Ed Forteau

Leader of the Genuine Connections Revolution | Helping Service Providers, Entrepreneurs, and Sales Professionals Build Authentic Relationships | Author of "No More Cringe” | Changing the Way We do Business on LinkedIn

I’m Ed Forteau, Business Growth Strategist, Community Builder, and Creator of The Strategic Ally Method.

I help relationship-driven entrepreneurs attract high-value clients…without chasing, cold pitching, or playing the content hamster wheel game.

If you’re great at what you do, but feel like sales turns you into someone you’re not, you're not broken.

You’ve just been sold the wrong playbook.

Most of my clients come to me feeling stuck.

They’re burned out from outreach that goes nowhere.

They hate the pressure to perform on social media.

And they’re tired of trying to be “everywhere” just to get noticed.

What I teach flips the script:

✅ Start warm, low-pressure conversations that naturally lead to business

✅ Tap into the trust you’ve already earned to unlock hidden opportunities

✅ Show up as a Strategic Ally, not another sales person or content clone

✅ Build “quiet authority” without shouting for attention

✅ Use simple, human systems that work even when you’re not online

Here’s a story I hear all the time:

A client spent months tweaking cold email campaigns.

They saw early wins…until everything stopped working.

Low replies. Spam folder black holes. Endless fixing.

They tried my method. DMed just ten warm messages to mutual connections of people they knew.
Two booked calls. One became a client.

Then came momentum.

They told me, “This just feels…different. Lighter.”

I said, “It’s less work than trying to save a sinking ship.”

That’s the shift:

From pushing and persuading to connecting and converting.

From guessing what strangers want to showing up where you’re already trusted.

You don’t need to become someone else to grow your business.

You just need a better way.

That’s why I created The Genuine Connection Alliance. It’s a private community for relationship-first entrepreneurs.

Inside, you’ll learn my frameworks, build a powerful support system, and attract clients through trust, not tactics.

It’s where my best clients come from, because they experience the method before they ever hire me.

If you believe business can be built through conversations, connection, and real value, let’s talk.

Or better yet, let’s start a conversation that leads to something real.

💬 DM me the word “Alliance” and I’ll send you the Genuine Connection Alliance overview doc. It might be the missing piece you’ve been looking for.

EMAIL DELIVERABILITY EXPERT - Get More Of Your Emails Delivered, Seen, Opened, Read, and Clicked

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑:
• Any business that uses email to communicate with prospects, clients, or customers that have experienced their emails going to spam, or not getting delivered
• Any business that wants their email accounts set up properly to ensure high deliverability
Why? Nothing has a greater/more immediate impact on your bottom line than fixing email deliverability issues

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎:
• Fix any types of email deliverability problems so more of your emails are delivered, seen, opened, and clicked
• Setup your email infrastructure so your emails land in your recipient's primary inbox
• Setup email reporting and monitoring to catch problems early, to avoid lost revenue
• Provide advice on the right email marketing platform to use to meet your objectives

▶ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐗:
We provide the peace of mind that you are receiving the maximum ROI from emails, because all forms of your emails are delivered. This includes:
• Cold Emails
• Subscription Emails
• Support Ticket Emails
• Proposal Emails
• Contracts via Email
• Invoice/billing Emails
• Transactional Emails
• Marketing Emails
• Contact Us Forms

▶ 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒:
• Email Deliverability Audit - Identifies the source of 90% of email deliverability issues
• DMARC Reporting/Monitoring - Monitors the health of your email accounts and pinpoints the issues that happen infrequently
• Domain Reputation Recovery - Our proprietary method of improving the reputation of a damaged domain in under 30 days
• Email Infrastructure Setup - Ensures maximum email deliverability and protects your domain reputation
• Email Deliverability Repair - Our team has a combined 28+ years in fixing email deliverability issues

▶ 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒:
• 95%+ email deliverability rate
• An immediate increase in email open and click-through rates
• On average, a 200-400% increase in email-related revenue

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐘:
• See our LinkedIn Service Reviews

Propr

I help innovative and growth-focused CEOs and executive teams build brands that lead strategically, creatively, and consistently. With deep experience across design, web, ecommerce, and copy, I connect vision to execution to create brands that not only look great but move the business forward.

I’ve led brand development from the ground up, guided rebrands at scale, and built creative teams that thrive. From messaging to digital experience, I bring clarity, direction, and bold thinking to every stage of growth.

Let’s build something that stands out—and stands for something.

Outsourced Executive Director of Brand & Creative | Advisor

(I moved away from the agency model in 2024 to focus on advising and leading brands.)

PROPR ( prop•er ) Brand strategy, creative direction & implementation for nonprofits, b2b, and brands selling online. 

• Brand strategy workshops
• Positioning
• Custom WordPress websites
• Messaging systems
• Branding
• Marketing advising
• eCommerce

Founder & Principal

Aires Tech

Executive Creative Director

PXE Solutions

Leading the charge on building the brand, inspiring the demand, and setting the stage to expand PXE to industry leaders in performance window film applications, currently serving residential and commercial customers in Texas and Pennsylvania.

Chief Marketing Officer

University of Maryland Baltimore County

Teaching capstone design branding course focusing on design fundamentals and pragmatic learning.

Adjunct Design Faculty

Stevenson University

Adjunct professor teaching undergraduate design with a focus on design fundamentals and pragmatic learning.

Adjunct Professor

Groove: Creative Marketing, Design & Development

Digital agency creative director, key responsibilities: customer experience strategy and design of UX/UI; wireframe + design of enterprise eCommerce and lead generating websites; brand strategy and development; pitching new work and presenting both strategy and creative to clients. Managed creative  team. Experience with Magento, Wordpress, Shopify & HubSpot. Some clients: Agorra Inc, LaxWorld, Pure Hockey, STX.

Rebranded the agency and designed the full identity.

Creative Director

Eye Byte Solutions, LLC

Conceptualization and design of digital assets such as infographics and presentations graphics; as well as multipage layouts for a client base consisting of non-profit organizations and government agencies. Clients: AmeriCorps, The White House, Habitat for Humanity and The World Bank.

Senior Designer

North Charles Street Design

Worked closely with Senior Art Director and Production Manager, doing both design and production of higher education print marketing materials such as view books, brochures, and direct mail; self promotional pieces; and campaign brand development, including identity and collateral design and production. Performed press checks, photo retouching, and some light illustration work. Clients: Stanford University, University of Penn, Richmond University, and Amherst.

Root13 Design

Founder and creative leader of this boutique, full-service design firm providing creative solutions, branding, web design, social media campaign strategy and implementation, as well as print design and production for small businesses in the Baltimore area. I worked closely with clientele to understand their needs, deliver within budget, and provide excellent open communication and customer service. Some clients include: Gregg Bernstein for State's Attorney, FreeMind Marketing, Regent Development Consulting, and Living Classrooms Foundation. 

I also worked as a creative consultant for Black & Decker, GKV, Webber Shandwick, T Rowe Price, Legg Mason, AON, and Cassidy/Turly.

Principal & Designer

AIGA Baltimore

Managed PR and social media initiatives for the local Baltimore chapter.

Board Member

Bobby G exists to inspire. He's an optimistic visionary, creative, and strategic problem-solver who joins your executive team to own your brand and creative to lead its development and growth. 

Recovering agency owner, creative visionary, designer, voracious reader and writer, published author, lover of dogs and the outdoors, with a philosophical, deep-thinking approach. He doesn't show up with the answers; he brings curiosity and an open mind to understand the situation before roadmapping the path to success.

Bobby Gillespie

I'm hiring a Chief of Staff & Operations Lead to work directly with me. 

Take a look at the document. Please share with your friends, and if you're interested, the application process starts with contacting the amazing Katrina Busselle 

#mustgiveashit

Chief of Staff & Operations Lead 

Friends: this is a role that I am hiring for. 
Step 1: Read the post. 
Step 2 (if this sounds awesome to you): DM Katrina, or share with your friends!

Edit for clarification: I'm the visionary marketing leader.

I have a fabulous opportunity for a Chief of Staff and Head of Opps type-human.  Fractional, 1099, working with a visionary marketing leader so he can do more of what he does best while you handle the rest (and him;) Please email me directly for the Job Description.  katrina@katrinabusselle.com Bobby Gillespie,Erin Cece MBA MS CEPA, Stefanie Borsari, CAP,Ayla Moorehead,Ariana Cofone,Feel free to pass this along if you know someone fabulous- K

No one is going to pay you to tell them what you think if you're using AI to solve problems.

I get paid to tell people what I think, and yes, I use AI. Not to figure things out, but to skip and accelerate slow steps in my process. 

The thinking, writing, reading, talking, experiencing, researching, and questioning are all the parts that drive the value I deliver to my partners.  We all have that ability, to not start with answers, but to seek the right questions. That's a philosophical, inquisitive mindset. Tools can't do it, or replace it. 

Expanding your consciousness is the only way. If you're not thinking, writing, reading, talking, experiencing, researching, and questioning, your consciousness isn't growing, and neither are you.

Marketers: If I gave you my email 3 hours ago, and you've already sent me 2 emails, you're insane.  

Your customer journey is more like stalking than nurturing. 

Slow down, ask yourself, is this something I would like done to me? And if the answer is no, then don't do it. 

If you can't use empathy, then reconginze bugging busy people will guarantee a hard no. 

If that doesn't work, consider the amplifier effect. When the last interaction people have with your brand makes them feel bad, we will tell everyone. 

EVERYONE.

And we won't be kind. 

Make your prospects and customers feel good.

It's not that hard.

Innovative CEOs lead innovative companies. That means you're solving problems in real time.

I have this saying: we are driving the bus 150 miles per hour, with no map, while building and repairing it. 

That velocity isn't for everyone. Yet it is where I thrive. 

The biggest challenge, most days, isn't coming up with ideas. It's choosing which ones to do, then execution becomes the challenge. 

Adding more layers to the organization can't fix this. Yes, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. More people on the bus slow us down and require more fuel to maintain our speed. 

Technology isn't the answer. Our enthusiasm is limited, and we must be laser-focused on winning, not learning and adopting tech that may or may not work. Sure, systems and processes and tech are key parts of the equation, but choose wisely, we all have our tech stack, but before you save the day with something new (and costly in all the ways), just look for things to reduce tasks. Speed must be maintained. 

The answer is the right people. And in the case of you, innovative CEO, you need a field general, a hands-on player-coach-leader to own the brand, lead the charge, relieve you of a significant load from the brand > marketing > sales sprinting, where goals can get exponentially bolder, where you have time to think again, not just react. Jim Collins said in Good to Great, it's not where you are going, but who you are going there with. The team matters, but your copilot matters more. 

Adding someone like me, a philosophical problem solver uniquely powerful in all things from idea to strategy, to execution, and winning with brand/marketing / sales & entrepreneurship, is how this challenge, like all the problems you are facing, see constant progress —my #1 metric— even at breakneck speeds.

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The Battle

Ed Forteau

Bobby Gillespie

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taplio

The Battle

Ed Forteau

Bobby Gillespie

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Bobby Gillespie's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreBobby Gillespie's LinkedIn Performance