The Tech Smart Boss Podcast

Episode 135: How To Reuse Your Existing Content To Drive Sales (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 13:33:48 +0000

We talk about using content marketing and inbound marketing as a core Tech Smart Boss strategy.

Done properly, this leaves you with a lot of great content, known as evergreen content, that you can share over and over again. You can also repurpose it (and you should) for your sales team.

In this episode, I discuss the concept of reusing your content and converting it into sales and marketing collateral to help increase your sales.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/135

Episode 134: How To Get Started With Time Blocking So You Can Be A Productive Tech Smart Boss

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 23:02:22 +0000

Sadly there are only 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and not even a Tech Smart Boss can do anything about that. But guess what, that is plenty of time. The key is to work smarter, not harder, so there's no excuse for not having time to get stuff done.

One method that I use is called Time Blocking and it can help you clear out all the distractions and get to what needs to be done, but it takes some process, some discipline, and some tech.

In this episode, I explain the concept of time blocking and how to implement it for yourself as well as your team.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/134

Episode 133: How To Turn Your Employees Into Social Media Ambassadors For Your Brand

Tue, 02 Jul 2019 15:34:09 +0000

Trying to participate in social media these days is like trying to drink water out a fire hydrant. Everyone's doing it and for the few people out there actually trying to listen, you have a million people screaming "Hey, look at me!"

So if you're going to do it, you don't want to do it alone, you need to bring your entire crew with you, and in business, that means your employees (and your extended network of partners, friends, and maybe even family).

Google uses social shares as part of its magic box methods to influence search engine rankings. You want your team to know what amazing content you are publishing, ideally, it helps them offer better services to your customers and informs them on your message. But having them pay attention to your blog doesn't just happen, you need a process and a system.

In this episode, I go through my process and some tools that I use to get your entire team on board with sharing your business content on social media and becoming aware of your content.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/133

Episode 132: How I Lost Everything On My Laptop And Fully Recovered (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 18:09:38 +0000

I just went through the nightmare scenario we all dread, my laptop got completely wiped. Everything gone, brand new OS installed, all data gone.

But being a Tech Smart Boss, I was able to get my entire workspace back up and running, without losing anything, in less than a day (and now my laptop is working better than ever).

In this episode, I go through the various tools and processes that I used to restore and rebuild my laptop from scratch when I surprisingly lost all my data while getting a repair.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/132

Episode 131: 5 Step Process To Being A Customer Centric Organization (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 13:00:46 +0000

I talk about being customer-centric all the time and frequently complain when I deal with companies that don't have the same approach to customer service that I believe should be delivered.

But I've never gone into a step by step on how to become a customer-centric organization. It's like common sense, it's not so common until someone explains it to you.

In this episode, I go through my 5 key steps that your organization should do (and continue to do) if you want to become a customer-centric organization. You don't want to miss this one.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/131

Episode 130: How To Best Use Canned Responses In Your Sales and Support Teams

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 00:09:14 +0000

There are lots of ways to give poor customer support, and one way, to send a canned response to your lead or customer the wrong way. And yes, there is a right way.

Leveraging canned responses is a key business process that you need to implement in your business, but done incorrectly and you could be ruining your brand.

In this episode, I go over the canned responses that you should implement in your chat, help desk, and sales teams, and how to do it in a way that delights your customers, not upset them.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/130

Episode 129: 7 Ways To Thank Your Employees (And Keep Retention High)

Tue, 28 May 2019 14:29:37 +0000

You've probably heard the saying "It's cheaper to keep em" in reference to marriage, guess what it applies to employees as well (but only the really good ones, you have to let the bad ones go fast or they can cost you quite a bit).

Seriously though, one of the best signs of a mature and profitable company is the retention rate. And in many cases, it's not the salary (alone) that determines if your best team members stay or go.

In this episode, I go over 7 tips to show appreciation to your team and try to keep them happy, content, and not looking to leave your business.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/129

Episode 128: How To Use Content Curation As Part Of Your Social Media Strategy

Tue, 21 May 2019 02:17:36 +0000

When you're hanging out at a social engagement, we all see the same types of people. There are those who talk about nothing but themselves. Those that make boring small talk about the weather and other topics we don't care about. And then there's that person that tells stories, talks about engaging stuff you've never heard of before, and everyone just wants to hang around him (or her).

Yes, I'm talking about the most interesting man in the world.

Your social media channels are a lot like this. What are you posting as part of your social media strategy?

I think is a pretty smart strategy of posting a little about yourself and a little about engaging topics that you curate around the interwebs, the best parts of the interwebs. But you may be thinking, who has time for that?

In this episode, I talk about why you should add curated content to your social media strategy and how to go about finding it and some tools you can use to make the process easy.

Https://www.techsmartboss.com/128

Episode 127: How To Hire A Project Manager (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 14 May 2019 23:55:52 +0000

We talk a lot about project management technology (and we mention a bunch in this episode), but we never talk about perhaps the most important part of successfully managing projects, the project manager!

And over the many years of managing and hiring project managers, this is probably the area where I have made my best hires, so I feel confident in sharing my experience in what you should look for when hiring a project manager.

In this episode, I go over the soft skills and the technical skills you should look for when hiring a project manager to join your team.

https://www.techsmartboss.com

Episode 126: How To Introduce Storytelling In Your Brand Marketing

Tue, 07 May 2019 11:17:31 +0000

The human brain is hard-wired to relate to stories. And what makes a billion dollar movie like Avengers: Endgame succeed is sticking to a tried and proven storytelling method.

The same process of telling a story that helps Hollywood be successful can also be applied to your business, even a small business. In your content and marketing, you can build a brand and engage and convert brand ambassadors, using the same storytelling techniques.

In this episode, I talk about the concept of leveraging storytelling in your marketing and content creation and point you to a few good resources to learn more about the topic.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/126

Episode 125: How To Improve Your Content Marketing By Pruning Old Content

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 17:01:13 +0000

Why prune a bush? To encourage healthier growth and rejuvenate it. It's a common thing we do to take care of our yard but it's something we rarely think about when it comes to the content on our blog.

In fact, content pruning is a necessary thing, and it involves not just getting rid of old content, but in many cases, making old content better so it can grow you some more leads.

In this episode, I talk about why you should content prune and how to do it. The end goal, maximize the value of your existing content and grow new leads from a little content spring cleaning.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/125

Episode 124: 10 Super Easy Ways To Convert More Leads From Your Content

Tue, 23 Apr 2019 13:56:42 +0000

A Tech Smart Boss is always trying to drive more traffic, drive more leads, and drive more sales. But sometimes, the easy place to mine for new gold is to clean up all the gold you dropped and left behind.

OK, we're not talking about gold, we're talking about digital gold, website visitors who give you their email information so you can nurture them into leads. And there's a lot of things you can do on your website to improve the conversion rate of your existing traffic without spending a penny on new content or traffic.

In this episode, I go over 10 (really about 15) super simple methods to help users convert more often on your website content. And we discuss some of the technology you can use to make it happen.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/124

Episode 123: How To Use Scrum and Agile Methodology For Non Tech Projects (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:31:28 +0000

We're all about productivity and getting stuff done as a Tech Smart Boss. Finding that perfect blend of great business process and do it yourself technology to grow your business is what we're all about.

To that extent, I'm a big believer that as a small business, you must embrace your strengths, and part of that is being more agile and nimble than your larger competition. You can move faster and in better communication and coordination with your team.

Leveraging components of Scrum and Agile Project Management methodology, which is heavily used in software development, can really ramp up the productivity for all the areas of your business.

In this episode, I talk about how to leverage agile project management in all areas of your business, including sales, marketing, operations. It's not just for software development teams.

Https://www.techsmartboss.com/123

Episode 122: 8 Essential Components of a Landing Page (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 13:58:41 +0000

We talk a lot about content marketing, inbound marketing, lead magnets, search engine optimization, and all the things that enable you to drive leads from your website straight into your sales queue. But we've never gone deep into one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, your landing page.

Without a successful landing page, you can drive all the traffic to your site that you want, drive them away that is. You have to have a great landing page to seal the deal and get that visitor to give you their information and become a lead.

In this episode, we talk about the 8 essential components of a great landing page and go over some of the technology available to help you make one.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/122

Episode 121: 9 Customer Service Metrics a Tech Smart Boss Should Track

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 13:53:09 +0000

If you listen to the podcast, you know there are 2 things I am really passionate about, great customer support and metrics. Not just any metrics, but metrics you can use to make a difference in your business. So you know I was excited to combine both topics in the same episode.

In this episode, I go over 9 customer support metrics that you should monitor in your business and most of them your help desk software will not provide you out of the box.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/121

Episode 120: What Is A Kanban Board (And How Does A Tech Smart Boss Use Them)

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 11:52:13 +0000

You may not know it, but odds are that you are using the Kanban project management methodology every day. In all areas of your business; sales, marketing, operations, development, and even in your own personal task management.

It's a pretty simple concept, but when you combine the ability to have attributes like stages, priorities, assignees, time estimations, and more with the ease of seeing a task through all the stages of your defined process, Kanban boards are powerful.

In this episode, I go over what a Kanban board is, how to get the most from it, and go over a few technology solutions that can allow you to bring this project management capability to your entire team.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/120

Episode 119: 7 Types of Software Your Sales Team Needs In Their Tech Stack

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 11:58:56 +0000

It's been a while since I did a tech stack podcast, so since I've been using some new tools in my sales toolkit, I wanted to do a refresh episode.

As with anything, a tech stack depends greatly on the type of business you're in. And in this case, what you're selling. I go over a tech stack that perfect for teams that sell products or services in primarily an Internet, digital marketing way.

In this episode, I discuss 7 categories of Tech Smart Boss tools that your sales team needs to be the best they can be. And we cover a lot of options, so be sure to check the show notes for all the product websites mentioned.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/119

Episode 118: 8 Tips To Take Your Customer Support From Good To Great

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 13:59:09 +0000

We talk a lot about providing excellent customer support on the Tech Smart Boss podcast. It's something that should just be the standard for business, but unfortunately, for most organizations, they fall short.

In this episode, I go over 8 things that you should be doing from a technology and process perspective to deliver great customer support.

Episode 117: How To Do A/B Testing When You're A Small Business (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 05 Mar 2019 02:05:33 +0000

A Tech Smart Boss believes in testing all things. Not just to find out what works, but what doesn't. This applies to our websites as well, but doing A/B testing can require a Ph.D. in mathematics if you do it the way some want you to.

As a small business, you probably don't have the traffic to do highly scientific A/B testing and in general, your overall approach is going to be different (primarily focused on finding what works best).

In this episode, I go over how to approach A/B testing when it's not your full-time job and you're not running a mega website with lots of traffic. With the ultimate objective to covert more leads and get more sales.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/117

Episode 116: How To Write A Case Study For Your Business (When Your Customer Won't Go On The Record)

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 00:30:50 +0000

Case studies are excellent mid and bottom of the funnel evergreen content. Your potential customers may be ready to buy your product or service, they just need a little extra justification to pull the trigger. Seeing a case study that resonates with them can close the deal.

But depending on your industry, it may be difficult to get customers to agree to do case studies. Especially if you are small and your customers are large.

But never fear, a Tech Smart Boss always has a way to get the job done.

In this episode, we cover what makes a good case study and if needed, how to take a slightly different approach and turn it into a use case so you can still achieve the goal of closing the deal.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/116

Episode 115: How To Outsource Your Content Writing (And Avoid The Pitfalls)

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 01:51:36 +0000

We always talk about Content Marketing on the podcast and how it's typically going to be the best ROI for any bootstrapped business in terms of getting qualified leads.

However, Content Marketing takes time, and to do it correctly takes even more time. And time is not something that a Tech Smart Boss has a lot of.

So unless you just love to write, you generally have to have someone else write your content. Unless you've reached the stage where you can hire a content team, that typically means outsourcing it.

But outsourcing anything has a lot of pitfalls, and outsourcing something as important as your content, has even more than normal. But if done properly, you can successfully navigate all the pitfalls and build a very successful content marketing strategy.

In this episode, I discuss what some of those pitfalls are and how to avoid them. Plus I discuss a few options that I am currently using in my business.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/115

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Episode 114: How To Align Your Sales and Support Organizations

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 00:58:27 +0000

Some of your best customer and lead information flows through your support organization, but that valuable intel never reaches your sales team, to help them do their job better. Things such as feedback on competitor products, what they like and don't like about your product or service, key personnel changes in the users of your product and service and more.

As a growing business, it's essential to have proper alignment of your sales and support teams, to ensure this doesn't happen.

In this episode, I go over both the process and technology steps you can take to ensure your sales and support teams are in sync as you grow.

Https://www.techsmartboss.com/114

Episode 113: 5 Things To Do To Increase Your Content Dwell Time (And Your Search Engine Rankings)

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 11:03:25 +0000

One of the signals that Google uses to rank web pages is how long a person stays on that page before popping back into Google to search for the same thing. It's a metric called "Dwell Time."

It's an important thing to increase on your website content, not just for Google, but to keep people on your site in general with the goal of converting them into leads.

In this episode, I go over 5 things you can do to improve your dwell time, improve search engine rankings, and ultimately converting visitors into leads.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/113

Episode 112: 7 Cognitive Biases That All Entrepreneurs Should Be Aware Of

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 11:33:27 +0000

As humans we all have cognitive biases. Many were developed to help us survive way back in the cave man days, but can be quite destructive for an entrepreneur.

In this episode, I discuss 7 cognitive biases that I have researched and identified in myself over the past 19 years of being an entrepreneur. And I discuss the importance of counteracting your natural biases to make the right decisions for your business and in life.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/112

Episode 111: The What and How of the 5 Whys Process (Root Cause Analysis)

Tue, 22 Jan 2019 13:35:48 +0000

Anyone with kids can appreciate the effectiveness of asking why over and over again until the response is "Because I said so" or "Because God made it that way." Well in business, it turns out asking why 5 times, leads to a great root cause analysis method.

And it applies to more than just troubleshooting manufacturing issues at a Toyota robotics plant (where it originated), it can help you identify issues in your business, hone in on customer persona marketing messages, and even identify major constraints in your day to day life.

In this episode, I break down the 5 whys process, what is it and how to use it.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/111

Episode 110: 8 Key Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Metrics to Monitor

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 02:52:35 +0000

I've been talking a lot of about content and inbound marketing and how important search engine optimization or SEO is. It's one thing to have great content, but you also have to make sure you're putting your best foot forward with the search engines, to get them to recommend your content to their user and their search queries.

In Episode 108, I talked about some of the technical factors of SEO, but with any implementation plan, you do the work, and then you need to track and monitor and measure to see if it's working (and improve if not).

In this episode, I break down 8 key metrics that you should monitor related to SEO, to ensure that your content marketing efforts are headed in the right direction.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/110

Episode 109: 6 Types of Bottom of the Funnel Content Your Business Should Have

Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:52:58 +0000

We talk a lot about the sales funnel on the Tech Smart Boss podcast. As we said on Episode 35, your website should be a lead generating engine for your business. And part of that lead generation is to take your buyer through a journey.

They start in the top of the funnel, or awareness stage. Just learning about your industry or putting names to their needs. Then they get into the middle of the funnel, or consideration stage. They know they have a itch, and are looking to scratch it. And then they are at the bottom of the funnel, they think you have the right solution and are just wrapping up their due diligence to cross that threshold and marry you (hopefully with a financial transaction to seal the deal). 💰

In this episode, I go over 6 types of content you need to serve the needs of your bottom of the funnel leads. And with this content, you can take them from highly interested opportunities, into long lasting customers.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/109

Episode 108: 14 Key Things To Do To Optimize Your Content for SEO (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 17:45:00 +0000

I always talk about how important it is to write great content as part of a inbound marketing strategy. You want to write content that answers questions that people are asking so that search engines like Google can send them your way.

But an equally important part of the equation, is to structure your content so that you send the right signals to Google that the content is worthy of sending traffic to. That is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO.

In this episode, I break down 14 key things you should be doing on all your content, to make sure all the right signals are being sent to Google and that your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is done correctly, the Tech Smart Boss way.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/108

Episode 107: How To Determine If Live Chat or Chatbots Are Best For Your Business

Tue, 25 Dec 2018 16:42:22 +0000

Over the past 2 years I've made a complete reversal on the adoption of Chatbots. Back in Episode 49 of the podcast, I was all for Live Chat. And recently, in Episode 97, I went full blown Skynet, and sang the praises of the Chat Bot.

But I never really gave a full explanation of why I went the chat bot route and I also don't want to leave the impression that everybody should go full speed into chat bots.

So in this episode, I've going to go over the decision points you need to make to determine if live chat or chat bots are the way that your business should proceed.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/107

Episode 106: 5 Steps To Set Up Your Email Marketing Automation Platform (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 17:50:50 +0000

Over the past 2 years, I've talked on the podcast a lot about content marketing, segmentation, customer personas, email deliverability, and automation.

But I've never pulled it all together into an actionable task list of how to set up an email marketing automation too to bring it all together, until this episode.

I just recently switched my email marketing automation platforms, so I found it very timely to share the steps I took so that you can have an idea of how to set up your own email marketing automation process.

In this episode, listen to the 5 steps that I took as I migrated my email marketing automation platform, why those steps are important, and which pieces of technology I used to do it.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/106

Episode 105: Why You Should Use Social Proof On Your Website (And How To Do It)

Tue, 11 Dec 2018 00:47:48 +0000

I haven't always been a fan of social proof widgets on a website, in fact, I'm a recent convert to the concept. In this episode, I discuss why I didn't like them and what changed my mind.

In fact, I've come to the conclusion that they are a nice addition to your website to generate desired activities and conversions by your website visitors. This comes after testing a few good ones and sharing it on my YouTube site recently. Check out our videos on Fomo and Provesource.

But there's a right way to do it and a wrong way. The wrong way ends up looking like big brother and less credible (not what you want).

In this episode, I discuss what social proof is and the various types. Why it works, and how to add it to your website the right way. Plus I share a few technology options to get you started.

Https://www.techsmartboss.com/105

Episode 104: 7 Tips To Be Your Best As A Remote Worker (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 16:59:45 +0000

Everyone these days seem to want, even demand, a work from home position. And I've talked in the past about my company, as well as many others, are 100% remote work companies.

There are pros and cons to remote work, and I cover some of those in this episode, but if you are working remotely the majority of your time, there are some things you can do to do it successfully.

In this episode, I cover 7 tips or best practices to be and stay productive as a remote worker. These are all things that I have learned over the years by both managing remote workers and being one myself.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/104

Episode 103: 7 End of Year Activities You Should Be Doing In Your Business Right Now

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 15:24:18 +0000

It's hard to believe it's the end of the year already. It seems like just yesterday we were talking about planning for 2018, and now 2019 is basically about to steam roll us.

More than just planning for the new year, there are a lot of key things an entrepreneur should be doing to wrap up a year. Some are routine things that we just have to prepare for, like taxes, but others are non-obvious and you may be missing a lot of opportunity if you don't take this time of the year to do.

In this episode, I cover 7 of these key year end activities that every Tech Smart Boss should be working on right now to have a successful wrap up to 2018 and an even more productive start to 2019.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/103

Episode 102: How To Structure Your Job Offer Letter Template (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 20 Nov 2018 17:17:26 +0000

It's so easy when you're hiring your first (or 100th) employee just to do a quick Internet search and grab a job offer letter template and quickly hit the send button. But if you do that, you're missing a real opportunity to set the right impression for your potential hire, and in a competitive environment, you may just be losing out on the hire.

There's a better way to let your personality and business culture show while ensuring you cover all the legal and information that needs to be included.

In this episode, I cover exactly what those items are and talk about some of the technology that can help you land your superstar hire with a rock solid job offer letter.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/102

Episode 101: Special 100th Episode; Listeners Ask Me Anything (Part 2)

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 00:22:41 +0000

In this episode, we continue with part 2 of your questions as part of our 100th episode, ask me anything.

We wrap up 5 more questions submitted by our listeners and talk about topics that I hope will provide value to all Tech Smart Bosses.

Enjoy and thanks for supporting us on our first 100 episodes (and now 101)!

https://www.techsmartboss.com/101

Episode 100: Special 100th Episode; Listeners Ask Me Anything (Part 1)

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:52:54 +0000

It's hard to believe it's been 100 episodes of the Tech Smart Boss podcast. I'm just impressed I have stuck with it and had enough stuff to talk about for 100 episodes.

More impressive (to me) is the feedback that I've gotten from the small community that has been built. Listeners from all over the world who have reached out to me on email, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter. And all the feedback has been really appreciated.

For this episode, I decided to dedicate the 100th episode to answering listener questions. I took the questions received and picked the Top 10 (many an amalgamation of multiple similar type questions).

In this episode, I made it through 5, so this is Part 1 of the Tech Smart Boss 100th Episode, Ask Me Anything.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/100

Episode 99: How To Set Up A Business Continuity Plan For Your Remote Team

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 12:34:13 +0000

One common trait of Tech Smart Bosses is that tend to support remote teams. I mean who wants to pay a bunch of rent to an expensive office space these days, plus, we're always looking to hire the best team, not just the best local team.

We also rely heavily on part-time, freelancers, fractional staff and without realizing it, our remote and part-time staff typically play a critical role in our business.

What we don't do well is contingency planning, especially when it comes to our remote teams. In the case of emergency, such as a natural disaster, do you have a plan on how to communicate with your remote team and how they should try to notify you of their status? Probably not.

In this episode, I discuss why having a business continuity plan is important for your remote team and some tech and non-tech ways to ensure you always have your remote teams best interests and safety in mind.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/99

Episode 98: What You Need To Know About Blockchain As A Tech Smart Boss

Mon, 22 Oct 2018 23:00:50 +0000

Blockchain has been in the news a lot the past year or so, especially with the rise (and fall and rise and fall) of Bitcoin. But blockchain is much more than just cryptocurrency. More and more you hear that blockchain is the future and going to be a very disruptive force in business.

The question is, the future of what? What the heck is a blockchain?

So I've been casually reading, listening and learning more about blockchain over the past few months and in this episode, I give my best non-technical (ok, slightly technical) rendition of what blockchain is, the use cases, how it is going to affect our businesses and what we should be doing about it now.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/98

Episode 97: How To Get Started With Chatbots (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 00:57:50 +0000

I've been talking about chatbots for over a year, but I've never really taken them serious. Well, I've changed my mind and I'm jumping in the deep end of the pool with chatbots (I hope they are waterproof and doing this doesn't electrocute me).

I still feel that chatbots are to be feared in the mid-term future, when they start to really disrupt jobs and business models (and becoming sentient and killing humans), but for small businesses today, chatbots can really be a powerful tool in your arsenal.

In this episode, I cover what a chatbot is, the many business use cases that you can leverage chatbots for, and how to get started setting one up. Plus I give you a lot of technology choices, including my current favorite.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/97

Episode 96: 6 Things You Need To Be Doing With Content Marketing Headed Into 2019

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 17:10:33 +0000

Content Marketing is changing and if you're not on top of the changes you will become as obsolete as an Apple Adapter when they release the next iPhone 😂.

Just writing good content unfortunately is not good enough anymore. Everyone is doing it and the search engines that used to be promoting you are now competing against you. But there are ways to stay ahead of the curve and still get your message across (and your inbound traffic in).

In this episode, I go over how content marketing is changing and 6 key things that you must do content marketing in the future, so you can create an action plan today, for 2019.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/96

Episode 95: 7 Email Marketing Metrics You Should Be Monitoring

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 01:50:38 +0000

In Episode 60 of the podcast (https://www.techsmartboss.com/60), I talked about how to use key performance indicators and metrics as levers in your business. One of the things I cautioned about was spending a lot of time tracking vanity metrics.

If you are serious about email marketing, and it is a proven sales channel for your business, there are some key metrics that you should monitor (but not until you have a mature email marketing process).

In this episode, I go over 7 key metrics, how to calculate them, and why they are important. Hopefully, this episode will help you if you are doing a lot of email marketing or trying to grow into email marketing as a channel that moves the needle for your business.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/95

Episode 94: 7 Steps to Start Your Own Podcast (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Mon, 24 Sep 2018 22:48:56 +0000

There are a lot of podcasts out there, hopefully you find the Tech Smart Boss podcast as one of the better ones (I mean at least put me on the right side of the bell curve).

One question that I get a lot is how to start a podcast. There's a belief that you have to be a real techie combined with some magic. But it's not really that tough and unless you let perfection be the enemy of progress.

In this episode, I go over 7 steps (which could easily have been 21 but I compressed it to 7) so that you can start your own podcast. After listening to this episode, you will have no reason not to do it (other than general procrastination and perfectionist themes that run in us Tech Smart Boss phenotypes).

https://www.techsmartboss.com/94

Episode 93: 5 Step Checklist to Know If You Need A Website Redesign

Mon, 17 Sep 2018 23:15:02 +0000

There's a lot of bad websites on the Internet. And I'm not just talking about design (although that's a big reason). I'm talking about websites that are not delivering for the businesses that they belong to. Not delivering leads, not delivering credibility, not delivering value to the customers and potential customers who visit them.

In this episode, I go over 5 reasons why you probably need to refresh and redesign your website and hopefully this will give you the justification to make the Internet great again 😂.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/93

Episode 92: 5 Keys To Managing Your Business Expenses (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 02:39:00 +0000

Many entrepreneurs focus so much on top-line growth (increasing sales revenue) that they fail to miss a major factor in long-term success, keeping gripes on the bottom line (expenses). Unless you are Uber, you really need to manage your business expenses tightly.

Cash(flow) rules everything around me (C.R.E.A.M.) is the bootstrapped entrepreneurs mantra (shout out to Wu-tang Clan, I'm not biting, I'm giving respect).

In this episode, I go over the 5 key areas that I focus on when it comes to keeping my business expenses (and my mental health) in order and I list a lot of technology that can help you do it.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/92

Episode 91: How To Protect Your Business From Embarrassing Hacks (Both Internal and External)

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 13:26:08 +0000

These days hacks are so frequent, anything that happens, even unintentional bad judgment tweets, is just explained by, "Oh I was hacked." But when it comes to your business and your brand, it's not that simple. A hack can end you or critically injure your business. And in many cases, it's not just an outside hacker that is looking to do you damage, in fact, I would say it's more likely an internal threat such as a disgruntled employee.

In this episode, I talk about how to set up a process to identify your exposure points and leverage technology to help mitigate your expose, to hacks from within and without (ok, that's not the right word but it does have a natural flow to it, from inside hackers and outside hackers as well). Enjoy!

https://www.techsmartboss.com/91

Episode 90: 6 Key Steps to Making a Successful Lead Magnet

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 01:02:34 +0000

Just like anything in life, there are some good lead magnets and there are some bad lead magnets. A good lead magnet is one that produces... leads.

Good lead magnets require some upfront planning and in this episode, I got over 6 key things you must do in order to create good, converting lead magnets.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/90

Episode 89: 7 Step Process to Doing Your Best SWOT Analysis

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 01:04:32 +0000

Some of the keys to being a great entrepreneur (other than being a Tech savvy, Tech Smart Boss) is having a great decision-making process, building a culture where everyone's opinion matters, and always questioning assumptions. A great way to accomplish all of these is being very adept at using the SWOT process.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and in this podcast, I go over 7 steps to doing it right and helping your business grow through great decision making.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/89

Episode 88: 7 Steps to Making a Great Customer (or Prospect) Feedback Survey

Tue, 14 Aug 2018 15:41:53 +0000

Getting feedback from your customers and leads are critical to improving your business. But everybody is busy these days, so no one has time for your long boring survey asking a million questions. You have to be strategic, and use the latest survey technology and techniques, and then have a plan for how you want to use the information you lean.

In this episode, I go over 7 steps for making a survey that can deliver and also discuss some technology options to help you implement them.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/88

Episode 87: 6 Ways To Improve The Onboarding Process For Your Software Or Service

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 05:05:54 +0000

Sometimes we focus so much on customer acquisition, we miss the low hanging fruit of ensuring the customers we win have an amazing experience and transition to ambassadors for our product or service. Even worse, if you offer a trial of your software and hope to convert them to paying customers, messing up on your onboarding can create a big leak in your sales funnel.

In this episode, I go over 6 ways to improve your onboarding process and this applies to both software and services delivery. Hopefully, after listening, you'll have a few ideas to take away to improve what you are currently doing.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/87

Episode 86: What is Artificial Intelligence and How It Is Going to Affect Your Business

Tue, 24 Jul 2018 01:03:13 +0000

Artificial Intelligence is something we see a lot in sci-fi movies about the benefits and most of the time, the dangers, of the future when AI becomes a reality, takes over, and kills all humans. Well, the truth is, artificial intelligence is not just something in the future, but it's the present and it's already a real impact to our businesses and the future of entrepreneurs (hopefully not the robot killing part).

In this episode, I cover the history and the basics of what artificial intelligence actually means and discuss some of the impacts to various industries now and in the future, and what we might be able to do to prepare.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/86

Episode 85: My 4 Factor Task Prioritization System (So You Can Get Things Done, Faster and Better)

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 03:51:55 +0000

Sometimes things can be a little overwhelming as an entrepreneur. Things that you have to get done come at you fast and furiously. And sometimes you just get in a rut and don't want to do anything, especially when there are a lot of more fun things you could be doing, such as summer vacations.

In either case, you need to prioritize what is important and get done what matters, ideally quickly and accurately. In this episode, I go over my 4 steps to help plan what needs to get done each day and week, which allows me to keep my sanity and be more productive so that I can have some downtime when needed.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/85

Episode 84: The 3 Biggest Leaks in Your Sales Funnel (And How To Plug Them)

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 00:34:19 +0000

As a Tech Smart Boss, we're always working on improving our sales funnel (at least you should be). But there are so many different ways to improve a sales funnel you have to be strategic in where you spend your time. Typically, most businesses have a leak or are losing leads, in one of three areas.

In this episode, I give a high-level overview of what a sales funnel is and then take a deeper dive into the 3 most common problem areas and what you can do to fix them.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/84

Episode 83: The Do's and Dont's of Setting Up A Product Roadmap and Feedback System

Tue, 03 Jul 2018 00:30:36 +0000

If you're in the software business, everyone wants to know your roadmap. And for good reason. But many software vendors are hesistant to share information for a variety of reasons.

In this episode, I go over the do's and dont's for sharing your product roadmap and how to get the most bang for your buck if you do by capturing valuable feedback from your customers (and potential customers). I also cover the piece of technology I currently use and share a few other technology providers you can check out for your product roadmap and feedback solution.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/83

Episode 82: 6 Proven Customer Acquisition Methods (And How To Pick The Right One For Your Startup)

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 13:33:38 +0000

One of the most common ways for a business to go bust is to run out of money or time before they find a winning customer acquisition method. It's essential for a startup, but also for a growing business because the method to scale changes as your business matures.

In this episode, I go over 6 of the best ways to find customers for your product or service and walk through the thought process on which one(s) might be best for you right now.

http://www.techsmartboss.com/82

Episode 81: Why Your Business Should Be Leveraging e-Signature Software (And How To Get Started)

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 16:23:14 +0000

Almost every department in your business is obtaining signatures at some point or another. Sales, HR, Operations, all require either internal staff, partners, or customers to sign agreements. Optimizing that document delivery and signature process is one of the best ways to leverage technology to do things faster and be more productive.

Some businesses are still thinking it's too expensive or not safe to work with digital signatures, and if that is you, this podcast is for you. In this episode, I go over the background of e-signature, where you can adopt it in your business, and some of the vendors to check out and their price.

http://www.techsmartboss.com/81

Episode 80: The 6 Metrics You Must Know If You Run A Subscription Based Business

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 00:00:04 +0000

Running a subscription-based business with a recurring revenue model is the way to go these days if you ask me. But if you are going to do it, you have to keep a close look at some key metrics to make sure the health of your company is strong. In Episode 60, I covered what I consider to be the most important things to monitor from a business operations perspective, the leading indicators.

In this episode, I'm going to cover a set of metrics that apply to more established businesses, with enough customers and data to make them make sense, but even if you are not there yet, you should know about them and establish a process and way to start calculating them (get in the habit).

They are Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Churn, Lifetime Value (LTV), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Average Revenue per Account (ARPA), and Quick Ratio. In this episode, I explain what they are and how you should use them.

https://www.techsmartboss.com/80

Episode 79: The Technical Factors You Can Take To Help Increase the Deliverability of Your Emails

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 13:56:21 +0000

These days even if you are a responsible sender of emails, it's hard to avoid the spam folder. Between over-aggressive spam gateways and e-mail providers trying to bubble up what they think is an important email or not, odds are your email may not make it to the intended viewer's inbox. There are some things that you should be doing to help prove you are a reputable e-mail sender and in many cases, small businesses are not taking advantage of those.

In this episode, I go over some of the key technical things you should do related to email authentication and security and also how you can test to see if your e-mails are going to look as safe as possible, even when you are relying on a 3rd party email service provider.

http://www.techsmartboss.com/79

Episode 78: How To Introduce Your Team To New Technology (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Mon, 28 May 2018 22:46:59 +0000

Being a Tech Smart Boss means one thing for sure, you will always love technology more than your employees. It's something you have to keep in mind as you start to implement technology to your team. Most rollouts of technology become shelfware, where the team never uses it to its full capacity (if at all).

In this episode, I go into the reasons why and how you can make sure you roll out technology and process in a way that sticks. And as a result, you can achieve the growth for your business that you are looking for.

http://www.techsmartboss.com/78

Episode 77: The Top Reasons You Should Be Leveraging Freelancers to Grow Your Business

Tue, 22 May 2018 00:55:57 +0000

I am a huge believer in using freelancers as much as possible in my business and I think you should be as well. But you have to do it for the right reasons and you have to do it correctly, or it could cost you. Everyone has their freelancer horror story, which is why you may be hesitant to use them as much as you should.

In this episode, I go into the top reasons you should (and dare I say must), leverage freelancers to help grow your business and I'll give you some use cases that are appropriate for outsourcing to a part-time resource.

http://www.techsmartboss.com/77

Episode 76: What Is The Impact of GDPR On Your Small Business (And What You Should Be Doing)

Tue, 15 May 2018 00:58:20 +0000

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is going into effect on May 25th, 2018 and it seems like the entire Internet is freaking out about it. If you are a small business that interacts with people that live in countries that belong to the European Union, then it applies to you. And it holds the threat of penalties of 4% of your previous year revenues or $20 million euros (whichever is greater) if you are not in compliance.

My take, for the majority of small businesses, it's not something you need to worry about from a penalty perspective. But you should worry about keeping your customer's data protected and GDPR may give you the reason and a good guideline how to go about doing it.

In this episode, I got into what exactly GDPR is, how it impacts your business, and what steps you should be taking to comply with it.

http://www.techsmartboss.com/76

Episode 75: How to Keep Your Customers Informed Without Relying Solely on Email

Mon, 07 May 2018 23:32:33 +0000

When was the last time you looked in your spam folder? I may be the only one, but if you look in there you'll find a lot of junk, but you'll also find some updates from many of the companies you buy products and services from, that you probably wanted to hear from. These days you can't count on email to get your message across, and with the upcoming GDPR regulations, there are even more reasons email is not going to be a reliable communication method going forward.

In this episode, I go into some ways other than email to keep your customers (and your leads) up to date with the messages that you want them to know about.

http://www.techsmartboss.com/75

Episode 74: The Changing Social Media Landscape and How It's Affecting Your Business

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 23:11:22 +0000

Almost every social media company is under pressure these days due to all the security lapses, leaks, and controversies that are taking place, almost on a daily basis it seems. As a result, they are making changes to restrict APIs, change terms and conditions, and do whatever they can to stop the bleeding and bad press, and it seems like they could care less the impact to our businesses and their developer partners who are using those services. In this episode, I go over the changing landscape in social media, how it's impacting your business, and what you should do about it. http://www.techsmartboss.com/74

Episode 73: How to Set Up A Knowledge Base and Support Site For Your Business

Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:00:03 +0000

Every business has customers (and potential customers) that have questions about your products and services. Therefore it only makes sense that every business should have a knowledge base or support site on their website. But many don't. In this episode, I go into why you should have one, what you should put there, and what you should do with it once you have it. http://www.techsmartboss.com/73

Episode 72: 3 Key Things Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know About Their Business To Be Successful

Tue, 17 Apr 2018 00:00:03 +0000

Knowledge is power, and in business, the more knowledge you have, the more likely it is you will be successful. But with information coming from all directions, it's hard to be on top of everything, unless you leverage technology that is. In this episode, I cover the 3 main areas of oversight that every entrepreneur needs in their business to be successful. http://www.techsmartboss.com/72

Episode 71: 8 Steps on How To Run Your Internal Meetings Like A Tech Smart Boss

Mon, 09 Apr 2018 23:13:14 +0000

If you are anything like me, you really dislike attending long and boring team meetings. Especially when you're the boss and paying everyone's salary. In this episode, I cover 8 steps and some very useful technology to take your meetings to the height of efficiency and productivity. https://www.techsmartboss.com/71

Episode 70: The Content Marketing Tech Stack for a Tech Smart Boss

Tue, 03 Apr 2018 00:04:42 +0000

If you have listened to our podcast for more than a few episodes, no doubt you've heard me talk about the importance of content marketing for lead generation. In this episode I got deeper into the subject and outline the tech stack that I use as well as the process of how I use it. http://www.techsmartboss.com/70

Episode 69: How to Be An Early Technology Adopter (My 6 Step Process)

Tue, 27 Mar 2018 00:57:57 +0000

Part of being a Tech Smart Boss is always trying and learning about new, early stage technology. But you can't just jump into new technology and expect to use it right away. It's called early stage technology for a reason. In this episode, I give you my 6 step process for finding, evaluating, and eventually adopting early stage technology that helps grow my business (on a budget). http://www.techsmartboss.com/69

Episode 68: Do You Have What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur (Or Should You Keep Your Day Job)

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 01:08:29 +0000

There seems to be an explosion of entrepreneurship taking place these days. And in general, that is a great thing. But in this episode, I'm going to toss away pleasantries and political correctness and hand out some real talk. Not everybody is built to be an entrepreneur. I'm going to give you my thoughts on if you have what it takes or not, or if you should just stick to your day job. Caution: Don't listen to this episode if you are easily offended. http://www.techsmartboss.com/68

Episode 67: The Top 10 Reasons Your Startup is Going to Fail (Or Why You're Not Growing)

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 23:50:31 +0000

Even though it seems like everybody is #winning with their business, the harsh reality is that most businesses fail (and a very high number in the first year). Another large segment are in zombie mode, they are basically dead but still limping along due to the sheer force of the entrepreneur who refuses to let it die. In this episode, I cover 10 reasons on why and if any of these currently apply to you, it could be exactly what you need to hear to change course and save your business from becoming a statistic. http://www.techsmartboss.com/67

Episode 66: 8 Step Process to Start and Succeed With Your Business Blog (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 06 Mar 2018 11:07:30 +0000

Everybody's blogging (at least it seems). But most businesses are just wasting their time and money. Don't be like most businesses, listen to my 8 step process on how you should build and execute your blog strategy with the sole purpose of generating traffic and converting leads. Even if you have a successful blog, I hope you get a few steps from this episode to make it perform even better. http://www.techsmartboss.com/66

Episode 65: How To Monitor Your Competition (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Mon, 26 Feb 2018 23:02:34 +0000

I've mentioned in previous podcast episodes that I don't believe in paying too much to competition. Too often as entrepreneurs, we give our competition way too much credit and waste a lot of time trying to either stay ahead of them or worry about what they are doing. But that doesn't mean I completely ignore them either. I like to put a side eye on them and in this episode, I go over what types of information I try to learn from my competition and the technology that I use to do it. http://www.techsmartboss.com/65

Episode 64: How to Leverage Video Marketing in Your Business (The Tech Smart Boss Way

Mon, 19 Feb 2018 21:09:22 +0000

In the last episode, I discussed how to set up your YouTube channel for your business and brand, but I didn't get into what types of videos you can post. Video marketing goes far beyond just YouTube and in this episode, I go through the different types of videos you can use in your business and some of the technology that can help you get there on a budget. http://www.techsmartboss.com/64

Episode 63: How to Set Up A YouTube Channel for Your Business or Brand (the Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 02:25:44 +0000

YouTube is a massive source of traffic that you may be missing out on if you don't have a properly constructed YouTube channel. In this episode, I go over the key things you need to focus on to make sure you are properly represented on YouTube and getting valuable organic search traffic from the world's #2 largest search engine. http://www.techsmartboss.com/63

Episode 62: 3 Key Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Follow to Focus on Their Personal Health

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 15:29:20 +0000

The one thing we always tend to sacrifice as entrepreneurs is our personal health. We put so much into the business, we see exercise and eating healthy as a luxury. I've learned that nothing can be farther from the truth, and making sure you focus on your health as the business owner, reaps a lot of benefits for your business. In this episode, I go over three important areas of focus for the entrepreneur, and also how you can bring a focus of personal health to your team. http://www.techsmartboss.com/62

Episode 61: My Top 12 Cyber Security Tips for the Tech Smart Boss

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 00:10:00 +0000

With all the hacks and security holes we hear about almost weekly, the honest truth is you're never 100% secure if you're on a device connected to a network. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do everything you can to protect yourself from the busters and knuckleheads who want to cause you damage. In this episode, I share 12 things you need to be doing at a minimum, especially if you are a remote workforce and spend a lot of time working from outside a traditional office. http://www.techsmartboss.com/61

Episode 60: How To Determine The Key Performance Indicators That Become The Levers of Your Business

Tue, 23 Jan 2018 11:22:25 +0000

In Episode 59, I talked about when and how to start using Business Intelligence software in your business. In this episode, I go deeper into the concept of leading indicators and give you a process for determining the key performance indicators that you can use to drive your business. http://www.techsmartboss.com/60

Episode 59: How To Know When Your Business Is Ready For Business Intelligence Software

Tue, 16 Jan 2018 03:35:30 +0000

As the founder and CEO if 5000fish, I spend most of my time selling Yurbi, a dashboard and reporting solution. Far too often, I find small and large businesses looking to buy BI software before they are ready. In this episode, I'm going to break down how to know when you're ready for BI software and then give you a process to follow to get the most from it when you are ready. http://www.techsmartboss.com/59

Episode 58: How To Build Customer Personas That Allows Your Business To Strike The Right Message

Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:22:30 +0000

We may sound like a broken record, but the key to success is to deliver the right message, at the right time, to the right person. In this episode, we cover the concept of Customer Personas and what they are, how to build them, and how to use them. A solid set of Customer Personas can get your entire team on the same page with the message and the approach of how to work with your ideal customers (and allow you to quickly avoid the wrong ones). http://www.techsmartboss.com/58

Episode 57: The Key SEO Things You Need To Do In 2018 To Stay At The Top of Google Search Results

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 00:58:06 +0000

Leveraging content marketing strategies is extremely important to a Tech Smart Boss. The best return on investment you can find in your marketing efforts are the leads you get from organic search engine traffic, which basically means Google search engine traffic. But Google is always changing their algorithms and how they decide who gets the top search engine rankings and you want to be as close to the top as possible. In this episode, I discuss the important SEO factors you need to know about for 2018 and how to adjust your content creation so that you can stay at the top and keep getting those leads! http://www.techsmartboss.com/57

Episode 56: The 11 Traits You Need to Adopt to Be A Successful Bootstrapped and Lean Operations Biz

Tue, 26 Dec 2017 15:31:53 +0000

For the past 19 years, I've been on #TeamBootstrap when it comes to running a business, but I haven't always been as lean as I should have been on the operations side. Having experience being bootstrapped and non-lean versus bootstrapped and lean, I think the combination of a bootstrap mentality and the focus to run a very lean operation is key to succeeding in business these days. In this episode, I cover 11 traits or characteristics you should try to adopt to make this entrepreneurial journey as successful as possible for you. http://www.techsmartboss.com/56

Episode 55: My 6 Step Process for Planning For the New Year (As A Lean and Bootstrapped Business)

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 01:32:15 +0000

As a small business one thing that commonly gets left out is planning. We're too busy running from one fire to another, or simply getting things done to try to plan events. It's true that you have to be flexible as a bootstrapped or lean operations run company, but you can't be so reactive that you never take the time to have a plan. In this episode, I go over the 6 steps I use and this is specifically to help you prepare for 2018 but you'll see this is a process that you'll repeat often to make sure you have a focus, a path, and a plan. http://www.techsmartboss.com/55

Episode 54: How To Make Slack the Hub of Communication for Your Tech Smart Business

Mon, 11 Dec 2017 23:47:15 +0000

I've talked about Slack a lot in past podcasts but I've never gone into detail why I use it, how I use it, and how it's transformed my business. And believe it or not, I was initially a huge naysayer to using Slack. In this episode, I go into how I recommend you set up Slack for your business and how I leverage it as the hub of communication for my business. http://www.techsmartboss.com/54

Episode 53: The Tech Stack You Need to Recruit and Hire Your Team's Next Superstar

Mon, 04 Dec 2017 23:32:49 +0000

As a small business owner and entrepreneur, we wear a lot of hats in our business. One that I don't like wearing as much as the others is the role of hiring people. Thankfully, after 18 years, I've done it enough to nail down a process that works and a set of technology apps that make the task easier and the end result (a great new member of my team) more repeatable. In this episode, I go over my process and the tech stack that I use and hopefully you'll get some ideas on how to improve your own hiring processes to find your next superstar team member. http://www.techsmartboss.com/53

Episode 52: What I've Learned After One Year Of Tech Smart Boss (And How I'm Applying It To My Biz)

Tue, 28 Nov 2017 01:27:38 +0000

Episode 52 represents one year of Tech Smart Boss. My motivation for starting Tech Smart Boss was a combination of passion and for experimenting and learning new techniques that I can apply to my primary focus, my business intelligence software, Yurbi. In this episode, I take a look back at all the things I've done the past year, what I've learned from it, and how I plan to apply it to Yurbi (or ways that I already have). Hopefully, it will generate some takeaways for your business as well. http://www.techsmartboss.com/52

Episode 51: What to Look for in Webinar Software and Why You Should Be Running Webinars in Your Biz

Tue, 21 Nov 2017 11:44:45 +0000

In our past podcasts, we have talked a lot about a content marketing strategy where the focus is to provide value to your customers and potential customers. One way to deliver that value is in the form of education, teaching them about topics in your industry and about your products and services. One of the best ways to do that is via online webinars but it can be tricky to pick the right webinar software with so many options out there. In this episode, I cover why you should be doing regular webinars and discuss the different types and different features you should look for in your webinar software. And of course, I list a lot of tools that you can research for your business. http://www.techsmartboss.com/51

Episode 50: Recap Show! (A Podcast Table of Contents for the Last 24 Episodes)

Mon, 13 Nov 2017 23:56:13 +0000

Can you believe how fast time flies? We are up to episode 50!!!! I thought it was a good time to take a look back since our last recap show in Episode 25 and see what topics areas we have covered since then and give you a breakdown of what episodes to listen to in what order (or which ones you may have missed). In this episode, I do a recap of the past 24 episodes by category, so if you’re new to the show or if you missed a few, you can follow the proper sequence to hear me talk about Marketing, Lead Generation, Tech Stacks, Software, Website Design, and more. Plus we go into some of the stats and what’s coming up in the next 25 episodes! http://www.techsmartboss.com/50

Episode 49: 9 Key Features You Need in Live Website Chat Software (And How To Best Benefit From It)

Mon, 06 Nov 2017 22:53:23 +0000

These days chat tools are a dime a dozen. But surprisingly a lot of businesses still don't support chat on their website. In this episode, I give you a lot of chat tools to consider and the 5 must haves and 4 nice to haves to help with your selection. But more importantly, I discuss how having a customer-focused business means you must have chat on your website, but it doesn't mean you have to have a team of live agents 24/7 to handle incoming requests. Learn how website chat can benefit your business and more. http://www.techsmartboss.com/49

Episode 48: How to Scale and Automate Your Business (Without Losing the Human Touch)

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 13:50:23 +0000

A large part of being a Tech Smart Boss is being able to use technology to scale and grow your business in ways that have been limited to only big businesses in the past. But we don't want to emulate everything that big businesses do because we all get those impersonal and wrongly delivered messages that come from their automation tools. In this episode, I talk about how you can scale and automate your business but keep the personal touch so that the right messages are going to the right leads and customers, and then you can convert more business and grow faster. http://www.techsmartboss.com/48

Episode 47: How to Leverage Lead and Customer Data Enrichment to Improve Your SmallBiz Marketing

Mon, 23 Oct 2017 23:42:05 +0000

In a couple of the past episodes, we talked about the importance of lead and customer segmentation, so that you can target people with the right message at the right stage. There are services out there that allow you to enrich the data you have on your leads and customers to get even more sophisticated in your segmentation. In this episode, I'm going to discuss the different levels of data enrichment and list multiple options for you to take a look at that range from free to expensive. https://www.techsmartboss.com/47

Episode 46: Lifetime Software Deals: The Benefits and Dangers for a Tech Smart Boss

Tue, 17 Oct 2017 00:17:47 +0000

I've talked about some of the lifetime software deals that I've purchased in the past but I've never given you the details on what lifetime software deals are all about. In this episode, I let you know what they are, where you can find them, why vendors might do them, and how sometimes they can be a blessing or a buyer beware situation. http://www.techsmartboss.com/46

Episode 45: The Intersection of Business and Brand with Social and Political Speech

Mon, 09 Oct 2017 23:12:01 +0000

There used to be a saying that you should never mix business with politics. These days, however, that rule seems to have been thrown out of the window. In this episode, I discuss my thoughts on how businesses are getting pulled into more and more social and political issues, the consequences of that, and what I think a Tech Smart Boss should do or at the very least contingency plan for. Warning up front, we don't talk a lot about technology in this episode but you're also not going to hear yet another person tell you what side of the political argument they are on. My focus on this is to get you thinking about how to handle it should your business be pulled into a controversial discussion. http://www.techsmartboss.com/45

Episode 44: Top 3 Ways You Can Implement SSL On Your Website (And Prevent Google Penalties)

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 09:57:17 +0000

Starting Oct 2017, Google is going to start warning website visitors when websites are not secure. If you don't have your website protected by SSL, you will start to lose conversion, brand credibility, and traffic. In this episode, I cover the 3 top ways to set up SSL on your website and the pros and cons of each. Two methods are free, so there's no reason why you shouldn't do it today. http://www.techsmartboss.com/44

Episode 43: How to Pre-Market and Build an Email List Before You Even Have A Product

Mon, 25 Sep 2017 23:49:56 +0000

Everyone knows that build it and they will come doesn't really work in today's noisy business environment. The smart thing is to have an interested set of potential customers during your pre-launch so you can get some traction right away with your new product or service. For those of us who bootstrap, it's the most viable way to success. In this episode, I go over some of the things you can do to grow your following and find your niche, before you even have a product or service ready to sell. http://www.techsmartboss.com/43

Episode 42: 4 Step Process for Delegating Time Consuming Tasks (Like a Tech Smart Boss)

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 13:51:04 +0000

How many times have you said, "I wish I could get this task off my plate but it's easier to do it than teach someone else how to do it?" If you routinely say that, then this podcast is for you. I cover my 4 step process for getting those time consuming, but very important, tasks off your plate and into the hands of someone affordable who can perform it with high quality and precision. http://www.techsmartboss.com/42

Episode 41: How To Buy Software For Your Business (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 12 Sep 2017 00:17:55 +0000

Most businesses stay in old, outdated business software way too long. It gets comfortable, it gets too hard to replace, and in many cases, you just don't spend the time to research what may work better for your business. In this episode, I go into detail on how to evaluation, research, and buy business software and it doesn't include going on your social networks and asking others "What's the best X?" http://www.techsmartboss.com/41

Episode 40: The Negatives of Leveraging Cloud and SaaS Technology In Your Business

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 14:33:37 +0000

All I do is talk about the benefits and how you can grow your business better and faster using modern technology. Well in this episode I'm going to flip the script and talk about the negatives and dangers you could face by relying on cloud and SaaS technology in your business. http://www.techsmartboss.com/40

Episode 39: How to Get Started With Retargeting (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 11:04:52 +0000

Retargeting is one of the most cost effective ways of advertising (with the highest ROI if done correctly). In this episode, we take a deep dive into retargeting advertising. We discuss the what, the why, and most importantly how to do it the Tech Smart Boss way. http://www.techsmartboss.com/39

Episode 38: How to Set Up A Framework for Marketing Segmentation (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 00:53:00 +0000

Are you making sure your leads and customers are getting the right targetted message, at the right time? Unless you have a framework for segmentation, probably not. In this episode, I go into the reasons for segmentation, how to implement a segmentation process, and how to apply segmentation in your business. https://www.techsmartboss.com/38

Episode 37: How I Built My First Online Course For Less Than $500 (and How You Can Too)

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 03:27:36 +0000

I just built my first online course and in this episode, I share the steps I took to plan and execute the effort and the technology I used. I also talk about how much everything cost me and you'll be amazed at how you can also put together a digital product on a budget. I put the main 8 steps of my course building process in a download that you can get below. http://www.techsmartboss.com/37

Episode 36: 9 Key Pieces of Tech You Need To Have a Lead Generating Website

Tue, 08 Aug 2017 00:47:10 +0000

In episode 35 we talked about the key things you needed on your website, in this episode we're going to talk about the technology that can help you create and manage it affordably and like a Tech Smart Boss. We cover 9 key pieces of technology you need to create a lead generating website for your business. http://www.techsmartboss.com/36

Episode 35: 10 Key Things You Need On Your Website to Generate Leads

Mon, 31 Jul 2017 22:25:49 +0000

Why do you have a website? We say it's to build credibility, communicate value to your visitors and customers, and to convert visitors into leads. In this episode, we discuss the 10 key elements you need on your website to meet those 3 goals and to develop a lead generating website for your business. www.techsmartboss.com/35

Episode 34: 11 Tips to Deliver an Exceptional Demo of Your Product or Service

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 03:42:47 +0000

Nothing kills a good opportunity faster than a horrible, boring demo of your business products or services. In this episode, I give you my 11 best tips on how to deliver an exceptional experience for your customers so that your products and services can shine. This episode is more about people and process than technology. https://www.techsmartboss.com/34

Episode 33: 5 Essential Features You Must Have In Your Small Business CRM

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 15:47:04 +0000

My philosophy is that even if you are a soloprenuer, you need to use a CRM. And as you grow, and develop a sales team, the CRM should act like a hub for your entire organization, with spokes into your marketing, accounting, and operations teams. In this episode, I cover the 5 key essential features you need to look for in a CRM application so it can become this hub and we'll list a lot of affordable options to check out. http://www.techsmartboss.com/33

Episode 32: How To Nail Down the Focus of Your Business the Tech Smart Boss Way

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 17:37:42 +0000

As an entrepreneur, I'm sure you have lots of ideas and if you're anything like me, you probably try to do them all at the same time. After 18 years I've learned that tends to only make the good ideas less effective and drains your money and time with the bad ideas. In this episode, I cover my approach to prioritizing what business activities I should focus on and how to bring a focus to the things that lead to growth and success. http://www.techsmartboss.com/32

Episode 31: 9 Tips to Get the Best Web Domain for Your Business or Brand

Mon, 03 Jul 2017 19:33:38 +0000

It's harder than ever to get the web domain that you want these days. All the good ones seem taken. But when it comes to marketing your business or brand, having the perfect web domain is more important than ever. In this episode, I lay out my 9 tips on how to get a great web domain to enhance and market your business. http://www.techsmartboss.com/31

Episode 30: 7 Pieces of Tech You Need to Empower a Remote Workforce

Tue, 27 Jun 2017 12:03:20 +0000

Remote work is becoming the norm in business these days, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. In this episode, I discuss the pros and cons of having remote employees and cover 7 essential pieces of technology you need to make it work properly. http://www.techsmartboss.com/30

Episode 29: How To Set Up An Indirect Sales Channel For Your Business

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 01:15:24 +0000

Channel partnerships are changing these days. The models that worked in the past for large businesses are failing and smaller, more agile companies have the opportunity to grow their business by coming out with more innovative programs for channel partners. In this episode, we cover if an indirect sales model is right for your business and how to structure a channel partnership program that works. http://www.techsmartboss.com29

Episode 28: How to Generate Leads using Outbound Emails (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Tue, 13 Jun 2017 00:38:50 +0000

Everybody hates spam and unsolicited emails, but outbound email can be a really good way to generate leads for your business IF you do it the right way. In this episode, we cover some of the technical pre-requisites, how to target your leads, and how to construct an email that comes across as authentic and transparent. http://www.techsmartboss.com/28

Episode 27: The SmallBiz Marketing Stack for a Tech Smart Boss

Mon, 05 Jun 2017 17:43:01 +0000

Leveraging technology to scale your brand is a key business strategy of a Tech Smart Boss. Marketing is an area where there is a lot of technology that is affordable, easy to use, and can help your brand cast a bigger shadow. In this episode, I break down the entire Marketing Stack that I use in my primary business, 5000fish, and in the Tech Smart Boss brand. Hopefully, you can get some new ideas as well. http://www.techsmartboss.com/27

Episode 26: How To Set Up A Marketing Strategy For Your Small Business (The Tech Smart Boss Way)

Mon, 29 May 2017 16:44:00 +0000

In this episode, I go over how to set up a marketing strategy for your business. I cover a lot of tactics from offline marketing to online marketing, what may work best and how to pick the core 1-2 you should put most of your energy toward. http://www.techsmartboss.com/26

Episode 25: Recap Show! (A Podcast Table of Contents for the First 24 Episodes)

Mon, 22 May 2017 23:02:45 +0000

Hard to believe this is the 25th episode of the Tech Smart Boss podcast. In this episode, I do a recap of the past episodes by category, so if you're new to the show or if you missed a few, you can follow the proper sequence to hear me talk about Finance, Customer Service, Marketing, and more. Plus we go into some of the stats and what's coming up on the next 25 episodes! http://www.techsmartboss.com/25

Episode 24: Bootstrap vs Venture Capital (Plus 8 Other Ways To Fund Your Business)

Mon, 15 May 2017 15:38:55 +0000

These days it seems like investors are tossing money at new businesses like water on fire, but the opposite is really true. It's extremely hard and time-consuming to get investment capital to start a business and most businesses aren't even fundable. In this episode, we discuss how to determine if raising funds is right for your business or if bootstrapping it is the way to go. http://www.techsmartboss.com/24

Episode 23: How a Tech Smart Boss Creates a Contingency Plan for Their Business

Mon, 08 May 2017 16:01:35 +0000

As an entrepreneur, we always plan for the best, but we need to be prepared for the worst. In this episode, I go over a 5 step plan that I use to build contingency plan in the key areas of my business (including technology) and discuss how you can apply them to small and large-sized businesses. http://www.techsmartboss.com/23

Episode 22: Customer Support Tech Stack (The 8 Things You Need to Deliver Stellar Customer Service)

Tue, 02 May 2017 15:00:59 +0000

Delivering excellent Customer Service is a combination of the right people, the right process, and the right technology. In this episode, we're going to discuss the 8 key pieces of technology you need to empower your people and process to amaze and delight your customers. http://www.techsmartboss.com/22

Episode 21: Benefits of Running a Debt Free Business (And Tips On How To Get There)

Mon, 24 Apr 2017 22:52:05 +0000

Why do most businesses fail? Generally, they run out of cash and in the extreme case their debt gets so large they can no longer service it, so they are forced out of business. In this episode, I cover from my personal experience the benefits of running a debt-free business and some tips and tools on how you can get there. http://www.techsmartboss.com/21

Episode 20: How to Select a Customer Support System (The 10 Things You Should Know)

Mon, 17 Apr 2017 23:05:36 +0000

Every business needs a customer support process and technology to back it up. But depending on your specific needs, that technology will look dramatically different. In this episode, I cover the 10 things you should know before selecting (or re-selecting) your customer support system. http://www.techsmartboss.com/20

Episode 19: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Business Review Sites

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 00:46:33 +0000

Most buyers today check out review sites before making a purchase. But from the business perspective, there's a good, bad, and ugly side to them. In this episode, I cover how you should deal with review sites with a distinction for B2C and B2B and the most important thing you should be doing regarding your business reputation. http://www.techsmartboss.com/19

Episode 18: 5 Keys to Creating a Customer Service Culture in Your Business

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 21:49:01 +0000

Businesses that provide excellent Customer Service don't do it with a single department or team, they have a culture dedicated to providing great support. In this episode, I walk through the 5 keys of how to create that culture of customer success in your company (and why you should do it). http://www.techsmartboss.com/18

Episode 17: How to Put Your Social Media Content on AutoPilot (While Keeping The Human Touch)

Mon, 27 Mar 2017 17:15:06 +0000

Being present on social media doesn't have to cost a lot of time or money. And it shouldn't, especially if it's not a driver of your business leads or revenue. In this episode, we cover how to put your content on autopilot, without losing the human touch and sounding like a robot. http://www.techsmartboss.com/17

Episode 16: How to Deal with the Downtimes of Being an Entrepreneur (My 4-Step Process)

Mon, 20 Mar 2017 23:08:30 +0000

Contrary to media reports, not all entrepreneurs are raising insane amounts of capital and growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, for most, the downtimes of being an entrepreneur far exceed the good times. In this episode, I cover how I've dealt with running a business when things are not going so well and give my 4 step model for getting through it. http://www.techsmartboss.com/16

Episode 15: 7 Ways You Can Use Twitter In Your Business

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 13:14:29 +0000

Twitter's definitely not growing as fast as it used to, but the talk of twitter death may be a little premature. For some businesses, it's hard to see how twitter can help. In this episode, I cover 7 ways you can put twitter to work in your business. http://www.techsmartboss.com/15

Episode 14: How to Create High Converting Lead Magnets on Your Content

Tue, 07 Mar 2017 11:17:24 +0000

In part 3 of this 3 part series on content marketing we deep dive into the concept of lead magnets. Check out this episode for what they are, why you should be using them, and lots of examples of high converting lead magnets that you can put to work on your content. http://www.techsmartboss.com/14

Episode 13: How to Create Content That Drives Traffic (and Leads) To Your Website

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 00:05:42 +0000

Writing the right type of content will create a super-highway of highly qualified traffic to your website. We go in deep on how to align content with your buyer's lifecycle and optimized for search engine traffic in part 2 of this 3-part series on content marketing. http://www.techsmartboss.com/13

Episode 12: How to Setup a Content Marketing Framework (To Generate Leads)

Mon, 20 Feb 2017 22:54:02 +0000

The holy grail of business is a lead generation engine. In this podcast I'm going to lay out the framework on how you can setup your website to be the ultimate lead generator for your business, using content marketing. http://www.techsmartboss.com/12

Episode 11: What it Means and What it Takes to be a Tech Smart Boss

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 16:16:40 +0000

I always say you don't have to be a techie to be a Tech Smart Boss. In this episode I go into the 3 things you do need and what exactly it means to be a Tech Smart Boss. http://www.techsmartboss.com/11

Episode 10: How to Set Limits on Technology (Like a Tech Smart Boss)

Wed, 08 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

We love technology but if you're not careful, technology can be a 24/7 distraction. In this episode, we cover 6 steps on how you can set limits on technology so you can reap the benefits but not become a slave to it. http://www.techsmartboss.com/10

Episode 9: How to Setup a Social Media Strategy for Your Business

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode I outline my steps to creating a Social Media strategy for your business. Many businesses are doing too little, too much, or plain doing it wrong. Listen to this episode to get a roadmap on how to do it right for your business. Plus we talk about the main social media platforms and which ones may be right for you. https://www.techsmartboss.com/9

Episode 8: Tech Smart Boss Tools to Stay Productive (When You're Not In the Office)

Wed, 25 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

So I had to get my car fixed and that meant a whole morning stuck at the dealership. I go over the tools that I use to get me productive and fully able to run my business, even when I'm not in the office. Show Notes: http://www.techsmartboss.com/8

Episode 7: How My Physical Therapy Turned Into a Technology Blue Print

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I can't help myself, I’m always looking at other businesses for how they could use technology better. In this episode I break down a physical therapist business and hope the tips can help you. Show note: https://www.techsmartboss.com/7

Episode 6: The SmallBiz Financial Tech Stack for a Tech Smart Boss

Mon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode I talk about the software I use in my business to stay on top of the finances. There are a few I’m sure you haven’t heard of and wait until you hear about how I almost lost $22k! Show notes https://www.techsmartboss.com/6

Episode 1: How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service the Tech Smart Boss Way

Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Tech Smart Boss podcast. After a short intro on what to look forward to in this podcast, we go right into a way to leverage technology to deliver amazing customer experiences, even when you're in the airport. Check out the entire show notes at http://www.techsmartboss.com/1

Episode 2: Exhibiting at a Tradeshow (on a Budget)

Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Exhibiting at a Tradeshow can be expensive! I discuss how I leveraged technology to make a bang at the event without a big dent in my bank account. Check out the entire show notes at http://www.techsmartboss.com/2

Episode 3: The Back-Story (How Tech Smart Boss Came to Be)

Sat, 31 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

So who is David Ferguson and what is Tech Smart Boss all about? I tell my story and share some business insights in this episode. Check out the entire show notes at http://www.techsmartboss.com/3

Episode 4: How to do Employee Onboarding the Tech Smart Boss Way

Sat, 31 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Hiring a new employee can be an exciting but stressful time. In this episode we cover the technology and process you can use to make it a breeze. Check out the entire show notes at http://www.techsmartboss.com/4

Episode 5: Top Apps for the Traveling Tech Smart Boss

Sat, 31 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been doing a lot of travel recently so in this episode I go over my favorite apps that keep you connected to your office and make traveling a little more enjoyable. Check out the entire show notes at http://www.techsmartboss.com/5