Building Trust and Brand: The Key Elements of Effective Outbound Marketing   In the latest episode of our podcast, host Josh sits down with Matt Cressman, the founder of Lead Storm AI and a LinkedIn marketing expert, to delve into the intricacies of outbound lead generation. This comprehensive blog post will break down the key takeaways from their conversation, offering actionable advice and detailed insights to help you optimize your outbound marketing strategies, particularly on LinkedIn. Josh kicks off the episode by inviting listeners to explore his resources for connecting with partners, investors, influencers, and clients. He highlights his free video class available on Up My Influence, which outlines steps to achieve 100% inbound marketing in their industry over the next 6 to 8 months without relying on spam, ads, or sales tactics. Josh's methods have been successful for over 15 years, generating eight figures in revenue for his companies. Matt Cressman joins the conversation, introducing himself as a LinkedIn marketing expert and a connector specializing in outbound marketing. He shares his journey from leading an international nonprofit to founding Lead Storm AI, driven by a desire to start a podcast and connect with industry professionals. Matt founded Lead Storm AI to address the pain points he encountered while managing multiple marketing tools. Lead Storm AI combines marketing automation, CRM capabilities, and outbound marketing tools into a comprehensive platform. Key features include contact management, funnel building, and automation for LinkedIn outreach and cold emailing. Matt emphasizes the importance of building relationships and creating meaningful content. His approach to outbound marketing has evolved, particularly in response to changing buyer behaviors. He believes that having a strong brand and producing valuable content are essential for successful outbound lead generation. Matt discusses the shift in outbound lead generation strategies from 2019 to 2022, noting the decline of the golden era of outbound marketing. He highlights the need for hyper-personalization in messaging, stating that generic templates are no longer effective. Instead, marketers must leverage sophisticated tools to create personalized outreach that resonates with potential clients. Matt introduces his BCT framework, which stands for Brand, Content, and Trust. This framework is fundamental to successful outbound marketing: understand who you are as a brand, create valuable content that addresses the needs and pain points of your audience, and build trust with your audience through consistent and meaningful interactions. Josh raises the challenge of standing out in a crowded marketplace, where many professionals receive numerous unsolicited messages. Matt shares practical tactics for breaking through the noise, such as hyper-personalization, using intent data, leveraging LinkedIn events, and hosting your own events to provide value and attract potential clients.   About Matthew Cretzman: Matthew Cretzman is a seasoned entrepreneur and marketing expert, specializing in outbound marketing, LinkedIn strategies, growth hacking, and lead generation. Founder and CEO of  Stormbreaker Digital and LeadStorm AI.   About LeadStorm AI: LeadStorm AI's full suite of marketing and sales automation tools gives you everything you need to market your business, close more deals, and make more money.   Apply to be a Guest on The Thoughtful Entrepreneur: https://go.upmyinfluence.com/podcast-guest   Links Mentioned in this Episode: Want to learn more? Check out LeadStorm AI website at https://www.leadstorm.ai/ Check out LeadStorm AI on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/leadstorm-ai/ Check out Matthew Cretzman on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattcretzman Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!   More from UpMyInfluence: We are actively booking guests for our The Thoughtful Entrepreneur. Schedule HERE. Are you a 6-figure consultant? I’ve got high-level intros for you. Learn more here. What is your #1 Lead Generation BLOCKER? Take my free quiz here. Want to learn more about all the podcasts managed by UpMyInfluence? Opt in here.