Mastering Lead Generation: Essential Strategies for Defining Your Ideal Customer Profile and Boosting Sales Success In the latest episode of "The Thoughtful Entrepreneur," host Josh delves into the intricacies of lead generation and sales development with John Karsant, the founder and CEO of LevelUp Leads. This episode is a treasure trove of actionable advice and expert insights, particularly valuable for business owners and professionals aiming to refine their sales strategies. Let's break down the key takeaways and tips from this enlightening conversation. Josh kicks off the episode by addressing the importance of building connections with partners, investors, influencers, and clients. He shares his experience of engaging in private conversations with over 2,000 leaders to understand the sources of their best business. Josh offers a free video resource on achieving 100% inbound marketing in one’s industry within six to eight months, emphasizing a spam-free, ad-free, and sales-free approach. Listeners are invited to visit his website, Up My Influence, to access this valuable content. John Karsant introduces LevelUp Leads, a sales development agency dedicated to helping small to midsize companies enhance their prospecting and appointment-setting efforts. The agency's primary goal is to create more sales opportunities for their clients by leveraging effective lead generation strategies. John and Josh discuss the dynamic nature of lead generation strategies over the past five years, highlighting the resurgence of cold calling and the importance of human-to-human conversations. John emphasizes the need for a clearly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and the significance of understanding a client’s current strategies, successes, and challenges for effective outreach and engagement. About John Karsant: John Karsant is the Founder and CEO of LevelUp Leads, an outbound lead generation agency that typically works with small companies. John is also a Member of RevGenius, a group of revenue generating sales and marketing professionals. Previously, John served as the Head of Sales and Business Development at Brightest Minds, Sales and Account Manager at DaoCloud, and in business development roles at Accelevents and Solar Lead Factory. Prior to their career in sales and business development, John was a Tennis Professional at Claremont Country Club and Teaching Professional at Peter Burwash International. John holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing Communications from California Lutheran University. About LevelUp Leads: LevelUp Leads is a B2B sales development agency that offers a comprehensive, done-for-you service. Acting as an extension of clients' teams, they provide both fractional and full-service Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) supported by a robust technology stack. The LevelUp Leads team spearheads outbound strategies, sourcing relevant data, implementing advanced technology solutions, crafting compelling copy, and managing campaigns to generate meetings and drive revenue. This approach allows clients' teams to focus on closing more deals while LevelUp Leads handles the intricacies of lead generation.   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 LevelUp Leads website at https://levelupleads.io/ Check out LevelUp Leads on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/levelup-leads/ Check out John Karsant on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkarsant 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.