The Customer Engagement Lab

On this episode, Patrick and Travis catch up with Gemma Cipriani-Espineira, Vice President of Customer Success at Chili-Piper, for her thoughts on the ins and outs of all things Customer Success In this episode, they discuss: Their dreaming up the ultimate “revenue road trip” Why every department is a revenue department How the B2B space can mirror the B2C in-store experience Why “cutting the sale...

Engaging your customers takes a village — or at least, several different people who used to work in an office together before the world changed. But it’s not their titles that make them fit for the job… It’s their skills. That’s why Patrick and Travis were happy to sit down with Tara Horstmeyer, Communication Strategist, to learn how she has used her unique set of skills to engage customers across...

In this interactive live stream, Travis and Patrick are joined by multiple panel guests as well as live-chat listeners to discuss: What biological and psychological factors play into sales tactics Revenue “would you rather?” scenarios Lessons learned in podcasting

What’s the strangest interview you’ve ever been a part of? Have you ever interviewed anybody who’s been in the middle of ordering a sandwich or taking a shower? Probably not. Lately, we've been talking about interviewing revenue roles. There’s so much information out there about how to ask the right questions and make yourself look professional, but where do we start? So we recruited a new hire. J...

If you've ever said, "When I go to a sales podcast. I want to watch someone eat sardines," then today's your lucky day! You get to do that on this episode of The Customer Engagement Lab as Travis goes for a true Belarussian experience by consuming canned Ukrainian fish on the show. We're not just weird guys behind podcast mics, though. We're actually talking with Sergey Barysiuk, a native of Belar...

If you don't know your PLC from your OPC, and you're about to meet with an SME, then you need an LOA. Anyone got a corporate translation guide handy? We do. Try this: Fast-paced work environment = you will work weekends Relaxed atmosphere = we give you a crappy t-shirt Huge opportunity for growth = we pay in food scraps Get rid of your jargon. Talk to people like they're people. Send them cool stu...

Remember when your teacher announced an "educational" game? You knew the word "educational" was school-code for "boring." It's the same with "B2B content." Why is B2B content always so damn safe, boring, and predictable? If you've ever seen our show, you know we don't do predictable things. We're not safe, and we're never boring. We eat stuff that'll kill you just to get clicks. But we still strug...

On this episode of The Customer Engagement Lab, we talk seriously (for once!) about addiction and mental health. Our guest is Tim Clarke, Marketing Leader at Salesforce and Co-Founder & CEO at UNCrushed. We discuss: The reasons Travis first went to therapy at age 25 The impact storytelling can make on your career and your mental health Why Tim got so passionate about mental health that he made...

Patrick loves product marketing. (Sounds like the title of a kids' book, doesn't it?) He thinks he knows a lot about it. Really, he doesn't know sh*t. (We'll leave that line out of the kids' book). But that doesn't mean that he lacks a valuable opinion. Today, let's talk about brand affinity and product marketing — but with an expert. On this episode of The Customer Engagement Lab, our guest is Da...

If they start out hissing, things aren't gonna end well. It's true for pet cats, podcast hosts, personal relationships, and business relationships. In fact, Jeremey Donovan, SVP of Revenue Strategy at SalesLoft, compares sales prospecting to picking out shelter cats: Bad start; bad end. On this episode of The Customer Engagement Lab, we talk about how to quit hissing at your prospects and get pick...

In this episode of The Customer Engagement Lab, we talk about lateral job hopping, why we do it, and how to stop. Our guest is Josh Gillespie, Sr. SaaS Executive who's currently building PandaDoc from zero to infinity. Specifically, we discuss: Why do we get bored at work? RepVue — it's like GlassDoor for salespeople Why you shouldn't pick what's behind Door C

If you’re trying to get ahead in sales — which would probably make sense if you’re tuning into this show — you don’t need magic beans or mad hypnosis skills… You just need 3 simple things. You need to be high-value. You need to be low maintenance. And you need to demand opportunity. Oh, and it never hurts to be confident… Troy Barter, former Director of Sales Development at PandaDoc, knows what it...

Before Zoom and LinkedIn, sales pros rode dinosaurs to meet with prospects face to face. Other than technology, nothing's changed since those days. Don't believe us? Fine. Believe Travis' dad. On this episode of The Customer Engagement Lab, Rich Tyler gave dad-worthy advice about sales careers before exiting stage left and leaving flames in his wake while an electric guitar exploded in the backgro...

What would you say to an account executive who is afraid to do goofy, wacky, funny, interesting, outlandish stuff? I'd say, "Dude, watch this episode of The Customer Engagement Lab." Travis and Patrick talk with Mark P. Jung, VP of Marketing at Dooly, about how to be funny in business. Why be funny? Because people buy from people — even in B2B. And you might as well have fun with it. Specifically,...

Travis and Patrick talk with Cat Lim, Creative Director at Pyper, Inc., about sales strategies for creative agencies. Specifically, we discuss: How creative agencies can stand apart in cold emails/cold calls What intrigues and annoys us in outreach How a creative agency sold PandaDoc What a mood board even is What creatives should remember when pitching designs to customers Patrick’s closing strat...

You know what everyone loves when reading a good book? Getting to the end of a chapter and being told that the author will get in touch about the next chapter. Yeah, you’re right. No one would buy that book. Your buyers’ journey is like a story — and if they request a demo, that’s exactly how most companies conclude that chapter. Your buyer would be much better served by a choose-your-own-adventur...

Travis and Patrick are joined by Ian Koniak, Strategic Account Director at Salesforce, to discuss the many ways sellers overcome. They cover: Internet advice on overcoming objections Getting to the true reason for buyer hesitancy The 4 D’s of time management The unseen obstacles many sellers face

In this episode, we’re giving marketing some love. We don’t have a guest, just your loveable hosts, Travis Tyler, Digital Content Producer, and Patrick Downs, Team Lead and Outbound Account Executive, at PandaDoc. In this episode: The trials and tribulations of creative pitching Why copywriting is so important in selling In the name of marketing, Patrick goes Hollywood and lands a commercial… in N...

In this episode, we had such a great talk with Jason Bay , Chief Prospecting Officer at Blissful Prospecting (and fellow podcast host). As usual, we just threw him straight into posts and clips to get his take on all things prospecting. In this episode we discuss: The magic multichannel sequencing hack Doing work on your personal life (because it’s affecting your professional life) Baby steps to o...

How do you make sales content so good that your competition invites you onto their podcast? Well, this week we’re hanging out with Will Aitken , Account Executive at Proposify – AKA: the enemy — because he’s been doing exactly that. And he was nice enough to join us to share what makes his sales content so compelling. Keep your friends close and enemies closer, right? In this episode, we cover: Wi...

In your sales proposals, do you spend pages and pages talking about how great your own company is? Before you get to the price, do you make your customer wade through a bog of legalese so deep that it’s sure to give flashbacks to that scene with Artax in The Neverending Story? Sales proposals are hard and if either of these sound familiar, yours probably needs rescuing. But have no fear —if anyone...

Contrary to popular belief, the customer is not always right. But that doesn’t mean you don't stop treating them with empathy. That’s something today’s guest, Megan Bowen , COO & CCO at Refine Labs , learned early in her career. In this episode, we discuss: Why penicillin can’t cure a TBI Why the customer is not always right Why honesty really is the best policy

Why would you ever ask your prospect what their use case is? Does your doctor ask you to tell them what virus you have? Of course not. Be the doctor: Find your prospects problem — and solve it. If you don’t approach your prospects this way, it’s probably best not to tell today’s guest, Becca Holland , CEO and Founder of Flip the Script , because she’ll let you know: You’re doing it wrong. In this...

If you’re timely, you’ve got the right targets and you can cut through the noise to reach the right buyer. This then allows your outbound to succeed without you ever even needing to mention your product, service, or company. That’s some outbound-avocado wizardry today’s guest, Kristina Finseth, Director of Growth Marketing at Interseller, shares with Patrick and Travis in today’s episode. Along th...

When was the last time you celebrated your wins? It’s easy to get so stuck on your new problems that you completely forget about how far you’ve come. And that can contribute to productivity dysmorphia — an unhappy junction where anxiety, impostor syndrome, and burnout intersect. In this episode, your hosts, Travis Tyler , Sr. Digital Content Producer, and Patrick Downs , fly solo to discuss: The l...