Podcasts about Help Scout

On this episode of Inclusion in Progress, we resume our Distributed Work Expert Series. With this series, we're  highlighting some of the world's leading experts who continue to map, innovate, and design how distributed work looks from inside forward-thinking companies — designing a version of work that works for teams — regardless of where they choose to work. Our goal is to start highlighting distributed work leaders in companies to help forward-thinking leaders like you to: Navigate remote and hybrid work challenges with real-world examples Draw inspiration to find a distributed work model that is best suited for your teams Reimagine your workplaces with research-backed insights from experts at the forefront of the future of work conversation For this episode, we're joined by Leah Knobler, VP of People at Help Scout, who shares their company's commitment to accessibility, transparency, and intentionality — as a fully remote-first organization since 2012.  Leah shares how Help Scout continues to double down on their distributed work model — in spite of the current RTO (return-to-office) trends — and how their remote-first approach has allowed them to continue to grow globally year on year.

Guest: James D. Wilton, Founder & Managing Partner of MonevateThe advent of AI is forcing a complete rethink of traditional SaaS pricing—particularly the long-standing dominance of user-based pricing. In this episode, pricing strategist James Wilton explains why AI-native products are undermining the foundations of per-seat pricing models. Unlike traditional SaaS, where users are the proxy for value, AI tools often perform tasks autonomously, disconnecting cost from usage in unpredictable ways. As a result, the most value-aligned and sustainable pricing approach for AI-powered platforms is shifting toward usage-based models. Wilton argues: "If you're still defaulting to user-based pricing, you'd better be ready to defend it."

In today's episode, we help a listener find the best way to co-manage a business email account with their team, including HelpScout, Hubspot, and more. Side Hustle School features a new episode EVERY DAY, featuring detailed case studies of people who earn extra money without quitting their job. This year, the show includes free guided lessons and listener Q&A several days each week. Show notes: SideHustleSchool.com Email: team@sidehustleschool.com Be on the show: SideHustleSchool.com/questions Connect on Instagram: @193countries Visit Chris's main site: ChrisGuillebeau.com Read A Year of Mental Health: yearofmentalhealth.substack.com If you're enjoying the show, please pass it along! It's free and has been published every single day since January 1, 2017. We're also very grateful for your five-star ratings—it shows that people are listening and looking forward to new episodes.

In this episode, we interview Kristen Bryant Smith, VP of Marketing at Help Scout. Kristen shares her insights on using internal experts to amplify B2B content strategies and how businesses can empower teams to create authentic, valuable content. What you'll learn in this episode: • How to leverage internal experts for content creation. • The importance of aligning content with your team's real-world expertise. • Practical strategies for encouraging reluctant team members to participate. • How Help Scout created content that resonates with their target audience. • Managing leadership buy-in for cross-departmental content collaboration.

Before comedians ever get a Netflix special, they have to run the gauntlet. Night after night, they're putting themselves out there in front of judgmental crowds and trying to win them over.Sometimes they bomb, sometimes they face hecklers, and what may be even worse: silence. Kathy Griffin once bombed so badly at a show in Montreal she said, “The audience was talking so much that they didn't know my set ended.” Ouch.But even after bombing the worst, comedians

Dave sits down with Adam Goyette, founder of Growth Union and a former marketing leader at G2 and Help Scout. Adam shares his insights from leading growth at top B2B companies to launching his own agency that helps startups scale by integrating holistic growth strategies.Adam and Dave cover:How marketing can drive demos that aren't qualified and how to fix itWhy MQLs aren't efficient incentives for marketing teamsHow to use feedback from Sales to create better marketing contentTimestamps(00:00) - - Why Working With B2B Agencies is So Hard (06:11) - - Marketing in 2024 (10:07) - - How to Actually Test Your Marketing Campaigns (12:12) - - Organizing Your Marketing Team (15:07) - - Setting Aside Budget For Experiments (22:57) - - How to Ask Qualifying Questions (24:18) - - Balancing Brand Building and Conversion (30:13) - - Advocating for Marketing Strategy Internally (35:07) - - Using Feedback from Sales to Create Content (40:48) - - How to Test and Iterate Quickly (48:58) - - Adwords Keyword Optimization and Ad Copy (50:07) - - Marketing Leadership in SaaS at a Scale Up Send guest pitches and ideas to hi@exitfive.comJoin the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterCheck out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership***This episode of the Exit Five podcast is brought to you by our friends at Knak.  Launching an email or landing page in your marketing automation platform shouldn't feel like assembling an airplane mid flight with no instructions, but too often that's exactly how it feels.No more having to stop midway through your campaign to fix something simple. Knack lets you work with your entire team in real time and stops you from having to fix things mid flight. Check them out at knak.com/exit-five/***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

In this in-between non-episode, Mat talks about why Help Scout is not an AI-first company.

Seeking valuable insights on startup success and leadership strategies for CEOs?

Marybeth Alexander is the Chief Executive Owl at KnowledgeOwl, a SaaS that focuses on providing the most impactful knowledgebase you could possibly have. We talk about using knowledge management systems outside their "usual" domain of customer service: Marybeth teaches how you can employ a KB for marketing, sales, and even internal documentation purposes. We also tackle the topic of AI in knowledge management, how extremely simple pricing can be a growth lever, and we dive into the sustainability practices of a B-corp.It's a ... knowledge-packed episode!00:00:00 Tools and Scope in Customer Service00:09:14 Utilizing AI and Knowledge Bases00:14:12 Importance of Documentation in Software00:21:31 The Future of Knowledge Management00:27:11 AI Tools and Data Compliance Integration00:35:42 Intentional Growth Strategy and Business Model00:41:21 Building a Purpose-Driven BusinessThis episode is sponsored by Acquire.comThe blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/marybeth-alexander-knowledgebase-secrets/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/316-marybeth-alexander-knowledgebase-secretsThe video: https://youtu.be/glMBIhxH-rYYou'll find my weekly article on my blog: https://thebootstrappedfounder.comPodcast: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/podcastNewsletter: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/newsletterMy book Zero to Sold: https://zerotosold.com/My book The Embedded Entrepreneur: https://embeddedentrepreneur.com/My course Find Your Following: https://findyourfollowing.comHere are a few tools I use. Using my affiliate links will support my work at no additional cost to you.- Notion (which I use to organize, write, coordinate, and archive my podcast + newsletter): https://affiliate.notion.so/465mv1536drx- Riverside.fm (that's what I recorded this episode with): https://riverside.fm/?via=arvid- TweetHunter (for speedy scheduling and writing Tweets): http://tweethunter.io/?via=arvid- HypeFury (for massive Twitter analytics and scheduling): https://hypefury.com/?via=arvid60- AudioPen (for taking voice notes and getting amazing summaries): https://audiopen.ai/?aff=PXErZ- Descript (for word-based video editing, subtitles, and clips): https://www.descript.com/?lmref=3cf39Q- ConvertKit (for email lists, newsletters, even finding sponsors): https://convertkit.com?lmref=bN9CZw

Check out the trailer for the upcoming Supportive Podcast from Help Scout.

In this episode Adam Goyette, founder of Growth Union and former VP of Marketing at Help Scout and G2, shares his journey into marketing and we explore the three biggest speed bumps he encountered in his career. Along the way, he shares the impact of professional relationships on career development and growth and his strategies for handling stress, self-doubt, and early career hurdles in marketing.In this episode, you'll hear about:1. When Adam's boss left and the company promoted their intern, who had an Ivy League MBA, over him2. When Adam couldn't explain why they had a bad month and his CFO walked out of the meeting3. The story of when Adam first got promoted to VP of Marketing in a tough environmentThings to listen for:[02:26] The risk that led to a huge reward for Adam[07:17] When he put in his resignation, but was persuaded to stay[11:02] The intern was promoted over him…[16:48] Showing off losses made his company see major growth[28:07] The gut-wrenching moment Adam's CFO walked out on their meeting[36:18] Beware of bad marketers at prestigious companies![39:59] Advice on building career relationshipsResources:- Connect with Adam on LinkedIn- Check out Growth Union- Sign up Adam's Substack: The Friday Growth Note- Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn or Twitter- Learn more about Navattic- Learn more about Appcues

In this episode Adam Goyette, founder of Growth Union and former VP of Marketing at Help Scout and G2, shares his journey into marketing and we explore the three biggest speed bumps he encountered in his career. Along the way, he shares the impact of professional relationships on career development and growth and his strategies for handling stress, self-doubt, and early career hurdles in marketing.In this episode, you'll hear about:1. When Adam's boss left and the company promoted their intern, who had an Ivy League MBA, over him2. When Adam couldn't explain why they had a bad month and his CFO walked out of the meeting3. The story of when Adam first got promoted to VP of Marketing in a tough environmentThings to listen for:[02:26] The risk that led to a huge reward for Adam[07:17] When he put in his resignation, but was persuaded to stay[11:02] The intern was promoted over him…[16:48] Showing off losses made his company see major growth[28:07] The gut-wrenching moment Adam's CFO walked out on their meeting[36:18] Beware of bad marketers at prestigious companies![39:59] Advice on building career relationshipsResources:- Connect with Adam on LinkedIn- Check out Growth Union- Sign up Adam's Substack: The Friday Growth Note- Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn or Twitter- Learn more about Navattic- Learn more about Appcues

In today's Topline Hotline, Sam, AJ, and Andrea Kayal of Help Scout discuss a question from a new CRO who is concerned about missing Q1 revenue after being in the role for 7 days. They explore the reasons for the concern and the impact of a Q1 miss in recurring revenue businesses, as well as strategies to pull revenue forward.  Enjoy the mini-episode? Read the recaps or join our Slack channel to engage with other listeners here. Also, attend Topline Hotline Live on April 11th at 2:30 PM ET.

Andrea Kaya from Help Scout joins Topline to discuss the shift from growth at any cost to profitable efficient growth (PEG) and shares how her company is tackling churn and improving their CAC payback period. The group also discusses the latest revenue attainment data from Pavilion's March Pulse Report. Want more Topline? Read episode recaps or join our Slack channel to engage with other listeners.

Find and follow How Stories Happen in your favorite podcast player, or visit howstorieshappen.com to learn more about the show and find the appropriate link for you.Every episode of the show, we're dissecting stories and drafts with incredible storytellers to understand how they found their ideas, how they developed their work, and how they're using their stories to build their business and leave their legacy.You'll walk away ready to differentiate on the impact of your ideas, not the volume of your content.It's a show for business storytellers focused on standing out easier and resonating deeper through substance and stories, not hollow stunts.***You can also subscribe to my free newsletter,

Welcome to How Stories Happen, a show for business storytellers focused on standing out easier and resonating deeper through substance and stories, not hollow stunts. Each episode, an expert, entrepreneur, or world-class communicator breaks apart a single story piece by piece, sharing how they developed it and how they're using it to grow their brand and leave their legacy. Hosted by Jay AcunzoAs Ira Glass said, “Great stories happen to those who can tell them.” He doesn't mean worthy things only appear to those who are already masters of the craft. He means, this is in fact a craft. But if that's the case, shouldn't we learn storytelling by getting closer to the actual crafting? Enough theory and technique. This show puts on display the posture, process, and practice of incredible business storytellers.Storytellers don't experience extraordinary things. They know how to imbue meaning into things that are ordinary.How do stories happen? They don't. Life happens. Then you turn that INTO stories. I guess you could say great stories happen ON PURPOSE.I'm your host, Jay Acunzo. I'm an author, speaker, and podcaster, with more than 15 years of business storytelling experience. I've held marketing and editorial roles at Google, HubSpot, and ESPN. I've consulted Fortune 500 brands and hosted documentaries and podcasts for exciting startups, and I've traveled the world imploring builders of brands and communities to bridge the gap between what best practices claim you have to do and what your intuition is urging you to try.In all of that, I've spotted a problem with the way we learn story: it's an abstraction. It's external to us. We start seeking answers “out there,” when in reality, that's not how stories happen. You don't experience the extraordinary. You see meaning in the ordinary. EVERYTHING is inspiration in the hands of an effective storyteller. To understand that is truly the difference between “learning story” and actually being a storyteller.Join me in an original series where world-class storytellers break apart their signature stories and piece by piece, share how it was made, how they used it to support their cause, and how it might still get better. Because stories aren't snapshots of life. Stories are built with intention. This show puts that intentionality on display, from inception to development, marketing and selling to growing a following or changing the world – everywhere being a storyteller empowers you to lead.You'll walk away thinking more about the power of your words and less about the volume of your content.It has never been more urgent to become an effective storyteller, so you can stand out easier and resonate deeper than all the mediocrity flooding our world.Join us as we explore How Stories Happen.***SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

Kristen Bryant Smith, the VP of Brand at Help Scout, is talking too loud about Taylor Swift's lack of style (hot take), specifically, and the case against billionaires more broadly.Chris Savage is talking too loud about the joy of Wistia hackathons, and a new tool called Canny, that lets teams spin out ideas based on customer feedback. Sylvie is talking too loud about broken treadmills at the gym - not cool!Links to learn more about Kristen:Kristen's LinkedInFollow us:twitter.com/wistiaSubscribe:wistia.com/series/talking-too-loudLove what you heard? Leave us a review!We want to hear from you!Write in and let us know what you think about the show, who you'd want us to interview on future episodes, and any feedback you have for our team.

Why do we constantly underestimate how long something will take in the short-term? In other words, we tend to over-estimate just how much we can achieve right now. Then, when we think long term, the reverse tends to happen: we actually UNDER-estimate what we're capable of achieving over time. Today, we want to know more about the promise of a popular trend, the creative streak, and whether they can help us overcome our constant battle with planning our time and achieving something greater.This week, Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of the world-wide phenomenon NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month) gives us a peek into the power (and potential pitfalls) of creative writing streaks. Meanwhile, Giorgia Lupi, an information designer and partner at the firm Pentagram, reflects on her famous, collaborative creative streak, Dear Data, with Stefanie Posavec -- a year-long journey of sketching personal data-based postcards, which eventually led to exhibitions, book deals, critical acclaim, and internet fame. Can we change our relationships to deadlines? How might we banish our inner editors holding us back during crucial early stages in the creative process? And how might we reconcile both the short-term and long-term work we do? Let's go streaking.***SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

In 2024 Generative AI is still an a rapidly emerging technology. We know it's going to impact lots of jobs and work behaviour. But it's not yet apparent how that impact will be felt. There is a big difference between ChatGPT helping you with a task (e.g. summarising your notes or drafting a communication) vs using it to entirely perform the task (e.g. using AI generated output without editing). Managers need to be mindful of how they are using AI, especially as it is increasingly embedded in digital workplace communication tools. Transparency is also key - people should know why something might sound a little different than your normal style. Ultimately with a technology as prevalent and seductive as Gen AI, it's critical that we use it as an aid. We must not lose ourselves or our human connection to those we manage and work with. Show notes: 02:00 mins Our ability to experiment with new technology is much influenced by our context. Freelancers or those with lots of autonomy have an easier time experimenting with new tech. But those working in large, heavily controlled environments might have to wait a lot longer before they get to play. 3:45 AI is also showing up in software tools for example Helpscout bought an AI company to automatically draft replies to inbound support requests. 4:25 Kona have created an AI powered management coach in Slack. Tim is very uneasy about this - he feels that an authentic response, even if it isn't perfect, is still better than a "best practice" response. But Pilar rightly points out that some managers will just google "five tips for how to..." and then follow that advice. Is AI any worse? 6:15 AI can be even easier to ask than a human, e.g. if you had an external support network like we discussed in #65. AI is always available and quite forgiving. You don't even have to say please or thank you. Pilar has had to guard against becoming lazy because of the help she can get from ChatGPT. 8:10 Tim takes a "get off my lawn" approach that hard things, like writing a performance review, should be hard. Struggling through them makes you better at them and that experience is valuable. He also worries about the message it sends to your employees if they received a performance review written by ChatGPT. 10:00 Pilar outlines a different scenario where someone who has all the skills of a great manager but struggles to produce a well structured written summary. ChatGPT can help that manager draft the document. If the manager should be transparent with the employee that ChatGPT was used in creating the summary, the result can be a good one. After all back in the day a senior manager might have gotten their secretary to write up a performance review for them based on notes provided. 13:45 To get the best outcome the input needs to be detailed and high quality. And the final product must be edited and reviewed by the creator so that it reflects the reality of what they were trying to communicate. 16:15 Mindful use of generative AI takes a bit of work, but it means that you really are using it to represent your own thoughts and ideas. 17:55 The key for Pilar is transparency. Creators should disclose where they have used AI. 19:30 A danger with ChatGPT is it can disincentivise us from getting better at some valuable skills. 20:30 Rapidly emerging technology can create issues between those who are onboard with it and those who are not. People's awareness and tolerance and adoption happen at different paces. 21:30 Tim is concerned that use of AI by managers can damage authenticity and connection. It takes conscious effort to maintain human connection in a digital workplace, technology doesn't provide this by default. And yet AI is increasingly embedded in our communication tools. 23:00 Pilar agrees, but advocates for the benefits of mindful use. For example, someone who isn't very proficient in English could get great benefits from ChatGPT helping them writing email replies. 26:30 It might be that in a world of AI assisted communication, direct communication in your own voice becomes more valuable. Tim shares a story of a teacher who impacted him deeply through a creative personalised school report. And then juxtaposes this against the "copy and pasted" school reports his kids have regularly received. 31:15 Perhaps the safest use is to get AI to help with the mundane or analytical tasks and leave us free to focus ourselves on the people tasks. What about you, dear listener? Have you experimented with using AI to help you with management tasks? We'd love to hear from you! Get in touch through our Contact Form https://managementcafepodcast.com/contact/ 

Show notes: SellerSmile.com/037 - Tygh answers the question "What is customer service" with several perspectives from industry leaders, Help Scout, Zendesk, Shopify and ChatGPT.  Customer service is HUGE for any business so taking the right perspective on it can make all the difference. >>> Leave us a review and rating in iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts! Please and thank you. :) Have an inquiry related to the podcast?! >>> Email us: keepsmiling(at)sellersmile.com. This show is produced by SellerSmile, your e-commerce customer service team since 2017.

Welcome to the Remote Work Life Podcast Business Spotlight.  From the comfort of your own space, take a virtual tour through the corridors of a company that operates across 60 different countries—without a physical office in sight.  If you're on the lookout for a purpose-driven career or simply curious about the future of customer service excellence, this summary will inspire and inform in equal measure. Go to remoteworklife.io to get a free list of > 100 businesses that hire remote talent.Connect with me on Linkedin:- My LinkedIn profile

In this episode of the Sales Code Leadership Podcast as Kevin is joined by Andrea Kayal to talk about the marketing perspective of revenue.The fundamental purpose of marketing is revenue, so while Andrea has never held a sales role, she is uniquely positioned to shed light on how the two functions can help one another. She has empathy for both!The challenge for sales people now, as Andrea sees it, is continuing to differentiate their solution in real ways that communicates the value. Tune in to hear just how they can accomplish that, and to hear Andrea's top tips for CMOs!Andrea Kayal is currently the Chief Revenue Officer at Help Scout where she serves the Marketing, Sales Development, Business Development, and Partnerships teams. She has over two decades of experience overseeing GTM strategy, demand generation, brand message and design, product, content and customer marketing, customer retention and more. Prior to Help Scout, Andrea served as CRO at Teampay and CMO at Electric, Upserve, Signpost, and Sailthru. She is an active advocate for the advancement of women in tech and LGBTQ rights.The podcast is brought to you by Sales Code, a MEDDICC MEDIA production, helping revenue leaders unlock added value in B2B SaaS sales teams. Your views on our podcast are always welcome, as well as any questions you might have for our podcast guests.Connect with the show host Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinthiele/

April Dunford is a speaker, mentor, podcaster, best-selling author, and beloved returning guest to the show. Last year, she joined me on the pod to discuss product positioning and differentiated value. Today, April offers invaluable insights from her latest book, Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win. We go deep on the art of effective pitching and selling, and April shares the specific framework she's used to successfully pitch products at companies like Google, IBM, Postman, and Epic Games. Together we discuss:• Tactical advice on pitch creation and testing• Real-life examples of companies transforming their narratives into successful sales strategies• How to combat customer inaction• How to become your prospect's guide in their buying journey• The importance of differentiated value• Marketing's role in the process• Why you should avoid FOMO as a sales strategy• Tips for handling objections—Brought to you by Composer—the AI-powered trading platform | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments | LinkedIn Ads—Reach professionals and drive results for your business—Find the full transcript at: ⁠https://www.lennyspodcast.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting-a-sales-pitch-that-wins-april-dunford-author-of-obviously-awesom/⁠—Where to find April Dunford:• Website: https://www.aprildunford.com/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/• Newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) April's background(03:46) Fixing poor positioning with storytelling at Help Scout(12:22) Pitch components: setup and differentiated value(14:13) Wrapping up the sales pitch(15:56) Handling objections effectively(19:13) Understanding buyer's mindset and market perception(25:46) Avoiding FOMO as a sales strategy(29:28) Lenny's stressful experience buying community forum software for Airbnb(31:04) Empowering champions within client businesses(34:36) Who this framework is useful for(36:38) Advice on working cross-functionally(38:59) Differentiated value defined with examples(44:16) Selling with calm confidence(46:19) Qualifying leads(48:31) April's thoughts on category creation(53:05) Geoffrey Moore's “bowling pin strategy”(55:21) Conclusion of the setup phase: sharing the perfect world(57:11) The follow-through: differentiated value with proof and objection refutation(1:00:21) Why sales pitches fail(1:01:30) Best practices for pitch testing(1:05:32) General timeline for positioning and pitch creation(1:06:50) Marketing's role in the process(1:08:38) The impact of developing a killer sales pitch(1:10:39) Andy Raskin's positioning framework(1:15:50) Lightning round—Referenced:•April Dunford on product positioning, segmentation, and optimizing your sales process: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/april-dunford-on-product-positioning-segmentation-and-optimizing-your-sales-process/• A Quickstart Guide to Positioning: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/positioning• Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning So Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It: https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005• Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win: https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Pitch-Craft-Story-Stand-ebook/dp/B0CHY6BNDN• Help Scout: https://www.helpscout.com/• Mastering Jobs Theory with Bob Moesta: https://www.positioning.show/mastering-jobs-theory-with-bob-moesta/• The ultimate guide to JTBD | Bob Moesta (co-creator of the framework): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-jtbd-bob-moesta-co-creator-of-the-framework/• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/• Salesforce Completes Acquisition of Sales-Enablement Company LevelJump: https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/leveljump-and-salesforce/• How to become a category pirate | Christopher Lochhead (author of Play Bigger, Niche Down, Category Pirates, more): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-become-a-category-pirate-christopher-lochhead-author-of-play-bigger-niche-down-category/• Siebel: https://docs.oracle.com/en/applications/siebel/index.html• Qualtrics: https://www.qualtrics.com/• Bowling Pin in Product Development: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bowling-pin-product-development-ashok-das/• Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets: https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Tornado-Strategies-Developing-Hypergrowth/dp/B000AAN4VM• The power of strategic narrative | Andy Raskin: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-power-of-strategic-narrative-andy-raskin/• La Product Conf: https://www.laproductconf.com/• Thiga: https://www.thiga.co/• The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision: https://www.amazon.com/JOLT-Effect-Performers-Overcome-Indecision/dp/0593538102• The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation: https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Sale-Control-Customer-Conversation/dp/1591844355• The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results: https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Customer-Selling-Influencer-Multiply/dp/1591848156• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Mind-Anniversary/dp/0071359168• Parasite on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Parasite-English-Subtitled-Kang-Song/dp/B07YM14FRG• Snowpiercer on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/70270364• Lamy AL-star fountain pen: https://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Al-Star-Fountain-Graphite-L26F/dp/B000R309UQ• Muji gel pens: https://www.amazon.com/Muji-Point-Black-0-38mm-Japan/dp/B01N8QNC59—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

In the fiercely competitive landscape of product-led businesses, we often become entangled in the complexities of features and endless comparisons. Can you relate? However, to outshine your competitors, you must master the art of a winning sales pitch. Our guest expert is April Dunford, a positioning expert and bestselling author of "Obviously Awesome" and "Sales Pitch." Emphasizing the significance of a compelling narrative and distinct differentiation, April underscores these points with a sales pitch example from Help Scout, a customer service software company. She imparts eight crucial steps for crafting an effective sales pitch, which she discusses in more depth as the episode unfolds. Key Takeaways:  [00:10] Introduction of episode and guest April Dunford  [01:50] April's insights on the need for a killer sales pitch [04:10] The role of context in a sales pitch [05:50] Signs your sales pitch needs improvement [07:00] Characteristics of a winning sales pitch [13:45] Example: Help Scout's Sales Pitch [14:45] Importance of a strong point of view  [16:05] April's eight-step process for building a sales pitch [16:35] Step 1: Solid Positioning  [18:30] Step 2: Emotional Starting Point [19:20] Step 3: Insight and API Value [20:10] Step 4: Pros and Cons of Alternatives [21:00] Step 5: Paint the Perfect World (ideal solution and alignment) [22:55] Step 6: Align the Audience (with the ideal solution) [27:55] Step 7: Option to Address Objections [28:40] Step 8: Make the Ask (for the next step in the sales process)  [29:10] Mistakes to avoid in a sales pitch [32:00] Importance of sales involvement in the positioning process [34:50] April's podcast and book  About April Dunford:  April Dunford is a positioning expert for growing tech companies and the best-selling author of "Obviously Awesome" and “Sales Pitch.” She shares insights on startups, marketing, positioning, and B2B marketing.  Based in Toronto, Canada, April is the founder of Ambient Strategy and has a track record of working with over 200 companies, from startups to Fortune 500 firms, helping them develop positioning strategies that set them apart in the market.  Links: April Dunford | LinkedIn  April Dunford | website + books Positioning with April Dunford 

We all have those parents that want to help but don't know where. Today we discuss how to get them involved and what that looks like at each level. Cub Scout Parent Survey https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/cubscoutmeetingguide/pdf/appendix/34362.pdf Troop Parent Survey https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/512-116_wb.pdf --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mark-cherry7/support

Brian Balfour is the Founder and CEO of Reforge. Previously, he was the VP of Growth @ HubSpot. Prior to HubSpot, he was an EIR @ Trinity Ventures and founder of Boundless Learning and Viximo. He advises companies including Blue Bottle Coffee, Gametime, Lumoid, GrabCAD, and Help Scout on growth and customer acquisition. In Today's Episode with Brian Balfour We Discuss: 1. Entry into Growth and Lessons from Hubspot: How did Brian make his entry into the world of growth? What does Brian know now about growth that he wishes he had known when he started in growth? What are 1-2 of his single biggest takeaways from his time at Hubspot that impacted his mindset? 2. The Foundations: What is growth? What is it not? What does Brian mean when he says "all growth can be boiled down to 4 things"? When is the right time to bring in your first growth person? Should the first growth person be senior or junior? Should the growth team be standalone or sit within an existing function? 3. The Importance of Product Channel Fit: What is product channel fit? How should founders approach it? How do you know when you have it? What are the single biggest mistakes founders make with regards to PCF? 4. Next Comes Channel Model Fit: What is channel model fit? How should founders approach it? What are clear indicators that you have or do not have channel model fit? What are the biggest mistakes founders make with CMF? 5. Finally, Model Market Fit: What is model market fit? How should founders approach it? What are clear indicators that you have or do not have model market fit? What are the biggest mistakes founders make with MMF? 6. Brian Balfour: AMA: Why is product market fit not enough? What does Brian mean when he says "revenue does not create usage"? What are the biggest dangers of mixing customers and users? What do Hubspot do better than anyone else to know when an existing product/strategy is dying? Is it always better to diversify marketing channels?

I sat down with Nick Francis, the Co-Founder and CEO of Help Scout. A few years ago I worked directly with Nick and his team to tighten up their positioning and brought him on to share their story. Together we discuss: • What the positioning of Help Scout looked like during the early days • How their positioning evolved over time • Why they utilized outside help • How he took the sales narrative he worked on with me and turned it into a pitch • How their strategy has changed as they've moved upmarket — In This Episode, I Cover: (00:00) About my guest, Nick Francis (02:05) The origin story of Help Scout (04:50) How Techstars informed their messaging early on (06:00) How they differentiated themselves from other help desk companies (08:28) Where early inbound customers came from (09:58) Copycat competitors, and how Help Scout thinks about competition (11:57) Identifying key differentiators (13:20) Why they decided to bring in outside help (me) and what they learned (15:29) The evolution of their sales pitch (18:42) Why you should always test your sales pitch first (20:27) Who was responsible for building the sales pitch (21:24) Signals it was time to revisit the pitch (24:58) The future of Help Scout (26:27) How the product itself reinforces their positioning (28:42) How their strategy has changed as they've moved upmarket (30:17) Why positioning is so important — Where To Find April Dunford: Podcast Website: https://www.positioning.show/ Personal Website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/aprildunford — Where To Find Nick Francis: Website: http://nickfranc.is/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickfrancis1/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickfrancis?lang=en — Referenced: • Help Scout: https://www.helpscout.com/ • Techstars: https://www.techstars.com/ • David Cohen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgcohen/ • Zendesk: https://www.zendesk.com/ • Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/ • Front: https://front.com/ Production and marketing by https://penname.co/

Today, I'm sharing eight reasons I really appreciate having a team inbox using HelpScout. They're not paying for this episode; I just can't help but share software solutions that help me move from friction to flow in my business, especially when I have already spent a lot of time and money on ones that don't work.

The 2023 MLB Draft is around the corner, and scouts have a new artificial intelligence tool at their disposal. The tool is said to generate data that can detect players' flaws, forecast their potential, and even flag their likelihood for injury. WSJ reporter Lindsey Adler joins host Julie Chang to explain how it works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Storyteller and multi-faceted content creator Jay Acunzo shares his origin story with host Jason Shupp.  Jay talks about creative fingerprints, learning to trust his own sensibilities, the understated value of risk mitigation, having clarity on purpose, and reach vs. resonance.Jay Acunzo is one of the world's most sought-after business storytellers. He's an author, speaker, and the host the podcast Unthinkable, where creators take us inside unconventional choices that led to refreshingly original work. Jay was an early voice in the rise of content marketing, holding editorial and marketing roles for tech startups as well as brands like Google and HubSpot. He's developed and hosted original podcasts and docuseries for clients like Salesforce, Wistia, Help Scout, GoDaddy, and Drift, and he's now the cofounder of the Creator Kitchen, a membership program helping you push yourself creatively. Jay's grandest aspiration-slash-delusion is to be the Anthony Bourdain of workplace storytelling.To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Over the past 5 years—and especially in 2023—hiring in every industry has been turned upside down.Marketers want to know what has changed, and what has stayed the same. What goes on behind the scenes of hiring the best marketers? How do marketing execs evaluate cover letters and resumes? What are they thinking about and evaluating during various phases of the interview process? Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at Openview, Director of Brand and Creative at Invision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) share their hiring secrets. Revealing how marketing execs are thinking about total compensation and benefits How marketers' skills are evaluated, from experience, KPIs, and the ever-controversial marketing project How to research and negotiate the best salaryWhat hiring teams, marketing managers, and execs are looking for in cover letters and resumesConnect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

Creativity is the ability to generate ideas, inventions, and new ways of thinking and solving problems. It is a key element in the success of any business or organization. Creativity is not just about ideas but also about how you think about your work and what you do with your ideas. It's not just about being creative with words but also about being creative with numbers and visuals. It's not just about coming up with new ways of doing things; it's about using those new approaches to solve problems or make improvements to current processes.In this episode, host of the Long Game podcast Alex Birkett together with Jay Acunzo discuss the benefits of having a content calendar and a self-renewing system to prevent writer's block and improve creativity.Jay Acunzo who is a powerful voice in the marketing industry and an evangelist for creativity,  helps makers and marketers create content that resonates deeper by being more effective storytellers. He's worked in marketing roles at Google, ESPN, HubSpot, and the VC firm NextView, and has developed, hosted, or consulted on original shows for clients like Salesforce, GoDaddy, Wistia, Help Scout, and Drift. " He worked on continent HubSpot as well as the next few ventures, and today he's an author of the great book Breaking the Wheel Show, host of the Unthinkable Podcast, and Brand Consultant, discussing various topics related to creativity and content creation.The conversation highlights the importance of discipline, creativity, and authenticity in content creation, encouraging individuals to find their unique voice and approach They emphasize the importance of creating content that resonates with the intended audience and embracing rigor and care in the creative process. TopicsLessons Jay Learnt To Get the Roots of Someone's PersonalityGoing in a Story You Know and Coming Out Portraying the Deepest MeaningWhat Mediocre vs Great Looks LikeHow To Find Writers Who CareNon-Response BuyersChatGPT ContentDeveloping Posture in the Age of AIPractice in Content CreationQuote on Quote Niching Down vs Composite of a PersonWhat Makes Jay Passionate About Empowering Creativity and CreativityShow LinksVisit The Long Game for more amazing podcast contentConnect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn and TwitterConnect with Alex Birkett on LinkedIn and TwitterConnect with Jay Acunzo on LinkedInPast guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Ryan McReady (Reforge), and many more.Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)How to Build the Right Data Workflow with Blake Burch (Shipyard)Data-Driven Thought Leadership with Alicia Johnston (Sprout Social)Purpose-Driven Leadership & Building a Content Team with Ty Magnin (UiPath)Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:Blue Ocean vs Red Ocean SEOShould You Hire Writers or Subject Matter Experts?How Do Growth and Content Overlap?Connect with Omniscient Digital on social:Twitter: @beomniscientLinkedin: Be OmniscientListen to more episodes of The Long Game podcast here: https://beomniscient.com/podcast/

The world of creativity is multifaceted. How do you tap into it? How do you use it effectively? And how do you enjoy it?B2B marketing execs Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at OpenView, Director of Brand and Creative at InVision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) explore the multidimensional nature of creativity and how it can be unlocked through various means. From taking breaks and pursuing fun activities to pushing through exhaustion with set goals and rewards, they detail their creative journey and the many strategies they use to generate ideas. From reading fiction to Jane Fonda, Devin and Margaret talk about the different pathways that have inspired their own creativity, ultimately leading to deeper insights into human emotion and complexity. They also touch on the human tendency to seek neat conclusions and how leaving things open-ended can improve memory retention. Dive in for a creativity ride—the many ways of creative experimentation and exploration will leave you wanting to get your hands dirty. Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/tSubscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

Why can founders and CEOs let marketers do their jobs? From cutting marketing projects mid-flight, to not clearly defining goals or changing KPIs on a whim, founders and CEOs continue to mettle in marketing. Why does this keep happening?Last season we talked about what's wrong with marketers and the marketing industry. It's time we flipped the script and put the spotlight on founders and CEOs.B2B marketing execs Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at OpenView, Director of Brand and Creative at InVision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) break down all the pitfalls they've seen in the marketer-founder relationship. Listen in to hear their stories and helpful strategies (like a shared decision-making framework) to help you navigate the founder-marketer relationship. Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/tSubscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

What if community wasn't a strategy? What if a community was part of your business model? What if it was just part of doing business?Community isn't just about building a customer feedback loop or customer support center. And more importantly, it's not a place to spread your message like a megaphone to your audience. Many founders get this wrong because their head is stuck in scale mode. B2B marketing execs Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at Openview, Director of Brand and Creative at Invision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) discuss how community and what we can glean from it as we head into 2023 and beyond. Resources:Nassim Taleb Article: https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dictatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15#.hr22nda85Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/tSubscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

Quality content is a north star for companies, founders, CEOs and marketers alike. But few agree on what “quality” means. Those who do have a definition are often missing important criteria that can lead to ineffective marketing content that flops despite following their “quality” rules. Quality as it relates to content and marketing is relative because it isn't just about the perfection of what you are creating in your marketing strategy. Quality in marketing is also determined by how effective the content you're producing is impacting company growth. Listen to top B2B marketing execs, Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at Openview, Director of Brand and Creative at Invision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) set the record straight on what quality means and how to achieve it.Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/tSubscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

Linda is a designer, creative director, and as her website says: 'Your friend in design.' Her story starts in small-town Georgia, and since she has had an illustrious career, from being a designer at companies like Mailchimp and Dropbox, to her time as an Art Director at UENO, and most recently leadership roles at Help Scout and Mux. Linda shared some of her most meaningful lessons, and how they have affected both her leadership style, and her personal approach to life.

In our latest episode, we interview founder Ian Landsman about how he started the help desk software Helpspot back in the early 2000s and how he's lasted 15+ years against funded big name players like Zendesk, HelpScout, and more.We get into the details about what he did in the early days to launch his company, why he never really had a focus on marketing until recently, and we share some of the rankings that we've been able to generate for their business in an extremely competitive category.Sections:0:00 Intro1:13 The founding story of Helpspot5:26 Funny story about software development7:49 Laravel8:48 How Helpspot was funded9:35 Pre-SaaS11:56 How Helpspot launched12:56 Early SEO15:39 Enter the competitors- Zendesk, etc.18:27 Team size20:29 Why Helpspot never invested in marketing25:26 Difference between VC funded and bootstrapped help desk software29:15 Did you ever think about selling your business?31:43 Marketing and positioning35:23 Why invest in SEO40:37 Results from G&C47:10 Attribution of leads to SEO/Content53:52 Helpspot 2023 and beyond

Processing email and social media inboxes is overwhelming enough for one person — can you imagine creating an entire company to help entrepreneurs do this at scale?! Communication curmudgeon that I am, I most certainly cannot. That's why I invited today's guest, Yaro Starek, to share the systems and approaches behind Inbox Done, his company that helps clients tame the never-ending email beast. More About Yaro: Yaro Starak is the co-founder of InboxDone.com, an email management company with a team of 45+ serving clients, including restaurant owners, venture capitalists, accountants, doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, car retailers, online coaches, and more. He is the host of the Vested Capital podcast, author of Blog Profits BluePrint, and angel investor. Yaro has been featured in SkyNews, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Foundr, and hundreds of media outlets and events.

Do you ever feel like you're just not good with systems? If so, then this episode is for you. The more efficient we can be in our operations, the more time we can set free. Today, I'm sharing five questions to keep in mind while working to increase your awareness for potential automation opportunities. Automation is a skill, and this episode will help you get better at it. For more help and inspiration as you set your time free in 2023, I encourage you to join us in BFF, my private community. If you join before March, you'll be in time for a special workshop on Trademarking and IP with a Heart-Based Business attorney. Learn more and enroll at ItsFreeTime.com/BFF. Apply promo code PODCAST for 50% off your first month.

What type of business would you build if you no longer needed the money? After a life-changing exit from her previous company, Meet Edgar, Laura Roeder's answer: a fun one.  She is now more focused than ever on building a business that is bootstrapped, agile, asynchronous, joyful for all involved, and powered by part-time team members who love what they do. In this conversation, we discuss why Laura downshifted from a structure with 30 full-time employees to one that's leaner, saying no to the Business Ops Police, the perks of part-time team members (for you and them), and why “winner take all” markets are a myth. More About Laura: Laura Roeder is a lifelong entrepreneur and founder of several multi-million dollar bootstrapped companies. Her current two focuses are Paperbell and CoachCompare; prior to that, she built and sold MeetEdgar, co-founded Marie Forleo's B-School, and ran LKR Social Media.

Hey CX Nation,In this week's episode of The CXChronicles Podcast #188  we welcomed Ken Peterson, President CX at QuestionPro based in Austin, TX. Ken has over two decades of experience in the customer experience research space with industry experience in retail, technology, hospitality, financial services, automotive and transportation with a recent focus on financially linked business insights, SaaS deployments, and CX consultation. This ties in with his long history of P&L responsibility and detailed understanding of improving business operations. With a background in Mathematical Operations Research, he's eager to find ways that companies can be more profitable through truly actionable insights into data.In this episode, Ken and Adrian chat through how he has tackled The Four CX Pillars: Team,  Tools, Process & Feedback throughout his career + shares some of the tips & tricks that have worked for him across his own customer focused business leader journey.**Episode #188 Highlight Reel:**1. Bringing empathy closer to your numbers to drive massive innovation 2. Focusing on what you can control for your customers vs. what you can not3. Celebrating "the wins & the good stuff" happening within your business 4. Keep it simple with your customer feedback -- "how did we do?" 5. What you can learn from gathering fan feedback at a pro-soccer match Huge thanks to Ken for coming on The CXChronicles Podcast and featuring his work and efforts in pushing the customer experience and customer success space into the future.Click here to learn more about Ken PetersonClick here to learn more about QuestionProIf you enjoy The CXChronicles Podcast, please stop by your favorite podcast player and leave us a review today. This is the easiest way that we can find new listeners, guests and future business leaders to join our customer focused community!And be sure to grab a copy of our book "The Four CX Pillars To Grow Your Business Now" available on Amazon +  check out the CXChronicles Youtube channel to see all of our customer focused business leader video content + our past podcast episodes!Reach out to CXC at INFO@cxchronicles.com for more information about how we can help your business make customer happiness a habit!Support the show

For years, the promise of content marketing far exceeded its reality. But more than ever, brands -- even in B2B, the more "boring" cousin to consumer businesses -- are creating content that gives us reason to believe: creativity, community, and capitalism and not only co-exist, but for-profit can be used for-good. Today, the story of In the Works, a publication from the software company Help Scout. We go inside the decisions and the strategy of both the company's CEO and the head of content responsible for crafting a brand new publication with a bold mission.There, we find the true dividing line between brands who do this whole storytelling stuff well ... aaand everyone else. REFER A FRIEND:Love the show? Help others find us in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: jayacunzo.com/unthinkable-podcast***INSIDE THIS EPISODE:Nick Francis: Twitter | LinkedInHillary Noble: Twitter | LinkedInHelp ScoutIn The WorksThe Chezie storyList of brands building in-house media arms***SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:Playing Favorites newsletter: stories and frameworks for creating work that resonates.***CONNECT WITH JAY ELSEWHERE:WebsiteTwitter and LinkedInEmail: jay@unthinkablemedia.com***PRODUCTION:- Creator, host, writer, editor, sound design: Jay Acunzo- Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins

As a new entrepreneur, you feel inclined to say yes to everything. But as your business grows and those yeses pile up, they become overwhelming to the point where they prevent you from doing the necessary CEO level work you need to focus on. In today's episode, I share the top three boundaries that'll give you the confidence to say no so that you can concentrate on the work you're truly here to do. On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO: 2:59 - Having clear boundaries doesn't get talked about much in business circles. Why is having clear boundaries in place so crucial as a CEO? 8:07 - I discuss the different types of clear boundaries you need to place in your business, starting with your calendar. 15:31 - What's one reason why people get drained and feel tired when working with clients? I talk about the most important thing you can do about it. 21:57 - I reveal how I handle emergencies (on both my end and a client's) and requests for meet-ups to ensure I protect my time and energy. 27:29 - Constant communication can become an energy drain too. What do you need to look at when setting boundaries around people contacting you? 37:28 - While email is my go-to business communication channel, I reveal how I handle questions and messages through other channels. 42:17 - What do you do when people just want to pick your brain? It's easy to get sucked into this thinking it'll lead to a client relationship! 45:46 - Having these clear client boundaries in a scheduling policy will nip problems like last-minute cancellations in the bud quickly. 50:45 - This client boundary challenge is something I see a lot in service providers who are good at a lot of things. Show Links Fired Up & Focused Challenge Dare to Lead by Brené Brown “How a Model Calendar Helps Me Work Just 25 Hours a Week!” The CEO Planner The CEO Retreat Google Voice, Help Scout, and Voxer Racheal on Instagram and TikTok Leave a review on iTunes

LaToya Lyn, Chief People Officer at Help Scout, is more than a people leader. She's a business and product leader. In this episode, LaToya shares what this dichotomy looks like for her, how HR drives business growth, and the importance of finding both mental and emotional renewal. She also explains how to find a seat at the table for strategic business conversations while prioritizing both personal and organizational sustainability. Listen in for LaToya's advice on how to grow the HR “products” you provide to your organization. Join us as we discuss: [04:00] The importance of an abundance mindset [08:30] Identifying as a business leader and HR leader [12:30] KPIs for HR [20:00] The future of the talent market [25:30] Sustainability and B Corps [30:00] Focusing your energy and action [40:00] The psychological contract between employees and employers [47:45] Advice for up-and-coming people leaders For the entire interview, follow HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, orStitcher. Or tune in at 15Five.com/podcast. Original podcast track produced by Entheo. This episode is brought to you by 15Five's Manager Accelerator Program™, where certified in-house coaches teach skills like how to have more regular, effective conversations, how to leverage employee strengths, and how to motivate and inspire teams. Looking to reduce turnover, improve succession planning, and grow your top talent? Choose from online, live, and hybrid training options at https://www.15five.com/products/manager-training. Interested in learning more about The Meaningful Manager? You can find the link to purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/Meaningful-Manager-Manage-What-Matters/dp/1544529465 Want to connect with thousands of other strategic HR leaders like you, join the HR Superstars Community at community.15five.com! Listening on a desktop & can't see the links? Just search for HR Superstars in your favorite podcast player.*

Baptiste Jamin co-founded Crisp with a friend he met in high school. Highlights (go straight to

In this episode John Bonini chats with Adam Goyette, VP of Marketing at Help Scout, to learn how they grew their website conversion rate, and why that metric became a priority for the team.You'll learn… How the Help Scout executive team sets annual goals How the marketing team identifies where to invest their time and money How improving the website conversion rate became a priority Why Website Conversion Rate?Each year, the Help Scout executive team works together to identify what their annual revenue goal is, and what growth % they're aiming to hit in the upcoming year.Once they have this number and growth %, they work backward to find how many signups and new customers they'll need in order to hit that goal. Although the revenue goal is set annually, they'll adjust the forecast of what they're expecting quarter by quarter. This allows them to make smaller adjustments in real-time, as they see how things are trending.Transparently sharing their performanceEvery day, an email is delivered to the team, showing them how they're progressing towards that month's goal. It includes a breakdown of trials, sales opportunities, and projected MRR. On top of that, individual teams meet weekly to review their own numbers. And executive teams meet once a month, reviewing what happened in the last month and where they're going next month. They feel that having the numbers transparently in front of the entire team, encourages everyone to be creative and offer up solutions to help improve that number. Looking for growth opportunitiesOnce they have their growth goals in place, it's time to figure out how to achieve them. Their goal is to find the right set of “levers” to pull, in order to move the needle on traffic, free trials, demo requests, weighted pipeline, and more.And there are dozens of levers they could pull. It's probably the same challenge you face at your company. Do you try new channels, or grow existing ones? Do you send more traffic, or improve conversion with the traffic you have? To help narrow things down, they look how each stage of their funnel is performing, and how each channel is performing. Then they ask questions like, “what channels can we reasonably expect to grow?” and “what channels might be worth investing in?”They also look for the easiest wins. For example, if paid channels are steeped in competition with deeper pockets, they'll look for a channel where they can be more competitive. Or they might find they can get significant results just by doubling down on an existing channel.Why they chose Website Conversion RateAdam and the team found that the free trial to paid conversion rate was 20%+, which was already high for the industry. But if they looked higher up in the funnel, they found they were getting 500,000 visitors every month. They decided it would be far easier and more impactful for them to increase the website's conversion rate (driving more free trial signups), than it would to increase an already high “trial to conversion rate” of 20%.So they set to work running experiments.How They Improved ItThey view their website content in 2 main buckets: “High-Intent Pages” and “Low-Intent Pages”.High intent pages include the homepage or product pages, where people are visiting with the intent to explore and potentially sign up for the product. Here, the call to action is “sign up” or “start free trial”. Low intent pages include content like a blog or thought leadership content, so they make the call to action something like “join the newsletter”. This encourages visitors to stay in the Help Scout ecosystem, without forcing them to take an action they have no intention of taking. When setting out to measure and improve their website conversion rate, they only looked at conversion on the “high intent pages”. This helped them get a more accurate number of how they were performing on pages that had a set call to action of conversion.Their current “website to free trial” conversion rate was 2% on those high intent pages, and their conversion rate from “free trial to active paying customer” was 20%. They assembled a “task force” of stakeholdersWebsite conversion is often “cross-functional”. In other words, it's owned or used by multiple teams. Brand marketing might own the messaging. Product marketing might own the positioning. And growth marketing might own SEO or conversion rate.So Adam and the team put together an “optimization squad”, comprised of all the stakeholders who needed to have input on the website. This ensured that every stakeholder had seat at the table, and could work together on improving conversion without stepping on each other's toes.They tested everythingThey experimented with just about everything. But they saw the biggest results by adding personalization. Helpscout has a wide base of customers, so by understanding who their buyers are, they're able to present more helpful messaging tailored to those personas.For example, they found that smaller companies have to convert better by going through self-serve, while bigger companies almost always convert better when they speak with sales. The optimization squad would take an insight like this, and present a dynamic (changing) call to action, depending on the person viewing the site. Someone from a company with more than 500 employees might see “talk with sales” while someone from a small company sees “start free trial”. They'd also highlight different use cases of the product, and change the way they talked about Help Scout. For example, if a 500+ person organization read, “Help desk software for small business”, they might feel Help Scout wasn't for them. By personalizing the team could show different customer logos (that looked like the visitor's company), make the language more relevant, and be more helpful with use cases that visitor was interested in.In total, personalization included dynamically presenting the call to action, headlines, length of free trial, use cases and social proof.ResultsIn just 6 months, they saw a 56% increase in demo requests and a 6% increase in trials.Check out the episode summary here.

Do you feel like you are wasting precious moments just finding things? Today, I'm speaking with Nick Sonnenberg, CEO of Leverage, about the importance of optimizing your business for retrievability. Nick's sweet spot is teaching companies how to reinvent the way their work gets done by focusing on building a culture of team productivity, instead of merely focusing on individual efficiency. More about Nick: Nick Sonnenberg is the founder and CEO of Leverage, a business efficiency consultant, Inc. columnist, and author of Idea to Execution: How to Optimize, Automate, and Outsource Everything in Your Business. He hosts the Leverage Podcast, where he and his guests discuss how we can live a better life, build a fruitful business, and be more productive. His next book, Come Up for Air: How Your Team Can Leverage Systems and Tools to Stop Drowning in Work is in progress as we speak.

It's time to stop Franken-stringing software together. If you've read Free Time or been listening to this podcast, you know I am obsessed with software. Tools are my default go-to team member, given how much they do for my business. Today I'm sharing the top five tools that power my business . . . plus a few bonus “utility” tools that are always running in the background (I couldn't resist).

In the midst of Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, Daniel and Manton talk about Manton's long history with Twitter, starting with enthusiasm, continuing to active development for the platform, and ending with digust. They psychoanalyze Elon Musk and his propensity for seeking adultation on Twitter, and compare him to Jack Dorsey. In the second half of the show they follow up on Helpscout and talk about the service's statistics reporting on customer service performance. Finally, Manton shares an example of a less than stellar customer support experience he had with another company, and they discuss when and how often automated responses should be used. The post Episode 511: A Quick Fix For Attention appeared first on Core Intuition.