The King is dead. Long live the King!

Well, not quite dead but as InfusionCon 2011 closed its doors, the official reign of the 2010 Ultimate Marketer came to an end and Bob Britton, the 2010 "King" handed over his crown to Jermaine Griggs, the 2011 Ultimate Marketer and new "King".

Before I go on - and since this is our site - I feel I must unabashedly mention that 2 of the 3 finalists in the 2011 competition are responseFLOW clients and partners. And I don't think it's just a coincidence. But more on that later, in a separate post. All three finalists - winner and runners-up - deserve kudos for their impressive presentations and business acumen. To me, they were all winners.

Bob Britton is a heck of a guy. He had already accomplished so much to win the award last year but he didn't rest on his laurels. In the past year he has been very, very active. He has not only grown his business considerably but has also helped numerous other entrepreneurs along the way. He's leaving quite a legacy behind.

But Bob isn't stopping in his tracks. All who know him know that he's going to keep pushing hard, keep growing and keep helping others achieve the unimaginable.

Micah and I are very happy that responseFLOW was able to partner with Bob in a new venture, the "Infusionsoft Elite Mastermind". I don't know where Bob gets all this energy; it's almost scary... but we'll try to keep up with him. And so, no, crown or not, we're not quite ready to "bury" the "old" King... plenty of miles left in that marketing machine...

And now to the new King...

Jermaine Griggs is an old friend of responseFLOW and we're absolutely delighted by his selection as this year's Ultimate Marketer. He's not just an all-around good guy, funny and smart. He's truly the ultimate marketer. He can analyze situations and processes in record time and come up with a winning concept while others are still pondering the issue. A self-made millionaire before the age of 25, Jermaine has been featured in several articles and is no stranger to success.

Over the past year, I've had the opportunity to speak at length with Jermaine on several occasions. This guy gets it. He understands "tech", he understands "Infusionsoft", he understands people and what makes them tick (or click). And he understands marketing.

He knows how to turn simple ideas into cash. And he knows how to optimize profits. Honest and sincere to a fault, his humility is humbling. For all his many accomplishments and successes, he remains a family man who loves to show pictures of his children. Talent, fame and fortune haven't corrupted him; he hasn't lost track of the important things in life. A talented and effective public speaker, he's almost shy as a private person and questions if he really "deserves" his success and the attention he's getting. Jermaine is different, positively different. A marketing "guru" but a reluctant one, a real person in a world where hype often has the upper hand. Mark my words: this man will make a difference!

At InfusionCon 2011, Jermaine shared some of his future plans with me. It's his thunder and not mine so you'll have to wait... but I can assure you that all his previous accomplishments will pale in comparison.

The "Shock and Awe of Marketing" is coming soon... it will change your perspective.

As to InfusionCon itself, there's not much more to be added to the sentiments expressed by Micah. It was simply great: great sessions, great people, great venue.

My only mixed feeling was that the API is still somewhat of a stepchild. The sessions were held in the smallest rooms available and some people had to stand in the hallway. Since Justin Gourley has taken over the developers' forum, one can clearly see how interest has peaked. This API is truly a star product in and of itself and I hope that InfusionCon 2012 will do the API a little more justice.

Finally, to all the old and new friends we met at InfusionCon 2011, many thanks from Micah and I for your support and friendship. We look forward to seeing you again... perhaps in Costa Rica, or in Portland, Oregon or London or (probably) Australia.

But we'll see you for sure at InfusionCon 2012.

Bob & I were talking with InfusionCon's MC last night and I asked Collin...

"What do you think, was it the best ever?"

...without hesitation, he replied:

"It's always the best ever".

I'll be upfront and let you know that I'm not a "yes man" which means I don't just agree with everything and tell people things that aren't true just so they can feel better about themselves or the situation.

I've always told people the truth about Infusionsoft even if it wasn't what they wanted to hear, the good and the bad. I've even gone overboard and gotten in trouble for it.

I only tell you that so you'll listen to what I have to say next.

I completely agree that every InfusionCon is better than the year before but this one really rocked & here's why...

1. Infusionsoft staff showed up in a big way.
   I've never dealt with a company that's so focused on helping their customers & really everyone in their community as much as they possibly can. Thanks Clate!
2. They are headed in the right direction.
   The last 365 days as a customer of Infusionsoft were the best I've ever experienced in my long history working with the company. Thanks Scott!
3. The new campaign builder in Infusionsoft is absolute money.
   The newest update they rolled out actually has awesome stuff in it & the next update they are working on will easily top it. Thanks Richard!
4. The Arizona Biltmore is a classy hotel.
   I loved the Montelucia last year but the Biltmore has incredibly interesting architecture and is on a large beautiful estate with mature trees & a feeling of age, comfort & elegance. Thanks Nicole!
5. Infusionsoft Users are cool people.
   There are some conferences that attract needy people or people with big hopes & dreams but small ability or discipline to get anything done. Infusionsoft users are quiet, humble but very powerful people. You don't get better networking anywhere else. Thanks Peeps!

You can probably tell I'm excited right?...

Let me describe the conference for those of you who weren't here.

At first we got all fired up seeing the new campaign builder from their latest update from Richard Tripp. It's cool and there's more about it below.

Then we got to see Bob Britton (last year's Ultimate Marketer) light up the crowd with his excitement. If you've heard his story, Infusionsoft really did change his life and continues to do so for him.

Then they broke it up so that each block of roughly 75 minutes had several different options. You could hang out with the experts in the "Ask the Expert" room or you could go learn from some sponsors or watch a training presentation from Infusionsoft themselves.

You always had choices including one I employed quite a bit which was hanging in the hall and getting a little more one on one time with the cool people there.

Basically it was an all you can eat buffet of ultra-powerful training, individual Q&A with Infusionsoft staff, networking with what I believe to be the best crowd of any event anywhere and learning about available options from the sponsors.

They even fed us including yummy free lunches, great continental breakfasts and all sorts of cool snacks. Another neat thing is that they had Coke products in glass bottles with ice buckets to quench our thirst.

If you use Infusionsoft and understand it's value, you are absolutely crazy to not come to this conference. I know you can watch the videos of it afterward but the people here are movers & shakers. Meeting them as Clate said at the beginning is where you'll get the most value from InfusionCon.

Another note on the campaign builder...

You know how sometimes updates to software can actually piss you off? Now you have to go learn a new way of doing things or a way you used to do it doesn't work anymore? Do you ever see an update that doesn't help you and wonder why they built it and for who?

Well, this release and the next release are incredibly, incredibly powerful. I mean that. Whether you're a power users, a newbie or anywhere in between this rocks and here's why...

See, I can setup a campaign the old way and didn't mind it but most people had a hard time with it. The new campaign builder is going to save me & other experienced users huge amounts of time and for new users it's going to shave years off the learning curve & move you to profit at lightning speed. It's totally brilliant.

Infusionsoft has been focused on user experience and ease of use for some time and they are hitting all the nails directly on the head these days.

They are focused on making their users successful and they know that the little wins up front create the big back-end wins.

So in summary...

• It was all around fun, friendly & useful.
• You need to use the features in the newest update.
• Watch the InfusionCon replay videos if you weren't there, it was the best ever.
• Let Infusionsoft know how much you appreciate all their hard work.

Please join me in thanking them using the comments below, they really do deserve it. They work hard and don't get enough thanks from their users.

My thoughts after being one of the sponsors at Infusioncon 2010...

The venue was amazing.

It was a little crowded but that's a good sign and it made it look extremely busy & productive. The Montelucia is a beautiful hotel in Paradise Valley and part of the Intercontinental chain which you really can't go wrong with. Amazing choice Infusionsoft!

I loved that the atmosphere was friendly and there were plenty of different places to socialize and for the participants, vendors, Infusionsoft staff, and speakers to connect in groups both large or small.

There was the vendor space with booths, a partially covered grassy area right outside where some meals were provided, an outdoor bar & lounge with plenty of fires that was right next to the pool & the main restaurant is to die for. Seriously, sooooo good.

Vendor Booths

Frankly, I didn't want a booth to begin with and got the sponsorship for the speaking time. The booth definitely paid off though. It was nestled in a cozy part of the hallway with a nice chest of drawers behind us as well as a large mural. I know it was effective but was slightly surprised by the number of people who'd come to my booth to sell me something.  I was still happy with the booth as it drew in many people who were searching for solutions too though.

I think everyone who got a booth had to at least make their money back if they had anything to sell. There were just lots of interested prospects running around. Infusioncon is the place for any business who targets Infusionsoft users.

If you're not sponsoring Infusioncon, you're losing the years single biggest opportunity.

Speaking Time

I need to apologize here because I gave a presentation meant for advanced users to beginning users and said some derogatory things about Infusionsoft.

I pointed out some potential flaws from my point of view which a long time user would understand & overlook because they understand the power of the software but those same things said to the beginning audience could turn away some people.

So again, I'm sorry Infusionsoft & the people in that class. It was a complete blunder. If you want to see what I mean go here www.infusionsoftmastery.com (not really a beginner presentation eh?)

Understand that I love this software more than anything else. I've committed several years of my life to specializing in only this software and when I am critical about something, it's not from a bad place. It's simply that I know it can and will be better and recognize the temporary gap.

My goal is usually to bridge the gaps. Part of that is pointing them out which wasn't appropriate at all in this instance.

Networking on the Side

Infusionsoft always attracts a really cool crowd. This year was the best ever.

Many people I talked to were making extremely high level connections in almost every conversation. I know I met and forged personal relationships with many people who will make a lasting impact on my business.

I even tried to talk to anyone who I compete with just to be friendly because I know that any one of can't do everything. Also, many clients just aren't a good fit for us so a friendly understanding with the other companies can allow me to send that client to whoever will serve them the very best.

Support From Infusionsoft

This is the really important part of this post.

Bob & I had a really great chat with some of the owners Clate Mask & Scott Martineau. We had some concerns & questions and they had the same. The bottom line is this...

What we talked about and the feeling I got from them is very exciting. If you've ever met with Infusionsoft or been to their office before (which I didn't get to visit this trip) they are a very different company.

They love their clients, they love their company and they love what they do. They truly have a burning passion for what they do and the people they serve.

I'm excited because of some fundamental changes they've made which I'm confident will really make this the best year ever for Infusionsoft users.

As someone who's tried to align myself to them and live in the "Infusionsoft Economy", I couldn't be happier to see the direction they are going and to feel the support they work hard to give to all their partners really shine through at this event.

In Summary

There are exiting changes on the horizon for Infusionsoft and anyone associated with them or the software.

I just want to say thanks to the Infusionsoft staff and all the users who came to the conference.

To anyone else, you oughta come by next year cause I've got a feeling it's only going to get better.

To your Infusionsoft bliss!