How can industrial leaders use auctions strategically to support long sales cycles and build long-term trust?

In this episode of the B2B Marketing Excellence & AI Podcast, host Donna Peterson sits down with Jason Levy, President of The Levy Group, to explore how industrial equipment auctions can become a strategic business tool rather than a last-minute decision.

Jason shares real-world examples from the industrial auction and asset recovery space, where timing is unpredictable, sales cycles are long, and trust is everything. Together, Donna and Jason discuss why early planning, accurate valuation, and relationship building are essential for manufacturers, plant managers, and operations leaders looking to reallocate capital, upgrade technology, or reduce risk.

This conversation reinforces a core theme of the podcast: companies that invest in relationships today are better prepared to make confident, informed decisions tomorrow.

Key Takeaways:

• Planning early gives leaders more control over timing, price, and outcomes
• Equipment value is often misunderstood without expert insight
• Auctions provide fair market value when the process is done correctly
• Relationships matter more when decisions involve multiple stakeholders
• Regular plant walk-throughs spark better long-term decisions

Action Step for Listeners:
Schedule a yearly equipment review with a trusted expert to understand what you use, what you don’t, and where hidden value may exist.

Episode Time Stamps:

• 00:00 – Introduction: Why relationship building matters in long sales cycles
• 01:20 – Meet Jason Levy: Industrial auctions, asset recovery, and preparation
• 03:20 – Why companies delay decisions on surplus equipment
• 05:10 – Planning reality: why auctions take 90–120 days
• 07:30 – Specialized vs. common equipment and timing expectations
• 09:30 – Setting realistic expectations around equipment value
• 12:10 – Valuation mistakes that lead to bad business decisions
• 14:30 – Trust as the foundation of valuation conversations
• 16:40 – Why surplus equipment is often ignored internally
• 18:40 – Using auctions to unlock capital and reduce risk
• 20:50 – Selling equipment to fund upgrades and growth
• 23:10 – New vs. used equipment misconceptions
• 25:10 – Environmental and workforce impact of reselling equipment
• 27:20 – Auctions as a strategic tool, not a last-minute move
• 29:10 – Final thoughts on trust, timing, and long-term relationships
• 30:29 – Episode close

*** Reach out to dpeterson@worldinnovators.com
if you’d like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.

*** Visit www.worldinnovators.com
for more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.

*** Subscribe to the B2B Marketing Excellence & AI Podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.

In this episode, Donna Peterson walks leaders through a simple but powerful way to review the past year and plan the next one with clarity and intention. You’ll learn why slowing down to reflect actually saves time, how five pen-and-paper questions can reveal what truly moved your business forward, and how AI tools like ChatGPT can support deeper insight without replacing your judgment or voice. This is a working episode designed to help you protect your time, strengthen relationships, and build trust as you head into the new year.

How can B2B leaders reflect on the past year and use AI to plan a more focused, meaningful year ahead?

What You’ll Learn:

• Why reflection is not wasted time, but a shortcut to better decisions
• The five manual questions every leader should ask before setting new goals
• How to identify what actually moved your business needle
• Where relationships strengthened or weakened, and why that matters
• How to use ChatGPT to spot patterns, protect your voice, and focus your time
• How to create an “anchor” that guides decisions throughout the year3

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Why the year felt so fast and why reflection matters
• 03:30 – Why leaders struggle to slow down
• 06:15 – Turning this into a working episode
• 07:45 – Question 1: What worked better than expected
• 11:30 – Question 2: What took time but didn’t move the needle
• 14:45 – Question 3: Where relationships strengthened or weakened
• 18:10 – Question 4: What felt heavy and draining
• 20:00 – Question 5: What do you want more space for
• 22:15 – Using ChatGPT to review your year
• 24:30 – Creating an anchor for the year ahead
• 26:15 – Final thoughts and next steps

The 5 Manual Pen-and-Paper Reflection Questions:
Take out a notebook and write your answers before using any AI tools.

• What worked better than you expected this past year?
• What took time and energy but did not move your business needle?
• Where did relationships strengthen, and where did they weaken?
• What felt heavy or draining and may not be the best use of your time?
• What do you want more space for in the coming year?

The 3 ChatGPT Year-in-Review Questions:
After completing the manual reflection, ask a large language model these questions

• What patterns do you see in my notes?
• What should I stop doing now?
• What should I protect or do more of?

You can also refine the timeframe, such as asking the model to evaluate only the last six months, to uncover deeper insights.

One Action You Can Take Today:
Block 30 uninterrupted minutes this week. Answer the five manual questions first. Then use ChatGPT to review your patterns and help you define one clear anchor that guides your decisions this year.

Call to Action:
If you’re looking for help aligning your marketing, sales, and AI efforts without losing your voice or weakening trust, reach out to Donna Peterson and the World Innovators team. We’re here to help you work smarter and build relationships that last.

*** Reach out to dpeterson@worldinnovators.com
if you’d like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.

*** Visit www.worldinnovators.com
for more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.

*** Subscribe to the B2B Marketing Excellence & AI Podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.

As AI-generated content continues to flood the B2B landscape, many brands are asking an important question: How do we hold onto our purpose, and make sure the people we serve truly understand it?

In this episode, Donna Peterson sits down with Abe Wang from Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) to explore how a highly technical, scientific company stays deeply purpose-driven while growing, innovating, and communicating authentically. From internal culture and humanitarian initiatives to writing a book as a marketing strategy, this conversation offers valuable insights for any B2B leader navigating growth without losing meaning.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How to clearly communicate your company’s purpose to people outside your industry
• Why internal marketing is just as important as external brand messaging
• How purpose-driven culture helps teams stay engaged as companies scale
• Ways to reach new audiences while keeping communication personal and human
• Why CDD chose to write a book instead of relying on AI-generated content
• How original storytelling helps B2B brands stand out in crowded markets

Episode Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Holding onto voice and purpose in an AI-driven world
• 02:06 – Introducing Abe Wang and Collaborative Drug Discovery
• 04:41 – Explaining CDD’s mission in simple, relatable terms
• 08:21 – Internal marketing and keeping employees connected to purpose
• 12:11 – Human stories behind CDD’s work and humanitarian initiatives
• 15:31 – Reaching new audiences through trust and personal connection
• 17:46 – Why writing a book helped CDD differentiate its brand voice
• 20:11 – Turning original stories into long-term marketing assets

Featured Resource:
Inside the CDD Vault: A Different Kind of Collaborative Drug Discovery
➡️ Book Cover & Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Inside-CDD-Vault-Different-Collaborative-ebook/dp/B0G2HR4WYJ/

This book brings together personal stories from over two dozen CDD employees and collaborators, offering a rare look into how purpose, humanity, and scientific innovation intersect inside a growing B2B organization.

About Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD):
Collaborative Drug Discovery (CDD) is on a mission to advance science through better data. CDD’s flagship product, CDD Vault®, is a hosted informatics solution that allows researchers to organize data and experiments in context while securely collaborating in real time. For drug discovery teams using AI-based approaches, CDD Vault serves as a central repository for clean, reusable data that can be analyzed repeatedly across different algorithms, parameters, targets, or compounds. The platform also includes a RESTful API to support automated workflows and offers PharmaKB™, a Pharmaceutical KnowledgeBase providing semantic data on preclinical, clinical, and post-approval drug development. Learn more at www.collaborativedrug.com

About Abe Wang:
Abe Wang is the Head of Marketing at Collaborative Drug Discovery, where he leads strategic initiatives to elevate the CDD Vault brand and drive global engagement within the life sciences community. Since joining CDD in 2019, Abe has played a key role in expanding brand awareness and digital marketing efforts, supporting the company’s growth as a leading SaaS informatics platform for scientific data management. Abe brings more than a decade of experience at the intersection of science and marketing. Prior to CDD, he held marketing leadership roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific and Affymetrix, focusing on market development, demand generation, and product strategy for life science technologies. Earlier in his career, Abe spent over seven years at SRI International, contributing to preclinical drug development and translational research.

*** Reach out to dpeterson@worldinnovators.com
if you’d like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.

*** Visit www.worldinnovators.com
for more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.

*** Subscribe to the B2B Marketing Excellence & AI Podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.