1141: How to Use Corporate Finesse to Fuel Business Growth w/ Jennifer Thomas

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:04.799 Wouldn't it be nice to have several thought leaders in your industry know and Love 2 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:10.230 Your brand? Start a podcast, invite your industries thought leaders to be guests 3 00:00:10.349 --> 00:00:15.429 on your show and start reaping the benefits of having a network full of industry 4 00:00:15.429 --> 00:00:25.699 influencers? Learn more at sweet phish MEDIACOM. You're listening to be tob growth, 5 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.500 a daily podcast for B TOB leaders. We've interviewed names you've probably heard 6 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:34.420 before, like Gary vanner truck and Simon Senek, but you've probably never heard 7 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:38.729 from the majority of our guests. That's because the bulk of our interviews aren't 8 00:00:38.729 --> 00:00:43.289 with professional speakers and authors. Most of our guests are in the trenches leading 9 00:00:43.329 --> 00:00:48.170 sales and marketing teams. They're implementing strategy, they're experimenting with tactics, they're 10 00:00:48.250 --> 00:00:52.759 building the fastest growing BTB companies in the world. My name is James Carberry. 11 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:56.359 I'm the founder of sweet fish media, a podcast agency for BB brands, 12 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:59.640 and I'm also one of the cohosts of this show. When we're not 13 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:03.600 interviewing sales and marketing leaders, you'll hear stories from behind the scenes of our 14 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:07.510 own business. Will share the ups and downs of our journey as we attend 15 00:01:07.590 --> 00:01:11.590 to take over the world. Just getting well? Maybe let's get into the 16 00:01:11.670 --> 00:01:21.819 show. Welcome back to be tob growth. I'm your host for today's episode, 17 00:01:22.060 --> 00:01:26.019 Travis King, at sweet fish media. Today I'm joined with Jennifer Thomas, 18 00:01:26.219 --> 00:01:30.140 who is the managing director at plug and play Tech Center. Jennifer, 19 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:34.209 what is going on, my friend? So happy to be here. Travis, 20 00:01:34.329 --> 00:01:38.329 thanks for having me, of course, it's my pleasure. So today 21 00:01:38.650 --> 00:01:44.329 you're going to be sharing how startups can leverage what you call corporate finesse while 22 00:01:44.409 --> 00:01:48.480 learning from key decision makers, to enable them to learn faster and move their 23 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:52.519 businesses forward faster, but also kind of take us through a little bit of 24 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:57.920 the steps that you help startups go through when they're kind of first starting out 25 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:01.670 and selling into too larger corporations. But before we get that, I'd love 26 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:05.950 for you to share with listeners a little bit about yourself and what you and 27 00:02:06.030 --> 00:02:08.069 the team at plug and player up to these days. Sure, thanks, 28 00:02:08.150 --> 00:02:14.349 I'm love to so. Plug and play really is an open innovation platform. 29 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:19.180 We're headquartered in Silicon Valley, but we've opened our office here in Cleveland and 30 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:24.259 right now we specifically work with healthcare partners, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital and 31 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:29.900 Phillips, and what we do is help them with open innovation. We help 32 00:02:30.009 --> 00:02:34.729 them explore the startup ecosystem because there are so many ways to innovate. They 33 00:02:34.849 --> 00:02:38.770 innovate internally, but they also want to see what's out there. So we 34 00:02:38.889 --> 00:02:42.810 help them explore, kind of Scout, evaluate, meet startups. But then 35 00:02:42.889 --> 00:02:46.560 it's not just enough to meet those startups. We really want to facilitate how 36 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:50.520 to create corporate value and that's one of the things that I'm really excited to 37 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:53.120 talk about today. So how do you get to the point where a startup 38 00:02:53.159 --> 00:02:58.949 gets to launch a proof of concept or a pilot with clearly defined solutions, 39 00:02:59.430 --> 00:03:02.229 so important to the corporate partner? And then, ultimately, I think the 40 00:03:02.310 --> 00:03:07.590 startup is helping to transform culture and they need to sort of think about their 41 00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:15.620 role in that. Corporations obviously operate so differently than startups and that causes usually 42 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:19.819 challenges and road box but hopefully what we we chat about today will give some 43 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:23.939 clarity on how to sail smoothly when you're a startup trying to sell be tob 44 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:28.969 I love it. I love it, so I guess let's dive in and 45 00:03:29.250 --> 00:03:31.050 you know. First, thanks so much for sharing that background and giving listeners 46 00:03:31.090 --> 00:03:36.330 some context about yourself and your company and what we're looking to talk about today. 47 00:03:37.009 --> 00:03:39.169 And so let's I'd love to start with you know, what's good to 48 00:03:39.409 --> 00:03:45.240 know when approaching a corporation for some of these startups? Yeah, so plug 49 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:49.199 and play effectively is doing three things. We Scout, we look, we 50 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:53.080 meet. For startups, now we help them accelerate, and part of that 51 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:58.710 is kind of getting them to understand how a corporation behaves and kind of that 52 00:03:58.909 --> 00:04:02.469 corporate finesse is the word that I like to use. We encourage startups to 53 00:04:02.750 --> 00:04:06.509 overcommunicate with the innovation team, where the people who they're in touch with. 54 00:04:08.430 --> 00:04:11.539 Also, we encourage them to kind of abide by the process. These are 55 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:16.180 kind of dead general guidelines that we like to give. We really pilots or 56 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:23.220 the relationship between a startup and a corporation is. It's not a mere vendor 57 00:04:23.459 --> 00:04:28.610 client. There's so much more going on. It's really built around collaboration and 58 00:04:28.730 --> 00:04:35.250 respect and I think those relationships really breeds success between a startup and the corporation 59 00:04:35.329 --> 00:04:40.519 they're trying to sell into. And then we in courses startups to like form 60 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:46.759 a relationship with institutional actors, people who have decisionmaking, not maybe just the 61 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:50.639 innovation team or the VP of innovation, but someone who has the budget and 62 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:57.829 the ability to make decisions. And then, finally, we realize that the 63 00:04:57.949 --> 00:05:01.350 most successful pilots happened when both sides are flexible. So we tell the startups 64 00:05:01.949 --> 00:05:08.180 be flexible, kind of understand the perspective of the corporation you're trying to sell 65 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:11.939 into and, you know, sort of get your head around their processes, 66 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:15.459 because they're going to have to abide by those. Right. I really love 67 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:18.740 that that point on being flexible, because a lot of times when you're going 68 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:23.970 through as a startup, you're not really paying attention to everything. And like 69 00:05:24.410 --> 00:05:26.730 one of the things that I feel like you did, you had a lot 70 00:05:26.769 --> 00:05:30.649 of value and is is like how they pay attention to that timeline. So 71 00:05:30.769 --> 00:05:33.529 could you share with us a little bit about like how some startups can pay 72 00:05:33.529 --> 00:05:36.680 attention to the timelines and make sure you know they're being flexible, but they're 73 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:43.920 also staying on task exactly? So time ones are so important because startups are 74 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.000 just constantly raising money and they care about finding the funding so that they can 75 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:50.949 hire more people so they can survive, so they can really, you know, 76 00:05:51.029 --> 00:05:56.589 iterate on their product and produce something amazing. And time for a startup 77 00:05:56.709 --> 00:06:00.910 is money. So when you're be tob start up selling into a corporation, 78 00:06:00.189 --> 00:06:05.540 corporations move really slowly and that is super frustrating. So some of the timelines 79 00:06:05.660 --> 00:06:11.819 just to be we suggest that that startups actually sort of map out how long 80 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:16.660 they think it might take. We found that once our startups get into what 81 00:06:16.779 --> 00:06:23.449 we call the facetoface stage, where they're actually meeting facetoface with a corporation, 82 00:06:23.930 --> 00:06:28.129 they did could take between four and eight months for the contract to happen. 83 00:06:28.209 --> 00:06:31.959 And sometimes this is called like the pilot period. But you know, you 84 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:35.360 have to be able to know. Are you going to have to do a 85 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:41.040 lot of meetings virtually? Can you manage which? which trip in person is 86 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:46.040 critical. Sometimes a corporations really want you there all the time. But understanding 87 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:51.829 that it will take time, we think that from contract to actually implementation of 88 00:06:53.589 --> 00:06:57.269 getting things off the ground could take up to two months. So now we're 89 00:06:57.350 --> 00:07:00.350 talking maybe eight hundred and ten months, which is a long time in a 90 00:07:00.430 --> 00:07:05.259 startups life. I mean things could radically change and we've actually witnessed that. 91 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:10.259 It happened, you know, where the pilot happens and we get to contract 92 00:07:10.699 --> 00:07:14.540 and sometimes it is a struggle for the startup. But that time period is 93 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:20.689 really important understand and we also think that timing can go faster if the startup 94 00:07:20.730 --> 00:07:26.089 focus is on getting the right stakeholders around the table. It might be that 95 00:07:26.209 --> 00:07:30.839 they're in their initial contact is not actually the decisionmaker. We really stress how 96 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:35.079 to get the right stakeholders all together around the table and go ahead and enquire 97 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:40.519 on that and and you'll move much faster. Got It there. I really 98 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:44.509 love that because I think that a lot of times like when you get the 99 00:07:44.589 --> 00:07:48.389 right people in the room. And one thing that I'm also thinking about is 100 00:07:48.790 --> 00:07:53.470 how can some of these, you know, startups and these founders and these 101 00:07:53.509 --> 00:07:58.389 other marketers addressed the decisionmakers that they're trying to connect with. Like, do 102 00:07:58.389 --> 00:08:01.939 you have any tips on how to address this is makers and a dressing their 103 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:07.500 audiences? Yeah, so we found that there are many decisionmakers inside a corporate 104 00:08:07.579 --> 00:08:13.009 partner or corporation, especially in hospitals, where we're working right now. So 105 00:08:13.129 --> 00:08:16.970 right now we're working with digital help and farm of startups and really helping them 106 00:08:18.209 --> 00:08:24.970 to launch pilots inside hospitals, industry partners and farm up and we found that 107 00:08:24.529 --> 00:08:30.360 one of the decisionmaker departments is it. And so it's really you know, 108 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:35.039 most of most be to be startups have some kind of really cool, interesting 109 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:41.039 technology that they're trying to develop, and so understanding it and the decisionmaking that 110 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:46.110 goes on there is key. So really kind of knowing how your digital solution 111 00:08:46.309 --> 00:08:52.149 may be overlaps with other digital solutions, that they're already exists inside the corporation. 112 00:08:52.909 --> 00:08:56.820 especially in healthcare, we have to care about solutions such as the Mrs 113 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:03.019 like epic, and then also cybersecurity is really important to really even before you 114 00:09:03.179 --> 00:09:09.340 start the pilot, of course, our healthcare pilots have to understand hippo guidelines 115 00:09:09.340 --> 00:09:11.330 and they have to be hip hop compliant, which is a privacy laws, 116 00:09:11.929 --> 00:09:16.529 and then really, you know, cyber security and data they have to make 117 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:20.610 sure that that any data they're using a secure you know, someone at the 118 00:09:20.649 --> 00:09:26.240 start means understand how to perform data integration, really implement from a technical standpoint, 119 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:31.080 and what we like to say is know what the lowest level of integration 120 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:35.120 is and what the dream state is. And then how do you actually get 121 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:39.830 there, from the lowest level to the dream state of integration and understanding? 122 00:09:39.870 --> 00:09:45.110 That is a big deal because, again, all these startups are digital in 123 00:09:45.149 --> 00:09:50.470 nature. Today's growth story is about a brand we all know well, are 124 00:09:50.549 --> 00:09:54.740 BNB. When they were trying to maximize growth among work travelers, are B 125 00:09:54.899 --> 00:09:58.139 ANDB new they needed to develop an ex you to content strategy to reach multiple 126 00:09:58.220 --> 00:10:03.980 personas at different stages of the customer journey. Enter hub and spoke marketing. 127 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:09.169 Hub and spoke managed creative content development and crafted a custom publishing process that allowed 128 00:10:09.210 --> 00:10:13.970 airbnb to develop more content in less time. The end result a lot of 129 00:10:15.090 --> 00:10:20.330 content across multiple channels, all strategically nurturing leads through to conversion. Within the 130 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:24.879 first six months, are BNB nearly tripled the number of companies enrolled in their 131 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:31.080 AIRBNB for work program they also saw huge increases in user adoption, with work 132 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:35.350 travelers booking longer stays and more guests per booking. If you're looking for strategic 133 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:39.190 content at scale, I've got a hunch hub and spoke can help. Head 134 00:10:39.269 --> 00:10:46.830 over to hub spoke dot marketing growth to schedule your consultation with a content specialist 135 00:10:46.870 --> 00:10:52.100 today. That's hub spoke dot marketing growth. All right, let's get back 136 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:56.259 to the show. Got It, and I feel like I really love that, 137 00:10:56.419 --> 00:11:01.539 like understanding what the lowest level of integration that you need is. A 138 00:11:01.580 --> 00:11:07.809 lot of times and startups and when you want to create something new, everybody 139 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:11.370 goes out and thinks that, oh, I have to make this like giant 140 00:11:11.690 --> 00:11:16.129 platform, higher thirty five engineers, and I'm like, guys, couldn't we 141 00:11:16.289 --> 00:11:22.840 just have used a spreadsheet in the document, like very simply? But a 142 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:24.480 lot of times, when you're in this like we got to build mode, 143 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:28.600 a lot of times you think too fast and you're like wait, what is 144 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:33.950 the minimal, viable and a creation that we could possibly do in this pilot 145 00:11:33.110 --> 00:11:39.190 to make this successful? So then earn the next stage of this relationship right 146 00:11:39.269 --> 00:11:45.549 and really understanding that that your corporations existing structure. So you know what limitations 147 00:11:45.710 --> 00:11:48.899 do they have? Everyone knows that that if you work in a large corporation, 148 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:54.220 at some point you're going to be frustrated with the current sort of it 149 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:58.139 that happens or a system that you have to use, because systems to move 150 00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:03.490 really quickly and not all corporations have upgraded that fast. So just really understanding 151 00:12:03.970 --> 00:12:09.730 kind of the the ground, that the playing field that you're entering got it 152 00:12:09.250 --> 00:12:15.330 and kind of segueing a little bit into what to expect and, you know, 153 00:12:15.490 --> 00:12:18.039 some sort of guidance on how some of these startups, because it sounds 154 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:22.240 like there's a lot of these ideas that are out there, but how does 155 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:26.720 one you know, set either pricing or set of strategy around like how these 156 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:31.389 pilots go, because these take time, energy, effort, yeah, money. 157 00:12:31.710 --> 00:12:33.669 So I could you share with listeners a little bit about, you know, 158 00:12:33.750 --> 00:12:35.590 some tips on pricing and what to expect? Yeah, you know, 159 00:12:35.750 --> 00:12:39.470 before I get to pricing, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk 160 00:12:39.509 --> 00:12:45.139 a little bit about maybe some understanding some of the institutional actors that a startup 161 00:12:45.220 --> 00:12:50.700 needs to really start to work with, but like just familiarizing yourself with the 162 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:56.899 stakeholders, like who will be involved. Is like WHO's the manager? WHO's 163 00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:01.490 The champion? For healthcare starters, we say who's your clinical champion, such 164 00:13:01.529 --> 00:13:05.289 as like the doctor or the or the physician or surgeon? How do they 165 00:13:05.330 --> 00:13:11.009 actually work with? Maybe a workflow champion, someone like on a frontline or 166 00:13:11.929 --> 00:13:16.039 someone who maybe is in the Innovation Department, who actually helps you facilitate. 167 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:20.519 And then who is the actual internal decisionmaker? That's so important, right, 168 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:28.070 because the decisionmaker might be the CIO or somebody who has the budget. Yet 169 00:13:28.110 --> 00:13:33.590 you might be working on a day to day with someone in innovation or in 170 00:13:33.909 --> 00:13:39.230 a very specific department. So really understanding the institutional actors of of the corporation 171 00:13:39.269 --> 00:13:43.419 you're trying to sell into is really important. Again, the person who owns 172 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:46.940 the budget is key. And then, as you move along, then you 173 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:52.860 want to start to maybe grab or understand a relationship with the marketing and communication 174 00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:58.970 people because obviously they can help to push, to drive adoptions as you move 175 00:13:58.009 --> 00:14:03.570 along with your with your pilot or with your contract. And then, finally, 176 00:14:03.769 --> 00:14:07.690 is there like a project manager everyone or someone who keeps everyone on task? 177 00:14:07.570 --> 00:14:11.799 So they are all these kind of different players inside the corporation and it 178 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:16.440 might, you know, sort of get confusing, but if you kind of 179 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:18.960 line up and ask yourself, okay, who I be working with you today? 180 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:22.720 WHO MAKES THE DECISIONS? How much is it involved? Who is the 181 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:28.269 person who's my interface with legal whose is there a data committee or is there 182 00:14:28.269 --> 00:14:33.029 an institutional review board, for example in hospitals? It's so key that any 183 00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:37.110 startup has to go in front of an Institutional Review Board, which is a 184 00:14:37.230 --> 00:14:41.700 board of kind of directors in the hospital that that sort of approve the moving 185 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:46.500 forward with a digital health solution. So really understanding the landscape of the people 186 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:52.340 is is so key. And quick quick question add on top of that. 187 00:14:52.820 --> 00:14:58.330 How what would your here term corporate finesse? I really love that and I 188 00:14:58.450 --> 00:15:01.649 could you share with us a little bit about how, you know people can 189 00:15:01.090 --> 00:15:05.850 use finesse to kind of weave their way through that journey a little bit? 190 00:15:05.889 --> 00:15:11.360 Yeah, thanks for asking. So, you know, corporations are institutions that 191 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:20.919 have levels of authority. They have ways of approaching challenges, maybe rushing to 192 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:24.110 something or being nimble. It's not always the way that they might approach something. 193 00:15:26.230 --> 00:15:31.750 They might have guidelines, they probably have just maybe a culture. So 194 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:37.779 just understanding how you're the corporation that you're trying to sell into, how they 195 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:41.580 behave. You know, the person that you deal with an innovation might be 196 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:46.539 sort of really cool and able to iterate quickly in their mind and understands you, 197 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:50.850 but the rest of the corporation might not be that way. So just 198 00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:56.450 having a little sort of putting on your suit if you can, you know, 199 00:15:56.570 --> 00:16:03.330 kind of dressing the way they dress and maybe sort of giving an idea 200 00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:06.720 that you're you know, that you do understand them and you do respect the 201 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:10.320 processes. I think is really important. Got It. No, I love 202 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:15.000 that and I feel like also too, when we chatted previously, mentioned how 203 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:18.950 they show up in suit tie, dressed to the nines every single day in 204 00:16:19.070 --> 00:16:25.870 hospitals and sometimes a startup cultures don't necessarily match up with that. So do 205 00:16:25.909 --> 00:16:29.590 you have any advice for people that you know? Yes, they want to 206 00:16:29.629 --> 00:16:32.710 build a culture where the people are happy to come to work and they, 207 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:36.179 you know, want to dress in tshirts while they're in the office, but 208 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:38.340 when they go to these, you know, meetings and these engagements with, 209 00:16:38.740 --> 00:16:42.539 you know, decision makers that potentially are going to be working with them, 210 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:48.970 do you have any advice for how nimble they should be or could be when 211 00:16:48.970 --> 00:16:55.330 it comes to like an attire and just like a corporate presentation standpoint? Yeah, 212 00:16:55.330 --> 00:17:00.169 I would just say, depending on what kind of office culture the corporation 213 00:17:00.250 --> 00:17:03.519 you're selling into is as much as you can mimic that to show that you 214 00:17:03.880 --> 00:17:11.759 understand them is a really is really key for them because as much as they 215 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.069 want to be cool and work with startups, they still every day if they're 216 00:17:15.069 --> 00:17:18.750 if they have a formal culture. You know, showing respect for that formal 217 00:17:18.829 --> 00:17:23.109 culture I think gets the people who are working there to know that you know 218 00:17:23.269 --> 00:17:29.269 you, you understand them and you're listening to sort of the guidelines of where 219 00:17:29.309 --> 00:17:33.180 they have to sort of who they have to be every day. So yeah, 220 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:36.900 I think it's important just to just to sort of observe that. And 221 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:41.740 many corporations are not like that. They might be really casual and that could 222 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:45.170 be tricky to they appear casual, like they don't dress up, and yet 223 00:17:45.210 --> 00:17:49.690 they still have a very formal hierarchy or authority or decisionmaking. You know, 224 00:17:49.809 --> 00:17:52.849 really try to sniff that out and figure out, okay, these people look 225 00:17:52.890 --> 00:17:56.450 casual, they are a large corporate they look like a startup, and yet 226 00:17:56.690 --> 00:18:00.680 what what is the chain of command? How to decisions get made? Who 227 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:06.319 is my who is my contact person, and do they have the authority? 228 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:10.359 So, you know, just being really observant. I think is important to 229 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:14.829 know your customer. Got It. I really really love the the be observant 230 00:18:14.990 --> 00:18:18.630 and understand their behavior. And you know, people buy from people that you 231 00:18:18.750 --> 00:18:23.549 know are similar to them, and so anyway that you as a marketer, 232 00:18:23.789 --> 00:18:29.859 you as a startup founder or a CEO or even a salesperson that is going 233 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:33.980 into some of these engagements, to think about how closely you can mimic, 234 00:18:34.099 --> 00:18:40.500 you know, the behaviors, the actions, the tonality, the messaging words, 235 00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:42.450 every sort of way that you can align in. The more places that 236 00:18:42.569 --> 00:18:47.210 you do that, the chances are you might increase your likelihood of, you 237 00:18:47.289 --> 00:18:51.009 know, potentially getting that that contract. Yeah, I think that it's an 238 00:18:51.049 --> 00:18:53.490 important so to know the line between like. You don't have to like fake 239 00:18:53.569 --> 00:18:59.640 it and pretend that you're one of them. You just have to respect that's 240 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:03.319 all. Observe it and respect it and understand it is coming. And some 241 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:04.720 people might say, Hey, I'm not dressing up, I am who I 242 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:10.150 am, but as long as you're really observant and you and you understand where 243 00:19:10.150 --> 00:19:14.990 they're coming from in their limitations, it'll help you to be able to penetrate 244 00:19:15.069 --> 00:19:22.150 their culture quicker and possibly get to get to contract quicker. Got It awesome. 245 00:19:22.509 --> 00:19:26.539 Well, Jennifer. This has been such a great interview. Is there 246 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:30.420 anything before you wrap up? Is there any other points that you want to 247 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:33.940 touch on that you feel to add value of the listeners. Yeah, we 248 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:36.700 didn't get to talk about pricing, I think, which is important. Just 249 00:19:36.819 --> 00:19:44.210 really understanding and getting kind of transparency from the corporation what their expectations are and 250 00:19:44.329 --> 00:19:47.769 what your expectations are. A getting based on timing your runway, how much 251 00:19:47.769 --> 00:19:49.809 money you have as a start up to live. I think pricing is important. 252 00:19:51.529 --> 00:19:53.759 Be Open to Code Development. They might want to do that, but 253 00:19:53.920 --> 00:20:00.480 also really figuring out what does success look like? How do you determine success, 254 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:03.759 and then how does the corporation determined success? What is there are why 255 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:07.869 that they're looking for? Are they looking to save money? Are they looking 256 00:20:07.950 --> 00:20:12.549 to create a new revenue stream? Are they looking to really create some kind 257 00:20:12.549 --> 00:20:18.029 of efficiency for a certain department? And then that's their KPI. What is 258 00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:22.900 your key performance indicator? What means success for you, and defining that will 259 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:27.180 help you know that you might have a different key performance indicator. Yours might 260 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:30.420 be, you know, collecting a whole bunch of data and being able to 261 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:36.450 test out your solution and there's might be an efficiency or saving money. So 262 00:20:37.130 --> 00:20:41.009 just understanding those two because they will be different. Got It, and I 263 00:20:41.089 --> 00:20:45.609 really love that too, because now I feel like you're you're not only giving 264 00:20:45.650 --> 00:20:48.450 them, you know, the tips and the tricks and the tools to kind 265 00:20:48.450 --> 00:20:52.839 of navigate and use this corporate for nest, but now you're also setting them 266 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:56.519 up for success when it comes to getting the contract right. So what I 267 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:00.519 guess could you share really quickly a little bit about how some, you know, 268 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:03.549 companies that are navigating like this could, you know, potentially get a 269 00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:07.349 contractor with that process looks like really briefly? Yeah, so just quickly. 270 00:21:07.430 --> 00:21:12.789 Usually like you need some kind of evaluation agreement that says, you know, 271 00:21:12.950 --> 00:21:18.309 whether the the sort of pilot or the proof of concept stage is free or 272 00:21:18.309 --> 00:21:23.420 it's paid. There should be a template that you can that around that issue, 273 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:29.180 a statement of work describing what the startup and not and the corporate partner 274 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:32.859 of the hospital working on together. What are the goals? What's the timeline, 275 00:21:32.930 --> 00:21:36.930 metrics, rolls? The startups wort should really create their scope of work 276 00:21:37.809 --> 00:21:41.289 with the person who's like that champion, their manager, and again we think 277 00:21:41.329 --> 00:21:45.890 that, we think our hope there should be some template for that and then 278 00:21:45.930 --> 00:21:52.119 asking them to maybe edit or modify it so that it fits both parties. 279 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:55.400 But you do want to have all that stuff, obviously in writing. I 280 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:59.519 think that's pretty obvious to start up, but just checking off those boxes is 281 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:03.069 really important. Love that, really, really appreciate that, Jennifer. So 282 00:22:03.230 --> 00:22:08.349 for listeners out there, BB growth has always been about highlighting the tactic strategies 283 00:22:08.430 --> 00:22:14.190 bebee leaders can apply to their own teams in order to achieve explosive growth. 284 00:22:14.630 --> 00:22:18.579 So, Jennifer, I'd love to hear from you what new marketing or sales 285 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:23.140 strategy your team is currently either taking a crack at or thinking about the near 286 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:27.859 future. Oh, wow, marketing our sales strategy. So I guess from 287 00:22:27.859 --> 00:22:33.130 our perspective at Plug and plate Cleveland and how we approach marketing and sales, 288 00:22:33.690 --> 00:22:40.490 is it's really all about having an authentic product and building strong relationships, because 289 00:22:40.529 --> 00:22:44.480 once you have that, your customers will appreciate what you're offering and they'll come 290 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:48.599 back to you and they'll be able to recommend you to others. So those 291 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:52.839 are really two sort of key words that I like to use. Be Authentic 292 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:56.359 in your product and have really great relations relationships with your customer. Love it. 293 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:00.509 So you guys heard it first from Jennifer. Make sure your products authentic. 294 00:23:00.950 --> 00:23:04.950 No, no fakes, no gimmicks out here and also makes sure you 295 00:23:04.990 --> 00:23:10.230 build strong relationships using this corporate forest that she shared with us. So this 296 00:23:10.349 --> 00:23:12.819 has been such a great conversation, Jennifer. If listeners want to stay connected 297 00:23:12.859 --> 00:23:17.140 with you or follow up to ask any other questions on any of the stuff 298 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:18.779 that you shared, what's the best way for them to connect with you? 299 00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:23.740 Sure so I would say that anybody could sort of reach out to me on 300 00:23:23.859 --> 00:23:29.809 twitter. I'm at Gentle Thomas Tweet, or they can email me directlyly Jennifer 301 00:23:29.930 --> 00:23:34.730 at pm ptccom. Thanks, Jennifer. We really appreciate you today. Of 302 00:23:34.890 --> 00:23:40.089 course, it was my pleasure such a fun conversation. Good luck and give 303 00:23:40.170 --> 00:23:45.079 me call any kind of we totally get it. We publish a ton of 304 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:48.160 content on this podcast and it can be a lot to keep up with. 305 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:52.839 That's where we've started. The BETB growth big three, a note fluff email 306 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:57.630 that bols down our three biggest takeaways from an entire week of episodes. Sign 307 00:23:57.710 --> 00:24:04.829 up today at Sweet Fish Mediacom big three. That sweet fish Mediacom Big Three