The Question First Group

Helping leaders and sales teams connect deeper and win more trust by learning the art of breakthrough conversations.

Co-Founder

Marcus Sheridan International, Inc.

In 2017 Forbes named Marcus 1 of 20 “Speakers You Don’t Want to Miss the Opportunity to See." He has been featured in The New York Times, Inc., The Globe and Mail, Content Marketing Institute, Social Media Examiner and more. Having spoken to hundreds of audiences and thousands of people around the world, Marcus delivers riveting and passionate performances that motivate and inspire!

Keynote Speaker

They Ask, You Answer

Rated the #1 Marketing Book to read in 2017 by Mashable and the "#2 Marketing Book of All-Time" by Book Authority, Forbes listed it as one of "11 Marketing Books Every CMO Should Read."

"They Ask, You Answer" is a revolutionary approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer.  In it, Marcus shares his simple approach to inbound marketing that has earned an exceptional track record across many industries and throughout the world.  How can a single approach to selling be so versatile? Simple - it's all about the customer.  All potential customers need answers along their way to making a purchase and "They Ask, You Answer" definitively shows businesses, B2B and B2C, exactly how to become the most trusted voice in their industry.

Author

The Visual Sale

How to Use Video to Explode Sales, Drive Marketing, and Grow Your Business in a Virtual World.

IMPACT

Recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the “Top 25 SMB Workplaces” in 2017, IMPACT is obsessed with helping businesses and organizations succeed.  By offering full support from strategy to implementation, as well as education and in-depth training, IMPACT is able to help lead their clients to success regarding all things inbound, digital, and today’s changing buyer.

Owner/Partner

River Pools

Currently one of the largest fiberglass pool installers in the United States with the most visited swimming pool web site in the world.  In 2001 and fresh out of college, Marcus stumbled across his first business with two friends: installing swimming pools out of the back of a beat-up pickup truck. Nine years later, with the help of incredible innovations through inbound and content marketing, Sheridan’s company overcame the collapse of the housing market and became a leader in the industry.

Partner

The Sales Lion

The Sales Lion is a Marketing/Sales consulting company focusing on helping organizations develop a culture of content and inbound marketing while dramatically improving sales, marketing and video communication.  We offer world-class training, consulting, workshops, and keynotes for businesses, brands, & agencies around the globe.

Founder and President

Working with Chris Marr, founder of the Content Marketing Academy, Marcus has developed workshops focused on achieving true “World Class Communication.”  His true passion is found in helping others reach their potential as teachers, communicators, and speakers. Marcus’s workshops are focused on pushing business professionals and executives to improve their ability to communicate, motivate, and inspire in all walks of life.  Covering such topics as: Presentation Design, The Power of Story, The Columbus Principle, and Trust Techniques; Marcus helps attendees to elevate their communication skills on stage, in the boardroom and in the home.

Co-Founder:  World Class Communication

Along with sales and marketing experts Joey Coleman and Ian Altman, Marcus created and hosted two unprecedented conference events focused on sales, marketing and customer experience.  The Remarkable Growth Experience conferences were held in historic Arlington, VA.  Attendance was limited to 100 participants allowing for more intimate discussions and interaction.  Conference attendees were able to have full access to event speakers, participate in hands-on practical applications, develop individualized specific action items and leave with clear plans for immediate improvement and success.

Co-Founder: The Remarkable Growth Experience Conferences

TED Conferences

The Honest Economy:  How Transparency Can Change the Economy and Inspire a New World

TEDx Speaker

Keynote Speaker on Sales, Marketing, and Building Trust...Author of They Ask You Answer...Ranked #1 LinkedIn Voices for Entrepreneurship...and a Dang Good Follow on LinkedIn

Called a “web marketing guru” by the New York Times, the Story of how Marcus Sheridan was able to save his swimming pool company, River Pools, from the economic crash of 2008 has been featured in multiple books, publications, and stories around the world and is the centerpiece to his best-selling book, They Ask You Answer, which has been named “One of the 5 Best Marketing Books of All Time” by BookAuthority.

Today, Sheridan is a highly sought-after global speaker and consultant in the digital sales and marketing space, working with hundreds of businesses and brands alike to achieve their potential in a rapidly evolving marketplace, ultimately helping them to connect deeper and become the most trusted voice in their perspective industry.

Companies Marcus is a Part of: IMPACT, River Pools, Marcus Sheridan International, Question First Group

Keynote topics include:  Sales, Marketing, AI, Leadership Communication

Headed to speak in China today. 4 translators will attempt to make my words discernible to an audience of 1000. Please say a prayer for those good people! 😄

#SlowDownMarcusSlowDown

Marcus Sheridan

No alternative text description for this image

Oh China, what an experience you gave me.

Two days ago, I spoke in Sanya, China, to 1000 top-performing Generali insurance agents from across APAC. Agents from Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, and Thailand were represented.

It's such a different experience as a speaker when 90% of the room doesn't understand your native language-- forcing them to listen through a headset and translator.

As a speaker, this means you have to slow way down, give extra pauses, allow for gaps, etc. 

But this also allows for a special connection with the eyes because in those moments of silence, you can gaze into your audience-- something that is a different feeling, and certainly a positive one.

I must say too-- In all my years of attending events, I've never seen a group take so much pride in their job performance. Their enthusiasm was palpable and their zeal for being great at what they do was inspiring to say the least.

The trip was too fast, but the life lessons will remain.

What a blessing to do what I do for a living.

6 weeks ago: ChatGPT was the best "natural" content writer.

Today: Claude 3.5 Sonnet leaves it in the dust.

And frankly, it's not even close.

Welcome to the AI rollercoaster, folks. 

Today's winner =Tomorrow's old news

The lesson?

Don't pledge allegiance to tools. 

Pledge allegiance to results.

And make flexibility your superpower.

Just over a year ago, I felt that my speaking career had hit a lull. Sure, I was still busy, but something wasn't right. 

As I reflected seriously upon the matter for some time, I realized that COVID had led me to a place where I simply wasn't spending time anymore with industry professionals who were pushing, challenging, and inspiring me. 

I'd become complacent.

And I wasn't happy about it.

That's when I made a commitment to myself: "Marcus, you need to become social again. You need to meet inspiring people outside of your existing circle. And you need to find more moments where you feel like everyone in the room is smarter than you."

Once I swallowed this pill, my gut then told me I should get much more serious about the NSA (National Speakers Association ) and do what I should have done years before and attend their main conference, INFLUENCE.

To make a long story short, INFLUENCE was one of the most inspiring events I've ever attended. Folks like Jay Baer and Dan Gingiss made sure I knew what to do while I was there, and the quality of the speakers on stage left me in total awe of their talents.

As someone who obsesses over transformative communication, this event made me feel like a five-year-old chubby kid in a candy shop. 😋 

I left INFLUENCE with a newfound energy and vision for what I needed to do next.

And unsurprisingly, this year is going to be my busiest speaking year in a long time. Everything is clicking again.

But it started at INFLUENCE, an event that I'm committed to attending going forward, regardless of other priorities.

The great Jim Rohn was famous for saying, "You must learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job."

I think I may have forgotten that for a season, but my enthusiasm and zeal have returned with serious vigor.

And I'm having so much fun along the way.

I share this with you because there is a good chance, wherever you are in your speaker journey, that you feel like you've hit a rut.

If so, come to INFLUENCE this year. 

Get inspired.

Sit with me in a session.

Learn from others.

And watch the incredible impact it will have...

😊 

(PS: INFLUENCE link is in the comments section because LinkedIn likes to penalize anything with a link. 🤷‍♂️ )

Fact #1: This year, businesses will spend hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide redoing their websites to generate more leads.

Fact #2: Most of these new websites will fail to make ANY noticeable difference whatsoever. In fact, many will LOSE leads because of the change.

Why is this? Friends, before you blow up any website to get more leads, you should ask yourself the following: 

1. Do we produce quality content (text, video, etc.) every week that goes on the website and addresses our customers' most fundamental needs and questions? (i.e. They Ask, You Answer)

2. Does our website messaging make the buyer (and their problems) the hero while making us the "guide" to solve their problems? (i.e. StoryBrand)

3. Do we have interactive tools, assessments, etc. that allow visitors to engage with us deeper and learn what they want before reaching out? (i.e. ScoreApp)

4. Do we truly understand conversion rate optimization and have we designed our site accordingly? (the classic book "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug comes to mind here)

5. Do we truly have a website problem? Or is it an overall marketing strategy problem?

In reality, 90% of the companies that will spend thousands this year on a new website can't even clearly answer one of the five questions.

No bueno.

So do yourself a favor.

Before you blow half your marketing budget (or more) for the year on a new website, ask yourself if you're doing these other five things.

If not, you may want to hit "pause" and consider a better approach.

Why are Sales and Marketing teams still so siloed in 2024? Here's the part no one likes to talk about:

👉 Most sales teams grossly overestimate their influence on the actual sale.

Why?

Because they haven't been taught how buyers (like themselves) have changed.

Not good.

So check out this video (60 seconds) and give me your thoughts.

Agree or disagree?

Did you know most employees have NEVER heard their CEO admit to making a mistake?

Yeah, crazy, especially considering CEOs screw up all the time. (Goodness knows I have.)

Because of this, companies develop a pattern where everyone is afraid to make a mistake, little transparency exists, and a culture of fear runs rampant.

But it doesn't have to be this way, which is what this simple video is all about.

It's time to step up CEOs and leaders.

Tell your team when you mess up.

Find a way to turn the negative moments into positive lessons.

If you do this, the entire culture will change and everyone will be better for it.

What has been your experience? Have you generally worked for bosses that were open as to their missteps or have you seen the opposite? 👇

Let's call it for what it is:

For years, Gen X parents have forced their kids to go to University because they were too embarrassed to tell their friends that their child was going to attend a  "community college" or "technical school" or, God forbid,  "enter the workforce."

And because of this, we've seen millions of students take on debt they never should have incurred. (Current student loan debt is over 1.7 TRILLION 😳 )

Many of these same youth were forced to choose a profession not because were attracted to it, but rather because THEIR PARENTS thought it admirable enough of a profession to consider.

If there is one thing that most excites me about AI is the fact that it's about to turn all of this mess on its head.

First of all, AI is going to explode trade schools. (In fact, it already has, as more and more Gen Z students are finally ignoring their parents and choosing to trust their own gut and take the trade school route instead.)

Second, it's going to continue to explode entrepreneurism and the "gig economy." (Many smart people are going to realize they can get ANY education they want at ANY time with AI, allowing them to learn as they go, design their ideal version of a professional life, and not waste time on frivolous and antiquated education models.)

And finally, the impact of AI is going to completely blow up the college/university business model. For years, higher education has been one of the biggest monopolies in the world, taking advantage of our youth while offering often subpar, outdated education models and charging and arm and a leg to do so-- all for a piece of paper that most won't even remember in 5 years due to a career change.

The future of higher eduction will look nothing like it does today, and that is a good thing.

And know this: Many will resist. Many will protect the golden goose. Many will make silly arguments like, "But what about the socialization??" or "But what about the fact that college shows you can be disciplined and complete a task?"

Utter silliness.

The writing is on the wall.

And I'm here for it.

Your thoughts?

What's the biggest challenge for businesses attempting to learn and use AI in the future? Well, at least for the next few years, it will be the stunning number of tools they can choose from.

It is literally impossible to properly vet all the AI tools on the market right now, much less the ones yet to be released. With thousands of tools now on the market, paralysis will be a typical response by most decision-makers.

To make matters worse, most of these AI startups don't understand how to market their products. If they were smart, they would partner with an influencer in their space and have an already-known "brand" introduce their product to the world at every opportunity possible. Instead of this, they are, for the most part, a bunch of engineer-led companies completely missing the mark on standing out in a stunningly flooded field of competitors.

So yeah, that's the state of the AI for sales & marketing space.

Too many tools.

Too little strategy.

I'm curious to see who steps up and stands out.

PS: This screenshot came from ColdIQ. See their entire list in the comments section.

Observation:

We are almost 2 years removed since AI gave every business in the world the ability (with the right prompts and knowledge) to produce more honest and helpful content than they’d ever done before. 

And what have the results been?

The majority of companies are still doing exactly what they were doing two years ago.  

👉The ones serious about giving valuable content to the market are doing more of it. 

👉The ones that “had no time” or “had no budget” still have no time and no budget. 

👉The ones attempting to game the system with worthless content are now producing lots more worthless content. 

It’s a fascinating reminder that all the tools in the world just make us more of what we already were.

Wherever you are in the world today, I hope you’re having as much fun and joy as these two. 😄🎇#Happy4th

Filed under the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Category: 👇 

Event Organizer: "Marcus, I'd prefer you not talk about this trend of "seller-free" buying preferences to our team."

Me: "Why is that?"

Event Organizer: "I don't want to scare our salespeople about the future."

Me: "So, would you prefer them to be ignorant of what's next and what they need to do about it?"

Event Organizer: "Uhh...well...uhmm...yeah. I just don't think it's a subject we should broach."

🤷‍♂️ 

(PSA: The future will be full of folks who are like the ostrich with their heads in the sand, thinking ignoring the trend will be better than facing it head-on. Please, do NOT be the ostrich.)

It's true. You don't care if AI wrote this. Why? Because all we care about is one thing...

"Marcus, I love how your posts never appear to have been written by AI." I received this message on LinkedIn yesterday, and boy, did it make me think.

Open article: You Don't Really Care If AI Wrote This. Here's Why... by Marcus Sheridan • 3 min read

Marcus Sheridan on LinkedIn • 3 min read

You Don't Really Care If AI Wrote This. Here's Why...

Almost ALL sales and marketing innovation starts with B2C, not B2B.

For those already getting upset, let's look at a few examples:

👉 Content marketing started with B2C. (The Furrow by John Deere, 1895)
👉 Social media marketing started with B2C. (Coke, Facebook, 2008)
👉 E-commerce started with B2C. (Amazon 1994, eBay 1995)
👉 Influencer marketing started with B2C. (Coke & Santa Claus 1931, Marlboro & the Marlboro Man 1951, and Nike & Michael Jordan 1984)
👉 Recommendation engines started with B2C. (Amazon, 1998)
👉 Loyalty programs started with B2C. (1980's with airlines)
👉 Subscription models started with B2C. (17th century newspapers)

What's the point? I have three:

1. Please stop saying, "B2B marketing is hard." All marketing is hard. But it just so happens the most forward-thinking marketing generally starts with B2C, and then eventually, someone in B2B is smart enough to copy it.

2. If you're in B2B, stop waiting for the world to show you what buyers want. Read the market, move quickly, and clear your own path.

3. It's incredibly easy to be a "disruptor" in B2B. While all your peers are saying, "That can't be done," you're saying, "There's no reason we can't do that first."

✌

General Observation:

👉 Claude 3.5 is a superior writer to ChatGPT 4o.

Why? After extensive testing with my own content, I've found Claude 3.5 outperforms ChatGPT 4o in several key areas:

✅ More natural language
✅ Sharper humor & wit
✅ Authentically relatable voice 
✅ General conciseness 
✅ Overall safety protocols

Of course, folks must learn the proper prompts to utilize either tool fully, but assuming someone understands prompt engineering well as a writer, Claude 3.5 is the current leader in the clubhouse, IMO.

Agree or disagree? What have you found? 👇

Do you know what percentage of employees in this world have ever been taught how to ask for a raise? (Answer: Almost none)

Which is a shame because it's an important part of one's career path.

So in this video (60 sec) I give the most important tip to asking for a raise, one that if done properly will always leave a powerful impression on management.

I'm old enough to remember using the phrase "virtual selling."

Today, we call that "Selling."

😉

What sales trends should you be thinking about? Start with these seven, as they will likely affect your business deeply in the near future...

I’ve been on planet Earth for 46 years and I’ve never seen the rate of change happening like it is right now. Nothing compares to it. I’m sure you’d l

Open article: 7 Sales Trends Over the Next 7 Years: Here’s What’s Coming Folks by Marcus Sheridan • 5 min read

Marcus Sheridan on LinkedIn • 5 min read

7 Sales Trends Over the Next 7 Years: Here’s What’s Coming Folks

Delta's massive issues this week remind us all just how important the "basics" are to a brand's success...

Oh, Delta… (insert head shake) “Brand” is a funny thing. As you’ve likely heard before, “It can take years to build a brand and days to tear it down.”

Open article: 4 Lessons from Delta’s Epic CrowdStrike Failure by Marcus Sheridan • 3 min read

4 Lessons from Delta’s Epic CrowdStrike Failure

Taplio

Marcus Sheridan's Linkedin Analytics

Marcus Sheridan

What is Marcus talking about?

Who is engaging with Marcus

Marcus Sheridan's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Taplio

.css-1jgreyo{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39,43,72,1) 0%, rgba(33,47,183,1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Marcus Sheridan's Linkedin Analytics

Marcus Sheridan

What is Marcus talking about?

Who is engaging with Marcus

Marcus Sheridan's Best Posts .css-qqfgvy{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);}(last 30 days)

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Marcus Sheridan's Linkedin Analytics

Marcus Sheridan's Best Posts (last 30 days)