We come up with lots of ideas, and we take action on a good percentage of them. Some fail; some succeed.
Entrepreneur and The Wall Street Journal bestselling author Josh Turner is considered one of the leading experts in utilizing LinkedIn to grow your business. He’s the founder and CEO of LinkedSelling, a B2B marketing firm that specializes in LinkedIn lead generation campaigns.
Josh also operates Linked University, an online training program for LinkedIn marketing. Learn more about Josh’s LinkedIn and business expertise in his books, “Connect” and “Booked.”
Where did the idea for your company come from?
When I started working for myself as an outsourced CFO in 2010, LinkedIn was one of the tools I used to get in front of new prospects. Without it, I’m not sure I would have gotten my first client. I was pretty successful in growing my business, and these clients started taking notice of the marketing and LinkedIn systems I was using. A couple of them asked if I could do the same for them, and LinkedSelling was born.
What does your typical day look like, and how do you make it productive?
Typical…sheesh. I try to keep meetings to Mondays and Wednesdays, so if you hang out with me on those days, I’m on the phone or looking at a webcam all day. In between those meetings, I’m knocking out to-dos and emails. On other days, I work on my big rocks and special projects.
One way I make it productive is to put everything on my calendar that needs to be done. My calendar is blocked out nearly all day for different tasks, with time allotted for each.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Execution. We’re good at it. We come up with lots of ideas, and we take action on a good percentage of them. Some fail; some succeed.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Being a business owner. It’s becoming much, much more commonplace these days. The word is out, and there are just so many entrepreneurs out there making a go of it. It’s exciting to see — just 10 years ago, it was nothing like this.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive?
Putting everything on my calendar, for sure. In addition, I think it’s just working hard. A lot of people really want to find this great work-life balance. Sometimes, I get to take some serious time off and kick back. But over the past five years, it’s been a lot of hard work and putting in the hours that’s gotten us where we are. I’m writing this at 10:48 p.m.
What was the worst job you ever had, and what did you learn from it?
Stuffing envelopes for a direct mail company. It was a really interesting experience, and I can’t say I learned a ton from it. Except that you do not lick every envelope — that I picked up quickly.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I would invest more of our profits back into advertising.
What is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Be detail-oriented, and double-check everything you do. I also write down anything I need to do, knowing I will forget if I don’t. A lot of people aren’t good at that. And for that reason, I often write down what other people have agreed to do as a reminder to myself to check in with them on their progress.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Evergreen webinars have been huge for my company. We recorded a few high-impact webinars, and we have them running every week on autopilot. Prospects are constantly opting in to watch the webinars and joining our mailing list. The webinars funnel them into higher-level products, and we’re now essentially making money while we sleep.
What is one failure you had, and how did you overcome it?
There are little failures along the way all the time. We try so many things to push the envelope, and it just isn’t possible for everything to succeed. In the big picture, as our company has grown, it’s stretched our processes. In some instances, they break and fail. We do our best to identify these areas, adapt to them, and fix them so they don’t become recurring failures.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
A tool or service to create a list of everything somebody does throughout his or her workday or workweek. It’s difficult to get an accurate picture of what people actually do, and a service like that would be really valuable. Yes, there are web-based apps that can track and report on computer activity, but that’s only a piece of the puzzle.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
A ticket to ski in Breckenridge. It was a ton of fun and something I hadn’t done for 15 years.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
Infusionsoft, a CRM tool, has been a game changer for my business. We love it! It contains all of our email contacts and tracks every interaction we have with them. We also use it to build complex processes that move new contacts through a funnel that’s specific to their interests.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read, and why?
Right now, I’m reading “Presence” by Amy Cuddy. It’s a great book on mindset and getting yourself ready for big, important moments and opportunities.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Gary Vaynerchuk )
Tony Robbins
Danny Iny )
Connect:
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.