I have long held a belief in the power of a coaching approach to sales and customer relationship management. I think there is potential to expand coaching in business into customer relationships. In this episode I speak to Robert Gray, Certified Leadership Coach with Essential Impact, one my instructors during my coaching certification. He provides a perspective on what coaching is and how it benefits people in achieving what they want for themselves. Rob shares my view about the applicability of coaching to customer relationship management and in this episode we compare notes and see what he has to say about it.

In this episode I chat with Amy Ballon, a seasoned business coach and strategic advisor. Amy and I were seat mates in our first corporate job 22 years ago as newly minted MBAs. We were both grateful and eager but then the world changed, and that disruption set Amy on a very different path as an entrepreneur and co-author of the book Mom Inc.: how to raise your family and your business without losing your mind or your shirt. Today she works as an entrepreneur coach with the Business Development Bank of Canada and is the co-founder of Spark Consulting. She is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs as they navigate their own journeys. Listen as we catch up for the first time in 20 years and trade lessons learned in our careers.

Alyssa Barry reminds us that it is possible to pursue a drive for helping others with a career in business. We met 9 years ago united by our passion for making the world a better place and improving quality of life for all. I had a feeling then we were deeply connected and this conversation confirms it.

Alyssa, principal and co-founder of irlabs, has created a firm to help organizations unlock hidden value. She has had an extensive career in strategy, investor relations, and communications. You would typically not associate these areas with the career of a self-declared activist but that is indeed where this activist inside found her calling.

Listen carefully to hear some lessons that we can all leverage to make an impact on people regardless of the profession we pursue.