In today’s fast-paced and competitive B2B landscape, understanding the balance between branding and marketing is more critical than ever. In this episode of How to Sell More, Mark Drager talks about why combining these two elements strategically can help your business stand out, attract better leads, and close more deals.

Mark explores why many companies focus too much on short-term marketing tactics while neglecting the long-term impact of their brand, and how this mistake can cost you big in the long run.

We cover:

• Why first impressions matter and how your brand can instantly build trust

• The hidden costs of relying solely on quick marketing fixes like social ads and SEO

• How a strong brand acts as the foundation for all successful marketing efforts

• The importance of defining what makes your company unique in a crowded market

• A practical framework for aligning brand, marketing, and sales for sustainable growth

• Why strategic branding creates long-term value while short-term tactics fade quickly

Are you tired of losing leads to low-cost competitors, struggling to stand out, or just looking to elevate your B2B sales process? Tune in and learn how to align your branding and marketing strategies not just to sell more, but to sell smarter.

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LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager

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Is Facebook marketing dead, or are you just using outdated strategies?

In this episode, Mark Drager welcomes Megan Huber, a business strategist who has turned Facebook Groups into a revenue powerhouse. Megan shares how she effectively built thriving communities, connecting authentically with her audience, and converting group members into paying clients without spending hours online.

Known for her 'generous authority' approach, Megan simplifies the process of creating value-driven groups that act as robust lead pipelines.

She challenges the myths about social media marketing and shares her unique strategy for building a powerful lead-generation machine using Facebook groups.

Mark and Megan explore:

• Why Facebook Groups still work and how to leverage them effectively in 2024.

• How to position yourself as a 'generous authority' to attract and engage the right audience.

• The secret to creating a community that converts without overwhelming yourself.

• A step-by-step process to fill your group with qualified, ready-to-buy leads.

• Why content consistency and simplicity are key to driving engagement.

• How to use polls and DMs strategically to build relationships and close sales.

• Why Megan’s focus on ONE audience, ONE problem, and ONE solution is the game-changer.

• Debunking the myth that Facebook is outdated and understanding where people make buying decisions today.

If you're tired of high-tech, complicated strategies and want a working way to build a client-generating community, tune in and learn how a Facebook Group can fuel your business success!

Follow Mark:

LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager

Instagram: https://hi.switchy.io/KcKi

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Former Salesforce executive and Cerebral Selling founder David Priemer shows why focusing solely on product features and ROI misses what truly drives sales. Drawing from his experience leading small business sales at Salesforce and building four successful startups, Priemer shares the connection between human psychology and sales results.

Research shows buyers choose based on feelings rather than logic – a blind spot for many sales teams. When analyzing 70 sales representatives at Salesforce, Priemer found the highest performers built genuine belief in their solutions instead of relying on feature lists. This insight reshaped how their sales teams approached customer conversations.

Priemer introduces the "love-hate framework" for creating sales messages that connect. His example of Trunk Club shows this in action: "a service for men who love to dress well but hate to go shopping." This positioning helped secure their acquisition by Nordstrom by speaking to customer emotions instead of product specs.

The discussion examines why business cases alone don't close deals, how real conviction outperforms product knowledge, and what builds lasting customer relationships.

Key Takeaways:

1. Start with Emotion: Connect with how customers feel about their challenges before presenting solutions
   
   
2. Build Real Belief: Sales success comes from actually believing in your solution's impact on customers
   
   
3. Own the Outcome: Taking responsibility for customer results builds deeper business relationships

Top 3 Reasons to Listen:

1. Close More Deals: Apply the psychological principles that drive buying decisions to improve your sales conversations
   
   
2. Stand Out in Your Market: Build an authentic sales approach that sets you apart when traditional ROI pitches fall flat
   
   
3. Increase Customer Trust: Position your business using the love-hate framework that turned Trunk Club into a multi-million dollar success
   
   

Follow Mark:

LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager

Instagram: https://hi.switchy.io/KcKi

Want more free tools?

Go to our podcast page at https://hi.switchy.io/KcKe

Ever tried everything to grow your business, only to feel hopeless about your marketing and sales?

Mark Drager shares a story about a business owner who, despite 10+ years of experience and an established team, found nothing generated new business. Despite trying SEO, paid ads, social media, content marketing, networking, and cold calling - nothing moved leads through the sales process.

This sparked a crucial insight: Marketing is an amplification tool. Mark illustrates this using movies - audiences don't blame theaters for bad films, they blame Hollywood. Similarly, businesses must examine what they're amplifying before focusing on distribution.

What matters is saying the right message to the right people at the right time. When multiple approaches fail, the issue often isn't the marketing channel - it's what you're trying to communicate and to whom.

Key Takeaways:

1. Marketing amplifies your message - focus on what you're saying before how you're distributing it
2. When proven approaches stop working, examine if your market has shifted
3. Look at your price point, targeting, and messaging before changing tactics again

Follow Mark:

LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager

Instagram: https://hi.switchy.io/KcKi

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Former A&E and Fox television executive Brad Holcman shares how his experience evaluating thousands of TV shows translates into effective sales strategies. Drawing from 20+ years producing unscripted television, Brad explains why most pitches fail in the first 30 seconds and outlines his proven framework for capturing attention.

Brad reveals why understanding your audience's challenges matters more than perfecting your pitch deck. Through stories from his career, he demonstrates how authenticity and targeted storytelling outperform conventional sales techniques. The conversation explores the essential pre-pitch work top performers complete, why rushing to close deals often backfires, and how to build genuine connections that drive long-term success.

From structuring compelling narratives to understanding when to reveal key information, Brad provides practical guidance in modern persuasion that works across industries. His insights help reframe how businesses approach sales conversations, moving beyond features and benefits to create meaningful engagement.

Key Takeaways:

1. Start with Challenges - Identify your prospect's biggest problem before crafting your pitch. Align your story with their specific needs to create immediate connection.
2. Focus Your Opening - Structure the first 30 seconds to highlight one compelling promise that addresses your prospect's pain point.
3. Build Trust Through Content - Share expertise consistently through valuable content before asking for the sale.

Top 3 Reasons to Listen:

1. Learn TV production secrets that turn cold prospects into engaged buyers
2. Discover the psychological triggers that make your pitch impossible to ignore
3. Access proven frameworks from someone who's evaluated thousands of successful and failed pitches

Follow Mark:

LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager

Instagram: https://hi.switchy.io/KcKi

Want more free tools?

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Digital marketing veteran Ryan Deiss built his first online business in 1999 - when Google was still a university research project. Today, after generating $200 million in revenue across multiple companies, he sees a fundamental shift in how customers buy.

"The marketing funnel isn't just broken - it's dead," Deiss tells host Mark Drager. "Modern buyers don't follow a linear path. They bounce between channels, research extensively, and make decisions based on relationships, not just targeting."

In this episode, Deiss breaks down why established marketing practices fail in 2024's fragmented digital landscape. He explains how successful companies now focus on clear problem statements over hyper-targeting, why perfect attribution tracking misleads marketers, and how businesses build customer relationships without aggressive follow-up.

Key Episode Insights:

• Why broad messaging often outperforms micro-targeted ads
• How to write high-converting ads using simple problem statements
• Practical email strategies that maintain relationships without burning goodwill

Listen to discover how leading companies adapt their marketing for today's reality - and why methods that worked even three years ago might be hurting your results now.

Follow Mark:

LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager

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There's a painful truth in business that nobody wants to discuss: most companies are hemorrhaging talent and money through poor culture – and throwing pizza parties won't fix it.

Meet Kate Volman – CEO of Floyd Consulting and organizational culture expert who's challenging the "perks over purpose" mentality plaguing modern businesses. As the leader behind The Dream Manager program, Kate has helped transform hundreds of organizations from talent-bleeding bureaucracies into high-performing powerhouses where people actually want to work.

In this no-holds-barred conversation with Mark Drager, Kate pulls back the curtain on:

• The hidden cost of bad culture (and why most companies vastly underestimate it)
• Why your "gut feel" hiring approach is secretly sabotaging your growth
• The counterintuitive strategy that saved one company $150,000 in turnover costs
• How to spot the toxic behaviors driving your best talent away
• The proven framework for building a coaching culture that retains top performers
• Real-world examples of turning disengaged teams into unstoppable forces
• The leadership blind spots causing your "expectations gap" crisis

Plus, you'll get guidance on:

• Building hiring processes that actually work
• Creating accountability without fear
• Converting complainers into contributors
• Making employee development a competitive advantage

Whether you're a scaling company struggling with retention, or a leader watching your culture crumble, this episode is your blueprint for building an organization where both people and profits flourish.

Follow Mark:

LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager

Instagram: https://hi.switchy.io/KcKi

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There's a dangerous myth in entrepreneurship: that hyper-growth is the only path to success. But what if building a sustainable, profitable business didn't require sacrificing your sanity?

Meet Ryan Crownholm – U.S. Army veteran turned multi-business founder who's challenging Silicon Valley's 'grow at all costs' mentality. As the architect behind MySitePlan.com and DirtMatch.com, Ryan has quietly built a business empire that's weathered multiple economic storms while serving thousands of satisfied customers.

In this tactical conversation with Mark Drager, Ryan rips open his entrepreneurial playbook to reveal:

• The counter-intuitive growth strategy that helped him build multiple 7-figure businesses without outside funding
• Why "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" – military wisdom that transformed his approach to scaling
• The exact systems he used to automate MySitePlan.com into a lean, profitable machine
• His controversial take on why most startups get pricing completely wrong
• The data-driven framework he uses to run multiple businesses without burning out
• Real-world examples of turning customer service into a competitive moat
• The mindset shift that helps veteran and formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs succeed

Plus, you'll get actionable insights on:

• Building recession-proof revenue streams
• Creating systems that scale without chaos
• Making decisions with incomplete information
• Turning customer feedback into product gold

Whether you're a bootstrapped founder tired of the "unicorn or bust" narrative, or an established entrepreneur, this episode is your blueprint for building a business that thrives in any economy.

Warning: This episode contains zero-fluff, battle-tested strategies that might challenge everything you think you know about scaling a business.

Follow Mark:

LinkedIn: https://hi.switchy.io/markdrager

Instagram: https://hi.switchy.io/KcKi

Want more free tools?

Go to our podcast page at https://hi.switchy.io/KcKe