The Wrap-up: What Makes a B2B Difference Maker?

Season two has come to an end. In this wrap-up episode, Jeannine Crispino reflects on the amazing guests and conversations from this season of the show. Listen as she highlights key takeaways from each interview and what you can learn from them. Think you know what it takes to be a Difference Maker? Find out in this episode. Resources: Missi's Walk-up Song: 9-5 by Dolly Parton Jennifer's Walk-up Song: Happy by Pharell Williams Beth's Walk-up Song: Good As Hell by Lizzo Genefa's Walk-up Song: Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode Lauren's Walk-up Song: The General Specific by Band of Horses

Strategy should drive technology, not the other way around.  Lauren Wagner is the Director of Marketing Technology at Okta, where she believes in the power of consolidation and using other people's knowledge to inform her team of emerging marketing technology trends. In this episode, Lauren emphasizes a holistic approach to evaluating your MarTech stack and sometimes more isn't always better. In her words, the modern marketer is really "part marketing technologist," who has to be smart when deciding which programs and platforms to use. What does Lauren think it takes to be a B2B Difference Maker? Tune in to find out. Resources: Lauren's Walk-up Song: The General Specific by Band of Horses

What experiences can you bring to inform your current role?    Genefa Murphy is the CMO of Five9, but her background was not always in marketing. Having earned her doctorate in consumer adoption of new technology, looking at psychological and sociological computer science factors, Genefa draws inspiration from her previous experiences to inform how she operates in her current role.  In this episode Genefa shares the value of understanding different perspectives and surrounding yourself with those who can educate you. What does Genefa think it takes to be a B2B Difference Maker? Tune in to find out. Resources: Genefa's Walk-up Song: Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode

As a marketer, empathy means checking your jargon and ego at the door, removing barriers for buyers, and truly listening. Beth Magee, Global Head of Marketing at Forsta, joins Jeannine Crispino for this episode of B2B Difference Makers. They discuss the importance of giving buyers what they need to make informed decisions and how to approach the challenging marketing-sales relationship. What does Beth think it takes to be a B2B Difference Maker? Tune in to find out. Resources: Beth's Walk-up Song: Good As Hell by Lizzo

Having extensive experience in a field helps you become an expert, but the true secret is being curious and learning from others.  In this episode, Jennifer McAdams, Vice President of Demand Generation and Field Marketing at Progress Software, joins Jeannine Crispino to discuss the importance of continued learning. In any challenging situation, she has found that asking deeper questions and reaching out to others for answers has helped solve the problem. What does Jennifer think it takes to be a B2B Difference Maker? Tune in to find out. Resources: Jennifer's Walk-up Song: Happy by Pharell Williams

Season One has come to an end and we are excited to kick-off the second season of B2B Difference Makers. On this episode, Jeannine Crispino reflects on the amazing guests and conversations had on the first season of the show, highlighting key takeaways from the season.  Think you know what it takes to be a Difference Maker? Find out in this episode. Resources Get the B2B Difference Maker Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gLzctOlMNIIVHV0Pv6dIu

Data isn't static or lifeless; it tells a story, if you know how to listen. On this episode of B2B Difference Makers, we're joined by Amandah Magnarelli, Director of Marketing Operations at RSA Security,  Amandah understands that for data to be effective, you have to let it live and breathe through constant feedback from the people it impacts. In this conversation, you'll hear how she encourages feedback and how she's tackling the never-ending challenges of database marketing. What does Amandah think it takes to be a B2B Difference Maker? Find out in this episode. Takeaways:   1. Give People Access   Supporting Quote:  Amandah: So what we've done is we've created, you know, a series of dashboards and reports, and really just tried to enable our sales teams and our BDRs or. Uh, you know, SDRs and just really put the tools at the fingertips of the people, give them the, give them the tools, give them the ability to give them the knowledge and teach them. Um, you know, w what is that saying? You know, give a man a fish and eats for a day, or give a person efficiently for a day, teach them how to fish. And they. Eat for a lifetime. Right? So we've sort of, you know, given them the tools and taught them how to fish. Right. And we've, you know, we've taught them, here's the tools. Here's how to change what's in there. Here's how to filter it for your side of the business, your territory, your. Clients your roles, what your doing and the information that you want. And we've coached them on that and gone, you know, team by team person by person and, you know, done all of that training and, and kept up with that.   2. Encourage Feedback   Supporting Quote: Amandah: To me, data, isn't something that's static in in an Excel Spreadsheet or in you know that you'd print out on a page, right? it lives, it breathes and and I need that input and information from folks that you know ok you you predicted that this company was right for me to go after and if i paid attention to all the business that you gave me I would close business faster. And that worked or that didn't work or, you know, and sure I can build other reports around that and see that we're closing business faster, or we're not, or what's happening. But I do talk to the people that are consuming the data, right. And, and that continuous loop and, and follow through of information is. Is really super important. And I think that's what really makes it live and breathe.   3. There Is No One-Size-Fits-All   Supporting Quote:Amandah: There's a bit of a model in terms of, you know, how I've rolled it out. I, I try to keep a bit of the same format, but it has been a, um, It's been a little bit of brute strength, right? It's been, you know, a team by team and in some cases, person by person approach and that's really been globally. Right. And, you know, different people learn in different ways and some people in the group trainings or the team trainings, they didn't. They didn't grasp it and they needed a little more help and they needed a little more, um, a little more TLC. So there've been one-on-one trainings and, and a little more handholding and a little more care. And some people, the team training was way more than they needed. They just needed a few questions answered. Right. So it hasn't been a one size fits all.

Account Based Marketing is nothing new, but most marketers tend to stay on the marketing side of things. But not this guest. On this episode of B2B Difference Makers, we're joined by Emily Carroll, Account Based Marketing and Operations Manager at Aruba, a leading provider of next-generation network access solutions for the mobile enterprise. Emily is a disruptor in the ABM field, using the account based marketing strategy within sales. In this conversation with Emily, you'll hear how she manages to keep sight of marketing while focusing on sales, and what she's learned about getting buy-in from the right people. What does Emily think it takes to be a B2B Difference Maker? Find out in this episode. Takeaways:   1. Don't Use ABM Terms with Sales   Supporting Quote:  Emily: That's exactly what we tried to do here is appeal to what their priorities are and how we're going to be able to enable that. And it's not about the titles and the marketing language that you're trying to use with sales. It's about what is going to hit on the nail with their priorities and say, we're going to enable that and, you know, help accelerate what their ultimate goal is to sell more.   2. Generate Accounts, Not Leads   Supporting Quote: Emily: We started very early going, okay, we'll generate leads. And now we've shifted to, we're going to generate qualified accounts and they're still being delivered in a very lead fashion. But as we start continued training with the sales team, and now that we have a few pilot marketing campaigns going, that's very data driven. We are now shifting the focus to being understanding that this may look like a lead. But this is actually a qualified account and it's on your selling side and on the marketing side to treat it as such   3. Get Buy-in from the Right People   Supporting Quote:Emily: The change happened when we got buy in from the managerial level. So. To get the initial platform we got buy in from the very high up top. Right. But the managerial level is really where we saw the driven. This is now a tool you need to use that kind of directive from your direct managers makes all the difference.

Every now and then you meet someone and immediately feel energized and inspired. That's exactly how hosts Latane Conant and Jeannine Crispino felt when meeting Sruthi Kumar, Associate Director of Field & Partner Marketing at Sendoso.  Sruthi is a storyteller, connecting product stories to prospects and customers. In this conversation with Sruthi, you'll hear how she leans into her strengths in the midst of unprecedented circumstances, and what she's learned about marketing in a digital must environment.  What does Sruthi think it takes to be a B2B Difference Maker? Find out in this episode. Takeaways:   1.Field Marketing is More Than Just Events   Supporting Quote:  Sruthi: When people just equate field marketing with events, I'm like, "okay, well, you know, the field marker you're working with, maybe he didn't do it justice," because really you're running a digital campaign through and through. Even when we were meeting physically, even when we were meeting in person, we were like, we had to be the masters of the digital campaign. So for out of the box, we've done a ton of emails. Like how else are you really supposed to reach people these days? We do a lot of social. And so we have a great content team and we've really utilized like video and media. That's something that we've seen a lot of our followers, uh, prospects and customers interact really well with.   2. Lean Into What You Know   Supporting Quote: Sruthi: We decided let's just lean into what we could continue doing, and that was content and co-marketing. So I think in those moments of like, Doubt or uncertainty or challenging moments, like just lean into what you already know and you know, that you can do well because those things won't let you down. And once you kind of lay a foundation with that, then being able to go out and experiment.   3. Rely on Your Strengths   Supporting Quote:Sruthi: Lean into what your superpowers are. Everyone brings something different to the table, so don't be afraid, like. To look into yourself and be like, this is what I'm really good at. This is what I can bring to the table. And for me, like that thing was, I'm like a natural networker. I'm very friendly. And so in my personal life and my professional life, that's helped me a lot, like meet the right people and make the right connections.

Steve Scotkin, Senior Director of Marketing Technology of Thomson Reuters, understands how navigating change at a large complex organization requires one thing above all else: buy-in. In this conversation with Steve, learn how he turns a vision into a strategy while marrying the right technology.  What does it take to be a B2B Difference Maker? Takeaways:   1. Create a Sense of Urgency   Supporting Quote:  Steve: "You can create a sense of urgency on small things. If you understand how many of those small things, how many of the little bits of progress add up to a milestone, you can dissect it for the right people."   2. Redefine Simplifying Marketing Automation   Supporting Quote:Steve: "Sending even very simple email. It's not a journey. It's not very personalized. It's getting something out the door. That's where the education came in, which is, what are we really trying to do? What is the objective? Um, and so when I read defined simplify marketing automation, the way I defined it is to understand the customer. want to be able to offer our customers the right type of communication, superior dialogue, as a result of understanding who they are and be able to do it efficiently."   3. Become a Domain Expert   Supporting Quote:Steve:"To help my teams understand that genuinely my interest was education, to do the right thing, and being a strategist. And that's a different way of doing business. A different way of solving and transforming your goals and people who take the time to be experts. You're never a perfect expert on everything, but I mean, you can be domain deep enough to provide the right guidance and to be a thought leader."