There’s no business without sales, so it’s no wonder that selling is of continuous interest to agencies and consultancies. It’s hard work, and as much as you learn, there’s always another layer of subtlety and expertise you can develop. The Google Partners Podcast now kicks off a mini-series of episodes that dive into different aspects of sales. You’ll hear ideas, insights and resources you can use to get better at pursuing the kinds of clients and contracts you want. We start by looking into the general rule that 80% of any business comes from 20% of its clients. While simple on the surface, the 80/20 phenomenon is deeply significant and can lead to powerful efficiencies and strategies when sales teams use it wisely. And Perry Marshall is the person to explain how. Among the highest-paid business consultants in the world, Marshall wrote 80/20 Sales & Marketing, a mandatory read in many growing companies, as well as The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords, the world’s best-selling book on Internet advertising. Guest: Perry Marshall, Author and Consultant Perry Marshall is endorsed in Forbes and Inc. Magazine, and is one of the most sought-after business consultants in the world for his ability to integrate technology, sales, art and psychology. His reinvention of the Pareto 80/20 Principle is published in Harvard Business Review; and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs at the California Institute of Technology uses his 80/20 Curve as a productivity tool. Marshall’s Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords laid the foundations of the $100 billion Pay-Per-Click industry, and techniques he pioneered remain standard best practices today. As a consultant, he has worked in over 300 industries and has served as an expert witness for marketing litigation. Perry has a degree in Electrical Engineering. He lives in Chicago. Host: Alex Langshur

Recent episodes of our podcast have talked about positioning, seasonality, landing pages, and digital assistants. With the complexity and fast-paced evolution of many topics in marketing, it’s easy to forget that so much of what we do all comes down to words. There’s a lot riding on our ability to find the right message at the right time for any audience we’re reaching. If we’re going to succeed, we need to create or curate copy that sparkles, engages, convinces—and converts. The good news is that like many skills, good writing can be learned. So this episode, we’re excited to welcome one of the best teachers around: Joanna Wiebe. Founder of Copy Hackers, Joanna is a highly sought after conversion copywriter who has worked with clients as diverse as brick-and-mortar stalwart, Tesco, and digital native, Nectar Sleep. A globe-spanning speaker, Joanna joins us to share techniques that make words work harder. Guest - Joanna Wiebe, Conversion Copywriter The original conversion copywriter, Joanna Wiebe is the creator of Copy Hackers and CH Agency, where she and her team write world-class conversion copy for clients like Nectar Sleep, Datastax, Canva and Sprout Social. She's been invited to teach conversion copywriting on 100+ international stages at events like StartCon, INBOUND, Mozcon and Business of Software. Along the way, more than 50,000 people at businesses large and small have turned to Joanna for copy coaching, and thousands more have taken her online training courses, such as Copy School. Find her at copyhackers.com or on Twitter @copyhackers. Host: Alex Langshur

Twenty-five years ago, it was websites. Twelve years ago, it was mobile. Today, it’s voice assistance. By 2022, voice commerce sales are expected to top $45B in the US and UK, and even today 72% of people with voice-activated speakers use them as part of their daily routine. Clearly, if you’re in the digital agency space, you need to understand voice user interfaces (VUIs) and get yourself in front of the trend. Wally Brill, Head of Conversation Design Advocacy & Education for the Google Assistant, is a perfect guest to walk us through this subject. He has twenty years’ experience with voice, primarily in the design of VUIs, both as a consultant and in senior roles with companies such as eBay and Nuance. In other words, he’s been in the game for as long as there was a game. In this episode, Wally shares insights on voice-based actions, persona design and what he thinks the future will hold.

Since we’re nearing the holiday season and the annual retail apex of Black Friday/Cyber Monday, the Google Partners Podcast brings you an early holiday treat. Hana Abaza, Head of Marketing at Shopify Plus, shares insights about seasonal campaigns and campaign strategies as well as year-round wisdom for effective positioning whether you’re a digital agency or a marketer in the B2B or B2C space. A featured speaker at conferences about tech, startups and marketing, Hana is passionate about strategy and helping companies grow. And she’s the real deal with a track record of successful marketing strategy and campaign execution across a variety of companies. Now with her vantage point at Shopify Plus, she’s uniquely poised to share what she’s learned about what works in online marketing and why. Guest - Hana Abaza, Head of Marketing at Shopify Plus Hana has been involved in technology and startups for a number of years. She started on the B2C side before switching to a consulting role in marketing and growth in B2B SAS. It was while working at Uberflip in Toronto that Hana started looking for her next step, wondering if she wanted to stay with a startup or a more mid-stage company and if she wanted to stay in Toronto or move to the west coast. It was over coffee and “life advice” with Craig Miller, Shopify’s Chief Product Officer, that she found out about Shopify Plus. The new expansion of Shopify appealed to her desire to stay in the up-market space. Through that meeting, she moved into her current role as Head of Marketing where she pursues her interests and grows her talents relating to the entire marketing process from product development to commercialization. Host: Alex Langshur

The conversation about pricing can be a dicey one. Not only because what businesses charge is proprietary, but also because methods of pricing can vary quite a bit. Some have buttoned down processes that track expenses, calculate hourly rates, and arrive at a margin. Others go mainly on instinct or observations of what other companies are doing. But if marketers avoid looking closely at their pricing, do they run the risk of losing money? What are the gains of pricing more strategically? Pricing really comes down to two things: 1) What’s your value to your clients, and 2) How do you communicate that value? To answer these questions, it can be very helpful to get an outsider’s perspective. Our guest today is business coach Robin Waite. Robin has helped improve pricing structure, leverage value, and grow the bottom line for many businesses. Guest - Robin Waite, Business Coach From 2004 to 2014, Robin Waite ran a design and advertising agency that served more than 250 clients. During that time, he began delivering workshops and classes that helped more than 1,000 business owners improve their marketing, product architecture, pricing, websites and digital advertising. As a business coach, Robin combines creativity with logical, analytical and objective thinking to help entrepreneurs become more successful. His best-selling books are Take Your Shot: How to Grow Your Business, Attract More Clients, and Make More Money and Online Business Startup: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Launching a Fast, Lean and Profitable Online Venture. When not coaching or writing, Robin loves nothing more than spending time with his wife and two young daughters. Host: Alex Langshur