Today’s guest is an expert in developing relationships for strategic success. 

He is the world's leading authority in maximizing customer loyalty through radical generosity. While becoming the #1 performer out of 1.5 million sales reps for one of the world's most recognizable brands, he developed a system of using generosity to gain access to elite clients and generate thousands of referrals. He and his firm, Giftology, now help automate this process for individuals and organizations like UBS, Keller Williams, the Chicago Cubs, and Caesars Palace.

He is the author of “Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention” and has been featured in Fox News, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., and New York Times. 

Please join me in welcoming John Ruhlin. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership starts with self-leadership. Leadership is creating the future for others.”
• His goals of wanting to go to medical school and taking a sharp left into sales with Cutco Cutlery.
• When he found his ability to influence others using sales.
• His “typical” upbringing as a farm kid and how he achieved good grades in school.
• His uncommon skill of being able to ask for help.
• How he joined a country club in his early 20 “through the back door” and how that helped increase his Cutco sales.
• The importance of leaning in and being open to new opportunities.
• Why you should surround yourself with people that are not afraid to fail.
• Why the things that were the most painful in his life were the most important to him.
• How he started closing 9 out of 10 sales, and each sale provided him with 10-12 leads.
• How he wowed CEOs and why he spent six months getting “punched in the face” to get there.
• The importance of gifting the right gift, and how he got people to remember his name without using it.
• How he nurtures and sustains his network.

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com

Today’s guest is passionate about helping coaches, authors, and speakers leverage their expertise. She uses simplicity as a growth strategy.

She is the creator of Coaching Genie, a coaching platform that allows coaches to deliver programs and scale their businesses with simplicity. She is the author of two books, “Coaching Millions” and “Simplicity Entrepreneurship.” 

Please join me in welcoming Milana Leshinsky. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership before meant being on stage and people listening to me, respecting me, and recognizing me as the authority.” As an introvert, she couldn’t picture herself as a leader.
• How she discovered a new definition of leadership– she could lead through ideas. She could inspire others by sharing her ideas (channeled through Seth Godin).
• Finding her confidence as a kid through music.
• Growing up under the threat of Communism, finding music as her outlet, and shining through that confidence.
• Her dream of becoming a music teacher, instead of working in a factory, was the only option she could see growing up in the Soviet Union.
• Becoming the first web designer in her city and being featured in her local newspaper.
• Having her computer programming goals dashed by a colleague and received his advice that she would make a great manager away from computers.
• Her pivot into coaching and how she could leverage her internet and computer skills to create a large coaching community.
• Her credit on Wikipedia for coining the term “telesummit”. Yes. Seriously. Check that out here.
• Why she created Coaching Genie and the impact she wanted it to have in the world.
• Deciding how to market her software to the people that could really use it– her “perfect fit customer.”
• Her best advice for introverts– “If you don’t like going to events, create your own.”

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com

Today’s guest dreams of a world where email marketing is fun and everybody wins.

She teaches email marketing skills to online businesses, digital course creators, and freelance service providers. She came up in her career writing copy for popular programs in the online marketing space. She very soon created her own programs teaching business owners how to write story-powered emails and sell using the principles of persuasion.

For the last three years, she has been slowly dismantling her 7-figure boss-babe empire and unlearning the systems of influence and indoctrination taught her as a new business owner. She is keenly aware of how the use of Cialdini's principles of persuasion can cause harm, especially in the coaching industry. She has now dedicated her work to undoing that harm and teaching sales strategies that leave space for conversation and critical thinking.

Please join me in welcoming Tarzan Kay. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Her experience leading a mastermind and realizing she was not a leader. “I thought that I had a right to be leading these people. It was privilege.”
• When she learned writing was going to be her future, so she went to music school, then law school.
• The importance of really wanting something as the base momentum to achieving it.
• Why she left school while on a trip to visit her sister in Australia.
• The origin story of her business as a copywriter.
• Her strategy about taking courses and enrolling in programs.
• The importance of her early hire of her virtual assistant.
• Why she talks to her virtual assistant before making a spending decision.
• The concept of persuasion being weaponized as an online business owner.
• Her laying off all her employees and only keeping her virtual assistant.
• How she nurtures and sustains her network.

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com

Today’s guest is a writer and speaker committed to fighting for social justice. He has written over one hundred essays and articles about racism, mass incarceration, politics, gender, tech, and business. 

His latest book, “Straight Dope: A 360 degree look into American drug culture” explores why drugs are so entrenched in America’s society.

He is a three-time TEDx speaker, his first talk, “How I overcame my fear of stuttering,” has been viewed over 320,000 times. His work has been featured in Salon, Black Enterprise, Harvard Business Review, and Al Jazeera.

Please join me in welcoming LeRon L. Barton. 

In this episode, we discuss the following:
His thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is being able to inspire, being able to listen, and being able to usher people towards a positive direction. It’s being a model for people.”
When he knew he was a leader.
The people who influenced him at a very young age.
His early dreams of being a stuntman, an astronaut, a race car driver, and a writer.
Who inspires him in his career, mainly ballet dancers and race car drivers, and why that connection makes sense to him. “I am not envious of writers because I can do what they can do.”
His journey into IT because his mom was worried about his future if he pursued writing.
Studs Terkel has had an incredible impact on his life and how he shows up as a writer.
His connection to Cheryl Crow and how his early journey could be described by her song “Every Day is a Winding Road.”
His dream of wanting to do a TED talk.
How delivering a TEDx led him to hire a coach and the effect of that decision.
How he nurtures and sustains his network. “Relationships need to be nurtured.”

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com.

Today’s guest is a people sculptor.

Bringing an innovative, straightforward approach, she pushes individuals to leave their “Subject Matter Expert” mindset behind and become relationship-oriented leaders that drive their organizations into the future. With a keen talent for anticipating and responding, she helps her clients create actionable plans that mitigate risks and open new avenues of opportunity.

She has worked in operational risk management as a health & safety advisor and in financial risk management at a derivatives trading desk. Today, she centers her career around transformational risk management, where she partners with clients to develop leadership resilience and design foresight strategies for deployment.

Please join me in welcoming Ebony Smith. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “A leader is a person who knows the next best move.”
• The difference between being the leader in the hierarchy and being the subject matter expert.
• The importance of respecting the people in the industry, predominantly your team, and how that can change the working experience.
• How spending the summers at her grandmother’s developed her leadership at a young age. Her grandmother had a rule that you were responsible for yourself and the kid directly younger than you.
• Her mother gave her independence over her grades and education when she was eight years old, which made her a planner.
• How she ran experiments with young children to get them interested in science.
• Your clients and colleagues will always tell you something you can’t see about yourself.
• The very apparent impact of her mother in her life.
• Her first coaching client was while she was still in coaching school.
• Why the concept of reciprocity is essential to her. “When you give, give, give when you have an ask, they will joyfully help you.”
• How she nurtures and sustains the outer levels of your network as an introvert.
• What she’s looking forward to in the year ahead.

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com

Today’s guest is known as the LinkedIn Whisperer.

An experienced sales trainer, she has extensive knowledge of traditional sales techniques and has adapted them for LinkedIn. As CEO of Social Sales Link, she guides professionals to establish themselves as a thought leader with a subject matter expert brand. She helps them find and engage their target market by leveraging clients and networking partners for warm introductions to qualified buyers.

She is the co-host of the Making Sales Social podcast and author of “The LinkedIn Sales Playbook: A Tactical Guide to Social Selling.”

Please join me in welcoming Brynne Tillman.

In this episode, we discuss the following:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is leading a group of people from a business perspective, a family perspective, etc.”
• She selected to go into training because she didn’t want to be a leader.
• All of the things she wanted to be when she grew up. “Who wouldn’t want to be a dolphin trainer?”
• Why she enjoys running her business by allowing someone else to run it for her.
• When she officially became a salesperson.
• Her desire to be valuable and helps others rather than make sales.
• The difference between actual social selling and ‘connect and spam’ selling.
• Her start in banking and how that led to launching a training company.
• How one can feel entrepreneurial while working in sales.
• How she landed a contract with Aramark by using a shared connection on LinkedIn, by leveraging the same tool she wanted to teach them. That led to being introduced to someone at Comcast, who also became a client.
• Her definition of social selling.
• QUICK TIP! 85% of your LinkedIn connections are weak ties.
• How she nurtures and sustains her network, including the weaker ties and connections.
• What she’s looking forward to in the year ahead.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com

Today’s guest believes you can achieve anything you want in life with the right strategy.

He went from being a person who was afraid of public speaking to becoming a certified Google Trainer and training 10,000 business owners. He is the CEO of Ajax Union, a company he started in January 2008 and grew to number 178 on the INC 500. Currently, his focus is supporting B2B companies with marketing funnels, sales enablement, and lead generation.

He is the author of 6 books, including “High Energy Networking: Get anything you want in life while building meaningful relationships that last a lifetime.”

Please join me in welcoming Joe Apfelbaum.

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is about taking responsibility. What you do, what you say, and how you behave matters.”
• How he learned the balance of leading through coaching and action and listening to others and leading himself.
• His most recent endeavor of becoming a poet.
• His six little side hustles in his twenties were based on his curiosity and being obsessed with learning more and more things.
• Not being able to go to college due to being part of a big family.
• His love of building businesses and supporting other people. “The secret to living is giving, not waking and taking.”
• His transparency through all his “side hustles” and businesses.
• His first product which brought him recurring revenue and how that changed his life.
• Why the equivalent of the original version of SEO is LinkedIn.
• How he became a Google trainer and the journey to learn how to bust through his limited beliefs and understanding how his brain worked. This led to Joe developing himself.
• The bad advice he received from a life insurance guy to spray and pray his business card at an NYC bar during a networking event.
• How he nurtures and sustains his massive network.
• What he’s looking forward to in 2023.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com

Today’s guest is a sought-after speaker and writer. She works with people and organizations that want to lead with authenticity to create happier, more effective teams.

Described as the confidence fairy godmother we all need, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies and professional associations from across North America. She has shared her insights in over 150 articles in publications including Huffington Post, Forbes, and Harpers Bazaar.

Her book “You Got This: The Ultimate Negotiation Guide for Professional Women” provides a fresh and instantly applicable toolkit for anyone ready to develop their authentic voice in negotiation.

Please join me in welcoming Lelia Gowland.

In this episode we discuss:

• Her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is about authenticity and getting increasingly clear about who I am and how I want to show up in the world.”
• How talking about really difficult things in her life is not something to be ashamed of but the universal human experience.
• “You never misbehaved.” We learn about what Lelia was like when she was a kid from the source, her loving parents.
• How she learned to quiet the people-pleasing voices in her head.
• The three factors that help her define the alignment of her strengths and figure out how she wants to live her life.
• Her being a strong, curious kid AND also being aware of what people wanted from her.
• All of the things she wanted to be when she grew up and the song she created to help her remember. YES! She sings it on the show.
• How she achieved all of her life goals while wanting to “be a doctor during snack time.”
• “I only cry once a day, I think I’m doing great.” The justification she gave her college boyfriend to describe how she was thriving in college.
• How the New Leaders Council affected her life and life trajectory.
• Her first speech in Florida and how successful it was even with a huge tech glitch.
• How she made space to grow and serve the people she is called to serve.
• How she came out to her newsletter community with the fear that she would lose her community.
• How her business evolved when she came out.
• How she nurtures and sustains her network. 
• What she’s looking forward to in the next year.

Today’s guest can help you network your way to more friends, more adventures, and way more success. She knows two key things–the people you meet will change your life and networking is how you meet those people.

She is a motivating, high-energy speaker, teaching the importance of networking, and why you are your best business development tool. 

She is the author of “This Sh!t Works: A No-Nonsense Guide to Networking Your Way to More Friends, More Adventures, and More Success”, a book dedicated to making networking easy, accessible, and fun, as well as the host of This Sh!t Works a podcast dedicated to all things business development.

Please join me in welcoming Julie Brown. 

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is up to each person to define. Anyone can be a leader. It’s not a title or years of experience. You can be a leader every day by influencing others, empowering others, and taking risks.”
• Her dream job of being in GLOW - Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.
• Her desire to be seen, heard, and respected.
• Her college experience was wanting to be a lawyer, she got a degree in science with a minor in business.
• How the world led her to architecture and business development.
• How she met her classically trained architect husband, I promise it’s not what you think!
• When she decided to be in charge of her employment after losing a job and an impending pandemic.
• How she discovered the parts of entrepreneurship that she enjoyed.
• The ability for a business to change. “Just because you’re doing this now doesn’t mean you have to keep doing this forever. Your business can change.”
• How she found the National Speakers Association.
• The challenges she faced trying to speak on stages.
• Why she invested in a videographer to record her initial speeches to learn from them.
• Why she encourages others to make mistakes, “That’s how you learn from them.”
• How she nurtures her network.

Today’s guest is living proof that one can pursue one’s passion in life, and do so while making a profit.

He’s worked with some of the top companies and entrepreneurs on the planet such as Shark Tank’s Kevin Harrington, Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, Kim Walsh Philips, Ryan Levesque, Michael Hyatt, Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Lewis Howes, Brian Tracy, Jeff Walker, and more.

He’s here to help you on your quest to turn your passion and message into a profitable and growing business. He’s been through the startup phase multiple times in the past two decades and has built a following from scratch. Today, he lives out his passion for helping others find their purpose, passion, message, and path to profitability.

He’s the host of The Affiliate Guy Podcast, your source for affiliate marketing news, tips, and strategies to take your online business to the next level.

Please join me in welcoming Matt McWilliams. 

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “Leadership isn’t easy. It’s being one step ahead of your audience and understanding that you don’t need to be 2 miles ahead.”
• His belief that leadership has nothing to do with you and everything to do with your avatar, ideal client.
• Why he considers himself an “acting extrovert” and how he recharges after social interactions.
• How his social life changed when he began living with his mom, then his dad.
• His realization while visiting Dolly Parton’s house at 12 years old.
• His dreams of playing professional sports as a career.
• The love of his first job at 22, working with his dad, and how that developed his love of networking.
• How he discovered network marketing and realized its impact after a $7,000 sales day while watching TV.
• When he decided that he could teach what he had learned about marketing and networking.
• His experience running for public office and what he learned about people.
• How he ran his first affiliate program when there was nothing in the world that existed about affiliate marketing.
• How he became a recognized expert in affiliate marketing.
• What he’s looking forward to in the year ahead.

Today’s guest helps launch new companies, create new brands, and refresh existing identities by bringing strategic expertise to design and marketing.

Her studio, Agency Bel, helps companies launch and grow by creating their identities, from strategy to logos, websites, and social media.

She is known for coining the concept of Conscious Branding, helping her clients succeed by focusing on being responsive and responsible to their customers and communities. She has worked with both Fortune 50 companies and startups.

She served 10 years on the Boston Board of Directors of AIGA, a professional design organization. And currently serves as the executive officer of the board for the New Art Center and as the marketing chair for a national health advocacy organization.

Please join me in welcoming Laura Sauter.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is really plugging in. It’s wanting to be at the source of the action. It’s a connection between playing (engaging) and moving things forward.
• Why she feels comfortable being part of the group that moves things along.
• The influence her mom had on her upbringing as a single mom and head of household.
• How she landed a prestigious internship right out of high school and how it prepared her for new opportunities across the world.
• How she wasn’t discouraged by the stack of “no, thank you’s” she received very early in her career.
• The importance of doing internships in different places and how learning and experiencing different areas and cultures can be so enriching.
• How her 6th grade English teacher opened her eyes to advertising.
• Finding her “home” in advertising in high school and making commercials.
• Her first job working with Town & Country in an advertising world that had only just begun to transition to computers when she had graduated college.
• The roots of her entrepreneurship journey.
• How she found her first clients through the people she already knew in Boston.
• Why she has chosen to focus on clients who are from health and home.
• How she nurtures and sustains the outer layers of her network.
• Why she feels that professional and personal development are so important.
• Her nimbleness moving through the world.
• What she’s looking forward to.

Today’s guest believes that healing, awareness, empathy, and engagement are critical in today’s increasingly connected, yet polarized world. Her work aims to support deeper connections and mutual understanding among different groups, toward a more equitable society.

She is a diversity, equity, and inclusion specialist, coach, and international keynote speaker. She has worked with organizations across all sectors on DEI, intercultural communication, supplier diversity, and employee engagement. Her expertise has been featured in media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, and the Washington Post.

Her latest book “The Power of Employee Resource Groups: How People Create Authentic Change” shares how to build ERGs to empower underrepresented employees and positively impact diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within organizations and society.

Please join me in welcoming Farzana Nayani. 

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is finding yourself and knowing who you are and using that to reach people.”
  the importance of being a model of leadership to those around you.
• how sports played a large role in her leadership journey and how that experience even helped her get comfortable around other genders.
• her path from grad school to becoming an entrepreneur.
• the traumatizing moment as a mom that catapulted her decision to be an entrepreneur.
• the impact of all that she is on her business.
• why she considers herself as a cross-pollinator with her clients and the benefit of being industry agnostic.
• the impact that the murder of George Floyd had on her business and how it inspired her to write “Raising Multiracial Children.”
• the importance of strategic volunteering.
• how she builds connections and maintains that to grow her network by speaking pro-bono or at a lower rate.
• how she nurtures the outer levels of her network.
• what she’s looking forward to in the year ahead.