{"podcast":{"title":"Follow The Yellow Brick Road","slug":"follow-the-yellow-brick-road-7056493","podcast_index_feed_id":7056493,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/follow-the-yellow-brick-road/","website_url":"https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/4c54bc52-27db-4657-8c91-caf35a4d3f86/Untitled-design-11.png","author":"Emma Rainville & Mitch Barham","episode_count":98,"summary":"Follow The Yellow Brick Road is the podcast for founders who want a clear path to turning clicks into customers. Hosted by Emma Rainville (Founder of Shockwave Solutions, Wizard of Ops) and Mitch Barham (Founder of Barham Marketing, Wizard of Ads), this show breaks down what actually drives growth — from acquisition to conversion to operations. Emma brings the systems and execution behind businesses that run without the founder in the day-to-day. Mitch brings the ads and acquisition that turn attention into revenue. Together, they connect both sides — so your business doesn’t just get clicks, it converts. If you're serious about scaling your business — subscribe and follow the path.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-15T10:21:18.337187+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/follow-the-yellow-brick-road-7056493"},"episode":{"title":"Speed-to-Lead: The Sales Lever Most Businesses Ignore","slug":"speed-to-lead-the-sales-lever-most-businesses-ignore","published_at":"2026-03-10T20:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/follow-the-yellow-brick-road-7056493/speed-to-lead-the-sales-lever-most-businesses-ignore","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/follow-the-yellow-brick-road-7056493","url":"https://followtheyellowbrickroadpodcast.com/","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/d5c35e1e-2186-431c-9f8e-476277f22995.mp3","summary":"Most businesses think they have a lead problem. They don’t. They have a follow-up problem . Leads come in… and then they sit. In the CRM. In an inbox. In a dashboard someone plans to check later. By the time someone responds, the moment is gone. In this episode of Special Ops Podcast , Emma Rainville sits down with Mitch Barham to break down what actually happens after someone becomes a lead — and why speed-to-lead is one of the most overlooked revenue levers in business. We cover: → Why response time often matters more than lead quality → The operational mistake that causes most leads to go cold → How fast follow-up changes conversion without changing traffic → Why forcing prospects into sales calls can kill deals → How to handle leads even if you don’t have a sales team → The signals that tell you which leads are actually ready to buy → Why most businesses build funnels but never build follow-up systems If your business is generating leads but conversion feels inconsistent, this episode will show you where the real breakdown usually happens. Timestamps: 0:00 The hidden revenue leak in most funnels 1:32 Why lead quality usually isn’t the problem 3:10 Speed-to-lead explained 6:18 What happens when leads sit too long 9:47 Why response time changes conversion 13:02 The operational gap between marketing and sales 17:34 Signals that show buying intent 21:40 Handling leads without a sales team 25:11 When sales calls help — and when they hurt 28:33 Building a follow-up system that actually works 🎯 Download the Lead Follow-Up & Speed-to-Lead Checklist (FREE) Inside the Visionary Vault, you’ll get the exact operational checklist referenced in this episode — designed to help you respond faster, convert more leads, and stop letting opportunities sit in the CRM. 👉 https://spe…","meta_description":"Most businesses think they have a lead problem. They don’t. They have a follow-up problem . Leads come in… and then they sit. In the CRM. In an inbox. In…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1762,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/follow-the-yellow-brick-road-7056493/episodes/speed-to-lead-the-sales-lever-most-businesses-ignore/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/follow-the-yellow-brick-road-7056493/speed-to-lead-the-sales-lever-most-businesses-ignore.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}