Mandy McEwen

LinkedIn + Sales Navigator Trainer for Teams ⋒ Mod Girl® Founder ⋒ I blend 17 years of digital marketing + online selling to help brands grow via social selling ⋒ Midwest → West Coast ✈ Nomad

If you want to build a badass personal brand, learn the best ways to use LinkedIn to drive revenue, and want the easiest ways to stand out in a sea of sameness...

Hi, I'm Mandy and we should be friends. “I have a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career.”And like Liam Neeson, you want me on your side. 

I help B2B founders and sales teams turn LinkedIn activity into real pipeline with a human-first system, custom AI tools, and a simple thirty minute a day rhythm. After founding my award-winning agency Mod Girl® Marketing in 2010 and specializing in LinkedIn for a good chunk of that, I've trained thousands of professionals and partnered with companies like T-Mobile, Brinks, Continental, and Pavilion.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄: Standing out in B2B is harder than ever. 

Cold outreach doesn't work like it used to. The teams winning right now are leveraging LinkedIn and personal branding to build trust and pipeline - but most leaders don't have time to do it themselves.

That's why I founded Luminetics, a division of Mod Girl®. We help B2B companies and leaders master LinkedIn and Sales Navigator to build authentic brands that drive pipeline.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁: 

✔ We've been in the LinkedIn trenches since 2015, before it was cool 
✔ We've trained thousands through our 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿™ curriculum 
✔ We built 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗲, the world’s first custom ChatGPT-powered GTM and social selling system that gives you the foundation, structure, and AI to build your brand and drive real pipeline while keeping every interaction completely authentic.

Whether you need full go-to-market strategy and consulting, team training, a Sales Navigator workshop, or an AI system your people can use daily, we make LinkedIn systematic, scalable, and authentic.

My work has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc., and HuffPost. I'm a regular guest on the Sell Better Daily Show and frequently keynote on LinkedIn and AI-powered go-to-market strategies.

Want LinkedIn to drive real visibility, credibility, and revenue? 

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀.𝗶𝗼 for more info on our LinkedIn social selling team training.

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 for more info on my speaking and consulting. 

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲.𝗴𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗶.𝗶𝗼 for more info on our AI-powered GTM membership.

P.S. 

Check out my podcast with Lindsay Rios: YourFutureBiz.com 

You'll learn a ton in less than 15 minutes per episode, promise!

LinkedIn + Personal Branding + Sales Navigator Trainer for SDRs, BDRs, AEs, and Marketers

People do business with people they like.

LinkedIn is the platform to make that happen.

I provide LinkedIn training and workshops for your organization so your employees learn how to effectively leverage the most powerful B2B social media network in the world.

From social selling to personal branding, content marketing, and relationship building, my top-rated LinkedIn training and workshops are exactly what your organization needs to finally see tangible results on the platform.

In order to capitalize on the LinkedIn boom, you don't turn to generalists. You turn to modern experts who have done it -- with successful results.

Luminetics, by Mod Girl Marketing, is at the forefront of it all and we are relentless in our pursuit to get you the best results possible.

Our bespoke LinkedIn training provides actionable strategies in a way that keeps your employees engaged, entertained, and excited.

Our interactive LinkedIn workshops ensure your employees actually DO the work. From optimizing their profiles to curating and posting content to engagement strategies to creating outreach InMail messages, and more.

What my clients are saying:

"Mandy is a breath of fresh air and a wealth of knowledge. She is a great communicator and able to deep dive into the world of LinkedIn and personal branding. I hired her for a virtual event workshop and she nailed it. The audience learned so much and my team and I were truly thrilled with her training execution." - Erica Maurer, EMRG Media

"When I hosted the Global Personal Branding Festival, I knew I had to get Mandy to share her knowledge with us. And what an unforgettable experience it's been! The journey of collaborating with Mandy has been enriching & insightful to me personally and of course her contribution to the festival has been inimitable!" - Tanvi Bhatt, Tanvi Bhatt International 

Send me a message here on LinkedIn and let's chat about empowering your team:

www.luminetics.io

I took myself on a date last night. 

To one of São Paulo’s most popular Brazilian steakhouses. 

With a 200-yr old Banyan tree in the middle. 

If you want the full story (and pics/videos) of how the night unfolded, you can check out my Instagram or FB stories - @mandymodgirl.

Never a dull moment with single nomad life. 

Going out by myself is pretty normal for me now. Even in foreign countries where I don’t speak the language.

It always makes for an interesting time.

Last night, while everyone was with dates or groups, little ol Mandy is by herself waiting for 20 minutes for someone to take my order. 

I don’t think they understood me when I said I was by myself, it’s like they were waiting for my date to show up 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

I finally tracked someone down, ordered, and it was quite delicious. I’ll put some pics below. 

Being an entrepreneur for 16 years creates a type of fearlessness, which is why I can pretty much do anything by myself. 

And living this solo nomad life creates even more of that fearless attitude. 

Especially with the way the world is right now.

I want to have absolutely no regrets in life. 

And when my time here is up, I will know that I lived life to the fullest on my terms. 

Including enjoying that delicious steak in one of Brazil’s most popular steakhouses. 🤩

Where is the best steak you’ve ever had?


P.S. I gave my leftovers to a little girl outside of the steakhouse who was selling towels for “platos” and I bought one for 20 reais with dogs on it. Then she asked for my food and I couldn’t say no because she was so cute. I hope her mom let her enjoy it :)

No alternative text description for this image

Olá from Brazil. 

What are you up to this weekend? 

This is where I’ll be 🤙🏼

Brazil.

Where Saturday beach plans include push-ups in the sand.

Lots of beautiful, fit people here. 

Makes me think I need to join him for a workout. 

This is my last weekend on this island before heading to São Paulo, so I’m trying to soak up all the sun and waves.

I mostly travel the world alone, but I’m rarely alone 247…thanks to LinkedIn. 

This gem, Gabriel Tolentino, is one reason I decided to visit Brazil.

Last year, Gabriel found me on LinkedIn, grabbed my free resources, joined my email list, and scheduled a call with me . 

We instantly hit it off, and became friends.

And this week I got to spend time with him in his amazing city, eating the most delicious food at the most unique places.

If you want to see our adventures and yummy food, let’s connect on Instagram, @mandymodgirl, and watch my Brasil featured story. 

And he’s just one of the LinkedIn friends in Brazil I have met up with. 

Stay tuned as I’ll be posting more of my favs from Brazil over the next few days. 

Thank you LinkedIn for giving me the opportunity to make friends all over the world.

And thank you Mandy McEwen, for working so hard the last 16 years to build a remote business so I can have these experiences.

Mod Girl Marketing and Luminetics have been fully remote from day 1 😎 

How many of your LinkedIn friends have you met in person? Any in a different country? 


P.S. It’s my last weekend in Brazil. 5 weeks of adventures. I will miss it and my amigos.

My São Paulo office this week. 

What do ya think? 

What’s the coolest place you’ve ever worked from? 

Bonus points if you share a picture in the comments. 

I’m loving São Paulo. 

The people, the food, the coffee, the vibe. 

And my Airbnb views are killer, including the rooftop pool, gym, and chill spot.

I saw a post yesterday saying,
“Our country went to war, and people are posting selfies and dog pics. LinkedIn is so cringe.”

I’m posting Brazil beach selfies.

Does that make me a bad person?

My Saturday beach photo of a guy doing pushups here in Brazil has 19,000 impressions.

Which tells me something.

People are still here.

Engaging.
Scrolling.
Connecting.

With selfies.
Beach pics.
Dog pics.
And everything in between.

So I’m wondering…

Is there a playbook for what we’re supposed to post when the world feels heavy?

Are we supposed to:

→ Stop posting
→ Pivot to political commentary
→ Perform public grief to prove we care

I care about what’s happening in the world.

And I also know people come to LinkedIn for perspective, to learn, for connection, and sometimes a break from the noise.

Maybe both things can be true at the same time.

Maybe we can hold space for serious moments and still live our real lives.

So do you think I should stop posting my Brazil pics because of the craziness happening right now?

It’s Women’s History Month, and I’m honored to be named one of the Top 150 Women Thought Leaders by Thinkers360 .

I’ve been building my brand in the digital marketing space for over 16 years.

When I started my company in 2010, there were far fewer women in this industry.

That’s actually why I named my company Mod Girl Marketing.  

I wanted there to be absolutely no question that a woman was running it.

And the “Mod” part stood for modern, because I was focused on modern marketing long before it became what it is today.

I’m incredibly grateful to be listed alongside so many amazing female leaders around the world.

We’ve made progress.

But my hope is that when my four-year-old niece grows up, she won’t have to spend 16 years proving she belongs in rooms that were never built for women in the first place.

Thank you Thinkers360 for shining a light on these amazing women.  

And thanks for including me in this image 🤩

You can check out the full list of women in the comments. I know there are so many more women than listed here that are inspiring me every single day. 

Tag your favorite females below and let’s give some love to the fabulous ladies in your life.

I sold paint, then windows, then started my company, Mod Girl Marketing.

Here’s my story...

Before I ever fell in love with digital marketing, I was in sales.

Home improvement sales.

I was selling paint in a Sherwin-Wiliams store as an assistant manager. 

This was my first big girl job after finishing university. 

Then I sold windows as an in-home sales rep for Renewal by Andersen. My first big girl sales job. 

That’s where my sales career started.

Then in 2007, I Googled "how to make money online" like umpteen billion people have done. 

And somehow, I instantly fell in love with online marketing. You can call it an obsession. 

I taught myself HTML.
SEO.
PPC.
Blogging.

Anything I could get my hands on.

The obsession was real. I couldn't stop. 

I wasn’t formally trained. I don't even have a degree in marketing or business. (Psychology and Spanish degrees).

I was simply curious. And scrappy. And incredibly determined.

In 2010, I started my agency, Mod Girl Marketing.

I had no fancy playbook. Just grit, sales experience, and a deep belief that marketing should actually drive revenue.

In 2017, I started teaching people how to build personal brands and drive revenue on LinkedIn.

Fast forward to 2021.

I created Luminetics to focus strictly on LinkedIn and social selling.

Because I kept seeing the same thing over and over.
Smart people. Great companies.
Doing slimy, annoying outreach.
Or hiding completely.

We now work with Fortune 500 corporate teams and solopreneurs alike.

And the mission is simple...

Use LinkedIn to build trust.
Build personal brands that actually mean something.
Sell in a way that feels human.

Not pitch-slappy.
Not desperate.
Not weird.
Just real.

If you want the full backstory, listen to the Your Future Biz podcast with Lindsay Rios:

https://lnkd.in/eUxx8rqa

Season 2 is currently being edited and I’m really excited about what’s coming next.

And if you want to see what I've built in these 16 years since starting Mod Girl®... 

Social media agency - modgirlmarketing.com 
LinkedIn training  - luminetics.io 
LinkedIn speaker - modgirl.consulting
Podcast with Lindsay - yourfuturebiz.com

The Next Wave social selling AI membership - nextwave.golumi.io 

YouTube, IG, X, TikTok, FB - @mandymodgirl 

Free custom LinkedIn strategy built by AI in under 5 minutes:
https://lnkd.in/eng4HvxM


Take that LinkedIn algorithm. 6 links. Woohoo. 


Did you have interesting jobs that helped shape the professional you are today? I want to hear them!

If you’re not sending voice notes on LinkedIn, why not?

Seriously.

Most people don’t even know the feature exists.
And when I tell you it’s the fastest, easiest way to stand out, I mean it.

Here’s a real example:

Jonathan Cohen found my YouTube videos.

He messaged me on LinkedIn.
Instead of typing out a long reply, I sent him a simple voice note.

It said something like this:

“Hey Jonathan, thank you so much for watching. I really appreciate it. Let me know if there’s anything specific you’re working on, happy to help.”

That’s it.

It took me 23 seconds.
Twenty three.

And it was the first voice note he had ever received on LinkedIn.

Think about that.

Everyone else is sending templated paragraphs.
I sent my actual voice.

Free tool.
Built into the platform.
No extra software.
No production.
No overthinking.

This is where people miss it.

You want to stand out?

Do the things other people are not doing.

→ Use your voice
→ Show personality
→ Sound human
→ Be memorable

Better yet, send a short video if you can.

Now they see you.
Hear you.
Feel like they know you.

That’s trust acceleration.

I break this down and a whole lot more in the YouTube video Jonathan just watched.

➡️ https://lnkd.in/evfqgYH7

So tell me...

Are you sending voice notes?

What’s stopping you?


P.S. We just launched a free custom GPT that builds an entire LinkedIn strategy for you in under 5 minutes. Customized for you based on your target customer. 

You can go grab it here:

➡️ https://lnkd.in/eng4HvxM

Most LinkedIn headlines are completely useless.

“Empowering efficiency for SaaS companies.”

What does that even mean?
Seriously.

If a prospect reads your profile and still has to guess what you do, you already lost.

People don’t want clever.
They want clear.

Your profile should answer two things instantly:

→ Who you help
→ How you help them

That’s it.

Most people stay vague because they’re thinking about how they sound.

Not how buyers think.
Buyers are scanning.

They’re asking themselves one question:

“Can this person help me?”

So compare these two:

“Empowering efficiency for SaaS companies.”

vs.

“Helping sales reps book 30% more meetings.”

One is vague.
One tells you the exact outcome.

Clarity beats clever every single time.

If your LinkedIn headline feels “fancy” but people still ask what you do, it’s time to rewrite it.

Or maybe it just says your job title. 

So here’s the test.

Could a stranger understand exactly what you do in 5 seconds?

Or are you still hiding behind buzzwords?

If you want the full breakdown of how to be CLEAR on LinkedIn and everywhere else to attract your target audience, 

Check out episode 3 of Your Future Biz, where Lindsay Rios and I break this down:

https://lnkd.in/eHFbm_f7

Oh, and if you want an entire custom LinkedIn strategy built for you in under 5 minutes, I made a custom GPT that does just that. 

Grab it here:

https://lnkd.in/eng4HvxM

But wait, there's more....

Our Lumi Profile Writer legit writes your entire LinkedIn profile in under 5 minutes with optimized options for your headline, summary, experience, and more. 

Plus 9+ other tools, all our social selling playbooks, templates, coaching, community, and all the things. 

It's inside our Next Wave membership here:

https://lnkd.in/efqzkhjp

You're probably wasting your Sales Navigator license.

Not because Sales Navigator doesn’t work.
Because most people use it wrong.

Most sellers treat Sales Navigator like a research tool.

Look up a prospect.
Read a profile.
Maybe save a lead.

Then log out.

That’s not what it’s built for.

My Sales Nav Mastery course breaks down, in detail, how to set up and use Sales Navigator every day to drive revenue.

Because Sales Navigator is actually a daily engagement system.

Once it's set up correctly, your job is simple:

→ Log in every day
→ Check your alerts feed
→ Spend at least 15 minutes engaging with posts

Pay attention to signals like:
→ Job changes
→ Company announcements
→ New posts from prospects

Then use that information (after you engage) to start relevant conversations.

Not random outreach.

Contextual outreach.

But this only works if you have a system.

Once you start executing that system consistently, everything starts to click.

Conversations increase.
Responses increase.
Prospects turn into revenue.

Our clients who implement our Sales Nav Mastery program often start seeing results within 48 hours.

It really is that simple.
But you need a plan.
And you need to stick to it.

Want to see how our on-demand or live virtual Sales Nav training could work for you or your team?

Send me a message and I’ll show you.


P.S. I break this down in more detail on YouTube - @mandymodgirl

Your sales team’s cold outreach is getting harder. Open rates are dropping. Replies are rare.

So what exactly is going on?

They’re doing all the things…

- Hundreds of cold emails a week

- Calls, InMails, sequences, personalization tools

- A carefully crafted outbound playbook

So you start asking yourself:

“𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘋𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘈 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭? 𝘈 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵?”

But here’s the hard truth:

There could be a problem with the message. The tech. Or the rep.

👉 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲-𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:

1) Reps blast templated emails to long lists

2) They sprinkle in “personalization” like “Saw you brought in a new CRO ”- but it feels fake

3) Messages go out cold, with zero context or relationship

4) Buyers don’t recognize the sender - so they ignore it or mark it as spam

5) Even if they open it, they check LinkedIn...

→ And see someone with no credibility, no presence, and nothing valuable to say

𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 90% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞.

But you know what they do check?

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬. 

84 % of C-suite execs use social media in at least one stage of a purchase decision.

That’s why sales teams need an approach that adapts to new buyer behavior, but weaves into the current workflow.

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦:

→ A repeatable structure reps can plug into their existing outreach

→ Built to warm up every cold touch, build trust faster, and start real conversations

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬:

✅ Reps build credible LinkedIn profiles that act like landing pages

✅ They craft messages like conversations, not spam campaigns

✅ They post content that positions them as a resource

They go from being an Invisible Sales Team - unseen, unheard, untrusted - to a Modern Social Selling Team.

→ 1 team “hit 120%+ consistently.”

→ 1 sales leader “tripled pipeline and created a culture of accountability.”

→ Another got 3 new clients, with 2 in progress shortly after updating their profile.

This isn’t about replacing cold email.

It’s about making it 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, by using LinkedIn to build trust before the pitch.

Here’s how to fix it:
https://lnkd.in/eRuadDvA

And if you want to see how this would work for your team, send me a message.

Sales leaders keep telling their teams to use LinkedIn.

But they’re not doing it themselves.

And that’s exactly why it fails.

This Thursday I’m hosting a free session for the Chicago Revenue Enablement Society on:

→ How Enablement Leaders and Their Teams Win on LinkedIn.

Here’s the reality I see inside most sales orgs.

Leaders want reps building pipeline on LinkedIn.

But there’s no system.
No cadence.
And no example being set at the top.

You don’t need to become a LinkedIn influencer.

But you do need to understand what actually drives results so your team can follow it.

In this session I’m breaking down the playbook I teach sales teams:

→ The daily LinkedIn cadence reps should follow
→ How 15 minutes of commenting builds visibility with prospects
→ How connection requests and conversations turn into pipeline
→ How LinkedIn improves response rates across email and calls

Because let’s be honest.

Cold email is getting ignored.
Cold calling is harder than ever.

LinkedIn is where trust gets built before the meeting even happens.

The last time I ran this session for enablement leaders, it was a huge success.

And this time I’ll be sharing the exact system you can take back and implement with your team.

It’s 100% free and open to enablement leaders worldwide.

Streaming virtually from my Airbnb here in Brazil.

Join us this Thursday.

Register here:
https://lnkd.in/evtiSzbY

See you there.

Our click-through rate looked amazing…

For the unsubscribe link. 🤦🏻‍♀️

We sent a January promo email.
At first glance, the clicks looked fine.

Good enough that most people would move on.

But I asked ActiveCampaign's AI one question:

What actually happened here?

It compared that email against our other sends and surfaced something obvious fast.

More people clicked unsubscribe than clicked the sales page.  👀

Ouch.

The email wasn’t sloppy.
It wasn’t pushy.
It wasn’t “too salesy.”

It just made people work too hard before they understood the value.

We opened with context.
We explained trends.
We warmed them up.

Meanwhile, the strongest proof was buried.

And that’s on me.

Even though I’ve been marketing online for 17 years, I still make mistakes.

Womp womp. 🫠

So here’s the real takeaway…

Next time you send a promotional email, make sure it does three things:

1. The outcome is clear in the first few lines.
2. The strongest proof is visible before people have to scroll.
3. The reason to click is obvious before you start educating.

That structure matters more than clever writing.

And here’s the part that changed how we’ll build moving forward:

Active Intelligence didn’t just show performance.

It benchmarked this email against our others and highlighted exactly where it broke pattern.

That’s the difference between “this didn’t work” and “here’s what to fix.”

Without getting stuck in the weeds of manual reporting.
So next time you send a promo email, don’t just look at opens.

Look at your unsubscribe rate.
Ask what caused it.
And fix the structure, not just the subject line.

If you want something to flag the blind spots in your emails before you even ask,
get a free trial of ActiveCampaign and run Active Intelligence on your last send: 

https://lnkd.in/e-RwNhqP  


#ActiveCampaignPartner

Need a amazing and reliable video editor? 
Check out my amigo, Shajjadul Islam Swajon. 

Here's a quick video describing my experience working with him. 

And no, he's not paying me to do this. 

I just think he's that cool and want to help spread the word about good people who deserve it. 🤩 

I've already sent a handful of new customers his way. 
And I'm happy to send more.

Helping Coaches Land DREAM CLIENTS with Video That Builds Credibility & Authority | Video Content Strategist

For Mandy McEwen, the real win wasn’t better videos.
It was removing a growth bottleneck she’d been tolerating for too long.


Mandy is the founder of multiple companies. Her personal brand drives revenue.

But video had quietly become a drain.

Short-form on LinkedIn. Long-form on YouTube. Freelancers. Agencies. Back-and-forth.

The edits were “fine.” But fine doesn’t scale a premium brand.
The real cost wasn’t bad editing.

It was:
● Low retention in the first 30 seconds.
● Content that got views but no leads.
● Looking average in a premium market.
● Losing hours managing revisions instead of building the business.

This is where most editors think too small. They optimize for polish.

But polish isn’t the game.

It’s like repainting a car with engine problems. It looks better in photos. But it still won’t win the race. Video works the same way.

When Mandy started with three short videos. yes, they looked more intentional.

But the real shift was positioning.↴ 
People engaged differently. They took her more seriously. The content felt deliberate.

 From there,
→ we built her speaker reel.
→ Supported her product launch.
→ Strengthened her YouTube presence.

But the biggest win?

She stopped babysitting the process.
No repeated explanations, micromanaging, mental load.

That’s when editing became partnership.

Here’s the lesson for every new editor ↴
❌ Your goal is not to make videos polished.
✅ Your goal is to remove growth friction.

Fix retention, positioning, lead intent.
Remove the time drain.

When you help your client win, you win.
Money is the by-product.

Trust is the asset. Leverage is the advantage. Partnership is the multiplier.

If you’re building your name as an editor, ask yourself something uncomfortable:

When a client hires you, are they buying cleaner cuts or are they buying relief from a problem that’s slowing their growth?

Post reach is atrocious this week. The algorithm is acting unhinged again.

Meanwhile, our Next Wave members are over here building momentum that compounds.

One of our members just shared this in our Slack community... 

180+ new followers.
27% more impressions.
33+ more engagements.

In the last 28 days alone.

And that growth is on top of the booms he’s already had the past couple of months.

Zoom out for a second.

He’s currently trending toward something ridiculous.

Like 200%–300% CAGR on impressions and engagements.

Which is insanely awesome.

This is what happens when you stop chasing hacks and start building systems.

→ Profile optimized to convert
→ Engagement before outreach
→ Content that builds authority, not noise
→ Conversations warmed up before the pitch ever lands

Plus we give you our team of Lumi AI tools for every step.

Your profile, your posts, your outreach, your ICP, your strategy, your systems.

No guessing. No blank screen syndrome.
No blaming the algorithm.

And you’re inside a room with amazing peers and coaches who actually hold you accountable.

The algorithm can swing.
Your trajectory shouldn’t.

The Next Wave is open right now.

If you want growth that compounds instead of random spikes, come build it with us.

➡️ NextWave.GoLumi.io 

And if you want a sneak peek, check out our brand new LinkedIn $trategist GPT that will give you a custom LinkedIn strategy in under 5 minutes.

➡️ https://lnkd.in/eng4HvxM

We need to talk about the 27% of you who chose “doom scrolling.”

Last week I ran a poll asking what’s taking the biggest chunk of your LinkedIn time each week.

#1 was commenting and engaging.

Good.
That’s where your time should go.

But #2?

Doom scrolling.

If that's happening so that you can do #1, cool. 

If it's wasting your time (typically what "doom" means), not cool. 

So, let me help...

If you’re going to spend 45 minutes on LinkedIn, here’s a simple structure:

→ 15 minutes leaving thoughtful comments on ideal clients’ posts
→ 15 minutes sending messages and connecting with prospects
→ 15 minutes creating or refining one piece of content

That’s it.

If you have less time to spend, just trim down those time slots. 

No rabbit holes.
No unnecessary distractions. 
No endless doomscrolling. 

Engagement is powerful.

But only if it’s intentional.

So the real question is...

Are you using LinkedIn with a plan?

Or letting it use you?

P.S. Speaking of plan, we created a new AI tool that gives you a custom LinkedIn strategy in under 5 minutes. 

You can try it out here: https://lnkd.in/eng4HvxM

It’s been a while since I posted a poll, so humor me. 

What part of LinkedIn eats up most of your time? 

Vote below. 

Feel free to elaborate in the comments. 

Curious where everyone is actually spending their energy. 

And if there’s something entirely else, let me know.

What’s taking the biggest chunk of your LinkedIn time each week?

The author can see how you vote. Learn more

View company: Chicago Revenue Enablement Society

Exciting news for all my enablement friends in Chicago!

RES Chicago is hosting a FREE webinar on Thursday, March 12th at 12 PM CT — and you won't want to miss this one.

We're bringing in Mandy McEwen, Top 24 B2B Marketer and Founder of Mod Girl Marketing, for a power-packed 60-minute session on how to:

✅ Strengthen your personal brand on LinkedIn
✅ Model the right habits for your team 
✅ Turn daily LinkedIn activity into REAL pipeline

LinkedIn isn't just a social platform anymore. It's where trust is built, and deals are won. If you lead a sales enablement team and you're not leveraging LinkedIn intentionally, you're leaving opportunities on the table.

Drop a 👋 in the comments if you're joining us, and share this with an enablement leader who needs to hear this!

View event: How Enablement Leaders and Their Teams Win on LinkedIn

How Enablement Leaders and Their Teams Win on LinkedIn

S Brian Smith 🪜

I free founders from ops, sales, & management | Founder @ Strategy Ladders | Coached 1000s of B2B and Agency owners | Stop struggling, start enjoying business ownership 🏖️

Most founders of 7-figure B2B service companies reach a plateau where "strategy" isn't the problem—execution is. After years of consulting on the "how," my team and I shifted exclusively to building and running these high-growth engines for you.

Strategy is often used as a shield to avoid the hard, grinding work required to scale. Scaling to 8 figures requires two things: Great Lead Flow and an Excellent Team to execute it. Without these, your strategy is just a dream.

We have traded playbooks for performance, focusing on three specific levers:


➡️ Cold Email (B2B Labs) We deploy enterprise-grade outbound infrastructure that in-house teams can't match.

Scale: 10,000+ emails per week without risking sender reputation.

Performance: 40%+ open rates and $17.5M+ in revenue directly attributed to outbound.

Targeting: Hyper-targeted lists verified to ensure you only speak to high-intent prospects.


➡️ Google Ads (B2B Labs) Capture buyers actively searching for your solutions right now.

High Intent: Focus on decision-maker search targeting and aggressive negative keyword strategies.

Speed: Immediate visibility for high-intent keywords without waiting for SEO.

➡️ Modern Recruiting (Talent Labs) Hire faster and better without traditional placement fees or job-board spam.

Speed: We deliver an exceptional candidate shortlist in 7–14 days.

Vetting: Every candidate is screened for skill, motivation, and culture fit.

➡️ A Selective Approach to Consulting I still provide 1:1 consulting, but only for founders who can prove they have, or are able to build, the team and lead flow necessary to scale. People are no longer willing to pay for strategy without execution. And I’m no longer willing to provide it.

Build your engine: www.strategyladders.com

Founder & Head of Strategy

The Strategy Ladder Program delivers MASSIVE results to agencies, consultancies, and service businesses.

If your business is 25-85 employees, partially or fully remote, and you're stuck trying to "level-up," I will transform it with you.

The Strategy Ladder System will get you UNSTUCK. You'll develop a bullet-proof strategy that grows with your business, streamlines operations, scales your revenue, and sets your business up to continue to grow without you.

The Strategy Ladder System doesn't just change your business. It will transform YOU. You'll undergo a mental reset that frees you from the anxiety and beliefs that tie you to the day-to-day in your business. You're the leader of your business - if you don't change, your business never will.

The Strategy Ladder System has worked for over 400 entrepreneurs, delivering & implementing strategies that have:

💥 Scaled an agency from $150k to $4mil ARR in 10 months

💥 Increased a digital marketing agency’s productivity levels by over 450%, dramatically increasing profitability

💥 Streamlined a SaaS product’s roadmap, reducing development costs by 45% while increasing execution speed by over 25%.

💥 Developed and executing a repositioning strategy that landed a web development agency a long-term contract with a Fortune 100 company

💥 Repositioned of an app development agency that grew recurring revenue from 2% to over 50% of total revenue within three month

💥 Built a sales organization of 65 sales people in two years

💥 Orchestrated & executed a legal & and business strategy that lead to a sale of key assets of a SaaS platform for a significant premium over the market value of the company

Elon Musk Didn’t Build Tesla. He Built a Story.

🔹 2004: Musk invests in Tesla but isn’t a founder. In 2009, he sues the actual founders until they’re legally forced to call him one.

🔹 2013: He announces Hyperloop, claiming it will revolutionize transportation. Over a decade later, nothing exists. He later admits it was just a stunt to stop California’s high-speed rail project.

🔹 2016: He promises full self-driving Teslas by 2017. In 2019, he claims 1 million robotaxis will be on the road by 2020. It’s now 2025—still waiting.

🔹 2014: Tesla showcases battery swap technology, claiming it will allow instant recharging. Never happens—but they get millions in government subsidies anyway.

🔹 2020: Musk personally vows to fix the Flint water crisis. That didn’t happen either.

And yet, people still believe him.
Because story beats reality.

🚀 His companies miss deadlines by years (or forever), but investors stay excited.
 🚀 He fakes demos and sells visions, and people line up to give him money.
 🚀 He turns PR disasters into proof of his genius.

For founders, here’s the takeaway 👇

Execution matters, but narrative moves markets.

You can have the best delivery in the world, but if you don’t own the story, someone else will.

Story beats reality. Musk understands that better than anyone.

Now, the real question: do you?

Do you agree that story trumps reality? Or do you realize it's true but it makes you ick... 

Drop your take below. ⬇️


✌️🧡🌮

Plug & Play Growth Engines to get you to 8 Figures | Cold Email ($17.5M+ Generated) | Google Ads | Elite LATAM Recruiting (7-14 Day Shortlists). Strategy is dead ☠️ execution is everything 🚀

Mexico is a war zone... only if you believe the news.

I've lived in Mexico for 5+ years. I'm a US Citizen and permanent resident of Mexico.

It is 1450% safer here as a US citizen than ANY major US city (more below). The citizens & police are friendlier and more helpful.

Every single US citizen who visits me is shocked at how safe they feel here, walking the city, especially at night.

What you are seeing on the news = PROPAGANDA.

Mexican news sources and some of my well connected friends all confirmed the involvement of US special forces in the "removal" of El Mencho.

The US is involved.

The timing is not an accident.

Just take a look at the USD vs Mexican Peso graph.

The US has been losing purchasing power since January.

Mexico is preparing for the World Cup.

The US has a strong history of disrupting the economies to the south of them. 

Recall 1997... Cuba's hospitality industry was fast growing and Cuban "dissidents" (aka absolutely not CIA 🙄) launched a 💣 campaign against Cuban hotels.

What you're hearing about in Mexico is no different.

Mexico has taken a slower approach of disrupting the cartels.

Why?

If you cut off the head of the snake, many smaller ones appear.

But they aren't organized. What you're seeing now will disappate.

What the US news isn't telling you?

The cartel members are clearing out civilians before creating chaos.

It's well known - there are severe consequences for harming a civilian. It rarely happens.

Here's the stats that the US isn't telling you:

78% of firearms seized in Mexico come from the US.

Over 90% of the drugs that flow through Mexico are consumed by US consumers.

There's been a 75% reduction encounters with drug runners at the US boarder due to the crackdown in Mexico.

So what's the real problem?

It's not Mexico.

It's the US fueling the violence... violence that largely, if not entirely, spares civilians.

More stats:

< 0.1% - The percentage of tourists & expats who experience violent crime in Mexico.

1.45% - The percentage of people in the US who experience violent crime in the US.

You are statistically 14.5 times more likely to be a victim of violent crime as a US Citizen in the US.

Don't believe what you are reading or seeing in the news and social media.

Sensationalism draws eyeballs. The truth is far less interesting.

What you're witnessing is an attempted assassination... of the Mexican economy.

Come at me in the comments güey 👊

Viva 🇲🇽

If you think your $1,000/month “EA” is going to unlock your calendar and scale your business…

You’re LARPing as a CEO instead of leading.
You didn’t hire an Executive Assistant.

You hired a Virtual Assistant with a fancier title and a broken job description.

And now you’re wondering why you’re still stuck reviewing your own travel itinerary, juggling Slack messages, and chasing your tail in ops hell.

Let’s fix that.

🧠 First, understand the difference:

Virtual Assistant (VA):

• Task-taker
• Needs clear instructions
• Good at executing a known to-do list
• Will take 2–5x longer to do a task you could do in your sleep
• Great for clearing clutter
• A clone hire (not a growth one)

Executive Assistant (EA):

• Strategic partner
• Anticipates needs you didn’t vocalize yet
• Handles ambiguity
• Adapts to your working style and makes you sharper
• Enables you to operate in your zone of genius
• A force multiplier, not a checklist completer

If you’re hiring an EA and getting VA output…
That’s disappointment on a payroll. Don’t call it delegation.

Many founders fail at this because they’ve never had a real EA before.

🛠️ So how do you fix it?


Step 1️⃣ : Stop being vague.

Write a real role description.

→ Is this person handling your inbox or planning investor roadshows?
→ Do they need to coordinate between departments or just book travel?


Step 2️⃣: Hire for initiative, not obedience.

A good EA doesn’t wait for permission. They preempt chaos and build order.


Step 3️⃣: Pay what the role is worth.

You want a $100K partner to run point on your calendar, communications, and priorities?

Then don’t shop for bargain-bin help with champagne expectations.


Step 4️⃣: Give them context, not just commands.

Your EA needs to know your rhythm, your goals, your blind spots.
The best don’t just manage your tasks, they manage your attention.

Founders: You don’t need more hours.
You need more clarity.
And the right assistant is the unlock for both.

Start treating the EA role like a leadership hire not a tactical afterthought.


👉 Ready to hire an Executive Assistant who will transform your work and life?

We have pre-vetted, highly experienced, Executive Assistants ready to go. 

Our matching process delivers EA's that are primed for success in your organization and our on-going support and guarantee ensures you get results that matter to you.

DM me to get started.


✌️🧡🌮

I built a business I am proud of, but I stopped doing the work I was made to do: the work I love most and do best.

I have spent too much time building the machine and not enough time doing the work that lights me up.

For over a decade, I worked 1:1 with entrepreneurs and high performers to help them overcome the biggest challenges in their lives and businesses.

Mental blocks. 

The mindset shifts required to reach the next level.

Relationship challenges.

Understanding themselves more deeply and how that version of them can make the greatest impact in the world.

Developing and trusting intuition.

Learning how to stop playing checkers and start playing chess. In life and in business.

And, of course, business strategy.

I love that work.

And I am really, really damn good at it.

But truthfully, I got caught up in building Strategy Ladders.

I still run Strategy Ladders, and I am proud of what we have built.

But somewhere along the way, I hired consultants and coaches to work with clients, got a little too much ivory tower syndrome, and became overly focused on running the business instead of doing the work that truly lights me up.

It is time to change that.

I am taking on 3 private 1:1 clients for the next 3 months.

This work is about massively shifting your mindset, breaking through barriers, and putting you on a faster path toward the life and results you know you are capable of.

Nothing is off limits.

Business is always part of the conversation, but business is rarely the full story.

Your business is a mirror. It shows us where to look.

I have walked clients through partnership breakups, births, deaths, PR crises, divorces, business sales, and the mindset shifts required to navigate all of it powerfully.

If you are ready to face challenge with deeper energy, sharper thinking, and a new level of self-trust, now is the time.

DM me.

Or comment SHIFT below.


✌️💛🌮

Most founders at $2.5M to $25M think they have a growth problem.

They're wrong.

They have a clarity problem.

They can’t answer 2 questions clearly:

1. What is our ONE growth constraint right now?
2. What is the next 30-day move that fixes it?

So they default to motion:

New web site.
New service line.
New hire.
New software.
New “strategy.”

None of that is strategy.

Here’s the fast diagnostic I use:

If you had to grow 30% in the next 90 days, what breaks first?

A) Demand (not enough qualified conversations)
B) Conversion (calls happen but they don’t close)
C) Delivery (you can sell it but can’t ship it cleanly)

Most teams are stuck because they try to solve all three at once.
That’s how you get expensive and average.

The play is boring and effective:

Pick the constraint.
Run one lever hard for 30 days.
Measure strictly.
Then stack the next lever.

👉 If you’re A (Demand):

Cold email is still the fastest way to manufacture qualified conversations on purpose.

👉 If you’re C (Delivery):

You need execution capacity and redundancy so growth doesn’t feel like a hostage situation.

A strong LATAM team is the highest value move I see for that.

Now the big one....

👉 If you’re B (Conversion):

You don’t have a lead problem. You have a “this isn’t an obvious yes” problem.

Two fastest fixes:
1. Increase lead intent

Paid ads can work here if you already know:

who you serve
what you sell
what you charge
what “good fit” looks like

Not because ads are magic.
Because they let you buy attention from people already searching.

2. Improve the offer and positioning

Most founders try to “sell harder” on calls.
The real win is making the offer easier to buy.

The tell:
If prospects say “sounds good, I need to think” you have ambiguity, not objections.

My favorite way to fix this fast:
Use cold email as a positioning lab.

Test:

niche language
pain language
outcome language
proof angles
pricing anchors

Until replies and booked calls spike.

👉 What’s your main constraint right now (A / B / C)? 


(don't worry, Shark got some steak 🥩)



✌️🧡🌮

A bee does not waste its time trying to convince a fly that honey is better than 💩💩💩.

taplio

The Battle

Mandy McEwen

S Brian Smith 🪜

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMandy McEwen's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreS Brian Smith 🪜's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Mandy McEwen

S Brian Smith 🪜

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Mandy McEwen's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreS Brian Smith 🪜's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMandy McEwen's LinkedIn Performance