“The operations, the culture of the company, all of that really needs to get worked on before you get to marketing and sales.” – Cindy Donaldson.
Episode 7:
In this 7th episode of Agents Influence, host Jason Cass interviews Cindy Donaldson, the founder of Red Barn Consulting, a world class marketing team based in New Hartford, Connecticut. Cindy shares her backstory and the ups and downs she has gone through establishing businesses, the importance of establishing a solid company culture that is productive, and how to increase productivity in your business.
Show Notes:
- September 13-15th 2018 in Las Vegas is AI Lab, formally known as Grow Lab. Go to AILab18.com is where only 100 people can register.
- .Cindy is an iPhone and Apple user all the way.
- The last business application Cindy downloaded was Active Campaign for email marketing.
- Losing and failing is a way to learn and improve.
- .Cindy is a big picture person who did some PR work for a while, married, and realized she was a sales person. She ended up in the top 1% in sales at the company she was at.
- She started a company buying wholesale and sold retail, but lost a half a million dollars. She rebounded and learned from it and started a full-service marketing company with Timex as a client for printing.
- Cindy branded an insurance company that hired her in the role of Director in Sales and Marketing for a six-figure income, full benefits and five weeks of vacation. She worked there for five years.
- .Cindy then started Red Barn Consulting, and has been running it for about five years.
- There are no bad employees, just people placed in the wrong positions.
- When employees are unhappy, that is going to lead to unhappy customers.
- Hire talented people who also fit in naturally with the company culture.
- Check out AdvisorEvolved.com for websites.
- Gray areas just don’t fly. Clarify everything with your partners.
- Double down on your strengths and outsource your weaknesses.
- Mentorship is extremely important to develop talent.
- There is a huge generation cap in the industry.
- Millennials really understand the need for a positive company culture.
- Books to read: “You Best Year Ever,” “Crushing It,” “The Tipping Point,” and books by Malcolm Gladwell.
3 Key Points:
- The operations, the culture of the company, all of that really needs to get worked on before you get to marketing and sales.
- Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you are, especially lawyers, accountants, and financial planners.
- Gray areas just don’t fly. Clarify everything with your partners.
Tweetable Quotes:
– “I think success is a mindset…you just keep your eye on the prize.” – Cindy Donaldson.
– “The operations, the culture of the company, all of that really needs to get worked on before you get to marketing and sales.” – Cindy Donaldson.
– “Your culture runs your office. That’s just the way that it is.” – Jason Cass.
– “If you have an unhappy employee, that trickles down to that customer experience.” – Cindy Donaldson.
Resources:
- Insurance Agency Intelligence – Website for Insurance Agency Intelligence.
- AILAb18.com – Website for AI Lab brain share event.
- Cindy Donaldson – LinkedIn for Cindy Donaldson.
- Red Barn Consulting – Website for Red Barn Consulting.
- Advisor Evolved – Website for Advisor Evolved.
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