Where EOS Meets Endless Customers [Endless Customers Podcast Ep. 107]

This transcript has been generated by AI and not checked for accuracy. 

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:03:11
Bob
Most marketing actually fails because of a pure lack of accountability.

00:00:03:11 - 00:00:07:04
Bob
most of these companies that are out there that are struggling, they still have a good product, good service.

00:00:07:04 - 00:00:12:10
Bob
And then the strategies and the ideas from marketing, we want to do social media. We want your content. We want your videos YouTube

00:00:12:10 - 00:00:14:02
Bob
really where marketing breaks down

00:00:14:02 - 00:00:15:21
Bob
is when we actually don't follow through

00:00:15:21 - 00:00:17:07
Bob
on the things we're supposed to be doing,

00:00:17:07 - 00:00:18:20
Bob
and it's just a pure lack of accountability.

00:00:18:20 - 00:00:20:05
Bob
No one's making sure that these things are

00:00:20:05 - 00:00:23:07
Bob
done the right way every single time, no questions asked.

00:00:23:07 - 00:00:28:19
Bob
that's why I love systems like iOS. That's why I love the way Endless Customers is set up.

00:00:28:19 - 00:00:32:23
Bob
Because these are systems that help you ensure accountability. And then when you add in

00:00:32:23 - 00:00:35:14
Bob
an endless customers coach like we have here at impact,

00:00:35:14 - 00:00:38:02
Bob
make sure you're doing it right. You're not missing steps.

00:00:38:02 - 00:00:39:01
Bob
You're getting things done.

00:00:39:01 - 00:00:42:15
Bob
That's where traction happens. That's where the marketing and sales results will actually come through.

00:00:51:08 - 00:00:57:20
Alex
Welcome back to the show, everyone. I'm your host, Alex Winter. And today we have our founder and CEO, Bob Ruffolo. Welcome back to the show.

00:00:57:22 - 00:01:00:21
Bob
Yo. What's up? What's last time is on the show? It's been a while,

00:01:00:21 - 00:01:02:18
Alex
It's been a minute, but it's been a minute.

00:01:02:18 - 00:01:05:16
Alex
don't know why it took so long, but I am so glad to have you back on the show.

00:01:05:17 - 00:01:07:09
Bob
Yeah. You know, I'm happy to be back on. Yeah.

00:01:07:10 - 00:01:12:06
Alex
We have a really great topic today, and I think it's an important one that everyone needs to know about because

00:01:12:06 - 00:01:18:09
Alex
it really directly involves our community and the reason why we're doing what we're doing. And it's

00:01:18:09 - 00:01:21:10
Alex
centered around endless customers, but also iOS.

00:01:21:10 - 00:01:27:13
Alex
So can we talk a little bit about what iOS for people who maybe don't know what that is out there and then why you're so passionate about it.

00:01:27:13 - 00:01:28:20
Alex
And then I think we can get into

00:01:28:20 - 00:01:30:22
Alex
how that plays into the endless customer system.

00:01:30:22 - 00:01:33:18
Bob
I'm probably the world's biggest iOS super fan.

00:01:33:18 - 00:01:34:22
Alex
You are? You're fanatics.

00:01:34:22 - 00:01:35:12
Bob
You run to

00:01:35:12 - 00:01:39:19
Bob
transform our business in so many different ways. So for those of you that don't know what, iOS is,

00:01:39:19 - 00:01:45:03
Bob
it's called the, entrepreneurial, operating system. It was founded by, Gino Workman.

00:01:45:03 - 00:01:59:11
Bob
really what it is, it's a system for how you run your business. And focus on six core components of your business. It's your data, your people, your issues, your, you know, and everything sets you up to get traction inside your business. The big promises of it is that

00:01:59:11 - 00:02:04:01
Bob
gives the entrepreneur some freedom, gets the right people in the right seats, and lets them delegate and elevate.

00:02:04:01 - 00:02:05:18
Bob
There's so many great components to it.

00:02:05:18 - 00:02:19:10
Bob
So we implemented it. We used to do it back in the day, and we, we've kind of got a little too loose on it. And as you know, a couple of years ago, we made a big company priority. Never took away from the fact that I've always been a huge fan of it because it just works.

00:02:19:10 - 00:02:21:10
Bob
It's simple. It's easy. It's a system.

00:02:21:10 - 00:02:27:09
Alex
It really is. And, Yeah. And you said traction to. And that's also a great book. That's part of the whole iOS ecosystem is one of my favorite

00:02:27:09 - 00:02:27:23
Alex
business books.

00:02:28:00 - 00:02:35:14
Bob
That's right. Yeah. And traction is, that is the book you want to learn iOS? It's the original book, but as the book that teaches you iOS. So,

00:02:35:14 - 00:02:40:13
Bob
I'm so inspired by not just the, the framework of it, but just the entire business model of it, because,

00:02:40:13 - 00:02:45:12
Bob
there are probably hundreds of thousands of businesses that are running their business on this system.

00:02:45:12 - 00:02:53:21
Bob
Yeah, they have almost 900, coaches. We call them coaches, but they're iOS implementers all over the world teaching this material

00:02:53:21 - 00:03:14:05
Bob
inside their businesses. And, and those of you been following the impact for, for the last few years are probably now seeing like, oh, I can see why they're making the changes that they're making to their services, the way the positioning themselves, the things in the new book, because it works and that's, that's the model that we are trying to get endless customers and everything that we're doing going in.

00:03:14:05 - 00:03:28:23
Alex
And it really is working. And I think you said it earlier too, that it it's it simplifies everything. It just makes everything very clear and concise and like puts everything into digestible buckets. I guess we could say in a way that like, it just it's really easy to implement. But it's one of those things too, where

00:03:28:23 - 00:03:31:20
Alex
you have to stay with it and the accountability piece is tough.

00:03:31:22 - 00:03:39:02
Alex
And you said we started to do it, which we did, and then we kind of got away from it a little bit. And I'm sure that's relatable for a lot of our listeners and viewers out there, because

00:03:39:02 - 00:03:49:02
Alex
that can happen. So how did we how do we get back on the bandwagon as, as they say and like really stick to our guns as far as, like we're going to we're going to do this, we're going to do it right this time.

00:03:49:02 - 00:03:56:19
Alex
Like, how did you make that decision? And through like the leadership team in those conversations really get it to to be a constant here at impact?

00:03:56:19 - 00:04:09:05
Bob
Great question. And you know, we we had we realized we had to drink our own champagne a little bit. I mean, we teach this stuff now. We teach it from a marketing a sales perspective. But we know how important

00:04:09:05 - 00:04:18:12
Bob
consistency accountability is in marketing, in your sales activities, in your sales process. This is how companies actually drive endless customers.

00:04:18:12 - 00:04:33:12
Bob
as we look at the rest of our business, like we had to bring that same discipline, that same accountability and same consistency across everything that we do, whether it's on the financial side of the business, it's our systems, our processes, how we staff our teams, and it's across the board. So

00:04:33:12 - 00:04:34:05
Bob
it was just a

00:04:34:05 - 00:04:38:01
Bob
realization that, you know, we could be better and we need to be better.

00:04:38:03 - 00:04:41:14
Bob
And, you know, accountability is a core value here of impact.

00:04:41:14 - 00:04:55:19
Bob
we strongly believe in that, both from what we deliver with our clients and the services, that again, that's how things get done. That's how we actually achieve what we set out to achieve. And visions get achieved. And, you know, it works for us inside of our business as well.

00:04:55:19 - 00:05:05:18
Alex
Yeah. Accountability is a big piece. And also you had you had mentioned this before that when you met Marcus and you first learned about they ask you answer, which is evolved into endless customers that iOS

00:05:05:18 - 00:05:13:05
Alex
there was some serious overlap or some things that you could pull from it. So can we talk a little bit about how that lightbulb moment sort of happened for you and for Marcus in the team?

00:05:13:05 - 00:05:21:05
Bob
Yeah. So, Impact's been around since 2009. We started as a web design company. Over the years became a marketing company. We got connected to the HubSpot community,

00:05:21:05 - 00:05:25:12
Bob
by the way, a lot of people ask about how I connect with Marcus. So we'll hit that real quick here. Sure. Yeah.

00:05:25:12 - 00:05:26:19
Bob
we were doing the inbound marketing thing.

00:05:26:19 - 00:05:40:04
Bob
We became a HubSpot top partner, and and obviously opposite to the things we teach now. We used to be a do it for you, create your content for you. So we would have a whole team. We'd write the articles, we publish the articles and hopefully they would get the leads.

00:05:40:04 - 00:05:42:12
Bob
Some clients, we were successful. For many we weren't.

00:05:42:12 - 00:05:50:14
Bob
It was something wasn't right. So, the I had met Marcus through the HubSpot community. I've known him for a few years.

00:05:50:14 - 00:06:04:15
Bob
But it was really when, I really understood his material where he was teaching. And they they ask, you answer philosophy. And I was like, that is exactly what impact needs. We've got this great team, we've got this great culture, we've got people are passionate.

00:06:04:21 - 00:06:06:22
Bob
They love working with clients. We love what we do.

00:06:08:00 - 00:06:08:21
Bob
We were missing that

00:06:08:21 - 00:06:15:03
Bob
thing, that special sauce that when we bring this to our clients and you can call it IP and call it whatever it was.

00:06:15:03 - 00:06:22:00
Bob
and obviously Mark is such a force on stage and he's got such a great presence. Absolutely. He had a small team at the time. It was Zach, it was George.

00:06:22:00 - 00:06:23:12
Bob
He had a very small team at the time.

00:06:23:12 - 00:06:30:21
Bob
And he wasn't looking to scale and grow. He just wanted the companies that he was working with to do great things. And it's all based around the principles that they ask you to answer.

00:06:30:21 - 00:06:34:11
Bob
So in my mind, I'm sitting here saying, okay, I got 35 people at a time.

00:06:34:11 - 00:06:36:04
Bob
He's got four. We could come together.

00:06:36:04 - 00:06:40:22
Bob
We can transform all this. Maybe we do that. Do it for you. Along with the coaching system, which

00:06:40:22 - 00:06:50:23
Bob
quickly we got rid of that. Do it for you. Realize the most successful clients were all in the the coaching program. And now we had the special sauce. They ask you you answer. But I saw even more like

00:06:50:23 - 00:06:55:05
Bob
this is not just teaching you some principles, this is a system.

00:06:55:05 - 00:07:01:08
Bob
And really, how do we implement that? They ask you answer system into the business.

00:07:01:08 - 00:07:15:12
Bob
over those years we're like getting so inspired by iOS. Like they kick off with, focus day. Why don't we kick off with a day where we get everybody aligned and our best clients and the most successful agreements we had, we did kickoff.

00:07:15:12 - 00:07:23:18
Bob
We had they asked us a workshop. So now that's been updated and modified. We call that alignment Day. We get everyone in the organization on the same page.

00:07:23:18 - 00:07:35:02
Bob
This is how we're doing marketing this is how we're doing sales. These are the principles that we're going to uphold in our marketing, in our sales, and why they work and gets everyone in the company saying, oh, now I know why we're talking about pricing.

00:07:35:02 - 00:07:48:21
Bob
Oh, now I know we're talking about our competitors and why it's so important. Right? So, so having a system of how do we get everybody up and going? So inspired by iOS. So when I first met Marcus and I saw they ask you, you answer in my mind I was like,

00:07:48:21 - 00:07:58:02
Bob
this is a system. And we need to really systemize all this IP, which obviously led to probably five years of work together

00:07:58:02 - 00:07:59:08
Bob
that turned into that book

00:07:59:08 - 00:08:00:02
Bob
right behind you there.

00:08:00:02 - 00:08:01:23
Bob
Endless customers. Yeah. And that

00:08:01:23 - 00:08:10:12
Bob
those of you have read the book and see, okay, this is much more systemized than they ask you answer was especially the last section of the book where we say, okay, this is how it all comes together,

00:08:10:12 - 00:08:14:13
Bob
which is actually how the book traction ends. It's like, let's put it all together now.

00:08:14:13 - 00:08:18:03
Bob
You just learned all this stuff. So. Right. I'll be the first to admit, like,

00:08:18:03 - 00:08:27:16
Bob
R&D rip off and duplicate. Obviously there's we've got our own principles, we've got our own systems, we've got our own tools, but it is very inspired by us. And and because it works.

00:08:27:16 - 00:08:47:16
Alex
It definitely works. And it's cool for to hear this story from my perspective, because I started a few months after you, started like basically bringing Marcus and Zach and, and the sales line into impact. So I think it was 2018 and we were switching from the do it yourself to more of the coaching and training. And it was really fun for me to see that evolution be part of that.

00:08:47:18 - 00:08:49:08
Alex
But I also want to point out that

00:08:49:08 - 00:08:58:02
Alex
I remember you saying this, that Marcus had some of the best case studies or like results from this. They ask you answer system and

00:08:58:02 - 00:09:12:13
Alex
you wanted more of that. You wanted that for your clients. And I remember how passionate you were about that. And it really stood out to me because you care so much about results for the clients, and it's not about anything else other than making sure that clients win and that whatever they're implementing, they're successful with.

00:09:12:13 - 00:09:16:01
Alex
And I think all the work that you've done over the years with Marcus

00:09:16:01 - 00:09:20:23
Alex
to create the system is, is doing exactly that. Yeah. It's really, really amazing.

00:09:20:23 - 00:09:22:20
Bob
You know, and as you're saying, that makes me think,

00:09:22:20 - 00:09:28:03
Bob
back to impact being in the industry. And we had some clients we were incredibly successful with and some that we were not.

00:09:28:03 - 00:09:28:21
Bob


00:09:28:21 - 00:09:36:19
Bob
And I think there were some real think like moments, going through that journey and was a really important part of my development as an entrepreneur and a leader.

00:09:36:19 - 00:09:49:22
Bob
Right. Realizing who your core customer actually is. And I think Marcus had figured it out really early. And I think it's just because of Marcus, his personality that he's just, you know, has a he wants people like, listen and

00:09:49:22 - 00:09:53:15
Bob
follow him and believe in him and do the things that he's saying that you need to be doing.

00:09:53:15 - 00:10:02:07
Bob
And, he really doesn't have any patience for anyone that's not going to do that, which is in a weird way, it's challenging sometimes, but it's also very admirable because,

00:10:02:07 - 00:10:16:03
Bob
is a really powerful trait that he has. But I think back to some of our old clients, especially when I was working with the clients more, more involved, you know, we had some clients that were there to listen and to learn and open minded and want to collaborate.

00:10:16:03 - 00:10:22:06
Bob
And our staff enjoyed work on those clients so much because they felt appreciated, like we were on the same team.

00:10:22:06 - 00:10:32:20
Bob
But then we had other clients that were either, maybe there the CEO and said, you're the my person who's give me leads just, just do the things and where am I leads? And then every time we say this is what we want to do, they'd say, no.

00:10:32:20 - 00:10:33:02
Bob
And,

00:10:33:02 - 00:10:53:03
Bob
that was a very challenging relationship. And those are we struggled in those. And I remember once somebody told me, on a call and this is a marketing person that really was not open minded, and experienced, but the company wasn't, wasn't going the direction that they wanted to. I remember her going, you don't have an MBA, what do you know?

00:10:53:03 - 00:11:01:21
Bob
And I was like, oh, okay. And all these years later, I realized, like, okay, you're just not my client. And, you know, that would never been a client, that Marcus would have worked with the sales line.

00:11:01:21 - 00:11:08:01
Bob
And I think, you know, what we really realize is that our core customer here at impact is open minded. They want to learn.

00:11:08:01 - 00:11:19:05
Bob
And that's where we find that actually, a lot of our best clients right now, they are doing iOS as well, and they're so primed to fully embrace and list customers and full time beautifully.

00:11:19:07 - 00:11:21:08
Bob
And that's where a lot of our most successful clients are.

00:11:21:08 - 00:11:39:14
Alex
That's really cool that that you figured that out. And so can we can we dive into that a little bit more? Can we talk about. So most of the clients that are ideal fit are already practicing iOS. And you've really designed this. And Marcus has really worked hard to get this to a place where endless customers just dovetails right into it.

00:11:39:14 - 00:11:40:02
Alex
And it works.

00:11:40:02 - 00:11:51:12
Alex
almost seamlessly with it. So what was that like developing in that to make sure that it that it was seamless? And how does it really help businesses that are already doing iOS to just amplify and take it, you know, to the next level?

00:11:51:12 - 00:12:10:23
Bob
Yeah. Because I think, you know, again, maybe, maybe it's time just iOS, maybe they're doing scaling up or doing some other type of coaching program. It's very systemized, but iOS is probably the largest. So I think we can use as an example, but they're just used to going through, full day sessions and make sure we're all in attendance and we're all learning the same things at the same time.

00:12:10:23 - 00:12:14:09
Bob
So we're going to market. We're doing everything the same exact way. So whether it's

00:12:14:09 - 00:12:26:18
Bob
doing your playing session for your your quarterly or your annual, we do the same thing on the endless customer side. Let's let's figure out what are our focus areas for the next 90 days

00:12:26:18 - 00:12:30:13
Bob
our marketing, and make sure we are holding each other accountable to getting all the things done.

00:12:30:13 - 00:12:49:16
Bob
We need to get done with our coaches coming in and giving some strategic advice and direction, and make sure that everything is being done the right way. Are the principles and it's been proven to work all these years. And then usually in the first 90 days, it's like getting used to that system. But again, if people have done iOS, they're used to working in 90 day cycles.

00:12:49:16 - 00:12:51:23
Bob
So we work in 90 day cycles to

00:12:51:23 - 00:13:05:11
Bob
our first 90 days when working with somebody, getting all the foundational things in place, we come back together. We we do a scorecard again. IOS companies are so used in scaling up to Rockefeller habits or the organizational checkup

00:13:05:11 - 00:13:14:01
Bob
so used to scoring. And we have the analyst customer scorecard. And that shows exactly what we're doing well, where we still need to improve.

00:13:14:05 - 00:13:24:16
Bob
That informs our focus areas for the next 90 days. And we go back out again, and over, you know, a two year period. Our clients are watching us. They're

00:13:24:16 - 00:13:35:23
Bob
really learning how to do all these things in-house or building these capabilities or having these winds or getting things done. Their websites, developing their contents, developing their sales activities are improving, their culture is getting better, and the technology is getting better.

00:13:35:23 - 00:13:43:03
Bob
Those are the five components of the endless customers model. They're all getting stronger. Again, very similar to the attraction model. Yeah.

00:13:43:03 - 00:13:54:07
Bob
And they watch their score go from a 20 to a 30 to a 50 to a 70. And they hit that 80, which is what we consider mastery of most of the principles, events, customers. And that's the goal we want to get our clients to again.

00:13:54:07 - 00:13:59:02
Bob
So an iOS client is used to work in that way. So we've built a system that's very similar.

00:13:59:02 - 00:14:07:22
Alex
All right. So this has got me thinking about internally here at impact. What's what's your vision for the future as the CEO. And where do you see impact and endless customers taking us

00:14:07:22 - 00:14:09:09
Alex
into the future. Like what's your view.

00:14:09:12 - 00:14:11:01
Bob
Yeah. Our CEO yeah. So

00:14:11:01 - 00:14:20:04
Bob
really excited about what we're doing. If I was can walk through our CEO, everything's guided by our purpose, which is to create heroes, grow businesses, and change lives. Has not changed.

00:14:20:04 - 00:14:27:12
Bob
Obviously, our niche, the way we do that is through helping companies become the most known and trusted brands in their markets through the endless customer system.

00:14:27:13 - 00:14:45:13
Bob
We just talked about who are core customers, and we have got that laser focus. So, you know, our big mission is, you know, 1000 businesses become the most known and trusted brand in their space, coached through the in this customer's principles. So that's our yeah, that's our mission. That's our core target in US terms.

00:14:45:13 - 00:14:52:09
Bob
You know, right now we're working to to get up to 100 active clients, very excited about what we're doing.

00:14:52:09 - 00:15:06:17
Bob
We've really nailed our processes. That's been a big project for us. A lot of our marketing is an area of focus. Obviously, we're on the marketing team together, right? I've been working with you guys very closely. Yeah. I didn't realize how big of a shift it would be

00:15:06:17 - 00:15:14:04
Bob
when we put so much effort and again, the book launch to make it a bestseller list, which we accomplished, which is a huge goal for us, and we're very excited about that.

00:15:14:06 - 00:15:32:00
Bob
But I think we didn't realize how old our website was and how much content said they ask. You answer that now needs to be updated to say and list customers. And quite frankly, how much content was still on our website from 2014 to 2015, when we were just an inbound marketing agency that was just outdated.

00:15:32:00 - 00:15:36:05
Bob
we worked really hard to change up our entire marketing strategy to support where we're going.

00:15:36:07 - 00:15:41:14
Bob
But I think it's just, you know, getting more clients on this journey. That's our that's our biggest focus because because it works.

00:15:41:14 - 00:15:48:22
Bob
And I'm very proud that the majority of clients that start their journey stick with the journey, get through the journey and get to the promises that the book promises.

00:15:48:22 - 00:15:53:14
Bob
I'd be the first to admit that impact was not always like that as a company.

00:15:53:14 - 00:15:56:11
Bob
And that was never okay for Marcus. It's never okay for me.

00:15:56:11 - 00:16:07:12
Bob
know we had to come up with something. It was much better, and I'm very proud that we have that now. But we just, still a lot of progress now to continue to grow this business and help more, help more people and just

00:16:07:12 - 00:16:09:17
Bob
create more heroes, grow more businesses and change more lives.

00:16:09:18 - 00:16:25:07
Alex
absolutely. And it's it's really true. You and Marcus eat, breathe, live that stuff. And it's the passion is palpable. And you can feel it internally here. And I hope people externally can feel it as well. I also I just want to quickly talk about when you were working on this book and when

00:16:25:07 - 00:16:28:08
Alex
the whole evolution of they ask you instead going into endless customers.

00:16:28:08 - 00:16:34:02
Alex
I also feel like that's when the shift happened for us to like, really get back in the iOS and really

00:16:34:02 - 00:16:37:23
Alex
like focus on all the things that you've just talked about. Can you just tell me a little bit about

00:16:37:23 - 00:16:48:06
Alex
what that was like as you were writing the book and you were working on the book with Marcus, and just how that changed the company for where we are now and how it's taking us into this vto towards the future.

00:16:48:06 - 00:17:04:18
Bob
Yeah, last year was a wild year for us. You know, I think we're starting to really see all the hard work of last year, really take off now. But yeah, I mean, going through the entire process of everything we were known for was they ask you to answer and to come to market with a completely different brand.

00:17:04:18 - 00:17:09:14
Bob
And Marcus has told the story. We renamed it from the ask me answer to endless customers because

00:17:09:14 - 00:17:19:14
Bob
to an unaware audience, they don't know what they ask. You answer is or means. You know, we know it and our community knows because we've all embraced that. The principle and the book is still that principle.

00:17:19:14 - 00:17:22:17
Bob
But, you know, unless customers is much more clear.

00:17:22:17 - 00:17:31:21
Bob
So it needed to be done. And it was just a that was a massive project to do that. Of course, writing a book is a massive project, and implementing iOS is a massive

00:17:31:21 - 00:17:44:03
Bob
project. And we also became a much more systemized company last year and implemented a lot more, processes and systems just across the board in our service delivery and everything that we do, which is all connected to the iOS system.

00:17:44:05 - 00:17:47:09
Bob
So last year was, was a pretty wild year here at impact.

00:17:47:09 - 00:17:51:22
Bob
And, this year things have started to really settle in. And I'm really excited for the future.

00:17:51:22 - 00:17:56:12
Alex
I love that you shared that. I think it's super relatable. And I think it's important for people out there to hear that because

00:17:56:12 - 00:17:59:20
Alex
there's some peaks and valleys as you run a business and as you scale a business and you have to

00:17:59:20 - 00:18:07:09
Alex
to be open to learning and understanding that in some of those moments that might be tough or scary or whatever those those feelings are, that's when you can really learn and then

00:18:07:09 - 00:18:10:10
Alex
double down on how to be more effective as you move into the future.

00:18:10:12 - 00:18:14:13
Bob
Of course, AI is affected everything. I mean, and we haven't even mentioned the word AI here, but the whole

00:18:14:13 - 00:18:23:04
Bob
reason why the book was going through a massive update anyways was because of that date in November of 2022, and ChatGPT dropped and changed

00:18:23:04 - 00:18:29:00
Bob
the way marketing, the way business is done forever. Forever. So you know, the system needed to at least address that.

00:18:29:00 - 00:18:29:11
Bob
And

00:18:29:11 - 00:18:35:01
Bob
I think the same principles, if they ask you the answer, even if we didn't update the book, are still built for an AI first world.

00:18:35:01 - 00:18:40:07
Bob
At least now the book is saying this works in AI first world to at least relate to that.

00:18:40:07 - 00:18:49:05
Alex
Well, that's the coolest part about the answer. Now endless customers is it's principles based. And I love when Marcus says that. He says it in a way that's much more powerful than how I'm going to say it now. But basically,

00:18:49:05 - 00:18:57:14
Alex
trust is a principle and, you know, technology might change and the way we do business might change. But people, the way people trust one another is never going to change.

00:18:57:14 - 00:19:00:14
Alex
That's always going to be a constant. And I think that's a really important takeaway.

00:19:00:17 - 00:19:05:16
Bob
Marcus is you've been saying this for now. I love this graph that he shows on stage. And he showed it in our webinar last week.

00:19:05:16 - 00:19:13:10
Bob
at the beginning of a buying process and the end of a buying process. The buyer asked the same question, but just a change of one word, the beginning. It's

00:19:13:10 - 00:19:16:10
Bob
roughly how much is this going to cost me at the end?

00:19:16:10 - 00:19:19:01
Bob
It's exactly how much is going to cost me,

00:19:19:01 - 00:19:25:18
Bob
So when we think about they ask you answer one side how you can address pricing address pricing is like one of the core things in the book. Right. Such an important part.

00:19:25:18 - 00:19:33:04
Bob
But yeah, that has not changed. And how and now we're talking an AI world. The first question someone wants to know is roughly how much does it cost me.

00:19:33:10 - 00:19:34:19
Bob
They go to chat you b t

00:19:34:19 - 00:19:39:06
Bob
they get their answers based on contents on the internet. So if you're not publishing content, you're not going to get recommended.

00:19:39:06 - 00:19:40:11
Bob
Totally. Very basic stuff.

00:19:40:11 - 00:19:47:08
Bob
same thing like if you were in publishing content, we're going to get found by Google. Well, now it's AI if you're not published country and not found by AI.

00:19:47:10 - 00:19:47:18
Alex
Right.

00:19:47:18 - 00:19:58:18
Bob
But the stuff that buyers still want to know is still exactly the same. It's the price. It's for my options. Who are the competitors? How can I get burned? What's right for me? What's the best that's out there?

00:19:58:18 - 00:20:08:04
Bob
all those things. Just connect right back to the big five. What are people saying about this? All goes back to the big five and all that gets fed from content.

00:20:08:04 - 00:20:14:16
Bob
even if we didn't update, they ask you to answer, it still would be built for the world today at least the book, we get some new tools,

00:20:14:16 - 00:20:22:08
Bob
new tactics. It's much more systemized of how you implement all this, but it addresses the ask me answer in first world.

00:20:22:14 - 00:20:23:05
Alex
Very cool,

00:20:23:05 - 00:20:30:17
Alex
So for everybody out there watching, listening, this is my favorite part of the show. What what's the one thing from our discussion today that you want people to take away from, from all this?

00:20:30:17 - 00:20:48:13
Bob
Well, if I was going to really just be vulnerable and ask, I said, if you're doing iOS or if you know someone's doing you ask and they're looking, either you're looking to grow your business and drive more revenue and, or, you know, somebody that's that needs to grow their business. They need more marketing, need more sales. I just ask them to check out the book and let's customers not that would be the biggest ask.

00:20:48:13 - 00:20:49:01
Bob
I would have.

00:20:49:01 - 00:20:49:17
Alex
Excellent.

00:20:49:17 - 00:20:57:20
Alex
Thanks for being on the show. I love talking to you. Yeah, we always have great combos and you know you're welcome any time. So let's not wait. As long as this past, this past time so we can get you back on the show.

00:20:57:20 - 00:20:58:21
Bob
Rock and roll, brother. Let's do it.

00:20:58:21 - 00:20:59:20
Alex
Tomorrow. All right.

00:20:59:20 - 00:21:06:00
Alex
Well, everybody, this is Bob Ruffolo, CEO and founder of impact. Thanks for tuning in. I'm your host, Alex. Catch you on the next episode.