In this episode of Rocky Mountain Marketing, I sit down with my partner-in-purpose (and co-owner of Next Step Social), Shawn Quintero, to break down how we’re using Lunch and Learn workshops to bring business owners and their teams clarity, confidence, and actionable results—without sales pressure or shiny-object overwhelm.

As we kick off 2026, we’re leaning into education-first marketing and showing business leaders how to activate their teams, build trust through content, and show up consistently on social—organically and strategically.

5 Key Takeaways:

Lunch and Learns aren’t new—but we’ve modernized the model to create immediate wins for business teams through actionable, in-person training.
The Internal Influencer Strategy helps businesses leverage their own staff as the face of content—building more trust, more reach, and more results.
Confidence is the biggest ROI. When teams feel empowered, they take ownership and drive brand visibility organically.
It’s not a pitch. These workshops are designed for value-first connection and education—not upsells.
Clarity beats complexity. We ditch bloated frameworks and instead provide simple, repeatable content strategies that any team member can start implementing that day.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction: The Need for Clarity in Marketing

00:52 Welcome to Rocky Mountain Marketing

01:21 Meet Sean Ero: COO and Co-Owner of NeXTSTEP Social

02:02 The Concept of Lunch and Learns

02:32 The Evolution and Impact of Lunch and Learns

03:27 Training Staff to Leverage Social Media

03:59 The Role of Internal Influencers

04:42 Hands-On Training and Immediate Results

05:36 Education-First Marketing Philosophy

06:10 Differentiating Our Lunch and Learns

06:48 Bridging the Education Gap and Accelerating Sales

09:29 Empowering Teams with Clarity and Confidence

12:20 Balancing Education and Sales

15:26 Building Trust and Relationships

20:28 Conclusion: The Power of Clarity and Relationships

21:29 Outro: Stay Connected and Keep Learning

Visit Shawn Quintero online:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heyshawnq/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeyShawnQ/

Learn more about Katie and Next Step Social & Podcasting:

Speaking: https://katiebrinkley.com/

Website: https://www.nextstepsocial.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiebrinkley

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/@rockymountainmarketing

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkatiebrinkley/

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