‘Marketing and sales strategies should focus on customer’s needs,’ believes Carrie Missele

AI can serve a valuable purpose in business, though when it comes to communicating with customers, the connection is key.

MEDIA 7: Thanks for doing this with us! The Inspirant Group redefines consulting with their ‘Unconsutants’, could you please elaborate on this for our readers?
CARRIE MISSELE: Inspirant Groups’ 3 co-founders, Meighan Newhouse, Amir Azarbad, and Chris Van Avermaete - all veterans of the ‘Big 4 management consulting firms’ - sought to disrupt that very traditional business model. They stripped away the layers of bureaucracy and added more of a human element to their company. Our Unconsultants take clients from inspiration to transformation. We pride ourselves on creating deep collaborative relationships with our clients so we can help them to find solutions to improve their technology, operations, and systems.


M7: You believe that businesses are only as successful as their people. How do you anticipate what people want?
CM: Many leaders have good intentions when they try to anticipate what their people want.  Though, the only way to know for sure what people want and need is to ask them. It’s also important to allow employees to respond to the questions anonymously so the answers aren’t an echo chamber of glowing endorsements for leadership. And, it’s not enough to just ask the questions. Leaders must be prepared to act on the answers, regardless of whether or not they agree with or like what they hear.

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When we create a positive experience that fosters connection and builds trust, we increase the probability of a future business transaction.

M7: Inspirant cares about the greater good, could you please give us a peek into its culture and tell us a bit about the Inspirant Day of Service?
CM: We are incredibly committed to our company core values: ‘Have Integrity, Care About the Greater Good, and Get It Done.’ For the last few years, our team of Unconsultants and in some cases, their kids, have participated in Inspirant Cares, a day of giving back to the community. In 2021, just prior to Thanksgiving and donning hairnets, Inspirant Unconsultants who are based in the Chicagoland area, gathered in person at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Together, we prepared 900 cases of food and 181 holiday meals. As one Inspirant Group Unconsultant shared, “It was a special way to spend a day living our core values.” Inspirant also encouraged Unconsultants who don’t live near Chicago to contribute to their communities this season. Many chose to donate their time and money to local charities. 


M7: What are the benefits of using an AI-driven platform for communication? Are chatbots the future of communicating with customers?
CM: AI can serve a valuable purpose in business, though when it comes to communicating with customers, the connection is key. I imagine AI bots struggle to connect on an emotional level with customers and struggle to accurately anticipate what someone needs.

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Emerging leaders understand that they don’t know everything. They know they have a lot to learn, and they’re willing to put in the work to reach their potential.

M7: What, according to you, would be an ideal framework for marketing and sales teams to derive business success?
CM: To focus on the experience of those they are marketing to and selling to. When we create a positive experience that fosters connection and builds trust, we increase the probability of a future business transaction. People buy from people they like and who demonstrate a genuine interest in them as people and business leaders. The marketing and sales strategies should also focus on the prospective customer’s needs. It should never be about the firm doing the marketing and selling.


M7: Recently you were featured on the Unlabeled Leadership Podcast. Could you please share about your passion for emerging leadership programs and what prepares one to be a successful ‘Business Leader’?
CM: Emerging leaders are the future. It excites me to think about the positive impact they can and will make on their organizations and society as a whole. Emerging leaders understand they don’t know everything. They know they have a lot to learn, and they’re willing to put in the work to reach their potential. Also, I enjoy the different perspectives and viewpoints of those who are from a different generation than me. The day I stop considering others and their ideas is the day I stop learning and growing.