B2B Revenue Leaders

Joe Kevens, Director of Demand Generation at PartnerStack and Founder at B2B SaaS Reviews, joins Dustin on this week's episode to discuss the role of reviews in the software buying process. They explore the limitations of peer communities for software buying advice and the issues with review sites, such as inflated ratings and lack of authenticity. They also share strategies for buyers to effectively ingest reviews, including filtering for certain star ratings and finding in-depth reviews. Joe shares his thoughts on the future of review sites and the potential for personalized recommendations. They also touch on the importance of building trust through various forms of social proof, such as testimonials, case studies, and customer stories.

This week, we have a repost of Dustin’s chat with Anthony Pierri from FletchPMM about all things product marketing. Anthony gives his take on why the common advice of leading with benefits isn't always correct and why people care about features. They also discuss why category creation usually isn't the right path and why you should instead focus on differentiating within an existing category. The key takeaway is that simple, specific, differentiated messaging and positioning is the way to go.

On this week's episode, Andrew Mounier, Head of User Acquisition & Growth Marketing at Xembly, joins Dustin to chat about AI Marketing. Andrew stresses AI's role as a supportive tool and its potential in creative storytelling and content creation, while acknowledging the importance of human oversight. They also discuss the impact of AI on job roles and the need to embrace new technologies.

Ed Lynes, Managing Partner at Woden, joins Dustin on this week's episode to talk all about strategic narratives in business. Ed and Dustin discuss the importance of building a strategic narrative and how it can tie together a company's go-to-market efforts. Ed explains that while sales and marketing tactics may have changed over time, the fundamentals remain the same. He emphasizes the need to anchor the strategic narrative in the company's purpose and align it with the perspectives and needs of different buyer personas. Finally, they discuss the structure of a strategic narrative and the importance of pattern interrupts to engage and empower the audience.

Garrett Mehrguth, President and CEO of Directive, joins Dustin on this week's episode to deep dive into why putting your money where your mouth is is the best way to learn and convince others that you know what you’re doing. He discusses the concept of customer generation and how it is applied at Directive. Also, the importance of applying marketing strategies to one's own business to gain insights and improve results. Garrett also shares his approach to driving leads and customers, including the use of gift cards as a financial incentive. He highlights the significance of list verification in targeting the right audience. Additionally, Garrett discusses the role of thought leadership and brand building in marketing strategies, as well as the value of in-person events and measuring their success.

Eric Konovalov, Founder of The Goal Guide, joins Dustin on this week's episode to deep dive into personality types and how they impact the sales process. Eric explains the characteristics of the four main personality types: eagle, parrot, dove, and owl. He highlights the clashes and compliments between these personality types and provides examples and strategies for adapting and communicating effectively with each type. Eric also shares resources, including his arsenal of sales and leadership materials, to help sales professionals improve their skills.

Robin Daniels, Chief Business & Product Officer at LMS365, joins Dustin on this week's episode to deep dive into the power of genuine connections and building great teams. They discuss the impact of AI on reputation, the power of storytelling, his transition from CMO to Chief Business and Product Officer, and creating a great team environment. Robin emphasizes the need for caution in using AI to avoid damaging reputation, the value of investing in relationships and community building, and the importance of setting a clear direction and trusting team members. He also highlights the role of storytelling in marketing and the potential of remote work to create a more fulfilling work environment.

This week, Dustin chats with Bolaji Oyejide from Hello Audience about the concept of demand desperation and the need for B2B revenue organizations to shift from a focus on demand capture to demand generation. He uses the analogy of hunter-gatherers and farmers to illustrate the limitations of traditional marketing approaches and the importance of long-term thinking. Bolaji emphasizes the need for marketers to balance their time between fetching water (demand capture) and building wells (demand generation). He also suggests that marketers should focus on building association and affinity with their audience by evangelizing the problem and providing valuable insights. He introduces his reality series, Demand Wars, as an example of how marketers can entertain and engage their audience while making their brand their favorite.

Mark Stiving, Founder of Impact Pricing, joins Dustin on this week's episode to deep dive into the art of pricing. They start by exploring the concept of value and how it can be understood and communicated to customers, delve into the challenges of pricing in different scenarios, and also discuss the importance of communicating pricing on the website. The conversation covers topics like price increases, providing value in non-software subscriptions, and selling solutions instead of platforms. The key takeaway is the significance of understanding and delivering value to customers in order to set effective pricing strategies.

Harry Spaight, Founder of Selling With Dignity, joins Dustin on this week's episode to dive deep into the world of selling from a place of service. They emphasize the importance of providing value and building relationships with potential customers. They also talk about the power of asking questions and listening, the importance of aligning sales and marketing efforts, and the role of personal branding in sales. Overall, the conversation provides insights and strategies for salespeople to be successful without compromising their integrity.

Justin Rowe, Chief Executive Officer at Impactable, joins Dustin on this week's episode to deep dive into LinkedIn advertising. They cover topics such as the cost of LinkedIn ads, common mistakes made by advertisers, recommended ad types, and exciting changes in LinkedIn for 2024. The pair also discuss account-based lists vs. LinkedIn native targeting, building an advertising ecosystem, attribution challenges in multi-channel marketing, and understanding programmatic advertising.

In this conversation, Alex Sheridan from Impax discusses with Dustin the importance of sharing content online and the power of video for B2B companies. Alex emphasizes the need for companies to be more involved in the content creation process and highlights the benefits of creating buyer-ready content. He also shares common mistakes B2B companies make with in-feed social content and the importance of understanding the buyer's mindset on different social media platforms. Finally, Alex introduces the concept of video as a 24/7 sales rep and offers guidance on getting started with video content.

In this episode, Dustin and Isaac Ware, who leads Demand Gen at UserGems, discuss account-based marketing and the limitations of intent signals. They explore the use of job change signals for ABM and targeting new hires for expansion and churn prevention. They also chat about tying job changes to marketing campaigns, using soft asks in ads, and how UserGems created over 300 one-to-one ABM ads on LinkedIn. They also touch on targeting the buying committee with LinkedIn ads, the focus on contact level buying signals, building playbooks, and providing value to individuals.

This week’s episode features Shannon Howard, Director of Customer & Content Marketing at Intellum, who talks extensively about customer education as a key part of a business strategy. She and Dustin focus on the importance of customer education in areas such as customer retention, product adoption, and increasing customer satisfaction. The discussion covers the common mistakes businesses make in their approach to customer education, tips on scaling customer education, the crucial role of internal advocacy, and the significance of feedback from multiple internal teams. The pair also share insights on the importance of measuring metrics for the efficacy of education content and the potential for customer education content to act as a brand amplifier.

In this conversation, Dustin and Roger Martin, Co-Founder and CEO of ThriveMore Brands, discuss the importance of tonality in sales conversations and how it separates top-tier salespeople from the rest. They emphasize the need for salespeople to have genuine conversations and actively listen to their prospects. They also discuss the difference between manipulation and persuasion in sales and the importance of building trust with customers. Finally, they touch on Roger's transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship and the realities of running a business.

This week, Dustin chats with Lewis Rothkopf, Chief Revenue Officer at Pairzon, about the need for marketers to unite advertising with sales and revenue. He emphasizes the importance of using data to understand the impact of advertising on actual sales and highlights the challenges of tying advertising to in-store activities. Lewis explains how AI and predictive analytics can be used to gain insights into advertising effectiveness and improve personalization while maintaining privacy. They also discuss on the changing roles of CRO and CMO and the optimistic future of marketing and sales.

This week, Dustin chats with Sam Shepler, CEO at Testimonial Hero, about the shift from traditional social proof to social proof 2.0 in the B2B buying process. The discussion highlights how shifts in buyer behavior have led to a change in how sellers adapt their marketing strategies. They shed light on the importance of trust and proof points throughout the buyer journey and the need for strategic depth in social proof. Finally, they share insights on the importance of making customer evidence a strategic initiative and discipline, and the benefits of a video-first strategy for creating impactful content.

Simon Chuang, Director of Digital Marketing at Lacework, joins Dustin on this week's episode to share insights into LinkedIn ads, discussing the common mistakes people make when structuring and running them. He emphasizes that LinkedIn is ideal for B2B marketers not only for leads but also for content quality and audience reach. Simon highlights the benefits of thinking of one's company as a thought leader within the industry and presenting this image before introducing products or services to potential leads, and shares his approach on retargeting based on content consumption.

Mason Cosby, Founder of Scrappy ABM, joins Dustin on this week's episode to go deep into the ABM world. They discuss how to be smart and scrappy when it comes to building your first ABM program. When you're just starting, spending a lot of money (that you probably don't have) on ABM tech is unnecessary. What most small businesses need to realize is that there are many easy activation plays you can get started with. From former prospects and customer players, to using a podcast as part of your ABM motion. Make sure you have a pen handy to jot down notes with this one.

This week, Dustin chats with Kevin "KD" Dorsey, SVP of Sales and Partnerships at Bench Accounting, about using customer stories to help close more deals. They discuss how customer stories are a non-negotiable asset in your GTM strategy, how sales and marketing can work together to easily capture them, why every sales team needs videos for their top 10 objections, and how to enable sellers to actually use the content.

Jonathan Mahan and Lawrence Wayne, Co-Founders of The Practice Lab, join Dustin on this week's episode to deep dive into deliberate practice and learning. They discuss how intentionally practicing your skills is invaluable in the sales world, why role play isn't always the right tool for the job, and how to build a high-performing culture that focuses on practice.

This week, Dustin chats with Aaron Branson, Senior VP of Marketing at Netsurion & CEO at Revup Marketing, all about the upcoming budgeting season. They chat about what the ROI of measuring ROI is, attribution, how to effectively communicate your needs with the C suite, and the crucial importance of the marketing leader being involved, not just in the forecasting side but also in budgeting.

This week, Chip House, Chief Marketing Officer at Insightly, joins the podcast to talk about marketing strategies in the competitive CRM space. He discusses the challenges of going against giant competitors and the importance of staying scrappy and curious. Chip highlights the significance of identifying weaknesses in competitors, such as high costs and limited flexibility, and using that as a marketing advantage. He also discusses finding effective channels for marketing, why speed is crucial, and the importance of accelerating efforts once positive results are seen.

Ben Slater, Senior VP of Marketing at Beamery, joins Dustin on this week's episode to talk about his journey from pre-revenue all the way to building a unicorn at Beamery. His insights are pretty unique since few marketers stay on for that whole journey. They discuss how he went through deciding who to hire first, what he would change if he could go back in time, and the importance of taking a long-term approach from the very start.

This week, Dustin chats with Mike Grinberg, Founder & CEO of Proofpoint Marketing, about how incorrect definitions and limiting beliefs are usually the root cause of most crappy marketing. They discuss why having clear ideas and definitions is the foundation to find success in your campaigns, why demand creation isn’t a thing, and why referrals aren’t just from your clients and partners.

This week, Dustin chats with Corrina Owens from Purple Cork about all things ABM. They dive deep, from tiering accounts to aligning sales and marketing, to why you don't need to get hung up on tech. Account Based Marketing isn't exclusive to enterprise, and this episode is packed full of info and ideas all about how you can use it too.

This week, Dustin chats with Brett McGrath from The Juice about the present and future of Content Marketing. Content is a crucial piece of the puzzle to reach new audiences and build more trust. They talk about how content created by individuals is more trustworthy than brands, distribution, curation, and the importance of investing in content creation.

Justin Levy, Head of Influencer Marketing and Community at Demandbase, joins Dustin on this week’s episode to chat about building a private community. Everyone wants to focus on building a community, but it isn't easy to do well. The key is to be intentional about it. They share tips on how to build a private community that members actually come back to, how community can drive revenue, how to work with influencers as part of your community strategy, and some common mistakes that companies make when trying to create a private community.

Logan Lyles, Lead of Evangelism & Content Marketing at Teamwork.com, joins Dustin on this week's episode to deep dive into Nearbound Marketing. They discuss what Nearbound actually means and the right way to go about it, why Inbound needs to evolve, and how you can work with partners, customers and influencers to amplify your message.

This week, Dustin chats with Taft Love, Founder of Iceberg RevOps, about the massive risk of falling into the trap of thinking that every new shiny RevOps tool will solve all your problems. They talk about the importance of focusing on RevOps as early as possible, common mistakes companies make when trying to scale, and why top-down forecasts are actually really bad for everyone involved.

This week, Dustin chats with Marcus LaRobardiere from NewStore about the state of the SDR space. They discuss all about the role, from how it has evolved in the last couple of years to how to use intent and align Sales and Marketing teams to generate more business opportunities. According to Marcus, the Sales team might not be your best bet as a place to fit SDRs, but Marketing. Listen to the episode to go deep into his reasoning.

Eden Bidani, Head of Strategy & Copy @ CAPE.Agency, joins Dustin on this week's episode to explain why conversion rates and revenue problems are usually just signs of poor messaging. They discuss why brand archetypes matter, how you can hack your way to successful positioning, and shed light on some common mistakes copywriters make.

This week, Dustin chats with Derek Osgood, Founder & CEO at Ignition, about how product is really a marketing function. They dive deep into the process of launching new products and features, from the biggest mistakes companies make to why roadmaps often go off the rails. The pair discuss how marketing and product have both moved too far away from the customer and how to tie them back closer.

This week, Dustin chats with Anthony Pierri from FletchPMM about all things product marketing. Anthony gives his take on why the common advice of leading with benefits isn't always correct and why people care about features. They also discuss why category creation usually isn't the right path and why you should instead focus on differentiating within an existing category. The key takeaway is that simple, specific, differentiated messaging and positioning is the way to go.

Reposted episode from the Modern Day Marketer Podcast with Brett McGrath.

This week, Dustin chats with Mark Evans from Marketing Spark, and they dive deep into the world of brand positioning. Budgets are tight and it's tough out there. Strong brand positioning is necessary to stand out. Discover the best strategies to position your brand in a way that maximizes its impact, regardless of external conditions. They also break down the rise of fractional CMOs.

In today's episode, we welcome Sofia Silva, Demand Generation Manager at Reachdesk. We discussed why building long-term relationships with your audience is the real secret to lasting business success. Sofia highlights the need to ditch the impersonal B2B mindset and get real, emphasizing the human-to-human connections that are at the heart of all business decisions. She also gives us a unique look into how Reachdesk uses its own platform to cultivate strong connections that really leave a mark.

This week, Dustin sits down with Jason Smith from Klue to deep dive into the competitive revenue gap and ways to close it. Tight competition calls for innovative strategies, and there's no better strategy than having a robust competitive program to highlight your unique selling points. From discussing the role that AI plays in summarizing competitive data to the importance of arming your reps with the necessary competitive intelligence, they share a lot of tips to set you up for success.

In this week's episode, Dustin is joined by Carrina Ekvall, who is the Director of Marketing at Verint. They have a chat about Carrina's experiences working at big companies and how she works with different teams. She talks about the importance of managing projects and staying focused, especially in the marketing field. Carrina also emphasizes the need for good communication among coworkers to get the best results.

Jeff Rosset, Founder & CEO of Sales Assembly, joins Dustin on this week's episode to discuss the changes in the sales industry in 2023. In today's landscape, companies are now focusing on efficiency and structure, and sales reps need to develop skills in building pipeline and self-sourcing leads. They share advice for closing skills gaps, overcoming AI's challenges in sales and the changing roles and responsibilities of sales professionals.

Gabi Contreras, Marketing Consultant & Advisor, joins Dustin on this week's episode to share the importance of customer's voice for startups and smaller companies. In today's world, customer retention and revenue growth are critical for a business's survival; in this episode, they provide practical steps for startups on how to capture customer insights, create content using the voice of the customer, and distribute market research.

In this episode, we explore B2B marketing challenges in today's business landscape with Jen Allen-Knuth, Community Growth at Lavender. Jen discusses cold email, specifically how to optimize for mobile, how to craft subject lines that get your prospects to open the email, and why a conversational tone is important.

In this week's episode, we talk to Aly McGue, Director of Customer Marketing at Amplitude, about the dying art of case studies and the rise of authentic, valuable content in customer advocacy. We discussed how to build strong relationships with customers, create content that resonates, and inject advocacy at every stage of the customer journey.

In this episode, we explore AI's impact on B2B marketing and sales with Ryan Staley, Founder and CEO at Whale Boss. Discover how AI tools like Chat GPT are revolutionizing the industry, and learn the importance of adopting AI strategies for better customer engagement. Ryan shares his innovative approach to referral-led growth and using AI for quicker, more efficient results.

Sarah Block, CEO of Tiny Marketing, joins Dustin on this week’s episode to share practical tips for small businesses to optimize their marketing efforts and engage with customers. They discuss putting emphasis on replicating top customer journeys, cutting back on unnecessary marketing activities, repurposing content using AI tools, and personal branding.