B2B Marketing Mindset

We’ve all heard the buzz about “vibe” marketing, vibe coding and vibe – everything and let’s be serious. If it has “vibe” in the name it means “Zero skill and a subscription to ChatGPT.” But if you’re running a real business – especially one engaged in the sale of services you don’t need more vibes. You need clarity, execution and accountability or you’ll vibe yourself right into the poor house. T...

There’s a foundational marketing tactic that used to be standard practice until it quietly disappeared from most playbooks. Now, as budgets tighten and noise increases, the smartest marketers are bringing it back. In this episode of The B2B Marketing Mindset, I’m joined by Krystal Rudyk to explore what today’s marketers are missing—and why rediscovering this “forgotten hack” could be the key to ma...

With all the overwhelming noise, hype, and questionable search results, more people are turning to communities (both online and off) as their trusted source for buying everything from consulting to water heaters. AI can search the web but there is wisdom in the crowd. My guest today is Candice Grobler – community building expert. We’re discussing the invisible iceberg brewing in the path of AI Tit...

My guest today says: If you’re just plugging into ChatGPT like it’s some kind of marketing Jesus — without a crystal clear offer, target, and brand — AI will just scale the confusion that’s already killing your business. Watch as we test ChatGPT with the dumbest company ideas imaginable. Blake Thomas is a long time, expert marketer Fractional CMO, Strategic Advisor and president of Bolivia – who h...

Today we have a guest who is asking the eternal question marketers face every day: W.T.F. This week I sat down with Tim Kilroy, a straight-talking expert who’s helped hundreds of marketing firms and agencies grow by thinking differently about how they sell, who they serve, and what they stand for. We got into: The broken state of client acquisition Why trust is so low in the marketing world What h...

Today I’m talking about thought leadership – what it is and if it still matters in the age of AI. Podcast is brought to you by The Agency Founders Network.com – a private, online community of marketing founders of all stripes. Join now for free – no credit card required – AgencyFoundersNetwork (.) com The post Is Thought Leadership Dead In the Era of AI “Experts”? appeared first on The B2B Marketi...

In 1995 I had an employee who was stealing from my company. “Cilia” was a bookkeeper. (Yes, now I know). Cilia wasn’t just copping paper clips from the stock room. We’re talking “really stealing a lot of (my) money, call the cops, get taken out in cuffs” stealing. Of course we fired her. That’s when the shit really hit the fan. A true story with guest Brett Linkenhohl Podcast is brought to you by...

Is AI in sales the work of the devil? A satanic pilot to make take your job? Find out as I talk to Michael Ocean CEO of SellMeThisPen.ai – He is a fellow coach and doing some incredible things with technology and probably isn’t in cahoots with The Dark Lord… or is he?  Podcast is brought to you by The Agency Founders Network- a private, online community of marketing founders of all stripes. Join n...

[powerpress Today I’m interviewing Eli Rubel. Eli is the founder behind No Boring Design, Profit Labs, and MatterMade, he is a serial entrepreneur and investor that turns struggles into profit while “building in public” – sharing his raw, real (and sometimes insane) entrepreneurial journey as it happens on LinkedIn. Podcast is brought to you by The Agency Founders Network.com – a private, online c...

In this episode I talk to Chris Lopes about Sales Playbooks – what they are and why you should care. The right playbook can make the difference between sales success and sales suck-cess. Heh, heh. What exactly is a Sales Playbook? Are they unique to each company? What are the key components of a sales playbook? Who should “own” the playbook within the organization? How can sales leaders ensure the...

If you sell expertise—whether through consulting, coaching, training, or professional services—you’re not just selling knowledge. You’re selling trust, credibility, and perceived value. And nothing amplifies those faster than influence. Influence is what turns you into the go-to authority for your niche. Knowing how to create and use it is why some experts command premium fees while others struggl...

If you sell expertise for a living you’ve probably struggled with if you should generalize or focus on a niche. You keep hearing people say that “The Niche is where it’s at” from a competitive standpoint. “But….But…But we have to cast a wider net – not a narrower net so we don’t miss any opportunities!” This week I have master marketer Claudia Ring to tackle this important but narrow topic. The po...

Today we’ll be talking about the biggest mistakes made by people who sell expertise. So coaches, consultants, professional witnesses and experts hang with us for a few minutes to see if you are making mistakes that are costing you money. Featuring Louie Bernstein a top LinkedIn Voice and 40 year veteran fractional sales manager, we’ll be talking about hidden mistakes everyone (including us) make t...

Today we are talking about how to be in front of the right people at the right time. THE MAGIC MOMENT TIMING IS EVERYTHING OMNI-PRESENCE ALL THE TIME SALES CAN’T DO IT ALONE COST PER TOUCH The post Getting In Front Of Customers At The Right Time appeared first on The B2B Marketing Mindset .

One thing I’m hearing more than every is “marketing doesn’t work for us” – usually it’s more specific – email doesn’t work, social doesn’t work, advertising doesn’t work – nothing works for these companies. If marketing didn’t work, Apple, Coca-Cola, IBM, your competitors wouldn’t exist. If you are thinking that marketing doesn’t work for your company, today we are going to try to help you figure...

The marketing industry is in a state of over saturation and fragmentation. That means it’s ripe for consolidation as larger agencies buy smaller agencies. And it’s a buyers market. My guest today is Tom Shipley – he’s building a mega agency through acquisition. We’ll be talking about the state of the market and why now is the time to sell your firm – or not. For many agencies being acquired isn’t...

The post Spending Money On Marketing But Not Getting a Return? Let’s Fix It. appeared first on The B2B Marketing Mindset .

Today we discuss a concept that is really crucial in terms of determining your marketing strategy but it seems lost to time. However, it’s no less relevant. It’s called the Market Life Cycle – although we will show you how to expand how it’s used – extending to mapping products, services, industries, your company and more. We will connect it to specific strategies depending on where you are in the...

Being a vendor sucks that’s not something that you should aspire to. You want to be a trusted advisor but how and why? Well, worry, not because that’s what today’s episode is about why it sucks to be a vendor why it’s only slightly better to be a solution provider and how awesome it is to be a trusted advisor. Will be covering the entry intricacies of each type of relationship, and how to transfor...

Back in 2003 I had to shutter a seven figure marketing firm. I could have sold it but: a) I was ignorant and thought that service businesses were hard to sell b) personal tragedy had struck and I had to focus all of my energy on my family Advisors all said “Your assets go down the elevator every night – there isn’t anything to sell.” They were wrong. We had extensive operating manuals, contracts w...

My guest today has grown several companies from one employee to hundreds of millions in revenue in the Direct to Consumer niche and he’s spilling the beans on what works and what doesn’t. We helped him make it happen on one of his companies and he’s a true master of growth, marketing, branding and how to leverage marketing and marketing agencies. Bill Gates is not a serial entrepreneur. He had suc...

If you can only do one thing to improve marketing – this is that one thing. This common sense tactic seems to be lost over time but it really makes the difference between failure and success when it comes to both sales and marketing. Simply put, you need to talk to your customers. But if you don’t do it right, it will be a waste of time. Or worse, you’ll get data that leads to making the wrong dec...

Bill and I have been in business continually for 34 years. In this episode we share the secret sauce that not only has kept us up and running but allowed us to gain significant clients and traction. This isn’t an episode where we brag about how we got rich in the marketing business, how we travel around in private jets and own three mansions. We aren’t going to try to sell you a course to “get ric...

Marketing people and agencies have a HUGE problem. Their approval rating is lower than Joe Biden’s (actually, lower than ANY president in history, airlines, home internet providers and my Aunt Mary’s meatloaf.) According to Harvard Review, 80% of CEO’s don’t trust marketers. Today we are asking Paul Fioravanti to help us understand what’s going on here and how marketing agencies and related servic...

Today we share the five secrets to creating buyer personas that really connect with B2B buyers. A typical buyers persona might read like this: Male Born in 1948 Raised in the UK Married twice Lives in a castle Wealthy and famous However, that persona applies equally to King Charles and Ozzy Osbourne. See the problem here? We’ll be running down the particulars with Naomi Soman from Similarweb to he...