Pick up the phone sales may be the simplest growth strategy most companies overlook.

In this episode of the Close The Deal Podcast, Scotty Baudoin explains how consistent outreach to warm contacts can generate stronger relationships and measurable revenue growth. The Outgrow method focuses on proactive communication—calling people you already know, leaving a message, following with a text, and asking for referrals or opportunities.

Companies using this approach often see revenue increases of 15–30 percent while dramatically improving callback rates and customer engagement.

What You’ll Learn

• Why sales teams avoid the phone
• The voicemail and text follow-up process that drives callbacks
• How three calls a day can reconnect your network
• Why asking for referrals changes sales results
• How to build a consistent outbound sales culture

This episode breaks down the simple systems that turn everyday conversations into real opportunities.

Guest Bio

Scotty Baudoin works with organizations to implement proactive sales cultures through the Outgrow methodology, helping companies reconnect with customers and drive consistent growth.

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Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Ewell Smith is talking with sales and marketing pros and business owners and leaders who help professionals and business owners drive more leads and close more deals. He's the Publisher of CloseTheDeal.com and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Close The Deal Podcast Supported by Your First Franchise

We have gift for you for listening - grab a copy of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Luxury brand positioning is the disciplined strategy of moving out of the commodity market and into premium authority. In this episode of the Close The Deal Podcast, Ewell Smith speaks with Kathryn Porritt about how founders can protect margins, reposition mastery, and stop competing on price.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the middle market is collapsing
• The structural difference between volume models and luxury models
• How luxury brand positioning protects margin
• Why innovation is required at the top of the market
• How to close premium deals by expanding vision rather than pressing pain

This conversation unpacks real-world examples across products and services, showing how businesses can intentionally move upstream without simply adding zeros to pricing. Luxury brand positioning is about clarity, mastery, and deliberate market selection.

About Kathryn Porritt:
Kathryn Porritt is the founder of Iconic Empire and a strategist specializing in luxury brand positioning. She advises founders, advisors, and transformation experts on repositioning their expertise into premium markets with high-value engagements.

Ewell Smith is the publisher and host of the Close The Deal Podcast, the author of Your First Franchise Roadmap, and a franchise advisor.

For show notes and Kathryn Porritt’s mindset quotes, visit closethedeal.com

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Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Ewell Smith is talking with sales and marketing pros and business owners and leaders who help professionals and business owners drive more leads and close more deals. He's the Publisher of CloseTheDeal.com and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Close The Deal Podcast Supported by Your First Franchise

We have gift for you for listening - grab a copy of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Most LinkedIn outreach fails because it starts with a pitch instead of a conversation.

What You’ll Learn

⏺ Why feedback outperforms cold pitching
⏺ How to structure high response outreach
⏺ When automation helps and when it hurts
⏺ What cash collected really means in sales

Short Episode Summary

Jack Hayes joins Ewell Smith to break down a smarter approach to LinkedIn outreach. Instead of leading with a pitch, Jack explains how asking for feedback from experienced operators creates meaningful conversations that turn into revenue. The discussion explores automation, generational perspective, and what it really means to close the deal.

Key Takeaways

⏺ Connection is the foundation of LinkedIn, not volume
⏺ Valuing expertise increases response rates
⏺ Automation must support strategy, not replace it
⏺ Revenue realized is the true definition of a closed deal

Guest Bio

Jack Hayes is the founder of Profit Jack Enterprises, a B2B growth partner that helps founders, consultants, and private equity operators use LinkedIn, email, and tech-backed systems to drive measurable growth. He began building businesses as a teenager and now works with high-level operators to modernize outreach without sacrificing connection.

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Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Ewell Smith is talking with sales and marketing pros and business owners and leaders who help professionals and business owners drive more leads and close more deals. He's the Publisher of CloseTheDeal.com and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Close The Deal Podcast Supported by Your First Franchise

We have gift for you for listening - grab a copy of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Half of all businesses fail within five years, and the leading cause is lack of product demand.

What You’ll Learn

Why demand generation determines survival
How owned, earned, and paid marketing differ
The 3D framework for structured growth
Why authority and visibility matter more than ever

Saul Marquez joins Ewell Smith to unpack why businesses fail and how founders can build sustainable product demand. Drawing from two decades in healthcare sales and marketing, Saul explains how strategy must come before tactics and how visibility drives growth.

Key Takeaways

Demand is engineered, not accidental
Marketing must start with strategy
Authority compounds over time
Paid advertising should accelerate proven systems

Guest Bio

Saul Marquez is the founder and CEO of Outcomes Rocket, a healthcare-focused marketing and growth firm. With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare sales and marketing, including leadership roles in medical device companies, Saul helps health technology and provider organizations build demand through strategic positioning, authority building, and disciplined execution.

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Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Ewell Smith is talking with sales and marketing pros and business owners and leaders who help professionals and business owners drive more leads and close more deals. He's the Publisher of CloseTheDeal.com and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Close The Deal Podcast Supported by Your First Franchise

We have gift for you for listening - grab a copy of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Networking works when people understand how referrals actually happen.

What You’ll Learn

• How to become referable
• How to create real connections
• Why communication drives trust

Angie Weidel explains the practical networking fundamentals most professionals never learn and how they directly impact referrals and revenue.

Key Takeaways

• Clarity drives referrals
• Introductions matter more than leads
• Communication skills are essential

Guest Bio

Angie Weidel is the founder of Blended Strategies, specializing in interpersonal communication and professional networking systems.

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Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Ewell Smith is talking with sales and marketing pros and business owners and leaders who help professionals and business owners drive more leads and close more deals. He's the Publisher of CloseTheDeal.com and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Close The Deal Podcast Supported by Your First Franchise

We have gift for you for listening - grab a copy of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

LinkedIn has quietly become one of the most effective demand channels for CEOs who know how to use it.

What You’ll Learn

How to create LinkedIn demand efficiently
Why CEO visibility drives revenue
What metrics actually signal buying intent

Short Episode Summary

Matt Hunt explains how founders can turn LinkedIn into a sales engine using lived experience, clear frameworks, and minimal time investment.

Key Takeaways

Visibility multiplies leverage
Authority beats advice
Signals matter more than likes

Guest Bio

Matt Hunt is the CEO of Demandii, helping founders and CEOs turn insight into demand through LinkedIn.

Host Bio

The Close The Deal Podcast is published and hosted by Ewell Smith. Ewell is a franchise advisor, the author of Your First Franchise Roadmap, and the publisher of Close The Deal, where he sits down with operators, founders, and deal makers to unpack how real business decisions actually get made. His work focuses on helping franchise candidates and business owners cut through noise, avoid bad deals, and close the right ones.

For show notes and Matt Hunt’s mindset quotes, visit closethedeal.com

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Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Ewell Smith is talking with sales and marketing pros and business owners and leaders who help professionals and business owners drive more leads and close more deals. He's the Publisher of CloseTheDeal.com and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Close The Deal Podcast Supported by Your First Franchise

We have gift for you for listening - grab a copy of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

There comes a point in every career and every life when confidence takes a hit. Sometimes what you need most isn’t another strategy or tactic. It’s belief.

In this episode of Close The Deal, Ewell Smith sits down with Chris Widener to explore why belief is the foundation of leadership, personal growth, and long-term success. Chris shares stories from his own journey including rebuilding after major setbacks, the power of mentorship, and how someone else’s belief can help you believe again.

This conversation goes beyond business. It’s about identity, integrity, mentorship, and becoming a voice instead of an echo.

What You’ll Learn
• Why belief matters more than strategy in leadership
• How mentorship accelerates growth
• What it means to borrow belief until you can carry it yourself
• Why integrity and kindness still win
• How to become a voice instead of an echo

About the Guest
Chris Widener is an internationally recognized speaker, author, and leadership coach. He has delivered more than 2,500 speeches worldwide, authored over 25 books translated into 14 languages, and was mentored by Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar.

Learn more at CloseTheDeal.com

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Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Ewell Smith is talking with sales and marketing pros and business owners and leaders who help professionals and business owners drive more leads and close more deals. He's the Publisher of CloseTheDeal.com and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Close The Deal Podcast Supported by Your First Franchise

We have gift for you for listening - grab a copy of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

AI is changing how buyers research, but not how they decide.

What You’ll Learn

‣ Why buyers hesitate despite better information
‣ How confidence drives decisions
‣ What the last mile seller does differently

Victor Antonio joins Close The Deal to explain how AI reshapes buyer behavior and why human judgment remains essential to closing complex sales.

Key Takeaways

Victor Antonio joins Close The Deal to explain how AI reshapes buyer behavior and why human judgment remains essential to closing complex sales.

Key Takeaways

Confidence outweighs information
AI accelerates research, not decisions
Human judgment still closes deals

Guest Bio

Victor Antonio is a sales trainer and speaker who helps organizations understand buyer psychology and modern selling.

‣ Confidence outweighs information
‣ AI accelerates research, not decisions
‣ Human judgment still closes deals

Guest Bio

Victor Antonio is a sales trainer and speaker who helps organizations understand buyer psychology and modern selling.

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Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.

Ewell Smith is talking with sales and marketing pros and business owners and leaders who help professionals and business owners drive more leads and close more deals. He's the Publisher of CloseTheDeal.com and author of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Close The Deal Podcast Supported by Your First Franchise

We have gift for you for listening - grab a copy of Your First Franchise Roadmap.

Visit www.CloseTheDeal.com to see all episodes.