2024 on The Industrial Growth Institute Podcast - A Year in Review
The Industrial Growth Institute Podcast has a big, but straightforward goal.
Revenue growth is the product of a system. That system can be ad hoc and chaotic, or it can be carefully engineered like the production and operations of industrial manufacturing companies.
If we apply the systems engineering and continuous improvement mindset to the revenue growth system (as I do in my Overall Revenue Effectiveness™ Framework) then it's easier to conceptualize that the overall system is comprised of a number of steps - each with their own intricacy and nuance. Those steps may appear simple when viewed from the high level overall system perspective, but that view overlooks the detail that makes the difference between, say, 50% and 97% efficiency.
Each episode seeks to offer an entertaining and enlightening conversation with an interesting person who also brings a particular expertise and insight into a particular subset of the overall revenue growth system.
I launched the podcast in March of 2024 and completed 41 episodes by year end.
Throughout the year, and as I recapped episodes, a couple themes emerged from the conversations.
First, the prevalence of military veterans and NCAA level athletes that are leading these companies, or functions at their company.
Second, the frequency with which degreed engineers are leading marketing and sales-related functions.
Third, the degree of complexity and nuance embedded in each tactic and topic. Do you need to find outside experts for each? No, but you should find places where they share insights and where they go for information themselves. That will gradually help you appreciate the complexity of something that might otherwise seem a simple administrative task, and perhaps unlock additional opportunity.
Connect with me for more podcast episodes and periodic provocative ideas.
Website | | | |
Host Ed Marsh Reviews 2024 Episodes of The Industrial Growth Insitute Episode 42
Episode Recap
Summary Of Episodes
Trailer - I kicked off in early March with a pilot episode where I share more on the intent and philosophy. Youtube & Audio
Episode 1 featured Chris Fox discussing the role of video in industrial marketing. Chris comes from a written content background and made a transition to video, so he’s particularly focused on how well-produced video can help tell a story and capture the essence of how your products impact buyers. We talked about bourbon, AI, editing, and even a quick dive into how easily a company can start with a couple of GoPro cameras. Youtube & Audio
In Episode 2, I spoke with former Army Special Forces Sergeant Major and combat diver cum sales BDR extraordinaire Sean Hurd. Sean shared stories of his military career, including time in the Ranger Regiment and as a Green Beret, and he tied those to his career transition. After retiring, he went into sales and in a matter of months, was the top-performing BDR in his company. YouTube & Audio
Bob Apollo joined me for Episode 3 to lament the state of accountability and training in sales and to explore his outcome-centric selling model. Bob focuses on complex B2B sales - meaning long sell cycle, high ticket, large buying team - and leverages many of the important lessons he learned early in his career selling door-to-door. YouTube & Audio
Episode 4 dove into aftermarket service as a sales differentiator and source of continuous and additional revenue streams. Markus Rimmele traveled the world as an electromechanical service technician and learned firsthand about the inefficiencies in that model. Now, he helps companies implement technology to improve service, which also creates additional revenue opportunities, including recurring revenue to smooth out capital equipment cycles. YouTube & Audio
Marketing and channel sales legend Peter Caputa !V was the featured guest in Episode 5. Pete was the 15th employee at HubSpot and led HubSpot’s channel partner program. In fact, he had the vision and had to work repeatedly to get management support for his effort, that eventually represented 60% of HubSpot’s revenue. We discussed athletes' grit that can aid in sales and took a deep dive into Pete’s specialty of analytics and data to guide marketing and sales. YouTube & Audio
In Episode 6, Carole Mahoney joined me to discuss her then-new book Buyer First Sales. Carole shared her story of going from a waitress whose credit card didn’t work to buy groceries for her kids to a successful sales trainer, coach, speaker, and author. We focused on the role of the sales manager as the critical fulcrum for sales team development. YouTube & Audio
Terri Hoffman of Marketing Refresh jumped into the Episode 7 conversation, during which we discussed the carryover between her NCAA athletics career and her work leading a marketing agency. We discussed accountability, SEO, content creation, and the gap between how most industrial manufacturers buy vs. sell, and the changes they need to make to support their buyers. YouTube & Audio
Episode 8 brought Jeff Cross to the virtual studio. Jeff is a content-creation machine. He started a newsletter when he ran his own commercial cleaning business. That newsletter took him in interesting directions, ending up as the Media Director for ISSA, the commercial cleaning trade association. He shares tips for efficiency in content creation, and particularly his journey into video which powers much of their content. YouTube & Audio
Mario Trafficante joined me for Episode 9. Mario is another NCAA athlete who has had an impressive career in sales. We talked about discipline, grit, and routine. Mario also shared an important sales KPI that he tracks with his team - Quality Conversations, and he offered tips for early qualification questions that can avoid the curse of deals ending in “No Decision.” YouTube & Audio
Strategic Communications and board governance expert Trista Morrison was the guest for Episode 10. Trista is a trained biologist who stumbled into journalism and built a career around the discipline of strategic communications. She makes the point that Strategic Communications serves as a forcing function to clarify strategy. Through her work on strategy, she spends lots of time educating and serving on boards of directors, and she offers insights into the board’s role in strategy. YouTube & Audio
For Episode 11, I changed sides of the microphone with industrial sales and marketing podcast innovator Scott MacKenzie. Scott’s career has carved an interesting path - from taking a company public to starting podcasting before it was a thing - based on his intuition that it was the best path for him to differentiate the staffing company he was running at the time. We lament the state of trade show lead follow-up among industrial sales teams. YouTube & Audio
Former HubSpot agency partner CEO and now CRO of the rapidly growing Pavilion community, Kathleen Booth, dropped in for Episode 12. We focused on the growing role of community in building trust and brand, as well as the power of in-person events - perhaps the renewed power post-COVID. YouTube & Audio
Episode 13 featured Jon Selig who joined me to talk about using humor to differentiate your sales and marketing. Jon specializes in helping B2B companies craft one-liners that serve as pattern interrupts to help sales teams start conversations. The key takeaway, though, was that in order to do his work, he often has to start by helping teams actually understand what they’re selling! YouTube & Audio
For Episode 14, John Panaccione brought his insights regarding the value of veterans on your business team. John served as an armor officer in the 82nd airborne division - yes, parachuting tanks onto the drop zone - and has worked tirelessly creating and stewarding veterans' entrepreneurship programs. He had a successful software exit - his company did PRM (Partner Relationship Management) software - and now he helps companies crowdsource funding. YouTube & Audio
Episode 15 focused on Strategic Pricing with Lisa Spadafora Thompson, who has almost personally defined the discipline of strategic pricing. Lisa took me through how pricing actually infuses most aspects of marketing and sales, and some of the core elements of a solid strategic pricing plan. One of the biggest takeaways is the necessity to have a “discount strategy” rather than a stream of ad-hoc reactions. YouTube & Audio
We took a dive into welding, leadership, product management and channel sales in Episode 16 with Dustin Levy. Dustin is a former college athlete and a chemistry PhD. He shared powerful insights into his journey from a deeply technical product expert through product marketing to sales, and the lessons learned about making the message accessible to buyers. YouTube & Audio
Brisa Rentaria and I chatted about hiring salespeople and fostering accountability in Episode 17. Brisa shared an inspiring story of her early entrepreneurial instincts in Mexico, her success selling Sandler sales training, and her decision to form her own sales hiring consulting agency. We discussed accountability, sales management, and sales hiring decisions. YouTube & Audio
In Episode 18, I spoke to the guy who wrote the book on partnerships - Franz-Josef Schrepf. Franz-Josef started in marketing and just kind of stumbled into partnerships by chance at a time when there was little discussion but gradually growing awareness of the approach to growth in the SaaS world. He started creating content, including articles and live video, with a heavy emphasis on LinkedIn, and had just published his book, “The Book on Partnerships: How Startups Work With Partners To Sell More, Add Features, And Get Acquired.” YouTube & Audio
Ben Tago, CEO of Objective Management Group and recent recipient of Pavilion’s 50 CEOs to Watch recognition, offered insights in Episode 19 about using data to optimize sales hiring and management. Ben shared his background in data analytics and private equity, and more on the tools that OMG offers B2B sales teams looking to improve their teams’ performance and make better hiring decisions. YouTube & Audio
ABM expert and Army vet Jon Russo led the conversation in episode 20. Jon brought years of accumulated CMO experience, including an IPO, and shared thoughts on the reality of ABM. From hype five years ago to an integrated Account Based Go To Market motion, Jon brings real-world experience helping companies successfully target key accounts in an integrated marketing and sales approach. YouTube & Audio
As we kicked off August episodes, longtime Sales Ops expert Cece Kintner joined me for Episode 21. I first met Cece in the early 90s as she was leading the marketing and sales channel enablement program for a capital equipment manufacturer. Having worked in events in the meantime, today she manages sales operations for a managed services company and shared insights into the key functions of that role. YouTube & Audio
Dan Ott and I took a dive into generational differences and digital marketing for traditional industrial spaces in Episde 22. Another former college athlete, Dan decided to go into advanced manufacturing to start his career. Staying within the space, he moved from the back end of the business on the production floor to the front end in marketing. Today he leads efforts at the NTMA (machine shop trade association) to help companies use digital approaches to grow industrial business. YouTube & Audio
Small business advocate and podcasting radio legend Jim Blasingame dropped lots of wisdom in Episode 23. Jim’s a former Amry Airborne Officer and a legendary business consultant and early podcaster. Jim’s Small Business Advocate radio show and podcast was reaching small business owners long before anyone really understood the transformative power of the internet. We dove into his book “The Age of the Customer” which foretold many of the evolving buying habits we see today. YouTube & Audio
Rudy Scarito, a boutique investment banker, shared important tips regarding preparing a company for a transaction and the role of revenue growth during Episode 24. A former NCAA team captain, Rudy operated at the highest levels of the New York investment banking world before founding her own firm to focus on lower middle market sell-side banking. We discussed how companies need to prepare for a transaction well in advance, including developing systems for predictable revenue growth. YouTube & Audio
I hated on CRM in Episode 25 with professional CRM hater Adam Honig. Adam has helped countless companies implement CRM (and try to resurrect poor CRM implementations.) He’s had a couple of successful exits, including recently selling a CRM company he cofounded, Spiro.ai, where he remains CEO. We discuss the various barriers to successful CRM implementation and adoption. YouTube & Audio
Episode 26 featured the legend behind the Marketing Book Podcast, Army vet Douglas Burdett as we chatted about all the lessons he’s learned and got a curated suggested reading list. Doug’s years of reading and conversation with various marketing and sales thinkers make him an amazing resource for insights into how the disciplines have evolved and who some of the most impactful thinkers are. YouTube & Audio
Aleesa Glebhard joined me for Episode 27 to discuss the role of personal branding for executives, and her company, Point Road Group’s research into the perceived impact of executive presence on LinkedIn. Alyssa’s bottom line is simple. Company leaders must work proactively to build their executive presence on LinkedIn. It’s not a personal necessity, but a business one! YouTube & Audio
For Episode 28, channel sales expert Vaughn Mordecai shared perspectives on how industrial companies can learn from technology channel sales teams. Vaughn has a career in market research and recently became the CRO of MindMatrix, a PRM or partner relationship management software that has a long history in tech and is expanding into industrial manufacturing. YouTube & Audio
In late September, ARC Specialities founder and director of marketing Dan Allford and Johnny Taylor brought insights to Episode 29, discussing the role of social media, LinkedIn and video in their business growth. There are a lot of people online who expend a lot of hot air talking about what they do. Dan just does it, and he has for years. He’s built a global business selling automation and robotics for various oil and gas, industrial, and defense applications. He spent many years just answering questions but slowed down with mediocre marketers until he found Johnny, who helps Dan shine. He even put a podcast studio in their industrial manufacturing plant. YouTube & Audio
Episode 30 featured Amy Franko, a sales expert. Amy had a successful career in tech sales before she set up her own sales strategy consulting business. In addition to being a consultant, she’s a frequent key note speaker and an author, and our conversation focused deeply on what directors need to understand about marketing and sales. YouTube & Audio
Al Rosenbaum brought his insights into sales messaging and what he calls undeniable value propositions for Episode 31. Al started in sales in 1989, when companies routinely invested in training reps. He’s sold a variety of technology and now consults with sales teams. The core of his insight is simple. If you talk about your stuff, you lose. Sales success comes from deeply understanding how your products change your buyers’ business. YouTube & Audio
Podcaster, author, former Wall Street trader, and Coast Guard officer Jared Dillian was the guest for Episode 32, talking about content creation. Jared is an author, a DJ, and primarily a financial newsletter writer. I subscribeto and value his sentiment analysis of various market factors, and I’ve read several of his books - he’s published across five different genres. This episode was focused on helping folks overcome writer’s block and stop making excuses about their content. YouTube & Audio
Father and son team Matt & Jack Watson were the guests on Episode 33. We discussed how they’re using social media to recruit skilled tradesmen. This episode pairs well with my conversation with Dan Ott, who helps companies like HFW think about using digital tools for marketing, sale,s and recruitment. This is an interesting multi-generational story, with encouraging results in hiring hard-to-find tradesmen. YouTube & Audio
Episode 34 featured Chris Dunn, a long-time trade show and exhibit expert. Chris has probably been to more trade shows than just about anyone except a Freeman Decorating veteran. And he’s seen lots done well and lots done not so well. We spoke at length about the most common missed opportunities (think lighting) and how often poor lead follow-up detracts from the potential return of this large expense. YouTube & Audio
Another NCAA athlete, Patrick Hayes shared lessons learned as a football team captain and in the Peace Corps during Episode 35. Following stints in trading and time at Bridgewater Associates, Patrick founded Mukala partners a firm that focuses on helping private equity portfolio companies optimize that management teams and culture. We talked about the delayed impact of work from home, family owned business dynamics and assessment tools. YouTube & Audio
In Episode 36 we learned some real world lessons about partnership sales from Samantha Gadenne. Samantha started her career selling machines. Along the way she found that forging partnerships helped her to sell more. In some cases these were traditional distribution arrangements, but in others they were innovative adjacencies that yielded opportunity. This isn’t theory - this is actionable. YouTube & Audio
Salim Awad, former Army combat diver and president of Spinner North America sat down with me at IMTS in Chicago to record Episode 37. Salim shared his life story for important context - his early career in law, his mom’s murder by the FARC in colombia, his military experience and path to citizenship, and his commitment to growing American advanced manufacturing. We took a detailed dive into how he uses LinkedIn to reach prospects and customers - as the CEO of an industrial machinery company. YouTube & Audio
Episode 38 featured insights from Kurt Palmer discussing family business transactions, industrial distribution and capital euqipment sales. Kurt’s career started as a chemical engineer then moved into a family business distributing supplies to the printed circuit board industry. He and his brother navigated a successful transaction, and he then shifted from consumables to capital equipment and from channel partner to selling through channel. Kurt offered insight on family business transitions and machinery sales. YouTube & Audio
Micki Vandeloo warned us not to leave money on the table during our conversation for Episode 39. Micki started her career as an engineer, chanced into selling, and then stumbled into grants in her efforts to help her companies find money to subsidize investment. She’s turned that into a business that helps industrial manufacturers develop and execute a grant strategy - because she’s bullish on American manufacturing. YouTube & Audio
I talked strategic accounting with Mike Sibley in Episode 40. Mike’s an accountant, but he’s not a bean counter. Much closer to the management consultant end of the continuum, Mike leads he manufacturing and distribution practice for James Moore and company. We spoke about the strategic vision that accountants should bring to their manufacturing clients, the fact that debt isn’t always bad, why he had his team take sales training, and the fact that maybe marketing budgets should be slashed first! YouTube & Audio
David Anderson wrapped up the regular episodes for 2024 with Episode 41 on Dec 18th. David is the cofounder of Engora.tech where he is using machine learning to solve a problem he encountered as a young mechanical engineer right out of MIT. There is a lot of rote task that falls to engineers, and a dearth of value creating sales and marketing. So he plans to simplify the tasks and stop wasting time with the latter - important insights here for your industrial marketing and sales! YouTube & Audio
