Podcasts about B2B

Chef Olivia Geisler never planned on becoming a chef. Growing up in Ohio, medicine seemed like the logical path. She studied biology and chemistry with plans for a career in healthcare. But an experience in Costa Rica at seventeen, followed by an opportunity inside Mitchell's Ocean Club, introduced her to a completely different world. The kitchen won. Olivia went all in: culinary school, competition teams, restaurant openings, long days, motherhood and eventually the challenge of becoming Executive Chef of The Pearl in Tampa. Today, The Pearl has been recognized by the Michelin Guide three consecutive years. But Olivia doesn't measure success by plaques, titles or what comes next. For her, it's about the journey. The people who believed in her. The cooks she now gets to mentor. The team beside her. And the relentless pursuit of getting a little better every day. In this episode of Walk-In Talk, Chef Olivia Geisler talks about choosing the kitchen over medicine, traveling to Costa Rica at seventeen, becoming a mother while building a culinary career, opening The Pearl, Michelin recognition, mentorship, leadership and why hospitality has always been about people. "The guide isn't what defines us. It's the journey." — Chef Olivia Geisler Takeaways: She didn't grow up planning to be a chef. Medicine was the expected path, but the kitchen was where she felt alive. Costa Rica at 17 was a pivotal experience. It exposed her to food, culture, travel, risk and independence at a formative age. She is wired for challenge. She repeatedly describes herself as relentless, competitive and energized by discomfort. Her career was built through immersion. Culinary school, full-time work, competitions, volunteering, store openings, mentorship. Mentorship is one of the emotional cores of the episode. People invested in her early, and now she feels responsible for doing the same for younger cooks. Motherhood reshaped her ambition without killing it. She learned there are seasons when family has to come first and seasons when she can go full throttle professionally. Opening The Pearl was one of the hardest things she's done. First Executive Chef role, new concept, new team, opening pressures, construction, hiring, systems, all at once. Michelin recognition matters, but it doesn't define her. She is proud of it, but her identity is not built around awards. Her philosophy is rooted in hospitality. The biggest throughline is people, care, intention and giving others a great experience. Her cooking philosophy is deliberate. Nothing is on the plate by accident, down to the carrots, egg, acid, garnish and texture. Her best line may actually be this: "I'm relentlessly passionate about life." Another excellent line is: "The guide isn't what defines us; it's the journey."   The Companies Helping Shape Hospitality Metro Foodservice Solutions - Commercial-grade storage, transport, and workflow systems that help professional kitchens operate efficiently. RAK Porcelain USA - Professional tableware built for performance, durability, and presentation at the highest level. TriMark USA - North America's largest foodservice design, equipment, and supplies provider, helping operators build smarter, more efficient kitchens. Testo North America - Precision measurement and food safety solutions designed for professional hospitality operations. Crab Island Seafood - Florida-based manufacturer of premium seafood dips and spreads inspired by coastal flavors. Citrus America - Commercial juicing solutions delivering consistency, speed, and quality to foodservice operators. Cahaba Club – Growing exceptional herbs, edible flowers, and specialty produce that bring fresh flavor and vibrant presentation to our studio kitchen. Shogun Farms - produces premium Florida wild boar through ethical sourcing, humane raising, and a natural feeding program that delivers exceptional flavor from farm to table. Walk-In Talk Media proudly supports organizations making a measurable impact on hospitality professionals and communities across North America and beyond. Operation BBQ Relief - Disaster response through hot meals served by culinary volunteers across the country. Sustainable Supperclub - Community driven dining experiences focused on sustainability, food access, and social impact. The Burnt Chef Project North America – Supporting mental health awareness and wellbeing throughout the hospitality industry.   Industry Events & Media Partnerships Florida Restaurant Show - Official Media Partner delivering on-site coverage of operators, suppliers, chefs, and hospitality innovation throughout the Southeast.  New York Restaurant Show - Official Media Partner highlighting the people, products, and stories shaping hospitality across the Northeast.  California Restaurant Show - Official Media Partner covering West Coast hospitality innovation, culinary trends, and foodservice leadership.  Pizza Tomorrow Summit - Official Media Partner covering the latest innovations, leadership, and growth in the pizza industry.  U.S. Culinary Open -Official Media Partner documenting one of America's premier live culinary competitions and the chefs competing at the highest level.  Creative Loafing Tampa Bay - Regional media partner sharing stories from the people, restaurants, and events shaping Tampa Bay's hospitality community. About Walk-In Talk Media Walk-In Talk Media is an industry-recognized B2B food and hospitality media company focused on chef-driven storytelling and real conversations inside the business of food.  Through cinematic video, photography, podcasting, documentaries, and live event coverage, Walk-In Talk Media highlights the chefs, operators, brands, and organizations shaping the future of hospitality.  From Michelin-starred chefs and independent restaurants to manufacturers, distributors, and industry associations, Walk-In Talk Media exists to tell the stories moving hospitality forward.

Greg Heinz, Senior Director of Brand and Digital Strategy at Optimizely, led the company's rebrand — and he argues AI should amplify creative work rather than automate it away. Recorded live at Opticon 2026 in New York City.A rebrand is repositioning, not a new logo. Heinz walks through the research behind Optimizely's brand evolution, the market signals that made the case internally, and what the company had to give up to make the new promise credible.The line between amplification and authorship gets drawn on purpose. "AI" covers everything from a tool that speeds up a designer to a system that ships work with nobody in the authoring seat. Heinz on where he insisted a person stay in the seat, and why.A brand is proven by behavior, not messaging. What had to change in product decisions, sales conversations, and the digital experience for the new positioning to be true — and what keeps the brand recognizable as one company as the volume of expression goes up.Greg Heinz and Greg Kihlström also get into what changes when the first thing evaluating your brand is an AI system researching on a buyer's behalf rather than a person.About Greg HeinzGreg is a marketing manager with over fifteen years of professional experience in B2B software solutions and services, Healthcare, Sports and Entertainment. My goal is to help organizations achieve rapid growth through brand development and demand generation. I am a strong believer in creating amazing experiences and lasting impressions through UX design and storytelling.Greg Heinz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gjheinz/---------- Resources ----------Optimizely: www.optimizely.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703We're proud to be a media partner for #MAICON26 - Oct. 13-15! Learn how AI can power your marketing and business and help you grow smarter. Use code AGILE150 to save! https://aglbrnd.co/r/7fe458ced0f04658Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fChaser is the only Slack-native project management platform that helps teams turn messages into tracked tasks, automate follow-ups, and maintain team-wide visibility, without adopting another tool. Now integrated with Claude and other GenAI tools. Learn more at trychaser.com and use code AGILEBRAND for a 3-month free trial (normal trial is 14 days).The most influential minds in software, AI, and engineering leadership will be at WeAreDevelopers World Congress North America, September 23-25 in San Jose. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/60a7299222a7bcf1Start building your own apps with Replit and get $20 off. Learn more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/93531742a7625a20Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716baCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Austin Medlin has collected over $9 million in high-ticket sales and has built his career around understanding what actually makes people buy. In this episode, Austin breaks down why higher-priced offers can sometimes be easier to sell, what separates elite closers from average salespeople, and why most objections should be handled before you ever reveal the price.We dive into his approach to handling objections around money, time, spouses, self-belief, and prospects wanting to “think about it.” Austin also explains how to build a hungry sales team, why B2B offers can be easier to close, the characteristics of top-performing closers, and why the best salespeople focus on earning trust instead of being liked. If you sell high-ticket products, run a sales team, or want to become a better closer, this episode is packed with practical sales psychology you can immediately apply.Connect with Rich on Instagram: @rich_somers

Your logo hasn't changed in three years and your brand still feels broken. That's not a design problem, it's everywhere else you stopped paying attention.Wesley Bancroft co-founded Lunour, a small B2B creative agency, and he's watched AI compress a year of brand production into a season without compressing anyone's hours, he's busier now, not less. His argument cuts against how most companies actually treat brand: not a guidelines deck someone polices, but every touchpoint the company has. A buddy of his at a Fortune 500 company diagnosed his org's broken cross-department communication as a brand problem, not an ops one, and Wes thinks he's right. He gets specific about what Lunour builds instead of mood boards, why B2B branding beats consumer work, and the mindset shift that changed how he works entirely.•       Why Wes calls B2B "blue ocean" next to consumer brand work and admits it makes his agency look cooler than it actually is•       The Fortune 500 sales exec who diagnosed his company's broken cross-department communication as a brand problem, not an ops one•       Why Lunour refuses to build moody, vibey mood boards for clients and what it hands them on day one instead•       The unlikely, fourth-grade-level book that convinced Wes the output never mattered, only the process did

As AI adoption continues to accelerate, how can organisations maintain control of their data, infrastructure, and AI strategy? Sovereign AI is rapidly moving from planning and discussions to practical implementation, making it more important than ever for IT decision-makers to understand what it is and how it works. So, what does it take to deploy sovereign AI effectively while maintaining control, meeting compliance requirements, and protecting valuable data? This week, Technology Now is joined by Trish Damkroger, SVP & GM, HPC & AI, to find out: What sovereign AI looks like in 2026, and how it can be achievedThe five imperatives that organisations must consider when implementing sovereign AIWhy an effective AI strategy must come before decisions are made 

A growth pipeline should do more than keep names moving through a funnel. It should help a business identify the right opportunities, understand where prospects are getting stuck, and create a clear path from initial interest to a productive long-term relationship. That distinction matters at a time when businesses have access to more marketing channels, more automation, and more data than ever before. Generating activity has become relatively easy. Generating the right activity is considerably harder. For John Dobelbower, SVP of Growth & Development at EverSmith Brands, growth is built around that difference. Leading franchise development strategy and sales across seven B2B service brands requires more than filling the top of a growth pipeline. It requires knowing which candidates have the potential to succeed, understanding the numbers behind acquisition and conversion, and building a process that supports sustainable expansion. The same principles apply well beyond franchising. Whether a company is selling a service, developing a franchise system, building a sales organization, or expanding into new markets, a smarter growth pipeline begins by understanding what successful growth actually looks like. More Leads Aren't Always the Answer When growth slows, the instinctive response is often to generate more leads. Increase the advertising budget, expand the audience, add another marketing channel, or put more prospects into the funnel and hope that additional volume produces additional sales. That approach can become expensive when the real problem is happening somewhere else. A business may have plenty of leads but a weak qualification process. Marketing may be attracting the right prospects while sales follow-up is inconsistent. Strong opportunities may be entering the pipeline only to encounter unnecessary friction, slow response times, or a process that fails to move them forward. Without tracking, those problems are difficult to distinguish. Dobelbower's approach starts by working backward from the desired result. In franchise development, growth cannot simply be measured by how many territories are awarded. The quality of the franchise owners entering the system and their ability to create healthy unit-level economics are part of the equation. That requires clarity about who belongs in the growth pipeline in the first place. An audit of franchise development advertising at EverSmith revealed just how crowded that pursuit can become. Many franchise organizations were using similar messaging, targeting similar audiences, and competing for many of the same prospects. Popular franchise messaging could put a brand in competition with scores of other organizations for essentially the same attention. More competition for the same audience generally means higher costs, but higher costs do not guarantee better prospects. A smarter strategy starts by examining the people who are actually successful and asking how to reach more individuals with those characteristics. That may produce a smaller audience, but it can also create a growth pipeline filled with people who are more closely aligned with the opportunity. The numbers then become essential. Businesses need to understand what it costs to acquire an opportunity, where prospects originate, how many advance through each stage, where they drop out, and which sources ultimately produce the strongest results. When those numbers are visible, leaders can stop assuming they need more leads and start identifying what actually needs improvement. Building a Better Sales and Qualification Process A healthy growth pipeline is not designed to move everyone toward a sale. It should also help determine who should not move forward. That can be a difficult mindset in organizations where growth targets create pressure to close as much business as possible. Yet a poor-fit customer can consume resources, create service problems, and damage profitability. In franchising, the stakes are even higher because the relationship can represent a significant financial and personal commitment lasting many years. "Franchises are awarded. They're not sold." That philosophy changes the purpose of qualification. Financial capacity, experience, and background matter, but they do not tell the entire story. Dobelbower points to qualities such as mindset, goals, motivation, and what he calls the "grittiness factor" as important parts of understanding whether someone is likely to succeed. The process becomes a mutual evaluation rather than a one-sided sales pitch. The organization is evaluating whether the candidate fits the system while the candidate is determining whether the opportunity aligns with personal goals and expectations. That same thinking can improve almost any growth pipeline. The objective is not simply to close the next sale. It is to create relationships that have a reasonable opportunity to succeed for both parties. Once the right prospects enter the pipeline, speed becomes critical. Businesses spend enormous amounts of money generating interest and then sometimes allow that interest to sit unanswered. A prospect submits a form, leaves a message, or requests information and waits hours or even days for a response. Meanwhile, the prospect keeps looking. "Whoever answers the phone first wins." The phrase may be simple, but the business implication is significant. A company can optimize advertising, targeting, and messaging only to lose the opportunity because another organization responded first. Speed to lead is not exclusively a marketing metric. It is part of the customer experience. The same is true of friction. Some friction is necessary because good qualification requires questions, information, and thoughtful evaluation. The problem arises when the business creates obstacles that serve no meaningful purpose. "There will be introduced friction in any good process, but we're the ones that are introducing friction." A detailed qualification question may help both parties make a better decision. An unanswered phone call, confusing website form, unnecessary series of steps, or delayed response simply makes it harder to do business. One of the most useful exercises for any organization is to experience its own growth pipeline from the prospect's perspective. Submit the form, make the call, read the automated response, schedule the appointment, and follow the process from beginning to end. Internal efficiency and customer convenience are not always the same thing. Technology Should Support the Human Relationship Automation can improve nearly every stage of a modern growth pipeline. Text messages can be triggered immediately, educational resources can be delivered automatically, appointments can be scheduled online, and AI can assist with research, communication, analysis, and follow-up. The ability to automate something, however, does not automatically make automation the best choice. EverSmith uses technology to create a more structured candidate journey, giving prospective franchise owners visibility into what they will encounter next and providing educational resources they can review on their own time. That allows development professionals to spend less time repeatedly delivering basic information and more time focused on the relationship itself. The distinction becomes especially important at the beginning of the relationship. "We are the front porch to an opportunity that's going to change their lives forever. That deserves a conversation." A form can collect information. An automated sequence can distribute content. AI can summarize data and help teams work more efficiently. None of those tools can fully replace a conversation where one person is trying to understand another person's motivations, concerns, expectations, and goals. Technology is most valuable when it creates more capacity for those conversations rather than eliminating them. This is especially relevant as companies rush to incorporate AI into sales and customer service. Automation can create tremendous efficiency, but it can also scale a poor process. If a company already has unnecessary friction, weak communication, or an unclear customer journey, adding more technology may simply allow those problems to occur faster. The smarter growth pipeline uses automation intentionally. Routine information can be delivered efficiently while important moments remain personal. That balance can become a competitive advantage as more businesses attempt to automate every possible interaction. Sustainable Growth Is About the Right Opportunities Growth is often discussed as an acquisition problem, but existing relationships can create opportunities that are just as valuable. EverSmith's portfolio includes seven B2B service brands, creating the potential for franchise owners to operate complementary businesses serving overlapping commercial customers. Dobelbower describes the concept as "relationship ownership." Once a trusted relationship exists, there may be additional opportunities to solve problems for that same customer rather than continually starting from zero. The concept has applications far beyond a multi-brand franchise organization. Existing customers may need additional services. Referral partners may be able to create introductions. Strategic relationships may open new markets. A satisfied customer may become an advocate who generates opportunities that traditional advertising could never create as effectively. A strong growth pipeline should account for the value of those relationships, not just the volume of new prospects entering at the top. Sustainable growth also requires the discipline to walk away from opportunities that are unlikely to work. Dobelbower describes the lasting impact of receiving a call from a franchise owner years after an agreement was signed and hearing that the business had not worked and the owner was facing the possibility of losing everything. Experiences like that make the consequences of poor qualification impossible to reduce to a sales number. "We're not in the business of ruining lives here." The opposite outcome can be equally powerful. The right person, paired with the right system and willing to execute the process, can build a business that changes the financial trajectory of a family. That is why the quality of the opportunity matters. A smarter growth pipeline is not measured solely by how many people enter or how quickly they can be closed. Its real value comes from helping an organization identify better opportunities, create better experiences, and build relationships capable of producing sustainable results. More leads may make a pipeline look impressive. Better targeting, better qualification, faster response, intentional technology, and stronger human relationships are what make it productive. Watch the full episode on YouTube. Join Fordify LIVE every Wednesday at 11 a.m. Central across your favorite social media platforms and catch the replay on The Business Growth Show Podcast for more conversations with today's leading business experts, entrepreneurs, and growth-minded leaders. About John Dobelbower John Dobelbower is SVP of Growth & Development at EverSmith Brands, where he leads franchise development strategy and sales across the company's seven B2B service brands. He oversees territory sales, candidate qualification, and pipeline management with a data-driven, execution-focused approach to sustainable growth. Previously, John served as VP of Franchise Development at PIRTEK USA, where he led record-setting expansion. His expertise includes sales process design, multi-channel lead generation, franchise development, candidate qualification, and building growth systems designed to attract and identify the right opportunities. About Ford Saeks Ford Saeks is a Business Growth Accelerator who has generated more than a billion dollars in sales worldwide by helping businesses attract loyal customers, increase visibility, and accelerate growth. As President and CEO of Prime Concepts Group, Inc., Ford has founded more than ten companies, authored eleven books, earned three U.S. patents, and advised organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. A recognized expert in business growth, customer acquisition, leadership, franchising, marketing, and AI-driven business strategies, Ford helps business owners and leaders identify opportunities, improve performance, and achieve sustainable results. Learn more at ProfitRichResults.com and watch Fordify LIVE at Fordify.tv.

#387 | Six B2B marketers share tactical plays for using AI to make content that doesn't sound like AI. This Exit Five Live session breaks down a set of specialized agents that lifted blog traffic 700% in six months, a 23-step agent that researches and writes AEO content straight into WordPress, and the winning play: turning original survey data into an ownable narrative. Also on the agenda: a structured review process that replaces vibes-only QA, a Claude skill trained on stakeholder feedback so drafts land pre-aligned, and five rules for using AI to learn faster without outsourcing your thinking. One thing the full group agreed on: the human stays in the loop.Timestamps(00:00) - - Intro and the Exit Five Live Format (03:47) - - Meet the Lineup (07:38) - - Build a Digital Team of Specialized AI Agents (14:33) - - Before the Prompt and After the Prompt (21:42) - - A 23-Step Agent That Writes AEO Content for LLMs (30:11) - - Turn Original Research Into a Content Differentiator (33:20) - - Treat Your Edits as Training Data (35:55) - - Faster to Content and Faster to Internal Buy-In (43:19) - - Rules for Learning With AI (49:16) - - The Winning Play Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, letting modern marketing teams build fully custom sites that perform in AI search with no developer needed. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive.Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive. ***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

A former SWAT cop who hates gun shops bought a 100-year-old bank and built one of the most creative firearms businesses in the country.In this episode of Founder Talk, Alex Sheridan sits down with Matthew Gerard, founder of Down Range CC in Rochelle, Illinois. From John Wick-style tastings inside a historic bank vault to challenge coins that replace business cards, Matthew is building an experience-driven brand in a lower income town that pulls customers from miles away.Key takeaways:00:00:00 Introduction00:01:36Q: How do you build a unique business in a traditional industry like firearms retail?A: Matthew Gerard explains that he hated the standard gun shop model, so he designed his store around education and premium experiences rather than volume sales. The building itself, a historic 1908 bank with an original vault, became the centerpiece of a completely different customer experience.00:36:35Q: How do you market a luxury product in a lower income area?A: Matthew Gerard spends as little time in his shop as possible and instead goes to golf outings and Chamber of Commerce events in wealthier surrounding towns. He gets in front of people with money rather than waiting for them to find him.00:40:10Q: Why are women the fastest growing market in firearms and how should gun shops respond?A: Matthew Gerard notes that most gun shops are not female friendly and default to handing women a small pink gun. Down Range has offered ladies-only classes for years and designs every element of the store experience to be welcoming regardless of gender.00:55:04Q: How do you market a firearms business when social media platforms shadow ban gun content?A: Matthew Gerard discovered that Facebook monitors the first 30 seconds of live streams. He opens every stream with "Welcome to the Down Range Natural History Museum" to bypass the filter, then transitions to gun sales content. The hack worked so well that Facebook is now paying him for engagement.01:00:01Q: Why is firearms training so critical even if you already own a gun?A: Matthew Gerard compares most gun owners to Linus from Peanuts carrying a security blanket. The gun makes them feel safe but they have never trained under stress. Down Range uses force-on-force training with airsoft to simulate real threat scenarios.

The statistical truth of an overnight success is eight to twelve years. In this episode of Content Amplified, Bill Harper, founder of BrandBossHQ and a 35-year veteran of helping businesses stand apart, breaks down why brands like Dollar Shave Club and Liquid Death only look like they exploded out of nowhere. Bill's core argument: people don't buy the best products, they buy the products they like the best, and no consumer owns a micrometer to test whose razor blade is actually sharper. He walks through his "hole to the goal" framework, where the brand is the ladder that gets a specific group of people out of one specific pain point: a Raleigh plumber who wins on "we're on time or you don't pay a dime," Volvo owning safety, and FedEx building an empire on "absolutely, positively overnight" back when it was a pure B2B play. He also explains why B2B buyers don't stop being emotional consumers just because they put on a tie. If you've ever been told to compete on having the best product, this episode will change how you pick your story.About BillBill Harper is the founder of BrandBossHQ, where he helps businesses figure out the story they have to tell in order to scale, a philosophy he sums up as "no story, no glory." Classically trained in visual communications, he fell in love early in his career with the external side of business: getting the buyer as excited as the person selling. This year marks 35 years of that work. Bill also shares free brand-building advice through more than 2,500 videos on TikTok.Show NotesConnect with Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandbosshq/Bill on TikTok: @BrandBossHQ (2,500+ free brand-building videos)Work with Bill: brandbosshq.comText us what you think about this episode!

Welcome to The SaaS CFO Podcast. In this episode, Ben welcomes Ramsey Al-Ramahi, founder and CEO of RevReply, who shares his journey from scaling a lead gen agency to creating an AI-powered SaaS platform for sales conversion. Ben and Ramsey Al-Ramahi discuss the transition from services to software, the unique challenges of building a platform, and how RevReply found traction with B2B sales teams. They also cover the experience of fundraising, joining the Berkeley Skydeck accelerator, and raising a $1 million seed round. Ramsey Al-Ramahi opens up about the metrics that guide his business and the ongoing challenges—and opportunities—of leveraging AI in sales. Tune in for actionable insights and an inside look at building a SaaS company in today's fast-changing landscape. Show Notes: 00:00 Refining sales techniques with experience 05:06 Evaluating Meeting Productivity Issues 07:11 Target customers: high-volume or complex workflows 12:30 Scaling up and resource allocation 14:27 Managing overwhelming inbound demand 19:07 Focusing on customer retention 22:00 Weighing AI vs. human costs 23:31 Offering free pipeline advice Links: SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/revreply-raises-1m-seed/ Ramsey Al-Ramahi's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramseyalramahi/ RevReply's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revreply/ RevReply's Website: https://www.revreply.com/ To learn more about Ben check out the links below: Subscribe to Ben's daily metrics newsletter: https://saasmetricsschool.beehiiv.com/subscribe Subscribe to Ben's SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page SaaS Metrics courses here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/ Join Ben's SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

When every employee can produce polished, on-brand-looking content in seconds, who actually owns the brand anymore?Agility requires guardrails, not just accelerators. Moving fast is only an advantage if the organization is still moving as one recognizable company.Today we're going to talk about the gap that opens up between how fast AI lets an organization produce and how well its brand actually holds together as that output scales. We'll explore:- What really gets diluted when content creation is democratized — and how quickly that compounds- Treating brand as infrastructure: building systems that guide AI-generated work rather than teams that police it after the fact- Why investment in brand governance has to scale in lockstep with investment in AI toolsTo help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Meghan Gendelman, CMO of B2B at Canva.About Meghan GendelmanMeghan Gendelman is Chief Marketing Officer, B2B at Canva, where she leads global B2B marketing to help organizations turn visual communication into essential infrastructure for modern work.Meghan's previously led cross-functional teams across Marketing, Enablement, Customer Success, and Sales. Most recently, she served as GVP of Growth Marketing at Docusign, where she worked on category building and positioning the company to win the enterprise. Prior, Meghan spent nearly 13 years at Salesforce, where she held senior roles including CMO of Financial Services, SVP and Head of Marketing for the Americas, and SVP of Global Strategic Marketing.A champion of inclusion, Meghan pioneered the first Women's Summit at Dreamforce and is passionate about developing diverse, values-driven leaders. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two daughters.Meghan Gendelman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgendelman/---------- Resources ----------Canva: canva.comThe Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://aglbrnd.co/r/2868abd8085a9703Reach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fEnjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716baCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Solarstone pres. Pure Trance Radio Episode 491 This week's show features Solarstone's B2B with Scott Bond at REBOOTED / MADE IN ENGLAND, Sheffield, 22.08.2026 01. Hans Zimmer vs. Scott Bond & Solarstone - Hunger Line Highway (Scott Bond Mashup) [White Label] 02. Aaron Taylor - Let You Go (Corderoy Remix) [Accord] 03. Adam White vs. Coast 2 Coast - The White Home (DJ Orion Mashup) [White Label] 04. Matt Darey Presents DSP - From Russia With Love (Solarstone Red City Remix) [DSP] 05. Scott Bond vs. Solarstone - Naked Angel (Scott Bond & Charlie Walker REBOOTED Remix) [White Label] 06. John O'Callaghan ft. Audrey Gallagher - Big Sky (Agnelli & Nelson Remix) [Xtravaganza] 07. Fire & Ice - Para Siempre (Jussi Polet Remix) [Made in England] 08. Man With No Name - Floor-Essence (Dayglo Mix) [Perfecto Flouro] 09. Scott Bond & Charlie Walker - Nimrod [White Label] 11. ID - ID [White Label] 12. Scott Bond vs. Solarstone - 3rd Earth (Scott Bond & Charlie Walker REBOOTED Intro Edit) [White Label]

One Big Idea 4 - Driving Operational Excellence: From Algorithm-Free Organic Scale to Transformational Self-LeadershipIn this episode of One Big Idea, host Josh Elledge connects with Nikolas Hake, Scott Doggett, Carol Schultz, Andrew Lafuente, and Jane Monroe to break down the operational frameworks needed to scale modern businesses, refine organizational culture, and master executive self-leadership. Nikolas Hake, Founder and CEO of JUS Official Services, kicks off the conversation by detailing how emerging creators and brands can build compounding momentum without falling into short-term social media trends. Scott Doggett, Founder and Chief Servant Leader at the National Academy of Leadership Development, then shifts the focus toward corporate culture, exposing how executive perception directly impacts workforce engagement. Next, Vertical Elevation Founder and CEO Carol Schultz introduces the strategic deployment of a Chief of Staff to eliminate CEO burnout. Andrew Lafuente, Founder and Principal of Lafuente Sign and Awning, reveals how modernizing legacy B2B industries creates sustainable market differentiation. Finally, Entrepreneur and Keynote Speaker Jane Monroe closes the episode by mapping out the four dimensions of the self to help corporate executives lead with radical self-awareness.The One Big Idea That Helps You Win Online Without Following Algorithms with JUS Official Services' Nikolas HakeIn a digital landscape obsessed with immediate viral spikes, emerging creators and growing brands frequently dilute their positioning by frantically chasing fleeting algorithmic trends. Talent management expert Nikolas Hake explains that his "one big idea" directly targets this strategic error: long-term brand equity relies on building a structured, repeatable content engine that compounds over time. Many talent agencies focus exclusively on established names, leaving emerging professionals without structured guidance. By stepping in to provide early-stage support, transparent management, and flexible operational alignment, businesses can transition away from scattered, sporadic activity and anchor their brand around a single, highly cohesive value proposition.To build sustainable digital momentum, founders must shift from surface-level vanity metrics toward deep audience understanding and multi-channel alignment. Nikolas emphasizes that attempting to appeal to everyone ultimately erodes consumer trust. Instead, brands should prioritize message clarity, audit their communications across platforms, and focus on human-centric storytelling that creates real emotional resonance. By establishing structured content workflows and viewing digital visibility as a long-term marathon rather than a sprint, businesses can protect their core identity, navigate evolving software algorithms, and cultivate deeply loyal communities.Why Leadership Success Depends on Seeing People Beyond Their Job Titles with National Academy of Leadership Development's Scott DoggettMany executive teams attempt to resolve underlying corporate challenges like high employee turnover, low productivity, and team disengagement by rolling out new software tools or rigid corporate policies. However, leadership development expert Scott Doggett demonstrates that his core framework addresses a much deeper root cause: executive perception. When leaders subconsciously view their workforce through clinical or transactional labels—referring to employees merely as "resources," "leads," or "headcount to manage"—that underlying mindset inevitably seeps into daily operations. This dynamic erodes psychological safety, suppresses frontline initiative, and causes high-performing talent to disengage.To build an adaptable, human-centered corporate culture, Scott challenges executives to radically shift how they perceive their team members. When leaders intentionally view every individual as priceless—acknowledging their unique strengths, personal aspirations, and professional struggles—they unlock unprecedented levels of ownership, creative problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration. Transforming corporate culture does not happen through static mission statements; it is forged through micro-interactions, such as practicing intentional presence in meetings, offering constructive feedback after errors, and replacing dehumanizing corporate jargon with empathetic language. By auditing their daily interactions, leaders can create an environment where talent genuinely thrives.Moving Beyond Micromanagement Through Strategic Delegation and Leadership with Vertical Elevation's Carol SchultzSmall and medium-sized business (SMB) CEOs frequently find themselves trapped in "operational overload," spending their valuable bandwidth managing daily meeting logistics, handling routine team communication, and putting out operational fires. Executive consultant Carol Schultz shares her foundational "one big idea" that solves this bottleneck: every CEO needs a Chief of Staff to serve as an operational force multiplier. Unlike a Director of Operations, who manages company-wide systems and department heads, a Chief of Staff focuses exclusively on managing the operations of the CEO's office. This crucial distinction allows visionary founders to reclaim up to 90% of their time, redirecting their focus toward high-level strategy, investor relations, and enterprise growth.Implementing a Chief of Staff requires a structured, multi-step transition process to ensure operational gaps are thoroughly documented before backfilling the position. Carol's proven framework involves auditing executive time, mapping critical operational tasks, and establishing clear delegation boundaries. Once implemented, this structure eliminates CEO burnout and prevents the executive from becoming an operational bottleneck. Paired with strategic authority-building tactics—such as establishing a streamlined press kit and securing targeted media guesting spots—CEOs can successfully step away from daily management minutiae and lead their organizations with clarity and vision.How Bold Thinking and Creativity Helped One Entrepreneur Beat the Competition with Lafuente Sign and Awning's Andrew LafuenteDisrupting a legacy industry does not require reinventing the underlying service; rather, it demands modernizing how that service is packaged, marketed, and delivered. B2B entrepreneur Andrew Lafuente outlines his "one big idea" on how he transformed a traditional manufacturing business into an agile brand serving major clients like Chase Bank, Trader Joe's, and Ralph Lauren. While traditional competitors in legacy sectors rely heavily on outdated word-of-mouth networks, Andrew embraced digital marketing, active social proof, and continuous competitive analysis to differentiate his brand, build trust, and capture market share.To convert industry analysis into scalable growth, leaders must view their competitors as a valuable source of market intelligence rather than a zero-sum threat. By regularly auditing market offerings, maintaining a polished and user-friendly digital footprint, and balancing local B2B accounts with high-profile national clients, legacy businesses can protect themselves against market downturns. Andrew highlights that maintaining strict attention to detail on digital channels—supported by proactive public relations, clear media kits, and strategic podcast appearances—allows modern founders to elevate their industry reputation, establish authoritative positioning, and drive predictable B2B revenue growth.Exploring the Four Selves Through a Journey of Self-Awareness and Leadership Growth with Jane MonroeTrue organizational transformation cannot occur until an executive learns the art of radical self-leadership. Keynote speaker and entrepreneur Jane Monroe introduces her core thesis on the road to leadership cohesion, which requires leaders to systematically explore and integrate four distinct dimensions of the self: the Known Self (public persona), the Hidden Self (private thoughts and boundaries), the Blind Self (unconscious behavioral blind spots), and the Mystery Self (untapped potential). Because executive ego often blocks self-awareness, leaders must actively build feedback loops to surface hidden blind spots before those unaddressed behaviors disrupt team dynamics.Unlocking the Mystery Self requires stepping far outside traditional comfort zones to dismantle limiting self-perceptions, much like Jane's own experience undertaking a 340-mile endurance kayak journey down the Missouri River. To cultivate leadership cohesion, executives must build a trusted advisory network—comprising coaches, mentors, or candid colleagues—who provide unvarnished, objective feedback. By prioritizing vulnerability over ego, normalizing continuous feedback within their corporate culture, and leading by example, business leaders can build resilient organizations rooted in mutual trust, psychological safety, and transformational growth.Links Mentioned in the EpisodeNikolas Hake on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolashake/JUS Official Services Website: https://www.jusofficialservices.info/Scott Doggett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdoggett/National Academy of Leadership Development Website:

In this special episode of The Data & AI Chief, host Cindi Howson sits down with three incredible authors to explore what it really takes to lead through the AI era, from scaling innovation to building AI-ready data foundations to designing systems that keep humans at the center. Get ready for a deep dive into: Scaling innovation and leading through uncertainty with Linda Hill, Harvard Business School Professor and author of Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation Building AI-ready data foundations with Sanjeev Mohan, Principal at SanjMo and author of Designing the AI-Driven Data Foundations Designing accountable, human-centered AI with Harveer Singh, Co-Founder and CIO of Rizz Wireless and author of When Data Moves Consider this your fall reading list for leading through the next phase of AI. Key Moments: Why Scaling Innovation Requires a Culture Shift (01:03): Linda Hill, author of Genius at Scale, unpacks her ABC model of architects, bridgers, and catalysts in scaling AI innovation. The Timeless Fundamentals Behind AI-Ready Data (32:40): Sanjeev Mohan, author of Designing the AI-Driven Data Foundations, explains why data fundamentals haven't changed even as the tools have. Why Every Data Pipeline Decision Has a Human Consequence (58:38): Harveer Singh, author of When Data Moves, shares personal stories showing the human stakes behind every data decision. Key Quotes: “Innovation is almost always the result of collaboration, experimentation, learning of people who are different, who have different perspectives, different expertise.” - Linda Hill “I strongly believe that to achieve the promises of AI, we should really focus on the foundational pieces, because those things never go away.” - Sanjeev Mohan “The more and more we are embedding these AI agents into our technology, we need to make sure that there is an accountability factor, there is a responsibility factor that is put into it before these decisions are made.” - Harveer Singh Mentions: Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation Designing the AI-Driven Data Foundations When Data Moves The AI Fairness Test Nobody Runs Guest Bios: Linda Hill Linda A. Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Faculty Chair of the Leadership Initiative. She is widely recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on leadership and innovation. Hill is the coauthor of Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation (March 2026), which introduces three essential roles for leading innovation across organizations and ecosystems: architect, bridger, and catalyst. The book was shortlisted for the 2025 Thinkers50 Innovation Award. She is also the coauthor of the award-winning books Collective Genius and Being the Boss. Her TED talk on leading collective creativity has garnered more than three million views. Sanjeev Mohan Sanjeev Mohan is a recognized thought leader in cloud technologies, modern data architectures, analytics, and artificial intelligence. With a keen focus on emerging trends and technologies, Sanjeev hosts It Depends podcast and authors regular Medium blogs. He is also the author of Data Product for Dummies. Formerly a Vice President at Gartner, Sanjeev was renowned for his in-depth research and strategic insights, shaping the research agenda for data and analytics globally. Over the past three years, he has led SanjMo, a consultancy specializing in technical advisory services that elevate category and brand awareness for clients. Sanjeev is the author of Designing the AI-Driven Data Foundations, a practical guide to building modern data foundations for the AI era. Harveer Singh Harveer Singh is a globally recognized data, AI, and fintech leader who bridges enterprise-scale leadership with entrepreneurial execution. Across 25+ years, he has transformed financial institutions spanning banking, payments, telecom, and Web3. A recognized industry leader, Harveer's work has earned DataIQ Top 10 CDOs, American Banker Innovation of the Year, and American Asian Outstanding 50 honors. In 2025, Harveer co-founded Rizz Wireless, an AI-native wireless company, where he serves as Co-Founder, CIO, and Board Member. He is also co-creator of RZTO, the company's Solana-based rewards token, which reimagines how loyalty and telecom rewards work and is listed on Gate.io. Harveer is the author of When Data Moves, which challenges the tech industry to remember that data systems serve humans, not machines. Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.

Kris Oldland, founder of Field Service News and Managing Director of 1927 Media, joins Sarah Nicastro for a candid conversation about selling the business he spent thirteen years building, what he observed about the field service industry during his time away, and the B2B publishing platform he's built to replace the model he believes is broken — one that treats readers as partners, not commodities.

What if you could buy a seven-figure business without putting down a huge pile of cash? Clayton Pritchard did exactly that. He wasn’t even looking to buy a business. Then the founder of Olivine Marketing asked him a simple question: “Would you like to buy it?” Instead of a massive upfront payment, Clayton structured the acquisition around a percentage of revenue. Low risk. Massive upside. But here’s the part that makes this deal really interesting. Before taking over, Clayton stepped in as CEO to prove he could actually grow the business. And within months, the company went from declining growth to tracking nearly 50% year-over-year growth. The business already had the assets: strong organic traffic, years of content, an established brand, and inbound leads. Clayton’s job was to unlock the value that was already there. In this episode, Jaryd sits down with Clayton to unpack how he acquired a seven-figure agency with no traditional cash-down deal, why the founders chose him over private equity, how he structured the revenue-based acquisition, what due diligence looked like from the inside, and how he turned better sales and conversion into rapid growth. They also get into how employees can turn their expertise into ownership, why buying an imperfect business can create more upside than buying a “perfect” one, and where AI fits into the future of product marketing. Because you don’t always need a giant bank account to buy a business. Sometimes, you need a relationship, a clear value-creation plan, and the courage to make the offer.

April Dunford is the positioning expert behind Obviously Awesome and a former repeat vice-president of marketing across seven venture-backed startups, most of which were acquired. Over the past decade she has advised roughly 300 B2B technology companies, all with sales teams, on how to position themselves against the competition. In this episode she joins hosts Lily Smith and Randy Silver to explain why so many companies are repositioning at once, how a strong point of view on the future underpins good positioning, and why the story a company tells about itself is a decision for product and sales, not just marketing.Key takeawaysPositioning is a company-wide decision, not a marketing exercise. Dunford's own experience repositioning a spreadsheet tool as an embeddable database shows how it reshapes pricing, sales motion and even the product roadmap, not just the words on a website.Major shifts such as the move to AI force widespread repositioning because customers no longer have a stable set of alternatives to judge value or price against, and both AI-native companies and traditional SaaS businesses are wrestling with where they now sit.Intercom's rebuild of its support product around Fin shows how staying anchored to the customer's underlying job, resolving a ticket, can guide a genuine AI-first redesign rather than a bolt-on feature.Companies need a clear, credible point of view on the future of their market, or customers facing genuine uncertainty will simply freeze and delay buying decisions.A compelling vision of the future has to flow from a company's real differentiated value, not be reverse-engineered to flatter its current position.Selling too far into a hyped future risks stalling deals, so the message needs a maturity model that shows customers a credible, low-risk path from where they are today to where the market is heading.Positioning should be revisited on a disciplined schedule rather than settled by whoever argues loudest in the room, and Dunford recommends a structured check every six months on competitors, differentiators and value themes.Customer advisory boards, quarterly executive account calls and a company's own sales team are the most reliable early-warning systems for shifts in budget, buying process and competitive threats, long before they show up as lost deals.Chapters(00:00) Introduction to April Dunford (01:53) The story behind Obviously Awesome (05:33) Positioning as a cross-functional decision (07:23) Why everyone is repositioning right now (09:32) Intercom, Fin and the AI-native rebuild (11:53) Building a point of view of the future (16:52) Is the vision genuine or self-serving (18:00) How to develop your point of view (22:13) Stack Overflow, Salesforce and staying silent (23:45) Hyping the future without stalling sales (27:01) When positioning needs to change (28:42) Running a regular positioning check-in (30:29) Customer advisory boards and voice of customer (34:47) Predicting change after covid and AI (37:20) Wrap-upOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.

Why do buyers agree with your business case but still hesitate to act? Understanding the benefits isn't always enough. They also need to care about what the change will mean for them.In this episode of Sales with ASLAN, Tom Stanfill and Tab Norris explore Truth #14: Emotion + Logic = Action. They unpack how emotions drive decision-making in sales and how sellers can connect credible evidence to the outcomes customers care about, without creating pressure or manipulating the decision.You'll learn how to:Connect your recommendation to the buyer's priorities using ASLAN's three C's: connect, contrast, and convince.Use word pictures to make unfamiliar value easier to understand.Tell success stories customers can see themselves in.Make the payoff tangible through demonstrations and assessments.Discuss the consequences of inaction alongside a realistic vision of a better future.Whether you're leading a sales team, coaching reps, or navigating complex B2B buying decisions, this conversation offers practical ways to help customers move beyond understanding the benefits to seeing why they matter.Follow Sales with ASLAN for more from our 30 Truths for 30 Years series.Learn more about ASLAN: https://tinyurl.com/3wr6w555

In this episode of Future Finance, Paul Barnhurst and Glenn Hopper discuss AI fatigue and why finance professionals should focus less on chasing new models and more on using AI effectively. They share practical ways to improve AI results through better instructions, reference files, context, and data foundations.In this episode, you will discover:Why AI fatigue is becoming a real challenge.Why prompting alone is no longer enough.How context and reference files improve AI results.Why clean data and clear KPIs matter.How finance teams can start using AI more effectively.Paul and Glenn emphasize that finance teams do not need to build complicated systems immediately. Starting with clear data definitions, documented sources, and simple context files can already make AI much more useful.Follow Glenn:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gbhopperiiiFollow Paul:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefpandaguyDisclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.Future Finance is sponsored by QFlow.ai, the strategic finance platform solving the toughest part of planning and analysis: B2B revenue. Align sales, marketing, and finance, speed up decision-making, and lock in accountability with QFlow.ai. Stay tuned for a deeper understanding of how AI is shaping the future of finance and what it means for businesses and individuals alike.In Today's Episode:[00:00] - Introduction[01:07] - AI Fatigue[04:09] - Using AI Effectively[05:44] - The Changing Role of Prompting[07:40] - AI for Financial Modelling[11:37] - AI and Finance Data[14:47] - Building a Data Foundation[18:10] - Practical AI Tips[19:08] - Closing Thoughts

Group coaching is becoming a bigger part of leadership development, but it is still often confused with training, mentoring, or simply putting several people into the same coaching session. In this episode of A Better HR Business, I speak with Dominique Mas, Co-Founder and CEO, and Priscilla Lavoie, Head of Marketing at Group Coaching HQ. Group Coaching HQ works with HR, talent, L&D, and internal coaching teams to design, run, and grow group coaching programmes inside organisations. Dominique and Priscilla explain what effective group coaching looks like, where it can have the greatest impact, and how organisations can measure results without undermining trust within the group. We also discuss how Group Coaching HQ is growing through events, speaking, founder-led content, and other personal, trust-based forms of marketing. Priscilla explains how the company tracks its marketing activity and supports HR and L&D buyers at different stages of the buying process. In this episode, we discuss: What group coaching is and how it differs from training and mentoring Why it works particularly well for new managers and senior leaders How it can improve leadership skills, connection, and retention How to collect useful data while protecting trust and psychological safety How organisations can measure the business impact and ROI Why human, trust-based marketing is working well for Group Coaching HQ Dominique also shares findings from Group Coaching HQ's 2026 study, including the growing use of group coaching for leadership development and the need for clear programme structures and evidence of business value. About Group Coaching HQ Group Coaching HQ helps organisations create group coaching programmes that bring people together, improve leadership skills, and give more employees access to coaching. Its work includes consulting, programme design, coach training, ICF-approved group coaching certification, and the delivery of fully managed group coaching programmes. Links Group Coaching HQ Dominique Mas on LinkedIn Priscilla Lavoie on LinkedIn Listen to A Better HR Business on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or the Get More HR Clients website. Check out this B2B podcast launch service. About The A Better HR Business Podcast The A Better HR Business shares strategies, tactics, success stories, and more about marketing for HR consultancies and marketing for HR tech companies, and how to get more clients. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you don't miss future episodes. For show notes and to see details of our previous guests, check out the podcast page here: www.GetMoreHRClients.com/Podcast HR BUSINESS GROWTH RESOURCES Get the new book - Grow A Successful HR Business Your Way Launch your own business podcast: B2B Podcast Agency VISIT GET MORE HR CLIENTS Want more clients for your HR-related consultancy or HR Tech business? Visit the Get More HR Clients website for articles, newsletters, podcasts, videos, resources, and more at www.getmorehrclients.com.

Send us Fan MailJoe's new Solo System. | LinkedInGet your FREE Solo Consultant Summit ticket.Your best prospects are already trying to buy without you. They are researching, comparing options, checking proof, and building a shortlist before they ever reach out and if your consulting website hides the deliverables, the process, or the pricing signal, you get filtered out early. That is the real reason “sales” can feel stressful and weird: the offer is full of unknowns, so the call turns into a persuasion session.We sit down with Joe Daniels, who helps B2B consultants package and position their offers so they practically sell themselves. Joe breaks down why bespoke-first work creates confusion for buyers and chaos for delivery, how transparent pricing can be handled without boxing yourself in, and why a tight entry offer can build trust fast. We also talk about replacing the traditional sales call with a fit-focused diagnostic conversation and why charging for diagnosis beats giving away strategy in a proposal.Joe shares his “Three Ds” of buyability: make the offer desired by naming the real problem, make it different by explaining why the usual approach fails, and make it decisive by giving prospects the details they need to choose now. If you sell into larger organizations, we cover how to write for the internal champion and provide sales enablement assets for decision makers who only care about sign-off details.If this helps, subscribe, share it with a consultant friend, and leave a review. What is one detail you could add to your offer page today to make buying feel obvious?Are you tired of prospects ghosting you? With a Gateway Offer, that won't happen.Over the next Ten Days, we will launch and sell our Gateway Offers with the goal of reaching booked-out status!Join the challenge here. Join my events community for FREE monthly events.I offer free events each month to help you master your business's growth through marketing, sales, systems, and offer strategy. Join the community here!Support the showSchedule a Booked-out Blueprint >>> Schedule.Come tour my digital home :) >>>WebsiteWanna be friends? >>> LinkedInLet's chat every Tuesday! >>> NewsletterCatch the video podcast on YouTube >>>YouTubeJoin my event group for live events >>>Meetup

Watch a team lose and you can usually list ten things that went wrong. Fixing all ten feels like the responsible thing to do, and it's often the reason nothing changes. Ray breaks down what happened when his son's 10-year-old basketball team got massacred in the first round of a tournament, and how their coach turned them around in two days by ignoring almost the entire list and drilling one thing — using a rope, not a whiteboard. The same discipline separates sales coaching that sticks from sales coaching that gets nodded at and forgotten.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy a list of ten fixable problems usually produces zero real improvement.What a youth basketball coach did with a rope that no amount of explaining could accomplish.How to find the single change that makes everything else on the list easier or unnecessary.Why drilling one thing until it's permanently installed beats covering everything once.What happens when a coaching session ends with ten action items instead of one.How compounding one improvement at a time produces outsized returns on a person and a business.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Kevin White, Head of Marketing at Scrunch, argues that referral traffic from ChatGPT is the wrong instrument for measuring AI search — and that the real question is whether a model represents your brand accurately when no one clicks at all. He and Greg Kihlström get into what to build and what to measure instead."AI search" is several different problems wearing one label. A crawler pulling your content, a model synthesizing an answer, and an agent acting on someone's behalf are not the same event — and teams that treat them as one end up optimizing for the wrong thing.A website now serves two readers with different needs. White on what changes structurally when the page has to work for a human and for a machine that will compress it into three sentences.Visibility is probabilistic, so accountability has to change. The same prompt can surface your brand one day and skip it the next. White on what a marketing leader can honestly commit to a CMO or a board in that environment.About Kevin WhiteKevin White is a B2B tech marketing leader who has helped shape go-to-market at Segment, Retool, and Common Room, and now leads marketing at Scrunch AI, an AI-first customer-journey platform. He got his start in SaaS at Gigya — where he was handed Marketo and told to 'figure it out,' the spark for a learn-by-doing growth mindset that merges analytical rigor (attribution, lifecycle infrastructure, reporting) with creative offer- and channel-building. That growth foundation carried him to leading whole marketing orgs, though he's candid that the climb pulled him away from the hands-on craft he loves, and at Common Room he deliberately stepped back into a senior IC role. At Scrunch he focuses on one of the most overlooked shifts in modern marketing: websites are now consumed as much by AI bots as by humans, and brands that make their sites legible to LLMs — through structure, markdown and JSON, schema, and a parallel AI-optimized experience — win the emerging AI retrieval channel.Kevin White on LinkedIn---------- Resources ----------This episode is brought to you by Scrunch. Scrunch gets your site AI-ready so you show up in answers, get cited, and grow revenue. Learn more at Scrunch.comReach your customers with Reddit. Spend $500 in ad spend, get $500 back in ad credit! Learn more: https://advertalize.com/r/491818c79fb1873fEnjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://aglbrnd.co/r/faaed112fc9887f3Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://aglbrnd.co/r/35ded3ccfb6716baCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.comThe Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is Sarah Guo, founder and managing partner of Conviction, the venture firm she built to back AI-native companies from their earliest days.  Sarah has become one of the most sought-after early-stage investors in AI, often the first check into the companies defining the frontier.  In this conversation, we go inside that frontier: what the small group of people actually building AI believe right now, why some of the field's best researchers are wrestling with their own sense of purpose, and how close we are to robots in the home and a genuine acceleration in scientific discovery.  At the center is Sarah's conviction that no single company will own the future of AI, and what that means for founders, investors, and anyone allocating their time and resources in a world moving this fast. Our managing editor Dom Cooke wrote a profile of Sarah for Colossus, "Sarah's Wager," on how she built the firm closest to the AI frontier and why she's now betting against its biggest companies.  Please enjoy this conversation with Sarah Guo. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  ----- Become a Colossus member to get our quarterly print magazine and private audio experience, including exclusive profiles and early access to select episodes. Subscribe at ⁠colossus.com/subscribe⁠. ----- ⁠Ramp's⁠ mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ramp.com/invest⁠⁠ to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. ----- Trusted by thousands of businesses, ⁠Vanta⁠ continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Invest Like the Best listeners get a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta when you go to ⁠vanta.com/invest⁠.  ----- WorkOS⁠ is the infrastructure B2B and AI-native companies use to sell to enterprise. It covers everything enterprise security requires: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, Audit Logs, AI governance, and more. Trusted by 2,000+ fast-growing companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, and Vercel. ----- Rogo is the AI platform for finance. They're building agents for Wall Street that are trained to understand how bankers and investors actually do work: from diligence and modeling, to turning analysis into deliverables. To learn more, visit rogo.ai/invest. ----- ⁠Ridgeline⁠ has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgeline.ai⁠. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant. Timestamps: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:02:16) Investing Without a Backtest (00:03:31) The AI Wager (00:06:16) Building the Best Investment Firm (00:08:37) Finding Non-Obvious AI Opportunities (00:11:00) The Frontier AI Talent Race (00:13:50) Compute as the Constraint (00:19:10) The Future of Robotics (00:22:15) Making Investment Decisions (00:26:13) How Sarah Spends Her Time (00:28:15) Raising a Venture Fund (00:30:49) Lessons From Her Parents (00:34:38) The Case for Open Source AI (00:39:01) Abundant Intelligence Isn't Inevitable (00:40:55) Compute Independence (00:43:14) Debates Inside Conviction (00:45:27) AI's Opportunity in Biology (00:48:58) Why Conviction (00:50:31) Finding Truth and Taking Risk (00:54:16) What Changes in the Next Year (00:56:46) The Kindest Thing

For seven years, Caroline D'Amore built Pizza Girl around one model: get it into supermarkets. Then a tragedy she never saw coming, the LA fires, handed her the business she'd actually been missing the whole time.Key Takeaways:Watch your crisis response for a business signal: Pizza Girl's turnkey B2B event program came directly out of the community pizza donations Caroline organized during the LA fires.Separate your personal story from your market research: Naming and building her first product around personal reasons instead of what the market wanted cost her early traction.Close a product line before it compromises your values. Caroline shut down her supermarket sauce division rather than water down the ingredients to hit retail margins.Filter every idea through one question. "Does this directly correlate to a sale" now decides what her team spends time on, not what's fun to market.Take outside capital when it lets you move faster. Caroline gave up full ownership for investors who let Pizza Girl scale its facilities and trucking instead of growing at a slow uphill pace alone.Revenue / Growth Insight: The B2B turnkey program, tabletop ovens and subscription par-baked pizzas sold directly to hotels, offices, and event venues, grew from one hotel account to 30 venues across LA in months, a faster and higher-margin path than the original supermarket retail model Caroline spent seven years building.Pizza Girl WebsitePizza Girl LinkedInPizza Girl InstagramPizza Girl FacebookPizza Girl YouTubeCaroline D'Amore InstagramCaroline D'Amore LinkedInGordon Ramsay Food Stars Caroline D'AmoreWork with She Built It® Media She Built It® Instagram She Built It® CEO, Melanie Barr InstagramMelanie Barr LinkedInShe Built It® LinkedIn

Host Sima Vasa talks to Sascha Eder, Co-Founder and CEO of NewtonX, about why he built the company around quality instead of speed or price, and how nine years of holding that line shaped its research model. Sascha also unpacks NewtonX’s new synthetic personas for B2B research, and the lesson from his own team that’s cost him the most whenever he’s ignored it. KEY TAKEAWAYS 00:00 Introduction.01:53 Sascha’s path from pro track and field to founding NewtonX.04:48 The value proposition that keeps NewtonX’s expert network coming back.09:12 Entering the research industry without a background became NewtonX’s biggest advantage.13:28 Why NewtonX chose quality over speed, and speed over price.17:18 NewtonX’s take on the synthetic data debate splitting the industry.21:11 The founder mistake Sascha Eder says costs the most, always. Thanks for listening to the Data Gurus podcast, brought to you by Infinity Squared. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review to help get the word out about the show, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation. RESOURCES MENTIONED NewtonX Website Synthetic Personas #Analytics #MA #Data #Strategy #Innovation #Acquisitions #MRX #Restech

In this episode, hosts Jamie Clapper and Lauren Livak Gilbert are joined by Nick Pericle, founder and owner of Tenexity, for a deep dive into the real-world application of AI in B2B e-commerce, distribution, and manufacturing. Drawing from over a decade of experience helping industrial businesses digitize and grow, Nick cuts through the hype to address why many organizations remain stuck in "planning mode" and how forward-thinking teams are escaping "pilot purgatory" to drive tangible ROI. From managing team mindsets and rethinking traditional job descriptions to building unified data layers that power future AI automation, Nick shares actionable insights for leaders ready to elevate their business ambition and leverage AI as a true competitive advantage.

Three episodes in, you will be willing to die for Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg. No backstory required. No sprawling lore to decode. Just a knight who may not even be a knight, a boy who follows him anyway, and storytelling so elemental it hits like a gut punch. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms works because it does what most B2B content refuses to do: it puts the human at the center, leaves you wanting more, and trusts the oldest storytelling mechanics in the world. In this episode, we dig into what that means for marketers with our special guest Tara Corey, SVP of Marketing at Optimizely. Together, we unpack why the best content finds the friction point in a story rather than avoiding it, why you should be the biographer and not the subject, and what Optimizely's upcoming rebrand taught Tara about bravery and standing out from the B2B sea of sameness. About our guest, Tara Corey Tara Corey is SVP of Marketing at Optimizely, where she leads brand, content, and the company's upcoming rebrand. With over 20 years in marketing, she's known for building editorial-driven content strategies, championing authentic human storytelling, and running toward the hard moments — in her career and her content. She's a passionate believer in community, mentorship, and the idea that bravery isn't optional. What B2B Marketers Can Learn From A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Put the human at the heart of the story — then leave them wanting more. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms doesn't try to tell you everything at once. It earns your investment in two characters and then trusts that investment to carry you through. Tara connects this directly to how B2B content fails: "Creating content has never been easier than it is right now with AI. But creating quality content that truly has that art of storytelling and a truly human-connected story — I think that's harder and harder to stand out and do well." Fewer things, done better, is the whole strategy. Be the biographer, not the subject. Most origin stories are boring because the subject tells them. The interesting version requires someone who knows which parts actually matter. Ian's challenge for B2B marketers: "Volunteer to be the biographer. Don't let someone else tell their own story. Tell their story in a way that you think is interesting." That means getting in person, asking the follow-up questions people skip, and hunting for the moment of friction — the "no kidding, there I was" — where everything shifted. Find the elemental story hiding in your B2B content. Betrayal. Honor. Trust broken and rebuilt. These mechanics work because they've always worked. Ian ties them directly to the world every marketer lives in: "How many of us have been there when it's like, 'You said you were gonna promote me. You said you were gonna do this. Why did you never do it?' — that's so elemental. And yet we just don't put it in B2B marketing, even though it's all around us." The richest stories aren't in the product. They're in the people. Quote"Bravery isn't optional. There's fear, there's excitement — but we've got to be brave, try not to be afraid, and be excited about what's possible. And also try to balance that with the simplicity of a great story and that human connection." — Tara Corey Time Stamps [1:22] Meet Tara Corey, SVP of Marketing at Optimizely [1:40] Why A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms? [3:02] What Is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms? A Brief History [7:20] What Makes It Work: Heart, Humor, and Unexpected Turns [10:47] Marketing Takeaways: Put the Human at the Heart of the Story [12:01] Leave Them Wanting More [13:51] Simple Storytelling Mechanics That Always Work [19:09] Be the Biographer, Not the Subject [21:03] How to Train a Team to Capture Better Stories [24:54] Find the Friction: Where Great Stories Actually Live [31:44] Critique vs. Tearing Down — And Why It Matters for Marketers [37:06] Bravery Isn't Optional: Optimizely's Content Strategy and Rebrand [38:30] Final Thoughts and Takeaways LinksConnect with Tara on LinkedInLearn more about Optimizely About Remarkable! Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering — The Business Thriller — Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is "Solomon" by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Maria Birdwell came to industrial packaging from media and advertising, with no B2B background and no allegiance to how the category has always sold itself. At Franklin Mountain Packaging, a corrugated manufacturer that started up in 2022, she markets a young company against multi-generational competitors by refusing to fight on age or even on machinery. Instead she lets customer requirements drive the conversation and, in a recent pivot she credits directly to macroeconomic uncertainty, leans the whole message toward flexibility. She tells Jeff White and Carman Pirie why she downplays sustainability, why video of machines in action outperforms everything, and why marketing means nothing if operations can't capture and convert the lead.

Your best salesperson may be the worst person on your team to handle cold outreach, and Kevin Downey explains why. Hiring a successful salesperson does not mean you are hiring someone willing or built to spend hours every day prospecting and making cold calls. Join Brad Friedman and Kevin Downey as they discuss B2B email lead generation, sales team structure, and how to identify sales or business development reps who are built for cold outreach so you can generate more qualified conversations without expecting expensive salespeople to do work they are unlikely to sustain. Kevin is a Kansas City-based recruitment leader and entrepreneur with a proven track record in business development, sales team building, and B2B email marketing. Visit thedigitalslicepodcast.com for complete show notes of every podcast episode. The Digital Slice Podcast is brought to you by Magai. Up your AI game at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/magai. And, if it's your first time purchasing, use BRAD30 at checkout to get 30% off your first 3 months.

SHOW NOTESWant to boost your sales…without feeling pushy, stressed, or burned out?What if one of the most overlooked sales skills had nothing to do with scripts, pressure, or manipulation……and everything to do with mindfulness?PODCAST SUMMARYIn this episode of Stories With Traction, Matt Zaun sits down with author and mindfulness expert Joy Rains to discuss her book Ignite Your Sales Power and the surprising connection between mindfulness, emotional awareness, and sales success.Drawing from decades of experience in B2B sales and meditation practice, Joy explains how mindfulness can help sales professionals become more present, more empathetic, and more effective communicators, ultimately leading to stronger relationships, clearer thinking, and greater business growth.Joy also shares her personal journey from feeling overwhelmed and mentally exhausted during her sales career to discovering meditation and mindfulness practices that transformed not only her stress levels but her entire approach to business and life.ABOUT JOY RAINSJoy Rains is the author of Ignite Your Sales Power and Meditation Illuminated, where she helps readers cultivate mindfulness, emotional awareness, and practical strategies for both personal well-being and professional growth.After years of working in B2B technology and advertising sales, Joy turned to meditation and mindfulness to help manage stress and mental overload. What began as a simple effort to quiet her mind evolved into a decades-long exploration of mindfulness practices and contemplative leadership.Today, Joy teaches approachable, practical mindfulness techniques designed specifically for everyday life, especially for professionals seeking more clarity, focus, and balance.She has presented mindfulness programs in a variety of settings, including the INBOUND Conference in Boston, and continues helping people integrate mindfulness into leadership, communication, and sales performance.EPISODES MENTIONED DURING THE CONVERSATIONSix-Figure Sales SecretsCompany Culture: Definition, Benefits, and StrategiesABOUT MATT ZAUNMatt Zaun is an award-winning speaker and storyteller who empowers organizations to attract more clients through the art of strategic storytelling.His workshops have helped more than 300 organizations improve sales, marketing, leadership communication, and company culture through intentional storytelling strategies.Matt works with executives, sales professionals, and entrepreneurs to help them become more persuasive, memorable, and influential through the power of story.

Sales is an emotional roller coaster, and unless you figure out how to manage those emotions and keep yourself motivated, you'll have a difficult time succeeding. Unpack this issue and gain specific ideas and techniques to keep yourself motivated. *************************************************** Dave Kahle is a B2B sales expert and a Christian Business thought leader.  He has authored 13 books, presented in 47 states and 11 countries and worked with over 500 sales organizations.  In these ten-minute podcasts, his unique blend of out-of-the-box thinking and practical insights will challenge and enable you to sell better, lead better and live better.        Subscribe to these ten-minute helpings of out-of-the-box inspiration, education and motivation. WWW.DaveKahle.com The Sales Excellence Club

Иван Рычков — предприниматель, CEO и управляющий партнёр коммуникационно-исследовательского агентства Ex Libris, №1 в PR-аналитике по версии Рейтинга Рунета 2025. Более 15 лет работает в B2B-консалтинге, медиааналитике, управлении репутацией и настройке бизнес-процессов. Также выступает бизнес-трекером и ментором, изучает управленческие модели, ИИ и развитие человека через психологию, искусство и философию.Ivan Rychkov is an entrepreneur, CEO and Managing Partner at Ex Libris, ranked Russia's No. 1 PR analytics agency by Rating Runeta in 2025. He has more than 15 years of experience in B2B consulting, media intelligence, reputation management and business-process design. He also mentors founders and studies management systems, AI, and human development through psychology, art and philosophy.Стать участником подкаста: https://form.jotform.com/Podcast10K/become-a-podcast-guestТемы выпуска:0:00 Иван принёс отличное настроение. Оно всё это время выглядывало из него3:29 Два диплома ничего не доказывают. У меня тоже два, а я дебил 10:38 Сознание это свет. Личность всего лишь слайд с ёжиком 13:17 Эволюция сознания становится болтологией, когда обещает улучшить вашу жизнь 27:04 Рождённому ползать предлагают купить билет на следующий уровень сознания 29:45 Богатство это деньги, которые можно превратить во власть 37:40 Обещание доступного успеха заменило голод вечной неудовлетворённостью 46:47 Декорации эволюционируют, человеческий сюжет остаётся прежним 57:06 Идеи приходят неизвестно откуда, но авторство всегда назначают человеку 1:04:19 Свобода воли поднимает руку, но не способна произвести умную мысль 1:15:21 Двадцать лет изучал принятие решений. Что в итоге удалось понять? 1:28:13 Не можете объяснить примату, значит сами ничего не поняли 1:51:03 Покажите расшифровку речи, и она выдаст структуру мышления 2:04:26 Чем больше чужих архетипов внутри, тем легче стать кем угодно 2:10:04 Второй Иван был здесь с самого начала. Сначала он выдал себя случайно, дальше его приходилось выманивать

More content. More followers. More visibility. More leads. Those are the requests many founders bring to their marketing team or agency. But before you dive in, do you know the business problem underneath it? In this episode of The Smartest Person in the Room, Susan Saltwell talks with INSPIRED Vibe founders Christin Daniels and Amber Halverson about what they learned at the Effie Academy at Cannes Lions—and why effective marketing begins long before the creative idea. Together, they unpack a more disciplined approach for founder-led and B2B businesses: define the real growth challenge, understand the audience deeply enough to uncover what matters, determine what belief or behavior needs to change, and measure whether the work is creating meaningful business progress. This is not a conversation about chasing attention for attention's sake. It is about helping founders make better marketing decisions, ask more of their teams, and build work that earns trust, creates demand, and supports growth. Listen and subscribe if you are a founder or business leader deciding where to invest next and want to make sure your marketing plan is solving a business problem, not just producing more activity. Follow INSPIRED Vibe  IG: https://www.instagram.com/inspirethevibe/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@inspirethevibeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@inspirethevibeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspirethevibe/  Follow the hosts  Christin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christindaniels/Amber's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberhalvorson/Susan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-saltwell-47880911/

Ep. 225 features Amar Rao, Co-Founder of SportsStack, to discuss the challenges of sports data infrastructure and how SportsStack is building a unified data layer for the industry. Amar shares insights from his experience at NumberFire, FanDuel, and Fanatics, along with SportsStack's approach to data normalization, settlement, and scaling sports technology. Hear them discuss: Amar's journey from Amazon to NumberFire, FanDuel, and Fanatics, and how years of dealing with fragmented sports data led to the creation of SportsStack. How SportsStack's Unified API helps operators, fantasy platforms, prediction markets, media companies, teams, and leagues normalize data and switch providers without rebuilding their infrastructure. Why settlement and misgraded markets remain a costly challenge for sportsbooks and prediction markets, and how cross-validating multiple data sources can improve accuracy and reduce operational risk. SportsStack's early traction, including work with Underdog and Novig, its approach to fundraising, and why strategic capital matters more than raising money for the sake of it. Why industry conferences are critical for early-stage B2B startups, with Amar emphasizing the importance of consistently showing up, building awareness, and playing the long game. Amar's view of the evolving sports data ecosystem, including the rise of specialized providers, AI-driven data products, and new demands created by prediction markets. SportsStack's roadmap for the next year, with a focus on expanding provider coverage, improving data quality and speed, and becoming a leading settlement infrastructure solution. Amar's long-term vision for SportsStack as the default infrastructure layer connecting sports data providers with the products and experiences built on top of them.   The Startup Zone at SBC Summit in Lisbon is the best way for startups to establish their presence at "The Greatest Show in Gaming". Discounted packages are available exclusively through BettingStartups, but spaces are very limited so register your interest ASAP: https://www.bettingstartups.com/sbc-summit-2026   Learn more

Wholesale Change is a weekly live news show for the distribution industry, hosted by Ian Heller and Mark Brohan. Each episode dives into the stories that actually matter to distributors—earnings reports, M&A, AD and buying group developments, Amazon Business, AI, and the strategies behind the headlines. This isn't a neutral recap; it's a news + analysis + opinion program. Ian and Mark bring decades of distribution and B2B expertise to: Explain what's really driving the numbers behind public and private distributors Connect quarter‑to‑quarter trends across leading players Call out who's talking about AI vs. who's actually doing it Explore what industry shifts mean for mid‑market distributors trying to compete at scale

Buying AI tools does not mean your team will actually use them. In this episode of Grounding AI, Donna Peterson talks with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts and author of The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results, about why AI adoption is often more of a people issue than a technology issue. Why do some employees avoid AI? Why are others using it but hesitant to admit it? And what can leaders do to help their teams become more comfortable without forcing change too quickly? Donna and Gleb discuss the psychology behind AI adoption, the role leadership plays in creating the right culture, and why starting with the right kind of task can make a real difference. They also look at an important question for every business investing in AI: How do you know if AI is actually helping your company, rather than simply adding another tool? If your company is introducing AI but struggling to get real participation from the team, this conversation will give you a different way to think about the problem. In this episode: • Why employees may resist AI even when the tools are easy to use • What leaders may be overlooking when introducing AI • How company culture influences adoption • A practical way to help employees get started • How to think about whether AI is producing real business value Grounding AI | World Innovators Practical conversations for B2B leaders who want to use AI thoughtfully, improve communication, and keep people at the center of the process. *** Reach out to dpeterson@worldinnovators.com if you'd like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.*** Visit www.worldinnovators.com for more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.*** Subscribe to the Grounding AI podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.

Descarga la infografía de este episodio haciendo clic aquí.¿Tu cliente está convencido… pero la venta sigue sin cerrar? El problema puede ser que estás intentando cerrar una venta B2B con una sola persona.En este episodio de Cállate y Vende te explico cómo identificar quién realmente participa en la decisión de compra, cómo dejar de depender únicamente del área de Compras y cómo construir una red de contactos dentro de cada cuenta para aumentar tus probabilidades de cerrar.Vas a aprender:✅ Cómo identificar al verdadero tomador de decisión✅ Quién puede bloquear una venta aunque tu contacto diga que sí✅ Cómo convertir un contacto en un aliado interno✅ Cómo vender valor a Compras, Finanzas, Operaciones y Dirección✅ Por qué necesitas más contactos dentro de tus cuentas clave✅ Cómo construir un mapa de decisión para cerrar ventas complejas✅ Cómo hacer más fácil que tu cliente diga “sí”Si vendes a empresas, manejas ventas B2B, ventas industriales, cuentas clave o procesos comerciales complejos, este episodio te va a ahorrar muchas propuestas que terminan en el clásico: “déjame revisarlo con el equipo”.Suscríbete a Cállate y Vende para aprender estrategias prácticas de ventas, negociación, prospección, seguimiento y cierre.#VentasB2B #CerrarVentas #VentasMENOS CURSITIS Y MÁS RESULTADOS DE VENTAS Regístrate en el Top Team de Ventashttps://www.detonadoresdevalor.com/top Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/@mreapodcastShawn Cleary went from serving as a nuclear submarine officer to building a team that closed more than 200 units in just three years with simple systems designed to protect his time. One place where he saves a lot of time: social media.What if you could build a $90 million real estate business and only spend about an hour per week per social media platform building leads?We break down how Shawn built a niche Facebook community that produces roughly 12 to 18 deals a year, how he uses geo-targeted Instagram content to generate daily leads, and how his team uses YouTube to attract relocation buyers. The common goal is to provide value first, know exactly who you want to reach, and build around proven models instead of reinventing the wheel.Then we get into the buyer consultation that helped Shawn personally represent 98 buyers in one year without a showing assistant. His two- to three-hour process helps him educate clients, set expectations, build trust, and save time later in the transaction. It is a clear example of how strong systems on the front end can create more control, more confidence and more production.Resources:Shawn Cleary's WebsiteJoin Navy Nuke Property Network on FacebookFollow Navy Nuke Property Network on Instagram: @NavyNukePropertyNetwork Explore Shawn Cleary's YouTubeOrder the Millionaire Real Estate Agent Playbook | Volume 3Connect with Jason:LinkedinProduced by NOVAThis podcast is for general informational purposes only. The views, thoughts, and opinions of the guest represent those of the guest and not  Keller Williams Realty, LLC and its affiliates, and should not be construed as financial, economic, legal, tax, or other advice. This podcast is provided without any warranty, or guarantee of its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or results from using the information.WARNING! You must comply with the TCPA and any other federal, state or local laws, including for B2B calls and texts. Never call or text a number on any Do Not Call list, and do not use an autodialer or artificial voice or prerecorded messages without proper consent. Contact your attorney to ensure your compliance.

Episode Summary Tim Melanson sits down with Bradley Rausch, owner of Level Up Influence, who helps coaching, consulting, and SaaS founder-led brands make more money from the clients they already have through stronger client success and customer experience. Bradley shares his origin story, from rising as a high-ticket closer at a nine-figure sales organization at just 19 years old, to walking away from that role over an ethical misalignment that shaped his focus on treating clients well and delivering on promises at scale. He also opens up about one of his biggest career mistakes — taking a director-level role that was beyond his skill level at the time and being let go after just a week — and how he bounced back quickly by pivoting into a better-fit client success position. From there, Bradley digs into the skills that have helped him most: knowing what to say no to, structuring his work around his own focus and energy, and using AI as a thinking partner rather than just a task-doer. He also shares practical advice for beginners on prioritizing reps and fast learning over perfection, highlights Hormozi's "Rule of 100," and talks about the renewed value of in-person networking in a digital-first world. Who is Bradley Rausch? Bradley Rausch is a client experience architect, strategic advisor, and the go-to "backend profit" partner for founder-led coaching and group programs. With six years of experience, he's helped dozens of founders turn chaotic growth into durable, higher-margin revenue without sacrificing their values. From first-72-hour onboarding systems to referrals, testimonials, and ascension playbooks, Bradley and his team help founders turn each great client into 1.5–2x more profit and build businesses that feel lighter as they scale. Bradley is the owner of Level Up Influence. He got his start at 19 in the online high-ticket coaching, consulting, and SaaS space, working his way up to a top sales training and coaching organization before stepping away to focus on client success. He later spent time as director of client success for B2B eight-figure brands while building his consulting business on the side, and for the past year has worked on his consulting company full-time. Connect with Bradley Rausch Website: www.bradleyrausch.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-rausch/ Host Contact Details Website: https://workathomerockstar.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/workathomerockstar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workathomerockstar LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmelanson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WorkAtHomeRockStarPodcast X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/workathomestar Email: tim@workathomerockstar.com Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:24 Bradley Origin Story 02:18 Client Success Mission 03:31 Biggest Career Mistake 06:58 Bouncing Back Fast 08:53 Confidence vs Competence 11:31 Three Skills to Win 14:34 AI as Thinking Partner 17:41 Avoiding Busywork Traps 20:31 Cutting Through the Noise 21:53 Start Simple With AI 22:31 Hormozi Rule Of 100 23:43 Stop Waiting On Websites 26:51 Hard Work Still Wins 29:47 In Person Networking Returns 32:23 Monetize Discretionary Effort 34:29 Content And Penguin Example 36:33 Bradley Business Updates 37:09 Refreshing Client Delivery 39:51 Who Bradley Helps Most 42:02 Where To Connect 42:18 Music And Taylor Swift 44:25 Covering Folklore Evermore 45:48 Podcast Wrap Up Disclaimers Title: Business & Coaching Advice This episode reflects Bradley's personal experience and opinions. Every business is different, so use his advice as a starting point and adapt it to your own situation. Title: Guest-Shared Client Stories Some client results and figures mentioned in this episode are shared from Bradley's own experience and haven't been independently verified — think of them as real-world examples, not guarantees. Title: Third-Party Frameworks This episode references ideas and frameworks from other experts, like Alex Hormozi's "Rule of 100." These are shared for discussion and reflect that expert's own claims, not an endorsement from Work at Home Rockstar.

The Today in Manufacturing Podcast is brought to you by the editors of Manufacturing.net and Industrial Equipment News (IEN).This episode is brought to you by Siemens. Small and medium-sized manufacturers encounter the same industry-wide pressures as large manufacturers: rising costs, labor shortages, and growing operational complexity. But conventional digital transformation programs are often out of reach for smaller manufacturers due to budget, time, and skills constraints.This paper from ARC Advisory Group, "How Siemens Is Positioning Xcelerator for Small-Medium Manufacturers," outlines a more practical way for these manufacturers to do more with less and see results faster.Download "How Siemens Is Positioning Xcelerator for Small-Medium Manufacturers" right now. Every week, we cover the three biggest stories in manufacturing, and the implications they have on the industry moving forward. This week:- Freedom and Glory Featured in New Episode of 'Made in America'- Ohio Manufacturer Files Defamation Lawsuit Over 1-Star Google Review- Illegal Cookie Factory Caught Substituting Charcoal for CocoaIn Case You Missed It- Chinese Humanoid Robots Smash Human Records in Sprint, High Jump- Yellow School Bus Faces New Reality- SpaceX to Build World's Largest Spaceport in LouisianaNew Segment: Executive Q&A with Michael J. DeVoney, OptiCribMichael J. DeVoney is the executive vice president of OptiCrib. DeVoney flew to Madison, Wisconsin, last week to be in studio to discuss physical AI warehouse automation, "grab and go MRO," critical spares management and Amazon's new robotics manufacturing facility in Austin—as well as fears over the ecommerce giant entering the B2B industrial market.  Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. And to email the podcast, you can reach any of us at Jeff, Anna or David@ien.com, with “Email the Podcast” in the subject line. Subscribe to our daily and weekly newsletters.

In this episode of The Ross Simmonds Show, I break down what Reddit's decline in ChatGPT citations actually means for marketers, brands, and content teams. Instead of reacting to headlines, I share a more strategic view of Reddit's role in AI search, Google visibility, community engagement, and bottom-of-funnel influence. Key Takeaways and Insights: 1. The Reddit Citation Panic Explained - I address the wave of reactions after reports showed Reddit appearing less often in ChatGPT citations. - This shift is not a signal to abandon Reddit altogether. - The bigger lesson: marketers need context before making channel decisions. 2. Not All LLM Prompts Are Created Equal - Different prompts require different types of sources, and Reddit is not ideal for every query. - Reddit may be useful for software, tech, and troubleshooting questions, but less appropriate for sensitive topics like health. - Citation changes should be evaluated based on use case, not hype. 3. Why Marketers Need to Track Citations Themselves - Third party studies can be helpful, but they do not replace brand specific monitoring. - I encourage teams to benchmark how their own prompts, categories, and keywords perform across LLMs. - Ongoing tracking is essential for adapting to algorithm changes in AI search. 4. Reddit Still Matters for Enterprise and Bottom of Funnel Queries - Even with fewer citations overall, Reddit remains relevant for transactional and bottom of funnel enterprise software searches. - For B2B marketers, that means Reddit can still influence high intent buyers. - Strategic prompt tracking can uncover where Reddit continues to drive value. 5. AI Search Is Changing Constantly - Volatility is now part of digital marketing. - Citation sources can shift between Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube, review sites, and competitors at any time. - The most effective marketers build systems to monitor change instead of reacting emotionally. 6. Google Still Gives Reddit Massive Visibility - Reddit's value goes beyond ChatGPT because Google still heavily features Reddit in organic search, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. - As long as Google dominates search behavior, Reddit remains strategically important. - Marketers should think beyond one platform when evaluating channel performance. 7. Reddit Is Still Where Real Buyers Ask Real Questions - Millions of users visit Reddit daily to research products, services, tools, and business decisions. - The platform remains a trusted space for niche discussions, peer recommendations, and category conversations. - That creates strong opportunities for brands that want to influence informed buyers. 8. Value Wins on Reddit - Reddit's strong moderation and anti spam systems are a big reason the platform still matters. - Brands that show up only to promote themselves will struggle. - Brands that consistently help, educate, and participate authentically can build real credibility. 9. A Smarter Reddit Strategy for Brands - Teams can study top performing posts, identify audience needs, and create content that genuinely helps the community. - The best Reddit strategy starts with value, not self promotion. - Instead of dropping Reddit because of one data point, brands should diversify their approach across SEO, community, ads, and AI visibility. —

#386 | When your ad budget is zero but your creative ambition isn't, three simple techniques can still make you scroll-stopping. Dasha Shakov sits down with Shlomo Genchin, founder of unbore.com, the "unofficial school for B2B ads," to break down what actually makes a B2B ad good. Shlomo walks through his two-part research process for beating the blank page, then unpacks three frameworks - A World Without, Visual Analogy, and Personification - behind some of his highest-performing client campaigns. They also get into hiring actors on a budget, winning over a nervous CEO, and why Shlomo believes advertising should follow culture instead of trying to lead it. Plus his honest take on where AI actually helps and where it still falls flat.Tools & swipe filesreddit.com/answersadfolio.designblackcamel.agency/b2b-video-ads-libraryAds referenced (but not shown)Fibbler's AI adTimestamps(00:00) - - Welcome: Shlomo Genchin (01:51) - - How ad school and B2B's "Wild West" pulled Shlomo out of the agency world (07:05) - - Beating the blank page: practical research vs. personal research (13:15) - - The biggest myths about creativity, and how to "steal like an artist" (16:29) - - The three pillars of a great B2B ad, and technique #1: World Without (21:35) - - Technique #2: Visual analogy, and why a winning ad can run for years (29:45) - - Technique #3: Personification, and how to hire actors on a budget (38:05) - - Getting a nervous leadership team to say yes to a fun idea (42:04) - - AI philosophy: why advertising should follow culture, not lead it (46:11) - - The highest-leverage move for a team with zero ad budget Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive.Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, letting modern marketing teams build fully custom sites that perform in AI search with no developer needed. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive.Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive.Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive. ***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

The buyer journey you've been designing for doesn't exist anymore.For 20 years, the model was simple: drive traffic (paid or organic) to your website, and that's where people learn about you and decide to buy. But with ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews now doing the research for your buyers, that assumption is breaking down. In fact, one senior marketer at a global consumer brand recently asked us: "Should we even have a website?"In this video, I show you exactly how the buyer journey has shifted, using real B2B and B2C examples, and walk through how to use Semrush One (today's sponsor) to measure your brand's AI visibility, find your gaps, and start closing them.You'll discover:Why 73% of B2B buyers now use tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity during their research, and what that means for a real mortgage insurance buying journeyHow a simple B2C purchase (sunscreen) went from question to Amazon checkout in five minutes, without the winning brand's website playing any part in the researchWhy only 22% of marketers currently track their AI visibility and traffic, despite this being some of the highest-intent traffic availableHow to read an AI Visibility Overview: mentions, citations, and cited pages, and what it means if your numbers are flat while the market growsHow to use Topics and Sources (and their competitor equivalents) to build a content and digital PR target list based on where you're actually losing visibilityHow Brand Performance surfaces what AI tools are saying about you, including the specific business drivers helping or hurting your sentimentHow we used this exact approach to take Value Capital Funding from 50 to almost 400 leads a monthWhether you're just starting to think about AI search optimisation or already have a strategy and want to sharpen it, this is a practical, tool-led walkthrough you can apply straight away.

Nonfat rallied nearly 30 cents in about 15 days. Can that rally can hold? WPC80 is showing its first real signs of softness in a while. Is it a seasonal slowdown or a sign? And milk proteins are still finding support. Will demand stay strong as new products come online, or will the economy finally put a lid on protein? In episode 105 of The Milk Check, host Ted Jacoby III and the T.C. Jacoby & Co. team focus on two of the busiest corners of the dairy market right now: nonfat and protein. In this episode, we cover: Why low inventories could keep powder markets volatile How exports, Mexico and production interruptions contributed to the move How the price gap between whey and milk proteins is encouraging reformulation What consumer spending, GLP-1 use and alternative proteins, and the economy could mean for dairy protein demand But this is still a market with plenty of unanswered questions. Listen as the team at T.C. Jacoby & Co. shares their view and outlook on what's coming and why. Listen to The Milk Check episode 105: Powder pops. WPC 80 slips. Dairy proteins defy gravity. Also available on: Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Got questions? We'd love to hear them. Submit below, and we might answer it on the show. Ask The Milk Check Transcript: Ted Jacoby III: [00:00:00] Coming up on the Milk Check. Diego Carvallo: We’ve had a 28 or 30 cent nonfat rally in a matter of about 15 days that caught a lot of people by surprise. Ted Jacoby III: Welcome to the Milk Check from T.C. Jacoby & Co., your complete guide to dairy markets, from the milking parlor to the supermarket shelf. I’m Ted Jacoby. Let’s dive in. Ted Jacoby III: We are going to have a very focused market discussion. We’re recording this on August 24th, and the reality is, so far in the milk side of the business, things have been relatively underwhelming. We’re expecting milk to tighten up. It has, but only in a very normal way, so nothing huge to talk about. Cheese has been a non-event. The cheese market is very quiet right now. We’re expecting it to stay quiet. But there’s been a lot going on in nonfat and a lot going on in protein. So we’re gonna focus on nonfat and protein today. Diego, let’s go ahead and get started on nonfat. What’s been going on in the nonfat market, and what do you think is gonna happen next? Diego Carvallo: It’s been a very interesting market, Ted. We’ve had a 28 or 30 cent nonfat rally in a matter of about 15 days that caught a lot of people by surprise. We went from about $1.45 per pound to $1.75. And now we’re slightly below that. We’re close to the 1.70, but the CME spot market has remained at a premium. I think what led to this rally were a couple of things. One is when we got to 1.45, we became very competitive for skim milk powder. And we know for a fact that a few of the large producers in the U.S. made very interesting sales for exports after having exported very little for this year so far. That helped manufacturers and the whole market, find some sort of psychological support to prices. And then, at the same time, we noticed how several of the manufacturers were in a relatively good spot when it comes to sales for August and September. They were not having burdensom inventories, and they were pretty proud with their offers. So I think the whole market realized that Mexico still had a few shorts that they needed to cover. We made some international exports after not exporting for a while, so I think the whole market found some support and it rallied quite a bit. I was also surprised to see that rally. I think we got to the $1.75 and we started seeing pushback from Mexico. We started not being competitive in international markets again. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a correction in the coming days. At the same time, there are some rumors and also facts of production interruptions by some manufacturers. That also got people nervous, and I think that also contributed to the market rally. Ted Jacoby III: What do you mean by production interruptions? Diego Carvallo: There’s news that have gone around about some plants having recalls and some also production issues that have delayed [00:03:00] their releases. That added to a market that was nervous already. Ted Jacoby III: So, basically, a supply chain that has been relatively low on inventory to begin with, any kind of potential supply disruption such as another FDA recall or something that at least holds that product for a little while, the market’s just pretty sensitive to that, and that’s causing this extra volatility. Diego Carvallo: Exactly. Yep. Ted Jacoby III: Jake, what has this volatility been doing to the hedgability of our nonfat market? Jacob Menge: We’ve seen pretty poor CME NDPSR correlation compared to history. I don’t know if poor correlation is the word, but if you’re in short-term hedges you have a coin flip here of how well that hedge is gonna work for you. But in general the market’s actually been pricing in lower volatility than what we have actually realized. That’s over a multi-month period. So there might be a week where you are along for the ride of a really sharp move one way or the other. But in general I would say it’s been fairly functional, the market has. Weird low volume in some of this volatility. I think that’s probably the one note is you’ll have really volatile markets like this. I would have expected better volume like we saw with our crazy run-up in February, March, whenever that was. Ted Jacoby III: What do you read into the low volume? Jacob Menge: Yeah, I don’t know. They’re numb to it now, after what everybody experienced in March, a quick little, 15, 20 cent pop doesn’t scratch the itch anymore. The market probably was a little bit better covered than they were back in February, March. So, even though the pop happened, more participants could sit on the sideline without panicking yet. Now, if we continue at these prices for another month or something like that, there’s gonna have to be more buyers, and I would imagine that leads to some more participation. Ted Jacoby III: Diego, how do you see this market playing out over the next three to six months? Do you think the volatility comes out of the market, or do you think we’re on this rollercoaster and we still gotta stay buckled up? Diego Carvallo: I think we’re gonna still have volatility, Ted. And the main reason is Europe, which is a significant player for the SMP market has gone through very bad weather. It’s gotten very hot. Solids in the milk are going down, and for that reason the cheese plants are having to use more milk. So, there’s fewer volumes of liquid milk hitting the dryer at a period where we have little inventories in Europe, so I think that’s gonna contribute to high volatility. And the same scenario can be said of the U.S. We don’t have much inventory. The manufacturers are sitting in a good spot in terms of availability. They do not have too much pressure to sell. So, any type of disruption to supply chains, production, or any pickup in demand, it’s gonna result in big swings, both ways, not only up. Josh White: I think that our seasonality has shifted. We’re already hearing rumblings that there’s some Ramadan buying beginning [00:06:00] to happen. That’s business not too many years ago didn’t happen until the first quarter. That helped create a outlet to clean your inventories before the heavy seasonal production for Europe and the U.S. Now, that business is trying to get in front of Christmas business and Chinese New Year business, and it’s coming at the worst time, when the U.S. is in a short squeeze, Europe is going through a heat wave, New Zealand’s not yet completely online, and it’s keeping things tight. My personal opinion is that we’re drowning in nonfat within the first quarter. We don’t have anywhere to go with it. This whole phenomenon’s been set up that we’ve been selling nonfat domestically somewhere that used to take skim solids. Somewhere in the margins, people are buying powder that usually interchange between powder or cheap skim, that it may have been buying skim more recently. Right now is the tightest time ever to be selling UF products, yet everyone’s responding with incremental UF production at the same time that everyone’s launching more UF competitive products. That’s gonna be saturated at the exact same time we don’t have anywhere to go with powder. Q1 looks ugly to me from a skim solid standpoint. Ramadan is like the second week of February or slightly before, which means that Chinese New Year, they’re within a few weeks of each other. Last year they were already bumping into each other, but there was plenty of inventory. Don Street: You get through October, typically we would say U.S. Christmas demand, certainly for nonfat, is filled at that point because you’re manufacturing things, cookies, crackers, whatever, and that would also be your lead time to ship. So, you could even see, if you’re right, this convergence to the downside in November, December, even before Q1. Josh White: I think markets have been really smart, too. Whenever we find the points at which we think it happens, it seems like the market’s anticipating, and we’ve been trading anticipatory markets, and it’s moving a little bit in advance of that. This sounds really smart until you realize you’re already in it. I think we are already in it, and that’s created a little bit of the bump that we’ve seen right now as everyone’s trying to get in front of short covering. Every sell-off I think is gonna be met With buying for the next month or so. Ted Jacoby III: Everybody, we will be right back after these messages. Diego Carvallo: I’m Diego Carballo with T.C. Jacoby & Co. T.C. Jacoby & Co. specializes in international dairy markets. For new customers that haven’t done business with Jacoby, I would tell them that we can provide them with many of the powders, dairy products that they consume, not only with the physical product, but we can also help them mitigate their risk. We know dairy. We know the main players. We know the main providers for the whole value chain. We are one of the strongest players in the U.S. market because we have contact all the way from the farmer moving the liquid milk all the way to the end users that buy the end products. I am [00:09:00] Diego Carballo with T.C. Jacoby & Co., and we bring dairy to the world. Ted Jacoby III: We’re gonna come back to nonfat in a second, but I’m gonna switch over to protein and ask Josh what he’s seeing in the protein market, and then we’re gonna talk about if there’s any relationship between the two. Josh, what’s going on in protein, whey proteins, milk proteins? Has this market changed at all, or are we still on the bullish ride? Josh White: I’m not really ready to call a change in the long-term trend, but the market has softened, particularly for WPC80 over the past few weeks. What’s difficult to read, is this the product of the summer holiday season and just a little bit of a Q3 slowdown in B2B buyer activity and are things fine on the consumer end? Ted, it’s a tough-to-read market at the moment, but I would say over the last several weeks to a month, we’ve definitely seen more availability for products like WPC80 in the market, and the market’s really trying to digest that. After many quarters of higher pricing than the prior quarter, we’re now in a spot where if you’re out there looking for an extra load or two, you might be able to achieve it at a price better than you did in the prior quarter or where your quarterly contracts are. It’s the first time we’ve experienced that in a while. I don’t know that I’m ready to call that the end of the long-term uptrend in dairy protein, in particular whey protein, but it certainly feels like we could retrace a bit. Let’s take a peek at one or two variables that could be contributing to this. One is just the seasonality of it. We’re coming out of the summer holiday season. A lot of buyers, particularly in the B2B transactions, have been away from their desks on their summer holidays and are now starting to return to the desk and take an assessment of how their supply chain and inventory situation looks. I don’t think that’s limited just to protein. We’re seeing that across all of our dairy commodities. And over the last seven to 10 days, some of the activity with customers has picked up a bit. Secondly, we’ve priced ourselves out of the international market, or at least the European pricing and the U.S. pricing has achieved levels that have slowed down the international appetite. And as a result, we’ve seen that reflected in our export numbers. Does that create enough incremental and additional volume for the U.S. consumer that puts us in a spot where there’s extra product available? And maybe we will see a little bit more of an aggressive offer to try to clear some incremental volume that was leaving for an international buyer previously. Or have we actually tested a point where the consumer products have to increase their prices and the consumers are going to push back or are starting to push back? Anecdotally, talking to the people that are more more retail end-user-facing, it feels like their demand’s fine. It feels like they are expecting promotion activity for the fourth quarter. They’re not indicating any type of slowdown. We’ll see after a month or two where this thing settles out, but it feels like a few more incremental offers than it does customers pushing back. But I don’t know that every manufacturer out there would [00:12:00] describe that the same. The market’s a bit confused right now. Ted Jacoby III: Do you think that there’s been any changes on the supply side? Josh White: No, not substantial changes on the supply side. I don’t. Ted Jacoby III: So we might just be in that point where everybody’s looking at their inventories, right-sizing their inventories. If they have a few extra loads, they slow down their buying a little bit, but they’re gonna wait for the fall orders, which tend to be heavier than the rest of the year, to come through to see whether they need to do any more adjustments or if they’re good to go forward. Josh White: There’s like a poker hand of possibilities right now. You know, on the one hand, we’ve seen more product launches and new product introductions outside of the traditional health and wellness or sports nutrition space than we’ve ever seen before. Has that created a vacuum effect, and has that overstated demand a bit? Some of those products might win, some of those products might lose, but ultimately, to launch them, you have to produce them, and that creates a pipeline fill and a vacuum effect. Has that overstated demand? Am I right that we were just in a summer slowdown and people may have depleted their working inventories a bit, and we’ll see reorders happen over the next month or two? Did we kill enough international demand to saturate the U.S. consumer and the U.S. market? Did we see enough incremental production that outperformed against forecasts? We just had the July milk production report released. In June, numbers were revised higher. We’ve got plenty of milk. I think most of us would’ve argued that July should’ve been a bit slow given all the heat we experienced in Middle America, yet we reported year-over-year milk production growth against very, very strong comparables. Did we outperform our production expectations? Or has the consumer finally started to push back? And I really don’t know the answer to that, and I imagine it’s a combination of all of them. We’ll just see as we go into the fourth quarter what that means. The price responsiveness to some of these signals is going to change. A larger percentage of this dairy protein, and whey protein in particular, is being used in applications that are relatively new to our demand profile. We’re seeing it added as an ingredient in snack foods and as an ingredient in food manufacturing-type products. That’s something that trades much differently than the quarterly priced sports nutrition market. To digest exactly how shifts on the CPG level might reflect in what the current S&D situation feels like, that’s uncharted territory for us in a lot of ways. Ted Jacoby III: You mentioned WPC 80. Has whey protein isolate been weakening in the same way? Josh White: No, WPI has been well-reported to be pretty stable. I don’t believe that’s going to change in the short run. I really think the higher you go in terms of the value of the product at the moment, the more specialized and ingredient-based it is. And it feels like the majority of the WPI is graduating into an area that has much less price elasticity than the traditional WPC80 products. So, at the moment, it’s held fairly strong. We haven’t experienced any major production shifts in WPI for over a quarter. And as [00:15:00] long as we don’t test the consumer’s price tolerance anytime soon, it sure feels like they’re gonna hang in there and continue to buy the product and prices will remain firm. Ted Jacoby III: What about milk proteins? Have we seen any slowdown on the milk protein side or has that demand stayed strong as well? Diego Carvallo: It stayed strong, Ted. We’re actually seeing growing demand of companies and projects switching from WPC80 to MPC80, 85, and 90. There’s a greater amount of new projects asking us for samples on MPCs than WPCs. What we have seen is that whenever nonfat moved from let’s say $2 to $1.45, the price of MPC also moved lower by a smaller degree, but it still moved a little bit lower because the manufacturers had the wiggle room to make their offers a little bit more competitive. Ted Jacoby III: So, in the whey protein markets, one of the things we’re anticipating and we’re already starting to see is that for those annual contracts, the multipliers are probably gonna go up relative to the whey market, probably quite significantly. Are we seeing the same thing in the MPC market as well? Diego Carvallo: Yes. The multiple has strengthened. MPC 85, as a reference, it usually traded for many years at, let’s say, two and a half plus a premium of 70 cents, 60 cents, and I think it’s now closer to three times nonfat plus maybe another 75, maybe 80 cents. It’s definitely strengthening. Ted Jacoby III: Further production of whey protein is restricted by additional cheese capacity. So, unless we’re gonna build another big cheese plant, we may not be able to create much more whey protein production, at least here in the U.S. Whereas with milk proteins, it’s easier and cheaper to switch over, let’s say, a nonfat plant and make it a milk protein plant. So, increasing that capacity is gonna be a lot easier. How’s that gonna play out? Do you think that MPC multiples will stay strong even as we see added MPC production? Diego Carvallo: I agree that there’s gonna be more supply, but I think demand is gonna be higher than the additional supply that we’re seeing, at least for the coming two to three years. I think multiples are gonna be long-term stronger than they are right now. Josh White: I take the other side in this particular instance. The UF side has a different demand profile than the dry product side with the RTD movement and so many launches and so much interest in ultra-filtrated liquid products. That creates opportunity for the market to find some imbalances, and for the milk protein side to feel more commoditized seasonally. You’ve got a tremendous buyer in the cheese side that can step in and take solids and well support the multiple when it makes economical sense. But the profile for making UF or MPCs, relative to traditional nonfat and skim, could result [00:18:00] in more drying seasonally of MPCs that could make that basis a bit more volatile than what we’ve experienced in the past. Ted Jacoby III: I’m anticipating that protein demand stays strong and maybe even continues to grow internationally. The demand for milk proteins will continue to go up because it’ll be slower to see whey protein production go up than these demand increases. So, I’m splitting the difference between the two of you guys. I do think that we will switch over nonfat production to MPC production in various plants throughout the country, but I also agree with Diego. The demand is gonna be there. There’s going to be a lot of new products that wanna be able to say, “Hey, we have 30 grams of protein in our product, too.” But they can’t really make it cost-effective on the whey side, so they’re gonna do it on the milk protein side. That’ll keep things strong. But the pressure’s gonna be there. Jake, do you have any thoughts? Jacob Menge: None. Outside my Area of expertise. Ted Jacoby III: Thanks. You’re a big help. Jacob Menge: I’m just being honest. Ted Jacoby III: Tristan, do you have any thoughts? Tristan Suellentrop: Yes. At what point does MPC get expensive enough that you lose the substitution advantage over WP80? Ted Jacoby III: Josh, I think you’re the one who needs to answer it. Tristan Suellentrop: It’s a hard question. Josh White: The simple math is the per unit protein value. We would start there. They’re relatively similar from a total protein value. WPC80 market is trading between $12 and $13 a pound, and you’re about half that for your MPC 85. They are not the same product. They have different functionality characteristics and different nutritional profiles. Similar in many applications, but different in many ways, which means when you rank the highest valued application for your whey proteins to the most competitive value for the whey proteins, the MPCs would need to compete in the final tranche of your traditional WPC consumer tier. It means that MPCs do not need to achieve WPC pricing to start to get pushback. The pushback begins long before it achieves parity. The MPC market has the opportunity to balance itself much differently. The MPC can toggle between a dry product and a liquid product, depending on where that demand pull is. And right now the real growth in the dairy category and the superstar as of late has been the ultrafiltrated products. I think that most households have some version of this in their refrigerator now. It’s a growing category, but it’s also becoming a highly competitive market. You’re gonna see some volatility. I think to Diego’s point, we are seeing some CPG applications and some sports nutrition applications reformulating where they can, but not on a one-for-one basis. They’re adding it as an additional ingredient or increasing the inclusion rate of the milk proteins relative to the whey proteins, but they’re not one-for-one interchangeable.  We can afford to see MPCs go up several dollars a pound or WPCs come down several dollars a pound without eliminating the advantage to explore reformulation in MPCs for those that can use it. Ted Jacoby III: Mike, do you have any thoughts? Mike Brown: I just came back from Interstate [00:21:00] Milk Processors meeting. Lots of talk between the whey guys and the MPC guys on demands and expectation for further substitution of WPCs with MPCs where it can happen. There’s places that really works. There’s places it doesn’t work quite so well, particularly in some beverages. As long as there’s a cost advantage, we’ll see it. It’s already happening in some of the protein ice creams, for example. Ted Jacoby III: So, what’s the prognosis when it comes to proteins? Demand stays strong, but we continue to produce more concentrated proteins, at least on the milk side? How is it all gonna play out from a price perspective, let’s say in the next six months? Josh, it sounds like your thoughts are: we’re steady as she goes. We’ve maybe reached a point where we’re range-bound rather than just ratcheting higher? Josh White: I think you just walked me into a trap that is absolutely gonna blow up in about six or nine months when this podcast is still being played. But right now, the story is over the next six months, I believe we will see lower whey protein pricing. Over the next six months, I’m not 100% convinced, but I would still call the milk proteins as bullish. What we need to decide then, was that a retracement? Was that a pullback in price? And with enough time, the consumer’s going to respond? Or are we in an unhealthier macroeconomic environment than any of us expected, and will that influence the dairy proteins or not? We seem to have come out of the summer holiday, and people were spending. Now, I get anecdotal reports that the spending is slowing. People are running out of money, the disposable income is not readily there, and at the same time, we’ve achieved unbelievable price increases in dairy proteins overall, and particular whey proteins. Does that at some moment come to a head? Ted Jacoby III: I’ll go ahead and stick my neck out a little bit on this one. So, one of the reasons that I think proteins, and whey proteins in particular, have stayed strong even as our macroeconomy has weakened but not fallen apart, is the way I’d call it, is because the way that most of the population seems to be dealing with this inflationary environment that is causing their spending to be restricted is to cut back on their restaurant visits. They’re just spending less when they go out. And the majority of increasing whey protein demand that I’ve seen seems to be happening more on the retail side. Meaning, it’s happening in their stay-at-home consumption rather than their restaurant-going consumption, and that has helped keep that market strong. If we start to see retail demand weaken because the economy gets even weaker, then I think we’ll start to see whey protein demand weaken with it. Jacob Menge: The implication is actually equally as interesting that if the economy gets better, you would argue that also impacts whey protein demand. You don’t go to a restaurant and order a protein shake. Ted Jacoby III: So, the possibility exists that if the economy strengthens, we’ll also see a weakening in dairy protein demand because the meat protein demand would go up, but dairy protein demand could drop. Assuming [00:24:00] that the increase is a per capita increase rather than a total increase. Mike Brown: I think the elasticity for the proteins is very low. Consumer demand’s gonna remain relatively consistent. It’s purchased for a different reason. Again, back from the conference I just came from, there was a marketing person who said in GLP households, calorie count of purchases are down 30%, cost is down only 1%. So, people are definitely moving up the quality of food that they’re buying, and proteins play a role. I think rather than say the prices are going up or going down, I think where I see is that the spread between MPC and WPC is just gonna lessen, to some degree, as uses develop to replace when possible. We’re at such high levels, what’s down? We go down to $9 on WPC 80. two years ago that was unheard of ever. So, part of this, I think, is a function of a changing consumer shift. Will that stay? It’s hard to say. If people are feeling better about how they feel and how they live, I would say that demand’s gonna remain strong. What I found interesting is that lactose still sells. It seems like the whole dry complex is relatively healthy. As we talk in our industry, we’ve always talked for years about three, four spreads, and I think the thing we’re seeing is the demand for the protein side on Class IV milk, dry powder milk, is gonna keep those prices tight and often inverse compared to what history has shown us, just because that demand for protein is so strong. Ted Jacoby III: One of the things that history has shown us is that people tend to take major market trends, like in this case protein consumption, and underestimate the significant macro shifts in those patterns. It’s been strong, it’s gonna stay strong. How could we be wrong? Is there anything out there that nobody’s paying attention to that we think could cause a fundamental shift in protein demand relative to what we’re seeing right now? Josh White: If we find out GLP-1s are dangerous, things will change fast. And I’m not crediting GLP-1s to this entire movement. I think that too many people actually give all of the credit to the protein movement, to the American adoption of the GLP-1 drugs. I actually think this is a broad movement that was overwhelming dairy’s ability to provide enough of the high-quality protein that the market demanded, particularly when it was on the cheaper end of its historical price curve several years ago. Now, we’re in a spot where the market is moving in this direction, the health and wellness trend is a global trend, the science is behind dairy as a highly functional and digestible protein And then you have this catalyst of many Americans watching their diet better than ever before and wanting to enhance their total digestible protein intake and create an efficient use of the calories that they’re bringing in. It’s the perfect storm. That being said, it’s the perfect storm that may have driven prices slightly above where we would’ve seen them without the intervention or addition of the GLP-1 user community. If that were to shift, it could take the entire final tier out of this price, and I don’t even wanna try to [00:27:00] define what that tier looks like at the moment. Mike Brown: I think the bigger threat is through food science, no matter what it might be, is alternative proteins to milk. I think we can’t underestimate what may happen with plant proteins, for example, with time, with genetics. It gets down to a cost, and we all know the functionality can be very different, and to Josh’s point, nutrition can be very different. Does the price spread get wide enough? For example, if you go into the protein bars in your local Costco, the ones that are the lowest cost are the pea protein. They’re plant protein-based bars. The whey and milk protein are higher. I don’t think we wanna assume that it’s dairy’s business forever, ’cause there’ll be people looking at ways to get the taste, flavor, and to some degree the digestibility with alternative sources. Just because if there’s a savings in the long run, they’ll try to do it. So far, I think the success has been kinda limited, but I wouldn’t wanna count it out not happening. There’s enough dollars at stake to make it worthwhile to look into that. Ted Jacoby III: You know what, Mike? I’ll piggyback on what you’re saying, and I would say this. If we step back five years and remember the time when all we were talking about was cellular agriculture and how you could create all this protein in a vat, and then that kinda just died off, and I think it died off because people found that it was more expensive than they thought to run that process. However, innovative technology such as cellular protein tends to have, come in waves, where the first wave often will fail, but then people in the background will continue to work on ways to improve the process, make the process more efficient. And if another innovation comes along that makes it less expensive, all of a sudden you can see a big rise in, let’s say, whey protein-like proteins being created in a vat, a la cellular agriculture. Mike Brown: It hasn’t popped like we all thought it was going to, or at least a lot of the industry did. I’m a former insulin user. I know what it costs to make insulin. It’s the same process. It’s kinda hard to make a digestible protein with that process and make it competitive cost-wise. For example, take lactoferrin. That’s a different story. And- Mm-hmm … … as they get more efficient, will we move down the chain to more common ingredients or even supplements, too. I’ve learned, with food science, just never say never, ’cause you’ll be surprised. Someone’ll come up with something that can make a difference. Meanwhile I think the demand for high-quality protein isn’t going away. I think we need to make sure that dairy remains the key source of that, ’cause right now it certainly is. The high-protein products that are the most popular are milk protein based or whey protein based. Ted Jacoby III: Cool. Thanks, Mike. All right, guys, before we wrap up, what conferences are we going to in the next couple of months? Let’s tell our listeners where they might be able to find us. Diego, how about you? Diego Carvallo: So, we’ll have a stand at the next show in Mexico City at the end of September. It’s called Banamex Mexico City Show. Would love to see you guys there. Ted Jacoby III: Is that the one everybody refers to as FOOD TECH®? Diego Carvallo: Yes, exactly. Ted Jacoby III: Perfect. Yeah. Awesome. How about you, Josh? Josh White: The International Whey Conference in Chicago is in September, and we’ll have some people at that along with the ADPI board of directors meeting. And then shortly after as we get into October, SupplySide Global [00:30:00] is in Las Vegas, and we will be exhibiting in the ADPI section. Ted Jacoby III: Excellent. Awesome. And I will probably be joining Diego at FOOD TECH®, and then Joe and I will be heading over to Food Ingredients Europe in November. So look forward to seeing everybody there. Hey, thanks everybody for tuning in. I hope this was a educational market discussion for everybody, and look forward to seeing you guys soon. End commercial. Mike Brown: For one part of the supply chain to be successful, everyone has to be. My superpower is practical application of data and analysis. I believe firmly that Jacoby’s success is because we help our suppliers and our buyers be successful. I’m Mike Brown, and I love working for T.C. Jacoby & Co. because I get to help people make their businesses more successful.

You can make a perfectly logical case for almost any belief you already hold—which makes it difficult to recognize when the belief itself is driving the problem. Ray sits down with psychologist and author Owen Fitzpatrick to explore how “inner propaganda” shapes the way business owners interpret information, make decisions, lead people, and define what they believe they're capable of.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeHow your brain can build narratives that feel like objective reality.Why intelligent people can become exceptionally good at defending beliefs that aren't serving them.How to identify beliefs that may be limiting your business without realizing it.Why asking “How is this belief working for me?” can be more useful than asking whether it is simply true.How identity influences decisions around sales, leadership, and entrepreneurship.How changing the story you tell yourself can open up a more useful way of operating.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Keenan, founder and CEO of A Sales Growth Company and the bestselling author of Gap Selling, joins Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman to make the case that two companies with identical revenue can be valued 3 to 4 times apart, depending entirely on how that revenue got made. Topics include the four sales org archetypes (heroic, random, peacock, and compounding), the valuation discount investors quietly apply to revenue produced by heroics, why quota attainment fell from 60% to 23% while enablement spend went up 7x, and the difference between a sales system and sales structure. Plus, what revenue leaders can learn from how Sequoia, Blackstone, and CAA actually run their people, why Keenan is done with the phrase go-to-market, and the story behind the one-name brand.   Key Takeaways: - How you produce revenue changes what the market will pay for it: investors are buying your ability to repeat the number, not the number itself. Keenan puts a figure on it in his paper Not All Revenue Is Created Equal: "the discount could be as much as 15 to 20% discount on the valuation." Heroics hides the cost; nobody opens a CRM and sees "we closed a $2 million deal and nobody saw that that $2 million deal started at $2.6 million." - Systems are not structure. A system defines the outputs it wants and stays agnostic about how each rep gets there, which is what separates it from a script. "Making people do everything the same is structure," Keenan said. He runs it through golf: "I focus less on what your swing looks like, and I'm asking myself, are you able to hit a draw when you need to hit a draw?" - Sales teams over-invest in training the behavior (structure) and under-invest in understanding the buyer, which Keenan calls sales physics: "nobody buys anything unless their current state is untenable and intolerable." A good system helps the buyer realize that state, which will allow a deal to close. - The spending trend is going the wrong way, and Keenan closes the episode with the numbers: "In 2012, depending who you ask, 60% of reps made quota… now 23%… And the spend has gone up 7x… But win rates declined by 29%. Sales cycles extended by 37 days… What we're investing in isn't working." It persists because no CRO gets room to rebuild: "It's the boat's got a hole in it… You got to fix it. But by the way, you cannot dry dock the boat." And yes: AJ Bruno is buying the book for the first 20 listeners who reach out. Send AJ a direct message on LinkedIn or in the Pavilion Topline Slack and he will buy you a copy of Gap Revenue Performance.   Connect with the Hosts & Guests:   Host: Sam Jacobs, CEO at Pavilion - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samfjacobs/ Host: AJ Bruno, CEO at QuotaPath - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajbruno3/ Host: Asad Zaman, CEO at STA - https://www.linkedin.com/in/azaman1/ Guest: Keenan, CEO & Founder at A Sales Growth Company - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimkeenan/   Topline is more than a YouTube Channel:   Subscribe to Topline Newsletter: https://toplinemedia.substack.com/ Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech: https://www.joinpavilion.com/topline-podcast Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast: https://www.joinpavilion.com/topline-slack   Chapters: 00:00 Introducing Keenan And Gap Selling 03:08 A Dollar Of Revenue Is Not A Dollar 03:46 The Four Sales Org Archetypes 06:59 The 15 To 20% Valuation Discount 08:58 The MEDDIC Definition Problem 12:47 The Left Tackle Analogy 18:24 Can Heroics Be Predictable? 23:10 Structure Is Not A System 28:32 What VC Firms Get Right 42:09 The Physics Of Selling 50:16 Awareness First, Then Pipeline 51:55 Tired Of The Word Go-To-Market 1:00:23 AI, Product Velocity And Enablement 1:04:26 Is Sales A Power Law? 1:12:09 The Story Behind One Name

Today's callers: Cristopher from Chicago wants to expand his family's salsa brand from farmers markets into retail. Next, Darcy in Australia considers adapting his protein bar brand's messaging to reach beyond his core enthusiasts. Finally, Seema in Canada seeks strategies to increase B2B sales for her ethical kitchen linen company. Plus, Daymond and Guy talk about what makes a great Shark Tank pitch, and why Guy decided to start How I Built This 10 years ago. Thank you to the founders of Sabor a Mexico, Raised Nutrition and Cooks Who Feed for joining us on the show.If you'd like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you'd like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298. And be sure to listen to FUBU's founding story as told by Daymond on the show in 2018. This episode was produced by Katherine Sypher with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Kwesi Lee.You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com and on Substack.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.