#5Things: James Kessinger

WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:09.150 Welcome back to be to be growth. I'm Logan lyles with sweet fish media. 2 00:00:09.429 --> 00:00:12.990 I'm joined today by James Kesting Jer. He is the CMO over at 3 00:00:12.990 --> 00:00:16.629 Hushley. He's a repeat guest and he's joining us again on the show to 4 00:00:16.750 --> 00:00:21.190 hop in on our five things series where we've been talking to guess about the 5 00:00:21.309 --> 00:00:24.500 five things that they can't live without in work, in life. We've got 6 00:00:24.579 --> 00:00:28.859 some great tips from folks on tools they're using, partnerships, all sorts of 7 00:00:28.899 --> 00:00:31.300 great things. James, welcome back to the show. Man. Hey, 8 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:33.820 thanks a lot. Right, greatly back, looking awesome. Man. I 9 00:00:33.939 --> 00:00:37.609 was just looking over your list before we hopped on to record here and I 10 00:00:37.649 --> 00:00:40.329 could tell you put a lot of thought into it. Let's dive in. 11 00:00:40.689 --> 00:00:43.850 What made number one on your five things you can't live without, sir? 12 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:46.929 Yeah, so my first one is kind of one of those ones that I 13 00:00:46.969 --> 00:00:48.969 think as a business person you kind of have to a right, which is 14 00:00:49.009 --> 00:00:52.039 the laptop. I mean I think it kind of goes without saying without a 15 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:56.359 laptop or connection you're really sitting on the sidelines and just not moving your business 16 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:58.399 ward. So I think you've got to have that for sure. That's number 17 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:00.880 one. For me? Yeah, absolutely. It's been funny to see where 18 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:03.989 people go to their laptop or their phone, which is which is more that 19 00:01:04.109 --> 00:01:07.230 they can't live without. I think on our last episode it was it was 20 00:01:07.310 --> 00:01:12.069 iphone. So I like the thinking. They're number two. Is a team 21 00:01:12.189 --> 00:01:15.989 that really helps your team get a lot done in your current roles at right. 22 00:01:17.549 --> 00:01:19.540 It is. It's my agency, I said, you know, and 23 00:01:19.260 --> 00:01:23.060 we probably don't give enough credit to or agencies out there and again for for 24 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:25.579 a lot of us, they are team in the day. I mean. 25 00:01:25.659 --> 00:01:29.500 So they're out there, they're there an extension of what we do and to 26 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:32.379 thank you know, for me at least right they take what I'm thinking put 27 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:36.569 into great stories, whether that's for the digital or for your social and all 28 00:01:36.650 --> 00:01:40.209 that great work they do to help me really get just seo and dex bl 29 00:01:40.250 --> 00:01:44.409 assets. They help me really create that and without those guys, I think 30 00:01:44.930 --> 00:01:48.359 I know actually probably pretty dead and water. It's it's a lot of writing, 31 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:49.959 a lot of you know, sort of storyboarding everything else, and they 32 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:52.760 take they take time to work with me on that, a lot of that 33 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.560 stuff. So it's good. I love that nod there. I know a 34 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:59.159 lot of listeners to the show are brand side marketers and there are a lot 35 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.189 of agency folks that listen to this show as well. While we're here, 36 00:02:01.269 --> 00:02:05.030 James, I just want to ask you real quick since it sounds like it's 37 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:07.990 been a really productive relationship for you with the agency that you work with, 38 00:02:08.509 --> 00:02:13.949 any quick tips in anything come to mind that either from the brand side or 39 00:02:14.069 --> 00:02:15.939 that your agency does really well, or something that you guys have done to 40 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:21.379 make the relationship fruitful and productive? Is there something that comes to mind in 41 00:02:21.419 --> 00:02:23.379 the way that you guys have set up that relationship recently? Yeah, I 42 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:27.300 mean a lot of it takes time, like anything else right, but it's 43 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:30.330 the trust factor. I mean, I know who you know, my content 44 00:02:30.449 --> 00:02:34.849 people are, I understand who my strategists are and really just trusting once you 45 00:02:34.969 --> 00:02:37.889 build in sort of that the baseline of Hey, here's, here's who we 46 00:02:38.050 --> 00:02:39.530 are as a company, here's what our voice is, here's we want it 47 00:02:39.569 --> 00:02:43.370 to be, here's we want to be, and you have some time to 48 00:02:43.409 --> 00:02:46.039 kind of really let that play out. You can let them do the job 49 00:02:46.039 --> 00:02:49.360 right and a lot of times it just comes down to reviewing things, understanding 50 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.479 if you've got changes happening in your business, you know as we do what 51 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:54.439 we're do. They do a new product conscious or I see where the markets 52 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:58.159 moving in a different direction and I want to have a voice in there giving 53 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:01.310 them the ability to give time to put some thoughts around and think through what's 54 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:05.270 going to happen and then go do it. And I think we've had, 55 00:03:05.430 --> 00:03:07.830 you know, we've had good partnership with our agency and I think it really 56 00:03:07.909 --> 00:03:12.270 starts with the foundation of trust and just believing that they're going to go do 57 00:03:12.389 --> 00:03:15.139 their job and they're going to put the best people they've got to help you 58 00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:17.659 go achieve whatever goals you've got to go to. I love that. I'm 59 00:03:17.659 --> 00:03:22.460 solutely man. So number three on your list of five things you can't live 60 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:25.740 with down is something else work related, and it really is a big part 61 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:30.289 of your tool stack as a marketing leader today. Right, it is, 62 00:03:30.409 --> 00:03:32.409 and so, and you know that. The drum roll right, but it's 63 00:03:32.689 --> 00:03:38.250 intented. Right. So intentated for me is really important and I think without 64 00:03:38.289 --> 00:03:40.409 intent data, you know my analogy as it's sort of your inner dark room, 65 00:03:40.409 --> 00:03:45.199 yelling at everyone without knowing who's in the room or why they're there or 66 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:49.280 what they care about. And with intent data you basically it's kind of like 67 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:53.879 turning on a flashlight. You at identifying those dmarket buyers who are looking for 68 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:58.949 your solution and something that you offer right who may have never count you and 69 00:03:59.030 --> 00:04:00.789 I think you know the ability to kind of cut through the noise out there 70 00:04:01.270 --> 00:04:04.669 and you have folks that are probably looking for things. We may be tired 71 00:04:04.750 --> 00:04:08.030 of raising their hand and you know they're just sort of tired of holding up 72 00:04:08.030 --> 00:04:11.659 in the air right. So for me, intent data is very critical whether 73 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:15.539 I'm doing any campaign, and I use that basically first to kind of drive 74 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:17.139 everything I'm going to go do. Right was just who I'm going to go 75 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:20.500 talk to, who's in market right now, because those the folks who are 76 00:04:20.540 --> 00:04:24.060 pretty much the warmest people out there, whether they know that your brand or 77 00:04:24.100 --> 00:04:27.529 not, right, and they have a need that's around what you're doing. 78 00:04:27.610 --> 00:04:30.329 So for me, I start with with intentating. Without that, you know, 79 00:04:30.529 --> 00:04:33.850 again, I think I would just be throwing, you know, AD 80 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:36.649 campaigns out there, you're throwing emails out to either and, you know, 81 00:04:36.850 --> 00:04:41.920 just basically just being a bad marketer. And the today. So I think 82 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:45.959 intent day to really helped you become just a better marketer, whether you're doing 83 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:48.720 abm campaigns or whether you're doing, you know, just broad campaign whether those 84 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:51.990 are brand campaigns or anything else out there. I think intented is what you 85 00:04:53.069 --> 00:04:56.069 need to have. Yep, I think a lot of marketing leaders that I 86 00:04:56.230 --> 00:05:00.230 respect or are championing the the same sort of mentality. Whether you want to 87 00:05:00.269 --> 00:05:02.870 phrase it as a BM is, B tob or ABM, is just good 88 00:05:02.910 --> 00:05:05.629 marketing. I think a lot of folks are, you know, saying very 89 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:10.660 similar things there. It just needs to be. Otherwise you're standing in a 90 00:05:10.699 --> 00:05:13.819 dark room yelling it at you. Don't every boom everyone in the room. 91 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:15.500 Who knows who's in the room right for that, right, right at everyone 92 00:05:15.579 --> 00:05:17.980 in the room. If anyone's in the room right, like, we can 93 00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:21.170 go down that, announce you for a while and awesome. Number four on 94 00:05:21.290 --> 00:05:26.290 your list is a recurring theme on this five things series. It's definitely part 95 00:05:26.329 --> 00:05:29.290 of my day to day and I don't know how I would have the job, 96 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:33.050 have the customers, have the partnerships, have the potential customer conversations that 97 00:05:33.129 --> 00:05:36.959 I have every day if it weren't for Linkedin. Tell us about your reliance 98 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:40.959 on Linkedin, James. Yeah, so, man Linkedin, I think, 99 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:44.680 and I did a case study for Bumboro because, you know, for me 100 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:46.759 it is a it is a lifeblood, right, I think from a sponsored 101 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:49.629 content perspective, but you know, pass that right. I think there is 102 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:54.310 no other business community like this in the world. But it's a great platform 103 00:05:54.350 --> 00:06:00.230 to drive awareness or demand generation while at the same time I'm finding qualified candidates 104 00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:01.470 for roles that you may be hiring for. I mean it's sort of that 105 00:06:01.509 --> 00:06:05.339 ubiquitous platform, right, where business people talk about business things out there. 106 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:09.259 Right, this is not facebook, it's not twitter, it's not instagram. 107 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:12.860 Right, this is literally a business community out here and they care about business 108 00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:14.939 things, they have business problems, they have bus is solutions. So, 109 00:06:15.379 --> 00:06:18.490 you know, for me it's it is the platform where we spend a fair 110 00:06:18.529 --> 00:06:21.329 amount of time, whether that's me talking out there or company talking out there, 111 00:06:21.370 --> 00:06:25.889 over doing sponsored content or again, if we're doing hiring. I think 112 00:06:25.889 --> 00:06:30.370 that's what I always finds. People keep their profiles on Linkedin more update than 113 00:06:30.370 --> 00:06:33.319 any resume, the ride and and it's a public thing, right, so 114 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:36.480 any of your co workers or your boss right what? They can all look 115 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:41.720 at it. So largely it's pretty factual data, you mean, because you 116 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.920 get a lot of people inbellishing whatever is going on, and usually a resume. 117 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:47.990 So I think it's important right and I think it sets a level playing 118 00:06:48.029 --> 00:06:50.790 field out there about who this person is and kind of what they're doing and 119 00:06:51.029 --> 00:06:55.709 who they are and and your build to talk about that matter. So it's 120 00:06:55.709 --> 00:06:59.149 a big one. It's really interesting that you bring up this correlation to the 121 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:02.180 resume, because it's almost like linkedin has moved away from being that resume site 122 00:07:02.180 --> 00:07:05.379 that we used to think. Yeah, but it's almost it's a more accurate 123 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:09.459 resume now, because it's like, yeah, there's the job history, but 124 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:13.259 if I'm a customer potentially looking at you know, working with sweet fish, 125 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:15.129 and I look at you know, you look at my profile, you might 126 00:07:15.170 --> 00:07:17.050 look at my work history, but what are you gonna look at? You're 127 00:07:17.050 --> 00:07:19.689 actually going to look at the content. Or if you know you're a marketer 128 00:07:19.970 --> 00:07:24.529 and you know James, you are interviewing someone, you look at their linkedin. 129 00:07:24.810 --> 00:07:27.529 You might look at their work history, but again, you even the 130 00:07:27.689 --> 00:07:30.720 you know whether it's a potential customer or potential hiring manager. They're going to 131 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:33.240 look at the content, they're going to look at the activity, because there's 132 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:36.600 a lot of truth. You know, incidents doing right. They say they've 133 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:39.600 done a lot. Have they actually done a lot? What and then do 134 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:42.879 they have? Because you can add documents and videos, and I've got my 135 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:45.870 podcast right with you guys out there too. I mean, are they doing 136 00:07:45.949 --> 00:07:48.189 stuff right? Are they relevant to kind of what's what's going on today? 137 00:07:48.189 --> 00:07:51.189 So I think you're right your spot with them. Yeah, it's interesting to 138 00:07:51.310 --> 00:07:54.949 see that come full circle. Man. All right, so we are going 139 00:07:54.949 --> 00:07:59.500 to round out your top five with one that I just love. Tell us 140 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:03.420 about number five on your list, man. Yeah, I know it's so 141 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:05.579 I left I left it last for purpose, right. So it's our customers, 142 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:09.379 right, and I saved it for last because it's the most obvious and 143 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:11.500 I don't know if people use it. Use It number one, but it's 144 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:15.529 a going to end on even though really it is probably number one for most 145 00:08:15.569 --> 00:08:18.730 people. Yeah, we've been debating is you know what I mean, down 146 00:08:18.769 --> 00:08:20.970 our account up. But anyway, that so I look at it as look, 147 00:08:22.009 --> 00:08:24.529 we're not in business without customers, so keeping them happy and always innovating 148 00:08:24.569 --> 00:08:28.959 for them and helping them remove barriers to their success is our primary job, 149 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.519 right, and as a boost trap company, why we don't have the luxury 150 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:35.200 of sitting on piles of cash that have, you know, bunch of strange 151 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:39.440 attached from BC's and projectotty firms. Right, we run a profitable growth business. 152 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:43.870 So, you know, customers for us or benchmarkt success and I and 153 00:08:43.070 --> 00:08:48.309 it's it's never more important, you know, to especially as we see the 154 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:52.669 all these things happening in these mackerel things going on in the environment. You 155 00:08:52.789 --> 00:08:54.070 want to make sure you've got happy customers, right, and I think you 156 00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:56.980 want to have evangelist. You want to have people who were talking about you 157 00:08:58.659 --> 00:09:03.299 and at the end of they they're the ones that your litmus test for where 158 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:05.779 should you be going? Right? I look at our customers as we've got 159 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:07.740 our own thoughts, you know, and we drive our own business, but 160 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:11.250 we look at customers favalidate. Is that the rushing we should be in, 161 00:09:11.409 --> 00:09:13.490 or are we too far out? Or should we be a little further route? 162 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:16.490 Right? Should we keep pushing the envelope? So it helps us gage 163 00:09:16.490 --> 00:09:20.330 a lot of what's going on. Yeah, man, there's so much and 164 00:09:20.450 --> 00:09:22.929 what you just said, I feel like we can have a whole we're gonna 165 00:09:22.929 --> 00:09:24.159 have a whole other episode there. I mean, you know, you touch 166 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:28.679 on something that Gary v talks about with content a lot like if you're just 167 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:31.679 mulling over what's quality content inside your own walls and what does it matter? 168 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:35.639 Like put it out there in the market and take the markets feedback. Yeah, 169 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:37.960 just like you're saying, with your customers you can. You know, 170 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:41.230 whether it's your product road map or your content. Their input is really what's 171 00:09:41.389 --> 00:09:46.309 most important. And you know this holds true whether you're, you know, 172 00:09:46.509 --> 00:09:50.429 venture backed or your bootstrap like tading coming on ours right, but even more 173 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:54.179 so when when you're kind of running that hey, we're building the runway as 174 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:58.539 the plane is going down at as as we like to say here at sweetfish 175 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:01.100 strap team to but at what you said, they're kind of reminded me of 176 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:05.779 Joey Coleman's book never lose a customer again, which is something I'm recommending left 177 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:09.889 and right to folks and check out his episode on the customer experience podcast because 178 00:10:09.929 --> 00:10:13.570 it was phenomenal. Definitely go check that out if you haven't heard it. 179 00:10:13.610 --> 00:10:16.090 But one of the things that was an unlock for him is the stages of 180 00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:20.370 that customer journey he's talked about in writing. The book. Almost left it 181 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:24.639 out and that's the delivery. We think that the end is the closed one. 182 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:28.840 It know, it's, as you put it, removing those barriers to 183 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:31.919 our customers success, because when we do that and they actually not just become 184 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:37.029 customers but become successful and what they came to us to deliver, that's where 185 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:41.830 the magic starts to happen and in the snowball of your growth just gets exponentially 186 00:10:41.950 --> 00:10:45.269 more. I love what you're saying there, James. This has been a 187 00:10:45.309 --> 00:10:48.350 great conversation. I love the thought that you put into your list of your 188 00:10:48.470 --> 00:10:50.740 five things. We got your laptop, your agency, intent, data, 189 00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:56.460 Linkedin and customers, which we rifted on for a good part of bit episode 190 00:10:56.500 --> 00:10:58.059 here at the end. Well, James, if anybody listening to this didn't 191 00:10:58.059 --> 00:11:01.860 catch your previous episode on the to be growth, they're not connected with you 192 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:05.049 on linkedin yet. What's the best way for them to reach out and stay 193 00:11:05.210 --> 00:11:07.570 connected with you? Man, I lately it is my only way. That's 194 00:11:07.570 --> 00:11:09.889 the easiest way for me, but I again, you can always say me 195 00:11:09.929 --> 00:11:13.129 at James, that at Hushley as well. That's that's an easy one to 196 00:11:13.370 --> 00:11:16.049 hope. Feel free to reach out in time. Awesome, James, thanks 197 00:11:16.049 --> 00:11:20.080 for being on the show again. This is really fun, you bet say. 198 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:26.799 Yeah, I hate it when podcasts incessantly ask their listeners for reviews, 199 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:30.639 but I get why they do it, because reviews are enormously helpful when you're 200 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:33.509 trying to grow a podcast audience. So here's what we decided to do. 201 00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:37.590 If you leave a review for be to be growth in apple podcasts and email 202 00:11:37.590 --> 00:11:41.909 me a screenshot of the review to James at Sweet Fish Mediacom, I'll send 203 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:45.269 you a signed copy of my new book, content based networking, how to 204 00:11:45.389 --> 00:11:48.539 instantly connect with anyone you want to know. We get a review, you 205 00:11:48.019 --> 00:11:50.620 get a free book. We both win.