Ep #265 James Hatfield - The LEADERshift

James shares his journey from owning a painting and power washing business to leading teams in technology and business development. Drawing from his experience at IQVIA, Sageworks, and LiveSwitch, he discusses leadership, sales, customer experience, and the lessons learned from working with startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Colin Kelly, CEO of Professional Supply, shares how he helped transform a family-grown business into a distributor serving customers nationwide. From modernizing warehouse operations and shipping over 2,500 packages daily to building expert teams and strengthening customer relationships, Colin reveals the strategies behind scaling a wholesale distribution business while maintaining speed, accuracy, and personalized service.

From a small Christmas lighting side hustle to nearly 300 holiday lighting accounts, this entrepreneur built a business around his biggest Why: family and freedom. In this episode, he shares his journey through failed launches, GET LIT Christmas Lighting, and expanding into landscape and permanent lighting while focusing on marketing, sales, leadership, culture, and building a business that can run without him. Plus, family, travel, pickleball, golf, snowboarding, and the lessons behind building a business—not just a job.

How do you scale a business into a $233M acquisition? Levi, founder of Next Level Pros, shares his expertise in business strategy, marketing, lead generation, and sales optimization. From managing $2.2M in monthly ad spend to generating over 25,000 leads per month, he reveals the strategies behind scaling businesses, building powerful brands, and driving sustainable growth.

What does it take to build a career, a company, and a legacy from knocking doors? In this episode, Sam Taggart—CEO of D2D Experts and Founder of D2DCON—shares his journey from selling curb addresses and magazine subscriptions to becoming one of the most influential voices in the door-to-door sales industry. With 400+ personal alarm accounts sold, executive experience, multiple seven-figure businesses, and thousands of sales reps trained, Sam breaks down the mindset, sales strategies, leadership principles, and recruiting lessons that helped him rise to the top. Get ready for a conversation about sales, leadership, recruiting, resilience, and what it really takes to become a sales carnivore.

How can service businesses turn more calls and leads into actual customers? In this episode, we’re joined by Indra Chitre, President & CFO at CallSource, and Tiffany Tran, Senior Director of Call Center Operations & Client Success at CallSource, to talk about lead conversion, customer experience, and smarter follow-up strategies. With over a decade of experience at CallSource, Tiffany shares practical insights on missed calls, unsold estimates, past customers, outbound calling, and how businesses can build stronger systems that turn more opportunities into measurable revenue.

In this episode, Patrick Martinez, Founder of Elite Sales Academy, shares practical sales strategies for luxury contractors. With over 30 years of experience in entrepreneurship, sales leadership, and business coaching, Patrick breaks down how contractors can increase revenue, improve closing ratios, and build scalable sales systems—all while creating exceptional client experiences.

Brad and Reid McEowen with Blingle! of Plano join us to share their journey of building a family-owned outdoor lighting business in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. From custom landscape lighting to permanent holiday lighting, they discuss what it takes to grow a business, serve a community, and create an experience customers remember. Along the way, we explore family, leadership, entrepreneurship, and building a lasting legacy.

With 35+ years in the lighting industry, our guest has helped develop innovative lighting products across multiple channels while contributing to the standards that shape the industry. As an American Lighting Association member, engineering committee member, and UL Technical Committee member for UL 1838, 1598, and 153, he brings a unique perspective on where lighting technology, innovation, and industry standards meet.

Dave Carroll, founder of DOPE Marketing, joins the show to share how he went from building a successful home service business to helping businesses grow through direct mail and traditional marketing. Dave breaks down the power of automated direct mail, handwritten notes, and personalized gift boxes, and why these strategies can still make a big impact in today’s digital world. He also shares lessons from working with businesses ranging from local home service companies to major brands like Nike and Ashley Furniture.