Nailing down return on investment is a big deal to Deb DuBois, marketing director at Winthrop & Weinstine and the Upsize Growth Challenge marketing expert, and she encourages business owners to spend time doing it, like Cheryl Alexander & Associates has.

“If you’re just measuring the soft stuff, it’s hard for you to use it later to market yourself,” she says. “The ROI piece, it’s something that helps executives think of this as an investment in their workforce and they need the return.”

She encourages Alexander to keep doing speaking engagements, and she suggests hiring a “young person to come in and do social media for you.”

For example, when Alexander gives a keynote address, an intern could be in the audience, tweeting. Or when Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, visits the Twin Cities as she did in October, Alexander could weigh in as an expert on women’s leadership.

“Put out a tweet. Cheryl Alexander says this about that,” DuBois recommends.

She approves their effort to create an app to reinforce accountability among peer groups of leaders. “I love that. It’s a good idea to differentiate yourself,” she says, but cautions them against revealing too much about the idea before it’s launched, so as not to tip the competition.

DuBois notes one other significant change from the first Upsize Growth Challenge workshop, in May, to the second, in September: a succinct explanation of who they are and what they do. “I’m so happy for you. It’s great to hear all the progress,” DuBois says.