What if your next five clients were already in your database, you just needed a smarter system to catch them before they slipped through the cracks?
In this episode of Small Business, Big Engine, I’m joined by Reed Hansen, Chief Growth Officer at MarketSurge.io, who specializes in helping small and local businesses turn lost leads into booked appointments, without adding more hours to the day.
Reed grew up in a family-run landscaping business and watched firsthand what happens when great work isn’t paired with consistent marketing. Today, he’s built a career solving that exact problem for other business owners. At MarketSurge, Reed and his team help solopreneurs, service professionals, and lean teams build repeatable systems for local visibility, reputation management, and lead generation using smart automations, proven SEO strategies, and AI-driven tools.
Whether you're a photographer, HVAC pro, plumber, or boutique agency owner, this conversation is packed with real-world tactics you can apply this week to stay fully booked and build a marketing engine that runs without you.
What We Cover in This Episode:
✅ Reed’s early lessons from a family business, and why marketing made all the difference
✅ The "feast and famine" cycle that traps so many business owners
✅ Why local SEO is still a goldmine (and how to get your Google Business Profile to work for you)
✅ How automation helps you ask for referrals and reviews without lifting a finger
✅ The one simple CRM automation that closes leads from missed calls
✅ How to collect 5-star reviews at scale, and what to do with them afterward
✅ Tips for creating trust at scale through newsletters and podcasts
✅ How to differentiate in a crowded marketing agency space
✅ Reed’s take on AI: tools that are actually useful for small businesses
✅ Templatizing your onboarding process and service delivery to scale smarter
✅ The difference between long-tail brand-building and immediate ROI, and when to invest in both
Who This Episode Is For:
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Reed Hansen:
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