Podcasts about revenue marketing

Episode SummaryThis episode explores the nuances of scaling demand generation strategies from startups to established organizations. Lily Youn highlights the importance of building a strong foundation through account-based strategies, data hygiene, and team alignment. She discusses the differences between startup scrappiness and scale-up structure, the role of AI in demand generation, and how to identify quick wins for immediate impact. Lily also shares actionable insights for optimizing conversions, improving CRM processes, and fostering collaboration across teams..Key TakeawaysFoundation is EssentialSuccess in demand generation starts with targeting the right accounts, as they form the base of effective strategies.Alignment Creates MomentumRegular, agenda-driven meetings with key stakeholders help ensure seamless collaboration between sales and marketing.AI as an Efficiency DriverAI tools can streamline personalization, simplify content operations, and elevate demand gen workflows.Data Hygiene is Non-NegotiableClean, well-structured CRM data is critical for reliable reporting and scalability across company stages.Startup vs. Scale-Up DynamicsStartups require focused ICP development, while scale-ups demand scalable processes and systems.Quotes"Targeting the wrong prospects is the single biggest challenge in B2B sales today."Best Moments (01:37) – Lily shares her career journey from BDR to demand generation leader, reflecting on early lessons in scrappiness and resourcefulness.(04:50) – The critical role of account-based strategies and why a strong foundation starts with the right ICP.(07:20) – Navigating startup-to-scale-up transitions and the importance of scalable processes and clean CRM data.(12:07) – Leveraging tech and AI to enhance efficiency in demand generation and content operations.(14:00) – Lily's focus on alignment, OKRs, and communication as keys to success in scaling demand gen teams.Tech RecommendationsWorkBoard – For setting and tracking OKRs to maintain team alignment and prioritize business goalsZoomInfo Co-Pilot – An AI-powered tool for streamlining demand gen efforts and improving account targeting.Asana – A project management solution to enhance productivity and maintain focus on KPIs.Resource RecommendationsBooks:Reset: How to Change What's Not Working by Dan Heath – A guide for improving leadership practices and daily operations.Shout-OutsShannon Hawari - Head of Growth @ elvexGraham Collins - Head of Partnerships at QuotaPathAbout the GuestLily Youn Jaroszewski is the VP of Demand Generation and Revenue Marketing at Aprimo, the leading digital asset management technology for marketing and customer experience departments.Her experience in B2B and B2C tech companies includes building demand generation teams and quota capacity models to support AEs from Seed-Funded to Public companies.Website: aprimo.comConnect with Lily.

Send us a textOn this ABM Done Right Podcast episode, Eric Gruber sits down with Jodie Lail (Revenue Marketing Leader at GE Healthcare) to discuss why teams need a revenue marketing organization if they are engaging in ABM. Eric also digs into the GE Healthcare ABM program and discusses what's working for them - and where there are opportunities to have a stronger revenue impact. 

What happens when a marketing leader decides to halt 90% of content output? For Ben Taylor, Director of Revenue Marketing and Customer Journeys at Cisco, it wasn't a gamble—it was a strategy. In this refreshingly candid episode, Ben makes the case that content marketing is (and should be) dead and explains how empathy mapping, design thinking, and intentional "awkward silence" amongst his marketing & CX teams have become his new north star. We dive into how Ben transformed Cisco's approach to customer experience by prioritizing deep understanding over high-volume output — and saw 5x pipeline growth as a result. From redefining how marketing supports sales to slowing down in order to speed up, this episode challenges everything you thought you knew about B2B engagement. If you're tired of creating content for content's sake, this one's your permission slip to stop, rethink, and rebuild. Key Moments: 00:00 How Cisco's Ben Taylor Is Redefining Customer Experience03:17 Why Marketing Is Core to the Entire Customer Journey07:23 Content Marketing Is Dead: Here's What Works Instead13:25 How Design Thinking Transformed Cisco's Marketing29:36 Can AI Be Empathetic? The Real Challenge in CX Automation36:23 Using Empathy Mapping to Build Better B2B Campaigns38:19 Agile Marketing: Faster Cycles, Smarter Strategy45:34 Hiring for Fit: Why Empathy Matters More Than Pedigree52:15 The Emotional Core of Customer Experience Strategy01:01:56 Breaking Silos: Aligning Marketing, Sales & Success –Are your teams facing growing demands? Join CX leaders transforming their AI strategy with Agentforce. Start achieving your ambitious goals. Visit salesforce.com/agentforce Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org

“I think AI is not the future. Human-led content is the future. Authentic stories are the future,” says Tim Rath, co-founder and CEO of YOYABAIn this episode of The Content Cocktail Hour, Tim Rath, co-founder and CEO of YOYABA, joins Jonathan to discuss the rise of revenue marketing—and why it's much more than a buzzword. From co-founding an agency with his dad to working with powerhouse brands like HubSpot and Personio, Tim shares what it really takes to scale smartly in today's B2B environment. He also explains why marketing teams need to think beyond MQLs and focus on what actually drives revenue, retention, and growth.In this episode, you'll learn:How revenue marketing shifts focus from lead gen to business outcomesThe importance of product-market fit and message-market fitThe underrated power of personal branding in a noisy AI-driven worldResources:Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-gandolf/Explore AudiencePlus: https://audienceplus.comConnect with Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timrathofficial/ Explore YOYABA: https://www.yoyaba.com/ Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(03:52) The concept of revenue marketing(07:22) Aligning marketing and sales for success(12:20) The role of brand marketing(13:37) Keys to rapid business growth(17:01) Founding a business with family(18:32) Building a marketing career from scratch(19:58) AI is not the future

Steve Voith, VP of Revenue Marketing at Kyriba, joins Evan and Steph to talk about his career journey in Demand Generation. Steve discusses his journey from a novice marketer to a seasoned professional, sharing critical insights into the evolution of demand generation and the significant impacts of various learning experiences throughout his professional life. As Steve dives deep into his career milestones, he emphasizes the importance of adaptability and leveraging technology to stay ahead in the fast-paced marketing industry.A pioneer of the Demand Gen title, Steve focuses on the technological advancements in CRM systems and how they redefined lead management and marketing strategies, as well as challenges and opportunities that come with being a demand generation leader in diverse environments, from working in-house to consulting with agencies. Steve highlights the changes in marketing technologies, the need for effective communication strategies, and the importance of using data to drive business decisionsEpisode topics: #marketing, #leadgen, #demandgeneration, #sales, #B2BSaaS, #digitalmarketing ______Subscribe to Stacking Growth on Spotify and YouTubeLearn More About Refine LabsSign Up For Our NewsletterConnect with the guest:Steve VoithConnect with the hosts:Evan HughesSteph Crugnola

At 83 years old, Martha Stewart is still as relevant as ever, and she just released a new documentary to prove it. Martha takes us through the highs, lows, and reinventions of her iconic career.In this episode, we're diving into the world of Martha and the power of documentaries with our special guest, Amy Holtzman, Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ. Together, we're exploring what B2B marketers can learn from bringing documentary-style storytelling into their marketing and the legacy Martha Stewart built. We're talking about how to build an authentic brand, own your unique style, and stay top of mind for decades.Because let's be real: who wouldn't want their brand to have Martha Stewart-level resilience?About our guest, Amy HoltzmanAmy Holtzman is Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ. Amy brings 20 years of marketing experience to CHEQ, including tenure as CMO and head of marketing at Spring Health, AlphaSense, and Splash. She is also a founding member of Chief, a private network that connects and supports female leaders, and co-founder of NYC-based Women in Revenue Marketing.  What B2B Companies Can Learn From Martha:Resilience builds a legacy.
Martha Stewart's documentary doesn't shy away from the tough moments, and that's part of what makes her story so powerful. In business, as in life, setbacks are inevitable. Amy Holtzman puts it simply: “You gotta show up the next day… roll with the punches and figure out how you get through it.” Resilience and conviction aren't just admirable traits,  they're essential for building a brand that lasts for decades.Own your style.
Martha's perfectionism is part of her brand. She's unapologetically herself, and it's helped her stand out for decades. Amy encourages marketers to take a page from that approach. She explains, “ Martha's an unapologetic perfectionist… Martha owns it, and it's what made her successful. And I think you have to not necessarily own Martha's style, but you have to own your own style.” In B2B marketing, embracing your quirks and leaning into what makes you different is more powerful than playing it safe.Build trust through authenticity.
Martha's documentary reminds us that connection comes from honesty. Her brand works because it's consistent and deeply personal. Amy says the same holds true in marketing, “As humans, we crave connection…I  think people shy away from it and B2B a lot of times because they're worried… I think that's what we want. And we can also kind of sniff bulls*** a mile away.” Don't hide behind jargon or trends. The more human your brand feels, the more trust you'll build.Quotes*“  You're gonna get knocked down…But you gotta show up the next day. You have to kind of do it all in stride. If you wanna make it right and make a name for yourself and for your business, you have to just like roll with the punches and figure out how you get through it.”*“ You gotta own what makes you special and unique, right? Martha's an unapologetic perfectionist. She insists on things being her way. A lot of times like women can get negative feedback about that and Martha owns it, and it's what made her successful. And I think you have to not necessarily own Martha's style, but you have to own your own style. It's hard to change. You can adapt in certain situations, but you're not gonna change who you are. And I do think you've gotta own it. You gotta own your own unique style. And sometimes that's not what everybody loves, but it's also what makes you and also your brand special and unique.”*“ I feel like as humans we crave connection and look for commonalities, right? And I think people shy away from it, and B2B a lot of times, because they're worried. What if somebody doesn't like that thing or doesn't have the same values that I have? We need to think about what those things are that we share, but also, there's room to be ourselves and be authentic, like Martha, a bit more too. Because, as humans, I think that's what we want, right? And we can also kind of sniff bullsh** a mile away, right? When somebody's not who they say they are. So I think there's room for a bit more.”*“ I know we're probably all sick of like everything AI, but I actually think it's incredibly important to stay really up to speed and think about it beyond productivity.”Time Stamps[0:55] Amy Holtzman, Chief Marketing Officer at CHEQ[02:07] Why Martha, the Martha Stewart Documentary[02:40] The Role of CMO at CHEQ[05:09] Breaking Down Martha[14:22] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Martha[19:57] The Importance of Authentic Storytelling[25:27] Why You Should Be Documenting Brand Moments[32:36] CHEQ's Marketing Strategy[36:14] The Power in Reinventing and Not Replicating[42:22] The Future of AI in MarketingLinksConnect with Amy on LinkedInLearn more about CHEQAbout 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.

Was passiert, wenn Marketing MQL-Rekorde feiert, aber Sales die Ziele um 50 % verfehlt? Die Pipeline bleibt leer, der Umsatz stagniert und das gesamte GTM-Team scheitert. Die Ursache liegt fast immer im fehlenden Alignment zwischen Marketing, Sales und Customer Success. In dieser Folge sprechen wir darüber, warum Revenue Marketing ein Teamsport ist und wie ein gemeinsames Mindset, klare Metriken und integrierte Strukturen den Unterschied machen. Jetzt reinhören!

Die Zeiten von Marketing als reine Lead-Maschine sind spätestens seit dem großen SaaS-Crash von 2021 vorbei. In der neuen B2B SaaS-Welt entscheidet modernes Revenue Marketing über Effizienz, Pipeline und Differenzierung. Wie sich GTM-Playbooks verändert haben, warum Sales und Marketing enger zusammenarbeiten müssen als je zuvor und welche Rolle Brand und Product Marketing dabei spielen? Das alles und mehr erfährst du in unserer neuen Podcast-Folge. Jetzt reinhören!

In this episode of Executive Conversations, Maeva Cifuentes speaks with Silvia Valencia, VP of Revenue Marketing at Docebo, about her journey from agency to in-house marketing. Silvia shares how her experience at Refine Labs taught her to manage buy-in, present strategic investment cases, and reallocate budgets effectively. Maeva and Silvia also emphasize the importance of starting relationships with clear communication, setting expectations for short- and long-term outcomes, and delivering early wins to gain credibility. 

Für jede SaaS Kategorie gibt es heute mehr Vendor als jemals zuvor. Features können durch AI in kürzester Zeit nachgebaut werden. B2B Buyer haben einen Shortlist von maximal 4 Vendoren und kaufen zu 90 % von einem dieser Anbieter. Diese neue Realität stellt B2B SaaS Companies vor große Herausforderungen, die über ihr langfristiges Bestehen entscheiden. Sales und Marketing müssen als Einheit auftreten und auf die gleichen Ziele hinarbeiten, die gesamte GTM Organisation muss auf Effizienz und maximalen Output getrimmt werden. Wie das geht? Erfährst du in dieser Podcastfolge.

How can Causal AI help hotels optimize pricing and promotions?Nikhil ShahHead of Data Science / LinkedInNikhil is a mathematician, AI researcher, and entrepreneur who heads Data Science at Cloudbeds. He studied Mathematics at Cambridge and Computational Optimization for his doctorate at Imperial College, spinning out Hotel Cloud (hospitality tech for revenue management) and S-Cube (energy tech for optimizing high-stakes drilling decisions). He has numerous published papers and two granted U.S. patents through the successful commercialization of his algorithms.Josh GrahamHead of Market Development / LinkedInAfter 10 years in hotel operations at branded and independent hotels in Washington, D.C., Josh transitioned to technology at TravelClick. Over 13 years, he held a number of senior sales, marketing, and go-to-market roles, working with CRS, Business Intelligence, and e-commerce/digital marketing. In his final role, he served as Regional VP for their guest management/CRM product.Following TravelClick's acquisition by Amadeus in 2018, Josh joined Revenue Analytics in 2020 to help launch their RMS solution, N2Pricing. After roles at Salesforce in their Travel and Hospitality unit and FLYR for Hospitality, Josh found his home at Cloudbeds. As Head of Market Development for North America, he drives market awareness and introduces Cloudbeds to new hotelier segments.

Episode SummaryIn this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody sits down with Chad Sollis to discuss why digital accessibility is a strategic priority for brands today. Chad shares his journey from graphic design to marketing leadership, highlighting the importance of accessibility in enhancing brand reputation, compliance, and consumer loyalty. He breaks down the key principles of accessibility, how it impacts SEO, and best practices for embedding accessibility into marketing and product development.Key Takeaways-Digital Accessibility is a Brand Imperative: One in four Americans has a disability, representing $20B in buying power. Accessible experiences foster loyalty and repeat business.-SEO and Accessibility Go Hand-in-Hand: Proper use of header tags, alt text, and navigation structures benefits both search rankings and user experience.-Prioritizing Accessibility in Design & Development: Integrating accessibility into design, development, and QA processes ensures it becomes a natural part of content creation rather than an afterthought.-Measuring ROI on Accessibility: Companies that invest in accessibility see improved website traffic, increased conversions, and long-term customer loyalty.Quotes"When companies design for accessibility, they're not just meeting compliance requirements—they're creating more inclusive and engaging experiences for all customers."Best Moments 03:00–05:00 – Chad's unconventional journey from graphic design to marketing leadership.10:00–13:00 – Why accessibility should be a strategic priority for senior leaders.15:00–18:00 – The connection between SEO and accessibility: how structure improves discoverability.22:00–25:00 – Overcoming accessibility challenges and integrating best practices into business processes.30:00–33:00 – How brands can measure the ROI of their accessibility initiatives.Tech RecommendationsStoryblok – Headless CMS that streamlines content personalization and accessibility.Amplience- An AI content platform.Mutiny – AI-driven personalization platform to optimize user experiences.Resource RecommendationsBooks:-Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink-How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale CarnegieShout-outs-Scott Harris, VP of Performance Marketing at Box.com – Marketing expert with a deep understanding of growth strategies.-Nick Rico, Chief Commercial Officer at Lucid Software – Growth leader with a background in finance and marketing.-Manuel Rietzsch, VP, Revenue Marketing at AudioEye – Revenue marketing leader driving accessibility-focused initiatives.About the GuestChad Sollis is a seasoned marketing and product leader with over two decades of experience in driving business growth and innovation across various industries. As the Chief Marketing Officer, Chad spearheads strategic initiatives in brand development, product marketing, growth, revenue operations, and customer engagement.As a data-driven executive, Chad has demonstrated a remarkable ability to scale businesses, having contributed to the growth of companies from $30 million to $3 billion in annual revenue and helping 4 companies execute successful IPOs. With a diverse background that includes leadership roles at market-leading companies such as Adobe, Pluralsight, Vivint, and Traeger, he has generated a wealth of expertise in marketing, digital products, and technology spanning both B2B and B2C sectors.Connect with Chad.

Get insight into the next evolution in marketing with Ari Capogeannis, Director of Revenue Marketing at NVIDIA. Ari shares his sophisticated, yet simple, approach to marketing that revolutionises what marketing can offer to an organisation. You'll learn how AI and data analytics are transforming marketing from a traditional practice into the data heart of businesses.Gain cutting-edge insights on aligning sales and marketing and making impactful forecasts using data. Whether you've got a team of 2 or 50, a budget of £10 or £1m, this episode promises to enlighten and inspire, offering practical takeaways for teams of all structures. 

For years, marketers have debated the value of MQLs, with some calling them outdated and others advocating for their evolution. But what if the solution isn't to abandon MQLs altogether, but to reimagine how they're used?In this episode, Nadia Davis, Senior Director of Revenue Marketing and Operations at PayIt, shares her unique perspective on the role of MQLs in account-based marketing (ABM). Nadia highlights the operational challenges, change management strategies, and practical adjustments that can make MQLs a valuable signal without letting them take center stage. She also explains how flipping the MQL process can create stronger collaboration between marketing and sales teams.In this episode, you'll learn:Why MQLs get a bad rap and how to redefine their roleThe operational and change management challenges of ABMPractical ways to align sales and marketing for better outcomesJump into the conversation:(00:00) Introducing Nadia Davis(05:01) The controversy around MQLs in ABM(08:05) Flipping the traditional MQL process(11:50) Using MQLs as signals, not goals(14:08) Timing challenges with MQL engagement(15:40) Operational hurdles in ABM success(18:37) Refining ICPs and account lists(21:52) Change management in ABM adoption(27:05) Bridging offline and online marketing

In unserem regelmäßigen Format „State of Revenue Marketing” sprechen Tim und Matthis einmal im Quartal über aktuelle Trends und Marktentwicklungen im B2B SaaS Space. Eine Carta-Studie verrät, dass sich die Investitionen im SaaS-Markt aktuell bei ca. Milliarden US-Dollar im Quartal liegen. Auch interne YOYABA-Kundendaten zeigen, dass B2B SaaS Companies 2025 wieder wachsen wollen - und zwar profitabel. Außerdem nutzen immer mehr SaaS Unternehmen LinkedIn als Tool, um ihren ICP mit relevanten Informationen zu versorgen. Mehr Trends und Entwicklungen im Pod!

In dieser Podcast-Folge teilen Tim und Matthis ihre Predictions für B2B-Marketing und Go-to-Market im Jahr 2025. Werden AI-basierte Unternehmen die Zukunft des B2B-Marketings bestimmen? Wie werden Revenue-Marketing-Teams 2025 aufgebaut sein? Und wie werden Marketing, Sales und Customer Success zusammenarbeiten, um den größtmöglichen Impact zu erzielen? Wenn du unsere Einschätzungen zu diesen Fragen und weiteren Vorhersagen für 2025 hören möchtest, ist diese Folge genau das Richtige für dich. Jetzt reinhören!

When this CMO's team proved her wrong about their ebook program, she didn't just accept it – she made them broadcast their victory to everyone. Hear that lesson – “let your team take a chance on testing it and prove you wrong” – and many more lesson-filled stories in my in-depth discussion with Susanne Rodriguez, Chief Marketing Officer, Auvik [https://www.auvik.com/].Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingBe an uncertainty killer Don't always trust your gutClear is kindLean in and listen on Zoom to connect and build deep relationships remotelyBring your best, most efficient self to the office every day to keep it movingPrioritize by business impactLet your team take a chance on testing it and prove you wrongDiscussed in this episodeGet Productive With AI [https://meclabsai.com/GetProductive] – January 8th at Noon EST. There is no cost.Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (Podcast Episode #11) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast]Team Building: Loyalty, relationships, pre-selling, and other keys to marketing management success (Podcast Episode #16) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/team-building]A/B Testing Prioritization: The surprising ROI impact of test order [https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/surprising-roi-from-test-order]Get more episodesSubscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you'd like to get more episodes like this one.For more insights, check out...This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course. Apply to be a guestIf you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

Devin Reed, Founder of the marketing consulting and media company the Reeder, shared with AudioEye's Manuel Rietzsch, Vice President of Revenue Marketing, his first steps in getting started with digital accessibility in this episode of HearSay. Devin shared his top surprises since ‘pulling the accessibility lever' as well as the benefits that have already come from making his digital content more accessible to individuals with disabilities. –View transcript: https://aeurl.xyz/hearsay-podcast-with-devin-reedHearSay is a podcast focusing on the advocates, heroes, and leaders making the web more accessible. We're interviewing these change makers to hear what they have to say, to set the record straight, and offer their perspectives on how we can all work to make the web accessible to all.

Send us a textIn this episode, Joey Pinz talks with Amy Roman, an experienced marketer and strategist, about her journey from launching iconic products like the Schick Quattro Razor to building strategies that drive success in the MSP industry. Amy discusses her approach to balancing art and science in marketing, emphasizing a 60-40 split where data informs creativity to shape impactful strategies. She explains the distinct yet interconnected roles of sales and marketing, sharing her unique perspective from years of bridging this gap.

Seit über einem Jahr sprechen unsere Hosts Tim und Matthis (+ ausgewählte Gäste) in diesem Podcast jede Woche über Revenue Marketing. Diese Jubiläumsfolge nutzen die beiden als Gelegenheit, um das quantitative und qualitative Feedback auf unseren Podcast zu analysieren. Das Gespräch wirft die spannende Frage auf, wie B2B Marketing-Maßnahmen bewertet werden sollten und ob das im Jahr 2024 überhaupt noch so einfach möglich ist. Jetzt anhören!

Nadia Davis is the Senior Director of Revenue Marketing and Marketing Operations at PayIt, a government tech SaaS company serving 100 million people across the U.S. and Canada. During her conversation with co-host Klaudia Tirico on the show floor at B2B Marketing Exchange East in Alpharetta, GA, Davis discussed the challenges and strategies for implementing a successful Account-Based Marketing (ABM) program. Specifically, Davis highlighted the importance of operations in ABM success, noting that many organizations underestimate this aspect. She also emphasized the need for alignment across the go-to-market (GTM) team, effective training of BDRs, and the critical role of data attribution. Davis also cautioned against over-reliance on AI for sentiment analysis, stressing the need for a robust technical foundation for ABM.Tune in town to uncover: Challenges in implementing ABM strategies; Gaps between marketing and sales in ABM initiatives; The importance of a business-centric ABM strategy; How to communicate the value of ABM to stakeholders; Methods for reporting and tracking ABM;Tips for training sales team for ABM; andThe future of ABM and the role of AI. RELATED LINKS: Connect with Nadia Davis here. Learn more about the upcoming B2B Marketing Exchange West in Scottsdale, Ariz. Follow us on LinkedIn and X.

Hooking your audience is one thing, but keeping them emotionally invested in your content is another. So for this episode of Remarkable, we're taking marketing lessons on doing just that from the Irish dark comedy, Bad Sisters.It's a show about four sisters who plot to kill their diabolical brother-in-law, and the season starts with his funeral.Series creator, Sharon Horgan, says, “We had to keep an audience with us for 10 episodes and keep them wanting the same outcome." That is, the death of their brother-in-law, John Paul. So with the help of our special guest, D2L CMO Brian Finnerty, we're talking about hooking your audience, knowing your target, and doing trial and error. About our guest, Brian FinnertyBrian Finnerty is a B2B marketing specialist with over 25 years experience leading enterprise marketing teams. He currently serves as CMO at D2L. His expertise includes brand strategy, B2B demand generation, and global customer acquisition from mid-market to Fortune 500. He previously served as VP of Revenue Marketing for Udacity. Prior to joining Udacity, Brian served as VP of Growth Marketing at Demandbase, where he was responsible for demand generation, field marketing, and customer marketing at Demandbase. Brian has also been a marketing leader at two ad tech companies, Marin Software and Smaato. He co-founded an e-learning startup that specialized in software developer training, with a rules-based code judging engine. He is an active Customer Advisory Board member for both 6sense and Sendoso.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Bad Sisters:Start with a hook. Bad Sisters grabs viewers' attention because it's about four sisters plotting to kill their brother-in-law, and it starts with his funeral. So the question is: “How did he die?” This is what drives viewers to keep watching. So how can you get your audience invested in your content? What question do you want to inspire them to ask?Know your target. This is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but just like the sisters truly knew their brother-in-law and all the ways they could potentially do him in, so should marketers get to know their audience so they can appeal to them. Brian says, “The sisters do a lot of research and they really know their target audience. Like, what does JP like to eat? What does he like to drink? If you were to poison him, how would you do that? So they really do research, like, ‘What are the ways that we can do this and get away with it, and free our sister from the prison of her marriage?' So they really do their kind of their targeting and their research, which I think any good marketer does.”Do trial and error. Try different marketing strategies and keep dialing it in based on data you get from the tests. Brian says, “[The sisters] do that right throughout the show. Like, they're testing ways to bump this guy off. Some of them end in sort of miserable failure and some of them have some potential of succeeding and you're never quite sure. Not unlike a lot of digital campaigns, where you're trying to find that perfect balance and the right approach.”Quotes*”I think for marketers, if you're not pushing the envelope, testing new messaging and testing new approaches to your website, conversion, optimization, your customer journey, your buyer's journey, then you're not trying hard enough. You're not getting enough data from the market to optimize and improve.”*”In a B2B context, it is tough to really identify a villain. And that kind of marketing turns me off. Some companies will identify their competitors as villains and really go after them. As a marketer, I would say instead of identifying your competitors as a villain, which I think is a mistake, you look at either the cost of doing nothing, or like, ‘What is the counterpoint to your mission?'”Time Stamps[0:55] Meet Brian Finnerty, CMO at D2L[3:02] D2L and Brian's Role as CMO[4:04] How Bad Sisters was created[9:30] Authenticity and Cultural Representation[22:18] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Bad Sisters[22:21] The Importance of a Good Hook[23:00] Research and Targeting in Marketing[24:08] Trial and Error in Marketing[28:30] Creating a Great Villain[33:48] Brand and Content Strategy[36:10] Effective Content Marketing[38:34] Leveraging Content Across Teams[42:58] Favorite Campaigns and Final AdviceLinksConnect with Brian on LinkedInLearn more about D2LAbout 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 (Senior Producer). 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.

Ab jetzt diskutieren Tim und Matthis einmal pro Quartal aktuelle Themen und Trends aus der B2B Marketing-Welt. Dieses neue Format gibt B2B SaaS Companies spannende Insights über aktuelle Marktentwicklungen und Chancen, aus der Masse herauszustechen. In der heutigen Folge geht es unter anderem um die Rolle von effizientem (Revenue) Marketing und den neuen Video-Feed auf LinkedIn. Jetzt reinhören!

Anne Murlowski, VP of Marketing at Terminus, explores revenue optimization strategies. Over the last few years, businesses have focused heavily on efficiency, forcing marketers to adopt a revenue marketing mindset. Despite the challenges with measuring brand awareness efforts, marketers must be able to demonstrate a clear link between brand activities and revenue. Today, Anne discusses revenue marketing in the digital age.Connect With: Anne Murlowski: Website // LinkedInThe MarTech Podcast: Email // LinkedIn // TwitterBenjamin Shapiro: Website // LinkedIn // TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anne Murlowski, VP of Marketing at Terminus, explores revenue optimization strategies. Over the last few years, businesses have focused heavily on efficiency, forcing marketers to adopt a revenue marketing mindset. Despite the challenges with measuring brand awareness efforts, marketers must be able to demonstrate a clear link between brand activities and revenue. Today, Anne discusses revenue marketing in the digital age.Connect With: Anne Murlowski: Website // LinkedInThe MarTech Podcast: Email // LinkedIn // TwitterBenjamin Shapiro: Website // LinkedIn // TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The buying experience in B2B has and continues to change dramatically. Buyers are now more informed and demanding than ever before, and they expect a personalized and seamless experience from start to finish.In this episode of the B2BMX Podcast, you'll hear from ex-Googler and current VP of Revenue Marketing for DigitalOcean Steve Armenti. He took the B2BMX stage in Scottsdale earlier this year to share a new framework designed to provide buyers with a better purchasing experience. With several demand and growth leadership positions under his belt, Armenti focuses on building demand and growth teams that drive revenue. Tune in now to learn how to use ABM in a new capacity to meet the evolving needs of today's B2B buyers. Armenti will dive deep into topics such as: Aligning sales and marketing as step zero; The future of account intelligence and mapping (how gen AI accelerates this); Shifting from MQLs to MQAs; Redefining the role of lead generation;  The power of ABM in lifecycle marketing campaigns; Ai-driven personalization for account-based strategies; and A new way to measure ABM. It's time to perfect your ABM strategies for the modern B2B buyer... and reap the benefits! Don't miss Armenti's highly-rated keynote to get the ultimate ABM framework. RELATED LINKS: Connect with Steve Armenti on LinkedIn here; Learn more about B2BMX East, here;Register for B2BMX East using this special 15% off code just for our listeners: MXPOD15; andFollow us on LinkedIn and X.

This week I'm sharing another podcast I've guested on recently: The Revenue Marketing Report, hosted by Camela Thompson of Caliber Mind.Camela is a veteran marketing and analytics leader, and we have an in-depth conversation about the business and cultural dimensions of reporting: what KPIs are you reporting to different audiences, data rituals, analytics storytelling, and more. This is a super important topic for me, because how you create and share data stories in your organization can be the difference between building an executive-level presence for yourself or getting pigeon-holed as a service provider. We'll be back to regularly scheduled programming next week, until then, enjoy the rest of your August. ------Justin Norris, host of the RevOps FM Podcast and Sr. Director of BDR and Marketing Operations at 360Learning, joins our host, Camela Thompson, Go-To-Market Thought Leader and B2B Insights Expert, in this episode of the Revenue Marketing Report. Justin shares his insights and how years of experience sitting at the executive table representing marketing changed his views about which numbers matter most and why. They also geeked out over why MQLs are evil, how to build a ritual around data, and why B2B ops and marketing should focus more on learning from one another.For more great content like this, check out https://calibermind.com/

We had the pleasure of featuring the incredible David "Rev" Ciancio for his second appearance on our podcast! If you missed his first episode, be sure to check out #158.Rev is a powerhouse in the business, tech, and marketing world. He's the Co-Founder and CMO of Handcraft Burgers and Brews and the Head of Revenue Marketing for Branded Strategic Hospitality. Recently, he's embarked on a new journey with Baboo, an innovative online ordering and food delivery platform that's commission-free and fee-limited, designed to support independent restaurants in Greater North Jersey.In this episode, Rev dives deep into the inspiration behind Baboo and its significance for the restaurant industry. He passionately discusses why, for the first time, guests are paying for the experience rather than just the food. Rev also shares valuable insights on how restaurants can enhance their guests' experiences.

► Is Revenue Marketing another buzzword or a legit b2b marketing framework? Sam talks to Frida Ahrenby, CEO @ Rillion. They cover: 

We've all been there. A ping on Slack from sales, or an email from the board with their new ideas. How much do these opportunities, or distractions, keep your marketing team and your business from focusing on north star goals? Maintaining a strong focus on objectives can be an uphill battle in B2B tech. But Kathryn Thomas, EMEA Marketing Director at Box, has refined an approach to strategy, and sales and marketing alignment, that keeps everyone headed towards ARR objectives. In this episode, you'll learn how to deal with marketing distractions. Be prepared to reevaluate strategic priorities, and have hard conversations about commercial viability. Support the Show.

Anne Murlowski, VP of Marketing at Terminus, explores revenue optimization strategies. Over the last few years, businesses have focused heavily on efficiency, forcing marketers to adopt a revenue marketing mindset. Despite the challenges with measuring brand awareness efforts, marketers must be able to demonstrate a clear link between brand activities and revenue. Today, Anne discusses revenue marketing in the digital age.Connect With: Anne Murlowski: Website // LinkedInThe MarTech Podcast: Email // LinkedIn // TwitterBenjamin Shapiro: Website // LinkedIn // TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anne Murlowski, VP of Marketing at Terminus, explores revenue optimization strategies. Over the last few years, businesses have focused heavily on efficiency, forcing marketers to adopt a revenue marketing mindset. Despite the challenges with measuring brand awareness efforts, marketers must be able to demonstrate a clear link between brand activities and revenue. Today, Anne discusses revenue marketing in the digital age.Connect With: Anne Murlowski: Website // LinkedInThe MarTech Podcast: Email // LinkedIn // TwitterBenjamin Shapiro: Website // LinkedIn // TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join Dots Oyebolu as he engages in a fascinating conversation with Ross Simmonds, Founder and CEO of Foundation Marketing. Recognized as a leading voice in content marketing, Ross shares his insights on modern content distribution strategies that drive revenue in marketing.Key Takeaways:(01:46) Ross' journey from selling do-rags in high school to becoming a revered content marketing strategist.(03:53) "Content user fit" and the need for marketers to understand their audience deeply through market research tools like SparkToro and Audience.(09:03) "Content market fit": Ross discusses identifying content themes that resonate with target audiences on specific platforms.(13:40) The strategic importance of generating backlinks through tools, proprietary research, and a stats roundup for enhancing SEO.(20:05) A discussion on the future of SEO and SEM in the face of evolving digital marketing landscapes.(22:44) Ross encourages marketers to diversify their strategies, likening AI tools to an "Ironman suit" for marketers To achieve greater efficiency and creativity.(24:06) Ross underscores the timeless essence of storytelling in human connection and marketing.(29:46) Ross suggests focusing on generating customers and revenue over complex marketing metrics.Resources Mentioned:Ross Simmonds -https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds/?originalSubdomain=caFoundation Marketing | LinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundationmarketing/Foundation Marketing | Website -https://foundationinc.co/Ross Simmonds' Personal Website -https://rosssimmonds.com/SparkToro -https://sparktoro.com/Buzzsumo -https://buzzsumo.com/Insightful Links:https://www.coseom.com/b2b-saas-marketing-the-future-is-now-embracing-modern-strategies-and-trends-2/ https://www.beacondigitalmarketing.com/blog/b2b-content-strategy-new-era https://foundationinc.co/lab/modern-distribution-playbook/ https://divbyzero.com/blog/saas-content-marketing-strategy/ Thanks for listening to the Marketing Leadership podcast, brought to you by Dots Loves Marketing. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help get the word out about the show. And be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation.#PodcastMarketing #PerformanceMarketing #BrandMarketing #MarketingStrategy #MarketingIntelligence #GTM #B2BMarketing #D2CMarketing

In this episode, Alan and Jessica talk about the evolution of Calendly from serving solopreneurs to enterprise organizations, the success factors that have made that shift possible, how she thinks about the RIO and effectiveness of marketing spend, and balancing the need to drive results and be creative through “creative destruction.”.  Jessica Gilmartin is an amateur baker, an ex-yogurt mogul, and the new Chief Revenue Officer at the scheduling automation platform Calendly. She took her first marketing job at Dell, which prompted a move to the Bay Area, where she also started and sold a chain of yogurt stores. Before joining Calendly in 2023, Jessica was Head of Revenue Marketing at Asana and had also served as CMO of three high-growth, venture-backed startups, building their global enterprise marketing engines during rapid growth periods.  Calendly started with a basic scheduling link for individuals, but business users needed more team features, and enterprise users needed more admin and security features, so the product grew to meet those needs. Jessica tells us they are building for scale but are sure to never lose sight of the individual user's success. Her team is focused on how to tell a complete story with comprehensive features while maintaining simplicity in the product and the messaging. To do that, Jessica and her team have to experiment. Marketing changes all the time, and what worked then will not work now, so marketers have to be creative to drive results. She refers to this as “creative destruction” and encourages her team to make 70–80% of what they are doing every quarter new. However, to make this work, her team must trust that failing is not career-ending as long as they learn from it. Jessica also outlines how her approach to segmenting and communicating expectations around marketing spend facilitates experimentation. AI is a place where many companies are experimenting. However, within their product, the Calendly team sees a huge amount of opportunities they are pursuing, but they are taking a measured approach to keep their users' interests top of mind. Alan and Jessica wrap up by talking about accepting and embracing hard feedback, the importance of listening to her gut feelings, why markets have to learn sales, and the shifts coming from the consumerization of B2B tech.  In this episode, you'll learn about:How Calendly developed through user feedbackWhat “creative destruction” is and the culture needed to make it work How Jessica segments out her budget to maximize RIO and the effectiveness  Key Highlights:[01:55] A love of baking born out of necessity [03:10] From investment banker to CMO[04:40] Wait… a yogurt shop?[06:20] Where Calendly started and where they are now[08:00] Comprehensive solutions rooted in simplicity[09:20] Success factors for shifting from serving one to many[11:00] ROI and effectiveness of marketing[14:00] Fulfill your commitments and build trust to get more wiggle room. [14:45] Balancing the need to drive results and be creative [17:10] The AI portion of the show is a little different this time.[19:45] How Calendly is using AI[21:30] Learning to accept and embrace really hard feedback[24:25] Advice to her younger self[25:20] Advice to other marketers [26:05] Trends and subcultures[26:45] Marketers basically have to be magicians Looking for more?Visit our website for the full show notes, links to resources mentioned in this episode, and ways to connect with the guest! Become a member today and listen ad-free, visit https://plus.acast.com/s/marketingtoday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robin Izsak-Tseng is the VP of Revenue Marketing at G2. She is a leader with a lot of expertise to offer, but having so many young tech dudes around makes her feel like an imposter. She wonders if she is holding herself back from the next level of leadership. In this bold and revealing session, Robin, Sue, and Leah Pearlman talk about the perks of being self-effacing, the desire to be more punk rock, and a tension between leading and belonging. You will hear about personas and why they show up, as well as how to stay with feelings of insecurity as you grow and move to the next level.

Ari and Kelly, representing NVIDIA's Revenue Marketing team, take the OpsStars stage to share their experience in leveraging AI and data science for revenue play efficiency, scaling, and ROI. Learn how NVIDIA's team of data scientists interpret the signals that feed into tying all things to revenue for a clearer lens in identifying buying groups in ready-to-engage accounts. Ari and Kelly highlight the iterative process of collecting feedback, analyzing metrics, and making data-driven changes to optimize and align cross-org efforts. This session offers practical recommendations, addresses potential roadblocks, and highlights the role of a revenue team in enacting transformational change.

Doug Bell, Fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders, joins our host, Camela Thompson, Go-To-Market Thought Leader, and B2B Insights Expert, in this Revenue Marketing Report podcast episode. Camela and Doug have a friendly running debate: Are marketers bad at data? Spoiler: They usually disagree but always have a thoughtful dialog. Tune in for more.   Connect with Doug on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbell1/   For more great content like this, visit https://calibermind.com/thought-leadership/podcasts/  

Doug Bell, Fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders, joins our host, Camela Thompson, Go-To-Market Thought Leader, and B2B Insights Expert, in this Revenue Marketing Report podcast episode. Any new year should require some reflection, but 2023 was a real doozy in the land of SaaS, and we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that new skills are key in adapting to the new landscape. Doug Bell brought a list of skills he is focusing on for 2024, and Camela threw in a few more for good measure.   Connect with Doug on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbell1/   For more great content like this, visit https://calibermind.com/thought-leadership/podcasts/  

Doug Bell, Fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders, joins our host, Camela Thompson, Go-To-Market Thought Leader, and B2B Insights Expert, in this episode of the Revenue Marketing Report podcast. Some have called 2023 a SaaSacre and others a diSaaSter. So what can marketers learn from 2023 and apply to 2024? Doug Bell shares his thoughts.   Connect with Doug on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbell1/   For more great content like this, visit https://calibermind.com/thought-leadership/podcasts/  

Special guest, Doug Bell, helps Camela talk through why The Revenue Marketing Report was paused, why it's back, and what we're excited to bring to our listeners. At the Revenue Marketing Report, we believe in transparency - so it's only natural we practice what we preach. Stay tuned because our first full episode of season 3 drops in the first week of January 2024. See you then! For more great content like this, check out CaliberMind.com.

The Revenue Marketing Report is back! During our hiatus, we re-evaluated many things. As a result, we're coming back with a new format (shorter, bite-sized episodes) and a more focused mission. Stay tuned: our first episode drops the first week of January 2024. Our new mission? To help B2B marketers develop the skills they need to succeed in leadership. For more great content like this, check out CaliberMind.com.

In this episode, we speak with Remco de Vries, VP Revenue Marketing, Gainsight, the Customer Success & Engagement platform that has pioneered the CS profession, a powerhouse in the space with an ARR of 200M+ USD and customers all over the world.  We talked with Remco about building engaged communities. We are particularly looking into how you as a SaaS company can secure high engagement in your community:   - What defines a community? - Why it is so important to define the USE CASE for your community? - How to best explain what is in it for the community members? - How to get to the point where the community drives some of the initiatives?  - How to measure the effects of a successful customer community? These are some of the many topics we address with Remco. Please tune in to listen to his experience in building engaging customer communities.

In this episode of Women in B2B Marketing, host Jane Serra welcomes Deidre Hudson, Head of Revenue Marketing at Bloomfire. They discuss the balance between art and science in marketing and the importance of data analytics. Deidre shares insights on the challenges of measuring the customer journey, the value of ROI calculators, and the resurgence of human-centric tactics. They also explore the concept of the Immediate Addressable Market (IAM) and the use of intent signals in marketing. Deidre talks us through:the art and science of marketingwhat doesn't need to be measuredthe importance of tracking campaigns - and potential impact of turning one offunderstanding the difference between growth and scalingthe concept of the bow tie and aligning sales, marketing, and product teamsrecognizing and valuing the smaller steps in the marketing funneldemonstrating ROI with a scaled-back tech stackconnecting with your target audience in a noisy environmentwhy TAMs are BULLSHITovercoming Imposter Syndromeembracing Authenticity as a LeaderKey Links:Guest: Deidre Hudson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deidrehudson/Host: Jane Serra - https://www.linkedin.com/in/janeserra/ Bloomfire - https://bloomfire.com/Deidre's Book: How the Fuck Did I Get Here? - https://www.amazon.com/How-Did-Get-Here-Younger-ebook/dp/B0BR34PC4X10x Is Easier than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less - https://www.amazon.com/10x-Easier-than-World-Class-Entrepreneurs/dp/B0C2J7P6JQ/ref=sr_1_1?

Joining us on the Local Marketing Lab is the “godfather of restaurant marketing” and expert, Rev Ciancio — founder of Handcraft Burgers and Brews, Head of Revenue Marketing at Branded Hospitality Ventures, and founder of Yeah! Management. In this episode, Rev shares his innovative local marketing strategies to help drive ROI by focusing on the customer experience.Rev shares examples around 5 local marketing tips to drive growth for your business to thrive, including:Optimizing your online presenceCapturing customer emailsCrafting targeted promotionsBuilding customer personasCreating consistent valuable content

I am always fascinated to meet and talk with people on Unstoppable Mindset who thought they knew what they wanted to do in life only to discover that their path went in an alternative direction. Meet Eric Dates who is just such a person. Eric grew up in the Los Angeles area. He was active in sports and also he was a musician. He went to Ohio State where he played volleyball on the 2011 championship team. After college Eric thought he wanted to go into the hospitality industry as he loved, as he put it “the diversity of people and the diversity of possibilities”. As he tells us, his idea of work lasted four months. After that, he realized his knowledge of marketing was better suited elsewhere. Our conversation is far-ranging, but we do talk a lot about marketing and sales. Marketing discussions go far outside dealing with products, however. I think you will be intrigued by what Eric has to say especially about life and how we should progress going forward. About the Guest: Eric Dates, a proud resident in Spring Hill, TN, is a multifaceted professional with a storied history of achievement and leadership. A former Division I volleyball player at Ohio State, Eric was part of the national championship team in 2011, marking a significant milestone early in his life. His competitive spirit and teamwork were not confined to the volleyball court, though, and they have since become defining attributes in his professional career. Eric's journey took a melodious turn as he embarked on a successful yet short career as a touring musician. This unique experience endowed him with a new perspective, a creative mindset, and an appreciation for the harmonious blend of rhythm and discipline. As his career evolved, Eric discovered his true calling: fostering growth in early to mid-stage startups. With his inherent problem-solving skills and penchant for teamwork, he has contributed to the flourishing of several startups, paving their paths toward achieving their full growth potential. Currently, Eric serves as the Sr. Director of Revenue Marketing at Justt, a forward-thinking fintech company dedicated to helping merchants recapture revenue lost to chargebacks. His love for problem-solving thrives in this challenging environment, and he relishes living in the trenches with his team, building, improving, and innovating. Startups resonate with Eric's professional ethos as they offer him a space to think holistically and make a tangible impact. It's here that his passion, intellect, and entrepreneurial spirit come to the fore. Outside of his professional endeavors, Eric cherishes his role as a husband and father. Alongside his wife, Laura, he is raising two wonderful children, Bella (8) and Harlan (1), and navigates the beautiful labyrinth that is life. Ways to connect with Eric: Linkedin URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecdates/ Company Website: Justt.ai About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.     Michael Hingson ** 01:20 Well, hi, and here we are once again with unstoppable mindset. Glad you're here. And hope you enjoy our presentation and discussions today. We get to speak with Eric Dates. And Eric has an interesting life. I think so he was a division one volleyball player on a championship team for Ohio State. I bet Michigan didn't like that. But you know, that's another that's another story. But he's been involved in leadership marketing and, and has a lot to talk about least, it seems so from the things I've read. So Eric, welcome to unstoppable mindset. And we're really glad you're here.   Eric Dates ** 01:57 Michael, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. It's always an honor to chat with you. So looking forward to it.   Michael Hingson ** 02:03 Well, why don't we start, as I love to do and tell us a little bit about kind of the early Eric growing up and all that stuff?   Eric Dates ** 02:11 Sure. So I stem from the left coast, the west coast in the Heart of LA, born and raised there. Yeah, had awesome, awesome family life. I was super blessed. I got to get to participate in a lot of sports and a lot of other fun things. I did music as well, out there growing up and we're in LA. Right on the west side of LA, I guess the biggest subsidy of that massive place would be Culver City area for me. And yeah, it was great. You know, it's, it was, I'm really glad I grew up where I grew up in in the way that I grew up. Because it gave me a great perspective of diversity, I think in a lot of ways that people want to experience it. Every school I went to was, you know, had people from all walks of life across the board. And to me, that was just the status quo. So I think it shaped me to become the person I am today, which is, you know, someone who expects that out of society in general. And it's been really, I've been really fortunate to continue to experience tons of diversity, whether it's people diversity or activity, diversity, you know, all the different types of diversity, you can experience. I've been lucky enough to be a part of a bunch of it. So it's been it's been a great road so far from that, you know, kind of looking back now. The way I grew up, I, I couldn't imagine it happening any other way at this point. And I wouldn't wish it to be so because I just feel like it. It taught me a lot of lessons both hard and easy to learn in a great way that I don't think I would have got anywhere else.   Michael Hingson ** 03:51 So you went through high school out in LA   Eric Dates ** 03:54 that I did. I went to Alexander Hamilton High School, the birthplace of many random things, and actually stay in high school is a couple celebrity folks that you probably recognize. And it was great, super fun experience. It was a half of a Music Academy, half humanities Academy and it was a phenomenal school. Public school too in the Heart of LA. Wow.   Michael Hingson ** 04:17 What did you play for an instrument?   Eric Dates ** 04:20 So my main instrument was guitar growing up, like guitar, and I did everything from in high school. I was a mariachi, which was really fun. Great experience getting to around Los Angeles and playing for just the most incredible people I've ever met and eating the most incredible food I've ever eaten. And I toured as a musician here in Nashville as well with guitar for a little bit so it carried me on throughout my earlier life quite a bit.   Michael Hingson ** 04:48 Well, so you went through high school and then I gather you went to Ohio State that I did. What what prompted that because that's a long way from Southern California.   Eric Dates ** 05:01 It definitely was. And I'd be lying to you if I said it was easy to do. But at the beginning, it was very much, you know, especially when you're fortunate enough to be playing a sport like that, that does have a collegiate level. I got to fly and experience Ohio State, I experienced a couple other schools in Southern California. And I was just blown away by the the pride and culture that the entire campus had, I just wanted to go be a part of it. But that thought it was a two in my eyes, it was a huge risk, you know, coming from the epicenter of volleyball going into the Midwest, which turns out has a phenomenal volleyball program across the board. And yeah, it was the the good Ohio State Buckeyes that got me out of California.   Michael Hingson ** 05:46 Well, so, you're right, it's sort of the epicenter out here in a lot of ways, but volleyball has turned out to be a lot more universal than maybe we thought and the Olympics is certainly brought volleyball to the visibility of of a lot of people, which is, which is kind of cool. What did you major in in college,   Eric Dates ** 06:09 I was that person who didn't figure out what I wanted to major. And until the last second, I had to pick and I picked English, which turned into marketing, which then turned into Hospitality Management, then Consumer Science is where I landed.   Michael Hingson ** 06:26 Wow. That's a kind of, again, a diverse range of topics to to deal with. And you did all that and move from one of those fields to the other in college.   Eric Dates ** 06:40 Yeah, so I eventually found my place at the time in Hospitality Management, because of the phenomenal focus on customer experience. And I'm so thankful for that time I spent there as it applies in so much these days. So I was really fortunate to learn early on after graduating, that I did not want to work in hotels.   Michael Hingson ** 07:04 But you value the customer service and customer experience concept.   Eric Dates ** 07:09 More than anything, it's why is that? You know, it's, it's been interesting, because the hospitality world, they've understood from the beginning, that you're buying the experience, right, you're you're purchasing the brand, in a sense, when you go stay at a property, it's the only tangible thing is, you know, the bed and the room itself, but that exists anywhere. So why pick them. And it all came down to the core differentiator, which was the way that they treated their guests. And now, you know, flash forward 12 ish years in the future. That's how all these marketing departments and all these companies across the board are approaching their customers, you know, so it's been, it's been really beneficial for me to have that foundation, because I could start to apply what I already learned versus having to learn something like a new concept is customer first.   Michael Hingson ** 07:56 So how do you think customer experience and so on has changed or developed during the pandemic? Because certainly, it has a lot. And in hotels, for example, a lot of things have changed rooms aren't necessarily cleaned every day. Sometimes there are other kinds of services that are more limited. Airlines are certainly not providing as much of what they used to provide. If I'm reading it, right, what do you think about all of that? And how does all that really blend into the whole customer experience concept?   Eric Dates ** 08:28 It's definitely shifted significantly, you know, I think the start of it all was the iPhone coming out and these touchscreens and now half the experience was heavily digital in their hand. And with the pandemic kind of changing that in almost mandating that that's the new experience for the most part, as well as customer behavior kind of changing. I think it's, it's opened up a lot of challenges, you know, in the hospitality space. And in general, in a service based industry, you have this whole concept of a service recovery plan, right? If something goes wrong with this, what are we supposed to do? And now it all transitioned from the humanistic element over into the digital elements. So all these properties, especially hotels, airlines, all these folks who weren't necessarily digital first thinkers, they had to rapidly pivot and start accommodating, but also had to learn the hard way kind of building the ship as you're sailing.   Michael Hingson ** 09:22 Yeah. Well, and I read a lot of complaints taking airlines, like, we want to push as many people into an airplane as possible. So now, the space in seats is six inches less than it used to be. And now we're starting to hear people say, Has it gotten too confined and too crowded? And is all of the air rage that we hear about and read about, in part because of that and customer service? Is is it really as good as it used to be?   Eric Dates ** 09:56 I think that is a very phenomenal question because I don't think there's a clear answer, I think some have done better. And some have dropped the ball. And it's gonna be an interesting time looking into the future, especially as this technology in general starts to compound at the rate that it is, who's going to remain versus what new players are, we're going to see and who's gonna fall off. So it's gonna be an interesting, you know, couple of years, in my opinion, as we look forward to see kind of who's still going to be here versus Are there going to be new names? I've never heard of the forefront.   Michael Hingson ** 10:29 Yeah. And that's going to be the exciting thing. Are we going to see new players who come in with new ideas that for whatever reason people haven't thought of? And probably the naysayers will say, Well, that'll never work. Well, that certainly was true with Southwest Airlines, because they rejected the whole idea of a hub model for slang. And they're still around.   Eric Dates ** 10:53 That's very true. That's very true, they did get the good to get a little bit of a saving grace once the economy tanked a bit. But yeah, I agree, they did a good job at at pivoting accordingly. And kind of changing their brand, in a way that their expectation was very clear of when you engage with Southwest, here's what your experience is going to be like, that's what's really saved them.   Michael Hingson ** 11:15 And while it's true that you just get on an airplane, there are no assigned seats and, and other things like that. Mostly, I don't hear nearly the level of complaints about them as I do some of the other airlines because you've also got the flight attendants, who have been encouraged to make the flying experience more pleasurable, and they're not necessarily as stiff as and as formal, at least in my experience.   Eric Dates ** 11:46 I want to agree, you know, you hit on a really interesting point, that it used to be looking for elements of digital to drop into the human experience. And now it's the opposite way of, if we drop human experience into a digital, you know, journey, it's almost like it becomes significantly more noticed. And I love how Southwest has empowered those folks to have fun and enjoy what they're doing. And, you know, the consumers always tell you, you know, whether they're sharing stuff out social or hits the news, whatever, but they will let you know what they liked what they do. And it seems like people have really caught on to that one element of the brand.   Michael Hingson ** 12:23 Yeah. And it's, it's going to be interesting just to see how it all goes. As we go forward, and whether consumers will demand enough that they don't like, perhaps the way some things are going well, we'll see. And the other part of it is that I know different countries have different levels of airlines, passenger rights or other kinds of industry rights. Legislation. So it'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out. It's going to be an exciting time. No, no question about it.   Eric Dates ** 12:59 Absolutely, we'll probably see things happen the fastest they've ever happened before. And it will continue to be as such.   Michael Hingson ** 13:06 Yeah. And, and that's okay. That's what makes it kind of fun. Well, so what did you do right out of college? So you were in hospitality? Where did you go to work? What did you do that got you off of hotels.   Eric Dates ** 13:21 I was working at two properties in Columbus, actually, Columbus, Ohio. And it was fun. And I just wanted in full transparency. I probably was way too ambitious for my own good. I was looking to learn to things in hotel so I could start my own and, you know, build the version of Atlantis that we all want to build in our minds and make it real. And I quickly realized that I probably needed to get some more experience and knowledge around what I thought I knew. So let me do the business world.   Michael Hingson ** 13:54 What did you So how long did you do hotel stuff?   Eric Dates ** 13:58 I had been working in hotels since probably five years like during college and then after college than after you know that that last portion kind of before I moved to Nashville? Yeah, I was in those two. So prob about five years of hotel work here and there. I would wouldn't say his full time just because of the sports commitments and other things. But as much as I could. I was I was working on property and getting that experience in.   Michael Hingson ** 14:26 Was it full time after college?   Eric Dates ** 14:29 It was it was full time.   Michael Hingson ** 14:31 And how long do that? How long was that after college?   Eric Dates ** 14:36 Prep? Probably right when I went full time full time and I hated it to be fully transparent. It was a shock for me to go full time on on your feet all day. So is the short three or four months of full time before this really hit me of like this is not it's not Eric,   Michael Hingson ** 14:52 you made a decision pretty quickly. So what did you what what did you then go and do   Eric Dates ** 15:00 So that's kind of when I picked everything up and said, You know, I'm going to try to move to Nashville. I had some friends here had some had some connections here and wanted had always been doing music, like I said, so I was gonna go see if I could dive into some songwriting get into the performing aspect, while chasing a business career. And that's when I found my first, I guess, real marketing job was with a co working space here in Nashville. And that was what jump started my career in marketing.   Michael Hingson ** 15:30 But you also worked as a musician for a while, right?   Eric Dates ** 15:33 I did. I was touring around and touring with the back that I was with is basically fancy weekends is the way that pitch it, you know, some Thursday nights, but mostly Fridays, and Saturdays, you're out. I'd love to say a bus. But most of the times it was in a van. And we were, you know, putting in the grind and going out. So every other Thursday, just about, you know, we were an opening act. So we'd go chase down where the big open or the big maniac was, to our 45 minute set. And right back to Nashville.   Michael Hingson ** 16:07 Anybody who was a maniac that we would know.   Eric Dates ** 16:11 I absolutely, I think, you know, one of the one of the main acts that we were opening up for most when I was with this artists and artists was playing for a name was Tara Thompson, or still is, her name is Tara Thompson. And the main act that we opened for most was Drake. White was his name. So he had some really popular songs out. I think like 2017. And some other various artists, I had the fortunate opportunity of opening for, you know, everything from The Chainsmokers to mark chestnut, you know, the the country gentleman who had some pretty big songs, and quite a few other artists that were it was just really cool to go experience that. But there was also a reason why I did not stay.   Michael Hingson ** 16:51 That wasn't what you really wanted to do full time.   Eric Dates ** 16:56 Correct. It was a it was that classic inflection point, the fork in the road of if I keep going this way. I have to go 100%. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 17:06 And you weren't really ready to do that. Concerning music. And it doesn't sound like you wanted to do that. But you still had a lot of fun with music. So it helped. Absolutely. But you But you went into marketing, and you started working for a company, what did you do?   Eric Dates ** 17:24 So it was right at the boom of we work kind of getting on the map. So I was a part of a younger company startup out of Nashville that had two locations, the company name is E spaces, they're still here, they're doing a great job. They've gotten I think, like nine or 10 locations now, some in Florida as well. So with that job, when I first got there, it was very much we need marketing help. We don't have big budget because we're young, but we're leaning me and we're ready to go. So we need someone to help build the front desk, the front desk experience because they loved my hospitality background. So I was able to apply those learnings pretty quickly and help encourage these folks who were renting the front desk, or what we coined as the concierge to heighten the experience. And then with that kind of put together some digital marketing the b2b side to try and attract customers. So it's very much localized marketing. And it was great for me to learn because it was pretty hands off for my boss. He all he knew is what he wanted at the end. And oftentimes, for folks like myself, that's really appealing because I get to go test my theories learn the hard way. And get us there by any means necessary.   Michael Hingson ** 18:42 Well, you, you got into marketing and tell me a little bit more about what you mean, when you say you you were in marketing and what marketing is.   Eric Dates ** 18:52 That's a phenomenal question. I view marketing exclusively as conversation and mindshare, right? How can I rent space in the mind of the right person at the right time. And often that's accomplished these days through digital conversation, but yet to meet to me marketing is all around fostering the right message to the right person at the right time.   Michael Hingson ** 19:20 How does that differ differ from sales? And I know you make a little bit of a distinction between the two. So what's the difference?   Eric Dates ** 19:30 So the main difference to me and this is a topic that you don't really see as much as you think. But with with sales, to me, it's the goal is to get them to purchase. And in my opinion marketing is to encourage the right decision when the decision is to purchase. That's one, whether the decision is to follow along and consume content. That's a secondary, you know, there's a bunch of different goals that I think marketing helps accomplish, but it's more so sales. is really figuring out what do you individual? What do you need here? And how can what I offer meet that for you. So it's kind of a little bit different than I'm anticipating that conversation and trying to stimulate it to when the person in the market shows up to that conversation and hits that conclusion of, hey, I want this. The conversation is easier from the sales side. So it's kind of marketing, in my opinion, if done right, it handles all the objections that you would have in a normal sales process.   Michael Hingson ** 20:33 So I, I know from my experience, I've been in sales most of my adult life. And I, my view of sales is somewhat similar to yours. I think that good salespeople are teachers. And the reality is that the best salespeople also are capable of recognizing when what we're offering won't necessarily do what the customer needs, or it would be more of a disservice to try to push them into something than to say to them, This is what really works. My best employee that I ever hired, was a guy who, when he came for his interview, and we sat down, and I said, Tell me what you're going to be selling for us. He said, Actually, all I can really sell is my word, and my trust, and people need to decide to trust me, and I need you to back me up. Because the products and so on is all stuff. And a number of people have products and really the only thing I can really sell this myself and my word. And that was the answer I always look for and rarely ever got. Because the reality is that good salespeople, first of all, do understand marketing. Oh, yeah, but they but they also understand that their job is to do their best to help a customer make the right decision. And the reality is if the decision is my product won't do what they need, then the other aspect of it is what will work for them. And if I help a customer decide that and it isn't the product that I have, what does that get me? Well, the reality is I've seen on more than one occasion, when it gets me is so much trust that the customer understands what we have, and when an opportunity comes along to purchase a product. And in fact, we have I've seen on more than one occasion where the the customer says, I'm not putting it out for bid, you just tell us what the cost is. And we're gonna buy it from you because we trust you. That's great. And you just don't see much of that.   Eric Dates ** 22:49 That's true. Yeah, go ahead. Okay. I just think you hit on a really great point that a lot of folks almost lose these days. And I'm thinking kind of from a biased perspective of b2b exclusively software, as a service. And right now, the volume game, in my opinion, has become a tunnel or blinders for people because they're so focused on activity, right, everything now becomes a I have to hit this amount of activity today, I have to, you know, send as many emails as candidates, people call as many people, etc, etc. And they lose almost that forward thinking. So I think, when I hear you say that, it's that that's experienced, that's knowledge being shared, versus when you see sales folks out these days, and I'm just speaking the masses, I think there's a core group of very experienced sales folks who know exactly what they're doing. But from what I experienced in my inbox, and especially when my phone rings, it's, it's, it's almost a victim of process because they're like, I have to call you, I have to push this on you. Because I need to sell you this so I can have a job that fit. There's so much pressure put on these folks these days from a process side versus that longer term thinking of trust building and credibility boosting like you're mentioning.   Michael Hingson ** 24:06 Yeah. And the reality is that the people who really understand what selling is all about can take a step back and try to stave off more of that pressure because they know what they're doing and they know what they can do. I remember after September 11, people would call me and say you got to start selling again. We need to make goal this quarter. And this is now late in September of 2001. And it didn't matter to them that our customers were attending five, six and seven funerals a day and we're not buying the people who were calling we're so far removed, that they just could not understand why people weren't right back in and buying and they interpreted is that really we weren't off and selling, which was totally Not true at all. In reality, we ended up making gold that quarter. But still, the bottom line is that people have just such interesting ideas sometimes about how to sell rather than really allowing people to build the level of trust that we need to have.   Eric Dates ** 25:20 That's a great, great definition. It's, you know, it's it's rather than learning selling, it's understanding buying. I think those are really interesting perspective to look at it from.   Michael Hingson ** 25:31 It is, well, so clearly, we're talking philosophy here, we're talking about selling the philosophy of marketing, how do you feel that that marketing and you know, your overall philosophy intertwined with each other, or sales for that matter?   Eric Dates ** 25:47 Right, and it's, I, I am, of the mindset of simplification, it, simplify everything in its in its most simple form, get down to the essence, right, so I can really understand what it is. So as I approach a lot of my marketing, and teams that you know, who've worked with me, even my current team, they know this happens all the time is that, you know, I asked him well, what's like, like, in one sentence, like what just tell me like, if I'm your 10 year old cousin, tell me exactly what you're trying to accomplish? Like, we're at a family dinner. And I'm asking you, hey, what do you do at work, like, tell me what you're trying to accomplish? And then they say it, and it's okay. That's how you need to write to the market, because you just told me the clearest and simplest way for me to understand something. So often, what I end up doing in my moments of thinking are just simplifying and breaking things down as much as I can to get a better understanding of how I can leverage these, you know, tactics and tools that we all have, and probably take for granted on a daily basis.   Michael Hingson ** 26:49 Yeah, we often do really take it for granted way too much. And we don't think about it. And, like with so many things, we tend to react more than thinking about it, and then reacting and becoming better at thinking about it and drawing good sound conclusions before we do something or say something.   Eric Dates ** 27:09 Completely agree the the scheduling an hour for yourself, I think, is something often understated, in terms of importance, because it can do so much for people who have a very busy plate, just getting that hour of unplug everything, put the phone away and just think, you know, shut the computer down and just just think about something, you know, challenge yourself a little bit, it's still a muscle,   Michael Hingson ** 27:35 it is still a muscle Do you tend to do much of that? Do you do sort of introspective thinking at the end of the day, or at some point every day to step back from everything that's going on?   Eric Dates ** 27:48 Absolutely, I try to do it twice a day, you know, kind of a lunchtime work right after I finished lunch. Rather than diving right back in, it's kind of the you know, don't swim for 20 minutes after you eat. I tried to not work for 20 minutes after I just think and use that time. The other time is, of course, at the end of the day where I reflect on everything that went on. And oftentimes I'll chew on a specific aspect of the day for for quite a bit and just see what I can do with it. Zero goals other than just think   Michael Hingson ** 28:17 you beat yourself up when you're thinking that you screwed up in something or something didn't go the way you wanted? Or how do you handle those kinds of adverse situations?   Eric Dates ** 28:28 Absolutely. And yeah, the younger Eric, the fresh out of college, Eric would have. Absolutely and definitely did beat himself up and, and learning from what happens when you do that. So it's been very helpful for me, like I said, I do like to learn the hard way, unfortunately. But it helps me out with where I'm at now. Because I'm very purposeful about not reacting to my own emotions. And those you know, scenarios where you're frustrated because something was missed. I need to focus on getting back to the right mentality. So I can make a sound decision versus reacting from a state of anger or frustration. So it's been that's probably the strongest thing I've learned in my life has been that right there of when to react based on emotion versus not to any scenario, and I'm definitely not perfect, but I'm more cognizant of it.   Michael Hingson ** 29:20 Yeah, the issue is that we are, as I love to say, our own best teachers. I don't like any more to use the term. I'm my own worst critic. I used to do that. When I would listen to speeches that I've given and listen to the recordings of them. I would tell people I'm doing it because I'm my own worst critic. And if I can learn from it, that's great. And I realized that that was the wrong thing to say that in reality, I'm my own best teacher because no matter what is going on, the only person who can really teach me is me. Teachers and others can provide information and they can give me things to think about, but I'm still the one that has to deal with them. So I've learned that I'm actually my own best teacher. And I'm with you, I try not to react in adverse or negative ways, and beat myself up even when something just really doesn't go. Well. The real issue at that point isn't, what a scroungy lousy guy you are, but what do I learn from that? How can I improve it? Or can I improve it, it may very well be that there was absolutely nothing that can be done to improve the situation, because it was something that was totally out of my control   Eric Dates ** 30:34 completely. But that's, it's, it's funny how, in practice, it becomes so simple. But, you know, looking at it from the outside, in, it's very much one of the most difficult things you can do.   Michael Hingson ** 30:49 Again, it gets back down to a philosophy of life, and we're still the only people who can excite ourselves, or adopt philosophy that we think about. And we if we do it, right, we do it because we, in some ways, feel sympathetic or attracted to a particular attitude or philosophy. And that's kind of the way it really ought to be. But it is about developing a life philosophy 100%. So, clearly, you do philosophical thinking, who's your favorite philosopher?   Eric Dates ** 31:31 I've got a few. I'd say probably Peter Drucker is at the forefront of what I love to read. I just love the way his mind works. Phenomenal stuff. And another gentleman who actually is the person who introduced me to Peter Drucker, his name is Flint McLaughlin. He, in my opinion, is just one of the most intelligent and intellectual marketing philosophers ever exist, and should go down in history as such, because he has, he brings such an interesting perspective on every concept of what we do and, you know, associated with the cognitive aspect of how the human beings make decisions. And just I just love the way that guy talks. So I can't listen to him enough. So those are probably my two.   Michael Hingson ** 32:16 Yeah, I I've not met either. Course Now, Peter Drucker, not anyway. But what was it like meeting Peter Drucker? What kind of a person was he?   Eric Dates ** 32:27 Well, I didn't get to meet him. Unfortunately. I wish i You   Michael Hingson ** 32:29 were you were just introduced to him? Yeah. I was wondering, yeah, introduced sorry, to his to his works to his words. One of my favorite people is a guy named Patrick Lencioni. Are you familiar with him? Absolutely. And I like him, because I like the way he approaches teams. And one of the things that I say on a regular basis to people is that having now used eight guide dogs, I've learned so much more about team building and teamwork, from working with a guide dogs, and I've ever learned from Patrick Lencioni, Ken Blanchard, and all of the major experts on management, consulting and so on, because first of all, it is it is real, you you have to go right down into the weeds, if you will, you really have to put everything into practice. And when you're working with a dog, what you see is what you get, and that's the the thing that we lose with humans, because we're always just wondering, well, what's this person's real agenda, and can I trust them. And so we have taught ourselves to not be open to trust nearly as much as we can be. And dogs while they love unconditionally, as I've learned, I think over the years, just in observing them and thought about it, a lot, dogs do not trust unconditionally. But the difference between dogs and people is that dogs unless there is some real traumatic experience they've had to undergo, dogs, at least are open to trust. And that ought to be a great lesson, we all could learn   Eric Dates ** 34:06 100% It's almost like with the amount of just from a macro level, the amount of untruthfulness that exists out there, and the amount of you know, false information tossed our way all the time from any which way we we're so cynical anymore, and I feel like consumers and just people in general have become so cynical and closed off as a as a reaction to that. So I to your point, I think having the humility there you because when you when you were saying that around the dogs, I just hear, you know, humility and humbleness to do so. And yeah, it's to get to that level would be it changed the world.   Michael Hingson ** 34:48 The other thing about dogs is that they all do have just like people, different personalities. I had one guide dog that only worked 18 months and as I described her to people, she had sort of a type A personality and could not leave work at the office. So at home, she followed me around, she wouldn't play with the other dogs, she would actually curl her lip at the other dogs in our house if they wanted to play. And it got to the point where she was so much on all the time, that she became fearful and became actually afraid to guide, she just couldn't take the stress that she really imposed on herself. And there's a great lesson there for so many of us who are people that we ought to learn that we can control stress and fear a lot more than we do.   Eric Dates ** 35:35 Absolutely. It's very interesting that, to see that I imagined in person, especially with with with an animal like that, you know, that's, that's going to be incredible. And with human beings. I think the the ability to clearly decipher between perception, and reality is what is at the root of that, because so many folks create this perception that they start to live it. And it compounds quickly, as you know, you know, talking about things like stress or whatnot, it's, it's almost addicted to itself. So yeah, having that ability to be humble, and inwardly reflect, but also know, I shouldn't react this way. Or I should actually be open to trusting this person, or whatever it may be. The simple decisions. Help starts with acknowledging the reality of the matter.   Michael Hingson ** 36:28 Yeah, being a marketing guy, why do you think we're sort of progressing that way, as opposed to learning more humility and being a little bit more humble about what we do?   Eric Dates ** 36:39 I think it's this subliminal mentality that stems from the screens, and in our hands every day that people are, everyone has a voice, and everyone is almost forced to listen to it. At this point, I feel like just based on habits, so as everyone welcomes all this information it wants into their mind. So unnatural, you know, in general, so it's, it creates a stressful environment on the human mind. And I think that aside, in the market, as a consumer, it's even more crazy, you know, people are giving you 85 different versions of a product to solve your problem. And they're all fantastic. What are you supposed to choose? Who are you supposed to believe? cetera, et cetera. And you know, that that stressful atmosphere that that atmosphere of cynicism and disbelief, of so many people are saying this, therefore, it must be wrong. It is now the status quo. And it's created just a very, very, very interesting shift in human behavior and consumer behavior across the board. And it's a little look a little nervous, to be honest, I think there's, there's that example of just because you can doesn't mean you should with certain aspects, tech and things like that to really engulf the human and almost make the reality irrelevant, and everything becomes digital. So I'm a little nervous about that. But we'd love to know your thoughts on where you think we're headed. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 38:09 I think you're, you're right. And I think that, unfortunately, people who ought to know better and who can help, perhaps deal with some of it won't. One of my favorite examples lately has been observing, news reporting, and I'm going to deal with specifically whether prognostication hearing California. Yeah. Okay, I can tell you, it's probably see where I'm going. We, we hear all the time now, because we've had marine layers and a lot of clouds, the May gray in the June gloom. And one of these days, we'll get sun again. But it's horrible because we don't get the sunshine. And then when we do get the sun for any period of time, then they talk about how hot it is, and the fire potential goes up and so on. There's no pleasing them. And because there's no pleasing them, we aren't pleased and the reality is, the so called may gray and the June Gloom are, in part what has thus far although it's early in the season, of course, but thus far, kept us from having more wildfires. They've kept it cooler, there's been some rice stir, and there's there's no perspective we've lost our ability to, to have any kind of perspective. And now we've got, you know, with our politicians and talking about all the things that are going on in the political arena, everything has become so political, that there's no room to step back or we don't get the opportunity or we won't take I should say the opportunity to step back and go wait a minute. What are these people really saying what of this really makes a lot of sense, as opposed to what what is actually coming out? On the news, you know, we've been hearing about politicians being indicted and so on. But all that's political. And it doesn't matter what the evidence shows. And of course, we don't know all the evidence in some of the cases. And like, in everything that we do, we have just created such incredible shifts. One of the things I think about is Bill Cosby. So now he's got nine women who have accused him of rape and other things like that. And maybe it's all true. But you know, what the other side of Bill Cosby is, he was a very funny guy for many years. And now a lot of people would say, well, we just can't have anything of his around anymore, because look at the guy he's become, or Woodrow Wilson was a racist. And I participated in a program for a few years called the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Program, which was something that was created by an organization dealing with independent colleges. And they decided they had to drop the name Woodrow Wilson fellowship, because people started saying, Well, he was a racist. And maybe he was, but what about the rest of what he did? Or I collect old radio shows as a hobby. And I've seen a number of instances now where people are saying, well, Amos, and Andy should be completely thrown out because they're black. And they and the people who portrayed them were white and are totally misrepresenting black people. Really. We, we want to rewrite history, and not recognize the value that history brings. The The fact is with Amos and Andy, for example, in the 30s, and into the 40s. People would go on Saturday afternoons to the movie theaters for matinees. And when Amos and Andy came on, the show stopped, and everyone listened to Amos and Andy, the show was well loved. And the fact is that, was it really intentionally racist? Or was it entertainment that everyone laughed at and loved? It changed, of course, when Amos and he went to TV, and I didn't know that for a while, I didn't even know they were black. I didn't even think about it, you know, when the characters were, but it went to TV. And of course, then it was to people who who were black. And so that that caused a route. But the reality is that we don't put anything in perspective anymore, and look at all sides of things that we don't get to learn to do that. Because a lot of marketing, whether it's from the politicians or elsewhere, is all based on fear. And all they want to do is create fear reactions within us.   Eric Dates ** 42:38 Yep. No, I completely agree. And, you know, it's funny, that you're mentioning that you feel like, if anyone tries hard enough, you can find frustration in anything, you can find the bad in anything. I mean, I'm wearing a baseball hat right now. So you look at a hat of all the history of a hat and the original purpose of hats, you know, you could probably associate some sort of negative historical context with a hat. Therefore, if you wear a hat these days, you're misrepresenting someone who used to exist. So I think it almost goes back to this accepted level of ignorance, in my opinion, in this in society, because it's, it's, I only know what I know. But what I think you should think, whether we know the same amount of information or whatever, I've learned the full spectrum, or whatever it is, they've convinced themselves that what they think is fact. And we all know what, you know, people say about opinions. I think that's where people should let things lay, you know, is is the opinion is just that and you are 100% allowed to have it. But the second you start finding, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this in the past, but I'm a huge student of it a psychologist out there right now who has concepts around herd mentality in the herd. So these days with digital communities, and you basically have entire access to the world in your hands. You can go find a herd just about anywhere for just about anything. Which is that a false perspective of what I think is correct. It has to be because here's this finite group of people, whether it's 100, or even 100,000, you know, in global terms, that's a miniscule number, but it's enough for them to validate their own idea to themselves. So then they start standing on this hill that they apparently want to die on saying, You must hear me from my position I have X amount of people behind me that also believe this therefore, everyone else must think the way that we think and when you when you apply this to marketing, you know, I love the Bill Cosby reference because you know, how many people did he make laugh? Right? How many times did he make people laugh? And then how quickly are people to once they learn about behind the curtain? Completely, just count everything that they've ever enjoyed. But I see so much of a hypocritical nature there. Because if you were someone who laughed, and then later or someone who's upset, I don't, to me, the logic doesn't add up. So in marketing, to me, this is a masterclass on branding is the second that the expectation that this person set is not actually met, your brand starts to take. So with the Bill Cosby thing, he was making people laugh, he was doing things he had his own persona, his own brand. But the second he deviated from that, and they found something negative, that differ from the expectation in their brain. They hate the guy can't stand him and everything he's ever touched is terrible.   Michael Hingson ** 45:42 Rather than recognizing that what we really have are two things, what he was, and now what he is, which are two different things.   Eric Dates ** 45:52 Correct. And people need to realize that they are two completely separate things.   Michael Hingson ** 45:58 But you know, we've had people and over the last six years with with politics and so on during the Trump era, when reporters would say, but this is a fact. And then we hear, but there are alternative facts. They're there. They're challenging the definition of a fact. And that doesn't work that way. But unfortunately, once again, as you said, with the herd mentality, they've got enough of a herd that buys into it, that suddenly Well, there really are facts and alternative facts, rather than something that is factual. And what is an opinion.   Eric Dates ** 46:37 It all goes back. And I completely agree, it goes back to the search for confirmation, versus the search for truth. And I feel like people constantly become a victim, especially in a world of the internet, where you can honestly go find the answer to anything you want to hear in the way that you want to hear it. Right. So it's like people are constantly in search of confirmation of please tell me that what I'm thinking is correct versus what is correct. And that is the that's the mentality shift that I'm a little cynical on is this where the broader group of consumers are headed, just based on behavior, which as you look at digital marketing, and SEO, and all these other things, it's a dangerous road, because you could start to preach something that's not necessarily true. But you could convince people that it is and boom, you're left with a fire festival in the marketing realm where everyone's super excited to come see these artists that no one's actually playing. Yeah, thanks for your money.   Michael Hingson ** 47:34 Isn't it amazing? Well, and you know, last year, with all the stuff with Ticketmaster, and Taylor Swift and all that, a great performer. And still, it's a performance, it's entertainment. Yet people took it so personally, and of course, Ticketmaster, may very well have done some things that they shouldn't have done. But my gosh, the Dubrow over it was was incredible. There's, again, no, no medium, no midway, or no way to just try to put it in perspective and say, Okay, let's hold Ticketmaster responsible, but don't take it personally. Yes.   Eric Dates ** 48:15 I feel like that's the, the the unfortunate reality that we all live in now, because of all types of media, whether it's social, whether it's on television, whether its political, whether it's not, it's PayPal, and finally understood, it's so much easier to get people riled up about something than it is to get them to come together and fix something right. They'd love to point fingers, they'd love to throw stones. But when it comes to kind of building what they need to build, in order to never have to throw a stone again. That's, that's someone else's job. It's not someone   Michael Hingson ** 48:49 else's job. Whatever happened to Gandhi and be the change you want to see in the world?   Eric Dates ** 48:54 That's true. I feel like some folks have been taking that a little differently these days.   Michael Hingson ** 48:58 Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's amazing. Well, how are we going to change that? Do you have any thoughts or notions?   Eric Dates ** 49:07 I really think it's, it's by doing what you just mentioned, you know, you know, studying God is truth there is once you become what you need. You don't need it anymore. Right? You've you've become it and you now are the solution. So if you want to be the change that you want to see, leading by example, is the only way to do that. And I think it's often scary because back to the herd mentality, if you deviate from the herd enough, you know, fight or flight instinct kicks in and all sudden you're out in the open. Everyone's looking at you and you're terrified to make decisions. And that's where courage and I think that's something that's really lacking in a lot of individuals these days, whether it's from fear, whether it's from uncertainty, whatever it might stem from, it's who has the courage to step up and just start doing the right thing, not not tweeting about it, not putting it under Social mean idea, you're actually doing it right not playing the game, throw the game away and change the game and say this is my domain. Now here's how I'm going to approach this, people will eventually follow suit, I just think we need it on a larger scale with the right people to do so in a way that it's not captured by me to say that this is cheesy, or this is something you poke fun at, because now you have a lot of a lot of enemies who have a lot of real estate in the mind, that you're going to have to kind of overcome. But I think those who stay true, you know, through your courage to the sticking place, if you will, you won't, you won't fail, and we won't fail, and everything will get to a much better spot, I just think we need to unlock and empower those leaders who are all out there that are trying to do this, I think we'll just be stronger as a group, versus kind of the single twig that can snap, you know, you bunch them all together, and boom, it's it's a log.   Michael Hingson ** 50:58 Yeah. What kind of mindset do marketers need to establish within themselves to truly become successful and, and help bring that change about? And how do we make that happen?   Eric Dates ** 51:13 That's it that is a tough one it but it's a fantastic question. Because it's something that a lot of people should ask themselves quite often. And it's always a fine line between you're hired to do a job, right? You're You're tasked with a business goal, if you have to grow us from X to Y, or from Y to Z, whatever may be in you know, ABC amount of time. Knowing that that's a task. I think it's just having the humility and courage to not cross into the gray area, where it becomes manipulation of, hey, I can, I can almost persuade you to go do something because you understand these powerful tools that you can unlock in the in the brain. So I think it's, it's really just be a amplifier of truth. Constantly, whether it whether the product is good or not. tell the true story. And set the right expectation of something that you can deliver on don't sell the vision. Right, that that's not your job. As a marketer, your job is to sell reality to that person, so they can make the right decision going back to your point in sales. And I think more people need to stay true to the craft of over deliver information, provide context, establish an expectation for what you can do, and what you will do. And let the people choose accordingly. Because that That, to me is the beauty of a free market. It's the beauty of when people can make decisions based on supply and demand because they put the demand in there, you know, in a world full of supply.   Michael Hingson ** 52:54 Yeah, interesting concept of over deliver information. But it is relevant and true. And of course, it's also delivering the right information, which goes back to truth. And I don't personally think that there are really different kinds of truth. I think that it goes back to facts and alternative facts, there is truth. And what it really comes down to is we need to ask the right questions. And consumers need to learn to ask the right questions and maybe marketing and other people who are involved in setting the trends need to teach us how to ask and what to ask for the right questions.   Eric Dates ** 53:38 Absolutely, it goes back to, to ethics and leading with that for if you truly want the customer to be first, I think to simplify it. do just that.   Michael Hingson ** 53:55 Do you distinguish between? and I'm I'm thinking about this? Because I thought about the whole discussion that we had about sales and selling products and being truthful about that. How do you define or what do you think about the differences between personal success and professional success? Because that's an interesting thing. You're professionally successful if you're for your sales guy, for example, if you're selling lots of stuff and people are buying from you, but that doesn't necessarily lead to personal success and what's the difference? And what are they   Eric Dates ** 54:27 another phenomenal question I think with with today's social atmosphere, and how we're constantly you know, being influenced if you will, which I think is a really really funny term. But these influencers out there who are you know, these people trust for a variety of reasons are created by created by the consumer themselves because again, it goes back to that search for confirmation of like, I think I want this but I need someone to tell me that this is the right thing to get So that's a really good, good question.   Michael Hingson ** 55:05 Yeah, because in reality, rather than saying, I need somebody to tell me, it's the right thing, it would seem to me that what we should do is to say, I need to get the information from sources to decide whether it's the right thing or not. And if I'm not confident, then maybe there's something else I need to learn. And there's something there's nothing wrong with experts. There's nothing wrong with people who really no one has ever said. But by the same token, it still comes down to you should check all sides of it, whatever it happens to be, and then decide what the right thing is. Because the fact is that the right thing for you may not be the right thing for me. And that doesn't make the decision for either of us wrong.   Eric Dates ** 55:52 Absolutely. And I think as we look at defining the personal side of success, I think becoming more aware of these things that exist in marketing, and in business alone, I mean, just just being a smarter consumer, in my opinion, today will help people gain that success, whatever that looks like. Because if you can't fall victim to marketing, manipulation, or you know, persuasion out in the market to go make decisions that you didn't necessarily want to make or wasn't the right one, because you were tricked, whatever it may be. I think that that realization of being cognizant of what's going on what those triggers are, so you don't fall victim to it, start to open up the right way to more clearly define what success looks like for that individual. Because now your mind is free. And to me, that's the precursor to personal success is how do you unlock your own mind, from a place of being controlled professionally, I think it's it to me, it's no different than sports in the way I believe this, it's, it's professionally is whatever your goals are for yourself in this role, whether you want to achieve the CEO or whatever you want to achieve. And you go get it like celebrate that win, because it's something you want it to go do for you to understand why totally different discussion. But if you if you, you know wholeheartedly believe that that's what you want to go do as a professional, you want to, you know, win a championship, win a Super Bowl, you want to have an exit with a, an acquisition, or m&a activity, whatever it may be. That's okay. That's a great goal professionally, but I think separating the two is where people start to win. Because they know that there are two difference. Because you know, professions only exist because of money. Right? If you really look at it, it's you're getting paid to do something, therefore you are professional. That's it. But as your personal stuff should be a little bit separate, in my opinion. But that's that's just my my thought on that matter.   Michael Hingson ** 57:50 Well, I would agree and goals, by the way can evolve. So you may start out wanting to be a champion or acquire a company or become a CEO. And it may very well be that as you work towards something, you'll decide that well maybe that's really not what was best for me and you should be open to looking doesn't mean you have doubt, but you should be open to evaluating what you do regularly. You did. And you you migrated. And that seemed to work pretty well. You know, we call this unstoppable mindset what? What would you suggest to people in terms of how they can develop an unstoppable mindset, mindset.   Eric Dates ** 58:31 Love that, to me is the word that stares me in the face is mind, right? Just the root of all of that comes to understanding your own mind. Not everyone else is just focused on your own right understand what makes you tick, understand what makes you frustrated, you know, put in the time of thinking every day and just challenge yourself understand things seek truth in yourself. Don't think validation or seek validation and other people's thoughts and opinions? Or or god forbid the internet. You know, really just be cognizant of who you actually are. And I think once you understand that there's your starting point, to start figuring out, how do I stay this person? Is it first of all, is this the person you want to stay? As? That's a great question to ask. But once you figure out that this is me, and this is who I want to be. That to me is is the unstoppable mindset part because now you're concrete in your conclusion that this is me, and I accepted and proud of who I am. And now everything else out there is just how do I go? Get it done? Because you already done the hard part of figuring out yourself   Michael Hingson ** 59:47 and it is all about you understanding you and I totally agree with you. And that's a great way to bring this conversation to a close because I think it will give all of us a lot to think about out. And I do want to thank you for being here with us. How do people reach out to you maybe learn more about you and learn what you do and how they can maybe interact with you?   1:00:10 Absolutely. The one social platform that I am on is LinkedIn. And I'm completely accessible, happy to chat with anyone, anytime. How do they find it and just search for Eric Dates, I believe I'm one of the few. And I'm happy to share out the LinkedIn URL that we can toss in the bottom of this at some point. But yeah, never hesitate to reach out if there's something you'd like to talk about any subject, not just marketing, or philosophy or, or consumers or anything like that. Anything. I just welcomed the community.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:41 We'll make sure it's in the in the notes, by all means. Well, I want to thank you again for being here with us. I do have one last question. What do you do when you're not working?   Eric Dates ** 1:00:53 I've got two beautiful kids who I love playing with all the time. I love putting on my kid hat because for me, that is who I am. I'm just a grown up kid. And I love playing with them. You know, I love the family life. And they got an incredible mom who we play with all the time. And yeah, I love playing with my family. So that's, that's what I tried to do the most. Because for me, as we looked at, in really in the mind, that's, that's what's very important to me. So I want to make sure I get a part of that, or as much of that as I can on a daily basis.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:24 And that is cool. And that's the way it really should be. Well, thanks again for being here. And I want to thank you for listening. If you would please give us a five star review at read five star review. If I could talk I'd be in lovely shape. Give us a five star review. Wherever you're listening to us, we would appreciate it. Always love your comments. I always love your thoughts. So please feel free to pass them on. You can reach me Michaelhi I M i c h a e l h i at accessibe A C C E S S I B E.com. Or go to Michael hingson H i n g s o n.com/podcast. Love to hear from you. And Eric, for you and all of you listening if you have any thoughts of people who we ought to have as a guest, please let me know. We are always looking to meet more people and have more great conversations and really, hopefully help make the world a little bit better place by everything that we do. So please don't hesitate to reach out and Eric once more. Thank you very much for being here with us and spending the last hour with us today.   Eric Dates ** 1:02:27 Absolutely. Michael, thank you so much. It was an absolute pleasure. I hope it gets to do it again.   **Michael Hingson ** 1:02:36 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. T

#realestate #wholesalerealestate #realestatecoaching #realestateinvesting #probaterealestateIn this week's coaching call, Bill Gross and Probate Mastery students/alumni discuss thinking of yourself as a business, getting cut out of the process after referring your clients to the vendor, and more! Sign up for the FREE Probate Foundations live training. This is a 2 hour live-taught course focused on the opportunity around Probate. If you're just starting out in the niche, or still exploring your options, you'll learn the basics of building a Unique Selling Proposition, Marketing, and Team Building. REGISTER HERE

Sit down and get comfortable for some B2B marketing therapy with local Indianapolis marketer, Justin Keller. Justin is the SVP of Marketing at Drift, an AI-powered conversational platform. After getting an MBA, he helped build up the iconic brand of Sigstr. Today, he discusses the mindset shift from brand to revenue marketing. With the rise of AI automating the revenue pipeline, it will become more important for companies to focus on building brand with the help of creative marketers. Don't be afraid of beingprovocative, creative, and weird.1:18 Introduction3:00 Justin's career7:10 Building brand at Sigstr9:20 Driving pipeline11:45 Justifying brand marketing efforts13:00 Pivoting at Drift15:24 Brand VS revenue marketing16:50 Message to CEOs20:12 Be provocative, get weird23:52 In closingFollow Justin: | LinkedIn | Twitter | Drift Follow The Juice:| Website | Blog | Twitter | LinkedInFollow Brett:| Twitter | LinkedIn

Today we're going to talk about how brands can use conversational marketing to improve their customer experience, as well as their overall customer lifetime value. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Justin Keller, Vice President of Revenue Marketing at Drift, a conversational marketing platform that works with over 5,000 customers across industries. RESOURCES The Agile Brand podcast website: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com/theagilebrandpodcast Sign up for The Agile Brand newsletter here: https://www.gregkihlstrom.com Get the latest news and updates on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-brand/ For consulting on marketing technology, customer experience, and more visit GK5A: https://www.gk5a.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems.Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The 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

Jessica is the CMO at Calendly where she leads brand awareness, creative, demand generation, and product marketing. She has nearly 20 years of marketing and leadership experience and most recently was Head of Revenue Marketing at Asana.  We talk about:  The most important variables in demand generation  How critical the relationship is between marketing and sales  Building a marketing team that's focused on impact and revenue  Becoming an effective CMO    --- Where to find Jessica Jessica's LinkedIn Profile --- Where to find Patrick Patrick's LinkedIn Profile --- (2:42) The top variables in demand gen motions  (5:56) Challenges with data on paid media and revenue  (9:04) Targeting and mapping high value customers with ad publishers (11:46) Bringing in volume and optimizing for conversions   (13:42) The importance of empathy between marketing and sales  (17:17) Everything goes through sales  (20:08) Lead scoring and where this should be developed  (21:38) Messaging consistency and specificity to audiences (24:05) The challenges of email marketing (24:55) Importance of brand in B2B  (26:49) Working with influencers  (28:06) Adjustments to becoming a CMO (30:14) Where most CMOs go wrong  (31:45) Aligning with the right C-Level partners - Product, Sales, Finance (33:27) How to make great marketers  (35:46) Focusing on revenue and conversions on as marketers  (37:07) Having tough and direct conversations to make an impact  (40:48) Optimizing for outcomes  (42:47) Where to find Jessica!       

Today I'm joined by Hana Abaza, an experienced SaaS Marketer. Most recently, Hana served as Shopify's Global Head of Revenue Marketing where she helped them reach billions of dollars in revenue. In today's episode, we discuss how Shopify successfully moved upmarket as they introduced Shopify Plus. We explore the competitive alternatives they faced, how they differentiated their offerings, and the importance of their partner influence program. Together we cover storytelling (and what most people get wrong), differentiated value,and the importance of understanding your customer's point of view.  — In This Episode, I Cover: (00:00) Welcome to the Positioning Show (00:40) About our guest Hana Abaza, and what to expect in this episode (02:34) Shopify's growth trajectory and why they decided to go upmarket (05:04) The first time April heard Shopify pitch Shopify Plus (08:17) Shopify's competitive alternatives   (10:22) How they launched Shopify Plus and differentiated it from Shopify  (12:53) The positioning timeline (14:32) How they shifted Shopify's positioning and the customer perspective (16:09) Utilizing their partner influence program (18:43) The importance of customer word of mouth (19:43) How and when the sales team was enabled  (23:30) Shopify's corporate narrative and the value props for different segments  (27:25) Why most rebrands are a waste of time (29:25) Storytelling, and what most people get wrong (34:00) How April approaches differentiated value and competitive alternatives  (37:00) Understanding the customer's POV (40:49) What's next for Hana (43:03) Thanks for listening — Where To Find Hana Abaza: Website: https://hanaabaza.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanaabaza/?originalSubdomain=ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/hanaabaza Where To Find April: 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 — Referenced: • Shopify Plus: https://www.shopify.com/plus — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/