OnBase: Smashing Sales and Marketing Misalignments Demandbase

Episode SummaryVinod shares insights from growing revenue by 40x in 7 years. Some key strategies include understanding customers thoroughly, offering a diversified portfolio of solutions, and networking extensively. Vinod also emphasizes the importance of building effective relationships with decision-makers through mutual respect, problem-solving focus, and self-awareness. He recommends staying informed by reading competitors' reports, attending industry events, and maintaining a strong professional network.

About the guest

Vinod Venkatesan is the Vice President of Sales, Strategic Accounts at Amkor Technology Inc. He is one of the emerging leaders at Amkor and is a results-oriented, technology-focused sales executive. Vinod is a problem solver at heart, questions the status quo, passionate about impactful leadership, and is driving change to continue to deliver growth for his organization.

Connect with Vinod Venkatesan

Key takeaways- Understand your customers thoroughly by learning about their business, market position, goals, challenges, and future plans

- Offer a diversified portfolio of solutions to manage risk and provide solutions for multiple customer needs 

- Build strong relationships through mutual respect, acting as a problem solver rather than taking sides, and having open conversations

- Stay informed by reading competitors' reports, listening to industry podcasts and talks, and regularly networking with contacts in your field

Quotes"You really need to learn everything about what your customer is doing, their market position, and more importantly, where they're headed." -Vinod V. on understanding customers.

Recommended Resource

Leadership podcasts to gain different perspectives from various roles and industries

TED Talks for innovative ideas and insights

Industry-specific newsletters

Earnings calls, 10-Ks, and investor presentations for valuable market intelligence

Episode Summary
This episode provides insights into effective global marketing strategies and cultural considerations for international expansion. Manuela Furtado shares best practices for localizing content and campaigns to resonate with target audiences in different countries and cultures. She emphasizes the importance of understanding local markets through research and tailoring strategies for each region. Manuela also discusses the need to align global and local marketing efforts with sales to ensure consistent branding while making the experience culturally relevant in each new market. Overall, the episode offers guidance to companies on prioritizing localization from the start of their global expansion planning.

About the guest

Manuela Furtado has 25 years of experience in the localization industry, driving innovative processes and technologies. With a strong background in languages and communication, she expertly guides clients through best practices, whether they are new to localization or looking to expand their global reach to maximize impact. As a leader in Sales and Account Management, Manuela excels in building meaningful relationships across the globalization ecosystem. She adeptly matches client goals with the most targeted services, technologies, and expertise, ensuring optimal results.

Connect with Manuela Furtado

Key takeaways- Understand target audiences' cultural sensitivities and preferences through market research

- Tailor marketing strategies, content, design, and messaging for each local market

- Maintain brand consistency while adapting campaigns to be culturally relevant 

- Involve localization experts from the beginning of global expansion planning

- Align global and local marketing efforts with in-country sales teams

- Start with pilot testing and localization of the most important pages/content

- Ongoing testing and adaptation is needed as the localization process is continuous

Quotes“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

-Manuela highlights Nelson Mandela’s quote that emphasizes the importance of truly connecting with target audiences by speaking to them in their language at a deeper, emotional level rather than just translating.

Recommended Resource

Books-"Take Your Company Global" by Nataly Kelly.

Websites-BornToBeGlobal.com by Nataly Kelly - Accompanying blog to the book above.

-AlphaCRC - For localization case studies and resources.

-Nimdzi Insights - Consulting agency that publishes content on localization.

-Slator - For content on localization and multilingual insights.

-CSA Research

-Locworld- A conference for localization professionals, networking, and industry innovation.

Episode Summary

This episode discusses account-based marketing strategies with guest Amanda Dyson. She shares insights on personalizing ABM approaches based on customer understanding rather than focusing on features. Amanda emphasizes the importance of collaboration between sales and marketing in areas like account nomination and campaign planning. She also outlines how ABM can support customer retention, upsell, and cross-sell efforts by building long-term relationships.

About the guest

Amanda is a 20-year B2B SaaS marketing veteran. She has run regional and global teams. She has a passion for people and results and a proven track record of success. She has held leadership positions in sales and marketing, including ABM, partnerships, demand gen, field and corporate marketing for global Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) companies. When she’s not growing people or pipeline at leading tech companies, she enjoys spending time with her family in the mountains or at the beach, running daily, and practicing mindfulness.

Connect with Amanda Dyson

Key takeaways- Lead with customer pain points rather than product features to build trust.

- Collaboration between sales and marketing is required through an account nomination process and campaign planning sessions.  

- Focus ABM efforts to avoid trying to sell everything at once and "boil the ocean."

- Leverage ABM for existing customers through custom landing pages and insider advocates to drive retention, upsell, and cross-sell.

- Overcommunicate ABM strategies internally through a living overview deck and consistent updates on calls and materials.

Quotes"ABM is probably my favorite type of marketing because it can be disruptive and provocative. And, honestly, it's just all about the customer and how to stand out to them." -Amanda Dyson

Recommended Resource

Books-"How Women Rise" by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith 

-"Radical Candor" by Kim Scott

-"Amp It Up" by Frank Slootman

-Fiction books by Kristin Hannah and Frederick Bachman



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Episode Summary
This episode discusses how buyer behavior is changing, especially in manufacturing, and the challenges companies face in aligning their sales and marketing strategies as a result. The guest, Kathy Macchi, shares her insights from over 25 years in the industry on how buyers are younger and want more control over the process. She highlights culture, technology, and data silos as major barriers for manufacturing companies looking to align. The discussion covers how account-based marketing (ABM) can help manufacturers by prioritizing the right accounts for large deals and providing a framework for collaboration. They emphasize starting simple with ABM and having a dedicated sales leader champion the approach.

About the guest

Kathy has thrived through 25 years in sales, marketing, and IT, and now leads Inverta’s consulting. She takes a no-nonsense approach to the role of digital skills, processes, and tools, and has helped Citrix, Microsoft, and HP transform their marketing. Additionally, she’s one of the foremost authorities in account-based marketing and has been certified by ITSMA as an ABM practitioner since 2007. Kathy conducts workshops, webinars, and training sessions, and has supported hundreds of ABM rollouts and scale-ups. When Kathy isn’t traveling the world, she enjoys a top-shelf vegetarian breakfast taco at her home in Austin, TX.

Connect with Kathy Macchi

Key takeaways- Buyer behavior is changing, with younger buyers wanting more control over the sales process

- Major challenges for manufacturing companies in aligning sales and marketing include cultural resistance, lack of digital tools, and data silos

- ABM can help manufacturers target the right accounts for large deals, select key messages, and implement supporting technology

- When getting started with ABM, companies should pick the right sales leader, start simply, focus on goals and measurement, and continually reinforce the approach with sales

Quotes"Buyer behavior is changing, they're no longer an individual buyer like you used to have, it's a buying group, and a lot of that buying group is anonymous.” -Kathy Macchi

Recommended Resource

Books-The Next CMO

Podcast

-The Artificial Intelligence Show



⁠Connect with Kathy Macchi⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website

Episode Summary
In this episode, host Chris Moody talks with John Common of Intelligent Demand about the ongoing challenge of aligning sales and marketing teams. They discuss why misalignment often stems from a lack of clear strategy and leadership guiding the organization. John emphasizes that B2B growth requires cross-functional collaboration but most companies still operate in silos. John also dives into common mistakes made with account-based marketing programs when they are treated as solely a marketing initiative. He outlines why traditional metrics like marketing qualified leads are outdated.

About the guest

John Common, CEO and founder of Intelligent Demand brings 20 years of expertise in growth strategy, technology, marketing, sales, and customer success. His career focuses on driving measurable revenue growth for tech and service firms, both internally and as an agency partner. Under his leadership, Intelligent Demand has emerged as a premier revenue growth agency, prioritizing its people, culture, and client success. John also hosts "Growth Driver," a podcast for B2B executives eager to drive growth, featuring thought leaders and experts.

Connect with John Common

Key takeaways- B2B growth requires cross-functional alignment and collaboration, but most companies still operate in silos due to a lack of clear go-to-market strategy and leadership.

- Common mistakes with account-based marketing programs include treating it as solely a marketing initiative, not setting clear growth goals, and relying on outdated metrics like MQLs. 

- Companies need to critically examine their assumptions around go-to-market approaches and commit to developing integrated growth strategies, as traditional playbook methods are no longer effective.

Quotes"B2B growth is a team sport, there is no go-to-market motion where cross-functional alignment is not." -John Common

Recommended Resource

Books-Kotler on Marketing by Philip Kotler.

-Sales Pitch by April Dunford.

-Obviously Awesome by April Dunford.

Podcast-⁠Growth Driver⁠

-⁠Lenny’s Podcast⁠

⁠Connect with John Common⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website

Episode Summary
Randy Welch talks about mission-driven sales in the education sector. He discusses his background in school psychology and administration, and how it led him to a career in education technology focused on school safety solutions. He emphasizes the importance of truly understanding customer needs through active listening. Randy also provides insights into navigating the challenges of the education market by prioritizing safety over sales numbers. The interview covers Randy's vision for developing a holistic safety ecosystem and recommendations for incorporating learning into a sales mindset.

About the guest

Randy Welch is an educator at heart but found his way into the technology sector through his passion to ensure the safety and security of school students and staff. At Motorola Solutions, Randy oversees the education focused Sales efforts for the North America region and highlights the technology, safety, and security solutions schools need to solve their biggest safety challenges. Prior to Motorola Solutions, Randy served for more than 20 years as a school psychologist, special education director, Chief Program Officer, and board member for multiple public and charter schools. Randy has also spoken nationally and internationally about a variety of education topics.

Connect with Randy Welch

Key takeaways- Understand customer needs through active listening, not just hearing what they say

- Prioritize solving customer problems and mission over making sales numbers 

- Develop a holistic, integrated ecosystem approach to school safety rather than isolated systems

- Keep focus on the mission of keeping students safe even during budget cuts or challenges

- Incorporate continuous learning into sales through recommended books and shared learning

- Bring an educator's passion for learning to the sales field

Quotes"Someone has a problem, your job is not to solve their problem, your job is to help them find a solution to that problem." - Randy Welch on drawing connections between education and sales.

Recommended Resource

Books-"New Sales. Simplified." by Mike Weinberg.

-"Sales Management. Simplified." by Mike Weinberg.

-"Selling in a Crisis" by Jeb Blount.

-"Sales EQ" by Jeb Blount

-"The Little Red Book of Selling" by Jeffrey Gitomer.



⁠Connect with Randy Welch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website