Transcript
WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:04.519 Want to expand the reach of your content, start a podcast, feature industry 2 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:08.910 experts on your show and leverage the influence and reach of your guests to grow 3 00:00:08.990 --> 00:00:18.309 your brand. Learn more at sweet fish Mediacom. You're listening to be tob 4 00:00:18.429 --> 00:00:23.260 growth, a daily podcast for B TOB leaders. We've interviewed names you've probably 5 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:27.059 heard before, like Gary Vander truck and Simon Senek, but you've probably never 6 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:31.300 heard from the majority of our guests. That's because the bulk of our interviews 7 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:35.810 aren't with professional speakers and authors. Most of our guests are in the trenches 8 00:00:35.929 --> 00:00:40.609 leading sales and marketing teams. They're implementing strategy, they're experimenting with tactics, 9 00:00:40.929 --> 00:00:45.250 they're building the fastest growing BTB companies in the world. My name is James 10 00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:48.890 Carberry. I'm the founder of sweet fish media, a podcast agency for BB 11 00:00:49.009 --> 00:00:52.320 brands, and I'm also one of the CO hosts of this show. When 12 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:56.320 we're not interviewing sales and marketing leaders, you'll hear stories from behind the scenes 13 00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:00.039 of our own business. Will share the ups and downs of our journey as 14 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:04.310 we attempt to take over the world. Just getting well, maybe let's get 15 00:01:04.349 --> 00:01:14.030 into the show. Welcome back to be tob growth on Logan lyles with sweet 16 00:01:14.030 --> 00:01:18.349 fish media. Today I've got with me Ashby mcgary. She is senior marketing 17 00:01:18.390 --> 00:01:22.180 manager over at Prodigo Solutions. Ashley, How's IT going today? Hey, 18 00:01:22.260 --> 00:01:26.540 it's going well. Thanks for having me absolutely lutely, Ashley. We're going 19 00:01:26.540 --> 00:01:30.780 to be talking about some lessons learned as you've transitioned industries a couple times in 20 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:34.530 your career, but most recently as you join produgo. We're going to be 21 00:01:34.609 --> 00:01:40.209 talking about, you know, taking lessons learn from your previous marketing experience but 22 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:45.290 not necessarily thinking that those will apply to a new industry, a new buyer 23 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:48.120 persona some of the things you might need to check at the door when you're 24 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:52.120 making that sort of transition. So before we get into that, I think 25 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:55.959 it would be good to give folks a little bit of context into your marketing 26 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.200 journey, your career so far and what you in the team at Produgo or 27 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:02.069 up to these days for a little context. Yes, thanks, so I'm 28 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:07.430 our senior marketing manager here at Produgo Solutions. I've been with produgo about a 29 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:10.949 year now. Prior to that I was still in BEDB marketing on the healthcare 30 00:02:10.949 --> 00:02:15.740 side. And getting me to here today. I've been in both BETC and 31 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:21.340 B tob and Produgo has been a really exciting journey. We're definitely a gross 32 00:02:21.419 --> 00:02:23.460 company and and we have a lot of stuff going on. So my team 33 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:29.099 is extraordinarily busy with all the new ventures and new lines of businesses that were 34 00:02:29.219 --> 00:02:31.090 starting and it's an exciting time to be here. I feel like my team 35 00:02:31.169 --> 00:02:35.969 is growing constantly and we are a lot of trial and error and a lot 36 00:02:36.009 --> 00:02:39.610 of really great success around here. So, before Produgo and healthcare, I 37 00:02:39.689 --> 00:02:45.120 vote did both be Toc and B Tob, which kind of guided me into 38 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:47.520 the supply chain side of things, which is a very, very different market 39 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:53.319 and has very different challenges. So it has been an exciting journey to get 40 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:55.960 here. Awesome. So we're going to be talking about that. As you're, 41 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:00.949 you know, approaching a new industry, what things can you take from 42 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:05.030 your previous marketing experience and what things do you maybe need to tweak or just 43 00:03:05.349 --> 00:03:07.669 flat out leave at the door? So tell us a little bit about, 44 00:03:07.830 --> 00:03:12.030 you know, kind of the first steps you took, Ashley, as you 45 00:03:12.189 --> 00:03:16.379 joined Prodigo. You're looking at a new industry, new topics, new persona. 46 00:03:16.819 --> 00:03:22.580 What were some of your first steps to determine what strategy are you really 47 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:27.020 going to try and help implement as you build the marketing team there at Produgo 48 00:03:27.370 --> 00:03:30.569 well, I think. First it's always I'd like to tell people that I 49 00:03:30.729 --> 00:03:37.129 remember way back in Undergrad when you're learning first about what you've in business school, 50 00:03:37.169 --> 00:03:38.490 what you're going to do, or the key rules, right, and 51 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:44.080 there's always somebody says there's three rules to life, right, and when you 52 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:49.039 get into your professional career and you're really challenged and required to lead a team, 53 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:54.680 you realize that those three rules change often and constantly and the things that 54 00:03:54.789 --> 00:04:00.150 you these basic rules or basic channels that you were told to follow, you 55 00:04:00.310 --> 00:04:02.710 can follow them, but then you are a follower for the rest of your 56 00:04:02.789 --> 00:04:06.710 career, and so it's really important to note that in every industry that you're 57 00:04:06.830 --> 00:04:11.699 in that those key rules change and they're supposed to change and they're supposed to 58 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:15.340 evolve. So you know as you as anybody kind of gets into their career 59 00:04:15.379 --> 00:04:19.459 or hires, I aways look for people who are curious about new opportunities, 60 00:04:19.500 --> 00:04:25.889 that don't expect expect the status quo or don't expect what today's solutions are will 61 00:04:25.889 --> 00:04:30.050 be tomorrow solutions. So I've kind of moved along in my journey and then 62 00:04:30.089 --> 00:04:33.129 even into my Mba, I realized that some of the most successful people around 63 00:04:33.129 --> 00:04:40.199 me are those that don't continue the same equation and that instead they change up 64 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:46.600 what's going on and they evaluate each problem individually without anchoring to pass biases, 65 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:50.319 and I think that that's probably been such a core part of my evolution here 66 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:55.910 to where I am now, because I funny. So, my first job 67 00:04:56.069 --> 00:05:00.829 out of school I was in marketing in PR for a construction company, is 68 00:05:00.870 --> 00:05:05.350 residential remodeling and so extraordinarily different than healthcare and supply chains. Yeah, I 69 00:05:05.430 --> 00:05:10.300 got to, you know, market beautiful kitchens, which is totally different and 70 00:05:10.740 --> 00:05:15.139 if I were to use the tactics I use then today, you know I 71 00:05:15.459 --> 00:05:18.779 can't sell a supply chain the way that you can sell a kitchen. I 72 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:24.970 think it's great at any time to really look at whatever industry that you're in 73 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:30.410 and independently, look look at a through a Lens, independently from previous experiences, 74 00:05:30.889 --> 00:05:32.649 and then, as you start to plan, you then refer back to 75 00:05:32.769 --> 00:05:39.360 your experiences and expertise of others, and that way you're not you're not allowing 76 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:45.399 previous biases or the security net of I know how to do this anger you 77 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:48.279 to something that may not be successful in a new industry. I love the 78 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:53.110 way that you're talking about that. They're in the balance, right of learning 79 00:05:53.189 --> 00:05:58.350 new lessons but also drawing on some of the wisdom from your past experiences. 80 00:05:58.629 --> 00:06:01.509 So I imagine one of the first steps you took was to really evaluate, 81 00:06:01.949 --> 00:06:06.379 you know, the new industry and probably part of that evaluation to is all 82 00:06:06.379 --> 00:06:11.500 right, where is our company at in relation to the market that we're trying 83 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:14.259 to serve, the market that we're trying to lead, the market share that 84 00:06:14.339 --> 00:06:16.540 we're trying to gain? Tell us a little bit about how you went about 85 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:21.529 that evaluation process as you stepped into this new role recently, as you mentioned, 86 00:06:21.649 --> 00:06:27.129 like a year ago here. Well, I'll say that I stepped into 87 00:06:27.170 --> 00:06:30.769 the new way that I approach things by making a mistake. That is, 88 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:35.480 when I was first starting off in my career. You just have this energy 89 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:39.560 and vibrance and think that you just start going to come in and change the 90 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:44.399 world right. You just have this passion and think that you know it all 91 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:46.829 right, and so you come in and you throw your ideas out there as 92 00:06:46.829 --> 00:06:51.269 if you were some innovative genius, and you know you make that mistake once 93 00:06:51.389 --> 00:06:55.990 and realize that if that, if you come in that hot, people are 94 00:06:56.149 --> 00:07:00.110 not going to appreciate it. And so I've gotten to where I am because 95 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:03.779 I know the value and I think anybody who moves up in leadership really knows 96 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:11.660 that to be a really good leader and into into really get gained trust wherever 97 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:15.220 you are, you need to evaluate the current state of your company. Could 98 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:18.129 bad write what? What talent is there to offer? What do people know? 99 00:07:18.449 --> 00:07:21.449 What do people think? What did they think of the marketing person before 100 00:07:21.490 --> 00:07:25.730 you? Whether they think about the future? You know, in the industry, 101 00:07:26.050 --> 00:07:29.490 okay, what happened ten years ago? What was happening five years ago? 102 00:07:29.970 --> 00:07:32.519 What's happened the past two years, and where do we see trends going? 103 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:36.560 What what is being posted, what's being written? What do people say? 104 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:40.800 And in the same goes with your competitors. I got, I heard 105 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:44.910 the SACO amount of podcast, some really good advice that I follow and it's 106 00:07:45.149 --> 00:07:47.470 if you really want to know how your competitors are doing in there each and 107 00:07:47.509 --> 00:07:50.389 every morning, you should do two things. One, you should see the 108 00:07:50.470 --> 00:07:55.350 jobs that they're posting. If they're adding on to their teams and they're adding 109 00:07:55.389 --> 00:07:59.420 onto divisions, you will see how well they're doing right and what they're initiatives 110 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:01.459 and goals are. If they're replacing a lot of the same jobs, you 111 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:07.180 also see what's going on and to is to check patents. So I like 112 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:09.699 to check patents in the morning and see what's new and you know, our 113 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:16.410 competitors getting into our space or not. So that baseline evaluation of the industry 114 00:08:16.529 --> 00:08:20.490 and your company is so important because then you can gage how far you have 115 00:08:20.610 --> 00:08:24.769 to go and where you need to go and what the true needs are, 116 00:08:24.889 --> 00:08:28.079 because, you know, starting any role it's kind of like trauma surgery. 117 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:31.519 You have to prioritize what you're going to fix first. I love that. 118 00:08:31.840 --> 00:08:35.320 It's like trauma surgery. It's like a home remodel, right, what's going 119 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:39.039 to come first? Going back to that kitchen, I just had to go 120 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:41.870 there. Sorry. Well, I love that. As yet, those two 121 00:08:41.909 --> 00:08:46.629 little nuggets on competitive research, especially if you're at a new company or in 122 00:08:46.909 --> 00:08:50.870 a new industry, kind of the next step from there. You mentioned this 123 00:08:50.110 --> 00:08:52.990 to me as we are chatting a little bit offline, is not to just 124 00:08:54.230 --> 00:08:58.779 look at where your company is what is the state of the industry and in 125 00:08:58.019 --> 00:09:03.019 some of those future trends, but how your company got there and why are 126 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:07.500 they there right now? Why are they using the marketing strategies that they're using 127 00:09:07.700 --> 00:09:13.610 today or have been using? Because I think what you'll say here is probably, 128 00:09:13.210 --> 00:09:16.690 you know, in relation to that, that concept of coming in trying 129 00:09:16.690 --> 00:09:20.169 to make too many changes, being a bull in a China shop, but 130 00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:22.690 you'll be able to speak to it better than me. But I imagine if 131 00:09:22.769 --> 00:09:26.360 you're asking the why and not just saying hey, this needs to change, 132 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:33.320 because then you're going to form some better relationships with the other functional leaders in 133 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:37.519 the new company that you're joining. Right. Yeah, so that second stage 134 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:41.990 is is a diagnostic stage, right. You really need to understand the why, 135 00:09:41.149 --> 00:09:45.669 and I do joke and say that marketing and any new job is really 136 00:09:45.750 --> 00:09:50.990 like trauma surgery, because it is a diagnostic moment where you have to in. 137 00:09:50.110 --> 00:09:54.820 Every everybody wants something from you quickly, right, you're the new person. 138 00:09:54.940 --> 00:09:56.419 Everyone wants to see what you're going to do and what you're going to 139 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:01.379 offer, and so people are expecting, you know, a quick turnaround and 140 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:05.899 a quick onboarding time, especially at the managing the marketing department. That's that's 141 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:11.210 what people are hoping for. And so I always when I start, and 142 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:15.210 in especially when I started with Prodigo is, I just set up with meetings 143 00:10:15.289 --> 00:10:18.330 with as many people as I can and I just ask as many questions as 144 00:10:18.370 --> 00:10:22.600 I can and I'd get back and I write down what they said and I 145 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:24.039 think about it and then I follow up with them and say, I thought 146 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:28.000 I understood this, but I don't think I do and I just want your 147 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:33.039 thoughts and it's so invaluable to get the perspectives from your develop and we're a 148 00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:35.669 software company, right. So we've got QA, so we've got our development 149 00:10:35.710 --> 00:10:39.669 team and our builders and the guys that really have their hands, you know, 150 00:10:39.789 --> 00:10:43.110 hands in it all and are building our software. We have our client 151 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:48.190 management team that fixes things and or front facing to our clients, and we've 152 00:10:48.190 --> 00:10:52.379 got our account management team, or sales team, our data team. You 153 00:10:52.460 --> 00:10:56.139 know, weave a ton of teams here and it's so important to ask each 154 00:10:56.340 --> 00:11:01.659 team what is their priority and then what were their pain points with marketing before 155 00:11:01.299 --> 00:11:05.809 and then what are their pain points in general with the company? Right when 156 00:11:05.850 --> 00:11:07.809 I came in, I remember hearing, you know, we don't. We 157 00:11:07.889 --> 00:11:13.970 don't communicate. Departments to communicate well across one another and while that might not 158 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:18.529 necessarily be my job, a simple implementation of a luncheon learn gives marketing the 159 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:22.799 credibility that I listen to you and that we heard you. So that diagnostic 160 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:26.519 states, that second step into understanding what everybody wants and pain points are. 161 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:31.600 It's really, really important. That way, these trias right. Okay, 162 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:33.629 this is bleeding that quick. This is got to be fixed first, this 163 00:11:33.830 --> 00:11:37.750 is second, this is third, and that way your strides almost like it 164 00:11:37.870 --> 00:11:41.070 just perfectly feeds in to, you know, the next phase, which is 165 00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:46.700 creating a strategy. Imagine it, a spreadsheet filled with rows and rows of 166 00:11:46.779 --> 00:11:52.940 your sales enablement assets. You've devoted two years organizing this masterpiece, only for 167 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:56.460 it to stop making sense. This was Chad forbuccos reality. As the head 168 00:11:56.539 --> 00:12:01.450 of sales enablement at glint, a linkedin company, he's responsible for instilling confidence 169 00:12:01.529 --> 00:12:05.169 in his sales reps and arming them with the information they need to do their 170 00:12:05.210 --> 00:12:11.009 jobs. However, when his glorious spreadsheet became too complex, he realized he 171 00:12:11.169 --> 00:12:15.409 needed a new system. That's when Chad turned to guru with Guru. The 172 00:12:15.490 --> 00:12:18.919 knowledge you need to do your job finds you. Between Guru's Web interface, 173 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:24.679 slack integration, mobile APP and browser extension, teams can easily search for verified 174 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:31.230 knowledge without leaving their workflow. No more siload or staled information. Guru acts 175 00:12:31.269 --> 00:12:35.110 as your single source of truth. For Chad, this meant glent sales reps 176 00:12:35.149 --> 00:12:39.350 were left feeling more confident doing their jobs. See why leading companies like glint, 177 00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:46.139 shopify, spotify, slack and more are using guru for their knowledge management 178 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:52.419 needs. Visit BB growth dot get Guru Tocom to start your thirty day free 179 00:12:52.500 --> 00:13:00.769 trial and discover how knowledge management can empower your revenue teams. And tell us 180 00:13:00.809 --> 00:13:03.889 a little bit about how you make that pivot. When did you kind of 181 00:13:03.970 --> 00:13:09.210 decide, okay, I've done enough diagnosis, I've done enough trias here. 182 00:13:09.330 --> 00:13:13.519 Now I'm really going to start getting to work methodically. Tell us a little 183 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:18.840 bit about that pivot and again striking that balance of leveraging what you know but 184 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.639 also not duplicating what you've done in the past. Right. So I think 185 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:30.470 that after that diagnosis stage where you talked to everybody and you've heard their pain 186 00:13:30.590 --> 00:13:35.190 points and heard their opinions, you start to come together. I always find 187 00:13:35.269 --> 00:13:39.669 it really beneficial. It might be cheating, but I it always really helps 188 00:13:39.750 --> 00:13:46.059 me is that before I present out a big strategy or or recommend something, 189 00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:50.580 I put something together and I challenge myself to make sure, okay, yes, 190 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:52.539 this worked in previously to be but it might not work here. Let's, 191 00:13:52.580 --> 00:13:56.129 you know, think outside the box. I get it together and then 192 00:13:56.490 --> 00:14:01.049 I go back to, you know, maybe to the head of account management 193 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:05.370 or the head is someone and someone in the sales or client services, whoever 194 00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:07.330 it might be, and say, Hey, this is what I'm thinking. 195 00:14:07.490 --> 00:14:09.279 You know. I know that you said that this is a pain point from 196 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:15.080 the previous marketing person or this is the pain point previously. I'm thinking that 197 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:18.039 this will meet the needs and this is kind of how long it will take 198 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:20.120 to you. What do you think? And so when I get that strategy 199 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:24.269 together, I really do it in components and I get the buy in from 200 00:14:24.269 --> 00:14:31.870 everybody and that way I know what you know at first are they are they 201 00:14:31.909 --> 00:14:33.269 believing in and it or not? Or they hearing me or not? Do 202 00:14:33.389 --> 00:14:37.700 they trust me or not? And the one thing that marketing departments have to 203 00:14:37.940 --> 00:14:43.019 have, to have more than almost anybody else, is trust because you're going 204 00:14:43.100 --> 00:14:46.299 to have, because all marketing leaders know that you're incorporating all lines of business 205 00:14:46.419 --> 00:14:50.980 and what you do right. Because if I'm if I'm pushing a message out 206 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:54.809 that says to sales, we can, you know, we can fix everything 207 00:14:54.889 --> 00:14:58.049 in the kitchen sink, and then our implementation team goes no, we can't. 208 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:03.250 Well, there's no, I'm not benefiting anybody there. I might have 209 00:15:03.370 --> 00:15:05.929 made the best sales pitch in the world, but I'm we're going to have 210 00:15:05.090 --> 00:15:11.600 this SATISFAC dissatisfaction later. So that in that strategy creation I always, of 211 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:15.840 course, look at our competitors and see what they're doing. I look at 212 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:20.159 Sanonymous, I look at industries that look like our but aren't our its. 213 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:24.070 Like, for example, I when looking at some marketing campaigns. You know, 214 00:15:24.549 --> 00:15:28.669 we're a software solution, where a marketplace solution for healthcare. So if 215 00:15:28.669 --> 00:15:33.629 you're a hospital and you need to order syringes or or anything, you use 216 00:15:33.669 --> 00:15:37.460 our software to purchase it. I looked at bookingscom. I looked at how 217 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:41.860 they're what how did they mess to people and how use their platform? What 218 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:46.379 did they hey say, what did they do? You know, it's not 219 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:48.539 our industry at all, but they've done a good job of communicating to people 220 00:15:48.539 --> 00:15:52.289 how to use their site. So that's a that's a big part in making 221 00:15:52.330 --> 00:15:56.250 sure I'm not duplicating my efforts. So that way, when I then go 222 00:15:56.490 --> 00:16:00.929 down and communicate internally to the company, if they're not if they're not hearing 223 00:16:00.009 --> 00:16:03.879 my vision and if they're not understanding what I'm saying, than the market probably 224 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:08.200 won't because I have a chance to be facetoface with them. So that's that's 225 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:14.440 strategy. Stage is so important. It's just so important to incorporate everybody and 226 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:18.240 get everybody's buying. I love what you were saying. They're ashby there. 227 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:21.909 There are two things I took out of that. You you mentioned just very 228 00:16:22.029 --> 00:16:26.389 briefly about evaluating your trust and building that trust with the other departments. I 229 00:16:26.470 --> 00:16:30.309 think you know when coming in, trying to be all right, the new 230 00:16:30.389 --> 00:16:33.539 marketing leader, I'm going to bring some I'm going to bring the heat right, 231 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:37.700 I'm going to bring some new ideas, new flavor, some new flash, 232 00:16:37.139 --> 00:16:41.460 and you failed to stop and take the time needed to build trust and 233 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:45.740 that you know that takes some Eq that takes some no other way to say 234 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:49.289 it just takes time. To build that trust and that relationship with the other 235 00:16:49.769 --> 00:16:53.330 functional leaders. And then the other thing I just love that how you looked 236 00:16:53.330 --> 00:17:00.480 at bookingcom look look for other look alike industries with similar dynamics, similar challenges, 237 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:04.839 similar go to market, even if it is vastly different on its face. 238 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:08.759 I think that's something, whether you sell to healthcare, to hr or 239 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:15.039 to marketing, that folks can can take from that. Actually, in the 240 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:18.910 four steps that you and I were talking about offline, you mentioned this idea. 241 00:17:18.950 --> 00:17:22.349 After you've kind of gone through the diagnosis phase, you started to formulate 242 00:17:22.470 --> 00:17:26.470 the strategy in step three. Here. Your fourth step is to try to 243 00:17:26.549 --> 00:17:32.700 get people to break it right. Yes, yeah, so this step actually 244 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:37.619 is my favorite and I think that it does. You know, that strategy 245 00:17:37.619 --> 00:17:41.539 stage builds trust and people begin to trust you and they want to work with 246 00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:45.170 you, but the thing that really pushes them over and into okay, that 247 00:17:45.289 --> 00:17:51.450 this girl or this woman is authentic is is this break it stage. And 248 00:17:51.650 --> 00:17:55.329 I actually love the stage and I genuinely mean it. And so what I 249 00:17:55.450 --> 00:18:00.039 do is I get leaders of each division and I also say hey, someone 250 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.599 from your team that is that you just that thinks outside the box and love 251 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:07.000 to come up with challenges and it will challenge ideas. Bring them into this 252 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:12.869 meeting and I will present the strategy and I'll present the marketing strategy and sale 253 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:17.950 strategy and I then tell the room I want you to break it and I'll 254 00:18:17.990 --> 00:18:21.630 tell them this before and at the end and I'll say, listen, this 255 00:18:21.829 --> 00:18:23.710 is not final. I want you, guys, to really believe in this 256 00:18:23.910 --> 00:18:27.380 and I want you to think that it's going to work. So the only 257 00:18:27.420 --> 00:18:30.180 way that this is going to work is if you point out the whole that 258 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:34.579 I'm not being right. And My background is an account management and it's it's 259 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:38.740 definitely not supply chain or operation. So there are things that they'll come up 260 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:41.809 with that I'll never I could have never thought about. And so we do 261 00:18:42.049 --> 00:18:45.730 this kind of round table and I'll say something and I wait and I'll say, 262 00:18:45.769 --> 00:18:48.289 okay, let's break it, like where the gaps here? What's going 263 00:18:48.410 --> 00:18:53.769 on? Where the faults? And in same with messaging and and this as 264 00:18:53.890 --> 00:18:57.960 this kind of brain storm happens. And if people communicate with one another, 265 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:03.200 they see that I'm taking notes and I'm serious and they realize that I am 266 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.400 extraordinarily onthentic when I say I want this to meet everybody's needs and I want 267 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:12.829 us to go to market and show our excellence. And so, after I've 268 00:19:12.869 --> 00:19:17.869 gotten all their feedbacks and their thoughts, I go back to my strategy and 269 00:19:18.269 --> 00:19:19.990 you know, in some instances I change a lot and in some I change 270 00:19:21.029 --> 00:19:23.500 almost nothing. But when I come back to it and I resund out what 271 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:27.900 I what I'm thinking to do, people know that I've heard them and that 272 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:32.700 they are input is in this and I and I always say this, and 273 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:37.019 I say this about you know, whether it's politics nowadays, or business or 274 00:19:37.140 --> 00:19:41.890 life or anything, I want you, I want everybody's opinion, because only 275 00:19:41.930 --> 00:19:45.529 two things can come from it. Right I either become more solidified in what 276 00:19:45.609 --> 00:19:48.289 I believe because I have a justification for it and I have enhanced the way 277 00:19:48.329 --> 00:19:53.799 I've communicated it, or my opinion is become enhanced. So maybe you brought 278 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:56.799 up a point and I don't have a reason why and I don't don't have 279 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:02.359 a response to you. Well, I better change it I'm doing or justify 280 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.759 why I'm doing what I'm doing, which only makes me more prepared and then 281 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:11.190 only makes my team more prepared. I can definitely relate to that as a 282 00:20:11.230 --> 00:20:15.430 parent when you get those hard questions and it makes you think about it again. 283 00:20:15.509 --> 00:20:18.029 You're like, wait a second, I need to think about this, 284 00:20:18.589 --> 00:20:21.940 or it's just really as you explain it. You know, as the old 285 00:20:21.980 --> 00:20:25.180 saying goes, teach it and you learn it twice. Right, whether it's 286 00:20:25.180 --> 00:20:27.859 parenting or marketing. I think there's a great lesson there, as I love 287 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:32.859 what you're talking about. We're definitely very like minded here for folks listening to 288 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:37.170 this that kind of want to recap their those four steps that you really unpacked. 289 00:20:37.210 --> 00:20:41.930 If you are developing your marketing strategy for a new industry, not necessarily 290 00:20:41.970 --> 00:20:45.250 a brand new sector, but a new industry to you, and even if 291 00:20:45.289 --> 00:20:49.200 you're just joining a new company that's taking a different angle or different persona, 292 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:52.920 I think you can follow these steps. Number One was evaluate the current state 293 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:57.519 of both the industry and the company. Both of those are important. Number 294 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:02.440 two, diagnose how your company got to where they are. Why are they 295 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:06.230 using the strategies in sales and marketing that they are today? Good, bad 296 00:21:06.269 --> 00:21:10.230 or indifferent, but understand that why? Three, as you start to formulate 297 00:21:10.349 --> 00:21:15.269 your strategy, remember to build trust with the other functional leaders and do your 298 00:21:15.349 --> 00:21:19.900 competitive research ast shared some really good tips on doing that. And then number 299 00:21:21.019 --> 00:21:23.299 four, get them to try and bring it because it's going to make your 300 00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:27.099 position stronger in one of the two ways that you were just saying there, 301 00:21:27.099 --> 00:21:30.019 Ashby. So you said it really well. I just wanted to try and 302 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:34.690 recap for folks today. I love this four steps strategy that folks can follow 303 00:21:34.690 --> 00:21:38.730 us they're looking to build out their strategy in a new industry to them. 304 00:21:40.170 --> 00:21:42.210 If people listening to this, Ashley, would like to reach out asking a 305 00:21:42.289 --> 00:21:45.769 follow up questions, pick your brain or just stay connected with you, what's 306 00:21:45.809 --> 00:21:49.240 the best way for them to reach out? Please absolutely. You can reach 307 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:52.440 out to me on Linkedin and go ahead and request me and send me a 308 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:57.480 message. I'm always eager to hear other ideas my team and how he's growing, 309 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:03.869 and I am always interested in other people's thoughts and feedbacks and where they 310 00:22:03.910 --> 00:22:07.750 think they're their industry is going in to. Please reach out to me, 311 00:22:07.869 --> 00:22:11.029 connect with me on Linkedin and see what we're doing here at Prodigo. Awesome, 312 00:22:11.109 --> 00:22:12.910 Ashby, thank you so much for being a guest on the show today. 313 00:22:12.990 --> 00:22:17.059 This was a great conversation. Thank you so much. It's been great 314 00:22:17.059 --> 00:22:22.940 to be on. We totally get it. We publish a ton of content 315 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:26.259 on this podcast and it can be a lot to keep up with. That's 316 00:22:26.299 --> 00:22:30.369 why we've started the B toob growth big three, a no fluff email that 317 00:22:30.490 --> 00:22:36.250 boils down our three biggest takeaways from an entire week of episodes. Sign up 318 00:22:36.250 --> 00:22:42.210 today at Sweet Fish Mediacom big three. That sweet PHISH MEDIACOM Big Three
