Scaling Your Business GROWTH Stage

In early 2021, I changed my tagline to Be Ready to Scale®. Shortly after that, I was meeting with a prospect and he asked me, “Why did you choose the word 'scale' instead of growth?”

At first, I was taken aback. It wasn’t a question I was expecting as we were talking about his company and how I could help him. I was happy to answer him though. It’s what makes me different from my competitors.

I explained that growth is something that is usually thought about in linear terms—a company acquires …

MVP. Sounds exciting. You want that title. Right?

Well, unfortunately, I am not going to talk about being the most valuable player. Instead, my thoughts are about a minimal viable product (MVP). I know that is nowhere near as sexy. And as you know, you don't want me talking sports. LOL!

Anyway, I want to draw attention to the words--minimal...viable...product—MINIMAL in particular.  

The concept is great, you spend as little as possible and generate the most revenue (and hopefully profit too)…

Are you looking to enhance your brand impact, drive sales, and achieve your revenue goals? Harnessing the power of brand messaging with category design is the key to unlocking growth and scaling your business.

In my experience, there are gaps between formal, traditional marketing statements, the pillars of marketing success, and the actual application and results of these structures. These statements are either too formal and wordy or too slapstick and trendy. The pillars used to build and defi…

I remember having a conversation with a business owner years ago about branding. He was trying to convince me that a brand’s logo should NEVER, EVER change. At the time I had been in the industry for over a decade and knew that his intention was correct, but the reality couldn’t be more wrong. As I sat there listening to his reasonings—which completely contradicted each other, but that’s another story—I was taken back to my days in college and my History of Graphic Design book. There was an enti…

What is a fractional CMO?

A fractional CMO is a contract Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), retained on a part-time basis to provide executive marketing leadership for a growing business. They are a key part of your executive team brought in to take a holistic view of your business. They seek to understand your business objectives with enough clarity to develop fresh and impactful marketing strategies that will drive growth for your organization. They work with you to develop strategic insights, fo…

Hiring a CMO or Director of Marketing can be challenging. These are very important roles that can make or break an organization— especially when you factor in the costs of recruiting, benefits, and the equity you may have to hand over. To invest all this in finding a CMO when there is no guarantee they will be a fit is a massive risk to take on.

‍Fractional work is the new full-time employee. Whether you call it part-time, interim, gig work, virtual, on-demand, contract work, consultant, or fra…

Figuring out your brand personality can seem to be impossible. It's like figuring out who you are and what really matters to you as a person. We all struggle (whether we admit it or not) when it comes to figuring out who we really are. It can take years of self-reflection, self-care, and personal discovery only to discover that who we thought we were is not who we actually are…and then begins the process of accepting who we really are. Well, you don’t have that kind of time when it comes to buil…

Social media isn't a standalone entity in your marketing strategy; it's a vital component, an amplifier that complements your overarching goals. It's not just about establishing a presence; it's about crafting a comprehensive marketing strategy that directly connects marketing goals to your company goals, it's about fostering connections, and truly understanding and engaging with your audience.

Consider this: You don't need to be omnipresent across every platform. Choosing 1-3 platforms that re…

Dustin Walling is a very good friend of mine who works with the construction and technology industries on the gap between management and experts within a company, or "performance management" as he calls it. Anyway, he wrote a great post about team building at a Caterpillar dealership that I want to share with you. Enjoy!

When Doug Fabick became the 4th generation owner of Fenton, MO-based Fabick CAT, a Caterpillar Tractor dealership, his father left him with one key piece of advice, “Build your …

It’s true, 90% of all B2B companies market in pretty much the same way. It goes something like this:

• Make a product/service

• Talk a lot about their product/service

• Produce a load of boring content and collateral to sell their product/service

• Use various techniques to attempt to stand out and cut through the noise

• Use a variety of channels and platforms like advertising, email, or direct marketing, as well as social media to make people aware of their product/service

• Build a sales funnel and manage and …