This episode originally aired on KDNL-ABC30 in St. Louis, Missouri as part of the Fall season of The Rise To The Top. You can catch new episodes every Sunday at 9:30 AM CST before “This Week”, with replays at 1 AM CST every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after “Jimmy Kimmel Live”. In This Episode 1. I have a rapidly expanding practice that is very niche-focused and growth is becoming quite a challenge. When what you sell is not a computer program or a can of beer, but instead is your time, what is the best way to grow and scale up your operations? – Question submitted by Martin Kamenski, President, Rock Star CPA. Panelists:   JoAnna Dettmann, Co-Founder, tSunela       Ryan Mortland, Founder, MB Consulting Group       Interview with Jeff Michelman, Principal, Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal P.C.     2. Learning about sales incentives. Briefly, explain what is sales incentives? If you wanted to get started with a sales incentive program, what are maybe three tips?   Interview with Michelle Pokorny, Solution VP – Sales Incentives, Maritz     3. Two massively successful restaurants. You have cloned yourself. This is a problem many entrepreneurs have. So let us know the secrets.   Interview with Brad Beracha, Founder, Beracha Concepts     4. Becoming a better storyteller. All marketing and media is really stories. What would be one tip for entrepreneurs? Panelists:   Interview with Jamie Allman, Show Host, Allman In The Morning on FM NewsTalk 97.1… Read More

This episode originally aired on ABC (KDNL-ABC30). You can catch the new season every Sunday at 9:30 AM CST (before “This Week”), with replays Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, and of course here on The Rise To The Top. In This Episode Discussions on… 1. How do you find the right partners for your biz? – Question submitted by Michael Daehn, Founder of Marketing Genius. Panelists:   Bruce Gibbs, President, GFI Digital       JoAnna Dettmann, Co-Founder, tSunela       Kevin Gagnepain, Marketing Coordinator, APC Direct     2. The LLC is commonly known as the best way to setup a company. Why would someone do something else? What is the absolute WORST legal mistake entrepreneurs can make?   Interview with Jeff Michelman, Principal, Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal P.C.     3. How do you spice up your content?   Interview with Jamie Allman, Show Host, Allman In The Morning on FM NewsTalk 97.1     4. Big vs. Small: What are the keys to selling to big companies vs. small companies? Panelists: Ben Scully, President of Business Development, Abstrakt Marketing   Scott Scully, President of Agency Division, Abstrakt Marketing       Michelle Pokorny, Solution VP – Sales Incentives, Maritz     5. Customer Service: What are two ways to keep customers coming back? Panelists:   Johnny Londoff, President, Johnny Londoff Chevrolet       Brad Beracha, Founder, Beracha Concepts       Ryan Mortland, Founder, MB Consulting Group     6. Does every… Read More

*Note this special panel is from this past month’s RISE Lunch in St. Louis, Missouri. The next event takes place on August 25th with a whole lot of RISE (Revolutionary Ideas Supporting Entrepreneurship) and  features short, powerful, actionable, interactive business building presentations for entrepreneurs, business owners and marketers (sort of like our unique spin on TED). We are limiting it to just 50 forward-thinkers like you  for intimacy purposes and you can nab early bird pricing right here. On the panel sharing experiences, tips, ideas and more: Scott Scully: Scott Scully has been an entrepreneur for most of his professional career. He has either started or invested in several different companies. Two of those companies were noted in INC. Magazine and The Saint Louis Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies lists. Scully also received the 40 Under 40 award from the Saint Louis Business Journal. His current projects are two new companies: Gateway Business Development, a pipeline management and social media strategy company; and Abstrakt Marketing Group, a full-service advertising and marketing company. (Note: Gateway and Abstrakt are both RISE partners) Allyson Mace: Publisher and founder of Sauce Magazine. An inveterate entrepreneur, Mace grew up under the guidance of her mother Janet and father Eugene Mace, a career newspaperman and publisher. From childhood, the ink was permanent in her blood. Enter adulthood, she launched the website Saucemagazine.com in 1999 and now owns the area’s largest monthly print publication, Sauce Magazine which was first published in 2001. Recently Hot Sauce Deals of… Read More

Note: This is a guest video and post from Scott Scully at Abstrakt Marketing. Disclosure: Abstrakt is a partner of The Rise To The Top, but I choose this post to feature because Scott knows what the heck he is talking about. 1. Brand – Who are you?  What do you do? 2. Competitive Positioning – How are you different from your competition? 3. Sales Presentation & Close Presentation 4. Sales Collaterals – brochures and sell sheets 5. Door Opener – For example, a “no charge audit” 6. Case Studies & Testimonials 7. Interactive Website with video 8. Search Engine Optimization 9. Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Blog 10. Customer Marketing – customer e-newsletter Note from David: I’m definitely interested to hear your thoughts especially if you HAVE spent a dollar (or thousands) on advertising. Did you have these things in place? What was the result? About Abstrakt Marketing: Scott Scully is the founder of the very creative and outside-the-box marketing and advertising firm: Abstrakt Marketing. He blogs at IdeaMachine365. You can find out more about Scott on his featured expert page along with his thoughts on changes going on in the marketing world right now.

Disclosure: Scott and Abstrakt Marketing are partners of The Rise To The Top, which makes them extra awesome. A helping hand in the marketing world. Although the “DIY” tools are out there for entrepreneurs and marketers, nothing beats experience from an entrepreneur who has gone through it all. And that is Scott Scully. Scott, who has been on the show before, is the founder of Abstrakt Marketing which is a new approach to the marketing world focused on increasing sales (seriously!). Scott is an entrepreneur who helps entrepreneurs. The big lesson here is know your DNA. What are you good at and where could you use some help? There are only 24 hours in the day. If you aren’t natural marketer, it is usually best to partner with one and focus on the the things YOU rock at and are good at. Scott video blogs at the IdeaMachine365.com (which has REALLY good content and a lesson that you don’t have be nuts like me to do video. Scott is to the point and soft spoken). In this interview Scott and I discuss how the Internet has changed marketing, how Abstrakt helps entrepreneurs, a new way to look at business plans and more. Enjoy! Oh and as a special deal for RISE viewers (and it is a good one): A FREE sit down with Abstrakt to do an audit of your marketing and sales. No obligation or anything. I have a feeling they will turn on a light bulb or two… Read More