Keynote Charlene Ignites & More Top Speakers

2020 Speaker Lineup

Charlene “Ignites” DeCesare

Keynote

Keynote Address

Why Leads Go Into the Black Hole & What to Do About it

Jay Wilkinson

The ROI of Why

Don Osborn

Marketing For People Who Hate Marketing

Taylor Rennick

How Creating a Podcast Led to a World of Opportunity (and Revenue!)

Kimberly Beer

Pre-Conference: Trends in Social Media Marketing

Breakout Session #1: Video Power Marketing

Breakout Session #2: Email Marketing The Better Way

Dave Meyer

Session #1: Get Your Business Online

Session #2: Use Data to Drive Business Growth

Connie Hancock & Don Macke

What do you need to be successful?

Cammie Kroll

Starting an Online Business: Tips and Tricks

Charlene “Ignites” DeCesare

Why Leads Go Into a Blackhole and What to Do About It

One of the biggest complaints from marketing is that they spend so much time, money, and effort to bring in leads, but then sales drops the ball. When marketing effort doesn’t lead to sales revenue, everyone points the finger back to marketing. Instead, marketing can do a few things to better enable sales and set everyone up to win (including the potential customers!) This talk is about the ideal mindset, message, and method at the intersection of sales and marketing.

You’ve done the work on the marketing side and you’re getting good leads, but somehow all that work isn’t converting to revenue. In some cases, prospects don’t even respond to your helpful replies to their inquiries. In other cases, you have (what you believe is) a great meeting, but then the prospect goes into a “black hole.”

Why does this happen, and more importantly, what can you do about it?

Take Away

The one mindset shift needed if you don’t want your prospects to “ghost” you.
How you can rewrite your email and voicemail scripts to be both credible and authentic.
How to create or adjust your sales process to scale your business while never allowing prospects or clients to feel “processed.

About Charlene

Charlene “Ignites” DeCesare has been a trusted advisor to executives and organizations around the world for more than two decades. As CEO of Charlene Ignites, LLC and Founder of Firewalk Sales, she specializes in helping smart, ambitious business builders accelerate growth at the intersection of sales and marketing. Previously, Charlene co-founded a fast-growing technology startup, and led Global Strategic Account Sales for more than a decade at Gartner, Inc.

Charlene has a B.S. in Communications from Emerson College and an M.B.A. in Sales & Marketing from Rivier University. She is a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association, a Brain-Based Success Coach, and a Certified Sales Leader (CSL). Charlene is also the author of the #1 Amazon Best Seller, The Email Cemetery – Where Bad Sales Emails Go to Die & How to Resuscitate Yours.

Jay Wilkinson

The ROI of WHY

In this fast-paced session, lifelong entrepreneur Jay Wilkinson, founder of Firespinrg, will share a compelling case for the “ROI of WHY” and why every company should be as focused on their “why” as they are on their “what.” You’ll learn about the Do More Good movement which was established to elevate the collective consciousness of business owners and leaders. The people behind the movement are Conscious Capitalists, B Corporations, 1% for the Plant companies, state-registered- Benefit Corporations and more – all aligned behind the belief that we are here to do more good.

Take Aways

Why and how to take steps to elevate their business on its path to a purpose-first model regardless of if they’re a startup or have been in business for decades
The 4 pillars of the Do More Good Movement: culture, community, cause and connection

About Jay

Jay Wilkinson is the founder and CEO of Firespring—a Nebraska-based Certified B Corporation. In 2016, Firespring was featured as one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 50 Places to Work in America and has been listed on the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies 7 of the last 9 years. As a philanthropist, he has raised millions of dollars for nonprofits, and last year he was a finalist for the PR Week’s Most Purposeful CEO Award. After decades, Jay remains passionate about crafting his own company’s culture, and spends the majority of his time helping nonprofits and businesses find their why and deepen their impact.

Don Osborn

Marketing For People Who Hate Marketing

For anyone that feels overwhelmed by marketing, let alone creating a marketing department, this is for you. We will look at the four steps you can take to build or update your marketing department using both the latest digital tools and traditional methods.

Take Away

A roadmap for reinventing your Marketing Department
The nine sections of a modern CRM-based marketing pan
Steps to take to delegate and automate your Marketing

About Don

As the creator and owner of DBO Digital marketing, Don has years of experience in developing business plans and marketing plans. In recent years he developed expertise in web development, digital marketing and has an active consulting practice dedicated to helping clients build or re-invent their marketing departments. As a public speaker, Don has years’ experience in leading workshops, small-group presentations and general consulting.

Taylor Rennick

How Creating a Podcast Led to a World of Opportunity (and Revenue!)

After launching Builder Funnel Radio in 2018, Builder Funnel has solidified its place as a thought leader in the home building and remodeling industry. With over 30,000 downloads and a new show coming in 2020, we’ve learned a few things along the way. Join us as we break down how Builder Funnel has created new brand partnerships, expanded our brand, and increased our revenue, all with one podcast.

Take Away

Building your brand with audio
The power of conversations with industry connections
How to get started with your own podcast

About Taylor

Taylor Rennick is an experienced marketing professional, specializing in digital content creation and strategy, email marketing, and website development. Taylor is currently an Inbound Marketing Strategist at Builder Funnel, an award-winning digital marketing agency that helps dozens of builders and remodelers across the United States and Canada. Taylor has helped several clients increase their online conversion rates, leading to double-digit revenue growth in several markets. Taylor holds an MA in Strategic Communication from Washington State University.

Kimberly Beer

Video Power Marketing

Learn how easy it is to incorporate video into your marketing program — and WHY it is a becoming a must for all types of businesses! You’ll learn about equipment, types of marketing videos, and how to successfully the four stages of producing a marketing video.

Take Away

What you need to do to use video in your marketing
The Four Stages of producing a marketing video
What to do with your videos once they are produced

About Kimberly

Kimberly Beer is a national speaker and advocate for entrepreneurship and small business marketing. Her mission is to inspire and educate entrepreneurs on creative solutions that improve their businesses and their lives. Kim’s seminars on entrepreneurial strategy and marketing are honest, enlightening. They are packed with great action steps and technical instruction garnered from over 25 years of experience. Kim is also an award winning writer, graphic designer and photographer and was named an Inspirational Influencer by the International Association of Women in 2018 for her work empowering female entrepreneurs.

Kimberly Beer

Trends in Social Media Marketing

Social media is a proven strategy for marketing your business. It is also, however, a rapidly changing and evolving industry. In this seminar you will learn about the current strategies in marketing your small business on the Big 4: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Both organic (non-paid marketing) and paid advertising will be covered.

Take Away

Which social media channels are right for you and your business.
What you should — and should not — be doing to utilize social media as a marketing platform.
Tools, tips and tricks to help make marketing easier on social media.

About Kimberly

Kimberly Beer

Email Marketing The Better Way

Email marketing offers an incredible ROI, but many marketers don’t take full advantage of this powerful marketing tool. In this seminar you will learn the four qualities of a good email marketing program and how to implement them the right way to increase your revenue, sales, and customer loyalty.

Take Away

What you need to do to use video in your marketing
The Four Stages of producing a marketing video
What to do with your videos once they are produced

About Kimberly

Dave Meyer

Get Your Business Online

Learn about Google My Business, a free tool for local businesses who want to connect with customers on Google Search and Maps. Get hands-on help creating or updating your business profile or a simple website.

Take Away

Create or claim your Business Profile on Google

About Dave

Dave Meyer, President of BizzyWeb will be your presenter for this event. Dave has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and communications and has presented digital marketing topics to thousands of people across the US and Canada. Dave is a public speaker for Google, was named 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Twin West Chamber of Commerce, and has been recognized by organizations including the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the Association of Builders and Contractors (ABC) and many others as a thought leader in marketing and communications. Dave’s passion for helping businesses with their marketing has led to BizzyWeb helping hundreds of clients Generate Buzz Without Getting Stung!

Dave Meyer

Use Data to Drive Business Growth

Learn best practices and analyze trends about how customers engage with your business online, then turn these insights into well-informed, actionable decisions.

Take Away

Identifying business goals and how you plan to use your online presence to achieve them
Incorporating data into your marketing plan
Selecting tools to help you find the answers you need

About Dave

Connie Hancock & Don Macke

What You Need To Be Successful

What do you need as an entrepreneur to be successful? Nebraska is rich in resources but how do you connect and network with the right resource to help you be more successful. Learn more about the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Initiative and in particular how to navigate and discover the resources available to you!

Take Away

Learn about the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Initiative
Discover ways to utilize the Resource Navigator
Explore ways your community can be supportive

Cammie Kroll

Starting an Online Business: Tips and Tricks

Take Away

How you can engage existing customers?
How to turn browsers into buyers?
How to begin boosting your conversions?

About Cammie

Cammie Kroll has been working in the field of Marketing and IT Development for nearly a decade. Her love and passion comes from the challenges that this field endures with the ever changing industry standards and the marketing advancements in trends. Through her position with GROW Nebraska, helping Nebraska small businesses succeed and compete not only state wide but nation and world-wide, is a daily motivation. Cammie is married to Tyler, an Entrepreneur with Kroll & Sons Construction in Holdrege and keeps her heart full of joy with her two-year-old son and six-month-old daughter.