Revenue Rehab Tegrita

This week, our host Brandi Starr is joined by Greg Plum, a distinguished expert in ecosystem channel development.
Meet Greg Plum, a trailblazer who has built partner programs from scratch for multiple SaaS providers and facilitated Partner Ready's ecosystem academy. With lobbying on Capitol Hill in support of the IT industry, delivering three TEDx talks, and active involvement in various industry councils and mentoring programs, Greg's contributions are nothing short of extraordinary.
In this episode of Revenue Rehab, Brandi and Greg delve into the intricacies of the partner ecosystem, distinguishing between channels and ecosystems. Drawing from Greg's vast experience, they explore how marketing leaders can leverage partner ecosystems to enhance understanding of their Ideal Customer Profile, thereby improving collaboration with influencers and increasing the value proposition to both customers and their influencers. 
Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1 The Importance of Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) [09:47] "Your ICP isn't just a target; it's the foundation for all your partnerships," stresses Greg Plum. "Misalignment is the main reason partnership programs fail. By focusing on a few perfectly aligned partners who can mutually support your goals, you're setting the stage for meaningful and productive collaborations."
Topic #2 Building Mutually Beneficial Partnerships [16:22]
Brandi shares, “The biggest mistake companies make is focusing on how partners can benefit them rather than seeing it as a two-way street. It's about creating mutually beneficial relationships that open new avenues for revenue that wouldn't exist otherwise. Misalignment often stems from this one-sided mindset, and that’s why partner programs fail."
Topic #3 Managing Channel Conflicts Effectively [32:45]
 "Channel conflicts are inevitable, but transparency and a customer-first approach can turn these conflicts into opportunities," explains Greg Plum. "I had a case where two different partners brought in the same deal. We handled it by being transparent with everyone involved and letting the customer decide who they wanted to work with. It's crucial to have clear processes and the right people to manage these conflicts effectively."
So, What's the One Thing You Can Do Today? Greg’s 'One Thing' is to start with your ideal customer profile (ICP) when developing your partner strategy. "Identify three of your top clients and conduct a thorough 90-minute discovery call to deeply understand their needs, tech stacks, and ecosystem influencers. This will help you pinpoint the right partners who align perfectly with your business goals and customer needs. It's not about having a large number of partners; it's about cultivating a few, perfectly aligned relationships that can drive significant mutual success. Approach this like an IndyCar pit stop—each partner has a unique job but a common goal of serving the customer. By focusing on these key alliances and understanding the nuances of your top clients, you'll be better equipped to create a robust and effective partner ecosystem."
Buzzword Banishment: Greg's Buzzword to Banish is ‘thought leader’ and ‘ecosystem.’ He shares, "These terms are so overused and have lost their original significance. Everyone today is a 'thought leader' without genuinely bringing new insights to the table, and 'ecosystem' has become a catch-all phrase that muddles more than it clarifies. I've started advocating for the term 'evangelist' instead, because it implies a deeper, more authentic level of advocacy and engagement."
Links: Get in touch with Greg Plum:
LinkedIn Website PRTNERNOMICS Free Starter Membership which includes the Partnering Foundations course, PF Exam, and digital certification badge (LinkedIn) Subscribe, listen, and rate/review Revenue Rehab Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts , Amazon Music, or iHeart Radio and find more episodes

This week our host Brandi Starr is joined by Neil Rogers, Author & VP of Sales at Rogers Marketing. 
Neil has built a successful career in sales and marketing that spans almost forty years in a variety of industries, ranging from pharmaceuticals to military defense contractors. But before the multiple sales awards and accolades, Rogers spent ten years slinging beers behind the bar at some of the top establishments in and around Boston. The lessons learned during his “cocktail years” have provided him with the skills needed to excel in sales and marketing. And now, he’s sharing the knowledge gleaned from long nights of sticky floors and slinging shots that have propelled Rogers to the upper echelons of salesmanship.
This episode is a deep dive into the significance of blending traditional methods with modern marketing tactics to achieve lasting success in the fast-evolving business landscape.
Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1 The True Value of Hospitality in Business [08:22] “The essence of hospitality isn’t confined to hotels and bars; it’s foundational in creating genuine customer connections regardless of your business sector,” Neil articulates. He stresses the importance, noting, “What I learned from my time-serving drinks wasn’t just about crafting a perfect cocktail, but about understanding people and creating moments that matter. This same principle applies directly to engaging customers in any business environment.” “These minor details and personal touches," Neil adds, "can set you apart in a crowded market.”
Topic #2 Reinventing Direct Mail and Relationship Building [17:45] Neil explains, “In an age where digital noise is louder than ever, going back to basics like direct mail can cut through the clutter.” He elaborates on integrating traditional tactics with modern strategies, saying, “Direct mail isn’t just about sending letters. It’s about personalization, about being memorable. Combine that with today’s analytics, and you target not just effectively but meaningfully.” Brandi adds, “It’s about leveraging every tool in our arsenal to maintain that crucial human touch.”
Topic #3 Longevity and Ethics in Marketing [32:18] Neil emphasizes long-term success tied to ethical practices, stating, “You can chase quick wins or you can build lasting relationships based on integrity.” He further advises, “Honesty, fairness, and sincerity aren’t just moral choices; they are strategic advantages in business.” Discussing the impact of these values, Neil notes, “When clients trust you, they not only return, they become advocates for your brand. That’s the real power of ethical business practices.” 
So, What's the One Thing You Can Do Today? Neil’s  ‘One Thing’ is to develop a process for prospecting new clients or launching new products, and stick to a multi-touch, multi-media micro-marketing campaign for 90 days, making adjustments along the way.
Buzzword Banishment:  Neil has two Buzzwords to Banish, "dive in" and “super”. Neil wishes to eliminate these phrases because he feels, "They’re overused to the point of losing all meaning. Every meeting, every call—it's always “let's dive in” and “super.”
Links: Get in touch with Neil Rogers:
LinkedIn
Twitter
Website Instagram Facebook YouTube TikTok Amazon Subscribe, listen, and rate/review Revenue Rehab Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts , Amazon Music, or iHeart Radio and find more episodes on our website RevenueRehab.live

This week our host Brandi Starr is joined by Jeff Winters, CRO of Abstrakt Marketing Group.
While at a previous sales position, Sapper founder Jeff Winters implemented a unique email strategy that consistently landed him in Fortune 100 boardrooms. But every time he finished his pitch, these companies would grill him on his strategy: “Great product, but how the heck did you get this meeting?" In 2013, after hearing this a dozen-too-many times, he started Sapper Consulting. Since then, Jeff has led the business to become one of the fastest growing companies in St. Louis and was most recently featured in St. Louis Business Journal’s list of 40 under 40. He is a candid, thoughtful, and dynamic leader. Once Sapper was acquired by Abstrakt Marketing Group in 2021, Jeff took over as Chief Revenue Officer, leading the sales and sales enablement teams tasked with getting the company to reach their $70M yearly sales goal.
In this episode of Revenue Rehab, Brandi and Jeff address the challenge of ineffective BDR/SDR emails that often get overlooked and demonstrate how a refined email strategy can significantly increase meeting acquisition rates.  
Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1 Evolving Email Strategy in Sales [09:28] “There's no such thing as a good list, you have to verify everything," Jeff states, underscoring the necessity of due diligence in sales prospecting. "A lot of people skip these steps and then wonder why their email campaigns aren't effective. It’s about the discipline in verification, and then actually getting out there and confirming email addresses.” Jeff continues, emphasizing, "This is what separates the successful outreach from the noise in your inbox."
Topic #2 The Art of Writing Sales Emails [17:45] Jeff explains the nuanced craft of engaging potential clients via email. “Avoid traditional greetings and close with something unexpected. Use an ampersand, keep it short, and stay away from jargon that makes your email cringey,” he advises. Brandi adds, “It’s about connecting with the person on the other end, understanding their problem, and presenting your email as a conversation starter, not just a pitch.”
Topic #3 Integrating Technology and Email Sequences [31:09] “Technology now plays a bigger role in making sure our emails get noticed,” Jeff remarks, discussing the evolution of email tools. “We’ve moved from just crafting content to focusing on how to get our emails into the eyes of decision-makers.” He shares, “A successful email sequence involves multiple touchpoints over weeks, combining emailing with calling, respecting the cool-off periods, and constantly testing our strategies to optimize for response rates.” This approach, he notes, is crucial for maintaining domain health and avoiding being blacklisted.
So, What's the One Thing You Can Do Today? Jeff advises revenue leaders to base their sales planning and budgeting on the number of meetings rather than traditional sales quotas. He suggests assessing how many meetings are held, which channels are used, and the closure rates of each channel. By focusing on these metrics, leaders can create more accurate and reliable forecasts, transitioning from quota-based forecasting to a model that emphasizes the effectiveness of meetings in generating sales.
Buzzword Banishment: Jeff Winters’ Buzzword to Banish is the term "value add." He expresses his disdain for the phrase by explaining, “It’s just so overused and nebulous. Everyone throws it around without really understanding what actual value they’re adding.” Jeff wants to rid the business world of this term to encourage clearer, more meaningful communications. 
Links: Get in touch with Jeff Winters:       
Abstrakt Marketing LinkedIn
Instagram YouTube Podcast Subscribe, listen, and rate/review Revenue Rehab Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts , Amazon Music, or iHeart Radio and find m

This week our host Brandi Starr is joined by Kurt Uhlir, Chief Marketing Officer at Ethereal Innovations.
Kurt is a sought-after marketing leader that's been called "king of scaling". He has built and run growth for early-stage companies as well as those over $500M in annual revenue and assembled teams across six continents. 
In the past few years, he's been an executive with a public company and coached dozens of mid-market companies, in addition to giving numerous keynotes and podcast guest appearances about growing companies of all sizes with high-achieving servant leadership and modern marketing.
In this episode of Revenue Rehab, Brandi and Kurt will tackle exploring how marketing leaders can adopt servant leadership to enhance team performance, foster innovation, and drive meaningful customer engagement.     
Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1 Defining Leadership Styles [05:02] “There are only two styles of leadership,” Kurt explains, “there's an authoritative leadership style, which at the end of the day says, ‘Hey, do what I say exactly how I say to do it, or there's the door, you're fired’. And then there's a servant leadership approach, which is a very different approach that says, ‘Hey, I've hired you for a business reason to help the company hit business outcomes. And my job then is not to tell you exactly what to do…it's to serve you to help you better accomplish the outcomes the company has hired you to do.”
Topic #2 Assessing Your Leadership Approach [13:35] “I think that part of that is a self-assessment,” Kurt says, “taking 15 to 20 minutes, once a once a week.”.  The reality, he says, is that “the vast majority of executives I’ve worked with, they don't think that they're an authoritative boss.” He continues “and if you talk to their team, they're like, ‘she is so nice’. But if you underlie this nice personality, they're still the authoritative boss, they just don't realize it. They think because they're nice and they ask how the weekend went, that they're not an authoritative boss. That's not what servant leadership is, servant leadership is coming in every day and saying, ‘hey, I want to see you to be successful in your job. How can I make that better?’”
Topic #3 Reflecting on Decisions [28:34] Kurt encourages listeners to consider including a decision self-assessment habit to help them to lean into developing service style leadership.  He suggests identifying three potential mistakes or missteps taken in the past, recognizing that wrong decisions often feel right until proven otherwise by resulting data. Additionally, he suggests that team participation in this exercise can foster open communication and potential blind spots.
So, What's the One Thing You Can Do Today? Kurt’s ‘One Thing’ is to evaluate where you are in your leadership style.  Take a vacation, Kurt quips, and that will reveal the answer to the question “are you a servant leader, or are you an authoritative leader? What do you think would happen to your team, if you just didn't show up to work for the next four weeks? If you're not confident that you're sure that the people reporting to you could make enough decisions to keep things at least pretty much status…you're an authoritative leader.”
Buzzword Banishment: Kurt’s Buzzword to Banish is ‘AI’. “I'm actually really sick of hearing artificial intelligence or AI right now, especially from people that have no idea what it actually means.” 
Links: Get in touch with Kurt Uhlir: 
LinkedIn Kurt Uhlir Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest TikTok Amazon Subscribe, listen, and rate/review Revenue Rehab Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts , Amazon Music, or iHeart Radio and find more episodes on our website RevenueRehab.live

This week our host Brandi Starr is joined by Eileen Campbell, Founder of Womintuition.
Meet Eileen Campbell, a force to be reckoned with in the world of marketing and insights. From launching US operations for a global Insights agency, to serving as CEO of a $1B consulting firm and serving as CMO for one of the world's most iconic entertainment brands, she's done it all. 
Oh, and let's not forget about the start-up she co-founded, which reached $30MM revenue in just four years. Today, she leads Womintuition, a growth advisory service and serves on a number of boards.
In this episode of Revenue Rehab, Brandi and Eileen will tackle addressing the gap between CMOs' aspirations for board positions and the challenging reality of securing these roles, while exploring actionable strategies to improve their chances.        
Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1 CMOs and Board Service [06:34] Eileen encourages CMOs who are pursuing serving on a Board to consider their current professional impression and the old stereotype of the CMO as the ‘corporate artiste’; “if I'm the CMO of a company am I being invited in to present to my own company's board? And am I privy to the concerns in that boardroom?”  Because, she says, “if that's not happening in your own company, it's highly unlikely that you are presenting the skills that will be valued in someone else's company.”
Topic #2 Serving on Boards: Dream vs. Reality [12:42] Serving on a board requires significant preparation, Eileen explains. Understanding of financials as well as a willingness to fulfill legal obligations of serving on a board, all add up to serious commitment rather than an easy path to wealth or prestige. She continues, “there's a lot of legal liability associated with board work. So, you need to be aware of that, because that's certainly a risk. [There’s] also reputational risk. If you sit on the board of a company that has some sort of serious public relations problem, by default you will take some of that heat.”
Topic #3 Board Service: Self Evaluation [26:24] Eileen presents several factors to consider when it comes to motivation to joining a board, whether it's the pursuit of prestige and leadership recognition, seeking an income stream, or the inclination to give back and impart knowledge.  She encourages CMOs to ponder; “I think just really understanding your own ‘why’, which I think is important in sort of everything in life, right? Why do I want to do this? Why does this matter to me? And that helps guide your choices.”
So, What's the One Thing You Can Do Today? Eileen’s ‘One Thing’ is: “I would seriously consider whether there's an opportunity for you to get P&L responsibility,” she says, “if you really, really, really want to serve on a board, it will be easier if you've had P&L experience, it's not an absolute, but it will be easier.”  She continues, “and, if you don't feel like you have the skill set for P&L responsibility, you might want to question whether you have the skill set for board service.” 
Buzzword Banishment: Eileen’s Buzzword to Banish is not one but two phrases ‘it is what it is’ and ‘low hanging fruit’. The first Eileen wants to banish because, she says, “I think it is the most passive aggressive thing on the face of the earth.”  The second, she quips, is “mostly because I think it sounds dirty.”  
Links: Get in touch with Eileen Campbell: 
LinkedIn Womintuition Subscribe, listen, and rate/review Revenue Rehab Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or iHeart Radio and find more episodes on our website RevenueRehab.live

This week our host Brandi Starr is joined by Deidre Hudson, Revenue Marketing Leader, Speaker, and Author.
With over 20 years of experience, Deidre Hudson has built and scaled demand generation and revenue marketing functions for companies ranging in size from under a million to over $5 billion in revenue. She has appeared on several podcasts and frequently speaks about fixing what's broken in marketing.  
Deidre takes a holistic approach and is deeply committed to expanding the art and science of marketing. She is also the author of "How the F*ck Did I Get Here" where she speaks about her journey to personal self-actualization and transformation.
 In this episode of Revenue Rehab, Brandi and Deidre will tackle unveiling how to break free from the monotony of life on autopilot, by making transformative changes towards living with purpose and intention.
Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1 Journey Beginnings: Data-Driven [06:34] “I was in undergrad for accounting. And I was working in the marketing department of a human rights non-profit organization. And we were doing lots of demographic and behavior-based segmentation, using lots of data, kind of psychographics, demographics. And I just became fascinated with that,” Deidre says, “So that's how I fell into it. And I switched my major to marketing. And it's been marketing ever since.”
Topic #2 Unconventional Edge [10:30] “I was doing this data-driven stuff before data was cool,” Deidre quips, “before it was cool to be, you know, like a nerd or whatever.”  She continues, “I got inspired by the stories that I was able to extract from data analysis [and] from what I learned going back to those roots that I had about really being able to take these different data sets, from a psychographic and demographic and behavioral perspective…and how do I create messaging that's going to appeal to them.”
Topic #3 Journey Pivot: Routine to Intentional [21:13] “I talk about this in my book, and I think it was a couple of little things. I started hyperventilating. And I would wake up every morning, and it was like just this feeling of dread,” she says, “I realized that this is not how life is supposed to be. And I just started doing a lot of examination…I shifted my focus in that I started to feel more like I had a choice in taking on some roles. I had a choice in who I presented in those roles. I had a choice in [asking myself] how am I going to receive you know things that are being said and things that are being done,” Deidre says, “I just I felt like I had more dominion over the things that were taking place around me.”
So, What's the One Thing You Can Do Today? Deidre’s ‘One Thing’ is to spend time projecting ahead to where you want to be with intention.  “Just make sure to look at the things you're doing today and see if that fits in line with you be becoming that person that you want to be tomorrow. We do that in business, right? We look at our revenue goals, we work backwards from our revenue goals and say, ‘these are the things we need to do to achieve that’ and apply that same thing to you as a person, your personal and professional goals as well.”
Buzzword Banishment: Deidre’s Buzzword to Banish is the phrase “roll up your sleeves”. “When you are talking with people and looking to join a new company for your next role or opportunity, a phrase that you often hear is we want somebody that's going to come in and ‘roll up their sleeves’,” Deidre says, “I think we just need to banish that and just be real and say what it is that we're actually looking for when you're in those situations. What are you actually looking for? What does that actually mean?”
Links: Get in touch with Deidre Hudson:
LinkedIn Deidre Hudson How the F*ck Did I Get Here Subscribe, listen, and rate/review Revenue Rehab Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts , Amazon Music, or i