Referralopolis
About 150 people were employed over the years by ZipSearch, the last company I founded, and each taught me something special about the human condition, traits, character, upbringing, work styles, sales, ingenuity, motivation, performance psychology, friendship and more.
My having begun most of these relationship as the Sage archetype, it’s wonderfully ironic that our roles have reversed, and I’m now enjoying learning from them as many have gone on to blaze their own respectable paths in the lead generation industry and elsewhere. So if you’re seeking leads or are a company seeking top talent you should consider reaching out to these folks because I truly couldn’t have done it without them. Maybe you’ll find them that valuable, too. Many additional incredible people will soon be added to this work-in-progress list.
Design:
Tim Tuttle 858.750.5867
Tim in in a class by himself. A consummate artist, he hit my incredibly high standards every time. He is a true rock star (and actually was a rock star in his past life). I, a young, successful, good looking virile man should have been doing exciting things. Instead, I’d truly spend countless hours starting at Tim’s amazing work. I just physically couldn’t look away. He’s doing all the design work for LeadTrade®, a company I’m launching with Mike Ferree (LeadCritic.com) but Tim may have time for your projects too. Pay Tim more than what ever he wants because he’s that great. I promise.
Programming:
Amit Dey 858.342.6822
My first associate when starting ZipSearch in 1995, Amit accepted pay of just $50 per week when even that ridiculously paltry sum was more than I could afford. At the time I could either eat or pay Amit. I chose Amit. Years later, jealous tirades occasionally erupted when others discovered how much Amit was by then earning. Heck, I’m forever indebted and, of course, had to make up for those early days. Amit is also a partner in my new upcoming venture, MortgageScore®. If you need high end programming, he’s a rainman-type genius.
Webmaster:
Adrian Huth 619.300.2499
As the first person I was going to have to share our server passwords with, I was quite skeptical and recall asking Adrian to return for no less than eight interviews before ultimately hiring him. It was an important decision and the right decision. He was forever loyal and would do the tasks I couldn’t, and it’s still amazing to reminisce about his rainman-like multitasking. Incredible. He’s now running his own company called Park Boulevard Marketing. If you need effective web assistance, call Adrian. He’s also operating HowMuchCanYouSave.com, a solid alternative for supplying your company with leads.
National Sales:
Drew Nelson 616.443.3718
With sustained sales leadership for 9 years, Drew is the wow factor. He brought on our largest accounts, time and time again. When Drew and I met, the company couldn’t even afford computers for everyone, and our first office was located next to a loud and bizarre tenant filled metal working plant. Still, Drew found ways to stoke sales and was a rainmaker for the company. CohesiveLuxury.com is his new company and it’s a very unique service for concierging high end toys like Lamborghini’s and yacht’s. He may still have some part-time sales energy for your organization though so call him if your sales department needs a jump start.
General Management:
Ken Corbit 870.882.1809
I’m forever thankful for Ken’s “iron sharpens iron” viewpoints, observations and friendship from the first day we met. He’s the one who discovered the beginning of ZipSearch’s end. I can recall him discreetly telling me that so many things were “broken” and that the reports he’d pull from different departments wouldn’t match up. I was bewildered because he was absolutely right. Afterwards, we rushed to fix EVERYTHING but it seemed like everything we fixed Ken would discover that the fixes caused more breaks. Ken’s the most enthusiastic presenter and one of the most motivated people I’ve ever met. He can run an actual marathon or a business marathon in his sleep – if he sleeps at all. Operationally speaking, Ken has what it takes to run any firm. It’s too bad the universe didn’t bring us together a year prior. He has what it would have taken to turn things around. Ken can help you gain a profoundly deep understanding of your company’s inner workings and keep everyone on track to fix it.
