An announcement could come at any time.
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, April 3, 2025
White House Close To Announcing Deal To Keep TikTok in America
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
How to Build a Podcast Strategy That Grows Your Business
About This Episode
Over the past few months, many of our coaches have been having the same conversation with a growing number of clients. They're either thinking about launching a podcast or have just taken the plunge and hit record for the first time. And they all want to know: Is this really worth doing?
It's a fair question. Podcasts can feel like a big, mysterious mountain when you're just starting out.
What gear do you need? How much time is this going to take? What if you have no idea what to say? And what does success even look like?
That’s why I wanted to sit down with Lindsey Auten, one of our Video and Content Trainers at IMPACT, who’s helping businesses figure this out in real time. Lindsey works closely with clients who are building podcasts into their broader content strategy, helping them figure out what to say, how to say it, and how to make it count.
This episode really got me thinking. About what it means to show up consistently. About what trust-building looks like today. And about how podcasts, when done right, can become one of the most valuable things a business creates.
If you’ve been toying with the idea of starting a podcast or are already knee-deep in it, this article will walk you through the big lessons from our conversation. What works, what’s hard, what’s changing, and what you need to know before hitting record.
Why start a podcast now?
At IMPACT, we’ve been helping businesses embrace video for years. It’s still one of the most powerful ways to build trust and connect with buyers. But something interesting has been happening lately. There’s a quiet shift happening; more and more of the businesses we work with are starting to explore podcasts as a serious part of their strategy.
It makes sense when you look at how people are consuming content these days. Sure, we still watch plenty of videos, especially when we’re actively searching for answers. But more and more, people are also turning to podcasts while driving, working out, doing laundry, or just powering through administrative work.
Lindsey explained it perfectly in our conversation. “If you are a business and you realize your audience listens to podcasts, which you can do with some demographic research, then why wouldn’t you make a podcast?”
Think about that. If your buyers are already listening to podcasts during their day, you don’t need to fight for their attention, you just need to be where they already are.
And let’s address the elephant in the room. A lot of people assume that starting a podcast is way more work than it’s worth. Or that it needs to be some big production. But what we’re seeing with our clients, and in our own experience running this show, is that podcasts don’t have to be complicated to be effective. In fact, it might be one of the simplest ways to start showing up consistently.
Can a podcast be your main video strategy?
One of the biggest mindset shifts Lindsey brought up was this idea that podcasts and video content are not two separate things. They can be one and the same.
That was a lightbulb moment. “I think people forget that podcasts can be video as well,” Lindsey said. “The podcast I watch the most is one I put on YouTube with my husband three times a week. We watch it in the morning, finish it in the car later. It’s become our appointment viewing.”
The line between podcasts and video content is blurring. People are watching podcasts on YouTube just as much as they’re listening to them on Spotify. So if you’re thinking, “Well, our audience watches videos, not podcasts,” the truth might be that they’re doing both. Sometimes at the same time.
This isn’t just a niche media trend. It’s how real people, your customers included, are choosing to consume content.
And here’s the kicker: Podcasts might be easier than you think. It doesn’t require a massive studio or a big production team. You don’t need a perfect set or a fancy mic. You just need a way to have a good conversation, record it, and share it.
If you’ve been struggling to build a consistent video strategy, this might be your answer. Podcasts can be the core of your video content and give you plenty to repurpose into short clips, articles, and more.
You're probably already doing the hardest part
Even though I’ve been doing this show for over a year. What really hit home for me was when Lindsey and I started talking about how podcasts fit into Endless Customers, especially The Big 5. It became clear that most businesses are already doing the hardest part. They’re just doing it behind the scenes.
“The most important part of writing those Big 5 articles was the interview with the subject matter expert,” Lindsey said. “How is that different than a podcast?”
It’s not different at all.
If you’re already interviewing your internal experts to write articles about cost and price, problems, comparisons, reviews, and best, then you’ve already built the foundation for a podcast. The only real difference is that with a podcast, you record and publish that conversation instead of translating it into an article.
That small shift makes a big impact.
When you listen to a recorded conversation, especially one that’s honest and unscripted, you get to hear how the expert really thinks. You hear the follow-up questions. The “wait, what do you mean by that?” moments. The stories and context that don’t always make it into polished, edited written content.
It feels like you're part of the conversation instead of being spoken to. That’s the real magic of podcasts. It pulls people in.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it. Trust is the single most important currency you have in business. And podcasts, when done well, are one of the most effective ways to build it.
Common hurdles we've faced (and how we're working through them)
This wouldn’t be a true behind-the-scenes if I didn’t talk about what’s hard. The podcast has been incredibly rewarding for us at IMPACT, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. We’ve had to figure things out as we go, just like everyone else.
Here are a few of the biggest challenges we’ve faced and what we’ve done to tackle them.
1. Keeping the topics fresh
This is an ongoing challenge. It’s easy to fall into the trap of repeating the same ideas in slightly different ways. But that’s not helpful to our audience. We constantly challenge ourselves to bring new, relevant topics to the table that speak directly to the questions and concerns business owners are actually facing right now. It takes intentional planning, regular brainstorming, and a healthy dose of curiosity.
2. Booking great guests
People are busy. Everyone has a full calendar, and coordinating schedules can be tough, especially when you're trying to maintain a consistent publishing cadence. We’ve found that planning ahead and batch recording when possible is key. If we can knock out a few episodes in one sitting, it gives us some breathing room in the schedule and keeps the show moving forward even when life gets hectic.
3. Attribution
This one’s tricky. When someone listens to your podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, you don’t always know who they are. The data just isn’t as robust as what we’re used to seeing on platforms like YouTube. But we’ve started to see more and more prospects bring up the podcast in sales conversations, and that’s a strong signal that we’re doing something right.
Lindsey put it well during our conversation: “Just from a visibility standpoint, it feels like the podcast hits harder than anything that we’ve done before.”
That has been our experience, too. Even if we can’t track every listener with perfect precision, the feedback we’re getting from real people in real conversations is enough to tell us that this content is resonating.
And one more thing to keep in mind: It takes time. When we first launched Endless Customers, we didn’t see explosive growth right away. It took months of showing up consistently, refining our process, and listening to feedback. But eventually, it started to click. We recently crossed 10,000 downloads, and we’re just getting started.
What I wish I knew starting out
A lot of the business owners we work with are stepping into the podcast world for the very first time. Most of them aren’t professional interviewers. Some have never been on camera before. And many are wondering if they’re the right person to even do this.
I get it because I’ve been there.
When I was first asked to host Endless Customers, my gut reaction was, “No way.” I’ve always been the guy behind the camera. I had my own little dad joke about it, like, “There’s a reason I stay behind the scenes.”
But I decided to give it a shot. And I’ll be honest, the first few episodes were rough. Not because of the content or the people I was talking to, but because I was still figuring it out. I was nervous. I tried way too hard to sound smart and polished and professional. I used big words. I overthought every sentence.
It didn’t feel natural, and it didn’t work. I was trying to be so eloquent and use all these big words and sound so smart. And it just wasn’t working. I realized I know what I’m talking about. I don’t have to sound like I have a Ph.D. I can just talk and be myself.
That was a turning point for me.
So, if you're stepping into a hosting role for the first time, here’s what I’ve learned:
1. It's okay to feel uncomfortable at first
Feeling nervous, awkward, or unsure is completely normal. Your first episode is probably going to be the worst one you make. That’s okay. It means you’re doing something new. Just like shooting your first Big 5 or Selling 7 videos, you have to push through and let the reps teach you. You get better by doing.
2. You don't need to be the expert
As the host, your job is to guide the conversation, not dominate it. Let the guest shine. Ask good questions. Stay curious. Think of yourself as the facilitator. That shift was huge for me and completely changed the way I approach every episode now.
3. Be yourself
People don’t want perfection. They want something real. The more relaxed and human you are, the more comfortable your guest will be, and the more engaging the conversation becomes. Once I stopped trying to perform and just talked like I do in real life, everything felt easier and better.
Whether you're a content manager, a videographer, or a business owner hosting your own show, remember this: You’re not trying to win an Emmy. You’re trying to connect. You’re trying to build trust.
And that happens when you stop performing and start being yourself.
The key to consistency? Process
One of the things we talk about all the time with our clients, and in Endless Customers, is the importance of consistency.
Publishing content consistently is what builds momentum. It’s how you build trust. But if you want to be consistent, you need a process you can actually stick to.
During the episode, Lindsey asked me, “If you were giving advice on how to streamline a podcast creation process, what would that advice be?”
You don’t want to shoot one episode and immediately release it, then scramble to produce the next one before the week’s over. That’s a recipe for burnout. Instead, we batch record whenever possible, three or four episodes at a time, so we can stay ahead of schedule and keep the quality high.
That rhythm makes a huge difference. And it’s not just about the main episode. Every week, we break each episode into multiple formats so we’re maximizing its impact.
Here’s how a typical week looks for us:
- Monday: We release a highlight clip from the episode on YouTube. It’s short and specific and acts as a teaser to pull people in.
- Tuesday: We publish a short-form video that goes on YouTube Shorts and across all of our social platforms.
- Wednesday: The full-length episode drops. It goes live on YouTube as a video and on all major podcast platforms as an audio.
- Thursday: Another short is released, usually a different clip from the same conversation.
- Friday or Saturday: If we’ve got more great content to share, we’ll publish a third short over the weekend.
So what seems like one podcast episode actually turns into five or more pieces of content each week.
The key is planning ahead and using tools to help you move faster, and we’ll get into those in a second. But the real takeaway here is this: if you want to stay consistent, you need a repeatable, disciplined process.
We treat this podcast like a system, not a side project. And that mindset shift has made all the difference.
The tools we use (that you can too)
If you’re thinking about launching a podcast and wondering what tools will make your life easier, here’s what we’re currently using. These are the platforms and apps that help us move faster, stay organized, and keep quality high without burning out.
- AutoPod: A huge time-saver for editing. It’s a plugin for Premiere Pro that cuts down our editing time dramatically by automatically switching between speaker camera angles based on audio input.
- Opus Clip: This is perfect for short-form repurposing. We use this to create vertical clips for social media. It gives us suggested cuts, timestamps, and even engagement scores so we can choose the best moments to share.
- ChatGPT: We’ve trained a custom GPT specifically for this podcast. We upload our transcripts and ask it to write video descriptions, blog posts, and even come up with article ideas. We always put a human touch on the final output, but it gives us a great head start.
- Podbean: This is what we currently use to distribute the audio version of the show across platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio. We’re exploring switching to HubSpot now that they’re rolling out more podcast-friendly tools, but Podbean has been reliable and easy to use.
We’re always experimenting. As Lindsey pointed out during the episode: “The stuff you use today may not be what you use next year. You should always be evaluating what can make your life more efficient.”
That’s been our approach from the start. Every few weeks, Austin and I block out time to explore new tools, test features, and find ways to make our process smoother. Some tools stick, and others don’t. But if we weren’t experimenting, we’d never find the stuff that actually makes a difference.
If you're on the fence, just start
If there’s one thing we hope you take away from this conversation, it’s this: You don’t need to have it all figured out to start a podcast.
You don’t need the perfect gear. You don’t need the perfect voice. You don’t need to be a video expert or a professional interviewer.
You just need to start.
Rip the Band-Aid off. Do it. The first episode is going to be the worst episode you ever make. And it’s only going to get better from there.
That’s not just theory. It’s how we got here. We started with a few basic tools, a good intention, and a willingness to learn as we went. Over time, we found our rhythm. We found our voice. And we started seeing real results.
A podcast is one of the most human, scalable, and trust-building ways to show up for your audience. If you're already answering questions, creating content, and having meaningful conversations inside your business, you're already halfway there.
So, if you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it.
Start small. Stay consistent. And don’t underestimate what you’ll learn along the way.
You’re more ready than you think.
Connect with Lindsey
Lindsey Auten is a content and video trainer at IMPACT with a background in broadcast journalism.
Learn more about Lindsey from her IMPACT bio
Connect with Lindsey on LinkedIn
Keep Learning
Author: awinter@impactbnd.com (Alex Winter)
* This article was originally published here
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
YouTube Outlines Monetization Options for Creators
YouTube now has a range of monetization pathways to consider.
* This article was originally published here
Monday, March 31, 2025
How Meta Makes Its Money [Infographic]
A quick overview of Meta’s ever-growing ad empire.
* This article was originally published here
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Instagram Adds March Madness-Themed Features
Themed additions to celebrate college basketball in the app.
* This article was originally published here
Saturday, March 29, 2025
xAI Acquires X in a Deal That Secures the App’s Immediate Future
Elon Musk has used the AI hype to effectively save his app from financial oblivion.
* This article was originally published here
Friday, March 28, 2025
Reddit Rolls Out Updates to Its Conversation Ads
Reddit continues to improve its ad options.
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Utah’s Making App Stores Responsible for User Age Checking
Apple and Google will have to verify user ages for app downloads.
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
What is Endless Customers?
What is Endless Customers?
Buyers today are harder to reach, tougher to convert, and skeptical of anything that sounds like marketing. That’s the new reality. But it’s not a problem to be feared—it’s an opportunity to lead. That’s where the Endless Customers System™ comes in.
Endless Customers (formerly They Ask, You Answer) is a sales and marketing operating system for companies that want to build trust, increase close rates, and generate pipeline consistently—without outsourcing their growth. It was developed by Marcus Sheridan and refined by the coaching team at IMPACT, based on years of real-world results with companies across dozens of industries.
The system teaches your team how to educate buyers, create content and video in-house, use technology to work smarter, and align leadership, marketing, and sales to operate as one revenue team.
You’re not hiring another agency. You’re building a machine inside your company that consistently brings the right customers to you.
Pretty refreshing, right?
Check out this video from Marcus Sheridan sharing more about the book:
The Core Idea Behind Endless Customers
At the center of Endless Customers is a simple idea: The company that earns the most trust wins.
Buyers today want transparency. They want answers to their questions before they ever talk to your sales team. They want to know what things cost, what could go wrong, how you compare to alternatives, and who the best providers are—even if it’s not you.
Endless Customers helps you become the most helpful voice in your market. It starts by obsessing over your buyers’ questions and creating content that addresses them thoroughly and honestly. Then it gives your team the structure, tools, and training to do this consistently across your website, sales process, and customer experience.
Think of it as the EOS® of marketing and sales.
It’s not a campaign. It’s a company-wide shift in how you attract, engage, and convert.
Who It’s For—And Who It’s Not
The Endless Customers System™ is built for companies doing $3M to $100M+ in revenue that sell high-consideration products or services. If your buyers do research before purchasing—and your sales process involves trust, education, and multiple touchpoints—this system was built for you.
Endless Customers works best for businesses that:
- Are tired of outsourcing content and seeing little ROI
- Want to control their own growth with an in-house team
- Are willing to hire (or already have) a content manager and videographer
- Are ready to align leadership, marketing, and sales
Industries like B2B services, construction, healthcare, manufacturing, insurance, and high-ticket home services thrive with this system.
If you’re looking for someone to "just do it for you," this isn’t your path. But if you're ready to build a real marketing and sales engine your team owns, you're in the right place.
That’s where the magic happens.
The 5 Components of the Endless Customers System™
At the core of the system are five components. Each one builds on the others, and together they create a sustainable engine for traffic, leads, and revenue.
1. The Right Content
The content your buyers actually want isn’t fluff. It’s honest, helpful, and addresses the questions they’re already searching for. Endless Customers trains your team to create what’s called The Big 5 content:
- Cost & Price: What your product or service costs, what drives that cost up or down, and what buyers should expect.
- Problems: Address your own drawbacks honestly and explain how you solve customer pain points.
- Versus & Comparisons: Offer side-by-side breakdowns of products, services, approaches, and competitors.
- Reviews: Provide helpful, unbiased evaluations of options—including those you don’t sell.
- Best in Class: Curate the best tools, companies, or solutions in your industry, even if you're not on the list.
But content isn't just written. Video plays a huge role.
Endless Customers also helps your team:
- Master The Selling 7 videos that build trust and eliminate objections.
- Launch and grow your YouTube channel as a lead-generating asset.
- Create short-form videos for platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.
- Develop a Video 6 framework for long-form videos that engage and educate.
- Train your team on on-camera performance so they come across as natural, confident, and trustworthy.
- Use AI tools to streamline planning, scripting, editing, and repurposing content.
The goal? Your team becomes the most helpful, most visible, and most trusted voice in your market—everywhere buyers are searching.
2. The Right Website
Your website should guide, teach, qualify, and convert—before a salesperson ever gets involved.
Endless Customers helps you transform your site into a 24/7 sales engine with:
- A robust Learning Center that houses your content and makes it easy to find.
- Self-service tools like pricing calculators, assessments, configurators, and product selectors.
- Website messaging aligned with the StoryBrand framework, so visitors instantly understand what you do and why it matters.
- Smart CTAs, forms, and landing pages that drive conversions.
- Heatmap analysis and engagement tracking to refine your site over time.
- Optimization of homepage, service, and product pages for trust and action.
You’ll no longer wonder what your website is doing for you. You’ll know it’s working—because the leads will show it.
3. The Right Sales Activities
Sales success in the Endless Customers System™ is about preparation, personalization, and confidence.
Your sales team will learn to:
- Use Assignment Selling to send content before calls, so buyers show up ready to move forward.
- Present the Assignment Selling script in a way that gets buyer buy-in.
- Leverage the full library of articles and videos in conversations to educate and handle objections.
- Record 1:1 personalized video messages for outreach and follow-ups to build rapport and stand out.
- Develop content of their own to strengthen their personal brand and position themselves as trusted advisors.
- Collaborate with marketing to identify new content opportunities based on real sales conversations.
Every deal becomes smoother. Every rep gets better. Every buyer gets exactly what they need.
4. The Right Technology
Technology can accelerate everything—if you know how to use it. Endless Customers teaches your team to:
- Use HubSpot for CRM, pipeline tracking, sales automation, content reporting, and revenue attribution.
- Automate lead nurturing workflows based on buyer behavior.
- Set up AI-powered lead scoring to prioritize the highest-value opportunities.
- Track ROI on content, video, and campaigns with real attribution models.
- Forecast sales using AI trend analysis and sales intelligence tools.
- Build and optimize audience segments for personalized outreach.
- Improve open rates, response rates, and conversions with AI-optimized email and message sequences.
You’ll finally be able to connect your marketing, sales, and revenue data—so you can make smarter decisions, faster.
5. The Right Culture of Performance
None of this works without the right culture. Endless Customers isn’t just a marketing strategy—it’s a company-wide mindset.
Your leadership team will learn how to:
- Hire and onboard the right content manager and videographer to lead your efforts.
- Get buy-in from subject matter experts to contribute content and participate in video.
- Align marketing, sales, and leadership through structured meetings and shared KPIs.
- Build and maintain a culture of radical transparency, continuous improvement, and measurable performance.
- Create clear AI adoption guidelines to keep your usage ethical and effective.
- Track and celebrate content performance using analytics dashboards that tie content to revenue.
When your team believes in the mission, holds each other accountable, and understands the impact of their work, big things happen.
The Endless Customers Journey™: What Implementation Looks Like
Most companies implement the Endless Customers System™ over 18–24 months, following a structured quarterly coaching model. Here’s how that journey unfolds:
Step 1: Alignment Day
A 3-hour company-wide training + 90-day planning session that gets leadership, sales, and marketing on the same page. This is where roles get defined, priorities get set, and the system kicks off.
Step 2: The First 90 Days
Your content manager is hired (or leveled up), your first 15 of The Big 5 articles go live, your first videos are published, and Assignment Selling is introduced.
Step 3: Ongoing 90-Day Cycles
Every quarter, your team sets new goals, reviews your Scorecard, and builds on the last phase. Video ramps up. Sales adoption grows. Your site evolves.
Step 4: Mastery and Scale
By months 18–24, you’re self-sufficient. Your team is producing consistent content and video. Sales and marketing are aligned. Your website is converting. You’re tracking revenue impact. And new customers keep coming.
It’s like installing a revenue flywheel.
Why Most Companies Struggle to Do This Alone
Some companies try to implement Endless Customers just by reading the book. A few succeed. Most don’t.
The biggest reasons?
- No alignment between leadership, sales, and marketing
- No clear 90-day priorities
- No internal accountability
- No training to build the right skills
IMPACT provides the coaching and training to make it stick. You’re not hiring an agency—you’re building an in-house team that performs at the highest level.
That’s when things get fun.
Real Companies. Real Results.
Here are just a few companies that implemented Endless Customers:
- RoofCrafters: Increased revenue by $1M+ from content alone
- RetroFoam: Boosted leads by 2,942% and doubled revenue
- Kaplan Early Learning: 6X growth in online traffic and sales
- Mazzella Companies: Became the most known name in their market
These aren’t unicorns. They’re companies that committed to the system and stayed the course.
You could be next.
Take the Next Step
If you want to:
- Attract more qualified leads
- Shorten sales cycles
- Build a marketing and sales system that drives revenue
Then Endless Customers is your roadmap.
✅ Subscribe to the Endless Customers Podcast
✅ Join IMPACT+ Learning Community
The future belongs to companies that lead with honesty, teach with courage, and commit to owning their growth.
Let’s get started.
Author: msheridan@impactbnd.com (Marcus Sheridan)
* This article was originally published here
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
TikTok Adds Simplified Mobile Camera Connection for Livestreams
An easier way to connect a second camera for streaming.
* This article was originally published here
Monday, March 24, 2025
X Now Enables You To Edit Elements of Images With Grok
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* This article was originally published here
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Meta Continues to Integrate AI Bot Profiles into its Apps
Meta continues to integrate AI characters into its apps.
* This article was originally published here
Saturday, March 22, 2025
LinkedIn Adds Calendly Integration for Profile CTA Buttons
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* This article was originally published here
Friday, March 21, 2025
Meta, Google Look To Trump Administration to Combat Australian Regulatory Charges
Australia's News Media Bargaining Code could become a target of Trump's trade reform agenda.
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Threads Is Working On an Option To Replicate Your X Follows
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* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
YouTube Tests Handy New Shorts Editing Display
The updated editing UI will show when captions and stickers are encroaching on in-app display elements.
* This article was originally published here
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
xAI Acquires Text-To-Video AI Project Hotshot
X users will soon be able to generate AI videos in-stream.
* This article was originally published here
Monday, March 17, 2025
Sunday, March 16, 2025
Oracle Emerges as Most Likely Partner for US TikTok Deal
The U.S. government is closing in on a deal to keep TikTok in operation for Americans.
* This article was originally published here
Saturday, March 15, 2025
TikTok Tops Download Charts in February, Despite US Download Ban
The latest app download stats and insights into app trends.
* This article was originally published here
Friday, March 14, 2025
X Offers Trip To Mars in March Madness Competition
Yes, the top prize is a ticket to Mars.
* This article was originally published here
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Meta Invites More Advertisers To Link Their Google Analytics Account
More data to improve your Facebook and IG ads performance.
* This article was originally published here
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
How to Maximize Your CRM and Boost Sales by 41% Per Salesperson
About This Episode
Every day, companies invest in CRMs like HubSpot, hoping to streamline operations, close more deals, and drive growth. But there’s a massive gap between what these tools can do and how businesses actually use them.
And that gap? It’s costing time, efficiency, and a lot of money.
Will Smith shared a staggering fact, 43% of CRM customers use fewer than half of the features available to them.
Think about it. That’s like buying a high-performance sports car and never taking it past second gear. You might feel good about the investment, but you’re missing out on speed, efficiency, and some serious revenue.
And this isn’t just a one-off problem. We’ve seen it with hundreds of businesses. Leaders sign up for HubSpot (or another CRM), pay the subscription fee, and then… what? They use it for basic contact storage, maybe a few reports, but the real power? It sits untapped.In this episode of Endless Customers, I sat down with Will Smith, one of our HubSpot Trainers here at IMPACT, to uncover why so many companies underutilize their CRMs and, more importantly, how you can optimize yours to increase revenue by up to 41% per salesperson.
How CRM underutilization is costing your business
Here’s the deal: CRMs like HubSpot aren’t cheap. If you’re on the enterprise plan, you’re making a serious investment, one that’s meant to help your business run smoother, sell smarter, and grow faster.
So why do so many companies pay for all of this power and then barely use it?
Will’s theory? People stick to what they know.
“People know what they like and like what they know.” Will shares. “So they get stuck in this little 43% box.”
It’s a cycle we see all the time. A business signs up for HubSpot, does the initial setup, learns just enough to get by, and then… stops exploring. No one is pushing the system to do more, no one is questioning how to make processes more efficient. Instead, the CRM becomes nothing more than a fancy address book.
And, that’s a problem.
A CRM isn’t just a database. It’s a growth tool. It’s meant to:
- Track every customer interaction so no lead slips through the cracks.
- Automate follow-ups so your team never forgets to check in.
- Streamline sales processes so deals close faster.
- Provide real-time insights so you know exactly what’s working and what’s not.
But if you’re only using the basics, you’re leaving revenue on the table, and in many cases, losing business without even realizing it.
Underutilizing your CRM isn’t just a missed opportunity. It actively hurts your business in ways you might not even notice:
- Missed follow-ups: A lead comes in, but no one follows up on time because there’s no system in place to track it. The prospect goes cold. Revenue lost.
- Inconsistent data: One salesperson logs details one way, another does it differently, and suddenly your reports are a mess. Leadership can’t trust the numbers. Decision-making suffers.
- Wasted time: Your team spends hours manually updating records, searching for emails, and trying to remember where a deal left off. All things a CRM should handle automatically.
- Sales teams running in circles: Instead of focusing on closing deals, your reps waste time navigating a disorganized system, leading to slower sales cycles and lower revenue.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. But here’s the good news: fixing it isn’t as hard as you might think.
In the next section, we’ll break down exactly how to get unstuck and start using your CRM the way it was meant to be used.
How to get your team excited about your CRM (like they are about AI)
Right now, everyone is obsessed with AI. Teams across industries are buzzing about tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
But your CRM, the tool you’re already paying for, is likely sitting underutilized.
What if you could make your CRM feel just as powerful?
The good news? AI can make your CRM more valuable than ever if you prepare for it the right way.
Instead of treating your CRM like another contact storage system, think of it as the foundation for all your future AI capabilities.
But here’s the catch: AI is only as good as the data it has to work with.
“To get the most out of AI, you have to start by cleaning up your CRM.” Will shares, “If you put garbage in, you get garbage out.”
Your CRM and AI aren’t separate, they’re connected. If your CRM is full of incomplete records, outdated contacts, and inconsistent tracking, AI won’t magically fix those problems. Instead, it will amplify them.
If your team is excited about AI, use that momentum to get your CRM in order. You’ll need to:
- Standardize how data is entered: Ensure your team is logging every deal, lead, and customer interaction consistently. If AI is going to learn from your data, the data has to be correct.
- Remove duplicates and incomplete records: If your CRM is full of old, messy, or duplicate contacts, clean it up before expecting AI to improve your workflows.
- Automate where you can: Use workflows to keep data organized and reduce manual entry.
- Create a process for CRM maintenance: Keeping your CRM clean isn’t a one-time project. Make it a habit with regular audits, clear guidelines, and accountability for your team.
So before you jump into AI-powered sales automation, chatbots, or predictive analytics, get your CRM in order first.
Four steps to stop wasting your investment and start driving growth with your CRM
Will lays out a clear roadmap for businesses who want to break this cycle, maximize their CRM, and start driving serious growth.
These four steps will help you clean up your CRM, streamline your sales process, and ensure your team is using it the right way.
1. Get everyone to use it, the right way
One of the biggest reasons CRMs fail to deliver results is because different departments use them inconsistently.
Sales track deals one way.
Marketing logs leads another way.
Leadership barely touches the system.
When there’s no alignment, your CRM turns into a mess of inconsistent data. That means missed follow-ups, duplicated work, and unreliable reporting, which makes it impossible to get a clear picture of what’s working and what’s not.
Your CRM needs consistency across the board.
Every customer interaction should be logged, every deal should be tracked, and no leads should fall through the cracks.
The first step is making sure everyone is following the same process. Standardized workflows, required fields, and internal guidelines can go a long way toward turning your CRM into a tool that actually helps your business grow.
2. Automate what you can
If your team is still manually updating deals, sending follow-ups, or tracking tasks, you’re wasting valuable time.
CRM automation is one of the easiest ways to boost efficiency and ensure nothing gets forgotten.
Top-performing sales teams save time and boost efficiency with HubSpot automation that:
- Send follow-up emails automatically so leads don’t go cold.
- Remind sales reps to check in on deals at the right time.
- Move leads through the pipeline seamlessly without manual updates.
If your CRM isn’t helping your team work faster, it’s not being used to its full potential.
Will put it simply, “If you’re still doing these things manually, you’re not just working harder, you’re working slower.”
And in sales, speed matters. The faster you respond, the more deals you close.
3. Use lead scoring to prioritize the best opportunities
Too many sales teams rely on gut instinct to decide which leads are worth their time. But gut instinct isn’t reliable, and it definitely isn’t scalable.
With lead scoring, we can say, ‘If they hit a 16 or above, they’re a hot lead.’ And now we know exactly who to go after.
Lead scoring assigns actual numbers to potential buyers based on their behaviors and interactions. This helps your team:
- Prioritize leads who are ready to buy.
- Stop wasting time on unqualified prospects.
- Follow up with the right people at the right time.
If you’re still guessing which leads are worth pursuing, it’s time to let data guide your sales process.
4. Assign a CRM champion
Not everyone on your team will become a CRM expert overnight. And that’s okay.
Rather than expecting every salesperson or marketer to master HubSpot on their own, Will suggests designating a CRM champion, someone who can:
- Navigate the system with confidence.
- Guide others on best practices.
- Ensure consistency across the team.
But here’s the key: This person shouldn’t become the internal help desk on all things HubSpot, or your CRM of choice. They should be a guide, not a crutch.
Empowering the team to problem-solve on their own. They can do this by:
- Encouraging self-sufficiency: Directing team members to HubSpot documentation or online resources.
- Promoting troubleshooting: Using Google, ChatGPT, or other tools to resolve simple issues.
- Providing guidance: Stepping in only when the team has tried problem-solving first.
This ensures the CRM champion doesn’t get bogged down with endless questions while making sure the team is truly learning how to use the system effectively.
The revenue potential: 41% per salesperson
Alright, let’s talk numbers because, at the end of the day, results matter.
That’s not just a slight improvement, it’s a transformational shift for businesses looking to scale.
So how does this increase happen?
- More follow-ups happen automatically.
- Leads are prioritized more effectively.
- Salespeople spend more time closing.
And here’s where things get interesting: Once one person on your team starts seeing success, it spreads fast.
“Sales teams are competitive,” says Will. “ When one person starts winning with the CRM, others follow. It becomes contagious.”
Suddenly, the whole team wants in.
They start using automation, tracking leads more effectively, and following the best practices that drive results. Before you know it, your entire sales team is operating at a higher level, closing more deals with less effort.
And that’s how a 41% increase in revenue per salesperson becomes a real possibility, not just a statistic.
Remember, your CRM should work for you, not against you
A CRM should never feel like just another piece of software your team is forced to use. It should be the engine that drives your sales and marketing efforts, helping you close more deals, improve efficiency, and ultimately grow your business.
By following these four steps (getting everyone aligned, automating where you can, prioritizing leads effectively, and designating a CRM champion) you can turn your CRM from a data graveyard into a revenue-generating powerhouse.
The businesses that fully embrace their CRM see real results, up to a 41% increase in revenue per salesperson.
So the real question is: Are you ready to stop wasting potential and start seeing results?
If you’re serious about growth, it’s time to stop treating your CRM like an afterthought and start making it the most valuable tool in your business.
Connect with Will Smith
Will Smith is a certified HubSpot Trainer with a track record of 100+ companies successfully onboarded to the HubSpot platform.
Connect with Will on LinkedIn
Keep Learning
- Watch: HubSpot Updates That Will Transform Your Business
- Read: How to Know When You’ve Outgrown HubSpot Sales Hub Starter
- Check out: Our HubSpot Mastery Program
- Watch: Data-Driven Success: HubSpot Fuels Berry Insurance's Massive Growth
Endless Customers is a podcast produced and distributed by IMPACT, a sales and marketing training organization.
We coach businesses to implement our They Ask, You Answer framework to build trust and fill their pipeline.
For inquiries about sponsorship opportunities or to be considered as a guest, email awinter@impactplus.com.
Want to tell us about a challenge you’re facing? Schedule a free coaching session with one of our experts.
Author: awinter@impactbnd.com (Alex Winter)
* This article was originally published here
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