Tea and Timbits

Let’s be honest—forecasting and budgeting rarely top anyone’s list of thrilling business topics. But in this episode, we do our level best to prove they can be surprisingly engaging... or at least slightly less soul-crushing. We dig into what forecasting actually means, why budgets matter even when they feel like guesswork in a spreadsheet, and how misaligned expectations between finance and sales...

Our Grand Plan to Help You Make a Grand Plan New year, new goals... new excuses? Not this time! We kick off 2026 by diving headfirst into the warm, welcoming waters of strategy and planning . In this episode, we dust off the whiteboards, dodge post-holiday flu bugs, and talk through how to build a practical, personal, and professional plan that doesn't fall apart by February. We talk about goa...

It’s New Year’s Eve, and as usual - one of us is in London, one of us is in Toronto, and—purely coincidentally :) —both of us are holding a glass of something barrel-aged. In this slightly longer, slightly looser year-end episode, we look back on what actually worked in the past year and look ahead to what might work next year—assuming we show up and do the work. We talk personal branding without...

It’s Christmas Eve, one of us is in Toronto, the other is knee-deep in European holiday food… and somehow we still end up talking about sales teams fudging numbers and why your calendar might be the most important tool you own. In this episode, we get a little festive before diving into a very real leadership issue: people cutting corners, chasing short-term wins, and quietly torching long-term tr...

This week we embrace the chaos of teamwork and tech tools — and somehow make sense of it all. From "vibe coding" with Replit (yes, it’s a thing) to CRM philosophies, sales toolboxes, and the mysterious magic of CDPs, we reflect on the tools that actually help teams get stuff done . We dive into: Why English is the new coding language The magic of cloud collaboration (and the rage when it...

In this episode we bravely wade into the world of CRMs — not the most glamorous topic, but definitely one that can make or break your business sanity. We kick things off with a cautionary tale about mysterious contract clauses (spoiler: they weren’t included, but were somehow still binding?), before diving into the myth that picking the "right" CRM tool is the secret to sales success. Sp...

In this episode, we kick off our new series on technology and tools by diving headfirst into the buzz (and occasional chaos) surrounding AI. From echoey mics to echo chambers of bad RFPs, we talk about the real-world applications, risks, and etiquette of using AI in business. Scott shares hard-won wisdom from the trenches of proposal hell, while Andy questions whether AI wrote that overly nice ema...

In this episode, we go from nostalgic concerts to cold, hard conversions as we break down pipeline stages that actually move the needle. Spoiler: ticking boxes and wishful thinking won’t cut it. We riff on why your pipeline should be guided by buyer behavior (not your internal task list), how to avoid zombie deals haunting your CRM, and the magic of knowing when to walk away. Plus, Andy has a mini...

This week we go deep (well, as deep as we ever go) on target market analysis —or as we like to call it, “the thing that stops you from chasing every shiny object on the internet.” We unpack the difference between total addressable market (a.k.a. the fantasy) and actual target market (a.k.a. the people who might pay you this year). Scott shares a cautionary tale from a Chicago business trip turned...

We’re back and celebrating two whole years of Tea & Timbits! 🎉 And what better way to mark the occasion than by talking about one of the driest-yet-most-vital topics in business development: forecasting and pipeline management? In this episode, we kick things off with a tale of boardroom betrayal and the ever-predictable rise of internal politics (spoiler alert: it doesn’t end with a contract...

In this episode, we toss aside the spreadsheets and strategy decks to talk about something more primal—like whether we can still function after a Spartan race or a surprise Swedish frost. We explore how keeping your body moving (even if just to the fridge) can lead to a sharper mind, better leadership, and fewer contracts that make you want to cry in legalese. We also poke fun at those hyper-polis...

Ever feel like your content plan is just a fancy spreadsheet collecting digital dust? In this episode, we explore why so many businesses struggle to build and stick to a content or branding strategy — and how to fix it before everything catches fire (metaphorically... hopefully). We share a real-world example of a top-tier company that hit rock bottom due to a missing sales plan, zero accountabili...

In this episode, we dive into the thrilling (yes, thrilling!) world of personalization in business —how to nail it without making people feel like they're being followed by a marketing drone. We share tales from the trade show trenches, wrestle with the fine line between helpful and creepy, and explore how to read the digital tea leaves your prospects leave behind. You’ll hear us break down: W...

From Milwaukee trade show floors to global maritime boardrooms, we reflect on what it really means to know your audience —and why that tired phrase doesn't cut it anymore. We chat about the power of segmentation beyond just industry buckets, the magic of micro case studies, and the real MVP of modern marketing: resonance . Plus, we spill the tea on how AI can help personalize messaging without...

In our (yes, we made it—cue the confetti!), we kick off our October theme: Content & Branding Strategies by diving headfirst into the wild world of mapping the buyer journey . If you’ve ever thrown up your hands mid-sales cycle yelling, “Why are they ghosting us?!”, this one's for you. We reflect on our own trade show tales (some glorious, some...not), break down why most buyer journeys re...

In this episode, we leap headfirst into fall — aka the “Business New Year” — and trade show season. We spill the beans on prepping for events, navigating awkward booth chats, and following up without sounding like a desperate ex. Andy shares a cautionary tale about a supplier who nose-dived from hero to horror story, reminding us all how fragile reputation can be. Meanwhile, we debate whether book...

It’s the Business New Year and we’re kicking things off with a globe-trotting topic—international expansion! This week, one of us is podcasting from a Polish hotel (with surprisingly good Wi-Fi), and we’re diving into the joys of taking your business beyond borders. We unpack everything from AI-enhanced productivity to why blindly opening a foreign office is the corporate equivalent of ordering su...

We’re back from our weather updates across the globe (you're welcome) to kick off the “Business New Year” with a bang—or at least with fewer bad pitches. In this episode, we dig into the surprisingly elusive art of customer experience and why your 20-slide company history isn’t winning you any deals. Andy shares a story of a pitch so generic it could've been written by a chatbot in 2011, a...

We’re declaring September the Business New Year and kicking off Q4 like it’s January 1st — minus the gym membership guilt and broken resolutions. In this episode, we talk about how to reset after the summer slowdown, re-energize your team, and approach the last quarter with purpose and momentum. Scott shares how a casual conversation with his wife turned into a full-blown account growth strategy (...

In this episode, we take on the sometimes awkward, often misunderstood world of probationary periods. Are they necessary checkpoints or just a corporate commitment-phobe’s way of saying “it’s not me, it’s you”? One of us thinks they’re essential for building trust, the other thinks they’re a lazy crutch for indecisive leaders. Spoiler: it gets spicy. We also share a hilarious cautionary tale invol...

In this episode of Tea and Timbits , we get a painfully relatable tale of legal déjà vu, where Scott finds himself buried in contract markup mayhem. Spoiler: ChatGPT didn’t save him, but it was close. Then we shift gears and dive into the real meat: how to onboard new sales hires by fostering collaboration between sales, marketing, and finance. We explore why alignment isn’t just HR’s problem and...

In this episode of the T & Timbits podcast, we finally tackle the meat of hiring effective salespeople. After an onboarding-first approach in the last episode, we now shift focus to recruitment—and oh boy, it's not about just getting anyone through the door. We talk about the critical (and often overlooked) difference between hiring for what someone has done versus what they can do in your bus...

This week, we ditched recruitment for a hot sec and dove headfirst into the wild world of onboarding. But not the “here’s your laptop, now good luck” kind — we’re talking mutual accountability onboarding . You know, that rare unicorn where both the company and the new hire actually know what’s going on. We unpack the difference between ticking boxes and setting up humans to succeed, share a “we al...

In this bonus July episode, we explore what it means to live in a state of constant evolution (and how a flat tire can be surprisingly enlightening). From late-night roadside reflections to the business lessons hiding in market stagnation, we talk about shifting mindsets from doers to leaders, and operators to guides. It's part strategy, part therapy, and—let's be honest—part coping mechan...

In this episode, we tackle the not-so-delicate balance between productivity and well-being—with a cold drink in hand and a not-so-healthy snack probably nearby. We reflect on how our physical habits (or lack thereof) affect our minds, our work, and our leadership. From beer-fueled guilt trips to dodging fast food temptations at youth baseball tournaments, we share personal stories and self-depreca...