On season 1 of Marketing Unplugged, we interviewed a B2B icon, known as ‘the world’s most inspirational marketing and customer service speaker’. None other than Jay Baer sat down with us and chatted about his process of choosing his plaid suits and more importantly, his process of writing keynote speeches and world renowned books.
Jay is the author of 6 best selling books and was recently inducted into the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame. What stuck out in our chat with Jay was learning that his success relies on strong collaboration and support from his team. Reflecting back on this episode from December 2019, we couldn’t agree more about the importance of teamwork, especially in a virtual age.
Jay’s self proclaimed talent is finding patterns before they’re deemed trends. Because of that, Jay always has ideas and topics ready to make into various forms of content. He’ll take those ideas, put them into a speech, and if it seems viable, he’ll then make a book about it. This might sound straightforward, but for Jay, the only way these insightful books and speeches come to be, is through the input and ideas of his team. This isn’t to say that Jay’s not amazing on his own (he is)— it’s simply emphasizing that the great minds Jay collaborates with, make his work even better.
Jay invites his coaches such as Tamsen Webster (idea whisperer), Michael Port (show stealer), Kristina Paider (storyteller extraordinaire) and countless friends and audience members for comments and thoughts. He values their advice and he shows his gratitude to them by giving them the credits and shoutouts they deserve both in his books and on his social media. Jay acknowledges that success is rarely achieved alone, and he celebrates those who advise and assist him. I think we can all agree that 9 times out of 10, collaboration makes any project better, and Jay’s work certainly wouldn’t be the same without it.
Having friends, coaches and colleagues that you can turn to for feedback and advice is integral to making your projects successful. Some of us may still be staying at home, but that doesn’t have to be an excuse to avoid collaboration. Instead, it can be an opportunity to reconnect with an old friend or colleague and bounce around ideas. If you’re working on a project, and feeling a little stuck, maybe now’s the time to reach out to some folks and ask for advice. The worst they can say is no, and the best they can do is help guide you towards success!
Feel free to revisit Jay’s episode of Marketing Unplugged here to learn more about Jay’s love of collaboration and other B2B marketing insights.
