Podcasts about smartbug media

The senior tech industry is rapidly growing, with new innovations designed to improve the lives of older adults, caregivers, and healthcare providers. But how do you successfully market and sell senior tech solutions to a diverse audience that includes seniors, adult children, and healthcare professionals? SmartBug Media's AgeTech expert, Tonia Speir, joins host VP of Marketing Paul Schmidt to break down: ✅ What AgeTech is and the biggest misconceptions about seniors and technology ✅ The decision-making process in AgeTech purchases: seniors, caregivers, and adult children ✅ How to build trust and drive adoption in an industry where security and usability are top concerns ✅ The best marketing channels and go-to-market (GTM) strategies for reaching this unique audience ✅ How AgeTech startups can differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded market If you're working in senior tech, digital health, or healthcare marketing, this is for you. Paul Schmidt: pschmidt@smartbugmedia.com Tonia Speir: tspeir@smartbugmedia.com Relevant Resource: https://www.smartbugmedia.com/senior-tech-growth-powered-by-hubspot

Take a deep dive into how private equity firms are streamlining reporting, reducing inefficiencies, and driving portfolio-wide growth using HubSpot. This episode features an insightful conversation between Paul Schmidt, SmartBug's VP of Marketing, and Casey Peddicord, Senior Director of Channel Sales, breaking down how private equity firms are overcoming fragmented tech stacks, manual reporting, and siloed data by using HubSpot as a single source of truth.

To build strong relationships with existing customers, research shows 84% of B2B marketers are relying on content marketing. With modern customers demanding personalization, relevance and value in every post-sale interaction, even the savviest marketers struggle with developing long-term relationship-building strategies and demonstrating the ROI of retention-focused content.It's all about creating a content strategy that goes beyond the initial sale and keeps customers interested and involved throughout the entire customer lifecycle. In this episode of the B2BMX Podcast, we're kicking it back to B2BMX in Scottsdale to replay an action-packed panel discussion, featuring some of the industry's greatest minds.Hear from Jake Sanders of NinjaCat, Dana Harder of Unreal Digital Group, Jen Spencer of SmartBug Media and our very own Kelly Lindenau as they discuss the power of content in customer retention, with a focus on:How to strike the right balance between educational, informative content and cross-sell/up-sell promotions;How to think about campaign strategies and make use of it for demand throughout the entire customer lifecycle;The importance of incorporating and aligning diverse content formats with customers' preferences to maintain their interest;How to ensure that content remains relevant to changing needs and the customers' challenges, as well as the top strategies for measuring the impact of retention-focused content; and So much more! Don't miss out on hearing one of our highly rated B2BMX sessions in the comfort of your home, office or commute! RELATED LINKS: Get all the information you need about our new event, B2BMX East, here;Register for B2BMX East using this special 15% off code just for our listeners: MXPOD15; andFollow us on LinkedIn and X.

In this episode of "Do This, Not That", host Jay Schwedelson interviews Jen Spencer, CEO of SmartBug Media, about the concept of the marketing "flywheel" and how to build company culture with a fully remote team. Listeners can expect to learn what a flywheel model is, why it's important for business growth, and practical tips for implementing it. The discussion also covers best practices for maintaining strong remote work culture.=================================================================Best Moments:(05:02) What is a marketing flywheel and how can it help you?(07:55) Practical example of a flywheel (15:42) Maintaining culture with a 300+ person remote team(20:08) How often do people on stage screw up?=================================================================Guest Bio:Jen Spencer is CEO of SmartBug Media, a digital marketing agency and HubSpot Elite Partner that helps businesses optimize their customer lifecycle. She has 15+ years of experience spanning education, nonprofit marketing, and SaaS companies. Under Jen's leadership, SmartBug Media has received numerous awards and recognitions.=================================================================PARTNER WITH JAY AND GURU Media Hub HERE:www.GuruMediaHub.comPartner with Jay or have Jay on YOUR podcast:www.JaySchwedelson.comJay's Agency:www.OutcomeMedia.com=================================================================MASSIVE thank you to our Sponsor, Marigold!!Marigold is a relationship marketing platform designed to help you acquire new customers and turn them into superfans with their best-in-class loyalty solutions. Don't take my word for it though, American Airlines, Honeybaked Ham, Title Boxing, and Notre Dame University are also customers!Regardless of your size, check out Marigold today to get the solution you need to grow your business!Check out this free content Jay has loved digesting, Marigold's 2024 Global Consumer Trends Index.

"Trust your gut. Most of those anxious feelings are coming from a place of intuition." says Mary Cate Spires, leading expert in using data and research to improve marketing ROI and co-founder of Harley James Consulting, a HubSpot inbound marketing agency.In this episode, Mary Cate shares her insights on leveraging CRMs to increase ROI and discusses the importance of finding the right CRM for your business. She also emphasizes the value of inbound marketing and dispels some common myths associated with it. Mary Cate provides practical advice for entrepreneurs on managing their CRM effectively and highlights the low-hanging fruit opportunities for driving ROI. Mary Cate's journey has included challenges and mistakes in the world of digital marketing and she offers valuable advice on trusting your gut and listening to your intuition. If you're looking to optimize your CRM and improve your marketing strategies, this episode is a must-listen!Key Takeaways:Finding the right CRM and implementing it properly is worth the time and investment.Inbound marketing is about educating and helping your audience, not just talking at them.Conversion rates and cost per acquisition are important KPIs to track in order to measure marketing success.When starting with a CRM, consider industry-specific options and determine if you need a fully customizable solution or an out-of-the-box one.Quotes:"It is absolutely worth it to take the time to find the right CRM and to hire help to implement it properly." (01:22 | Kylie Peters)"If you really utilize a CRM in all of the right ways, like you really invest in it, they're all kind of cult-like." (01:54 | Kylie Peters)"You really can't do good marketing if you don't know what's converting into your sales qualified leads and your customers." (09:05 | Mary Cate Spires)"Conversion rates are huge. And I really like cost per acquisition, too, versus looking at ROI." (10:02 | Mary Cate Spires)"I just want to empower people to know just enough to be dangerous and ask the right questions." (30:08 | Mary Cate Spires)#CRM #CRMsoftware #marketingroi #inboundmarketingConnect with Welcome to Eloma:Instagram: @welcometoelomaWebsite: WelcometoEloma.comWeekly Email Newsletter: bit.ly/RIXEmail More about Mary Cate Spires:Mary Cate Spires is the leading expert on using data and research to improve marketing ROI. She has worked with dozens of prominent brands from all over the United States including SmartBug Media, HubSpot, and The Arbor Company to drive leads, ROI, and customers through digital marketing efforts. With a degree from the University of South Carolina in public relations and over ten years of digital marketing experience, she is widely regarded by marketing executives to influence marketing strategy and achieve results. Her insights have been featured on ABC News and in noteworthy publications and podcasts like Chief Marketer, HubSpot, and Maiden Voyage. Mary Cate helps leaders build a strong customer base to experience high returns on investment. Her unique approach dives deep into data and research to help businesses make marketing decisions work smarter not harder.Connect with Mary Cate Spires:www.HarleyJamesConsulting.com

In this week's Scale Your Sales podcast episode, My guest is Stephanie Valenti.    Stephanie Valenti is the Chief Revenue Officer of SmartBug Media, a digital agency- leading marketing, sales, client delivery, and product. Stephanie Valenti has over 15 years of leadership experience, with over 12 of those years being in sales. Outside of Stephanie's day job, Stephanie is very active in educating the executive community through Pavillion and leading a cohort of over 2000 revenue executives globally. In this episode, we talk about the three levels of Chief Revenue Officers, the builder, scaler and maintainer. The Scaler needs to focus on structure, process and people in this order. With more than 10 years of experience in sales and the recent decline of women in sales during the post-pandemic. Welcome to Scale Your Sales podcast, Stephanie Valenti.    We discuss:   3:46 – Reasons why the number of sales leaders has decreased    7:08 – Needed changes for diversity in sales   10:20 – Management of responsibilities   12:24 – Building a team    15:20 – Fit your people in the right role    21:35 – The next stage after identifying the pinch point    23:35 – Reason why the process has started    26:21 – Strategy that enables the buyer to buy     https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentis/       Janice B Gordon is the award-winning Customer Growth Expert and Scale Your Sales Framework founder. She is by LinkedIn Sales 15 Innovating Sales Influencers to Follow 2021, the Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Customer Experience Nov 2020 and 150 Women B2B Thought Leaders You Should Follow in 2021. Janice helps companies worldwide to reimagine revenue growth through customer experience and sales.   Book Janice to speak virtually at your next event https://janicebgordon.com       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-b-      Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaniceBGordon     Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast     More on the blog https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/blog      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleYourSal

This episode of the Live Better Sell Better Podcast features Stephanie Valenti, Chief Revenue Officer at SmartBug Media. Lead conversion is the biggest indicator that personalization works. Stephanie shares her insights on bringing old-school customization tactics back to the field.She digs into how salespeople need to learn to grind it out over the phone, learn to use the mailer to send snail mail, and rethink their in-person meetings which can close big deals. The point is to slow down and become more creative in prospecting to truly stand out.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESOld school methods provide creativity in selling - Stephanie: "We had followed Sandler methodology, so then you use that mailer as your pattern interrupt. Did you get the card I sent you? When the receptionist would stop you, are they expecting your call? Yes, they are. You're not lying. You said you were going to be reaching out and they received your card."So we would plan those and then reach out a week later from the card sent to make sure they received it, opened it, et cetera. But so it kind of goes into personalization, but it also goes into how are you getting creative and trying something new and giving them a reason why you are calling outside of what you're selling."Target hand raisers and personalize a message to them - Stephanie: "On a hand raiser, why not take a second? Why not utilize the tools that you have, such as ZoomInfo? Why not go research the company a little bit, understand what they do, and customize a message saying, I know that you inquired, and this is why I think that we should meet. And then provide that simplicity of scheduling." You can find out more about Stephanie in the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentis/Website: https://www.smartbugmedia.com/Live Better. Sell Better. is sponsored by our proud partner:Vidyard | vidyard.com

Interview with Jen Spencer - Founder & CEO at SmartBug Media Jen is CEO and a Forbes Council Member, leading SmartBug Media®, a globally award-winning intelligent inbound marketing agency. Jen and her team are helping businesses grow revenue by generating leads, engaging accounts, and building brand loyalty through inbound marketing, sales enablement, revenue operations, web development, digital strategy, marketing automation, and public relations. Tune in to the latest episode of Marketing of the Month to hear her discuss how to plan to increase brand and market recognition for a successful 2023. On The Menu: 1. Future applicability of cloud-based SaaS 2. Impact of long term remote work on work culture 3. Ecosystems - community-led growth, second-party data & marketplaces 4. Transforming your customers into evangelists for your brand 5. Why integrating with leading platforms in their category is a must have for startups 6. Leveraging the power of ecosystem-driven marketing

Welcome to the Woman in Tech Series from the Global Tech Leaders Podcast. Today we are speaking to Jen Spencer CEO at SmartBug Media, HubSpot Partner of The Year. SmartBug Media is a globally award-winning intelligent inbound marketing agency that helps businesses grow revenue by generating leads, engaging accounts and building brand loyalty through inbound marketing, sales enablement, revenue operations, web development, digital strategy, marketing automation, and public relations. We kick off by asking Jen to share her career journey and what has led her to where she is today. “I wanted to be in charge.” Volunteering time. Teacher. Public Relations and Digital Marketing. Tech start-up. Joined as VP of Sales. We then ask Jen what drew her to sales and what makes a rockstar salesperson. Marketing ROI. Buying persona. Extension of marketing. Next, we ask Jen what is she seeing out there with marketing budgets. Pressure. Not a lot of room for experimentation. Technology stacks. The promise that some technology makes. Doing more for less. Audiences are changing. Mapping the journey. Then we ask Jen how they gain new clients at SmartBug Media. “We drink our own champagne.” Intelligent inbound marketing. “We wanna be our own best case study.” 5M to 500M Klaviyo Partner. HubSpot. Salesforce. We ask Jen about being a leading woman in tech and what is her perspective on diversity. Girls in Tech. Volunteers. Woman led. Infinity Groups. Lady Bugs. Woman in Leadership. Then we ask Jen how intentional they are in their process of hiring. How and where. Who you have now is who you are attracting. Removing barriers. Global team. Lastly, we ask Jen what tools or productivity hacks can't she live without. Executive Assistant. Organised email system. Calendar with colour coding. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gloabl-tech-leaders/message

Jen Spencer, CEO, SmartBug Media®, and Rob Giglio, Chief Customer Officer at HubSpot On this episode of the Intelligent Inbound Podcast, Jen and Rob Giglio, Chief Customer Officer at HubSpot, sit down to chat all things inbound. The secret sauce to any successful marketing strategy is made with equal parts quality content and a commitment to authenticity. In times of economic uncertainty, as Rob explains, customers turn to the brands they know and trust. So how can you become your customers' go-to, even when money is tight? Jen and Rob break it down: "The most worthy deed helps someone else succeed." (0:45) Orchestrating an exceptional customer experience (7:05) Navigating uncertain economic conditions (11:14) Building trust through consistent, quality content and authenticity (15:23) Meeting and surpassing user expectations (22:23) Wellness check: Tracking customer engagement and satisfaction (31:38) Final Takeaways: What do marketers need to know? (45:44)

Regardless of your department, stepping up and out of it into the C-Suite puts you in a lot of new territory. You wouldn't have taken it if you didn't want a challenge, but you still want to avoid any missteps you can–you're about to find out how. In this episode, Warren and Lupe are joined by Stephanie Valenti, CRO at SmartBug Media. Follow her adventurous footsteps to the CRO role (featuring networking, touring via alternate perspectives, and growing as a leader), how to stay in your lane so you succeed at your job, where to start when you land behind the desk, and protecting yourself from becoming a CRO In Title Only.

Welcome to Season 2 of The Intelligent Inbound Marketing podcast, a conversation with industry leaders who challenge the status quo for inbound marketing and believe in pushing the boundaries. Intelligent Inbound® is a game-changing approach to building high-growth, customer-centric organizations. Your host, Jen Spencer, brings a wealth of knowledge to this space as the Chief Executive Officer at SmartBug Media®. And she's joined by guests from a variety of industries and backgrounds, exploring innovative ways to break through the noise and drive big results in sales, marketing and revenue operations.

When it comes to growing, scaling and developing an excellent sales team, there's truly a fine art to it that can't be learned overnight. In this episode, Hannah and Tony sit down with Stephanie Valenti, the Chief Revenue Officer at SmartBug Media. In her role, Stephanie leads sales, marketing, and all client services and delivery departments at the company. She's also spent more than 15 years learning the best strategies for fostering sustainable growth, leading a team, and helping B2B sales organizations scale up, so she has plenty of wisdom to share about leadership and the customer journey overall. During the episode, Stephanie shares lots of insightful advice and plenty of actionable tips that you can benefit from, no matter your current role within your organization.

Amber Wilcox is a burn survivor, yoga instructor, and marketing professional from Ormond Beach, Florida. After her kitchen accident in 2020, Amber faced burns on 20% of her body from a hot caramel spill. After two skin graft surgeries from Orlando Regional Burn Center, Amber experienced hypertrophic scarring and underwent a series of laser burn surgeries at Tampa General Hospital. As the Marketing Lead for Phoenix Society, Amber oversees organizational and service marketing, manages PR and media efforts, develops strategies to grow and continually engage with our community, and so much more. Prior to her role at Phoenix Society, Amber has over 10 years of experience in Marketing, Customer Relations, and Public Relations, having held roles at organizations including, SmartBug Media, The Walt Disney Company, Halifax Humane Society, and Pevonia International Skincare, to name a few. When not marketing, Amber enjoys paddleboarding, volunteering for Phoenix Society as a Peer Supporter, teaching yoga for Kula for Karma supporting youth in Florida detention centers, or providing free yoga for peers on her website, yogaamber.com.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/namastay_in_florida/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-wilcox-fl/Email: Awilcox@phoenix-society.orgPhoenix Society Website: https://phoenix-society.org/Ways to get involved with Phoenix:Subscribe to our Magazine/Email Newsletter: https://phoenix-society.org/email-signupShare Your Story: https://phoenix-society.org/open-mic-submissionGet Support: https://phoenix-society.org/what-we-do/virtual-supportBecome a SOAR Supporter: https://phoenix-society.org/phoenix-soarAttend an Event: https://events.phoenix-society.org/engage2022#burnsurvivor #phoenixsociety #burnedambition #burnedbeauty2018 #podcast #inspirational Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/burned-ambition-with-burned-beauty-2018/donations

In this episode of the Startup Selling Podcast, I interviewed Jen Spencer.   Jen Spencer is the CEO of SmartBug Media®, a leading Intelligent Inbound® marketing agency that assists both B2B and B2C e-commerce businesses in growing revenue by generating leads, scaling revenue operations, and building market awareness through digital content, design, and web development. Jen is an influential thought leader in the sales, marketing, and revenue operations space, regularly speaking at B2B conferences as well as serving as a mentor for revenue leaders through Pavilion's Rising Executives Program. She also started and hosted a weekly podcast called SmartBug on Tap for several years before launching the new Intelligent Inbound Podcast® aimed at challenging the status quo for inbound marketing with inspiring stories from some of marketing's most innovative and successful players. Jen subscribes to the notion that “we're all in this together,” and great communication leads to a great partnership. She loves animals, technology, the arts, and really good Scotch. Some of the topics that we covered are:   At what stage of your business should you consider hiring a Marketing Agency? What is the importance of having sales-minded marketing people or marketing-minded salespeople? What can you do as a startup in terms of marketing; if you are not ready to hire a marketing agency as yet?  What are the signals to know it's time to hire a marketing agency?  Links & Resources:    Website: https://www.smartbugmedia.com/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenspencer/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenspencer   The Intelligent Inbound® Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1MV0CnkTDtCupFnPJzJLFG?si=2452443647174d73 Listen & subscribe to The Startup Selling Show here:   BluBrry | Deezer | Amazon | Stitcher | Spotify | iTunes | Soundcloud | SalesQualia   Thanks so much for listening! Tell a friend or ten about The Startup Selling Show, and please leave a review wherever you're listening to the show.

Stephanie Valenti has 15+ years of experience building and leading B2B sales organisations and operational departments from 50 to 500+ team members across the U.S., Australia, and Europe. She started her professional career with Staples Business Advantage leading sales teams for over 7 years in various practices from mid-market to Enterprise to 10M dollar project business. Following Staples, and after leaving Vari as the Senior Vice President of Sales, she joined Loftwall as Chief Operating Officer. In her 18 months at the company, Loftwall has been named to the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies in America and ranked as one of the top places to work in DFW. Now, she joins SmartBug Media, 5x Inc 5000 winner and Elite HubSpot partner, as Chief Revenue Officer. Stephanie leads sales, marketing, and all client services and delivery departments at SmartBug Media. Her focus is on creating unity between revenue teams, fluency in the customer journey, and credibility with partners. With a passion for scaling teams, building processes, and cultivating a winning culture, Stephanie has a track record of success of being an executive member of three record-breaking companies that boasted triple digit growth. Standing for people first leadership through accountability, transparency, and humility, she is always looking for ways to mentor the next generation of leaders enterprise-wide. Personally, Stephanie lives in Dallas with her husband and 3 children - 21, 15, and 9 and enjoys devouring books in her spare time.

In this special two-part episode, we've got Jen Spencer with us. Jen is the new CEO of SmartBug Media, and is joining us to share her journey to becoming the CEO and how she is leading the organization. Join us for a raw conversation about leadership, organizational alignment, and how the marketing landscape is continually evolving.What You'll LearnHow Jen became the CEO of SmartBug MediaThe balance of keeping things the way they are with instituting new directionWhat marketing tactics are and aren't working anymore Show Agenda and TimestampsAbout Jen's journey to CEO [2:45]What it's like being a CEO [06:52]Organizational realignment [11:21]Strategies for talent acquisition, retention, and inclusivity [14:50]New marketing innovations [19:14]Sam's Corner [23:31]

In this special two-part episode, we've got Jen Spencer with us. Jen is the new CEO of SmartBug Media, and is joining us to share her journey to becoming the CEO and how she is leading the organization. Join us for a raw conversation about leadership, organizational alignment, and how the marketing landscape is continually evolving. What You'll Learn How Jen became the CEO of SmartBug Media The balance of keeping things the way they are with instituting new direction What marketing tactics are and aren't working anymore  Show Agenda and Timestamps About Jen's journey to CEO [2:45] What it's like being a CEO [06:52] Organizational realignment [11:21] Strategies for talent acquisition, retention, and inclusivity [14:50] New marketing innovations [19:14] Sam's Corner [23:31]

Today's episode is the best of April compilation. We had some amazing people share their golden nuggets on the daily grind and we wanted to make sure you didn't miss any of it. Here's more of the amazing guests from this month on the Daily Grind podcast.   Mary Cate Spires: Award-winning digital marketing consultant, Mary Cate Spires is the leading expert on using data and research to improve marketing ROI. Mary Cate's career has included stops at KeelySay.com, NYC startup MyCheck, and SmartBug Media before launching her own consulting business. Today, Mary Cate specializes in ROI-Driven marketing. Under her mantra, "Don't spend money on marketing if you aren't measuring key performance indicators,” she helps clients set and measure realistic goals and hits them time and time again -- pivoting when necessary to optimize what's working and quickly abandon what isn't.   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ROIDrivenMarketer Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryCateSpires LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marycatespires/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marycatespires/ Website: www.MaryCateSpires.com Book: https://www.amazon.com/Map-Multi-Location-Businesses-Marketing-Competition-ebook/dp/B09QMR181N   More from Christian Christian Van Camp is a holistic lifestyle and performance coach dedicated to helping men achieve a fit body and mind. He studied kinesiology, CHEK holistic lifestyle & performance coaching, and graduated from the University of Arkansas with a BS in Nutrition. His overarching mission and purpose is to build equitable systems for all while focusing on clean air, water, soil, and food and tapping back into the fundamentals of nature's healing. This conversation was truly eye-opening for a different perspective on how to build your daily grind.    More links from Christian Van Camp:    www.cvcwellness.com Christian's Store with his favorite health and wellness products: www.cvcwellness.com/deals Instagram: @cvcwellness https://instagram.com/cvcwellness Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCMPTefvVl2k2isAzrL-vnDA   More from Sandra Daniele Sandra Daniele is the founder of Wish on Wildflowers Life En

Today's guest is Mary Cate Spires. She's a digital marketing consultant that uses data and research to drive results. In our conversation, we dive deep into how marketing in addition to mentors can accelerate your life and business. Here's more from Mary Cate Spires:  Award-winning digital marketing consultant, Mary Cate Spires is the leading expert on using data and research to improve marketing ROI. Mary Cate's career has included stops at KeelySay.com, NYC startup MyCheck, and SmartBug Media before launching her own consulting business. Today, Mary Cate specializes in ROI-Driven marketing. Under her mantra, "Don't spend money on marketing if you aren't measuring key performance indicators,” she helps clients set and measure realistic goals and hits them time and time again -- pivoting when necessary to optimize what's working and quickly abandon what isn't.   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ROIDrivenMarketer Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryCateSpires LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marycatespires/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marycatespires/ Website: www.MaryCateSpires.com Book: https://www.amazon.com/Map-Multi-Location-Businesses-Marketing-Competition-ebook/dp/B09QMR181N    More resources from the Daily Grind Podcast: 1- Make sure you review this episode  2-Checkout The Daily Grind Podcast site: www.thedailygrindpodcast.com 3- Follow us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/thedailygrindpod/ 

Mary Cate Spires is the leading expert on using data and research to improve marketing ROI. She has worked with dozens of prominent brands from all over the US including SmartBug Media, HubSpot, and The Arbor Company to drive leads, ROI, and customers through digital marketing efforts. With a degree from the University of South Carolina in public relations and over ten years of digital marketing experience, she is widely regarded by marketing executives to influence marketing strategy and achieve results. You can find her new book, On The Map here: https://www.amazon.com/Map-Multi-Location-Businesses-Marketing-Competition-ebook/dp/B09QMR181N --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/michael-moye1/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/michael-moye1/support

SmartBug Media®'s CEO and Forbes Councils Member, Jen Spencer stops by Oktopost's Radically Transparent podcast to chat about where B2B marketing leaders are falling short, the new skills required to tell fabulous stories driven by data, and why building personas for internal stakeholders is just as important as building them for prospects and customers. Jen leaves no stone unturned making this episode into an all-time show on topics about taking intelligent risks, interpreting data to tell meaningful stories, driving marketing pipeline growth, and so much more! It's no wonder with a marketing leader like Jen, SmartBug Media® was recently named Hubspot's 2021 Partner of the Year!!

Flexibility at work is the new standard and remote teams are not going away. You have likely been talking about keeping a strong remote culture over the last few months. It is a challenge that many leaders face and requires new thinking. A strong remote culture will allow you to keep your people connected and appreciated through this phase of work. Today's guest is Ryan Malone, Co-Founder & CEO at SmartBug Media. Inc Magazine ranked his company #2638 on the 2021 Inc 5000 list. SmartBug Media is the Intelligent Inbound marketing agency that assists businesses in growing revenue. Ryan and I talk about what it takes to create a strong remote culture. We talked about the challenges of working remotely and keeping the culture aligned. Discover the principles that allow you to have a strong remote culture. Get the show notes for Building a Strong Remote Culture with Ryan Malone at Smart Bug Media Click to Tweet: Listening to a fantastic episode on Growth Think Tank featuring #RyanMalone with your host @GeneHammett https://bit.ly/gttRyanMalone #StrongRemoteCulture #GeneHammettPodcast #GHepisode833 #GTTepisodes #Inc2021 #IntelligentInboundMarketing Give Growth Think Tank a review on iTunes!

Dean Dutro is the CEO of Worth eCommerce, an email marketing agency. His team helps e-commerce companies increase revenue by up to 60% in six months with email marketing systems built in Klaviyo. Dean co-founded Worth eCommerce with the mission of boosting profits, engagement, and brand loyalty for clients.Dean is also the Founder of Emailgrowthtraining.com, where he teaches clients how to grow their e-commerce revenue by 30-40% using email marketing. He has previously founded two other agencies, Instant Email Copy and GobySavvy.In this episode…The path to success is never straight — it often comes with surprising curves, rough patches, and hills. So, how can you take the lessons from each trying experience and turn them into a victory?Dean Dutro's path to CEO of a successful agency certainly wasn't smooth. At the age of 24, he quit a comfortable job in aviation sales to co-found a startup — which sunk into debt. At the age of 26, he was living in his granpdarent's basement and starting up an email marketing agency. It slowly grew, but he was met with competition from his previous business partner. Rather than butt heads, they decided to join forces, and now their combined experience has created an email marketing empire: Worth eCommerce.In this episode of Agency Journey, Gray MacKenzie is joined by Dean Dutro, the CEO of Worth eCommerce, to discuss how he quickly scaled his agency. Dean talks about the inception of Worth eCommerce, what's changed during SmartBug Media's acquisition of the agency, and his goals for the future of the brand. Stay tuned.

Welcome to The Intelligent Inbound Marketing podcast, a conversation with industry experts who challenge the status quo for inbound marketing and believe in pushing the boundaries.  Intelligent Inbound is a game-changing approach to aligning revenue teams. It is how you build a high-growth, customer-centric organization.  Your host, Jen Spencer, brings a wealth of knowledge in this space as the Chief Revenue Officer at SmartBug Media. And she's joined by guests from a variety of industries and backgrounds, exploring innovative ways to break through the noise and drive big results in sales, marketing and revenue operations. 

In this episode, Mike talks with Jen Spencer about the role of sales and marketing in demand generation and her new role as CRO at SmartBug Media.  Key Takeaways: You have to make hard decisions when it comes to demand generation, having data helps.  Organizations struggle when they don’t have that data - it becomes an emotional decision when data is absent. Use data to tell a story. Failure comes when you’re not aligned across the board. We are still in the early days of the CRO role in organizations, it will change things. But, we are in the early adoption stage of that philosophy. Cross-functional collaboration among teams is starting to emerge. Most people are sitting on a ton of data and they don’t know how to access it or organize it in a way that is useful. Initially it seems hard to justify carving out time to set up data gathering/documenting correctly, but it is worth it to spend the time upfront. Lay the foundation as early as you can.  Job shadowing work - members of the team participating in some of the conversations they might not otherwise, offers great insight and the ability to ask different types of questions of the client.  We don’t sell alone. Leverage members of your team to set better alignment.  Everything needs to roll back up to company goals and initiatives. Then it is about pulling the right levers.  Show Links:  Jen on LinkedIn SmartBug Media website Revenue Collective SDR Nation Work With Catalyst Sale: Listen to our free resource (this podcast) and then put the action items into practice. Share your work with us via Twitter or hello@catalystsale.com Download some of our free resources here Invest in a Catalyst Sale course - self directed. Find our courses here  Thank You  Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. This podcast is brought to you by Catalyst Sale - you can learn more about Catalyst Sale, and the products and services we provide via the following links. Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit

In today's episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Jen Spencer, Chief Revenue Officer at SmartBug Media, Founder and Coach at SDR Nation, as well as an amazing marketer and advocate. I’ve known Jen for a long time and we have an amazing conversation that I didn't really want to end. We talked about teaching, her love of theater, and how the loss of her brother was a defining moment in her life. Enjoy!

On this episode, we talked with Jen Spencer, the CRO at SmartBug Media. She was recently promoted to this role and we will be talking with her about:her path to marketing and the CRO rolehow she views Revenue Operationshow she is measured and how she monitors thata little about tech and tools she relies onRecorded live on March 25, 2021.Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals

In this episode, Keith sits down with Ryan Malone, CEO of Smartbug Media. Ryan had a bold idea in the late 2000s when he launched his new chapter as CEO of a digital marketing firm: What if we were all to work remotely? Maybe not such a bold idea now, especially during these times, but back then, there was plenty of skepticism. Subscribe to the podcast and visit our blog, resources.workable.com for more ways to move your hiring forward.

Sales Operations vs. Revenue Operations is the big topic of 2021. Whether you are a start-up or a Fortune 100 organization. The data matters.We were joined by Salesforce, SmartBug Media, and Paycor to help understand how to build this rocket ship while still flying it. Topics Discussed: Difference between Sales Ops and Revenue Ops. Why sales enablement is critical for a strong RevOps function? Which role comes first in a sales ops hire? How do you measure RevOps success/what metrics make up your KPI’s? How to design the limit between Operations, Analytics and Data Science?

Jen Spencer is the VP of Sales and Marketing with SmartBug Media. Selling Services is a software world is a whole different beast. Selling Services requires being part seller, part consultant and part therapist... trust me, I know as this is my world as well! Jen explores sales leadership in a remote world, battling perceptions and working with partners.  Find Jen Spencer on LinkedIn or at http://smartbugmedia.com

Is it a Tide Commercial?, no it's Amber Kemmis on the If You Market podcast talking about the psychology of Unforgettable Marketing. Amber shares the techniques, tricks, and psychology to making your marketing and brand unforgettable.  Amber Kemmis is the VP of Client Services at the inbound marketing agency SmartBug Media.

Jen Spencer is the VP of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media and a stellar human. In today's episode, Manoj and Jen discuss what kickstarted her career in sales. They touch on her commitment to learning and embracing data, why she ties sales and marketing closely together, her competitive drive, and how to advocate for yourself in the workplace. We are honored to host Jen as our inaugural guest on The Ramped Podcast & How I Sell.

In this episode we continue our conversation (started in Episode 27) all about advanced CSS techniques with my guest Mark Ryba, a senior developer at SmartBug Media with over 6 years of front end development experience in the marketing space. ******************************* Questions Asked ******************************* How does CSS work with Javascript? What are style components? Does CSS support variables or conditional statements? What is a CSS pre-processor? Do you need to compile CSS created with a pre-processor? What are CSS post-processor? Do you normally use CSS pre and. post processors? What does BEM mean and do? What is the CSS box model? How are units handled in CSS? Tell us about the position element. Explain CSS selectors. What are class selectors? What are ID selectors? What are CSS properties? What are contextual selectors? What are CSS sprites? What are pseudo elements? What are mixins? What are vendor prefixes? Should a developer use CSS animation or JS animation? How do you delcare element states in CSS? How do we optimize CSS performance? ******************************* Reference Links ******************************* Mark on Twitter (https://twitter.com/markryba2nd) Mark on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-ryba/) SmartBug Media (https://www.smartbugmedia.com/)

In this episode, I chat all about CSS with my guest Mark Ryba, a senior developer at SmartBug Media who has over 6 years of front end development experience in the marketing space. In his current role he develops middleware microservices, websites and web applications. He’s also very passionate about using advanced CSS techniques to create great user experiences. ******************************* Questions Asked ******************************* Tell us about your background. Define CSS. Why is it called CSS? What's the difference between inline, in file and external CSS? What is the industry best practice when embedding versus external CSS? Can CSS be used for Mobile and iOT devices as well as web? Can CSS be used for animation? What's the difference between plain CSS and a CSS framework? Why do CSS Frameworks exist? What is a grid system in CSS? How does responsive design relate to CSS? What's the float layout? Tell us about Flexbox? Tell us about the Foundation CSS framework? Tell us about Tailwind. Which browser supports which framework? What is prefixing in CSS? What happens to CSS that is not supported by a specific browser in that browser? How do you debug CSS? How do you keep up with the latest in CSS? What do you love the most about CSS? What do you find most challenging with CSS? What would you like to see in CSS 4? ******************************* Reference Links ******************************* SmartBug Media (https://www.smartbugmedia.com/) Mark’s Twitter (https://twitter.com/markryba2nd) HubSpot (https://www.hubspot.com/) CodePen (https://codepen.io/) CSS-Tricks (https://css-tricks.com/) Bootstrap (https://getbootstrap.com/) CanI Use (https://caniuse.com/) BrowserStack (https://www.browserstack.com/)

In this episode of SmartBug on Tap, Jen Spencer shares why SmartBug Media® decided to become HubSpot Advanced CMS Certified.

Your inbound marketing strategy likely took a hit this year thanks to the pandemic. In order to rebound from this, you need to adjust and be agile.  In this episode of AMP Up Your Digital Marketing, Glenn Gaudet speaks with Jen Spencer, VP of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media, an intelligent inbound marketing agency. On the show, they discuss the impact of COVID-19 on inbound marketing, and what her advice is for organizations to adjust, what organizations should do as businesses reopen, and what her takeaways are from this time.   You’ll learn: The impact of COVID-19 on inbound marketing. How to keep your inbound marketing strategy agile. Why it’s important to consistently talk to your customers.

- 03:00 Helping SaaS As An Experienced Full-Service Inbound Agency- 10:55 Clients Moving Towards Owned Media In A More Holistic Approach- 13:50 Identifying The Right Opportunities By Looking At The Data- 15:55 The Right Toolset From A Data Visualization Reporting Perspective- 17:05 Understand The Conversion Rate And Fix The Sieve To Stop Losing Sales And Customers- 19:45 Marketers Are Getting Savvier About SEO- 21:15 Understanding Your Topics And Then Understanding User Intent- 23:15 Experimenting With Content Lenght, Structure and Format- 25:40 The Blink Test For Your Website And Conversion Experiences- 30:00 SaaS Need To Become More Sophisticated About Marketing Automation- 33:00 Sales Teams, Lead Scoring Models And Lead Volume- 35:00 Reducing Churn By Investing In Analytics To Understand User Segments- 36:15 Investing More In Customer Success Solutions  - 38:40 Companies Are More Open To Diversifying Their Approaches To Bringing In New Business- 40:45 Lightning Questions 

There is a lot of talk about Account Based Marketing in the B2B space. To help separate the practical from the fluff, Casey Cheshire, the Host of The Hard Corps Marketing Show, interviewed the top ABM experts to give their insights and dispel all of the ABM myths.  This is a special episode as Casey, joined by the Producer of the show, Christina Anderson, compiled all of the best ABM episodes from the podcast and shared their takeaways and what marketers can do to execute an ABM approach across sales, marketing, and service.   Episodes Discussed: #13 - Journey from Sales to ABM Marketer - Heidi Vandermeer, Manager, Account-Based Marketing, Security Compass #31 - Mastering Account-Based Marketing - Sangram Vajre, Author, Chief Evangelist, & Co-Founder, Terminus #81 - ABM & The Dark Funnel - Latane Conant, CMO, 6Sense #82 - Alignment Through Collaboration - Lauren Mead, CMO, TimeTrade #97 - A Trailblazer's Guide to ABM - Nate Skinner, SVP, Global Marketing Leader for CX, Oracle #110 - ABN Always Be Nurturing - Jen Spencer, VP Sales and Marketing, SmartBug Media #150 - Why ABM is Not a Strategy - Scott Vaughan, Chief Growth Officer, Integrate Inc. #155 - Everyday ABM - Nikki Nixon, Americas Account-Based Marketing Manager, Autodesk #156 - ABM for the Customer Journey - Megan Heuer, Principal, HeuerB2B #157 - Quantifying Marketing for Megadeals - Christopher Engman, CRO & CMO, Proof Analytics   Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anderson-christina/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourfriendCC Megadeals: https://www.amazon.com/Megadeals-Johan-Aberg/dp/919855722X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=megadeals&qid=1593085000&sr=8-1 Marketing Automation Unleashed: https://go.cheshireimpact.com/book ABM is B2B: https://www.amazon.com/Abm-Is-B2B/dp/194085895X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2Z0PLI1QFY0GF&dchild=1&keywords=abm+is+b2b&qid=1593084976&sprefix=abm+is+%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-2   Shout Outs: 30:15 Lauren Mead 35:39 Logan Childs 1:17:00 Jennifer Lynn Schneider 1:23:02 Darryl Praill   Ways to Tune In: iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-show/id1338838763 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1vVLpNI1LssMTiL6Kdsamn Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-show Google Play - https://play.google.com/music/m/Im7mytmu2wa2mekhoeixlja5hpe?t=The_Hard_Corps_Marketing_Show YouTube - Full video - https://youtu.be/dQTo3dzWTBQ  

Learn more about SmartBug Media here! - https://www.smartbugmedia.com/   Find HomeSmart's podcast. iTunes: https://apple.co/2xjtOyF Spotify: https://spoti.fi/31YSElK Google Play: https://bit.ly/30Jw8fc YouTube: https://bit.ly/2XcbGGg   Follow HomeSmart. Instagram: https://bit.ly/320HY5N Facebook: https://bit.ly/2JgK5d9 LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/2XcdIlb Twitter: https://bit.ly/2BGAkCT   Interested in joining HomeSmart? Enroll here! https://JoinHomeSmart.com

I think we’re all wondering what our new normal is going to be after COVID-19. Personally, I don’t think everyone is going to go back to the office. Remote work won’t necessarily become the norm, but it’s going to become way more common. So what can we expect? SmartBug Media has been fully remote for 10+ years and I recently had the chance to chat with Ryan Malone about all things remote work. Some key takeaways? Being productive is one thing, but you need to actively encourage people to connect on a personal level. Some people are just better suited for remote work than others. After hiring for a remote company for 10+ years, Ryan shared some great tips on what to look for. Transparency and trust are always important but the importance is magnified when remote. The conversation ran the full gamut, but an analogy he used really drove home the overall message to me. You know when someone moves away and people will say they drifted apart. Well...most of the time they drifted because they didn’t put in the effort. As a remote company, you need to put in the extra effort. About our guest: Ryan is CEO & Founder of SmartBug Media, a leading Intelligent Inbound marketing agency with a unique 100% remote business model. He enjoys the gym, live music, people watching, and playing terrible guitar. Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/ryanmalone/ Resources: How to be a Great Remote Manager (Inc. Article) SmartBug's Knowledge Centre

Less than two months ago, more than 1,300 B2B marketing and sales executives converged to learn, network and get inspired at the 2020 B2B Marketing Exchange. The novel coronavirus was a mere blip in the news headlines. Needless to say, a lot has changed since we all gathered in Scottsdale, Arizona. For the season two premiere of the B2BMX Podcast, our co-hosts, Alicia Esposito and Klaudia Tirico, reflect on the event and how B2B has had to pivot since COVID-19 swept the globe. Jon Russo, Founder and CMO of B2B Fusion, and Jen Spencer, VP of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media, join the conversation to share how their conversations and priorities have changed since the event.

Today’s guest is Jen Spencer - Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media. Jen runs a series of weekly podcasts called “SmartBug on Tap” with thousands of listeners. Over her career, Jen has built demand generation and sales enablement programs from the ground up and has experience working within tech startups, publicly traded companies, mid-market organizations. Michael and Jen talk about: the role of the podcast in modern b2b, Jen’s experience in starting and growing a podcast, and what makes a good podcast great. Enjoy listening!

After a marketer puts in the work to send a lead over to sales, is there job finished, so they can move onto generating more leads?  A Marketer, Podcast Host, named one of the Top Sales Women to Watch in 2019, and the VP, Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media, Jen Spencer, challenges marketers to continue to nurture their buyers along every step of the buyer's journey. A marketer's job is never done. This episode is full of strategy for marketing to partner with sales, takeaways on podcasts in marketing, and career advice for every marketer. Check it out!   Takeaways: If you are supporting people where they are in their buyer's journey with your content, you should never stop nurturing them. “Just because you have lead nurture campaigns set up does not mean they are good.” - Jen Spencer Set goals for your nurture campaigns then analyze them, for what's working and what you can improve. Marketers, listen to what sales tells you. Are you sending too much of one message or too little of another? Take the time to target your messaging, what works for one segment of your database, may not work for the next. Have a strong arsenal of valuable content and tools that the client can use to do their job better. If you're offering an incentive, make sure that it is relevant to your buyer. Marketing should work with sales to create nurture campaigns catered to each opportunity stage. For example, if an opportunity is stalled, what can marketing do to help that deal move through the pipeline? Podcasts help build relationships at scale, with people that listen to them and with the people interviewed on the show. Using the download data from a podcast can be an indicator for what content is valuable and popular to your audience. Sales is harder than most people think. Jen's advice to marketers for working with sales: “Think about how you can make it easier for sales to be effective in helping that person transition from being in the hands of marketing into the hands of sales.” - Jen Spencer You are worth more than you think you are and you know more than you think you do. Do not create non-existent barriers for yourself. Marketers need to sit on more sales calls, especially in their early career, they will learn so much.   Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenspencer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenspencer SmartBug Media: https://www.smartbugmedia.com/ Podcast: SmartBug. On tap: https://www.smartbugmedia.com/podcast B2B Marketing Exchange: https://b2bmarketing.exchange/speakers/jen-spencer/   Busted Myths: Marketing should stop nurturing leads when they become an opportunity. - This is NOT the case, marketing should be nurturing buyers throughout the entire journey. The messaging and content should be purposed specifically to match each stage of the buyer's journey.   Shout Outs: 13:12 AtriumHQ  

I'm happy to report that the SmartBugs are all back in our respective cities after a few of us were in Boston last week for HubSpot's INBOUND 2019 conference.    We had a great time visiting with everyone there and really walked away with some great key takeaways.    One of the highlights for me was the launch of HubSpot’s frictionless selling framework. The framework is a road map to reducing friction and improving the effectiveness of your sales team.   So, on this episode of SmartBug on Tap I’m walking you through the framework and how we’re applying it here at SmartBug Media. 

Today we are talking about building a high scale remote company.  Try this on for size, a 75-person company without an office! The advantages are different than you might think yet you really must be mindful of who you are hiring.   A remote workforce is a time to talent advantage not a save money advantage Today’s Quote: “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” — Stephen Covey Guest Bio: Ryan Malone is the CEO of SmartBug Media, which he founded to give clients amazing results and employees a lifetime of memories. Before SmartBug, Ryan ran marketing at several venture-backed and public companies. Ryan enjoys the gym, live music, people watching, and playing terrible guitar. He lives in Orange County with his wife and two amazing daughters.   Show Highlights: Challenges & benefits of a remote organization The importance of cultural fit Interview structure for hiring remote employees Challenges: Why?? Building a business is hard enough. Why make it more difficult by building a remote business?  Be part of the team and be part of the family Hire better and faster by being able to hire talent from around the country Only option to build the tribe  Talent Strategy: Recruit ahead- create a waiting list. Always interviewing.   Building a Marketing culture:  People are bought in when they join Structure work culture  Deep challenging relationships  First people hired should be a marketing/pr person. Attract people who are already qualified to the process.  Peer-based reference reviews prior to the interview. Inbound recruiting, skill survey Video submissions Benefits of building a remote workforce: The talent pool is vast Work/ life integration-  Flexibility  The world will not end if you are not at your desk Interview process: Inbound resume flow (into ATS) No headhunting ATS- kicks out instructions to make a video to submit  Schedule an interview All video interviews, mix of behavioral interviewing One person focuses on skills, values, tools, cultural Look for Clean work environment, evidence of value, perseverance, curiosity Are you an additive to the culture? Interview structure:  A 30-minute call with everyone on the team Flexible work model Psychological permission be available for your customers/ team but the schedule  Key Takeaways: Hire marketing & pr first Use video as a screening tool Reference peer review early in the process Designate people to be experts in the interview process Always be interviewing

On this episode of SmartBug on Tap, I’m talking about how marketers can better prepare their sales team for a campaign launch. And since my role oversees both marketing and sales, this topic is near and dear to me.   As you can imagine, our internal sales and marketing alignment is extremely tight here at SmartBug Media. So, I thought you'd appreciate hearing the way we roll out a marketing campaign and what types of enablement resources we provide our sales team. 

Today it can be challenging to figure out how to bring together the right strategy, creativity, technology, and talent to realize an ROI on your firm's inbound marketing initiatives. Ryan Malone, Founder and CEO of SmartBug Media, joined us on the Critical Mass Radio Show and Podcast to share his experience, knowledge, and expertise with helping firms figure out the right marketing strategy for them.

In this week's episode, Jen Spencer of SmartBug Media joins us to talk about team. She describes, in detail, a good, authentic approach to creating a "team." According to Jen, you should build a team that compliments your own strength and overshadows your weaknesses. Her advice is to stay close to the Market, close to your staff, and find ways to level your people and compensate for their weaknesses. If you can do these things, you can build the right team to spur growth.

On the latest episode, Glenn Gaudet chats with Jen Spencer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media. Jen is also a board member at GIrls in Tech Phoenix, a global non-profit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology. In this podcast you will learn about: The importance of personal branding as well as company branding How to keep an authentic voice with your personal brand Finding your comfort zone vs trying new social media avenues Coaching employees to hit social goals on top of sales goals When to take risks in digital marketing Connect with Jen via Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Shawnna Sumaoang: Hi, and welcome to the Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I am Shawnna Sumaoang. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space, and we are here to help professionals stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices so they can be more effective in their jobs. Our guest today is Jen Spencer, VP of sales and marketing at SmartBug Media where she leads the sales, marketing, and brand strategy. Throughout her career, she has built many sales enablement programs from scratch and we are so excited to be hearing from her today. Jen Spencer: Of course, of course. I love it. SS: So, I want to jump a little bit over to the conversation that you led at the Sales Enablement Soiree. We really kind of had you focused on the content component. In the panel, you had actually mentioned that the lines are starting to blur between marketing content and enablement content. I would love your opinion on how they differ and then also how they work together. Jen Spencer: So I think when you’re creating content, you should be thinking about that buyer’s journey, so they’re moving through stages of awareness, consideration, decision, and then you’re getting into evangelism. And there is content that is more appropriate in some stages than they are in others. So, that’s when we see something like a blog that is very educational is going to be something that is more an awareness stage piece of content because you are just trying to attract people based on a pain they’re having. If you are talking about consideration stage content, now someone knows they have pain, they have to figure out if they want to do anything about it, and the option is always still no, I’m not going to do anything about it. So, if you’re trying to show them that there’s a better way, then you’re still continuing to educate them not just on your product or your solution, but on what happens if you don’t do anything. And then into decision, decision I think gets split into kind of two different areas. It’s intent and then actual decision. So, the intent is “I know I have a problem, I’ve recognized that there’s a solution, now I have to figure out which solution I am going to select.” So, if that solution is on software, now there are five different companies that do the same thing, and then kind of deciding to move forward with an organization. So, why do I explain all this? I’m explaining all this because everyone moves through that buyer journey at a different pace and with a different level of understanding. So, if I have previously purchased – let’s use, for example, I’m going to pick on Gong again – call recording software. This is a purchase I recently made and I have previously purchased that software. So, my buyer journey was very different the second time around than it was the first time that I purchased that. The first time I was stressed out about the legality, I was stressed out about how exactly it was going to function, that was what I was worried about. The second time around, I already knew all of that. I felt comfortable with it. But earlier on in my buyer journey, I wanted to get into the weeds of what the product actually did, and I didn’t want to talk to a sales rep. So, whereas in my first time buying that software it was more appropriate for the sales rep to be educating me on the functionality of the product. My second time around, I wanted that information a lot quicker. I think that’s where we’re seeing the marketing demand gen content and the sales enablement content kind of blur. It is based off of where that customer is in that person’s journey, and there is nothing about the number of visits I’ve made to your website or my job title that will tell you I’ve already purchased software like this before and I’m not at the 12th grade level, I’m at the Ph.D. level of this purchase. SS: You mentioned this at the Soiree as well, so I wanted to dive into it. That’s the follow on question. But you mentioned how sales and marketing leaders are struggling to meet buyers where they are in their buyers’ journey and you called out some great points there. How do you think enablement can really help address that issue though? JS: We need to, first of all, make sure that we are providing customers with access to the types of tools or resources that they are looking for, and the fact is that in a digital world it’s really easy to make things available to people and kind of test and see what works and what doesn’t and turns things on and turn things off. So, let’s say there was some kind of a calculator-type tool or some kind of resource that you were previously kind of keeping to yourself and you weren’t making it more publicly available, what’s the harm in making it publicly available? Actually, you can start to gather some data on how that sort of resource is used, for example. The other piece is making sure you are providing your sales reps and anybody really, for that matter, who is interacting with customers, so your customer success team, and we’re talking about sales reps and picking on them. Your customer success team probably has some upsell goals and churn goals as well, so we need to be enabling them and making it very easy for them to connect pain or connect opportunity with the right kind of content or material that the customer would need. We need to make it easy for the customer on their own to find it but then also that the sales rep or customer success rep or whatever role that is, that person has easy quick access to what is going to help them serve the customer better. I think we are not as forthcoming culturally about how hard it is because we sometimes we come into the “check the box” culture. We were just talking about this internally. Here at SmartBug, our own knowledge base, for example, has gone through multiple different iterations. And we still are not satisfied. We haven’t found the solution that really makes it effortless, as effortless as possible, for our team to get the information they need to properly serve our prospects and our customers. So it’s something that we are constantly iterating on. Now, I happen to work for a company that doesn’t mind being five or six months into something and going, “hey, this isn’t working, let’s change it.” But I also recognize that’s not the norm. So, being comfortable with cutting the line on projects that you’ve started or maybe investments that you made that you thought were going to make sense, and just really tracking what’s become actually useful and being really honest about how useful it is. You should be able to log into systems and you should be able to see how many times a certain piece of content or a certain resource has been used and by whom. And if it’s not being used, is it a training issue or is it a system issue? SS: That’s perfect. That’s great feedback and absolutely true. I also want to ask, and this is deviating a little bit but just knowing your background with Allbound, I would love to just get your take on the difference between kind of direct sales enablement and then channel sales enablement. What are some of the challenges that are unique to the channel sector? JS: Channel has been really interesting for me because I worked at Allbound, right, where it was a true enablement and sales product for channel. Before that, I ran marketing at an organization that sold 80% of its business through channel, so I was on that end of it. And now, I’m in a position where I am a channel partner of many organizations and it is painful. It is very, very painful. I mean I kind of knew, but now I really know. So, the biggest thing is – and I’ve said this before but it’s still very, very true – you need to treat those channel partner sales reps like they are your sales reps. They need to be an extension of your team. So what I’ve noticed is, well, here’s the pricing documentation and rules of engagement we have for our internal team, but we don’t share that with our partners. Well, why? That doesn’t make any sense. So you really need to treat your partners like they are part of your team and make it easy for them to access resources that are necessary. There is an organization I am a partner with. Just today I said, “I just want to verify that this is the most accurate pricing document” and he said, “you know what, no, we rolled out a new one.” Luckily I asked because otherwise, I would be setting both myself and my partner rep over there up for failure because I’d be sharing – in this case, the pricing increased – so I would be sharing a lower price point with this potential customer who is then going to get blindsided by an additional price. It is going to position me as not really knowing what I am talking about. Ultimately, they would end up wanting a discount because they knew that other price had existed at some point, which they should ask for. So, I think that’s one of the hardest things that I see also for partners. Partners are typically partnering with many organizations and it is easy to forget that you’re not the only one. I mean, we are partnered with so many technology companies that I had to create a whole separate sales pipeline in our CRM to keep track of all of the referrals we are doing because we had no system of record for checking as a whole what commissions we were owed or what stage things were at. We are working with direct reps at all of these different organizations. So, I had to create a custom field in the deal record so I can keep track of the individual rep and I can kind of report on that because I’ve got my CEO who’s asking me about it, who’s saying yes, it’s great for us on paper to say we’re partnering with these companies, but what is it doing for us bottom line-wise? And these are all separate organizations, so there’s no one tool that’s going to come and solve all this. It is tough, and I think the thing that organizations need to do is have some empathy for those partners, understand kind of what they are going through, and try to make it as easy as possible for them to get access to the resources that they need, and never be in a position where they are going, “do I have the most accurate this, or the most updated that?” That should never be a question. SS: Absolutely, absolutely. Expanding beyond channel and because you raised this earlier before, and it’s an interesting topic around doing enablement beyond sales. I’m curious to hear your perspective, though, on if sales enablement, no matter where they sit, does span the entire go-to-market team. It seems like it would be challenging because all of those different functions execute relatively differently. Like, how do you enable marketing and how do you enable customer success in ways that are similar but different from the way that you have to enable your sales reps? JS: It’s a really good question, and it is something that we deal with regularly in our organization. Mostly, that’s because I have three sales reps who are responsible for bringing on new business but we have like 35 strategists who are basically in a customer success type of role that are working day in and day out with customers, and are responsible for keeping them as customers and growing them as customers and what have you. And those people aren’t salespeople by nature, right? They’re not at all. That’s not what we’re hiring for in that position. So, what we do is we do have that knowledge base that I mentioned. It is a little sick, so it’s not ideal. But we do have kind of a knowledge base where we are keeping track of all of our processes and those resources, but then we are doing kind of spin-off trainings that are very, very focused depending on the role, and that is something that we just recognized that we have to do as an organization. Some of the core material might be the same regardless of what their function is, but there are going to be scenarios, there is going to be training with different role-playing, there are going to be just different situations, so it behooves us to just dedicate some separate time for those particular functions. SS: Thanks for listening. For more insights, tips and expertise from sales enablement leaders, visit salesenablement.pro. If there is something you would like to share or a topic you want to know more about, let us know. We would love to hear from you.

Shawnna Sumaoang: Hi, and welcome to the Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I am Shawnna Sumaoang. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space, and we are here to help professionals stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices so they can be more effective in their jobs. Our guest today is Jen Spencer, VP of sales and marketing at SmartBug Media where she leads the sales, marketing, and brand strategy. Throughout her career, she has built many sales enablement programs from scratch and so we are really excited to have her here with us on this podcast. Jen, I’m so glad that you’re here. You have a ton of experience in this space, coming from companies that have served the sales enablement space and also simply being a VP of sales and marketing which really kind of is at that intersection of sales enablement. So, as you know, we’ve seen increased visibility and necessity for sales enablement and I think that it’s a growing trend that we’ve both been watching over the last few years. Do you see this momentum continuing and where do you think things are going in the future for the discipline of sales enablement? Jen Spencer: I definitely think the momentum is continuing for sales enablement. I think one of the biggest challenges that I am seeing or hearing from companies is where does that function live? And is it something that is part of the sales function, the marketing function, or is it its own standalone function inside of an organization given that it is part of revenue operations as a whole? I feel like people seem to get stuck there on where it should live inside an organization versus just getting some of it done. But it is really critical because of the way that customers are buying, because of the way customers are consuming information, and also because of how easy it is for customers to get access to information, making sure that if you’re a sales rep, you have to be able to add value to the experience that the customer is already having on their own. It used to be that a lot of information was secret and hidden from customers, then sales would reveal it. That’s just not the case anymore. So, now what are we doing to allow sales reps to meet the customer where he or she is and then actually help move them forward in the process. I think that’s where a lot of the needs around sales enablement are coming from. That and, especially in the technology space, when you are selling a really complex product or service, there is an increased need for sales enablement material for sales teams and marketing teams to help buyers get the right information that makes sense to them. SS: Yes, that’s phenomenal. So, there are two things. Actually, I would already love to kind of deviate already away from the questions a little bit. Just given your role that you oversee sales and marketing, I would love for you to play devil’s advocate on both sides about where sales enablement should report into because that is a question we get a lot too. What does the ideal sales enablement org structure look like? I would love to hear from your perspective. Maybe take the position of both. What are the pros and cons of having it on the sales side of the house vs. marketing, and vice versa? JS: The pro of having it live in sales is that your sales leadership and the sales teams are going to have customer conversations at the forefront of their minds. You could grab any sales leader or individual contributor right now and they are going to be able to tell you in great detail about the conversation that they just had with the potential customer, and that is invaluable. So, if you have access to that kind of information then you can easily identify and prioritize what types of enablement materials or tools are going to be most beneficial for helping you and your team achieve your goals. Because at the end of the day, yes, we want to help people, but we want to help people spend their money with us, right? We’re all trying to sell something. I think that’s probably the only benefit of it living in sales. It’s that you’re so close to that pain and so you are experiencing it first-hand. The benefit of it living in marketing is that in marketing, you’re crafting the message, you are creating demand. Now, marketing organizations are different, so let’s say in a modern marketing organization, you are crafting the message, you are creating demand, you are positioning your company as a thought leader, you are sharing materials and messages with your customers. Adding on the role of sales enablement is a very natural extension of what you are already doing. It is the next step in that customer’s buying journey. There is a lot that kind of straddles demand generation and sales enablement, so there are some blurred lines there. The problem with it living in marketing is if the marketing team doesn’t really have access to those data points that I mentioned that are critical for sales. If they don’t really understand what the sales culture is like, what the sales process is like, the types of situations that the sales team is running up against, if they don’t have access to that or they don’t have an interest in it for some reason, then it’s not going to work to have sales enablement live in marketing. I have always been the kind of leader who, even with my marketing brain, was listening to call recording. My favorite button to click on inside of a tool like Gong is questions that the customer was asking. First of all, those are keywords I should be building for from a demand gen and from an inbound marketing perspective. But then these are also how can I help my sales team get ahead of these questions by creating sales enablement material for them so that we can address any of those questions that our prospects are having head-on and then leave time during the discovery call for more in-depth business discovery. SS: That’s amazing. I think that’s great advice on how to help bridge that gap between sales and marketing, and I think sales enablement is absolutely key to that. Is there any other advice that you would have along the same lines around better alignment between sales and marketing via sales enablement that you might have for organizations? JS: I mean, communication is the biggest thing, and it just sounds so generic. But if you’re not in a role where I am where you have one foot inside of each department, then you have to have that really tight communication and rapport and I have had that. I have been in an organization where I was the marketing leader and I worked collaboratively with the sales leader, so I know exactly what that feels like. And this was the day of no open plans, this was the day of true offices. But our offices were right next door to each other. We could hear each other through the thin walls. But that worked so well because it was constant ping-pong back and forth. Even today in my role I have now, I work with a client services leader who is on the delivery team, runs the delivery team. And we are back and forth all the time, like multiple times a day. So, you have to have that level of communication and trust, and I think my biggest piece of advice is to get to know each other as human beings. There is a difference between somebody who you can be real with, you can grab a coffee or a drink with, and you want to sit and eat lunch with. You’re going to be honest with that person vs. somebody who you are meeting with once a week or once a month or whatever it is because it has been dictated by the CEO and it is in your job description. So, I know you don’t want to say everyone has to be friends, but it does work a lot better if you like each other, and if you invest in that personal kind of relationship together. SS: Absolutely. I can 100% relate to that just with my own experience. Going back to the question around where sales enablement should report into, I’m sure you’ve also heard this, having been in our space for a while, but a lot of sales enablement practitioners are now making the case that they should report directly into the C-suite, so a lot are making the case that they should be reporting into a C-level executive, whether it’s the CEO or COO. I am curious from you if you think that is the right level for sales enablement practitioners to be reporting into, given the maturity of the market today? JS: I think if in an organization the sales enablement function needs to report up to the C-suite, then my gut says there’s something broken between sales and marketing. I can see why in an organization it might make the most sense and might be necessary, but I think it’s a symptom of a larger issue. SS: Got it. That makes a ton of sense. I think the other thing that we hear from a lot of sales enablement practitioners, and I’m sure you have too, is that they struggle to get buy-in, particularly executive buy-in, to a lot of their initiatives. Do you have any advice for sales enablement professionals that are trying to seek buy-in from a VP of sales or a VP of marketing and how they should go about doing that? JS: Use data. I mean, that’s really it. Because any time you’re asking for some kind of investment of time or resources, you have to be able to say what the potential ROI is. So, use data that you have to show things that your team cares about. Most organizations care about deal velocity; how can we shorten the sales cycle. They care about higher average deal size. They care about how many resources did it take to acquire, like, what was the acquisition cost of this customer? So, those are the metrics. If those are the metrics that your organization lives and breathes by, and I would almost guarantee that those metrics are in any spreadsheet on any sales or marketing leader’s computer across the software space. So, you have to speak that language. If you have nothing then you have to try a very small task, like a very small pilot group, even if you’re just grabbing one or two reps. And you’re doing it in addition to your regular job. You’re doing it on the fly. You’re working extra hours, doing whatever you need to do to get it done to be able to collect enough data to be able to then go and use that to share your compelling story. I think if you try to request resources without having data, if I was the CEO, I would shoot you down. You’re asking me to deviate from what is our normal process and what our normal budget is, so I have to see compelling proof as to why this is going to be effective. SS: Thanks for listening. For more insights, tips and expertise from sales enablement leaders, visit salesenablement.pro. If there is something you would like to share or a topic you want to know more about, let us know. We would love to hear from you.

We started a podcast about all things marketing. Why? Well, because everyone has a party trick, even our VP of Marketing and Sales at SmartBug Media. Here’s her party trick: providing insanely tactical marketing advice. Each episode, Jen Spencer will share truly tactical solutions around all things marketing, such as lead generation, account engagement, brand loyalty, marketing automation… you get the idea. This week Jen unfolds her ideas, and gives you a taste of what’s to come.

Brooke Tomasetti is a 25-year-old Social Media Strategist at SmartBug Media, a 100% remote marketing agency. She's been full-time remote for 2.5 years, and has created her ideal lifestyle: Traveling for months at a time while also having a home base to return to in her favorite New England city, Providence, RI. Learn how she has designed her dream life through avid personal finance, “house hacking” her first multifamily investment property, and being intentional about her career path. Connect with Brooke here! Instagram: @bhtomasetti

Ryan Malone, Founder and CEO of SmartBug Media, an inbound marketing agency, HubSpot Diamond Partner, and winner of more than 100 awards, founded his company on this premise:  That clients would be best served by providing them with marketing strategists who had in-the-trenches P&L, product launch, skin-in-the-game experience and an understanding of the impacts of wrong decisions. Ryan started his career leading marketing teams for publicly traded and early-stage technology companies. He saw agencies that threw any available talent at the strategic function – using interns, copywriters, and graphic designers to develop marketing plans, then blaming poor performance on his company's failure to provide the correct inputs for the marketing agencies' “whiz-bang” strategic processes. Ryan wanted to build his agency with the best veteran marketers he could find. But, how could he do that in Orange County, CA, where local talent would be limited to those who would be willing to drive in community that ranks first nationally in stressful (nightmarish) commutes? Ryan decided to hire the best-fit marketers for his agency, regardless of location, and to put his strategists front row with clients, instead of interjecting “account managers” into the company-client relationship. Today, his company has almost 60 employees, all completely remote . . .located in 25 states and 2 provinces. He warns that the idea that companies will save money by hiring remote employees is a misconception – the cost savings of not having physical facilities is more than offset by the added costs of building a strong team and company culture. Every year, SmartBug brings all the employees and their families together at a top West Coast resort for a training, team-building, quality-time event, SmartBugaplooza. Ryan believes the quality of talent he has been able to acquire through hiring remote is a strategic advantage – but, focusing on culture is critical to making the long distance relationships work. Another practice that Ryan has found to be effective is that he interviews prospective new employees ahead of need (SmartBug is always hiring) and queues up candidates with scheduled onboarding. Again, his hiring field is not local . . . it's all of North America . . .and having potential hires “ready” means he is not forced into making potentially risky “emergency hires.” Ryan also explains why it is important to establish corporate policies when a company is small. Ryan talked about growing his agency and covered some of what is in this interview in more depth when he presented “Building a Remote Agency at Scale: The Big Decisions You Will Face and Must Conquer” at Hubspot's Inbound 2018 conference. Ryan can be reached on his company website at: smartbugmedia.com, by email at: ryan@smartbugmedia.com, and on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmalone

Sales enablement helps sales reps progress faster and overcome roadblocks to closing more deals. Sales enablement leaders are bridging the gap between sales and marketing ensuring knowledge about a customer acquired in the marketing department gets transfered to sales reps. What is the role of efficient sales enablement? In this episode you will listen to Jen Spencer, a VP of Sales and Marketing for SmartBug Media who is going to share her insights on approach to sales enablement from both sides - sales and marketing.Download free materials to this episode: www.salesleaderstalks.com/podcast/how-effective-sales-enablement-helps-your-reps-reach-quotas

Get first access to How to Think (and Act) Like an Entreprenpreur. Go to https://roadmaptofreedom.co/entrepreneurial-mindset Ryan Malone spent the first years of his career as a marketing manager and VP of marketing across several technology companies. But in 2007, Ryan took the leap into entrepreneurship and founded SmartBug Media, an inbound marketing firm with a current team of 50 full-time employees. He claims much of their success to the process-driven nature of how they drive results for their customers. In 2008, due to a sudden life-change he became aware of the need for elder care and the negative stereotypes surrounding it. So he founded Inside Elder Care, where he spent the next five years researching and sharing resources. In this conversation, we discuss: Why all managing should be driven from metrics The true value of online and offline content marketing strategies Why looking at your competition is a waste of time Now, let's hack... Ryan Malone.

Don't miss this week's guest, Jen Spencer, VP of Sales & Marketing at SmartBug Media.  We'll be live at 11:30 PST Thurs. 1/4.  Check back here for the recording no later than 1/8/18 and read the transcript on the Heinz Marketing blog on Mon. 1/15/18.   We'll talk about:  How to enable your entire go-to-market team: Best practices and advice to increase conversion rates and sales success Some Highlights: Intelligent Inbound - Data-oriented - Not just blogs and whitepapers -- web design, PR, sales enablement, creative working together to grow revenue and marketing ROI - Importance of the marketing to sales handoff with inbound - Evolution of public relations; how to use it to enhance inbound strategy MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST:  Jen Spencer is Vice President, Sales & Marketing for SmartBug Media, a leading intelligent inbound marketing agency that assists businesses in generating leads; increasing awareness; and building brand loyalty through inbound marketing, digital strategy, design, marketing automation, and PR. Prior to her role at SmartBug, Jen was the VP of Sales and Marketing at Allbound, a partner sales acceleration software-as-a-service solution provider. She was responsible for developing and executing an inbound demand generation strategy, raising brand and market awareness for Allbound, and channel sales and marketing. She helped the company reach 50 percent growth in year-over-year traffic and a 363 percent increase in sales leads. While serving as Director of Marketing at nettime solutions, acquired by Paychex in June 2014, Jen developed and executed an inbound lead generation and content marketing strategy while supporting a channel of referral, reseller, co-branded, and white-labeled partners. Through her role, the company saw a 103 percent increase in website traffic, a 415 percent increase in direct sales leads, and an 89 percent increase in revenue. Whether she's writing a blog, delivering a speech, interviewing clients or managing agency relationships, aligning with her audience is always at the forefront of her mind. Jen subscribes to the notion that “we're all in this together,” and great communication leads to great partnership.  In her free time, Jen serves on the Board of Girls in Tech - Phoenix, a local chapter of the global non-profit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology.  If you get to know Jen, you'll discover she loves animals, technology, the arts, and really good Scotch. She's also the mother of twin teenage boys which means there's likely a lone dirty sock in every room of her house.

Doreen Clark, Director of Public Relations at SmartBug Media, shares some of her secrets to generating great press coverage, coaching executives to communicate more effectively, and the intertwining of PR and Marketing.  Media relations: According to Doreen, public relations is a powerful tool and that we should, “Communicate in a way that is not just beneficial for us, but also for the people we’re reaching out to.” This forms a trifecta of solid media relations that comes together when we understand and communicate: What our audience needs to learn, The information reporters need to know to cover the story, and What we want to deliver for our company or client. She notes that, for media relations professionals, it’s easy to deliver the facts that journalists need. But journalists also need us to offer an opinion, because that helps them craft stories with perspective and emotion. Media training: Doreen has trained a lot of senior executives to be better spokespeople for their organizations. When she provides media training for senior executives, some of the key lessons include: Coaching leaders on speaking to the common person, by using language they can understand. Executives are used to speaking with other experts in their industry; they frequently use jargon and technical language that the man on the street might not understand. Shifting their focus to be able to communicate with those who are not experts in their industry takes work, but helps them be much better communicators. Helping executives learn to speak in soundbites during interviews. Long-winded, detailed explanations allow the speaker to be precise, but they run the risk of losing control of the messages that will come through in the final news report. Making the information digestible by giving clear, but concise quotes, helps ensure their most important messages are included in the story. Everyone is a spokesperson: In an age of social media and 24-hour news cycles, everyone connected to an organization essentially is a spokesperson. Having a strategic plan, in which everybody knows their role and what they are expected to do, is key to success in public relations. Doreen also recommends that we identify the subject matter experts in our organization, train them to be effective spokespeople, and that will lead to more opportunities to engage the media. It’s important for communication in an organization to be “by all, for all” and not just downward from managers. Working with freelance writers: When asked what she is most excited about, Doreen said that working with freelance writers has become a secret weapon. Her force-multiplier tip is to build relationships with freelance writers. It’s common for them to write for many different media outlets, both online and off. These relationships can help us get more coverage, if they are willing to share the work they do for us with their contacts in these outlets. Merging PR and marketing: Looking into the future, Doreen expects that “Public relations and marketing will become even more intertwined and might become synonymous.” She sees a blurring of the lines already, with paid advertising taking the form of earned editorial coverage. She sees a future in which PR will have more pay-to-play coverage, as advertising does now. While such changes could present signification challenges for those currently working in both PR and marketing, it could have certain beneficial effects, as it will drive improvements on both sides. For example, she notes that, “PR measurement tools are getting better and will eventually be on par with marketing measurement.” “ Doreen also sees a future in which podcasts and videos that are engaging, but brief, will become more important. After all, journalists need things to write about and to share as examples within their articles. Lesson learned: When asked what she knows now that would have been good to know when starting her career, Doreen said, “You don’t have to be everything to everyone; hone your craft; it’s okay to specialize.” Quotable quotes: “If you really pay attention, you can become an expert in anything.” “Relationships are everything.” “Stay up to date on your craft; you have to always be a learner.” “PR is necessary, 100%.” “PR is about elevating reputation and building credibility.”

Over the past few years, organizations have wrestled with the concept of remote employment - having employees who work from home. Much has been written about the effectiveness of the remote worker, and how to lead a remote - or virtual - team. A recent Gallup study revealed that more Americans are working remotely, yet not all industries and organizations have embraced the concept. As many companies struggle to find the sweet spot, one organization has gone all in with a 100% remote workforce, and it’s been a big success. SmartBug Media is an award-winning, full-service inbound marketing agency with clients in several industries. Its CEO founded SmartBug to provide clients with outstanding results while offering employees a fulfilling life outside the office. SmartBug Media CEO Ryan Malone joins us today to discuss how a fully remote workforce can produce winning results. Learn how the William and Mary Center for Corporate Education can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.

  Our guest this week is Jen Spencer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media. She believes that the best way to have a presence online is to have a presence in-person. Her inbound marketing strategies will open your eyes to new ways of getting attention AND portraying your best online identity. 3:13 - Jen explains her love of scotch 6:17 - What is "intelligent inbound marketing?" 9:15 - The difference between a marketing novice and revenue generating marketing professional 12:00 - How to stay on top of your prospecting pipeline when buyer trends change so quickly. 17:50 - "Your digital presence is an extension of your in-person presence." 24:50 - "The more you understand the way people communicate, the better off you're going to be as a sales person."    

In this episode we talk to Jen Spencer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SmartBug Media.

Guest - Jen Spencer - Vice President of Sales & Marketing, SmartBug Media Jen Spencer joins us on the Catalyst Sale Podcast this week to discuss partners - where to start, what works, common errors, and how to reduce risk.  Mike and I also share our experience with partners, both as a partner and a company looking for partners. Jen shares her expertise, and fills in the blanks.Partners can accelerate your path to revenue.  They can open up new markets, and provide an opportunity to test feasibility and fit. Questions we address How do you identify good partners? When is it time to exit a partnership? What should a partner on-boarding program include? Why might you choose a partner approach? What are some of the common errors when building a partner program? Key Takeaways Begin with the end in mind (This is an ongoing theme that most listeners will recognize) Treat your partners like you would treat your direct sales team Continue to evaluate success and adapt the relationship as necessary. Thank you for sharing this episode.  If you like what you heard, please provide a rating and/or review via Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.Show LinksJen's LinkedIn Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenspencer/ Jen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenspencer SmartBug Media - https://www.smartbugmedia.com/ Girls in Tech - https://phoenix.girlsintech.org/ ---------------------- Thank you Thank you for rating and reviewing the podcast via iTunes, Google Play, or your favorite podcast platform.  Ratings & reviews help others discover the podcast - thank you for helping us get the message out to the community. Please send listener questions and feedback to hello@catalystsale.com or contact us directly on twitter, facebook or LinkedIn. Catalyst Sale Service Offerings Growth Acceleration - Plateau Breakthrough Product Market Fit ---------------------- Subscribe to the Catalyst Sale Podcast Subscribe via iTunes Subscribe via Google Play Catalyst Sale In every business, in every opportunity, there is someone who can help you navigate the internal challenges and close the deal.  There is a Catalyst.  We integrate process (Catalyst Sale Process), technology and people, with the purpose of accelerating revenue. Our thoughtful approach minimizes false starts that are common in emerging markets and high-growth environments. We continue to evolve our practice based on customer needs and emerging technology. We care about a thinking process that enables results versus a process that tells people what to do.   Sales is a Thinking Process.

Are you trying to grow a large inbound agency with a remote team? If so, this is the episode for you! Listen to Gray's conversation with Ryan Malone, CEO of SmartBug Media!