Focus Is Your Friend: How To Double Down On Marketing That Matters

This week we sharpen the saw with a few golden nuggets from Janet Ball’s interview, and focus on how service to others is so rewarding and helpful for ourselves. And a cool new app that Lee uses to help her focus and tune out distractions. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why you shouldn’t assume you’re right Why you need to listen to your customers The importance of not mistaking intuition for marketing Helping ourselves by helping others Ideas for getting out and serving this weekend Focus At Will — app and service to help you tune out distractions and get work done better and faster Resources: www.volunteermatch.org www.feedingamerica.org www.focusatwill.com

Janet Ball is a strategic growth director at PayPal. In this role she manages a portfolio of large enterprise clients which represents more than $600 million in sales. Janet is a Silicon Valley veteran who survived the dot com bust and went on to leadership and strategic consulting roles with many early-stage internet companies prior to joining PayPal 7 years ago. She discovered her passion for the customer and honed her strategic marketing skills early in her career while working for world-class ad agencies in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Janet earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Kentucky and is an avid fan of the Kentucky Wildcats. She also has taken several leadership classes in pursuit of a Certificate of Business Excellence at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Janet lives in San Mateo, CA where she is mom to two boys and two golden retrievers. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Marketing mistakes to avoid in both startups and estab

Lee Caraher, the founder and CEO of Double Forte PR & Digital Marketing, is an acclaimed communication strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. She started Double Forte Public Relations and Digital Marketing in 2002 to work with great people doing great work for great clients. Lee and her companies have worked with some of America’s top consumer and technology brands. She holds a bachelor’s degree in medieval history, which she finds useful every day. Active in the community, she lives with her husband and two sons in the San Francisco Bay Area. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why you need to pitch the information your audience wants to know first — no matter who the audience is Tips for getting physical this weekend — even if you don’t normally get much exercise The many benefits of going for a walk Nilofer Merchant’s walk and talk strategy Resources: “Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes” by Tom Rath Nilofer Merchant’s “Got a meeting? Take a walk” Ted Ta

Rebekah Wu founded Right-Hand Partners based on her own experiences as an entrepreneur seeking start-up capital. During those years, she attended and presented at venture conferences, built out a team, developed the products, and hired consultants and professional service providers. Even after spending thousands of dollars and hours, she was often unsatisfied with the results for her money and time. She found very few providers that produced deliverables that proved they could see through the eyes of the entrepreneur. Therefore, Rebekah decided to be THE “solution” for entrepreneurs… someone that could be counted upon as a “right-hand partner”: to often make the first move on behalf of her clients, to facilitate critical introductions, and to catalyze business transactions that will catapult them to the next level. Right-Hand Partners has done just that, working selectively with cutting-edge startup companies and leading venture capital and angel groups throughout the SF Bay Area.

Since founding RHP in 2001,

Lee Caraher, the founder and CEO of Double Forte PR & Digital Marketing, is an acclaimed communication strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. She started Double Forte Public Relations and Digital Marketing in 2002 to work with great people doing great work for great clients. Lee and her companies have worked with some of America’s top consumer and technology brands. She holds a bachelor’s degree in medieval history, which she finds useful every day. Active in the community, she lives with her husband and two sons in the San Francisco Bay Area. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Making a difference through small steps What to do this weekend to give yourself some calm Some of the meditation apps that I love Another book recommendation Resources: “The Optimistic Workplace: Creating an Environment That Energizes Everyone” buddhify.com https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/relax-rest-guided-meditations/id354176883?mt=8 www.happify.com

Andrea Meyer has worked on both the agency and client side of PR with internal communications and marketing in the mix. Most recently, she was the PR Lead for the IL/WI Region of Verizon Wireless. She was part of the team which opened Verizon’s largest store in the U.S. in November 2014 for which she received the 2014 Midwest Area PR Award. In the area of Corporate Social Responsibility, Andrea worked in conjunction with the HopeLine (domestic violence) program and the Verizon Foundation (STEM & healthcare) which resulted in more than $1M in grants being distributed from 2011 through 2015 in the Region. Before Verizon, Andrea has had the privilege to work on a host of stellar brands including Cartier, Lucasfilm (THX sound division), Montblanc, Sony (the North American launch of the PlayStation), Toyota and Weber. Andrea graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Sociology. What you’ll learn about in this episode: What is corporate social responsibility and why does it matter? Why your first audien

Lee Caraher, the founder and CEO of Double Forte PR & Digital Marketing, is an acclaimed communication strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. She started Double Forte Public Relations and Digital Marketing in 2002 to work with great people doing great work for great clients. Lee and her companies have worked with some of America’s top consumer and technology brands. She holds a bachelor’s degree in medieval history, which she finds useful every day. Active in the community, she lives with her husband and two sons in the San Francisco Bay Area. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Building out a full content library Things to do to sharpen your mental acuity this weekend Why you should do puzzles Why reading classic literature is something you should do A couple of book recommendations Resources: “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable” http://thegreatestbooks.org/ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4311.Best_Classic_Literature_Ever

Adam Stein has more than 25 years of marketing and public affairs leadership at enterprise software, semiconductor, networking, security and marketing service firms. He has helped four different early-stage innovators grow to either IPO or achieve a highly-profitable acquisition exit. His most recent role as VP Mobile Product Marketing at SAP helped the company build a cohesive mobile portfolio approach with the SAP HANA Cloud to boost mindshare for its 300,000 customers, 1,000s of partners and Global 2000 prospects. Adam began his marketing career in Boston (working alongside Double Forte founder Lee Caraher) leading marketing services agencies and holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from Emerson College and a Bachelor’s degree in Science from the University of Colorado in Boulder. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why businesses must start by focusing on what their customers’ problems are How to hone in on an audience once you know what the problem is that you’re solving Testing through Product Mes