Today’s guest is a seasoned professional in the world of brand strategy and marketing. His passion for design and sales development has helped fueled growth for multiple organizations. Introducing Morgan Smith, the Managing Director at Alignd and Co-Host of the B2B Power Hour Podcast. Morgan comes to us today to share his wisdom on the fascinating world of attention-driven selling, the digital sales landscape, and the remarkable power of a strong sales team culture. Busted Myths:You do not need a well-developed personal brand and lots of followers to succeed on LinkedIn. Not only is this flawed from a strategic perspective, but it’s also a terrible way to scale your marketing because you are limited by the number of influencers with enough followers.Takeaways: There will only ever be so many evangelists which causes a limiting problem. The social media law of gravity is something we can’t get around because as people get more popular, so do others. The digital shift has created this limiting successor factor. With the shift from physical to digital, many B2B marketers feel pressured to build the pre-sales relationship by developing someone as a credible voice on social media. However, this is reliant on one person that could leave and the mercy of the ever-changing social media platform algorithms.Brand marketing’s purpose is to build permission with the audience and to have them say yes, but very few comply. This strategy takes discipline to execute because the marketer has to be relevant and timely. Creating the vision and sticking to it is what will tie everything together in the end. LinkedIn is a networking platform that draws the opportunity to collaborate and make business connections. With this, credibility gets confused for attention. Going viral or using trendy hooks may earn attention, but it doesn't necessarily lead to credibility.Credibility, when done correctly, is about earning permission. This is done by showing up in their comments, engaging with content, and building a relationship. Trustworthy individuals who consistently demonstrate good intentions are more likely to capture your attention and prompt a response.It is often more complicated than not engaging with peers on platforms. We try too hard to form an immediate connection we end up losing, when we could be forming a gradual connection of networks overtime. There is a pressure to do everything all at once which crashes the system.Quote of the Show:“You have to be relevant. You have to be timely. You have to have a creative vision for what the show is and stick to it.” - Morgan SmithShout Outs:Seth Godin - Renowned marketer and authorPermission Marketing by Seth GodinFranklinCovey - Leadership coachingLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganjsmith/ B2B Power Hour: https://podcast.b2bpowerhour.com/ Alignd website: https://getalignd.co/ Ways to Tune In:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-show/id1338838763Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/37228621-2f9c-4905-a223-1844effb49ddSpotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/1vVLpNI1LssMTiL6KdsamnStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-showGoogle Podcasts: https://play.google.com/music/m/Im7mytmu2wa2mekhoeixlja5hpe?t=The_Hard_Corps_Marketing_ShowYouTube: https://youtu.be/Y3Wt7T5msRsHard Corps Marketing is produced and sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/