
I Love Marketing · 2026-06-24 · 11 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
33 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Making CRM fun requires shifting from viewing databases as transaction opportunities to engineering situations where outreach becomes genuinely helpful to recipients. Dean Jackson illustrates this through a reverse mortgage case study: instead of loan officers cold-calling realtors, they generated qualified leads for active adult communities, then connected those prospects with listings represented by relevant agents. This transformed the loan officer's call from unwanted prospecting to a valued referral source. Joe Polish emphasizes that the fortune is in follow-up, but only when you're genuinely solving problems rather than just accessing lists. Both speakers stress avoiding the temptation to delegate CRM strategy without understanding it - Polish references his early success with three-by-five cards and newsletters, then his experience as an early Infusionsoft (now Keap) customer, to show that sophisticated tools matter less than genuine customer focus. The key insight: when your CRM touches feel like blessings to recipients rather than interruptions, execution becomes effortless and results follow naturally.
Engineer the situation so your call delivers something they need first - like a reverse mortgage company calling realtors with qualified buyers for their listings - rather than framing it as an opportunity for you to sell them something.
Delegating marketing and database strategy without maintaining hands-on understanding allows teams to either steal from you or mishandle marketing, according to Joe Polish's experience.
Consistent contact with your audience generates sales, but only when you're genuinely solving problems and reaching actual buyers and subscribers - not just accessing names in a spreadsheet.
They generated a thousand leads for active adult communities looking to purchase homes with 50% down, then called realtors with qualified buyers, making their phone call a referral opportunity rather than prospecting.
No - Joe Polish made several billion dollars for clients using monthly newsletters and three-by-five cards; the tool matters far less than understanding your customers and having a compelling reason to contact them.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode is 11 minutes of which a large portion is Joe Polish admitting he avoids CRMs entirely and recycling the platitude 'fortune is in the follow-up.' The one genuinely instructive segment - Dean's reverse mortgage outreach engineering example - is useful but brief and buried under extended rambling.
one of the ways I absolutely make all technology and databases more fun is I avoid them completely
The way to make it fun is to make sales. The way to make it fun is to know that the fortune is in the follow up.
The Publishers Clearing House reframe ('they're going to be thrilled that you called them') and the idea of engineering a call so you arrive with a buyer instead of asking for a favor are decent illustrations of value-first outreach, but the underlying principle is well-worn and nothing here challenges existing frameworks.
What's fun is if you were thinking it would be fun to make calls if you were in charge of announcements for the publishers clearing house sweepstakes.
how can you get to the point where you really are giving them a blessing that it's almost like they're going to be so much better off
Joe Polish and Dean Jackson are established marketing names, but Joe explicitly disqualifies himself on the topic ('I avoid them completely,' 'I never really learned much about going into CRMs'), undermining the episode's premise. Dean provides more practical value but neither is a deep CRM practitioner.
one of the ways I absolutely make all technology and databases more fun is I avoid them completely. And my, you know, do my best to let my team do that.
I never really learned much about going into CRMs
The reverse mortgage case study supplies some real numbers (1,000 leads, 190-something listings, 93 realtors, 50% down, named markets like Tucson and Poughkeepsie) but there are zero outcome metrics - no conversion rates, revenue, or before/after comparisons - limiting its evidential weight.
we generated a thousand of those leads, communicating with them, sending them updates
There were 190-something listings represented by 93 different realtors, of which the loan officer in the area only knew three
The format is a live Q&A with minimal host discipline: Joe's lengthy tangent about not using CRM goes unchallenged, there are no probing follow-ups, and Dean's pivot to his own example feels more like a rescue than a structured line of inquiry.
If Joe, do you think, if I can tell this story in two minutes and 20 seconds, give me two minutes and 20 seconds to set up a perfect example of this.
So anyway, you know, Dean is continuously consults with people on how to leverage their database.
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
Most business owners think of CRM systems as databases, spreadsheets, follow-up reminders, and administrative work. Joe and Dean challenge that thinking by reframing CRM as a relationship-building tool that helps you create more value, more opportunities, and more enjoyable Customer experiences. Here's a glance at what you'll learn from Joe and Dean in this episode: Why most CRM implementations fail despite having powerful software. The difference between collecting Customer information and creating meaningful relationships. How better follow-up can become one of the easiest sources of revenue growth. Why most businesses focus on transactions when they should be focusing on lifetime relationships. How to use CRM systems to become more thoughtful, relevant, and memorable. The role technology should play in creating better Customer experiences. If you'd like to join world-renowned Entrepreneurs at the next Genius Network Event or want to learn more about Genius Network, go to . Show Notes: CRM Is Really About Relationships, Not Software Most people think CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, but they spend almost all their time managing data instead of relationships.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
I'll go into your CRM and send out a CRM is such a great way to gather intelligence, right? Like you can observe what's actually happening with people. And, you know, I think I love this theme of making it more fun is how can you get to the point where you really are giving them a blessing that it's almost like they're going to be so much better off. They're going to be thrilled that you called them.
I'm Dean Jackson. He's Joe Polish. And this is the I Love Marketing Podcast. Our next question comes from Greg from the Gender Intelligence Group.
Are there tips for making the use of a CRM more fun? All that data, all those people, what do you do with that data? How do you have fun with that data instead of just eyes glazing over and just seeing them all as numbers and potential dollar signs? So tips for making the use of CRM more fun?
Got it. You know, I mean, one of the ways I absolutely make all technology and databases more fun is I avoid them completely. And my, you know, do my best to let my team do that. But let me share where I've actually made some mistakes over the years, like really big mistakes.
there's something in dean's actually really good at this so dean will will give you a uh a legitimate i think uh way to think about this uh i can only do it from an observational standpoint you know it's like trying to explain what taking acid is like to someone that's never taken acid you know it's or a psilocybin journey or something i know that sounds kind of weird the point being though one of the things we've talked about is two things in business uh you don't delegate you don't delegate the marketing and you don't delegate the checkbook unless you have a real handle on it.
And of course, I think myself and many people have many times attempted or do delegate the marketing, the checkbook without having a handle on it. And then people either steal from you or the marketing gets messed up. And I never really learned much about going into CRMs. There's a company called, you know, started as Infusionsoft.
Now they're Keep. I was the second customer they ever had. I was an investor in the company. I mean the guys that founded it Scott and Clay I knew 25 years ago I was literally the second customer I never used it in my life My team has always done it I kind of understand it and I helped people make literally several billion dollars with marketing and advertising of all my clients that I could look at their list They could describe marketing math to me, and as a high level, I can describe to them what to do and how to do it.
But, uh, the last time that I really, there was no CRMs when I was a carpet cleaner, but I used to manage, uh, my list of clients with monthly newsletters, sales letters, prospects off three by five cards in a shoe box. And I, I had an early, you know, early on, I, we used act. And when I, uh, I don't know if you guys, uh, those of you have been around long enough to, to act, I knew it inside and out. And I'll tell you, when you understand your top customers and clients and you can really go in and, you know, you just know how to reach them and target them and you focus on buyers and subscribers, you can do a lot.
But the way so the way to make it fun is to is to make sales. The way to make it fun is to know that the fortune is in the follow up. So I know people that have, are so dialed and spreadsheets and the most sophisticated thing that cannot, they can't sell anything. And then people are like ADD crazy ass entrepreneurs that just have the, like, you know, we got something that's going to help someone.
Let's make an incredible offer. Let's get it out to the list and they're going to buy stuff, you know? So anyway, you know, Dean is continuously consults with people on how to leverage their database. I think it was Nicole in here that talked about how she at the very beginning, when you're asking questions in the chat, putting out the nine word email.
You know, I mean, you know, having using a CRM to use a nine word email, go into your CRM and send out a CRM is such a great way to gather intelligence. Right. Like you can observe what's actually happening with people. And, you know, I think I love this theme of making it more fun.
What's fun is if you were thinking it would be fun to make calls if you were in charge of announcements for the publishers clearing house sweepstakes. If your job was to call people and let them know that they just won the sweepstakes that would be a fun thing to do And you know not to be a publicist for what in it for them but the idea of thinking that way is how can you get to the point where you really are giving them a blessing that it's almost like they're going to be so much better off.
They're going to be thrilled that you called them. If Joe, do you think, if I can tell this story in two minutes and 20 seconds, give me two minutes and 20 seconds to set up a perfect example of this. I work with a company that does reverse mortgages, big company, national company. Now, one of the most likely people to get a reverse mortgage, especially what's called a home equity conversion mortgage, where you can use it to purchase a home.
It allows people to come and put 50% down, live in a house forever, and never make a mortgage payment. So people coming from Chicago, moving to Tucson, will be, they take the money from the big house. They want to get a house with no payment. And this is a great way for them to be able to do that.
Well, if as a reverse mortgage loan officer in a local market, the way that they will often make sales calls is call on real estate agents who are dealing with people who are buying homes, but they're always positioning themselves behind the realtor. So if Burgundy was a realtor, they'd be calling her and let me just introduce myself. Let me, you know, take you to lunch or get, you know, get to know and give me a chance with some of your things. But the phone call that Burgundy really wants is somebody calling with a buyer for one of her listings.
And so if you think about this, we kind of dig your well before you're thirsty or think about what's in it for them, we started thinking, how could we make that phone call to people? So we put together a directory of Tucson active adult communities, and we ran and generated leads for people looking for active adult 55 plus communities in Tucson. We generated a thousand of those leads, communicating with them, sending them updates. And when somebody would call and get excited about the ability to purchase a home with 50 down live in it with no mortgage payment The only job next was that they had to find a house that they were going to buy So we ran off a list of all of the listings in that active communities.
There were 190-something listings represented by 93 different realtors, of which the loan officer in the area only knew three. So we were able to reach out to them and say to Burgundy, hey, texting Burgundy, Burgundy is 22 Arroyo still available. And Burgundy would text back and say yes. And then we would say, perfect, I may have a buyer for you.
Can you chat? Now, there it is. That's the whole thing is that's a phone call that any realtor would love to take. So when you get on the phone call, thinking about the mechanical outcome that you're looking for, is you want to meet this person and have a meaningful conversation with them.
So they were able to say, perfect. Let me show you what we've been doing. We've got a couple from Poughkeepsie that are coming. They're looking for something in an active adult community.
Can I meet you at the house and shoot a walkthrough video for them? Now you're in the house with a realtor who lists homes in active adult communities that you can build a relationship with. And you got there by splashing in the tub. not hey you got a few minutes for me to take you to lunch and pick your brain it's a whole different thing when you engineer the situation that the phone call is a delight and a blessing that they're going to receive not that you're there's something in it for you yep is that what you were trying to say yes exactly that's right you've been listening to a live recording of the i love marketing podcast And if you'd like to come to a future live recording of the I Love Marketing podcast, where all sorts of wackiness comes into play, visit us at ilovemarketing.
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