Send us a text

Are your employees already using AI without your knowledge? What competitive advantages are you missing by not having a clear AI strategy? Fractional COO Julio Gonzalez reveals how small and mid-sized businesses can harness artificial intelligence to drive efficiency and growth without massive investments or technical expertise.

Drawing from decades of experience as a CIO and operational strategist, Julio cuts through the AI hype to deliver practical insights you can implement immediately. Rather than treating AI as just another tech buzzword, he approaches it from an operational perspective—focusing on how automation can solve real business problems and free up your time for high-value activities.

The conversation explores how mature AI implementations are yielding up to 20% performance improvements in specific business areas. From AI assistants handling phone calls and scheduling to financial tools automating invoice matching, these technologies are transforming everyday tasks. For small businesses without large marketing departments, AI writing assistants are crafting professional communications and marketing materials in minutes rather than hours.

But Julio also addresses the risks—particularly how employees using free AI tools might inadvertently expose sensitive business data. Learn how to develop specific, detailed prompts that produce accurate, valuable outputs instead of the "hallucinations" that can damage your credibility and brand. Discover the fundamental difference between using AI effectively versus simply adopting the latest shiny object.

Whether you're AI-curious or AI-anxious, this episode provides a balanced, strategic framework for implementing automation in ways that enhance your business operations without overwhelming your team or budget. The competitive advantage isn't just in adopting AI—it's in adopting it thoughtfully before your competition does.

Ready to transform your business operations? Connect with Julio at Opticution (www.opticution.com) to develop an AI strategy that aligns with your specific business goals and challenges.

Send us a text

What if your sales team could practice their pitches, objection handling, and closing techniques with an AI that looks, sounds, and responds just like a real prospect? On this episode of Sales and Marketing Playbook Unleashed, we dive deep into the revolutionary world of AI-powered sales training with special guest Mike from Colleva.

Perfect practice makes perfect—but most sales professionals only get real-world practice once or twice a week with actual prospects. Mike reveals how Colleva's photorealistic AI creates face-to-face conversation opportunities that allow salespeople to practice extensively without the risk of costly mistakes in front of real customers. "Making a mistake on a call could be a $25,000 mistake, could be a $100,000 mistake, could be a million-dollar mistake," notes co-host Evan Polin. "I'd much rather get the reps and feedback with the AI."

The conversation explores how this technology bridges the persistent gap between marketing and sales by ensuring consistent messaging. Sales teams can practice with their actual products, services, and company-approved language rather than generic scenarios. Most impressively, the AI doesn't just evaluate what salespeople say—it analyzes their tone, facial expressions, and body language, providing comprehensive feedback on both content and delivery.

Beyond sales training, we discover applications for talent acquisition, performance reviews, and even customer satisfaction surveys. The AI can conduct interviews with team members or customers, gathering insights that might otherwise be dominated by the loudest voices in traditional settings.

Whether you're a sales manager struggling to provide consistent coaching, a marketing leader frustrated with messaging inconsistency, or a small business owner wearing multiple hats, this episode reveals how AI-powered practice can transform your team's performance without adding to your workload. Listen now to discover how face-to-face AI might be the missing piece in your sales enablement strategy.

Send us a text

Imagine building a table with only three legs – it would inevitably collapse. Your business operates the same way, requiring four sturdy supports: sales, marketing, financial health, and people management. When one weakens, everything becomes unstable.

Steve Kapfer, founder and CEO of Tower CFO, joins hosts Craig Andrews and Evan Polin to reveal how financial clarity transforms business decision-making. With decades of experience simplifying finance for growth-minded entrepreneurs, Steve breaks down complex concepts into actionable insights that every business owner can implement.

The conversation tackles a critical problem plaguing small to medium-sized businesses: financial statements that obscure rather than illuminate. Steve explains how reorganizing your financial reporting can reveal which products truly drive profitability, whether your overhead structure is appropriate, and if marketing expenditures are delivering returns. This clarity empowers strategic decisions rather than reactive scrambling.

A fascinating discussion emerges around business strategy and execution failures. The experts identify a common pattern where owners jump to solutions without proper planning, burn through budgets without tracking results, then abandon initiatives when they don't see immediate returns. Instead, Steve advocates for measured approaches like A/B testing, where businesses systematically identify what works before scaling their efforts.

The episode highlights how innovation and communication serve as essential companions to financial clarity. Without continuous product improvement, even profitable offerings eventually stagnate. Similarly, when owners fail to consistently articulate their vision throughout the organization, execution falters despite sound financial foundations.

By the conclusion, listeners gain three powerful financial focuses to transform their businesses: understanding true profitability, managing cash flow effectively, and evaluating return on investment across all initiatives. For entrepreneurs whose largest investment is often their own business, these insights prove invaluable.

Ready to strengthen the financial leg of your business table? Connect with Steve at steve@towercfo.com or visit TowerCFO.com, and subscribe to The Sales and Marketing Playbook Unleashed for more expert guidance on building a thriving business.