Rooted In Revenue

In this final episode of the Foundations of Business Series on Rooted in Revenue, Rob Brodo, the co-founder and CEO of Advantexe, and Susan Finch discuss competitive analysis as a foundation of business acumen. They first identify who the real competitors are and how to spot them. They also explain how scanning the environment, including social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, can help companies stay up to date on their competitors and innovations in the market. Rob emphasizes the importance of building trust with customers and having continuous dialogues with them to keep track of who is entering the market and who might be a potential threat. By doing so, companies can use the information gained from competitive analysis to fine-tune their message to either existing customers or new prospects and establish a strategic competitive advantage. Overall, this episode provides valuable insights and practical tips for conducting competitive analysis, regardless of a company's size.
Some of the points covered in this episode include:
Sales is not just about selling a product or service; it's about building relationships with customers and understanding their needs.
One of the most important skills for a salesperson is active listening. This means listening to the customer, understanding their pain points, and providing solutions.
Salespeople should focus on creating value for the customer, rather than just trying to close a sale. When customers see the value in what they are buying, they are more likely to become loyal customers.
Sales training should be an ongoing process, not just a one-time event. Salespeople should continuously learn new skills, strategies, and techniques to improve their performance.
Technology can be a valuable tool for salespeople, but it should never replace human connection. Personalized communication and building relationships with customers is still the key to successful sales.
The previous episode in this series is here:
https://rootedinrevenue.com/e/transform-employee-performance-with-strategic-insight/ 
https://rootedinrevenue.com/e/breaking-down-finacial-metric-silos-ensuring-consistent-understanding-across-the-company/ 
https://rootedinrevenue.com/e/achieving-competitive-advantage-through-a-comprehensive-competitor-analysis/ 
Links related to this episode:
https://www.advantexe.com/business-acumen-virtual-workshop
Rob Brodo on LinkedIn and Twitter
Susan Finch on LinkedIn and Twitter
About Advantexe:
Advantexe Learning Solution's mission is to provide world-class Business simulation-centric Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling talent development solutions to organizations around the world in order to help them execute their business strategies and achieve their goals and objectives. 
Their vision is to be the premier talent development resource partnering with their clients to close the talent gaps that are preventing them from flawlessly executing their strategic initiatives and achieving their short- and long-term business objectives.

In this episode of Rooted in Revenue, host Susan Finch is once again joined by Rob Brodo, the co-founder and CEO of AdvantX. The duo is continuing their series on the foundations of Business Acumen, which covers the key components of understanding business strategy and financial positions. In this episode, they delve into the importance of recognizing the strategic and financial challenges and opportunities of executing a new strategy.
Rob discusses how many companies are disconnected between their metrics of success and their strategy, and that goals and objectives are not connected to the priorities of the business. He emphasizes the need to align people to measure the success of the strategy and that it is not happening in many companies. For example, if an organization has a value proposition of being an innovator, then the goals and objectives should be around innovation. Rob explains that it is not just about setting goals and objectives, but also about having specific measurements to tell if they are achieving those goals.
The conversation then turns to the importance of alignment across the enterprise on the value proposition, goals, and objectives. Rob highlights how the most successful companies in the world have this alignment, while struggling companies set up functions within the enterprise that compete against each other. This misalignment can lead to conflicts in financial metrics, cutting prices to get deals, and challenges in creating margins.
The episode concludes with Susan and Rob discussing the need for coaching and interpersonal skills to align people to the strategy. The conversation is wrapped up by discussing the basics of conducting a competitor analysis and using that information to establish a strategic competitive advantage in the next episode.
Listeners are encouraged to check out the full series of Rooted in Revenue on the website, where they can find Rob's insights on the foundations of Business Acumen, and to not miss the next episode on competitor analysis.
The previous episode in this series is here:
https://rootedinrevenue.com/e/transform-employee-performance-with-strategic-insight/ 
https://rootedinrevenue.com/e/breaking-down-finacial-metric-silos-ensuring-consistent-understanding-across-the-company/ 
Links related to this episode:
https://www.advantexe.com/business-acumen-virtual-workshop
Rob Brodo on LinkedIn and Twitter
Susan Finch on LinkedIn and Twitter
About Advantexe:
Advantexe Learning Solution's mission is to provide world-class Business simulation-centric Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling talent development solutions to organizations around the world in order to help them execute their business strategies and achieve their goals and objectives. 
Their vision is to be the premier talent development resource partnering with their clients to close the talent gaps that are preventing them from flawlessly executing their strategic initiatives and achieving their short- and long-term business objectives.

In this episode of the podcast, Susan Finch and Michelle Cramer from On Angels' Wings discuss the importance of HR support in the workplace. Michelle discusses her journey writing her book, Uncharted Grief, and her certification as a Grief Recovery Method specialist. Michelle shares her thoughts on the societal norms surrounding grief and how they impact employees in the workplace. She highlights the importance of allowing employees to grieve and the impact it can have on their health and financial well-being. Michelle also shares a story of a gentleman who struggled to find a balance between work and grieving after the unexpected death of his father. This episode sheds light on a crucial topic and highlights the importance of HR support for employees who are grieving. You’ll also hear the variations of grief, it’s not always about death. Listen in to gain insights and understanding on how to support your team and staff through the grieving process.
This episode covers a few facets of this topic:
Supporting Teams Through Grief: HR's Role in the Process
Navigating Loss in the Workplace: Expert Advice for HR
Grieving and the Workplace: Addressing Employee Needs
HR's Role in Providing Compassionate Support for Grieving Employees
Links from this episode:
On Angels' Wings - https://oawphoto.org
Susan Finch on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/susanmfinch 
Michelle Cramer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelcramer-oaw 

In this episode, Susan is joined by Rob Brodo, the CEO and Co-Founder of Advantexe, as they continue their series on business acumen strategies. The focus of this episode is on comprehending financial position and key metrics, including the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow report. Rob explains that financial management is just a scoreboard for the company's strategy and that understanding these metrics is crucial in measuring the success of the strategy. He also highlights the importance of cash flow, as it is the lifeblood of any business. The conversation then shifts to the importance of everyone in the company having a basic understanding of financial management and its impact on the company. Join Susan and Rob as they dive into the world of financial management and its impact on business success.
The previous episode in this series is here:
https://rootedinrevenue.com/e/transform-employee-performance-with-strategic-insight/ 
Links related to this episode:
https://www.advantexe.com/business-acumen-virtual-workshop
Rob Brodo on LinkedIn and Twitter
Susan Finch on LinkedIn and Twitter
About Advantexe:
Advantexe Learning Solution's mission is to provide world-class Business simulation-centric Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling talent development solutions to organizations around the world in order to help them execute their business strategies and achieve their goals and objectives. 
Their vision is to be the premier talent development resource partnering with their clients to close the talent gaps that are preventing them from flawlessly executing their strategic initiatives and achieving their short- and long-term business objectives.

In this episode, we cover the importance of understanding business strategy for every person working for a company. Our guest is Rob Brodo. Rob is the Co-Founder and CEO of Advantexe. Rob talks about how many CEOs struggle with leading an organization that lacks a clear understanding of their value proposition to customers. The discussion includes the difference between the "believers" and "non-believers," and the importance of knowing the company's strategy and its impact on a company's success. Listen to this first part of a 4 part series on understanding business strategy and how it can benefit your organization.
Links related to this episode:
https://www.advantexe.com/business-acumen-virtual-workshop
Rob Brodo on LinkedIn and Twitter
Susan Finch on LinkedIn and Twitter
About Advantexe:
Advantexe Learning Solution's mission is to provide world-class Business simulation-centric Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling talent development solutions to organizations around the world in order to help them execute their business strategies and achieve their goals and objectives. 
Their vision is to be the premier talent development resource partnering with their clients to close the talent gaps that are preventing them from flawlessly executing their strategic initiatives and achieving their short- and long-term business objectives.

At least a few times a month I hear from a potential new client that their email marketing efforts produce no results. Once we sit and talk about their process, and how they follow up with the leads they get pretty quiet. This isn't uncommon. If you are struggling to create and execute targeted marketing campaigns that drive new business, you are not alone, especially for small businesses. It’s critical to the growth of your business, but you don’t have the time or the resources to do it and you cannot afford expensive marketing software or a high-priced marketing professional. Many of these small businesses are a team of one, two, or three trying to wear all the hats. They are great at what the company does, but they are not writers, they are not marketers, but they know they need to do this to get in front of existing customers and prospects.  Larry Caretsky, Founder of Commence - a trusted name in CRM is our guest today. Listen to this episode to hear how Commence has solved this common issue of starting, but then dropping the ball on everything after the email is sent through a campaign. There is an answer. Join Larry and Susan for, "Follow Up On the Leads, We'll Do the Rest."
Links from this episode:
Larry Caretsky - [email protected]
Larry on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-caretsky-b3a27824/
Susan on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/susanmfinch 
Commence - https://commence.com 
The Marketing Enablement Program - https://commence.com/service/marketing-enablement/ 
 
 

We hear about all the ways marketers miss the mark - what they do wrong. What if we focused on what they are doing right and then expand the use of those tactics? Some companies have a team of one or less than five and each must wear several hats. If, as a group, you lay out what is working, analyze the results through Google Analytics and pulling in all the pieces, as a group, you can tackle what is next.
It may be enhancing the most popular pages you have to ensure you move people along on the journey toward a conversation with your sales team. It may be creating a podcast or other content that appeals to your existing customers as the "inside group" rather than only talking to them when you want to sell them something new. 
Jeanne Hopkins goes through ways to bring out the best in the existing marketing plan, letting go of what's not working and allowing companies to divide and conquer what needs to be done to engage, then celebrating the mountain of measurable successes as a group. Join us for, "Making Use of What Marketers Are Doing Right."
Links from this episode:
Connect with Jeanne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannehopkins/ 
Connect with Susan on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/susanmfinch
 
About Jeanne Hopkins, B2B Fractional CRO with growth marketing chops, Advice with Accountability, GTM, PLG; former @hubspot VP Marketing; Speaker; Author; Advisor; Mentor; Start-up Investors:
Deep expertise in data-driven, high-velocity B2B and B2C customer acquisition, sales, marketing, and customer success organizations. Inbound (obviously)-based lead gen programs to support global demand for high-growth SaaS companies. Experienced in building GTM programs from scratch and turning around existing ones. Able to forge lasting partner marketing relationships with startups and enterprise-class organizations. Inbound marketing success in driving practical corporate, divisional and industry lead gen and nurturing programs. Success in growing and leading teams towards rapid results plus can enthusiastically manage many programs, people, vendors and campaigns concurrently, Proactive and highly productive w/analytical skills, thrive in a rapidly changing environment (start-up to corporate marketing), inspires excellence in others. Demonstrates concise, effective communication both written and spoken, able to handle ambiguity, a high workload, and an extreme amount of detail - all within budget.Building sustainable relationships that drive revenue via demand generation programs: Strategic, Technical & Creative - Co-chair MassTLC Sales & Marketing Group; Co-author, "Go Mobile"​, #1 best-selling mobile marketing book. Named to Sales Lead Management Association "Top 50"​ 3 years in a row and "20 Women to Watch" in 2015/14/13 & 2011; Named to VAR Guy Top Channel Leaders in 2015; MSPmentor People to Watch in 2014; BizJournal marketing experts; Speaker @ MarketingProfs B2B Forums, HubSpot Inbound 2011/12/13/14/15 Conferences, MIT Entrepreneurs Forum, AMA, Social Media Today, BrightTalk, MassTLC, Social Fresh. Advisor: OneScreen.io; Siemplify.co; Rank the Vote Digital Council; USEFULL (Coffee Cup Collective); Below The Fold (Acciyo)Author: Go Mobile!

A more complete title is, "How are you marketing to your employees, customers, prospects, community?"
Today I’m talking with Jeanne Hopkins who is launching Salty Marketing Company this month. We’ll cover what a fractional CMO is and isn’t, the four elements of marketing that every company must include or fail.
Employees
Customers
Prospects
Community
Consider this a wake-up call to marketers who are unable to justify their spending. This is part one of our session.
Links from this episode:
Connect with Jeanne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannehopkins/ 
Connect with Susan on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/susanmfinch
 
About Jeanne Hopkins, B2B Fractional CRO with growth marketing chops, Advice with Accountability, GTM, PLG; former @hubspot VP Marketing; Speaker; Author; Advisor; Mentor; Start-up Investors:
Deep expertise in data-driven, high-velocity B2B and B2C customer acquisition, sales, marketing, and customer success organizations. Inbound (obviously)-based lead gen programs to support global demand for high-growth SaaS companies. Experienced in building GTM programs from scratch and turning around existing ones. Able to forge lasting partner marketing relationships with startups and enterprise-class organizations. Inbound marketing success in driving practical corporate, divisional and industry lead gen and nurturing programs. Success in growing and leading teams towards rapid results plus can enthusiastically manage many programs, people, vendors and campaigns concurrently, Proactive and highly productive w/analytical skills, thrive in a rapidly changing environment (start-up to corporate marketing), inspires excellence in others. Demonstrates concise, effective communication both written and spoken, able to handle ambiguity, a high workload, and an extreme amount of detail - all within budget.Building sustainable relationships that drive revenue via demand generation programs: Strategic, Technical & Creative - Co-chair MassTLC Sales & Marketing Group; Co-author, "Go Mobile"​, #1 best-selling mobile marketing book. Named to Sales Lead Management Association "Top 50"​ 3 years in a row and "20 Women to Watch" in 2015/14/13 & 2011; Named to VAR Guy Top Channel Leaders in 2015; MSPmentor People to Watch in 2014; BizJournal marketing experts; Speaker @ MarketingProfs B2B Forums, HubSpot Inbound 2011/12/13/14/15 Conferences, MIT Entrepreneurs Forum, AMA, Social Media Today, BrightTalk, MassTLC, Social Fresh. Advisor: OneScreen.io; Siemplify.co; Rank the Vote Digital Council; USEFULL (Coffee Cup Collective); Below The Fold (Acciyo)Author: Go Mobile!

Holly Jean Jackson is a speaker, author, and holistic coach. This means she gives you three in one - a health coach, life coach, and a business coach. In this episode we are focusing on the value of relaunching your book. You put so much blood, sweat, tears, and hair-pulling into publishing a book. But what happens a few years later? Your publisher did their part, you did the signings, the promotions, and then crickets? Let's hope not. You may even be working on your next book, but you still really love your earlier works. There may be a few places that could use an update or a new version done as an audiobook. Have you done all that? Doing an audio version gives you the opportunity for updates. What about the kindle version? Can you update that? What a great way to reopen conversations with fans, clients, and prospects. Holly and Susan talk about the need for an actual marketing plan to relaunch what you did so well the first time. There is always a new way to do it better, and some elements that should be updated.  Listen to this episode of Rooted in Revenue, "You Wrote a Book, Is It Time to Relaunch It?"

We need our prospects to be so confident that they will get the return they expect. And so it's the ROI model, but also it's the level of confidence about the ability to achieve that. The fact that sometimes even what our customers tell us, they see value in our own solutions starts to change and evolve. Eric Whittlake of 6Sense joins Susan today. He says,  "One of the things that you likely will see is they value the thing that's more immediate than the thing." That extends into the need for us to do things to reduce the perception of risk with prospects of choosing a, hopefully, our solutions. That has to do with our sales process, that has to do with our marketing, and establishing credibility. There's more that we have to do there because we have a higher bar. It's time to stir it up again. We have to recognize how much has potentially changed in our market, with our prospects, and how that is so much more important that we go do this work now to understand how we're going to prioritize. Listen to this episode, "Reducing the Perception of Risks with Prospects."

Steve Richard, SVP, Value Realization at Mediafly sits down with Susan to talk about sales and sales training in a recession. He says, "Really good demand gen marketers that are super targeted with what they do and have very little scrap rate have never been higher demand. That's one thing I'm definitely seeing that's critically important right now. And everyone's going outbound."
Key points in this episode:
SDRs, SBRs, are you in the top third, mid-range third, or bottom third?
Time to start self-sourcing opportunities
How many times do you need to repeat training materials, three, seven, 50, or 100 times? 
The sins that steady renewals can cover.
Is this current market downturn isolated to tech to tech, or is it across the board?
Steve's advice to take from this episode:
"If you're good at generating opportunities, you're always going to be fine.  That's it. It's simple. So learn how to generate opportunities no matter what customer-facing role you're in."

It doesn't really matter whether you're a really large company or really small company, you have to continue to find, keep and grow the value of customers, which is the essence of marketing. You can't stop looking for customers and doing that work, but you also have to focus on keeping them. In this episode, Laura Patterson, President of VisionEdge Marketing gives suggestions for smaller to mid-size companies about building an advisory panel from your customers and why that continues to build loyalty, resources for valuable information, and your ability to better serve all of your customers. This fits into the topic of budgets and getting away from a line-items from the past, compared to outcome-based recommendations to nimbly move forward. You will pick up several tips you can implement at your own company - no matter the size - in this episode, "Outcome-Based Budgets vs. Line Item Belt Tightening."