This episode features an interview with Narine Galstian, CMO at SADA, an IT Services and Consulting company that helps customers move to the cloud and then innovate and explore what is possible on the cloud.In this episode, Narine discusses fostering ongoing conversations with customers and focusing on getting customers for life. She also dives into the importance of providing value at each stage of the customer journey and meeting customers where they are. Key Takeaways:It’s important to ensure that you are providing value to your customers at every stage of their journey and having ongoing conversations with them. You need to meet your customers where they are and be very mindful of their time. Customers may no longer be near their company headquarters, so you need to know where your decision makers are really sitting. Going to your customers allows you to create a more intimate experience and have a more captive audience. Quote: “ I think you have to kind of go where the customer is. While travel budgets are being cut everywhere right now, right? Everybody's very budget-conscious. You have to be mindful of everyone's time and make sure that you're bringing value to them. When we go on these roadshows, we're really investing time into putting these together and making sure that when the customer is coming to sit with us for 2, 3, 4 hours, that we're bringing value to them at every stage. And they appreciate that. They appreciate the fact that we're coming to them and they're not having to take time out of their schedule to fly across the country to sit in sessions that may not be relevant for them because they're too general at some of the big conferences, right?”Episode Timestamps:*(03:38) The Trust Tree: Ensure the marketing strategy is in sync with sales*(10:24) The Playbook: Investing in events and digital tools*(25:23) The Dust-Up: Being accountable and taking ownership of failures*(26:48) Quick Hits: Narine’s Quick Hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Narine on LinkedInLearn more about SADALearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Kris Rudeegraap, Co-CEO, Sendoso, the leading gift sending platform that helps companies stand out by giving them new ways to engage with customers throughout the buyer’s journey.Kris talks about the value and the future of gifting, diving into how AI will enhance gifting efforts and creative ways companies use gifting to build trust with their customers. Key Takeaways:Gifting allows companies to engage with their customers in creative ways throughout the buying journey, helping them stand out from the competition.Utilizing data allows companies to send the right gift to the right person, and to be thoughtful with timing, messaging and the location it is sent to. The future of gifting will be enhanced by AI and will be automated.  Quote: “How AI can affect, what is the right gift to send? So, I think the plethora of data that we're sitting on from tens of millions of sends and what we're having access to through a lot of really interesting data that we've built from AI, but also through data that's available through third party enrichments. We'll be able to say, hey, does Kris like golfing? Or does Kris like tennis? And so there's interest graphs that we've built that will really help decide, okay, Kris gets this, it's going to resonate with him more. Then it's like, okay, where's the best place to send it?Is it his house? Is it an office? So, we can use data for that. We can say the timing, is it good to send it today for this prospect, or do we think that timing when they just went to your website, looked at your pricing page, and we want to trigger that. So, there's different reasons why you want to have timing be important.The message. So, we launched last year, a gift message rider, either the e-gift message or the handwritten note message. And so now we can craft a better message than, say, an SDR can write, by using AI. And I think writing is a key area there. So all that will make it easier to get the right gift to the right person and drive better results.”Episode Timestamps:*(37:26) Quick Hits: Kris’s Quick HitsSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Kris on LinkedInLearn more about SendosoLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with April Moh, CMO at Kyriba, leader in cloud treasury and finance solutions, delivering mission-critical capabilities for cash and risk management, payments and working capital solutions.In this episode, April shares her expertise on managing perceptions through PR and building a demand creation arm from scratch. She also dives into the process of rebranding, and the framework they used when crafting their strategic narrative.  Key Takeaways:To maximize your PR efforts, make sure you have a clear idea of the perceptions that you want to drive and how you are currently perceived among your audiences. When rebranding and recrafting your strategic narrative, define who the enemy is, and who the hero is. Find ways to quantify your demand creation arm beyond just direct ties to short-term revenue and be prepared to see results from that engine two years down the line. Quote: “A rebrand is more than just look and feel. A lot of it is also about what is that story and what is that strategic narrative? And for us, we worked through a very simple framework, which is to define what the enemy is. So the enemy represents the current way of work that is not productive for CFOs or treasurers. And then what the hero is. So how do we position ourselves as being able to really add value in solving that problem?”Episode Timestamps:*(12:21) The Trust Tree: Creating a scalable, repeatable marketing engine *(19:02) The Playbook: Paid media, PR and events*(34:18) The Dust Up: Changing a beloved mascot *(37:41) Quick Hits: April’s Quick Hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with April on LinkedInLearn more about KyribaLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with John Solomon, CMO at Therabody, the wellness tech pioneer that brought us the Theragun, among other products that optimize human performance and unlock the body's natural ability to achieve health and well-being.In this episode, John shares his strategy to overcome the “Kleenex problem”and dives into how they prioritize the entry point to their brand. He also talks about how he structures his team with the brand at the center to avoid silos and strengthen their go-to market strategy.Key Takeaways:Focus on the product that serves as the entry to your brand to get customers into your ecosystem. Distinctive brand assets are essential and need to be protected, especially for companies facing the “Kleenex problem”, when their product name becomes synonymous with the product and less associated with the company brand.Structuring your brand team at the center of the marketing function helps avoid siloes and strengthens your go-to-market strategy.Quote: I'm a big believer that your kind of brand team has to sit in the middle. It's the hub of your going to market approach, right? And so I have the brand team really thinking about it in those three areas that I talked to you about before, the performance, wellness, and beauty. And then we have specific brand managers that really think about specific audiences. But that's who's driving the integrated process. That’s who is bringing the functions together, saying, hey, we're launching this product, or, hey, we got Mother's Day, or, hey, this week we have sleep week. And then bringing together what's influencer, what's PR, what's the site, what's email, what's media, what all of those teams are doing to drive that integrated process.So that's what I'm a really big believer in and how you structure things. Or else it becomes really siloed. It becomes fragmented. You have one team going over there shooting that content. Another team going over there doing that and it oesn't hang together. It's not bigger. It's not like 1 plus 1 equals 4 or 5.Episode Timestamps:*(13:19) The Trust Tree: Addressing the “Kleenex problem” *(34:27) The Playbook: Capturing attention through television *(45:03) Quick Hits: John’s Quick HitsSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with John Solomonon LinkedInLearn more about TherabodyLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Sun Lee, CMO at BigPanda, a software company that enables organizations to organize and mobilize the world’s DevOps and ITOps data.In this episode, Sun shares why she no longer thinks about the customer journey as a traditional funnel, why it's important to "go big or go home on events", and the importance of face-to face human interaction.Key Takeaways:The traditional funnel may not be the best way to think about the customer journey; it is more like a spiral.It’s better to invest heavily in a few meaningful events, than to do many events each year.As a new CMO, don’t be afraid to be vocal on what could be better across functions.Quote: “One thing that I always tell people is the traditional funnel is dead. When you interview with a startup CEO, they will tell you, we have a pipeline problem, we have a sales funnel problem, or we have a product marketing problem. They have a lot of problems, they're trying to classify that into a certain org or function. And the one thing that I say is, it's actually all of the above. Because how people buy these days, it's not like you become a stage one prospect, you become two or three, four, and then you're down to, and then one activity will move you through the funnel. Like the concept actually doesn't exist. So if you look at the customer journey that we have from a BigPanda perspective, it's like a giant spiral.”Episode Timestamps: *(03:41) The Trust Tree: Structuring the team to match the customer journey*(13:17) The Playbook: PMM budget as a priority*(32:54) The Dust Up: Brand tensions moving into new markets*(36:00) Quick Hits: Sun’s Quick HitsSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Sun Lee on LinkedInLearn more about BigPandaLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Gerardo A Dada, CMO at Catchpoint, a company that increases retailers' internet resilience by catching issues in the internet stack before they impact business.In this episode, Gerardo discusses his ungated content strategy and the venn diagram of content marketing. He also shares his thoughts on sticking to your ICP and his strategy to only go after high intent marketing leads.Key Takeaways:When thinking about your content marketing, you should find content that fits within three concentric circles.It’s important to stick to your defined ICP and Gerardo has chosen to only go after high intent marketing leads.Marketers should stay disciplined and should avoid artificially inflating demand. While there is a role for bribery in marketing, it can be easily misused.Quote: I believe that the best content marketing strategy, especially if you're in a position where you're trying to educate the market, you're trying to establish thought leadership, is finding that space in the center of three concentric circles.One is what your audience cares about. The other one is what you know more than anybody else. And the third one is what the technology or the point of views that will predispose your prospects to buy, or increase the likelihood of them to buy.Episode Timestamps: *(6:44) The Trust Tree: Defining and sticking to your ICP *(28:25) The Playbook: ABM strategy, content and intent*(50:03) Quick Hits: Gerardo’s quick hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Gerardo on LinkedInLearn more about CatchpointLearn more about Caspian Studios

Every week on Pipeline Visionaries, we sit down with amazing marketing leaders to uncover the pipeline strategies that have been fundamental to their success. In each episode, we ask these guests which three areas of investment are most important to their marketing strategies. Tune into this special series to hear the budget items our CMO guests can’t live without!Find parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and nineEpisode Timestamps: *(01:37): Grant Johnson, CMO at Billtrust*(04:22): Jessica Gilmartin, CMO at Calendly*(06:11): Megan McDonagh, CMO at Amperity*(07:17): Shafqat Islam, CMO at Optimizely*(08:42:) Efrat Ravid, CMO at Quantum Metric*(10:59): Orlando Baeza, CMO & CRO at Flock Freight*(13:32): Jenny Victor, CMO at Epicor*(16:18): Jessica Shapiro, CMO at LiveRamp*(19:09): Jacqueline Woods, CMO at Teradata*(21:24): Brad Rinklin, CMO at Infoblox*(24:33): Celia Fleischaker, CMO at isolved  Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Mark Viden, SVP of Brand at CommonSpirit Health, a non-profit that operates 140 hospitals and more than 2,200 care centers serving sites across 24 states.In this episode, Mark discusses building an emotional connection with the consumer, using your brand promise as an operating principle and his focus on sharing the amazing stories in the healthcare industry. Key Takeaways:When brand promises are guiding principles for company operations, it creates a competitive advantage. When building a brand, focus on the people in your ecosystem and on creating an emotional connection with the consumer.Quote: “What I see and have seen all the time is the competitors will start to nibble at what we do. They'll start to come in and borrow some of our themes. But they never stay with it because, again, I think kind of the flavor of the day and then the shiny object over there captures their attention and they're on to something else. Where we have this anchoring principle, “Hello humankindness” that, again, is seeded through so many areas of the organization.It is our brand promise.”Episode Timestamps: *(04:19) The Trust Tree: Building an emotional connection with the consumer *(16:12) The Playbook: Creating value alignment *(30:44) Quick Hits: Mark’s Quick HitsSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Mark Viden on LinkedInLearn more about CommonSpirit HealthLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Leslie Henthorn, CMO at Ironclad, a contract lifecycle management software that provides a secure way to create and collaborate on contracts.In Leslie’s return to the podcast, she discusses navigating the shifts in AI, Ironclad’s influencer strategy, and getting into the psyche of your target persona. She also talks about strengthening your relationship with sales and prioritizing alignment even when you have a strong inbound funnel.Key Takeaways:It’s important to get into the psyche of your target persona and to think about their frame of mind day-to-day.You need to nurture your sales relationship, even when you have a strong inbound pipeline.When working with influencers, it is important to find people that truly believe in the work that the company is doing and are genuine fans of the product.Quote:“We have tried to grow closer to sales and really support outbound in a way that marketing hasn't before. I think when you have a strong inbound funnel, sometimes your sales relationship isn't as strong as it should be. Yeah, you might be watching conversion and you might be watching how things are moving forward to pipeline, but it's easy to go like this after that. And when you start to understand that new business shouldn't drive your entire company strategy, that customer adoption, cross sell, understanding the logos you want to go after. This is something we've really been working on.”Episode Timestamps:*(11:02) The Playbook: Changing tactics over the last yearSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Leslie on LinkedInLearn more about IroncladLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Dana Barrett, VP of Marketing at Tremendous, a company that offers a simple way to send rewards and payouts around the world.In this episode, Dana discusses the ways that incentivizing your ideal customer provides impact across use cases, whether you are looking to build pipeline, drive sales, get participants in studies, etc. She also talks about carefully identifying your target persona and focusing on a small number of priorities.Key Takeaways:Incentives are a great way to drive impact, regardless of your use case (generate pipeline, sales, gaining study participants, etc.)It’s important to find the sweet spot when incentivizing. Don’t offer a discount so high that people take the offer without any interest in the product; make it just low enough that it attracts people who genuinely have an interest.Define your ideal customer persona and stay focused on a few key items to go after them.Quote: “ Incentives, regardless of your use case, are a great way to drive impact. Whether you're trying to grow pipeline. Whether you're trying to drive sales. Whether you want to make sure people participate in your studies, and you can recruit people in global markets that you're trying to figure out how to get people to just respond or participate. And so based on what we do, we're starting to see some best practices or things that can actually position you better to reach your ultimate goal, which is sales, pipeline, et cetera.”Episode Timestamps: *(02:52) The Trust Tree: Building awareness of brand and category*(14:11) The Playbook: Investing in content*(28:17) The Dust Up: Diffusing tension between product and sales *(30:07) Dana’s Quick HitsSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Dana on LinkedInLearn more about TremendousLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Riikka Söderlund, CMO at Katana Cloud Inventory, a company that provides SMBs with easy-to-use inventory management software, to get them the real-time data that they need.In this episode, Riika discusses staying accountable for intentional experimentation, how she invests in talent and why she dislikes the term “marketing strategy”. Key Takeaways:Experiments should improve results and should fit within goals. Including experiments in your overall budget, instead of pulling them into a separate, “experimental budget” keeps you accountable. Talent development is an uncuttable item and marketing leaders should align individual growth aspirations with company goals. Being right isn’t always enough. Marketing leaders need to be strong internal communicators and influence opinions to get the right results. Quote: “ I have a gazillion other marketing KPIs, of course, but at the end of the day, if we're not driving revenue, then it doesn't matter. I am not a fan of measuring leads or MQLs. Honestly, revenue is the only metric that tells you, did you generate pipeline? Did you reach the right audience? Is your value proposition correct? And is your brand resonating with that target audience? It's the only one that combines all the aspects of marketing.”Episode Timestamps:*(02:42) The Trust Tree: Why Riikka doesn’t believe in the term “marketing strategy”*(12:53) The Playbook: The importance of content and intentional experimentation *(31:54) The Dust Up: Becoming a strong internal influencer*(33:45) Riikka’s Quick HitsSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Riika on LinkedInLearn more about KatanaLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with William Tyree, CMO at IntelligenceBank, a platform that helps marketing teams get brand and legal approved content out the door faster. In this episode, William discusses his focus on being the easiest company to buy from, the importance of empathizing with buyers, and how customer buying behavior has changed over time. Key Takeaways:Buyers have a hard job and marketers need to prioritize making their company easy to buy from.Product marketing needs to be about empathizing with buyers, not just pitching the good things about your product.Quote: “My goal is to make IntelligenceBank the easiest company in our space to actually buy from. Buyers have a hard job. It's really hard to lasso all those different people on your buying committee and get them to agree on you as a vendor. So, to be the easiest, we have to assume that buyers are going to conduct at least three quarters of their research before they even talk to a seller.”Episode Timestamps:*(05:17) - The Trust Tree: The complex roles for people in charge of brand *(16:15) - The Playbook: Becoming easy to buy fromSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with William Tyree on LinkedInLearn more about IntelligenceBankLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Celia Fleischaker, CMO at isolved, a trusted HCM leader that provides software and services to meet the needs of HR professionals. Through their partner network, they reach more than 5 million employees and 145,000 employers across all 50 states. In this episode, Celia shares with us how they are investing in and amplifying their engaged community as well as how their focus on relationships and primary research supports their marketing efforts.Key Takeaways:Coming into a company with an engaged customer base is a welcome challenge for a CMO, and amplifying that engagement is imperative. It’s worth investing in primary research, to better connect with customers in ways that are actually of interest to them. There is a continued convergence between customer experience and marketing. Leveraging data and information from customer service and blending that with marketing helps clarify what customers need. Quote: I think there's such a cool convergence between customer experience and marketing. And I think they are just continuing to get closer and closer. At Verint, where I was before, I worked in the CX space and we saw it there a lot, a lot of our customers realizing the power of taking customer experience, customer service information, blending that from a marketing perspective. And the amount of data that you get that really points to what you need to be doing for your customers,  where they are at a relationship point with you.And that's what I think with the CXO role, the customer experience role here, taking that, looking at that from customer service perspective, from a marketing perspective and pulling things together to look holistically at what is it that we can do both internally and externally to drive a better experience and how is that going to benefit, yes, our customers and the satisfaction that they have, but from a marketing perspective, there's so much opportunity to better understand what your customers are going through and it just puts you in this better position. Episode Timestamps:*(04:36) - The Trust Tree: Creating demand within community*(08:15) - The Playbook: Investing in primary research*(33:49) - Quick Hits: Celia’s Quick Hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Celia on LinkedInLearn more about isolvedLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Kimberly Storin, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Zayo Group, a leading telecommunications company with a network that stretches over 16.8 million fiber miles and spans 141,000 route miles across North America and Europe.  In this episode, Kimberly shares with us how she built an end-to-end marketing organization within Zayo and demonstrated the value of the marketing function, diving into expanding their buying committee and creating a “Shark Tank'' mindset where people share their best ideas. Key TakeawaysMarketing can be  undervalued as a function and collaborating with C-suite peers is essential to a CMO’s ability to demonstrate their impact on revenue for the organization.At the end of the day, marketing needs to be the “voice of” and the “voice to” the market, and needs to avoid short-term, quarter-by-quarter thinking.There is value in shifting to a “Shark Tank mindset” and having people bring their ideas, then funding great ideas.Quote:“At the end of the day, we really just need to be the voice of and the voice to the market. If we're thinking about in-quarter revenue, we're not doing our job. Our job is to be thinking about the next quarter, next year, next five years, and how do we position the brand for the maximum growth efficiency. And yet so often I talk to CMOs who are stuck in this, well, what did you do for me this quarter? And if that's where marketing is focused, then marketing will never be successful.” Episode Timestamps:*(03:43 ) - The Trust Tree: Expanding your buying committee *(15:19) - The Playbook: Investing in the top of the funnel*(35:37) - The Dust-Up: Learning to have constructive conflict*(39:01) - Quick Hits: Kim’s Quick HitsSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.LinksConnect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Kimberly on LinkedInLearn more about Zayo GroupLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Esther-Mireya Tejeda, CMO at Anywhere Real Estate Inc., a leader of integrated residential real estate services, whose portfolio includes some of the most recognized brands in real estate. In this episode, Esther-Mireya discusses how marketers should consider themselves “business psychologists” and shares how she is incorporating neuroscience research when creating customer personas.Key Takeaways:Buying decisions for customers often have more to do with subconscious, emotional drivers that cannot be articulated in surveys or focus groups.Marketers should think about themselves as “business psychologists”, and can use neuroscience to better understand subconscious drivers for their customers.Marketers need to maintain connectivity to business objectives and avoid the trap of short-term thinking.Quote: “We have been really trying to get to the unconscious emotional makeup of consumers that set up their predisposition to like or dislike and to behave or not behave in particular ways. I call that the layer below the things that we are already measuring. And it's based on this premise that over 95 percent of our human behavior. is actually rooted and driven by unconscious emotions that we're not even aware of. So it's not stuff that I, as a consumer, would be able to articulate in a focus group.It's not things that I would be able to, as a consumer, articulate in a survey. And so it is our job as marketers, if we think about ourselves as business psychologists, to get further down and deeper into that mindset, to get to the heart set to understand those things. And that's really what this is about.”Episode Timestamps:*(08:24) - The Trust Tree: Buying decisions are largely unconscious *(26:13) - The Playbook: Research and insights are essential to success*(37:23) - The Dust Up: Leaving what isn’t right for you Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with on Esther-Mireya LinkedInLearn more about Anywhere Real Estate Inc.Learn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Ben Slater, SVP of Marketing at Beamery, a Talent Lifecycle Management platform that empowers companies to understand the skills and capabilities they have, build more agile workforce plans, and attract, retain, upskill, and redeploy their workforce.In this episode, Ben encourages companies to think about the future of their workforce, shares why internal marketing efforts are often overlooked but shouldn’t be, and why leadership should have their hands in choosing talent. Ben also talks about how creating demand starts with a story and how they go about just that at Beamery.Key Takeaways:HR is an increasingly strategic part of the organization. How companies think about the future of their workforce impacts how they can achieve their business objectives. The internal role of marketing is one of its most overlooked functions. Marketing has an amazing opportunity to be the internal communications engine that brings people back to the “why” of the organization.Creating demand starts with a story. Specifically, demand starts with a story that is not just about your product, but about a fundamental shift in the market that is accelerating your category. Quote: “ For us, if we think about the demand process, what we are really focused on is not just demand capture, but also demand creation. I'm a huge believer that creating demand, it all starts with the story. So it's a story that's not just about your product, but about a fundamental shift in the market. Something that is either creating your category or accelerating it. Something that's fundamentally impacting your buyer and the way they go about their role on a day-to-day basis. What's the big story that we think is most relevant to our audience and that's in line with our point of view on the market? How do we ensure that there's internal alignment around that story? Because I think if you get the storytelling right and if you're able to tie the different channels and programs together in a way that is consistent, clear, not just for the external audience, but also for internal teams, it can really be a force multiplier for demand.”Episode Timestamps:*(03:28) - The Trust Tree: Addressing talent gaps accelerates transformation*(17:24) - The Playbook: Investing in community*(33:52) - Quick Hits: Ben’s Quick HitsSponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more.Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Ben on LinkedInLearn more about BeameryLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Brad Rinklin, CMO at Infoblox, a Computer and Network Security company that unites networking and security to deliver unmatched performance and protection for a world that never stops. In this episode, Brad shares with us how Infoblox is expanding its buyer persona reach, what a modern marketing team looks like, and the importance of adapting to whatever your data tells you. Brad also talks about what makes a great marketer better than the average marketer - creating the right thing, in the right place, at the right time.  Key Takeaways:Bringing in new buyers through education. When you’re looking at personas outside of your normal reach, be sure you’re providing educational resources so they can better understand who you are and what you offer.Partner marketing acts as a force multiplier for your brand. Good partner relationships provide credibility in spaces you’re not currently in and can potentially cut marketing efforts and costs in half.A lesson in marketing from fly fishing. Whether it’s the buyer journey, the “bait” or content you create, remember your efforts should be focused on one buyer at a time. So, how can you be a better marketer? Provide the right thing, at the right place, at the right time. Quote: “What makes a great marketer better than an average marketer? Two fishermen go on the lake, they both have the exact same rod, the same reel. You might even have the same bait. What makes the one just ripping fish out left and right? And the other one doesn't catch anything at all? It's the same concept. You've gotta understand the behaviors of the buyers that you're selling to and the market that's out there and what else is out there trying to steal their attention.” Episode Timestamps: *(05:09) - The Trust Tree: Passive decisions have big implications*(25:11) - The Playbook: Partners as as force multiplier for your brand*(32:46) - Quick Hits: Brad’s Quick Hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more. Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Brad on LinkedInLearn more about InfobloxLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Stephanie McCarty, CMO at Taylor Morrison, the 5th largest homebuilder in the U.S. made up of the nation's leading homebuilders and developers. In this episode, Stephanie shares with us why your website should be a selling tool not a seduction tool, how the role of sales is changing, and the unique ways Taylor Morrison has created partnerships to boost brand awareness and demand. Stephanie also talks about how companies should be approaching the next generation of buyers by mixing up traditional marketing models.  Key Takeaways:Fitting your products/services to the various life stages of consumers. When you’re able to meet the customers where they are at any place in their lives and lifestyles, you’ll create repeat buyers naturally.Mix up your marketing game. There are marketing models a lot of us use that simply don’t fit the next generation of buyers. These outdated systems can act as unintentional traps for consumers who will probably decide the process isn’t worth their time or money. Make sure your company is removing as many buyer traps as possible by mixing up marketing models.Thinking of the customer journey after they buy. Once a customer buys from you, do you have strategies in place that benefit them and keep you top of mind? Innovative, engaging content is a great way to create a win-win for you and your buyers. Quote: “Remember a time when, before Zappos, before Amazon, when you had to actually go into a department store to buy shoes, or before Uber, and Airlines, or you didn't have your boarding pass on your phone, you had a physical one. So it's just taking our executive team through kind of reminding them that things that they're used to today haven't always been, and that's the space that homebuilding needs to enter. We need to enter that chat room and talk about here's what has always worked, here's that model, but there's a lot of that model that doesn't fit the next generation of homebuyers.” Episode Timestamps: *(04:28) - The Trust Tree: Managing a family of brands*(24:39) - The Playbook: Creating innovative content your consumers (and beyond!) can benefit from*(41:30) - Quick Hits: Stephanie’s Quick Hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more. Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Stephanie on LinkedInLearn more about Taylor MorrisonLearn more about Caspian StudiosTaylor Morrison x The Home Edit

This episode features an interview with Jordan Schenck, Chief Brand Officer at Flashfood, a technology company working to eliminate retail food waste by connecting consumers with discounted food nearing its best-by date.In this episode, Jordan shares with us how to push through the zeitgeist around what you do to change consumer perception, and she talks about some unique strategies for mobilizing your fan base to boost sales and brand awareness even without Coca-Cola dollars.Key Takeaways:Your biggest fans are your biggest drivers of sales. Empower and motivate your customer base to go to bat for you and market your products. How do you do it? Make and sell good products that people use and have them share their experiences.Changing the zeitgeist around you and your product. Just because consumers have used similar products to yours doesn’t mean anything. When you make superior products that people love, and when you market those products in unique ways, you get people's attention, which builds greater brand awareness.Organic brand awareness can be worth more than big dollars. Most companies don’t have the kind of cash big dogs like Coca-Cola do. But if you create fandom around your products, you do a lot with a little. Quote: “So there's something really interesting in that tension for me to like, how do we actually change behavior or you can like create a really cool movement around doing something totally novel. And I'm like, how can we make this idea of food that's near its best by the same as like how cool it is to shop for vintage clothes? Like what Depop did for Gen Z is really cool, right? And we've got that same sort of thing going where, like, how do we sort of create that sort of spirit and moment around the perfect window of this food? Truly, it's the perfect window. It's food ready to eat and the cheapest. Like, boom. Go. It shouldn't be that much more complicated than that.” Episode Timestamps: *(05:57) - The Trust Tree: Selling to a double-sided market*(22:07) - The Playbook: Healthy level of commitment to owned and earned*(36:20) - Quick Hits: Jordan’s Quick Hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more. Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Jordan on LinkedInLearn more about FlashfoodLearn more about Caspian Studios

This episode features an interview with Ed McDonnell, CRO at Asana, a software company that helps teams orchestrate their work, from small projects to strategic initiatives.In this episode, Ed shares with us Asana’s vision for tackling work automation, insight into their Work Innovation Lab, and why attribution for attribution's sake is meaningless. Ed also talks about the importance of treating pipeline like a team sport and how to effectively run a “Pipe Council”. Key Takeaways:Get focused on your ICP. Partner with your product teams to develop your ICP so you can define use cases and show the productivity you can gain from those use cases. Tell your story through the lens of your customers. Your customers are the inside players of how your product works and what it’s doing in a real way on a daily basis out in the world.Pipeline is a team sport. All of your business channels should be involved when it comes to pipeline generation. Pipeline is not one person or function, and in order to succeed, it has to be the highest-performing team in your organization at cross-functional scale. Quote:“Pipeline to me is a team sport. It is not one person. It is not one function. It is such a, it is, it, it has to be.  The highest performing team in your organization at cross functional scale, because nobody works for each other. Everybody's in their own worlds, but they have to come together as a team and solve the, you know, a problem that every B2B enterprise software company faces. Which is, do we have enough pipeline to go into the market to be successful? Because every organization is a little bit different as to how much they want each of those. stakeholders to develop into their pipeline. If you're not producing at the right scale or the right coverage model, Why? Like, interrogating the why is equally as important as getting all hopped up as to why not. And too many companies and too many people I have found spend time on, well, why isn't something happening? Like, versus going in and saying, okay, it's not happening. What can we do differently to actually produce a different result? Because you get caught up on poking on sales leaders and saying, hey, you're not hitting your pipeline metrics, like, why, what's wrong, and  that friction, while good and has to happen, you also have to be really open to interrogating so to me the interrogation of it in a healthy way with everybody having a seat at the table and being a team sport is Is the way that I, I have found to be very successful running a Pipe Council.” Episode Timestamps:*(03:44) - The Trust Tree: Go to market strategy when you solve lots of problems for lots of people*(15:32) - The Playbook: Running a Pipe Council*(37:53) - Quick Hits: Ed’s Quick Hits Sponsor:Pipeline Visionaries is brought to you by Qualified.com, the #1 Conversational Marketing platform for companies that use Salesforce and the secret weapon for pipeline pros. The world's leading enterprise brands trust Qualified to instantly meet with buyers, right on their website, and maximize sales pipeline. Visit Qualified.com to learn more. Links:Connect with Ian on LinkedInConnect with Ed on LinkedInLearn more about AsanaLearn more about Caspian StudiosFrom zero to ten podcasts: How Caspian Studios produces B2B podcasts with Asana