Behind the Scenes of B2B Growth with Benji Block

WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:16.280 Conversations from the front lines and marketing. This is be tob growth. All 2 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:19.199 right, welcome back to be to be growth. You are used to hearing 3 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:22.679 the voice of Benji Block, our full time host, and I'm not him. 4 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:26.480 I'm REX Biebersen, vp of revenue and sweet fish, and today we're 5 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:30.719 turning the tables and I'm going to be interviewing Benjie. Now you're probably wondering, 6 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:34.240 why the heck does this matter? Why do I care? Well, 7 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:37.560 maybe you're taking over an existing program or you're trying to start a podcast or 8 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:41.880 another creative endeavor within your business. Benjie's got a little of all of that. 9 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:44.840 Here is the host of be to be growth. So let's dig in, 10 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:48.679 Benjie, welcome to your very own show. What a Weird Day, 11 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:51.759 but I'm so glad to be here. Rex, thanks for turning the tables. 12 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:55.799 This will be fun, absolutely, so let's just dive right into it. 13 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:59.320 What was it like taking over the reins of a show that already has 14 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:06.040 literally thousands of episodes? Yeah, be tob growth is a monster right, 15 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:10.560 like in the best way. So it's an honor. You're kind of handed 16 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:14.359 keys to a Ferrari and you're like I hope I don't crash this thing. 17 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:18.959 I think that was my first initial response, like Oh, this will be 18 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:22.840 great, but also, I mean, where do I even start when there's 19 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:27.719 two thous episodes already a following? So in honor, it's nerve racking. 20 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:30.840 And then I think, like you know, that there's some big shoes to 21 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:38.200 fill. I also think I had an initial like response of do I like, 22 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:42.760 how do I know what content we've covered? Does it matter if we 23 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:45.000 start? You know, you get you get in your brain a little bit. 24 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:48.200 You can get some mind games about how do we make sure we're covering 25 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:51.439 new topics? And maybe we'll dive into that a little bit more down the 26 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:55.640 road in this but it started to matter less and less to me because personality 27 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:59.079 starts coming out. But at first for sure you're like, I mean we're 28 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:04.519 a couple thousand episodes in. What thing that's new can we possibly cover? 29 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.120 And I'm sure there's someone listening who's an seo manager who just got a new 30 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:13.599 job, or somebody who's managing a paper click campaign or series of campaigns who's 31 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:15.639 like, this thing is working and they hired me because someone left for a 32 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:20.319 better opportunity, or you know there's just they're growing the team and, oh 33 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:22.479 my Gosh, how do I make sure that I keep my hands on the 34 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:27.520 wheel and I don't screw this thing up? Any advice form there? I 35 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:30.000 think the biggest thing is coming in with your own point of view. You 36 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:36.439 want as much insight as you can gather. That was huge coming into be 37 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:38.960 to be growth, like who are the past host I should talk to, 38 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:43.960 engage with? What are even great guest suggestions from previous host, like who 39 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:46.039 are people that you're already connected with in your network that you know would be 40 00:02:46.039 --> 00:02:50.919 great for the show? And asking those questions was helpful. But then being 41 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:54.039 like this is a new season for the thing that I'm taking over and I 42 00:02:54.039 --> 00:02:59.280 want to own it in my own way huge. I mean, otherwise you 43 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:04.400 start limiting your creativity right from the start because you're looking at what has previously 44 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:07.319 been done. That could be for anybody doing a blog, for a website 45 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:12.960 that already has a bunch of content released. Anytime you come into an existing 46 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:15.439 organization, they're already going to have content of some kind, media of some 47 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:20.520 kind. Making sure you don't cap your own creativity because of the way it 48 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:23.800 was done before takes it a little bit of time and a little bit of 49 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:25.400 I mean I'm still getting pushed into that more and more, but that would 50 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:29.120 be my immediate advice. Yeah, it's a good point. We have to 51 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:31.599 trust that we were hired to do the job because we're the right person for 52 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:36.120 the job, right, not just filling someone else's shoes, but actually wearing 53 00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:38.759 our own shoes to the role. But so hard to actually do that right 54 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:43.319 away. At least for me, it was super easy to doubt. Like 55 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:46.479 okay, I know you're telling me to do be, to be growth, 56 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:50.280 but like, what is that actually mean? How much control should I actually 57 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:53.680 take? What should I actually try? And even if you have to ask 58 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:59.240 for permission a few times, even though you already have permission, ask those 59 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:02.360 questions so you can gage it and prompt yourself into it. I like that 60 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:05.280 and maybe reminder ourselves to give ourselves a little bit of grace that. Yeah, 61 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:09.199 we're going to be a little nervous at first and we'll grow into it. 62 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:14.120 Well, next question maybe a bit loaded, but who's your favorite past 63 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:18.279 host of be to be growth, and why is it me? This question 64 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:21.800 is so unfair, but yeah, I mean of course it's wreck. He 65 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:28.000 was so far superior to every other guest, our host that we've ever had. 66 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:30.519 No, we had a lot of good hosts. So that's also fun 67 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:38.120 to listen back and the things we've tried around hosting, having several and then 68 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:41.360 we're doing these throwback episodes on Friday now. So when I go back and 69 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:46.600 look through the whole catalog and like we could feature different hosts almost every week 70 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:49.519 if we wanted to from the archive. So obviously, when you have six 71 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:54.639 years of content and two thousand episodes, it's fun to watch the evolution and 72 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:59.279 here past hosts. Yeah, yeah, well, what do people say when 73 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:00.759 you describe your job and you say like, well, I'm a I'm a 74 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.839 podcast host, that's what I do for work. Do People even believe you? 75 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:10.000 First of all? So I try to think of other ways of saying 76 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:14.480 it other than saying, like I'm a professional podcast host. What are your 77 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:18.360 euphemism's? Well, I say I'm in marketing. That's an easy one. 78 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:24.680 or I'll say, like I interview people and then it'll lead into podcasting. 79 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:28.839 I work for a media company. But I will say my wife is a 80 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:32.600 seventh grade teacher, so I get so much Kudos from her students because they 81 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:35.759 all want to be you tubers and the like. You get to podcast for 82 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:39.800 a living. You get like they think it's this crazy thing and then they 83 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:45.560 hear that I'm in be TOB SASS marketing and they lose all their interests, 84 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:51.360 like it's not Gamer podcasting. But yeah, I mean podcast hosting in general 85 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:57.319 is it's new, it's exciting and it's real. It really is fun. 86 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:00.519 But there's always lots of follow up questions when I say that that's that's what 87 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:03.759 I do. Yeah, well, thinking about day one, right, you 88 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:08.800 just walked in and of course we're remote company, so you just showed up 89 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:13.040 at your own house and you're taking over the show. You kind of set 90 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:15.560 the stage as far as like lick their styles and of episodes. Are Been 91 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:17.879 Multiple hosts in the past. You've got to go gather some Intel around, 92 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:21.720 like what should we do next? But what was the condition of the show 93 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:27.959 as you looked at it with fresh eyes? So it was successful, it 94 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:34.279 was working, but it wasn't anybody's really their fulltime thing, and so I 95 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:42.040 would say one of the first things I noticed was it lacked sustainability in the 96 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:45.720 way it was being run. So we said we were and we say a 97 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:48.759 daily show, but really what we mean is a every workday show. We 98 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:55.240 were hoping and aiming for five episodes a week and there were times when we 99 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:59.160 got close to that number. I looked back through our archive and we were 100 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:04.959 sometimes hitting it, but it definitely wasn't consistent and people were still listening and 101 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:09.040 they were engaged in that format. But if we're promising something, obviously we 102 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:12.839 want to make sure that we're delivering on it, and so I wanted to 103 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:17.959 shure up, you know, more consistent quality conversations and then also those interviews 104 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:24.920 being with chief marketing officers, directors of marketing, and really having the content 105 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:30.160 that we're producing being content that is from the front lines of marketing, like 106 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:32.120 it's in our intro now, right. We want to shore up what we're 107 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.959 doing so people know what to expect every day and in my mind it's like 108 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:41.959 let's honor the past six years of be to be growth by then kind of 109 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:46.759 bringing it into something. It's not entirely new, but it is like, 110 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:49.120 all right, we're doing four interviews a week, you know what to expect. 111 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:53.399 We have a throwback episode on Fridays, like there starts to be some 112 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:58.759 structure to it where we really know what to anticipate and I think then people 113 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:01.040 tune in. It's it becomes a cadence, a rhythm in their life as 114 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:05.120 well as a listener, and I always appreciate that in the podcasts that I 115 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:09.600 love and enjoy is I know what to kind of expect and then get into 116 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:13.360 this rhythm. You feel like. That's the core reason behind a daily cadence 117 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:16.399 as a goal for the team. That is one of the main reasons. 118 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:22.639 Absolutely I want be to be growth to stick in a part of your schedule. 119 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:28.079 I imagine this is because of me. Right I listen to podcast at 120 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:31.080 one point five or two speed, which I recognize I talk fast sometimes, 121 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:35.080 so if you're listening to me and two speed, I apologize. I should 122 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:39.879 probably talk a little slower. But let's say the episodes thirty minutes. I'm 123 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:45.440 listening to about fifteen, twenty minutes. That is a really easy daily task 124 00:08:45.559 --> 00:08:48.000 that I can set for myself with be to be growth. I'm going to 125 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:52.240 listen to the show and I'm going to get some sort of marketing insight five 126 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:56.639 days a week. That's going to help continue to further my education, continue 127 00:08:56.679 --> 00:09:01.759 to further my evolution in my marketing and the episodes are going to be relevant 128 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:05.559 to you, marketing teams, to leaders, and that cadence is great because 129 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:09.120 it's like, I know, I work five days a week. If I 130 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:11.159 have an F twenty thirty minute conversation, I can listen while I'm doing another 131 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:16.600 task. Just those insights are, I think, so valuable. So that 132 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:20.159 would be definitely one of the main reasons we want to be a daily show. 133 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:24.159 For those who are taking over something or maybe think about starting something new, 134 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:31.240 I think daily or some high velocity or high volume of production is sometimes 135 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:33.879 the long term goal, but it doesn't seem realistic to get there. You've 136 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:37.960 talked about how at one point this show was maybe a couple times a week 137 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:39.879 or maybe a little bit more frequently, but not truly daily on a consistent 138 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:43.120 basis. I mean it's it okay to look at that and say like hey, 139 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:46.399 it's going to take us some time to get here. Frankly, maybe 140 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:48.639 looking at how long you've been host of the show, how long is it 141 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:52.559 taking you to get to that daily cads? Yeah, so came on the 142 00:09:52.600 --> 00:10:01.159 team November first and we are daily as of March, the beginning of March. 143 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:03.720 So and this is your full time role. I mean this is some 144 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:07.960 people that's just a part of what they're producing in terms of content, or 145 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.320 maybe as a marketer or maybe as a team. Maybe you're an entrepreneur and 146 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:15.600 you have this goal of like Oh, we want to produce all this stuff, 147 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:18.360 but ultimate it's not realistic. So how did you how did you kind 148 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:20.240 of set the goals to get there? How did you get to daily? 149 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:26.200 The runway is important, so it's over communication with your entire team to go. 150 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:31.000 We're not going to jump from once or twice a week or whenever we, 151 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:35.600 you know, get an interview we post it to to daily, like 152 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:39.039 there has to be some sort of buildup of episodes to even feel comfortable with 153 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:45.080 it. And I'm still figuring out that cadence quite honestly, because I've done 154 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:50.120 shows in the past but I've never done a daily cadence. So we were 155 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:54.240 over a month ahead when I felt like we're okay, now we're comfortable and 156 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:58.559 we have some runway to be releasing content every single day. But again it 157 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:01.759 was like, okay, if we're at to a week, let's go to 158 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:03.559 three. Let's not go from two to four. Let's not go from two 159 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:07.840 to twenty five. Let's just go up one and let's see how that feels. 160 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:11.600 And we did that for an entire month, which then gave us another 161 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:15.720 month of runway to get more interviews locked in, and then we're just slowly 162 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:20.440 building. And obviously three to twenty four. I actually jumped us from three 163 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:24.159 to five, but that's because we haven't a back catalog of two thousand episodes. 164 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:28.759 So Friday became throwback episodes, and that's also a great way of repurposing 165 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:33.399 which I think needs to be in the conversation, like do you really need 166 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:39.000 a daily show? I think that's a conversation worth having. I definitely think 167 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.840 bringing back old episodes is worth it and I don't think people mind. We 168 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:45.759 look, I look at our Listons. It's one of the metrics I'm tracking, 169 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:50.759 obviously, and we get the exact same or more on old episodes because 170 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:54.279 people like, Oh, I think I might remember that, like I should 171 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:56.240 do I should re listen to that because I need to rehear it right. 172 00:11:56.360 --> 00:12:01.720 Yeah, there's so many times when something smart said to three years ago that 173 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:03.840 when we see it again, somebody reposts on Linkedin or we read that same 174 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:07.279 book again. We're like oh my gosh, it takes us back to that 175 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:11.000 moment where we learn something pivotal or you're in a different company, a different 176 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:13.879 context. So now new insights come out of it. If you've ever read 177 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:18.879 an old book, you're like this didn't jump out to me at all the 178 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:22.480 last time and now it's totally relevant, and I think that's what's great about 179 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:26.440 podcasting. It could resonate in a completely new way when you hear it a 180 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:31.720 second time. Yeah, absolutely true. Well, what are some of those 181 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:35.159 lessons that you've picked up on as you've gone from the less consistent, maybe 182 00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:39.320 less frequent production of episodes all the way to a daily show? Maybe some 183 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:43.759 pitfalls or some some structures you've had to build. One of those lessons. 184 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:48.120 So calendar view in a sauna is a lifesaver. I know that that's hyper 185 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:54.000 practical, but we all use some sort of task management APP and we, 186 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:56.159 you know, here at sweet fish, we use the sauna when you have 187 00:12:56.279 --> 00:13:00.600 so much content coming out, being able to just rearrange it on a calendar 188 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:03.639 and see where things flow and when hiccups come up you can just easily rearrange 189 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:07.000 and change things. For a production of a daily show, you got to 190 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:11.080 have some sort of calendar view where you can see how far out you are 191 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:16.799 and and can plan easily. I'd say batching. batching types of work is 192 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:20.879 super helpful. So I only do interviews with guests or pre interviews in the 193 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:26.440 afternoon. My mornings are times to make micro videos or right interview content or 194 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:31.639 all that behind the scene stuff outreach. That all flows in my mornings and 195 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:39.159 that batching really helps. On Fridays I will get the next week's episodes scheduled 196 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:43.639 on our website or all the background, but batching the content becomes really helpful. 197 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:48.799 You need a fast, excellent editor. I would definitely say for podcasting 198 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:52.240 specifically, but if you have multiple eyes on a blog that you write or 199 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:56.799 whatever you mean, you always needed an editor that's quick, and so shout 200 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:01.440 out to Ze, our German, wonderful editor who's listening to this and editing 201 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:05.279 it right now. He's fatimatist, wicked, he's a magician. And then 202 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:09.519 I'd say do your best. I mentioned this earlier, so I'll be brief 203 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.919 on it, but do your best to stay ahead. You know, three 204 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:16.480 weeks, two months for us with the daily show. I think is is 205 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:20.799 about. I think that cadences is going to work great for us. So 206 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:24.480 that speaks to kind of like how do you plan to go from nothing, 207 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:30.039 or maybe less production, to that daily or that high production? It means 208 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:31.840 you've got a plan for even getting ahead of it, not just getting to 209 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:35.399 it, which is really I thought that was really smart when you started coming 210 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:37.519 up with a plan for that. Is We can't just get to daily and 211 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:41.639 then everything depends on the next day's interview going live two weeks later or something 212 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:46.600 like that's got to be fully advanced, fully ahead. When you talk about 213 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:52.039 especially guess outreach is something for podcasting, but think about all the folks who 214 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:54.879 want to write a blog with someone else, want to interview someone else for 215 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:58.320 maybe thought leadership piece. Want to collaborate with them on a ticktock video. 216 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:01.720 Maybe they want to run a Webinar with somebody else. There's a lot of 217 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:05.080 this coordinating with third parties people have nothing to do with your brandon, especially 218 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:11.240 if they're strangers. What have you learned about that process in getting folks involved 219 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:15.240 with the show? You didn't have a million followers on Linkedin and a hundred 220 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:18.039 thousand connections like you couldn't go just draw from that well, constantly, so 221 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:20.960 you're talking to strangers. What do you guys learned or what have you learned 222 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:24.919 from that? It's actually an interesting part. Picking off your last question too, 223 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:30.399 because when you're talking about staying a month ahead and now we're at a 224 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:35.240 daily show, it's something I'm actually right now thinking about because managing third party 225 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:41.159 connections and having to like stay ahead in a daily cadence is a really difficult 226 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:45.200 because schedules shift and change and we do a pre interview, which we might 227 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:48.639 talk more about, but the pre interview process means that we're going to meet 228 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:52.159 this person twice, so we don't just have to get one thing on the 229 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:56.240 calendar. We have to get to and the time in between those things matters 230 00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:00.200 how fast you can actually get somebody to recording. So I think I've learned 231 00:16:00.200 --> 00:16:06.679 a lot about guest coordination, but the next couple months will be really telling. 232 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:08.960 So for me, I would say, because I'm reaching out to a 233 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.879 lot of CMOS directors of marketing, the amount of time it takes to coordinate 234 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:18.000 with their schedule. We make it as easy as possible with hub spot and 235 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:21.759 my calendar links and all of that. We try to explain the whole podcasting 236 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:26.759 process and make that seamless for them as a less the least amount of friction 237 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:30.559 possible, right. So the email cadence and making sure it's personalized up front, 238 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:34.639 but then also like there's constant reminders to them to make sure that they're 239 00:16:34.679 --> 00:16:40.279 actually following through with getting a time set up. So that becomes a potential 240 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:45.080 bottleneck that we're I'm still constantly working on. How do we make sure that 241 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:48.039 they're set up to win and then for us as a show, we're set 242 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:52.679 up to win and we're still far enough out. It also means that we 243 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:56.919 have to constantly continue to do outreach even when we feel like we're at a 244 00:16:56.919 --> 00:17:02.159 pretty good place right now. That's something I've done wrong. I think I 245 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:03.839 sat on like Oh man, we're getting pretty far ahead, maybe I should 246 00:17:03.880 --> 00:17:07.559 pause outreach, and then it's like, no, crap, I should probably 247 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:11.799 keep doing outreach and if we're a month and a half, two months out, 248 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:17.359 that's fine, I'll just tell them that on our interview or pre interview 249 00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:21.559 and so they can prepare for that mentally. But we need to be set 250 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:26.920 up as a show to not like be worried or nervous about how much content 251 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.279 we have kind of sitting and ready to post. Yeah, yeah, that 252 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:33.480 makes sense. Well, what have been some of those unexpected surprises, whether 253 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:37.720 good or bad, in hosting a daily show? What something's come up for 254 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:42.240 you? HMM, so a good unexpected surprise, you know, when you're 255 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:48.160 like scrolling linkedin and it's there's it's buzzword heavy. So yeah, you might 256 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:52.680 see like alignment, ABM, like these things that just people throw out. 257 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:56.160 I was a little nervous coming into be to be growth, that it would 258 00:17:56.200 --> 00:18:03.559 be hard to get unique lanes for this many episodes. And I've said to 259 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:08.640 you rex privately offline, like the pre interviews become one of my favorite pieces 260 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:17.680 of this whole process because you're locking in what that marketer is specifically passionate about. 261 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:22.200 Yeah, so even if they start with a buzz word, we end 262 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:27.799 up finding unique lanes that they're trying or doing in their organization that go far 263 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:33.960 beyond just, you know, surface level. And even when there is recurring 264 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:37.519 themes and pre interviews, if you look through our past episodes, we're not 265 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:41.079 like hitting on the same topics over and over and over again. There's been 266 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:45.799 more differentiation than I anticipated, which is Great. And then the other side. 267 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:52.440 One other good unexpected surprise would be, following episodes, we do original 268 00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:56.440 research. So I created a just a google form. It's about eight questions. 269 00:18:56.440 --> 00:19:00.400 We've been doing it, say, the last couple weeks, and now 270 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:03.359 we're every interview I do. I'm doing these questions and afterwards it's just like, 271 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.279 what are the KPI's that you're, you know, looking at and track? 272 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:10.880 What's a team goal for this quarter? Even just like a book or 273 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:15.440 a podcast that you really enjoy and had a big impact on your career. 274 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:19.000 Hearing their answers to those questions not recorded just for research on our part, 275 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:22.599 things that we probably share on be tob growth episodes in the future, but 276 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:29.599 you get an inside look at what's caused massive success for these CMOS or these 277 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:33.839 market leaders, and hearing that and the conversation that comes is just been a 278 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:41.000 huge I don't know, it's awesome and it's so personal and it's a fun 279 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:42.960 surprise for me. That's great. So you gave us too good surprises. 280 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:47.839 Tell me one pothole you've fallen in, just one. I won't make you 281 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:49.400 drag us through them up, but just telling one pole you fallen in, 282 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:53.839 whether it's because you're going to daily or just taken over his new host. 283 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:00.680 I have so many but I think my my add brain is an advantage in 284 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:03.640 interviews, but also is a disadvantage when it comes to organization. So I 285 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:08.920 don't want to act like I've just had these systems that really work well. 286 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:15.200 It's been a lot behind the scenes to make this work and I alluded to 287 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:18.759 it a minute ago, but I'll go into a little greater detail here. 288 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:22.720 In February I was really far ahead. I was suit, I mean like 289 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.160 I was a month and a half of interviews ahead, and I'm like, 290 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:32.240 okay, if we do more and I tell someone their episode won't go live 291 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:36.440 for two months, that, I mean, that's a little hard to like 292 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:40.799 figure out and I've never been that far ahead with previous shows I've worked on. 293 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:45.000 So I stopped outreach for like a couple weeks and now I'm in a 294 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:48.799 spot where will be fine, you know, but I do wish there was 295 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:53.000 a lot more interviews that I have not even held pre interviews for yet, 296 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:56.160 because I'll say, with our where we're at right now, I have held 297 00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:00.839 a ton of pre interviews. So like April should be taken care of, 298 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:03.839 but every time someone has to reschedule. What does that do? It bumps 299 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:11.200 timelines and changes things and moves thing so how I'm anticipating the time in between. 300 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:15.119 Okay, you want to be on the show to pre interview to interview 301 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:18.359 actually held. That's the sore spot right now. That's the Pothole that I'm 302 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:23.039 trying to address to make that as easy as possible for us. So if 303 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:26.240 you do have third parties that are involved in the content you're creating, I 304 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:32.920 think the takeaway is as easy as you can make the scheduling and as often 305 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:36.279 as possible to reiterate, hey, we really don't want to have to reschedule 306 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:40.400 this, so make sure that the time can stick. I know stuff comes 307 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:44.599 out, but there's also obviously things we can do as hosts, as the 308 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:48.960 ones having to facilitate that will help make that a more smooth process and I'm 309 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:52.720 learning that right now. Yeah, that's awesome. I learned a pretty hard 310 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:57.799 lesson trying to create like co marketing efforts with other brands at previous companies how 311 00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:03.000 hard it was. We used to do webinars and then, if there's anything 312 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:06.880 that takes so much coordination, it's a you know, forty five minute piece 313 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:11.640 of content and and really thought out with visuals and how do you engage the 314 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:14.799 audience? And it's all live. There's also gonna be a recorded version and 315 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:18.839 who promotes and how much and who distributes into what degree. I mean there's 316 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:22.039 there's so much work that goes into it that. Yeah, removing all the 317 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:26.440 friction, making sure that things don't get rescheduled, because one pre interview rescheduled 318 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:30.720 or one content planning session rescheduled by a week can are off for counter by 319 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:34.039 a month. For sure on that front it well. Let's talk about the 320 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:37.359 future of the show, because we've been talking about a lot of lessons that 321 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:42.359 people can apply to to various facets of marketing and content marketing, especially co 322 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:47.799 marketing, codebranding marketing. But let's talk about where speed to be growth going 323 00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:51.880 from here, and you've you've already kind of hinted it something related to original 324 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:53.079 research. So I'm sure you'll pull that out of the hat. But like, 325 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:56.119 what are some of the things that are loyal listeners out there can can 326 00:22:56.160 --> 00:23:03.359 expect from the show? So recently I posted on Linkedin asking what marketing topics 327 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:04.759 you want to see covered, and so I think you're going to see US 328 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:10.920 intentionally cover topics that you're asking us to cover. We're hitting on topics that 329 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:15.720 matter and are important and we're getting great feedback. I know that these episodes 330 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.759 are resonating with people, but I think if we can speed up that time 331 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:23.559 and make sure that, hey, you guys are interested in this topic right 332 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:27.079 now and we can post an episode about that topic, I would love to 333 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:32.160 see that. I think it will help build community around the show. I 334 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:34.759 think two words really stick out to me right now that I'm thinking about, 335 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:41.440 and it's distribution and creativity. So I want the content that we're making in 336 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:45.079 long formats to also be easily digestible in short formats. So, Hey, 337 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:48.400 thank you for subscribing to the show. You know, if you're listening on 338 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:52.759 Apple podcast or you listen on spotify, wherever you get podcast like thank you 339 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:56.559 for listening to the long format. But also how do we bring to the 340 00:23:56.599 --> 00:24:00.240 surface those small moments in a show that are really helpful and bring those to 341 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:04.759 Linkedin and so are you know, our listeners can interact with us in multiple 342 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:10.000 ways and then once it's on Linkedin, then people can comment and, you 343 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.519 know, share what they're learning, which I think again reinforces community and helps 344 00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:18.000 us just be more creative, because we want even the people that are on 345 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.559 the show to just be excited right like the guests that are here. They're 346 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:25.640 already they love what be to be growth is, but if we can give 347 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:30.119 them content to share and it's helpful for them, I think that's a huge 348 00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:36.319 win too. So just better distribution, more creativity topics that really aligned to 349 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:38.119 what you guys are thinking about right now. That's my hope for the show. 350 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:41.640 Okay, so if you're listening right now and you have a thought, 351 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:45.039 you have an idea, you have some you want to explore, go find 352 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:48.119 Benjie on Linkedin, because he is incredibly open to connect, open to chat 353 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:52.160 those talking about marketing, and I know this just seeing the conversations he's having 354 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:56.240 there. So if you've got recommendations, please hit him up. You're always 355 00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:00.079 welcome to find me as well. REX FIVERSTON on Linkedin. Benjie, what 356 00:25:00.119 --> 00:25:03.279 are you most excited about, probably in the next six months for the show, 357 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:06.960 for the audience? Man, I do think we just hit on a 358 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:12.079 main one in it's just interaction. Even survey is such a boring word. 359 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:15.200 I wish there was a better way to say this, but I mean now 360 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:18.160 you want to hear from you. So I'm I am creating some sort of 361 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:22.039 survey for our audience where they can give us some feedback and give us some 362 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:26.240 context into to their world and what would be most beneficial for them. Ultimately, 363 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:30.200 that's what I'm here to do as a host. Like I don't want 364 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:33.680 to just create something in a silo. I want to be involved in a 365 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:38.279 community and be beneficial to your marketing efforts, and so I think the next 366 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:44.559 six months is exciting from that vantage point. You're going to be able to 367 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:48.079 expect, which I think you're already getting this, but quality, engaging marketing 368 00:25:48.119 --> 00:25:52.519 focus conversations five days a week. That to me is a win, something 369 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:56.279 that can be baked into your schedule, that you know you're continuing to evolve 370 00:25:56.359 --> 00:26:00.599 and learn as a marketer, and it's it's quality and, if fun, 371 00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:06.039 hopefully right. Like conversations, we don't want to be static. As B 372 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:10.759 tob brands and as a Bob Podcast, like our marketing efforts are fun. 373 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:15.480 The hopefully the job that you're in right now is work that you know matters 374 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:19.400 and is something you're engaged in, and so hopefully this will just fuel your 375 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:23.319 passion, and that's what I love, coming to work to create that kind 376 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:29.000 of content. Awesome. Well, Ben Thanks for joining me on this very 377 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:33.000 special episode. Thank you, listener, for hearing us out, for taking 378 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.359 a peek behind the curtain with us. And, has been always says, 379 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:52.359 keep doing work that matters by everybody. If you enjoyed a day show, 380 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:56.400 hit subscribe for more marketing goodness, and if you really enjoyed the day show, 381 00:26:56.519 --> 00:27:00.359 take a second to rate and review the podcast on the platform you're listening 382 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:04.480 to it on right now. If you really really enjoyed this episode, share 383 00:27:04.519 --> 00:27:07.759 the love by texting it to a friend who would find it insightful. Thanks 384 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:10.759 for listening and thanks for sharing.