/Fort Worth.  As a former reporter, she knows how to make connections that last.  

Some of the topics we talk about in this podcast are: 

• Why you should think of every place you go as an opportunity to network
• Why she doesn’t consider people contacts, but instead connections.
• The art of the follow-up
• How to run a successful professional organization
• How to maximize every event you attend

Joel Comm has been successful many times over.  From NY Times Best-Selling Author several times over, to selling a business to Yahoo, and having an app that stayed in the #1 slot for all of iTunes for 23 days, Joel knows success.

Some of the topics we cover in this podcast are: 

• Why he doesn’t worry about ROI, but instead focuses on ROE (Return on Experience)
• How his interest in new technology makes him a trailblazer in the marketing industry.
• As a bonus he gives some incredible tips about getting the most out of Snapchat.

You can find more information about the Entrepreneur Summit at: