"There are times when you might not win a round, but getting back up and learning from your experience is what you should prioritize."
Will Cannon is an entrepreneur and the founder & CEO of UpLead, LLC. UpLead is a B2B sales intelligence platform that helps companies find and connect with new customers to drive growth. UpLead is ranked the #1 lead intelligence platform by G2.
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Let’s start with a brief introduction first. Introduce yourself to our readers.
Will Cannon: Hello. I am Will Cannon. I am the CEO and Founder of UpLead.
Our audience is interested to know about how you got started in the first place. Did you always want to become a CEO or was it something you were led to? Our readers would love to know your story!
Will Cannon: Being the CEO was just one of the many goals when I was starting. I viewed it as the milestone that was appearing while time passed but it was not the finish line. In the beginning, I was aiming to start a business that would introduce services that will be helpful to a lot of other businesses. CEO was something gradual and I wasn’t actively rooting for it. When you’re just first starting, it’s good to have your goals set but it’s also important to focus more on what you are handed with at the moment.
“Selfmade” is a myth. We all received help, no doubt you love to show appreciation to those who supported you when the going got tough, who has been your most important professional inspiration?
Will Cannon: I don’t really believe in “selfmade” as well. I think that you meet people from all walks of life who have made an impact on you or influenced you in some way. Your inspirations have to come from somewhere. In my case, my family and friends were my inspiration during difficult times. I was fortunate enough that I have those kind of people in my life because the industry can be competitive enough so having someone on my side was really comforting. They showed support and grounded me when I felt like I was not doing enough.
How did your journey lead you to become a CEO? What difficulties did you face along the way and what did you learn from them?
Will Cannon: I think a big part of the journey was about learning. It still is today. I used to do prospecting before UpLead was created but it was exhausting work at times because you spend more time cleaning the lists rather than managing your actual business. What I did was relearn. Learning comes from people you are working with, those who have taken a similar path, from experts and those leading in the industry. It was difficult in a way that there is a lot you have to consume and you’re being overwhelmed by it. There are times when it makes you think twice about starting your business but that was part of the process. You just have to be strong enough to come out to the other side.
Tell us about your company. What does your business do and what are your responsibilities as a CEO?
Will Cannon: UpLead is a B2B sales intelligence platform that helps companies find and connect with new customers to drive growth. UpLead is ranked the #1 lead intelligence platform by G2. As a CEO, it is my responsibility to monitor the processes, make sure the systems are running efficiently, and that everyone in the workplace is okay and doing their work. It is also my responsibility to ensure that the business is doing well overall and that customers are satisfied by our services.
What does CEO stand for? Beyond the dictionary definition, how would you define it?
Will Cannon: I would define a CEO by their dedication. You can have the position or the title next to your name but it would mean nothing if you are not doing your work properly. It means nothing if you are not doing anything to drive your business forward or providing your customers with the best experience. You are not a CEO if you are not leading your employees to their success as well because a CEO never abandons their team. Dedication is important in this work because it is what makes you continue to strive forward.
When you first became a CEO, how was it different from what you expected? What surprised you?
Will Cannon: Being CEO isn’t what surprised me. The work multiplying was surprising and caught me off guard for a bit. I don’t think I would attribute it to becoming a CEO but to the business becoming recognized because it led to more planning, more strategizing, more changes and such. It was learning again, making sure to keep the progress stable, and coming up with new ways on how to develop our services.
There are many schools of thought as to what a CEO’s core roles and responsibilities are. Based on your experience, what are the main things a CEO should focus on? Explain and please share examples or stories to illustrate your vision.
Will Cannon: I think a CEO should focus on providing products and services that live up to the expectations of the customers. Profit might be an obvious answer but that would be nonexistent if what you are offering is not of quality. It’s also important to have long-term goals more for the company because through that, you’re giving a clear direction for your business and all your employees. Growth is also what you should focus on even when you are already a CEO. Again, it is not your finish line. Your company will not be able to run on positions only. It thrives when the people within it are dedicated to keeping it running and helpful for the majority.
Share with us one of the most difficult decisions you had to make for your company that benefited your employees or customers. What made this decision so difficult and what were the positive impacts?
Will Cannon: The long experimentation is one of the most difficult decisions because it is also a risk. You try and try to solve a problem but there is no knowing if you will be successful in the end and if all your effort will be worth it. That’s a worry for every business because you might have limited resources and it might not be enough for your experimentation. It can be frustrating, especially when you gain more losses than wins. But we stuck through it and we are happy that we did because UpLead has been developed and it is continuing to grow.
How would you define success? Does it mean generating a certain amount of wealth, gaining a certain level of popularity, or helping a certain number of people?
Will Cannon: All three of those are good indicators of success but with us, I think we’re leaning more on the third because we’re focused on business-to-business. We are offering our services to our fellow business owners and if we have been of immense help to them, I would consider that a success. Profit and popularity are good but personally, we prioritize the experience and need of our customer. Helping them is our focus. If we accomplish that, that would be a win for us. The reviews that we would receive are very motivating and it gives off a different feeling for me and the employees because you feel like you’ve done something good for other people.
Some leadership skills are innate while others can be learned. What leadership skills do you possess innately and what skills have you cultivated over the years as a CEO?
Will Cannon: Identifying problems and being able to provide solutions for them has become almost like a habit for me. I always like to be prepared and I think that’s why it’s a skill that feels more innate for me when I was starting the business. Team building came later on because it was during those times when I was also recruiting and approaching people for advices and opinions. Building connections was gradual over the years and it is something that I am still trying to hone and be better at.
How did your role as a CEO help your business overcome challenges caused by the pandemic? Explain with practical examples.
Will Cannon: It was my responsibility to make sure that everyone in the company is safe first and foremost. These are people I work with and have come to know. Also, a business wouldn’t run without the people handling the controls. Through this, when health and safety were also prioritized, the business wasn’t that deeply affected. There are businesses out there that were impacted by the situation so it was a time for us to reach out to them as well and the connections I’ve built helped us to overcome the challenges caused by this pandemic.
Do you have any advice for aspiring CEOs and future leaders? What advice would you give a CEO that is just starting out on their journey?
Will Cannon: Leaders become successful because they are determined. Their business or company was gradually built and no doubt that they have struggled through difficulties. Throughout all those, they have provided every solution and became resourceful. There are times when you might not win a round in the competitive industry but getting back up and learning from your experience is what you should prioritize rather than the blow your business or company has received.
Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge with our readers! They would also like to know, what is one skill that you’ve always wanted to acquire but never really could?
Will Cannon: I wouldn’t say that I haven’t acquired it or I’m not capable of it but I wish interpersonal skills came more naturally to me. I’m fairly average with communication. I just want to be better at it.
Before we finish things off, we have one final question for you. If you wrote a book about your life today, what would the title be?
Will Cannon: Off the top of my head, the title of my book would be “Milestone After Milestone”.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Will Cannon for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Will Cannon or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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