In-person events are making a comeback! Join us as we explore how Adam Beck and his team  at CADENAS Parts Solutions took their idea for an industry-specific B2B marketing event from concept to sold-out reality. Learn key insights on event strategy, including:- How to determine there is demand and find the right audience for your event idea- Tips for starting small by piggybacking onto established industry conferences - The step-by-step process for organizing speakers, venue, promotion across virtual and print channels- Measuring success via website traffic, customer feedback, and revenue impactWhether you're looking to organize your first ever event or make an existing one even better, this episode will give you the tools, mindsets, and skill sets needed to create an incredibly valuable in-person experience.#B2BMarketingLeaders #EventMarketing #BusinessGrowth

In the 50th episode of the Master Marketer show, Kacy Maxwell, the CMO at Provisions Group, author, and entrepreneur joins our hosts Mike Grinberg and Gaby Israel Grinberg. He talks about his extraordinary journey in marketing, his work as an author, and business startup, Sketchwell. They dive deep into LinkedIn strategies, unraveling how a powerful narrative can help drive personal and business connections effectively. "You're just sharing to start a conversation around," Kacy Maxwell instills the idea of using LinkedIn more as a platform for meaningful conversations rather than just for promoting one's brand or services. What else is in it for you? - How can transforming LinkedIn activity into a conversation foster a more genuine and engaging presence? - What are the common mistakes and strategies to enhance one's LinkedIn presence? - Why is it important to have a strong point of view while avoiding grandiose claims? - What is the framework implemented by the Provisions Group to assess their team members' strengths, expertise, and personality traits? - How can one leverage LinkedIn for effective lead generation? Delve into these questions and more about digital marketing and content strategies with the Master Marketer Show.

Join us as Mike Grinberg sits down with renowned marketing expert, Dr. Marcus Collins, to explore the role of culture in modern businesses. Discover how understanding and leveraging culture can enhance your B2B marketing strategies and drive impactful results. Gain valuable insights into community-led growth, aligning company culture with core strategies, cultivating a positive internal culture, and the influence of brands as cultural signifiers. Don't miss this enlightening conversation with Dr. Marcus Collins, where mindset, skill sets, and tool sets converge for B2B marketing success.

In this episode of Master Marketer Show, host Mike Grinberg sits down with Mark Stouse, founder and CEO of Proof Analytics, to delve into the often overlooked elements of time lag and opportunity cost in the B2B marketing landscape. Discover how understanding these factors can optimize your marketing efforts and drive revenue effectively. Gain actionable insights into leveraging data, analytics, and relationship-led growth strategies for business success. Don't miss out on this valuable conversation with two marketing trailblazers!

In this episode of Master Marketer Show, host Mike Grinberg sits down with Travis Bradshaw, Director of Marketing at Armanino LLP, to discuss the mindsets and skillsets marketers need to prove ROI and gain buy-in during economic uncertainty. They cover how to build strong relationships with revenue and finance teams, adopting a business-minded approach, leveraging data and AI tools to maximize resources, and staying nimble to changing business landscapes. Tune in for actionable insights on positioning marketing as a revenue driver.

In this episode of The Master Marketer Show, join host Mike Grinberg as he delves into the world of B2B product marketing with Mary Keough, Head of Marketing at Map my Customers. Discover the core concepts of product marketing, the importance of customer insights, and the evolving role of product marketing as companies grow. Gain valuable insights into strategies for a customer-obsessed mindset, and other necessary skillsets for product marketers. Explore Mary's unique approach to customer research, marketing tools and frameworks, and harnessing the power of LinkedIn. Don't miss out on optimizing your B2B marketing game with this enlightening discussion!

Let’s face it: times are tough across the board. With a lot of financial uncertainties to consider, companies are scrutinizing their expenses with finer tooth combs, ensuring that there is absolutely no wasted time or efforts. For workers, this means being able to prove that your work is making an active difference for your company. While that doesn’t mean that you need to be directly responsible for revenues, it DOES mean that you should be moving the needle of productivity in some way.This week, we welcome Mason Cosby back to the show to discuss the necessary steps that workers should take to prove your worth as a marketer. Mason is a Podcast Host, Ambassador at GTM Partners, and the long-term Director of Demand Generation for Sales Assembly. Suffice to say, Mason knows quite a bit about the work, the skills and the people it takes to bring a product to market. How did Mason get into his work, what were some of the mindsets that led him down this career path, and how did partner relationships drive many of his core decisions?Let’s get started!MINDSETS:Utilize Marketing Relationships - LinkedIn continues to be an incredible tool for building business relationships. For Mason, LinkedIn was an opportunity to generate leads through trusted partners and connections — trust is the name of the game!Scale Through Skills - As Mason puts it, you can’t over-index on head count. Rather, you have the team you have, and you are better off improving the skills of your team. Your team deserves the nurturing through skills-building to help them do their jobs!Ensure the Pipeline - Nobody cares what marketing does, as long as the pipeline is full. When it’s NOT full, that’s where the issues come in - job loss, budget reductions, and other short & long-term issues. Soft Asks - Sometimes, the best thing you can do to start a conversation is ask someone if they need help. For Mason, this means sending out the occasional LinkedIn message to see what services people are looking for. SKILLSETS:Adaptability - Mason was one of the first marketers hired by his company – and for a time, the only marketer of the team. When a person loses their leader in a company, the assumption is that THEY are now the leader. Adaptability and an openness to move swiftly in your role is crucial.Effective Content Production - When organic content is a huge component of your business, it better be good, or people will tune out. Filling Skill Gaps - Skill gaps are the quiet killer of growth. Without the right skills, a company’s growth will plateau. Being able to recognize those gaps and tend to them is a crucial skillset for any leader.Paid Ads - There is very significant value in being a paid ads specialist. On a team, diversifying your skillset by honing in on the data aspects of paid ads can be the key to securing your position.Addressing Bandwidth - You can’t be everywhere all of the time. For startups, that can be a delicate balance. How much of your bandwidth can be dedicated to each activity? Knowing the importance of your work from a zoomed-out perspective will prevent issues down the road.Video Editing - Editing is a skill and a tool. Like any skill, there are experts in the field that will do it A LOT better than you, especially if it’s not a top priority. As a skill, it is tremendously valuable for any marketing team.TOOLSETS:LinkedInVideo Editing SoftwareEmailPodSqueezeChatGPTNiche-Podcast ToursGoogleSpotifyThe Content Matrix (Stephen G. Pope)RESULTS:For any business, at the end of the day, it is important to look at the correlation between it’s marketing efforts and it’s pipeline. Trackability ends up being one of the top focuses for a company like Mason’s — and with that comes the importance of having the skill to track specialized data in the first place. No single source of marketing is a single cause of success. What matters is that the actions are happening, and that the pipeline continues to move and generate business.In a qualitative sense, Mason looks to tactics as simple as social media mentions, engagements, and other metrics to indicate how his company is breaking out of it’s existing mentions to larger audiences. In creating more publicly accessible content (the type that stretches beyond existing audiences), Mason and his team at Sales Assembly see more and more people viewing and talking about their operations. A bit more about Mason:Mason Cosby hosts a variety of talents as a thought leader in the marketing space. Since February 2023, Mason has acted as the Director of Demand Generation for Sales Assembly,  a company that provides crucial educational tools that combine strategic skills development, peer communities and other learning platforms. Mason is also the host of The Marketing Ladder podcast, a podcast dedicated to learning how to grow a marketing career from today’s leaders.Connect with Mason:https://www.linkedin.com/in/masoncosby/https://www.linkedin.com/company/sales-assembly/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-marketing-ladder/Connect with Mike & Gaby @ Proofpoint Marketing:Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/Gaby’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llcProofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTubeProofpoint Marketing Website: www.proofpoint.marketing

“Culture” is starting to feel like more of a generality, don’t you think? Companies fall back on pleasantries when describing day-to-day operations, and the one word that always comes up is “culture.” But what is good culture, and why is it so difficult to define? After all, team members need (and deserve) more than a pat on the back and a pizza party to establish company culture.In this week’s episode, we speak with the Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer for Nymbus, Allison Netzer, for a conversation on company culture, and employer brand as an output of a culture-focused business. Is culture a measurable component of your brand? Is it possible to master culture while growing a brand?Let’s get started!MINDSETS:Reference Scorecards - Beyond the fact that Allison *hates* KPIs, it’s important to keep your goals measurable. You may score points with business jargon, for example, but does that have an internal or external benefit? Racking up points on a “scorecard” and understanding what those mean for your operations will help to shift focus to where the dollars are. Effectively, it’s the culture of measurement!Don’t Commission Consultants (yet) - Okay, you may NEED consultants, but let’s be real — an extension of a company is a lot better than a rebuild, which consultants are more likely to suggest. Refine your business and connect the dots when things go astray — you likely have more data than you realize.Culture by Inertia v. Intention - It’s nice for a company culture to build itself, but it’s more likely that intentional work needs to get done (not all brands can be Starbucks). The key word here is INTENTION. Culture doesn’t grow the way you want it to without active, intentional guidance. Humans Do the Work and Need Engagement - AI isn’t a replacement, it’s a HUMAN tool, and humans deserve substance. Keep your teams engaged socially and intellectually, and most importantly, keep them happy. Success comes from within. You see engagement in people’s actions, not surveys – when they see the vision and do the work without being asked, THAT is an indicator of your effectiveness.SKILLSETS:Master the Mission Statement - Get it, believe it, and execute it. Is your company culture clear enough for the masses? The mission statement can’t stop at a ‘vision exercise.’ It needs to be actionable and definitive in a way that makes your team capable to move the vision forward.Marketing/Branding at the Strategy Table - As Allison puts it, there’s a perception that CMOs are just the “executives with the crayons,” and a change in branding requires a change in leadership. That’s not necessarily the case. Rather, Marketing as a skillset needs to be brought into the early stages of strategy development — that can only succeed with good, active leadership.Communication and Participation - Is your CMO a “team player,” or do they have blinders on to meet a singular vision? A good CMO is working with the financial team, data team, and other leadership for a cohesive vision.Persistence - People may let a financial analysis, for example, go on FOREVER. But when it comes to a marketing campaign, people expect results after a week or two. That is NOT the case; rather, you need to be persistent in your vision in the same way that a salesperson is persistent with their pitch. Break Down the Doors - Unless you’re making space in work meetings, you won’t get the empathy you need as a team player. ALWAYS get into the board meetings and stay involved.TOOLSETS:Corporate Calendar/Google CalendarQuantitative & Qualitative Data Team MeetingsKantar Brandz ReportRESULTS:One of the very first things the Nymbus CEO did to improve company culture was to make every employee a shareholder. The second thing they did was avoid the glitzy executive hires first. Third, everything from hires to layoffs happened in the public space, making for a tremendously transparent company.By making every employee a shareholder, workers were given equal value, and thus a reason to care about the solution and the product/service that Nymbus sells. This has put Nymbus in a tremendous sales point that has been both successful and fun, despite any difficulties that come from the financial services industry. A bit more about Allison:Allison Netzer is a best-selling author and the Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer for Nymbus, a company dedicated to assisting the banking industry and global financial service organizations with breakthrough banking tech products. Her 2022 book Think Like a Brand, Not a Bank has been praised for its no-nonsense deep dive into the emerging landscape of financial technology. Allison has kept a keen eye on data trends her whole career — one that includes over 20 years of experience helping companies like Aetna, Cisco, Southwest Airlines, and The Dallas Cowboys.Allison has been lauded as a Top 30 Fintech Marketer AND a Top 25 Global Woman in Fintech. Connect with Allison:http://nymbus.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-netzer-1b98335/Connect with Mike & Gaby @ Proofpoint Marketing:Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/Gaby’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llcProofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTubeProofpoint Marketing Website: www.proofpoint.marketing

“Tell me a little more about your business.” It’s a simple request that generates simple answers — 70-90 percent of sales generated come from workers, focused relationships, and referrals. The conversation gets a little trickier with the follow-up questions, particularly this one: “What’s stopping you from accelerating revenue growth?”This week, we sit down with David Rush, the CEO of SmallWorld for a discussion on the business relationships that drive and generate revenue. What are the misconceptions about referrals, who generates them, how do you start a referral program, and what do they mean for your business?Let’s get started!MINDSETS:Activating Your Employees - When starting a referral program, sometimes the best place to start is your employees. They have relationships with peers from past and current projects, and incentivizing your employees first will set the stage for a referral structure. Extended Networks of Trust - Workers find jobs often from professional connections. No matter what, though, there is a level of trust that always has to be established before that referral takes place. Keeping Connections Intact - How do you rate your relationships? Are they strong with multiple referrals to consider, or do they have a weaker extended network? Making connections is important, but establishing and understanding their value is just as crucial.Keep it Timely - Revenue is important, but time is just as valuable. In building trust, you always have to ensure the work you’re asking a person to put in to review a referral is worth their time. Anything less than a useful referral can feel like time wasted, which has long-term effects on business relationships.SKILLSETS:Attention to Detail - Staying in tune with the metrics that work for your business makes for better leadership, and ultimately better workflows for your team.Accelerating Growth through Active Participation - Leading by example, with the expectation that others will do as you do, produces consistent results across the board that will ensure growth. Ultimately, a team values and trusts a leader that works just as hard at referrals and relationships.Rate Your Relationships - ‘Relationship leads’ are the actionable, high-conversion referrals that have a lasting impact on your business. But how are they tracked? It depends on the metrics of your business – be it revenue growth, visibility, or both. Setting the stage and ensuring your team effectively tracks data makes for more comprehensive growth.Nurture Relationships - Programs fail due to one-sided relationships and unmet expectations. Understanding the structure of incentives and regularly updating them not only keeps partners interested… it shows that you value their time.TOOLSETS:Referral ProgramsRelationship BuildingCRM SoftwareZoomInfoLinkedInEmailLead GenerationRESULTS:For David, referral programs are a crucial component of business growth. In his experience, any sales marketing team needs to look at the size of a pipeline and its quality. When looking into conversion rates, David sees that people will say “yes” to 83% of referrals, and the actual meeting is scheduled about 71% of the time. Compared to other methods (like the dreaded cold outreach), the effectiveness is not only greater, but the meetings take place quicker. In business, weeks are always better than months when it comes to making deals. That type of success doesn’t come without an effective referral system, which David and the team at SmartWorld continue to perfect. A bit more about David:David Rush is the CEO of SmallWorld, a company dedicated to unlocking relationships available to companies for warm introductions and referrals and, in doing so, reducing the cost of customer acquisition. David is an entrepreneur in heart and practice, having previously held executive roles at tech companies like Earshot and DialogueTech. David was inspired to develop SmallWorld through a passionate belief that connection drives growth and ultimately has a direct impact on top-line revenue. Connect with David:https://www.linkedin.com/in/drush29/https://www.smallworld.ai/Connect with Mike & Gaby @ Proofpoint Marketing:Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/Gaby’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llcProofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTubeProofpoint Marketing Website: www.proofpoint.marketing

It’s a little bit of everything, all of the time. Content is EVERYWHERE, and for many, it is EVERYTHING. Trends come and go, and millions upon millions of viewers are seeking the next “viral” video. The next “best” thing. If anything’s changed in marketing (or, rather, content creation), it’s that there are more content creators than ever, making for a busy space that keeps on growing. Add Artificial Intelligence into the mix, and you have thousands of hours of content produced DAILY. Exhausting, right?This week, we sit down with Brian Wallace, the co-founder of NowSourcing, for a discussion on the modern content environment. What happens to consumers when so much content is available? For marketers, what does it take for them to not throw their laptops at a wall and, instead, work to break through the noise? What does it mean for modern content to be not only entertaining but valuable to a consumer?Let’s get started!MINDSETS:Doing the Complete Opposite - If you’re hearing about possible ChatGPT prompts from, say, your Uber Driver — it’s time to consider if you’re either behind on your game, or if EVERYBODY knows the “secrets” to content creation. Pivoting to unchartered territory may be the key to being noticed. AI is NOT a brain replacement - have you or your company embraced AI? Consider its limitations. For now, it’s better served for menial, repetitive tasks — not as your content producer. Remember How People Think - A polished, corporate mindset is a trap door. A fully functioning adult may somehow completely forget how humans think in a professional setting. It’s not about “putting on a different shirt,” per se, but rather it’s bringing that shirt to the office and remembering the importance of the human mindset.SKILLSETS:The Power to Be Everywhere - People are making decisions about the type of person you are through multiple social and web channels — due diligence causes people to find and review your digital footprint. It’s important to stay ahead of the game, keep a professional presence across the platforms, and stay proactive.Picking Your Lane - Let’s be honest — you can’t be everywhere, at least not effectively. And if you are, it may come across as inauthentic or, even worse, fraudulent. Choosing channels that make sense to you and your brand plays an important role in your content’s authenticity.Creativity and Caring - The market, in and of itself, does a terrible job of explaining itself. Why? It fails to make effective connections. As a marketer, you are required to be empathetic in the same way that you have to be an effective creator. Now THAT is something AI can’t be: empathetic.Effective Hiring - “Fit for Business” and “Fit for Skill” are NOT the same thing. Consider your hiring practices — does a marketer vibe with your mindsets, or are they completely off base? Interpersonal skills should be considered just as strictly as tangible skills. Understanding Humanity - Look at a company, its marketplace, and its customers … Odds are, the industry isn’t telling the full story of its purpose. Understanding a company’s place in the world ALONGSIDE humanity, as well as humanity’s strongly-held beliefs about any given industry (say, chiropractic) AND truly caring about general human interests, plays a tremendous role in a company’s longevityAvoiding the Safe Bet - Copying off of someone’s homework was looked down upon in school — why would copying someone’s creative work be looked at better? Unfortunately, people mimic creative styles because it is a familiar, safe bet. It’ll hurt you in the long run. Remember the Goal of Content - If you’re a content creator, your goal may be to get the most likes, shares, and comments. That’s fine. As a BUSINESS, you cannot forget that content is an aid to revenue growth. Popularity online is not the equivalent of financial success and business longevity. Sure, you’re internet famous, but inflated egos don’t pay the bills. TOOLSETS:InfographicsPodcastingYouTube VideosArtificial Intelligence (ChatGPT)Industry ConferencesBloggingGenerosityNetworkingMastering Your CraftRESULTS:As a marketer, you may be inclined to look at vanity metrics as your company’s most successful qualities — in the case of social media, for example, you may see more followers as a success when in reality more followers do NOT equate to more sales. Brian implores you to look deeper than that — two circles of a Venn diagram where you’re either working for a high-profile company or an amazing company that achieves your ideal output. The “middle” of the Venn diagram is the sweet spot - amazing companies that do amazing things. Brian looks to the story of Moneyball as a great example. Scouts, at one point in time, sought out players that “looked the part.” The flaw with that is, while a person may look like a baseball player, they lack all the necessary fundamentals to succeed, meaning the team as a unit was destined for failure. The same applies to marketing. It is A LOT more scrappy. Data isn’t always pretty, but it is necessary for forecasting and success. Effectively, Brian works to break through the noisy, busy content spaces by implementing processes that look past vanity numbers and flashy data for content that is effective, useful, and relevant. A bit more about Brian:Brian Wallace, the co-founder of NowSourcing, an infographic design agency with offices in Kentucky and Ohio.  NowSourcing’s vast portfolio sees them assisting businesses ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.Brian’s focused mindset has garnered him accolades from the likes of Google, which has named him a top Small Business Advisor since 2016. Connect with Brian:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nowsourcing/https://twitter.com/nowsourcingConnect with Mike & Gaby @ Proofpoint Marketing:Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikegrinberg/Gaby’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/LinkedIn Company Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/proofpoint-marketing-llcProofpoint YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/ProofpointonYouTubeProofpoint Marketing Website: www.proofpoint.marketing