What&#8217;s Working With Cam Marston®

Posted On April 17, 2023

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is the Patriarch of the Celebrated EP Carrillo Cigar Company. And a Stud.

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Cigar Aficionado magazine loves EP Carrillo cigars. And they should. The cigars are fantastic. The patriarch of the company is Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. He’s third generation in the business after his (thankfully) failed attempt to become a jazz drummer in New York City as a much younger man. Today he leads the company as they develop new product, supervise the growth of a variety of tobaccos in Central America, train rollers, and market across the world. His son and daughter – both brilliant – are also in the business and he’s grooming them to lead. This year they’re on track to make four million cigars. We talk family business, hurricanes, the youth market, and much more. And you’ll hear me geek out a bit because Mr. Carrillo is a bit of a celebrity to me – so dang cool to get to talk to him.

Check out What Works – my book highlighting the top ten business lessons I learned from the first 200 episodes of the show.

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Posted On April 10, 2023

Customer Service Still Matters. A Lot. Pam Denham and I Discuss.

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Customer service still matters, though we don’t hear about it today like we used to. We know customers are increasingly disappointed in the service they receive. They have no problems blowing up social media when they get treated poorly. But customer service training and eduction is woefully lacking. And cheap, online customer service training…stinks. Pam Denham has trained customer service for years. She and I talk about what’s missing today and she offers some simple tips for taking service skills into your company.

Find my book, What Works, online.

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Posted On April 3, 2023

Scot Hunsaker Returns to the Show with a Message: Don’t wait too long…

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Scot Hunsaker was on the show last year talking about how to prepare employees to take over once the CEO decided to leave. He has a recipe for the process which we discussed in a very engaging conversation. Scot and his wife then boarded his boat and began a slow ride up the east coast, around Nova Scotia, and down the St Lawrence river. His boat is now in storage near Chicago. He and his wife then flew to New Zealand and then Australia for a six week trip. From Australia, Scott called. “Cam,” he said, “there’s something I need to tell your listeners that I’m learning from this trip. They need to not wait too long before starting their retirement. I’m seeing too many people who are too old and frail to enjoy it the way they dreamed.” Well worth a listen.

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What Works is my book written about the best ideas from the first 200 episodes of What’s Working. Sign up at the bottom of this page to receive a free chapter.

Posted On March 30, 2023

Sean Sullivan and I Discuss the Stroke that Nearly Took Me Out March 21st

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Bonus Episode: On 3/21/23, about 8:35am, I suffered a stroke in the right side of my brain. The quick actions of those around me plus the Stroke Code team at USA Hospital in Mobile saved me. This podcast is the recording of the radio broadcast with FMTalk 106.5 Midday Mobile show host (and friend) Sean Sullivan as I recount the story.

Take a listen – some things to learn here that my save you or someone else some day.

Allison Horner – State Farm

Posted On March 27, 2023

Real Estate Update with a Focus on the Second Home Market – Angelo DePaola of The Coastal Connection Realty

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Angelo DePaola keeps up with the second home market via his real estate company in Orange Beach, Alabama. Interest rates have changed but there is still a big demand. Home owners are turning over, too. The Boomers who bought vacation homes to bring the kids while they grew up are getting weary of taking care of those homes since the kids and grandkids are visiting less and less. Angelo is a savvy business man who has been very proactive in spreading his name and serving his clients. He’s not the cheapest realtor in Orange Beach but his clients seldom go anywhere else once they’ve used his services.

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The Coastal Connection Realty

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Posted On March 20, 2023

The Wild West of Check Fraud – A Conversation with Ingo Money’s Rusty Pickering

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The sophistication of check fraud is something I knew nothing about until chatting with my old friend Rusty Pickering and then, only days later, hearing from two colleagues who had it happen to them. Rusty is President and COO of payment processing company Ingo Money in Alpharetta, Georgia. He and I chat about how check fraud happens, who’s at risk, who is at fault, and how to avoid having to constantly replace your credit card or debit card. Special bonus podcast version with extra content at the end – an off-script chat with Rusty and me.

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Posted On February 27, 2023

Richard Jolly – Kellogg School of Business – and I Talk Workplace Culture

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Richard Jolly believes that the only true differentiator between competitive businesses in the future will be their culture. Every other competitive advantage can be copied. And what is culture? It’s the way things get done. It’s the “smell of the place.” And so much more. We talk “hurry sickness”, “reciprocity”, manager’s new roles, why culture has become so important post-pandemic, etc. This one’s jam packed with content.

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Allison Horner – State Farm Agent

Trey Langus – Transworld Business Advisors

Angelo DePaola – The Coastal Connection Realty

Posted On February 20, 2023

Megan Owens and Live Oak Bank – A Non-Traditional Approach to Dominating Niches

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Live Oak Bank is a completely virtual bank. Megan Owens serves as one of the bank’s M&A experts and her expertise allows her to serve the bank anywhere in the nation where M&A expertise is needed. Need banking expertise for your veteranarian clinic, for example? Your Live Oak expert may as likely be local as from anywhere in the US but they will have deep, deep expertise in the veteranarian business. And that’s one example from the 30+ verticles where Live Oak aims to expertly serve clients. It’s a brilliant model.

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Posted On February 13, 2023

Ben Strout is Adding Second Floors to Homes and Removing the Roof LAST! It’s a Patent-Pending System That’s a Game Changer.

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Ben Strout thought “there has to be a better way.” As a home remodeling contractor, the frantic rush between roof removal and building the new one often leads to hurried work and – worse – rain ruining the house interior. He’s designed a patent-pending system that allows the new roof to go up first, then frame the interior of the addition, and the final step it to remove the old roof and add stairs from underneath. It’s a game changer. (This episode is a monthly collaboration with Business Alabama Magazine.)

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