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Leeds Business Insights

Leeds Business Insights

Leeds School of Business

The challenges facing business today are more complex and interconnected than ever before. The Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder offers a cutting-edge perspective of trending topics, along with actionable insights, to help you navigate the evolving world of business.

Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.


32 - S3E10: Brian Higgins - Sales Is Really About Building Relationships
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  • 32 - S3E10: Brian Higgins - Sales Is Really About Building Relationships

    Our guest today says sales is all about helping buyers make informed purchase decisions and giving them the information they need. But there is so much more nuance behind that simple definition, and what goes on in the day to day of a salesperson. 


    So we are thrilled to be discussing applicable lessons from sales that can be useful for any professional with Brian Higgins, a Teaching Assistant Professional at Leeds Business and sales and business development executive. 


    Brian joins host Amanda Kramer to talk about misperceptions many have about working in sales, the art of a good conversation, surprising skills taught in sales courses at Leeds, and the unique mentorship opportunities available here.


    If you are interested in becoming a mentor for sales students at Leeds, and have 5 years experience employing a sales process with good results, we would love to have you reach out! You can email Brian directly atBrian.Higgins@colorado.eduto learn more.


    Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced byUniversity FM.



    EPISODE QUOTES:

    The illusion of good and bad personalities

    [00:10:02] You know what's interesting is that we suffer from this illusion that we have good personalities and bad personalities. There really is no such thing as a good personality and a bad personality. It's that I have a certain kind of personality, and you have a certain kind of personality. And if we're going to get along, we're probably going to need to flex a little bit so that, you know, we can come together in the middle.


    The value of building relationship in sales

    [00:02:54] I think what's important is that people understand that no matter how well you communicate, if you don't have the ability to develop some relationship with a person or the people you're selling to, your ability to communicate is not going to be very valuable.


    On understanding how to sell

    [00:08:12] Even though you may not be employed to sell, understanding how to sell and understanding what's important in order to sell yourself or your ideas can be very, very helpful in your life.


    Questions are powerful

    [00:14:54] Questions are so powerful. The ability to ask questions that are purposeful and meaningful puts the focus on the other person. It's not about us. It's more about you. Tell me about this. Tell me about that. So the ability to ask questions in a conversation is incredibly powerful.



    SHOW LINKS:

    Brian Higgins Faculty Profile at the Leeds School of Business

    Wed, 19 Jul 2023
  • 31 - S3E9: Brock Weatherup - You Don’t Get Lucky If You Don’t Work Hard

    Brock Weatherup is a Leeds alumnus and consumer growth board executive, three-time Exit Startup CEO founder, multi-billion dollar C-suite leader, an active early-stage investor.


    He was a dedicated startup guy, who went from churning out successful businesses in the pet food & wellness industry, to receiving a diagnosis that changed the entire course of his life. 


    In this episode, he sits down with host Amanda Kramer to discuss his accomplishments, reflect on getting diagnosed with multiple sclerosis just 18 months ago, finding comfort in risk, and diving into opportunities even if you don't feel 100% prepared.


    Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.



    EPISODE QUOTES:

    Take the risk and embrace the knowledge that comes with it

    [00:25:24] If you don't take risks and don't take stride, you don't know what will happen in life. And it doesn't have to be necessarily a medical thing, but all those other things—how are you going to end up and what are you going to do with it? And the reality is: take the risk and embrace the knowledge that comes with it.


    How do you build your comfort with risk and live with a risk forward mentality?

    [00:13:06] If you have that personal infrastructure and the intentionality in your life, those two things allow you to find success if you're willing to be open for it. But you have to be ready to go do that and know that, hey, things fail all along the way. Okay. How are you going to get out of it?


    On finding the right support system

    [00:10:56] Find the people that are supportive, and by supportive, it doesn't mean people who are like, "Yay! You're the best Brock." It doesn't mean that it's the people who are truly there for you and care about you genuinely.


    SHOW LINKS:

    Brock Weatherup on LinkedIn

    Wed, 05 Jul 2023
  • 30 - S3E8: Alix Barasch - Crafting Immersive, Enjoyable Experiences

    So much of our free time is consumed with posting on social media, sharing our day to day lives and crafting a personal narrative or brand online. But how is the effecting our day to day lives, and is it effecting our possibility to truly live in and experience the moments were in?


    Today we are discussing the intersection between technology and consumer experiences with Alexandra Barasch, an associate professor at the Leeds School of Business. 


    She sits down with host Amanda Kramer to talk all about what makes customers enjoy their experiences, how companies can then create experiences that make consumers more immersed or more engaged in the moment, the pros & cons of 5G and more immersive content, as well as posting posed vs candid photos.


    Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced byUniversity FM.


    EPISODE QUOTES:

    Authenticity is always the winning strategy

    [00:27:30] Authenticity, in my view, is always going to be a winning strategy. How to do that is changing. How to signal that you care about that depends on the segment, it depends on the technology, but it's always going to be what people care about.


    How do you find the most genuine content?

    [00:19:25] You want to let consumers speak for you. In order to do that, you have to be able to let go. You have to be able to not have full control over your content, and that is how you get the most genuine, authentic content that consumers are sharing and really believe in the product and the brand, and other consumers can judge that very well.


    Reducing frictions leads to better conversions

    [00:16:46] Reducing friction is only good when consumers are ready to process it, ready to act, and this is going to also lead to better tracking of conversions, better data and metrics, and analytics as well.


    You can't compare one social media or type of technology to another.

    [00:18:18] There's no one social media or type of technology that's better or worse than the others. It's about the selection effects, where certain types of consumers—younger consumers and consumers that are more technologically savvy—are able to embrace and engage with more varied and diverse formats and more interactive content.



    SHOW LINKS:

    Alixandra Barasch Faculty Profile at Leeds School of Business

    Alixandra Barasch - Google Scholar


    Wed, 21 Jun 2023
  • 29 - S3E7: Ethan Poskanzer - The Gender Gap in Predicting Entrepreneur Success

    In this episode, we are discussing innovation and inclusivity in entrepreneurship with Ethan Poskanzer.

    Ethan is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship in the Leeds School of Business, and studies how organizations can select and connect people to develop innovative ideas and how the opportunity to innovate can be democratized and made more inclusive.

    Host Amanda Kramer sits down with Ethan to discuss his latest research: the science behind matching entrepreneurs and mentors, some striking data in how gender factors into mentor/mentee relationships, and what we can learn from pitch evaluation & sequencing.

    Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced by University FM.


    EPISODE QUOTES:

    Why do entrepreneurs need to stick to their convictions?

    [00:07:38] One thing that I would encourage entrepreneurs to do is stick to their convictions about what they need help with and to reach out to people who they think can help them, because they know what's going on under the hood more than other people do.


    Gender differences in funding referrals

    [00:17:42] Women mentors are about equally likely to make a referral for a man, entrepreneur, or a woman entrepreneur. But men mentors were much more likely to make referrals for men. So that meant that through those same-gender relationships, men had greater access to this super coveted resource of introductions to investors and the opportunity to pitch their businesses for funding.


    Something to keep in mind in the entrepreneurial process

    [00:24:31] That's something important to keep in mind that an organization is designing a process to select new ideas to fund an investment that you think of. We need to be really careful about defining the criteria that we're going to use to select this. 


    SHOW LINKS:

    Ethan Poskanzer Faculty Profile at Leeds School of Business

    Ethan Poskanzer - Personal Website

    Paper: Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation, by Alex Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova, John Van Reenen

    Wed, 07 Jun 2023
  • 28 - S3E6: Case Swenson - Define and Hone Your Expertise

    Commercial construction and real estate development is a difficult space to break into, and building plans can change at the drop of a hat, forcing you to be flexible and nimble with clients. 


    So joining us to talk about this dynamic and ever-growing industry is Case Swenson, alumnus and president/CEO at Swenson in the San Francisco Bay area.


    Case joins host Amanda Kramer to share the trends and challenges he is seeing in the construction and real estate space, so-called “green building,” the skillset needed to enter this industry, and what he's learned from scaling a 4 generation family-owned business. 


    Leeds Business Insights Podcast is a production of Leeds School of Business and is produced byUniversity FM.



    EPISODE QUOTES:

    The importance of understanding your market

    [00:11:22] I've seen a lot of different contractors go outside of their area, and a lot of times, they get hurt by doing that because they don't understand the market there, they don't understand the labor there. And it is very important to really understand the market that you're in, how much it costs per square foot, how high you can build, how wide you can build, what kind of municipality you're dealing with, and how difficult they are.


    The value of leverage

    [00:12:19] Leverage is the most important part of development and something that you should really focus on understanding. There's a difference between the science of money and the science of maybe something like brain surgery, and the science of money is complicated. But your deep understanding of that is the most helpful thing when it comes to doing development and construction.


    What is the current challenge in the construction industry?

    [00:05:24] Right now, the biggest challenge for us is the economic cycle. We have rising interest rates. Also, bring up cap rates, which is how your building is valued at the end of the day. 


    SHOW LINKS:

    Swenson - The Swenson Group

    Case Swenson on LinkedIn

    Wed, 24 May 2023
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