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Investing

Show Me the Money – How to Become a Rainmaker

Best Seller TV, the only show dedicated to covering today’s best-selling business books on C-Suite TV,  is announcing a new episode featuring Jeff Brandeis, author of Becoming a Rainmaker: A Guide for Accountants and CPAs.

Brandeis is the CEO of Brandeis Training Solutions, and wrote this book to bring a more specific approach to helping those in the accounting and CPA professions hone the sales skills needed to become rainmakers. He defined the term as someone who brings in revenue and in the CPA world, that person is referred to as a “rainmaker.” He adds, “To become a partner, you need to bring business through the door. If you’re not bringing revenue in, the chances of sharing the profits will be a lot slimmer.”

Brandeis says that accounting professionals are trained to handle numbers, but one skillset that is not taught is sales. “There’s no college degree for sales,” he adds. The book serves as a guide to help build better and faster rapport, with prospects and potential clients to cut down the sales cycle some might not fully understand. He adds, “How people learn is how people buy” and the book teaches how to match presentation and learning styles in order to build that rapport three times faster and in one-third of the time.

During the episode, Brandeis also discussed the three types of learners – visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. He says that 75 percent of people fall in the kinesthetic category, which is a mix of both audio and visual learning. Since it’s impossible to determine how a specific person learns, it’s essential to say things such as, “I’ll show you the numbers, explain things in detail, and I’ll make you feel comfortable.” That encompasses all three major learning styles, making it easier to discern the type of learner you are working with.

With businesses changing at a higher speed thse days, Brandeis wants people to succeed, adding, “Even though times have changed, it’s actually brought opportunity that we probably would never have had if this hadn’t happened.” In simpler terms, success comes to those who embrace opportunity and the ever-changing landscape of business.

 

All episodes of Best Seller TV air on C-Suite TV and are hosted by TV personality, Taryn Winter Brill.

Best-selling author, speaker, and former Fortune 100 CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett created Best Seller TV to give top-tier business authors a forum for sharing thought-provoking insights, in-depth business analysis, and their compelling personal narratives.

“Jeff Brandeis embraces a philosophy I believe in – you constantly have to adapt to new ways of doing business, change your model or risk your business,” Hayzlett said. “The episode is a perfect example of someone who trained in a field where practicality and certainty are expected and transformed it to a world that is always changing. The value that can be found in this episode is immense for the world we’re living in right now.”

For more information on TV episodes, visit www.csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com/tv and for more information about the authors featured in Best Seller TV episodes, visit www.c-suitebookclub.com.

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Investing

Reaching the Inflection Point in the Insurance & Financial Service Industry

Best Seller TV, the only show dedicated to covering today’s best-selling business books on C-Suite TV, is announcing a new episode featuring Troy Korsgaden, author of Inflection Point: Redefining Your Role in the Insurance and Financial Services Industry When the Existing Model No Longer Works.

Korsgaden wrote the book for everyone in the financial industry – whether you are a team member, agency firm owner or a broker. However, this book is specifically for carriers. He defines those as everyone within the industry – regardless of the type of insurance provided. Carriers are the ones, he says, that are retooling business models to make an industry traditionally slow to adapt to change and become more customer-centric.

Korsgaden says, “We’re all in the same game, it’s just that we’re all in a different inning.” The goal of this book is to encourage carriers not to take a 7th inning stretch, but instead stay in the game and retool your business model.

While many industries have been quick to pivot in order to become more customer-centric, and customer-driven, the insurance industry has lagged behind in some aspects. Korsgaden says, “There’s a tsunami of change just in the last year and a half.” The change taking place is in the way the industry delivers the product, the way they underwrite the product, and how that product is marketed. He continues, “Ideas are awesome but you have to get them to the public and this is what inflection is all about. The customer is in control, the customer has the keys to the kingdom, just like they do in retail.”

Throughout the episode, Korsgaden offers practical advice that can be applied to any organization or industry. Here are three key insights:

  • The pivot is to stop and assess where you are
  • Everything we need to do is put customers first
  • Every interaction must be a meaningful interaction

With customers demanding companies deliver on every promise, Korsgaden makes the case for more personalized transactions as “meaningful interactions create revenue because people connect and they buy more in person.”

Korsgaden believes the industry, overall, has a bright future ahead. It’s not just about offering a product anymore. It’s about saying you have a great product, showcasing the entire portfolio of products and services and admitting your product is better. It’s about letting the customers make decisions that are based on facts, not emotions.

 

All episodes of Best Seller TV air on C-Suite TV and are hosted by TV personality, Taryn Winter Brill.

Best-selling author, speaker, and former Fortune 100 CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett created Best Seller TV to give top-tier business authors a forum for sharing thought-provoking insights, in-depth business analysis, and their compelling personal narratives.

“Any business who hasn’t changed their business model by now, is no longer in business. It’s that simple. This episode reiterates the need to adapt and change, while ensuring the customer is always in control,” Hayzlett said. “The old way of doing things may be comforting, but it doesn’t work. Troy brings years of expertise to the table and great insights that can be applied to any industry.”

For more information on TV episodes, visit www.csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com/tv and for more information about the authors featured in Best Seller TV episodes, visit www.c-suitebookclub.com.

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Investing

What’s Your Zone of Fire?

Best Seller TV, the only show dedicated to covering today’s best-selling business books on C-Suite TV,  is announcing a new episode featuring John Lee Dumas, author of The Common Path to Uncommon Success: A Roadmap to Financial Freedom and Fulfillment.

Dumas, best known for building a successful podcast empire where he shares value with his more than 1.4 million listeners each month, wrote the book, because he wants to help everyone – not just his audience, achieve financial freedom. He said, “I want everybody who has a dream of finding their version of uncommon success. Everybody who has a dream of achieving financial freedom and fulfillment. This book will get you there.”

Dumas says that so “many people out there live in their comfort zone,” including himself and that’s why he decided to write a book. However, he knew he had to have the right team in place to ensure the book was successful and help as many as possible. Deciding what to include was a thoughtful process that Dumas describes as painstaking process boiling down over 3,000 interviews into 17 core principles.

The book is a roadmap to achieve success and financial freedom. Dumas adds, “The path to uncommon success is not a secret, it’s not complicated, it’s not hidden. It’s a common path but it takes hard flipping work.”

After chasing success for over three decades, he kept coming up short. Whether it was law school, commercial real estate, or other ventures, it was an Einstein quote that launched his future. That’s when he decided to stop chasing success and become a person that adds value.

Dumas has been able to build a successful empire but that didn’t come without 6 years of struggle. Throughout his journey he has learned plenty from his guests and from the process of building a business. He offers the following advice, “Listen to your audience’s biggest struggle. That will lead you to create the product, the service, the community….to offer them as a solution. When you create the best solution to their problem, you will always win.”

 

All episodes of Best Seller TV air on C-Suite TV and are hosted by TV personality, Taryn Winter Brill.

Best-selling author, speaker, and former Fortune 100 CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett created Best Seller TV to give top-tier business authors a forum for sharing thought-provoking insights, in-depth business analysis, and their compelling personal narratives.

“John Lee has build an amazing podcasting platform that has made him incredibly wealthy – not just financially but also in insights gained ,” Hayzlett said. “In this episode, he provides great advice about how often people pursue their passion, but more as a hobby than career opportunity. Big mistake! Watch this episode to find out why.”

For more information on TV episodes, visit www.csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com/tv and for more information about the authors featured in Best Seller TV episodes, visit www.c-suitebookclub.com.

Categories
Best Practices Economics Entrepreneurship Industries Investing Personal Development Sales Technology

Beyond Bitcoin: The Future of Blockchain Technology

Bitcoins were introduced in 2009 to great fanfare. Although there had been predecessors, Bitcoins were framed as the first form of cyber currency.

Shortly after Bitcoins were introduced, I labeled them a Soft Trend—one whose future was looking good, but not a future certainty. I also labeled cyber currency a Hard Trend that would continue to grow, predicting that there would be many more cyber currencies.

Since then, I’ve seen no need to change either designation, as there are now more than 100 different cyber currencies. At the same time, as Bitcoins struggled to gain widespread use, blockchain—the technology Bitcoin transactions are handled with—were growing.

Unlike bitcoins, blockchain development has shown no signs of slowing down and represents a Hard Trend that will continue to grow. The rapidly evolving technology of blockchain holds enormous promise for game-changing disruption across any number of industries and fields.

O’Reilly Media presciently noted in early 2015: “The blockchain is the new database—get ready to rewrite everything.”

Blockchain Explained—Security in Numbers

A blockchain is a system of decentralized transaction records. This means a transaction is created without any input from a controlling entity. A blockchain also employs cryptography to keep exchanges secure, incorporating a decentralized database, or “digital ledger,” of transactions that everyone on the network can see. This network is a chain of computers, needing exchange approval before it can be verified and recorded.

The Game-Changing Opportunity in Financial Transactions

Roughly $20 billion in gross domestic product is currently held in blockchain form, according to a study by the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council. However, projections show blockchain use will increase significantly in the next decade as banks, insurers and technology firms embrace the technology to boost transaction speed and security, and trim expenses. This is already taking place, for example, with Swiss banking giant UBS and banks such as HSBC, Santander, and BBVA, which launched corporate venture funds to make equity investments in financial technology companies.

More Than Just Money

The future of blockchain is exciting. Outside of its use solely in financial transaction applications, it can transform several other industries. Other examples include:

  •      Data Storage—Current storage services using cloud technology are centralized around a single provider. A blockchain lets users store data and information via a decentralized platform, improving security and lessening reliance on any one provider.

 

  •      Voting—A blockchain voting network is inherently more reliable than paper or electronic ballots since changing one vote would require changing multiple votes simultaneously. A blockchain voting network has already been used—Denmark’s Liberal Alliance employed a blockchain for internal voting back in 2014.
  •      Military Use—The U.S. Department of Defense and NATO are actively investigating the use of blockchain. Among other applications, they’re interested in messaging platforms capable of transferring information by way of a secure decentralized protocol.
  •      The War on Terrorism—In May 2015, the Isle of Man implemented the first government-run blockchain project, leveraging it to create a registry of digital-currency companies operating on the island. The system also counters money laundering, helping prevent terrorist financing since the flow of money can be traced specifically to the source of the transaction.
  •      “Smart” Contracts—The idea behind a smart contract is that it self-manages the fulfillment of the agreement and is verified programmatically via the blockchain instead of a third party. Two or more parties agree on terms, program those terms into the blockchain, and allow for payments and other transactions once those terms are fulfilled and validated by the blockchain.
  •      Regulation—Because a blockchain cannot be changed without a majority of participants agreeing to do so, the underlying technology might be used in place of a variety of regulations, such as those mandated by Know Your Customer (KYC).
  •      Identity Management—Labeled the first comprehensive blockchain-based identity service, Onename allows users to create tamper-proof digital identities for themselves called Passcards that replace conventional usernames and passwords.
  •      The Music Industry—In October 2015, Ujo Music unveiled a working example of how blockchain-based technology would allow consumers to purchase registered works directly. We can also pre-solve the problem of legalities, where artists publish policies on how their music may be used to avoid legal action against misuse.

More Reasons for Excitement

Blockchain use is largely restricted to private forms of transactions, but when looked at in an anticipatory way of thinking, blockchain could be used for anything that requires proof of identification, the exchange of goods or verification of contract terms.

One executive involved in the development of blockchain summarized its potential in a framework we can all appreciate: “‘Check it on the blockchain’ will be the phrase of the twenty-first century. It will be as commonplace as people saying ‘Google that.’”

When it comes to blockchain, get ready to rewrite everything.

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Accounting Best Practices Entrepreneurship Industries Investing Leadership Personal Development Sales Technology

Embracing the Power of Blockchain Technology

During the digital transformation, we have witnessed traditional forms of physical media fall out of favor as users abandoned their treasure trove of CDs, DVDs, books, magazines, and even photo albums to partake in an entirely clutter-free life. Digitally optimizing our lives has enabled us to remove shelves, cabinets and dust magnets while we get our entertainment fix from the likes of Netflix, Spotify and the endless list of streaming alternatives.

We often forget just how much technology has changed our lives in the last few years. Therefore, it should be no surprise that our love of cold hard cash could be the next twentieth-century casualty to fall by the wayside.

Over in Europe, Denmark and its Scandinavian neighbors Norway and Sweden are leading a charge toward a cashless society that will see the end of tooth fairy payments for children but will equally wave goodbye to a world of money laundering, fraud, and tax evasion. The bonus of replacing scrambling around for loose change for a purchase, or riding public transportation with contactless payment by swiping a card or smartphone, is incredibly appealing for most users.

The concept of handing over a handful of silver coins in exchange for any product or service can feel quite primitive in our modern world dominated by technology. However, contactless and smartphone payments are not the end-all, be-all payment options, as there is another game changer in the form of cyber currency. But does this technology disruptor have the power to transform our traditional banking system?

Blockchain is the digital ledger software code that powers Bitcoin. As this system has grown in popularity, the CEO of Digital Asset Holdings, Blythe Masters, has her sights set on changing the way banks trade loans and bonds in a way that could dramatically change the way we look at both business and banking. Blythe delivered a massive wake-up call to finance leaders when she compared the influx of changes to the arrival of the internet when she advised, “You should be taking this technology as seriously as you should have been taking the development of the internet in the 1990s. It’s analogous to email for money.” The speed in which technology trends can go viral illustrates how an internet of finance could become a reality sooner rather than later.

The interesting aspect of Bitcoin is the ability to buy and sell without the need for an intermediary. This represents a paradigm shift in the management and structure of the financial services industry. However, adopting innovation and changing entire ecosystems is not something that the notoriously cautious financial industry and affiliated regulation committees are famed for.

Because this technology has the potential to reduce the role banks play in the lives of individuals, it is understandable why financial institutions are skeptical. However, these developments cannot be written off just yet. They could save consumers and the financial industry billions of dollars while also removing their reliance on middlemen to offer a speedier, modern and more efficient banking experience.

The ultimate goal is to move payments globally much faster while simultaneously becoming more transparent and lowering costs. We will likely begin to witness early adopters making waves in the private market before the ever-cautious big players speak of standardization and implementation. However, there are already a few of them dipping their toes into the water.

According to the PwC, there are already over three hundred technology startups developing ideas that will allow blockchain to revolutionize the financial industry. Big players like Visa and Nasdaq are already investing heavily into a blockchain startup, and there are also plans to modernize the London Market. Lloyds is looking to blockchain technology to improve its data access and reduce costs associated with administrative paperwork.

There are daily stories of heavyweights within the financial industry becoming increasingly eager to capture the tamper-proof benefits offered by a future web-based cryptocurrency. Technology leaders such as Microsoft also have thrown their hats into the ring to demonstrate the possibilities that blockchain technology can offer.

There is exciting potential to completely revolutionize the way in which the finance industry works. But in its infancy, many will continue to exercise great caution before rushing into a shiny electronic cash system that is fully peer-to-peer. The future of cash and pockets full of loose change is indeed looking numbered, as many wonder if in just a few years we will be looking back at our quaint primitive payment methods in the same way many do with physical media now.

Cryptocurrencies that thrive in a transparent environment might seem like a foreign concept today, but the rise of blockchain technology is one Hard Trend that will quickly prove to be impossible to ignore.

Finance trends can be anticipated – when you know how to look. The Anticipatory Organization Model has the power to shift an organization’s operating mindset from the default of reacting and responding to changes coming from the outside in, to a place of empowerment by anticipating and shaping the future from the inside out.