I Got a New Marketing Role! Now What? with Brad Zomick

WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:10.470 This is Bob Growth. My name is Benjie Block. Excited today because we're 2 00:00:10.509 --> 00:00:14.830 joined by Brad Zomic. He's the VP of marketing. Will get into his 3 00:00:15.550 --> 00:00:18.910 exact title the new company, all that here in a second. But Brad, 4 00:00:18.949 --> 00:00:21.739 welcome to the show. Thank you for having me, Benjie, great 5 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:25.579 to be here. You ended up on my radar because you announced the new 6 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:30.379 position that you were transitioning into. We know right now there's a lot of 7 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:34.500 movement happening, people landing new jobs, new marketing positions, and so we 8 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:39.609 thought it'd be fun to discuss that here on BTB growth kind of this this 9 00:00:39.770 --> 00:00:42.450 idea. You got a new marketing role. All right, awesome, like 10 00:00:42.609 --> 00:00:47.570 now what? And so let's talk about that, Brad, in the transitions, 11 00:00:48.090 --> 00:00:51.640 and specifically the one you're in now. When did you get hired? 12 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:55.119 How long ago was that? Where are you in that process? Sure, 13 00:00:55.320 --> 00:01:00.600 so I joined the company at the first week of December. It's just in 14 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:03.280 the time of year to join a company. I think there's an is. 15 00:01:03.750 --> 00:01:07.870 Actually, I think it's a great time, honestly. But yes, I'm 16 00:01:08.510 --> 00:01:14.870 basically one month in, maybe maybe five weeks. Relatively new, but all 17 00:01:14.909 --> 00:01:18.510 very exciting. The new car smell is still there. You know, we're 18 00:01:18.549 --> 00:01:23.299 so bunny wood. Yes, yeah, so, and I'm not not much 19 00:01:23.739 --> 00:01:26.939 longer at sweet fish either. So I joined like November one. So we're 20 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:30.060 both in this space of thinking through. How do you do this transition? 21 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:34.450 Well, and I thought there's a lot to think through. Let's talk about 22 00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:41.890 those first thirty days. What did you go in sort of wanting to prioritize? 23 00:01:42.010 --> 00:01:45.810 How do you think about that now that you've taken several different VP roles? 24 00:01:46.129 --> 00:01:48.519 Sure, what are some things that you're like, I got to strategically 25 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:51.799 do this in those first thirty days? Yeah, yeah, so I haven't 26 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:53.680 done it a couple of times, more than a couple of times, you 27 00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:00.239 know, like I have like a pretty refine approach to join a company and 28 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.750 I would say like, I guess we could talk about in the context of 29 00:02:02.790 --> 00:02:07.750 the first thirty days, but often it's like it's really the first quarter or 30 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:10.189 two and I think, and especially we say, or to an enterprise where 31 00:02:10.189 --> 00:02:14.189 you're basically, you know, figuring out which way is up or down and 32 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:17.099 trying to change a strategy and turn the ship, so to speak. There 33 00:02:17.099 --> 00:02:20.580 are few things that I tried to do and I would say above all, 34 00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.539 I resist the are to get pulled into the inertia of like doing stuff and 35 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:28.419 and and, like, you know, putting out fires. Really, like 36 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:34.370 this time is about making friends. It's observing, listening, consuming and learning, 37 00:02:34.409 --> 00:02:37.449 right, you know. So that's what I orient the first month, 38 00:02:37.569 --> 00:02:40.770 right. I'm not, like, you know, looking to kind of rock 39 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:45.520 the boat immediately. I just want to kind of figure out what's going on, 40 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:47.719 right, and so I think, you know, I'll start with one 41 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:52.240 area, which is making friends. And actually, I would say making friends 42 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:55.680 forging alliance, right, and that's like getting face time with all the people 43 00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:00.870 that matter right in the organization. So it's my manager, you know, 44 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:05.909 the the CEO of the company, my peers in sales and customer success and 45 00:03:06.310 --> 00:03:10.189 product even engineering, and then also my direct reports. So as I, 46 00:03:10.550 --> 00:03:14.099 you know, go to meet these people, I like really want to get 47 00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:15.900 to know them first, and I think especially in the first meeting or two 48 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:19.900 or even more, I think of this remote world, like I kind of 49 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:23.819 over index for the small talk and really try to understand what's going on in 50 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:27.689 life beyond their job. And I think especially in this like covid era, 51 00:03:28.169 --> 00:03:30.689 people are isolated and, you know, we all have kind of crave like 52 00:03:30.810 --> 00:03:36.090 the interaction. So yeah, I definitely had meetings where like literal half an 53 00:03:36.090 --> 00:03:38.729 hour and maybe we're supposed to talk about work, but we just kind of 54 00:03:38.770 --> 00:03:43.080 jammed about life and interesting stuff and what were their backgrounds and what's going on 55 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.520 at home with our family and kids. It's so necessary because we don't have 56 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:51.080 like a cooler talk. There's no way to just go out to lunch with 57 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:54.479 somebody. So the way that we think about it now, being fully remote, 58 00:03:54.680 --> 00:04:00.389 is really so different, because you do want actual relationships. Like, 59 00:04:00.430 --> 00:04:03.550 I know no one on our team lives in the same state and you have 60 00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:08.990 like people across oceans. Yeah, so I think I left out of part 61 00:04:09.069 --> 00:04:15.139 of commune is based in the Louven Belgium. So I have a team of 62 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:18.819 five people reporting to me and and actually only one of them is here in 63 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:23.339 New York. And and and I'll I would say, you know, out 64 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:25.290 of the like, I guess, forty or so people in the company, 65 00:04:25.410 --> 00:04:28.730 you know, the twenty percent are here in New York and so there is 66 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:31.370 like, you know, like a time zone thing and we it's important to 67 00:04:31.410 --> 00:04:36.889 kind of, I guess, extend, you know, and and you know, 68 00:04:38.170 --> 00:04:41.240 make that effort to get to know people wherever they are. Yeah, 69 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.879 I totally see that. I think prioritizing those friendships and doing I love the 70 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:51.319 way you said like forging alliances super important and vital. The other side of 71 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:58.589 it is consuming like as much as you can to best understand the company, 72 00:04:58.790 --> 00:05:02.470 the culture, learning as much as you can. So what are things that 73 00:05:02.629 --> 00:05:10.100 you're doing, maybe time blocks that you're setting aside to really understand the the 74 00:05:10.379 --> 00:05:13.379 company and the goals that are are at hand? So I like to align 75 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:17.500 on the expectations and marketing. I want to understand like their key processes and 76 00:05:17.660 --> 00:05:23.689 like the handoff points with their organization and marketing, you know, like what 77 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:28.089 are they expect from me? And also try to figure out like what's on 78 00:05:28.209 --> 00:05:31.370 fire versus what's Nice to have right, and the kind of look at kind 79 00:05:31.410 --> 00:05:35.800 of that interaction moving forward, how we can kind of reset it, you 80 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:41.279 know, and make it mutually beneficial, you know, and like some of 81 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:43.959 these meanings are recurring and like. So we figure out kind of what do 82 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:47.040 we want to talk about with the week and one of the the shared, 83 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.230 you know, metrics that matter to us and how can we kind of, 84 00:05:51.389 --> 00:05:56.269 I guess, develop, you know, that in both of our strategies. 85 00:05:56.430 --> 00:06:00.509 You know, the the mutually reciprocal part. You know that benefits each other 86 00:06:00.589 --> 00:06:05.779 and it kind of construct our relationship and and are weekly sinks around that and 87 00:06:06.100 --> 00:06:10.139 just our road map and what we're trying to do to help each other out. 88 00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:13.500 I think actually probably for the world of marketing them more often that this 89 00:06:13.779 --> 00:06:17.300 this the most important relationship, is the relationship with sales, but obviously totally 90 00:06:17.769 --> 00:06:21.850 product and so customer success out of that all matters too. So that's, 91 00:06:21.889 --> 00:06:25.850 I would say, that one big bucket when I'm trying to do and create 92 00:06:25.970 --> 00:06:30.290 those alliances to really get that alignment lock step and get on the same page. 93 00:06:30.370 --> 00:06:35.240 Follow up question for you there. When you identify an area that seemingly 94 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:42.879 on fire in those first thirty days, is it instant because you're trying to 95 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.480 do the best you can to learn right? So as a leaders, a 96 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:47.910 lot of times what we'll do is we'll go into like solution mode, will 97 00:06:47.949 --> 00:06:54.829 try to solve immediately. How, once you've identified that, are you thinking 98 00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:58.829 strategically and not taking immediate action? What do you do once you've identified there's 99 00:06:58.829 --> 00:07:00.699 a fire or something that needs changing? Yeah, it's a great question. 100 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:06.300 Ultimately, I think if there are things that are like tied to her, 101 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:12.259 the publishing calendar, you know, like you know, sometimes you have to 102 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:15.089 make the difficult decision of saying, all right, we're just going to push 103 00:07:15.129 --> 00:07:17.610 us out a month and, you know, we'll take the time to kind 104 00:07:17.649 --> 00:07:21.250 of really, you know, think through the process. But I do, 105 00:07:23.209 --> 00:07:28.449 you know, I like basically try to you know, focus on strategy first. 106 00:07:28.490 --> 00:07:31.399 So as I'm like taking all this in, you know, I'm documentary 107 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:35.040 of observations and you know, the next dirty days kind of, you know, 108 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:39.279 then we start talking about change and I'll get there in a second. 109 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.560 So I think, yeah, basically noting all these things that are happening, 110 00:07:44.350 --> 00:07:48.709 you know, and and you know, trying to incorporate them into the strategy. 111 00:07:49.829 --> 00:07:55.149 But after I'm like done, kind of like and I would say like 112 00:07:55.269 --> 00:07:57.870 all this stuff. It's probably happening in tandem. But you know, once 113 00:07:57.910 --> 00:08:01.379 you put that, like alliances bucket aside, the next is with my direct 114 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:03.660 reports and you know, similarly, I want to get to know them, 115 00:08:03.899 --> 00:08:07.420 you know, beyond work, but I also want to know their backgrounds, 116 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:13.529 their strengths and their passions so we can orient their work towards that I mentioned 117 00:08:13.649 --> 00:08:15.769 coming in at the end of the year as a good thing because people are 118 00:08:15.850 --> 00:08:18.649 in that reflect on load. So it's easy to have the conversation around what's 119 00:08:18.689 --> 00:08:22.209 working what's not in the last year. What are the things that you want 120 00:08:22.250 --> 00:08:24.689 to stop doing, what are the things you want to maintain? What are 121 00:08:24.689 --> 00:08:28.759 the things we want to start doing so they're that's a common exercise like that. 122 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:35.120 Stop, maintain, start, kind of joining organization and it basically posting 123 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:37.000 all these people, people on my team. You know, how do we 124 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:41.710 do more impactful marketing and more efficiently in the next year? And I think 125 00:08:41.789 --> 00:08:46.710 those are been some really fruitful conversations that we've had over the last thirty days. 126 00:08:46.149 --> 00:08:52.350 Everybody has winds and fails and kind of, I guess, reflections upon 127 00:08:52.590 --> 00:08:54.980 like, you know, experiences where the things went really well, but on 128 00:08:56.019 --> 00:09:01.100 the flip side where things didn't go well and potentially we're a time suck of 129 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:05.299 you know, their energy and focus and it's some cases, you know, 130 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:09.779 a waste of money. Right. I think when I think of like what's 131 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:13.769 on fire, you're mentioning, noting it right, like we're going to we're 132 00:09:13.769 --> 00:09:16.049 going to write it down or we're just going to we're going to make sure 133 00:09:16.090 --> 00:09:18.649 that we take a mental note of this is an area that we could work 134 00:09:18.769 --> 00:09:22.330 on. Find the context, because I think that's a big part to write. 135 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:26.120 You can easily come in and want to like save the day and prove 136 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:28.559 you're worth early on in a roll. But instead to go okay, what's 137 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:33.720 the context like? How how are we house our thinking landed here as a 138 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:37.279 company? What are some just easy ways we can adjustice and don't feel like 139 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:39.429 you have to do it immediately because they've been doing it a certain way for 140 00:09:39.509 --> 00:09:43.110 a lot longer than you've been on the team. So just to note it, 141 00:09:43.230 --> 00:09:46.590 find the context and then, like you said it, take advantage of 142 00:09:46.669 --> 00:09:50.070 the new car smell, right, like you're seeing things that they aren't seeing 143 00:09:50.070 --> 00:09:54.980 because you haven't been in the weeds every day, and so to have that 144 00:09:54.179 --> 00:10:00.620 sort of new eyes, the fresh perspective that comes with the new role is 145 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:05.620 is absolutely vital to to take advantage of that. So, okay, let's 146 00:10:05.659 --> 00:10:09.570 move to this and kind of push this conversation forward. You're now in the 147 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:15.649 season where it's it's not the first thirty days anymore, right, so there's 148 00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:20.169 there's some things that have happened where you're going, okay, now I can 149 00:10:20.250 --> 00:10:26.360 start to maybe implement what I'd like. Or what else would you say you 150 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:31.200 focus on in that maybe the next three thousand and sixty days? Right, 151 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:35.440 your your past first month, which in you know, from there, you 152 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:39.710 know, there is some switching out of observation mode. I think after the 153 00:10:39.870 --> 00:10:43.470 first thirty days, like I basically we're able to see kind of everything, 154 00:10:43.750 --> 00:10:46.789 you know, like I guess, all the areas that were maybe suboptimal and 155 00:10:46.909 --> 00:10:50.860 things that we need to kind of incorporate into, you know, the new 156 00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:56.179 strategy. So basically, when all of that, as I'm doing that, 157 00:10:56.299 --> 00:10:58.820 you know, you mentioned noting, right, and like you know during the 158 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:01.860 first month where it's like almost like you're meditating, when I kind of thoughts 159 00:11:01.899 --> 00:11:05.769 pop into your head, you put them to the side and write it down. 160 00:11:05.129 --> 00:11:09.610 But now I've yeah that period and I can actually look at these notes. 161 00:11:11.009 --> 00:11:13.970 And so every call I had, you know, with you know, 162 00:11:15.090 --> 00:11:18.679 either direct report or, you know, appear, you know, I was 163 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:22.759 taking notes and I'm looking at those notes and I'm distilling them into like some 164 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:26.960 high level observations where essentially every thing that I heard and observed or the key 165 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:33.470 themes right, and I have probably two slides worth of these like audible observations 166 00:11:33.509 --> 00:11:39.149 and visual and you know, from there I go into kind of, I 167 00:11:39.269 --> 00:11:45.629 guess, the strategy, right, and the strategy is essentially some like key 168 00:11:45.710 --> 00:11:48.980 objectives that, you know, we're looking to drive home the next year. 169 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:52.620 And I think, for instance, you know, one example is around kind 170 00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:56.299 of building and winning the category, and you know, so the strategy is 171 00:11:56.580 --> 00:12:00.539 like, you know, let's say, to win the category and like there's 172 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:03.730 a bunch of objectives that we want to achieve under that. You know, 173 00:12:03.850 --> 00:12:05.409 for instance, you know some sort, I guess, a lot of these 174 00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:09.009 going to the the bucket of product marketing reboot. Always, I always end 175 00:12:09.009 --> 00:12:13.809 up starting there because like a unit of efficiency and product marketing is probably five 176 00:12:13.929 --> 00:12:18.159 hundred and ten, a hundred x, you know, like downstream when you 177 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:22.360 get like into totally pains and demand generation. So you know, we're doing 178 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:26.000 a lot of work there around positioning and messaging and brand but essentially, you 179 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:31.429 know, documenting that strategy across the different competencies of marketing. So you know, 180 00:12:31.629 --> 00:12:37.669 there's also like you know, the content strategy, the Demandin strategy, 181 00:12:37.870 --> 00:12:43.789 the operation strategy. I would say two areas. I would say I started, 182 00:12:43.909 --> 00:12:46.940 or probably product marketing operations, because those the things that kind of okay, 183 00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:50.779 you know, have big impact downstream. And then it's a waterfall. 184 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:56.539 But so when I first thought, I'll document the strategy, you know, 185 00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:58.009 I'll put it together in, like I said, document, you know, 186 00:12:58.090 --> 00:13:03.490 that's a strategy for the year and that's some key things that we want to 187 00:13:03.529 --> 00:13:05.889 do and I'll share it with the you know, the immediate team. So 188 00:13:07.009 --> 00:13:09.769 I share it up, you know, and around right, you know, 189 00:13:09.009 --> 00:13:13.480 to my peers, to my direct reports, and get feedback. So every 190 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:15.799 time I share to somebody, you get a little bit of Nice Act, 191 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:18.919 like we should find tune this, what about this and that? And then 192 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:22.039 when that strategy is complete, we then waterfall it down to direct reports, 193 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:26.360 you know, with their annual planning, and we set there kind of like 194 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:30.750 North Star for the year, as well as quarterly, okay ours, you 195 00:13:30.789 --> 00:13:33.870 know. With that comes, you know, any sort of like major projects, 196 00:13:33.909 --> 00:13:37.950 Kpis. And then I think the last step is like, once we've 197 00:13:37.990 --> 00:13:41.659 kind of buttoned up the plan across the team, we go out and share 198 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:48.740 that with the entire organization through, I should most companies have some sort of 199 00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:52.419 annual kickoff where they have a big, you know, all hands where they're 200 00:13:52.419 --> 00:13:56.409 sharing a lot of that and I'll often kind of direct people back to you 201 00:13:56.529 --> 00:14:01.730 know, are you know are Wiki or some document where they can really go 202 00:14:01.889 --> 00:14:05.009 down the rabbit hole or if they want to, and certain aspects of the 203 00:14:05.049 --> 00:14:07.769 strategy. But that all hands, all off and elicits a lot of questions 204 00:14:07.929 --> 00:14:13.639 and for people in different organizations. And I would say from that releasing of 205 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.000 the strategy and the plan that's when we to transition into the doing. So 206 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:24.990 I would say I'm now in that yeah, which just starting to embark on 207 00:14:24.149 --> 00:14:28.110 like the first bits and pieces of the doing. Right. So I think, 208 00:14:28.950 --> 00:14:31.509 yeah, they may. Yeah, basically we have a product marketing exercise 209 00:14:31.509 --> 00:14:37.070 kicking off next week and, you know, sommarly we're going to execute on 210 00:14:37.149 --> 00:14:41.980 some operations improvements, you know, this month. But these are things that 211 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:45.419 are going to take for the first way of a change is probably take, 212 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:48.299 you know, a whole quarter. Two, two, waterfall down into you 213 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:54.129 know, other people's activities. Right. 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All One 229 00:15:50.690 --> 00:15:54.129 word for a twenty five percent discount. All right, let's get back to 230 00:15:54.210 --> 00:16:00.409 the show. A huge part of be to be gross is we don't want 231 00:16:00.450 --> 00:16:03.409 to just give people answers. Here's five things you should do when you get 232 00:16:03.450 --> 00:16:07.639 a new job. We want to teach mindset. Want to give away questions 233 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:15.120 that people can ponder or be asking in their organization. What are some questions 234 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:18.190 that you just get a new marketing roll? What are some questions that you're 235 00:16:18.190 --> 00:16:22.669 asking some of the mindset as you would jump in and that you would advise 236 00:16:22.710 --> 00:16:27.269 others to maybe take on? Yeah, so I think first and foremost we 237 00:16:27.309 --> 00:16:30.870 got to think about your manager and what kind of what they care about. 238 00:16:30.950 --> 00:16:33.700 You know, what are their goals? How do Your Goals Roll into theirs? 239 00:16:33.100 --> 00:16:37.419 And like it? Basically, you know, come into a mutual alignment 240 00:16:37.460 --> 00:16:41.019 around what you're your north star is like. What are the what are the 241 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:45.860 big buckets you to be working on? And one of those Kpis. And 242 00:16:45.539 --> 00:16:48.490 you know often, I guess, if you're in performance marketing, is a 243 00:16:48.570 --> 00:16:52.330 lot of it is around, you know, or just in general, like 244 00:16:52.409 --> 00:16:56.649 I guess, the North Star from marketing leave the pipeline revenue. But you 245 00:16:56.730 --> 00:17:00.049 know that nuances, this changes a little bit as you go to the different 246 00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:03.240 members of the team. You know, market is probably one functions where there's 247 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:07.119 like quite a bit of variety in what people are doing across the team and 248 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:11.480 and so so it. You know, I care about like pipeline and revenue, 249 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:18.269 but, like other people, probably are focusing on more different metrics like 250 00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:22.470 traffic or, you know, the leads, etc. You know, I 251 00:17:22.509 --> 00:17:26.390 guess if you're a kind of in more of a brand role, you know, 252 00:17:26.470 --> 00:17:29.750 it's more about like creative output, you know, quality of content and 253 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:36.460 meeting deadlines and whatnot, and frequency. Yeah, yeah, so I would 254 00:17:36.460 --> 00:17:40.660 say that's the first thing, is having that, that conversation with your manager 255 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:44.490 and figuring out, like you know, which direction, which should is your 256 00:17:44.529 --> 00:17:48.890 true north and and orienting to that. The second big question I would probably 257 00:17:48.890 --> 00:17:53.970 be asking, you know, myself and those around me are who are the 258 00:17:56.490 --> 00:18:00.759 important people in my ecosystem? So I think who are the strategic partners that 259 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:04.079 you want to be mindful of? And those are your you know, potentially, 260 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:08.359 I guess. You know, if you're a kind of if you're like 261 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:12.269 leading the team, it could be like your peers and direct reports. If 262 00:18:12.390 --> 00:18:18.230 you're, you know, I guess within the team it's like your partners in 263 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:21.150 crime, you know, and I think they're there's kind of like totally the 264 00:18:21.230 --> 00:18:23.670 people you're going to be doing the work with the handoff points. I think 265 00:18:23.670 --> 00:18:26.220 also there's all this concept of tate keepers, right, or do you have 266 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:30.099 to be mindful of like you know needs to be, you know, and 267 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:33.420 I guess there's like the racy model, like when you're doing all these object 268 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:37.460 you know, okay, I'm responsible, but who do is accountable, who 269 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:41.970 I need to consult and who is informed, you know, and knowing all 270 00:18:41.009 --> 00:18:45.769 those parties and and you know what drives them, you know, and how 271 00:18:45.809 --> 00:18:49.569 to work with them, know how to have a good relationship and how to 272 00:18:49.970 --> 00:18:53.609 just in general, how to know those people and making sure you know, 273 00:18:53.690 --> 00:18:57.960 you're well acquainted and know the nuance and it's about work with us. So 274 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:03.000 you're headed for smooth operation when you think about that. From your VP marketing 275 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:06.799 role, a lot of that, and this goes back to something you said 276 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:10.829 earlier, is the sales team, right, like how do we best align 277 00:19:11.029 --> 00:19:15.910 there and forge that partnership, which can look different organization to organization, with 278 00:19:15.990 --> 00:19:18.430 how they think of that? Alignment's always invital, you know. But how 279 00:19:18.470 --> 00:19:22.269 are you? How are you doing that intentionally in this season with the sales 280 00:19:22.309 --> 00:19:26.940 team? Yes, so I am. Well, there's unfortunate in that light. 281 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:29.539 Number One. I have a great product marking manager and she has really 282 00:19:29.579 --> 00:19:33.140 great connected tissue. But I myself and like, you know, aligning with, 283 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:36.500 you know, the head of sales and you know, we're getting aligned 284 00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:40.170 on kind of the pipeline numbers for next year, like what are the things 285 00:19:40.210 --> 00:19:42.450 we need to do to get there? One of the like lever. What 286 00:19:42.569 --> 00:19:48.450 are the conversion points and levers with the sales process where like the the most 287 00:19:48.890 --> 00:19:53.920 important life handovers, you know, in that process. And I also as 288 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:56.720 well, like I'm meeting with a lot of the sales people themselves, like 289 00:19:56.920 --> 00:20:00.920 I want to kind of, you know, I understand, you know, 290 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:03.920 how the sales process is going for them and you know how it is sell 291 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:07.190 a product and like what they need to kind of, you know, enable 292 00:20:07.309 --> 00:20:11.869 them and sell better, whether that be talk tracks from collateral or just again, 293 00:20:11.869 --> 00:20:15.750 I'm also interested in the perceptions that people have with the company and getting 294 00:20:15.789 --> 00:20:19.950 on the ground, feed up, feedback. So yeah, I'm actually being 295 00:20:21.029 --> 00:20:23.859 that I'm in the first I was. I have that like first, you 296 00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:26.660 know, ninety days where I can probably go to anybody in the company and 297 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:30.740 just talk to them about anything, you know, because I knew here taking 298 00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:33.980 the advantage of that, but I do, you know. Yeah, so 299 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:38.930 I'll meet with a head of sales, you know, weekly and we're we're 300 00:20:38.930 --> 00:20:42.609 actually still kind of like talking about what are weekly saying looks like, you 301 00:20:42.690 --> 00:20:47.650 know, being that I'm so fresh. But Yep, Yep, maybe there's 302 00:20:47.650 --> 00:20:49.039 a part two to this episode and what in look like, you know, 303 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:55.160 like three to six months out? Yeah, but I that would be interesting 304 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:57.640 conversation. Yeah, yeah, and then so the third thing, I guess 305 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:00.000 like that, like, you know, I'm joining a new company and, 306 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:03.549 you know, if somebody comes to me, you know, you know, 307 00:21:03.710 --> 00:21:07.869 asking what I should be looking to, I think like having a good inventory 308 00:21:08.069 --> 00:21:11.109 of like what you have to work with. So I think, you know 309 00:21:11.349 --> 00:21:15.430 that goes is that's your budget, that's your head count, that's the skill 310 00:21:15.549 --> 00:21:18.539 set of your head count, right, and it's also your text stack. 311 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:23.460 So like really understanding the resources that you have to work with, you know, 312 00:21:23.819 --> 00:21:26.819 over the next year and to that at your disposal to deploy and, 313 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:34.369 you know, achieve your execute on a strategy and and you achieve your goals. 314 00:21:34.690 --> 00:21:37.849 I would say that's the third big bucket of questions. You know, 315 00:21:37.890 --> 00:21:41.049 that I would be asking to make sure, and I would say some of 316 00:21:41.170 --> 00:21:45.529 this. You know your you ask a front in the sales process, but 317 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:48.640 you know, more often than not you know. But I would say this 318 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.000 in this environment, people are going through so many sales processes, or I 319 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.920 would say recruitment processes, that like some of the stuff means to be like 320 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.200 validated and and kind of like, you know, you go into a level 321 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.990 of detail that you probably maybe didn't scratch. You only scratch the surface in 322 00:22:06.309 --> 00:22:08.509 the interview process, but once you in the weeds, you know you have 323 00:22:08.630 --> 00:22:14.950 a team you could really understand. You know what the makeup of the team 324 00:22:15.150 --> 00:22:18.859 is and, you know, get really into the tech sac and understand what 325 00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:22.460 you work with. I would say for me it was like this. These 326 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:27.700 questions you're you're asking them, you know, not just once, but for 327 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:33.329 weeks really. You know, I think about the last thirty days with commule. 328 00:22:33.490 --> 00:22:40.049 has been like layers of an onion peeling back one by one. And 329 00:22:40.289 --> 00:22:45.440 sure, I you you learn more and some weeks you learn more of what 330 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:51.759 you don't know. There's more things you don't know. Yeah, but I 331 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:55.119 would say it to you. Shrip back all the layers of the onion and 332 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:57.240 get to the center, you know, and I think then you know you're 333 00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:02.710 at the point where really dial in on strategy and planning. When people are 334 00:23:03.150 --> 00:23:07.789 on boarding, you got to be thinking like how easy is it for people 335 00:23:07.869 --> 00:23:11.190 to understand our vision, our history, our text st ac like some of 336 00:23:11.269 --> 00:23:15.779 those those things. The more you can simplify that, the more it's all 337 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:18.980 unified one place where people can access it. That type of stuff is really 338 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:25.220 worth thinking about and asking newcomers how easy was it for you to understand full 339 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:27.809 context of our business and organization? And so that's something I've thought a lot 340 00:23:27.849 --> 00:23:32.890 about over the last two two and a half months here as I've come on 341 00:23:33.009 --> 00:23:36.369 to the sweet fish team. Is like, what are the things that I 342 00:23:36.490 --> 00:23:38.970 wish I would have had? And then who can I, you know, 343 00:23:40.970 --> 00:23:45.240 how can I change our systems, help our systems improve so that the next 344 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:49.119 people that get on boarded don't feel that same friction and that same tension? 345 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:53.039 And so if you're leading a team like have that be part of your you 346 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.950 know, your your ninety day review or something. What our wish things, 347 00:23:56.990 --> 00:24:00.750 you wish would have been different, better simplified? I think that's a big 348 00:24:00.789 --> 00:24:03.509 one. Well, this has been a really fun conversation, Brad. We're 349 00:24:03.549 --> 00:24:07.029 going to start to wrap up here. I learned a lot in this, 350 00:24:07.390 --> 00:24:10.059 so I'm going to readback some of this to you, taking notes on my 351 00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:12.779 wife Board as we go. One one sales call a day. That's something 352 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:17.180 that I'm literally going to take from you because I like that as a task. 353 00:24:17.259 --> 00:24:19.339 It's really simple. do it even for a couple weeks. If you're 354 00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:23.930 any position in the organization, you have access to those calls. It's super 355 00:24:23.970 --> 00:24:27.289 valuable. You learn a ton about the company, the way that the product 356 00:24:27.410 --> 00:24:32.769 is position. So one sales call a day very doable. Okay, note 357 00:24:32.930 --> 00:24:36.890 and find context. So we're going to write down different things we see in 358 00:24:36.930 --> 00:24:40.079 the organization. As we're new to a company, we're going to understand the 359 00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:42.160 context of why things are the way they are right now and we're going to 360 00:24:42.200 --> 00:24:45.839 take advantage of that new car smell, the new the fresh eyes that we 361 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:51.480 have. We're going to prioritize facetime. That's a big one. What meetings 362 00:24:51.799 --> 00:24:55.190 need to be on your calendar that aren't automatically on your calendar? The people 363 00:24:55.230 --> 00:25:00.230 that you want to just know better early on to forge those those key alliances. 364 00:25:00.750 --> 00:25:03.349 We're going to identify key objectives. That's more in the three thousand two 365 00:25:03.630 --> 00:25:07.339 sixty day range, right, but we're going to think through what are some 366 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:11.380 of those key objectives that are are vital to the business moving forward. And 367 00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:15.259 then here's two mindset things that I wrote down as we were talking. Think 368 00:25:15.420 --> 00:25:19.299 like your manager and I think if we can put ourselves in their shoes, 369 00:25:19.819 --> 00:25:26.130 we're at intentionally asking them questions. That's going to help us to think like 370 00:25:26.289 --> 00:25:29.609 our manager. And the second one is to look actively for ways to unify 371 00:25:29.690 --> 00:25:36.039 and partner. How are you going out of your way to proactively unify different 372 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:40.680 parts of maybe cross departments, right, different different team members? Like, 373 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:47.039 what are ways that I can actually really actively work towards unifying people? So 374 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:49.589 that's kind of my main takeaways. Anything you want to add, Brad, 375 00:25:49.630 --> 00:25:52.109 as we as we wrap up your I think the one thing is right. 376 00:25:52.349 --> 00:25:56.269 So maybe for other people who come into head of marketing like this is specifically 377 00:25:56.269 --> 00:26:00.029 as like, you know, leaving the marketing function, it's a really dial 378 00:26:00.150 --> 00:26:06.380 in on how marketing is viewed and and being you were probably being hired, 379 00:26:06.740 --> 00:26:11.299 you know, for a reason and probably to bring some change and like as 380 00:26:11.339 --> 00:26:15.500 a new member of the team and you're planning to bring new ideas through that. 381 00:26:15.779 --> 00:26:18.809 I believe. You know, is something to think about, you know, 382 00:26:18.849 --> 00:26:21.890 when you go to to do your dog and pony show and the strategy. 383 00:26:22.210 --> 00:26:26.009 So like all that strategy distillation work that I was talking about, often 384 00:26:26.049 --> 00:26:30.289 ends up being this big presentation and you know, you want to think about 385 00:26:30.369 --> 00:26:33.359 how you convey those, like any sort of big and new ideas that are 386 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:37.960 potentially, you know, different. You know, you think a little bit 387 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:41.680 deeply at how you bring those ideas to life and and solicit by in. 388 00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:47.309 So that's one, I say, unique thing aspect kind of being like the 389 00:26:47.470 --> 00:26:49.670 the leader of the marketing function in an organization where you think there needs to 390 00:26:49.710 --> 00:26:55.269 be some significant change on how things are done. You know, yeah, 391 00:26:56.029 --> 00:26:59.750 we're change makers right at the end of the day, and so you getting 392 00:26:59.829 --> 00:27:03.619 people excited about that change, understanding to change the why and and, you 393 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:07.579 know, having some excite around that change. I think it's very important, 394 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:12.019 totally Brad, for those that want to connect with you further stay updated on 395 00:27:12.099 --> 00:27:15.619 what you're doing. What's the best way for people to connect? I think 396 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:18.130 people can reach out to be on Linkedin. That's a probably my favorite social 397 00:27:18.210 --> 00:27:23.450 channel. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking time here on 398 00:27:23.569 --> 00:27:27.210 be tob growth with us. We learned a lot and for those that are 399 00:27:27.250 --> 00:27:30.720 listening, if you aren't yet subscribed to be to be growth, you can 400 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:34.519 do that on whatever platform you're listening to this on right now. You can 401 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:38.480 connect with me on Linkedin. Just Search Benjie Block. Love to connect and 402 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:44.509 talk business marketing life over there, and we'll be back very soon with another 403 00:27:44.589 --> 00:27:49.069 episode of B Tob Growth. For the longest time I was asking people to 404 00:27:49.190 --> 00:27:53.470 leave a review of BB growth in apple podcasts, but I realize that was 405 00:27:53.589 --> 00:27:59.500 kind of stupid because leaving a review is way harder than just leaving a simple 406 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:03.099 rating. So I'm changing my tune a bit. Instead of asking you to 407 00:28:03.180 --> 00:28:06.019 leave a review, I'm just going to ask you to go to bb growth 408 00:28:06.059 --> 00:28:10.900 and apple podcasts, scroll down until you see the ratings and review section and 409 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:14.650 just tap the number of stars you want to give us. No review necessary, 410 00:28:14.890 --> 00:28:18.930 super easy and I promise it will help us out a ton. If 411 00:28:18.930 --> 00:28:22.049 you want to copy on my book content base networking, just shoot me a 412 00:28:22.170 --> 00:28:25.450 text after you leave the rating and I'll send one your way. Text me 413 00:28:25.529 --> 00:28:29.319 at four hund seven for and I know three hundred and three two eight