We were lucky to catch up with Jeff Matlow recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeff, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I am a 3x entrepreneur. Plus I’m lucky. Each of my companies was acquired by a large, publicly traded media company. I took on senior leadership roles at each one.

Needless to say, I have a uniquely diverse career.

But that’s not my legacy.

I made a lot of mistakes along the way. And when I say “a lot”, let’s consider that an understatement. I wasn’t a great leader. I wasn’t a great operator. I was lucky.

I am now an executive coach. I help both entrepreneurs and corporate leaders 10x their teams productivity.

I do it in a simple way: I teach them how to avoid all of the mistakes I made along the way.

I am not a superstar. But I work with a lot of superstars and I help them to be more super.

My legacy, I hope, is not about what I’ve done, but the ways in which I’ve helped great people be even better.

My joy is in elevating people to more quickly realize their dreams.

Helping people avoid making mistakes is so much more fulfilling than making all the mistakes yourself.

Jeff, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I wanted to be a rockstar. But somewhere during my college days I had a sudden realization. It was this:

I had no talent.

So I entered the business side. I started my career working for record companies. That led to starting my own record label. I was lucky enough to have found some decent bands and my label was soon acquired by Interscope/Universal Music.

At the same time I started a marketing agency. We developed go to market strategies for brands like Citi, Kraft and Nestle. That go swallowed up by a company named Alloy.

After serving as GM at Alloy for some years, I started a new company that provided technology for the endurance sports business.

Lo and behold, that got acquired by Gannnett Media / USA Today.

Now here I am on the other side of entrepreneurship. I focus my time on helping leaders 10x their teams productivity.

I am an executive coach for leaders and their teams, including growth stage entrepreneurs and corporate executives.

I am so fortunate to love everything I do in my work. I am lucky to be trusted by successful leaders who want to take their careers (and their teams) to the next level.

I have developed a roadmap for success that becomes personalized for each individual. Whether it’s imposter syndrome, fear of conflict, difficulty with decision making or any other obstacle on the path to growth, I help leaders get beyond and achieve their dreams.

I love my job.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

I started a SaaS business for the sports industry in 2009. We provided registration and eCommerce software as well data management and analytics for marathons, cycling events, NGOs and similar types of companies.

When I started my business, there was one major player in the market. They had 96% market share and a $1b market cap.

I was just a guy with an idea who thought I could do better.

As it turns out, the behemoth had a contract with USA Triathlon that was up for renewal. I didn’t have a website or a product yet, but, as I said, I had an idea. I thought it was a great idea. And I was hugely passionate about it.

So I pitched USA Triathlon to give me their business.

Since I didn’t have a website or functionality to show, all I could present was a PowerPoint presentation, my passion and my integrity. It was a complete longshot.

But I won the business.

How? I don’t know.

But I won the business in September and I had to get a website up and running to launch at 12:01am on January 1.

To make a stressful story short, we launched at 11:50pm on December 31. Then I prayed.

As it turns out, everything went well. In fact it went so well that within 18 months we became the largest triathlon registration provider in the world. We leveraged that opportunity to scale to running, cycling, and other sporting events.

It was a super stressful time. It was the equivalent of going all-in during a poker game.
But if you don’t take a chance, you don’t win.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Humans, in general, want to feel like they matter. They want to feel like they have a purpose. And they want to feel like they are empowered.

Facilitating those feeling is actually pretty easy. It’s a two-step process.

1. Ask them their opinion
2. Actively listen to their response and keep an open mind about it

I have always used this methodology to engage with clients and foster brand loyalty.

As we’re thinking of building a new product, or changing our positioning, or, really, anything… we’ll ask clients for their feedback and advice.

Just the act of asking empowers them with the feeling that they matter. People like being asked for their opinions.

What’s even better, is that by opening up to our clients’ advice, we get some pretty insightful and valuable feedback. Almost every successful product I’ve created was built through the feedback and direction from clients and prospects.

The result of this is that the clients have a sense of ownership and pride in the brand. That is exactly what fosters brand loyalty.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.TheBestLeadershipNewsletter.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebestleadership
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBestLeadership/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmatlow
• Twitter: https://x.com/ByTitleOnly
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBestLeadershipPodcast
• Other: All links
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  Coaching and Consulting
  www.bytitleonly.com