Top Ten Episodes January-March 2023
Rooted in Revenue
10. Achieving Competitive Advantage Through a Comprehensive Competitor Analysis
In this episode of Rooted in Revenue, host Susan Finch is once again joined by Rob Brodo, the co-founder and CEO of AdvantX. The duo is continuing their series on the foundations of Business Acumen, which covers the key components of understanding business strategy and financial positions. In this episode, they delve into the importance of recognizing the strategic and financial challenges and opportunities of executing a new strategy.
Rob discusses how many companies are disconnected between their metrics of success and their strategy, and that goals and objectives are not connected to the priorities of the business. He emphasizes the need to align people to measure the success of the strategy and that it is not happening in many companies. For example, if an organization has a value proposition of being an innovator, then the goals and objectives should be around innovation. Rob explains that it is not just about setting goals and objectives, but also about having specific measurements to tell if they are achieving those goals.
The conversation then turns to the importance of alignment across the enterprise on the value proposition, goals, and objectives. Rob highlights how the most successful companies in the world have this alignment, while struggling companies set up functions within the enterprise that compete against each other. This misalignment can lead to conflicts in financial metrics, cutting prices to get deals, and challenges in creating margins.
The episode concludes with Susan and Rob discussing the need for coaching and interpersonal skills to align people to the strategy. The conversation is wrapped up by discussing the basics of conducting a competitor analysis and using that information to establish a strategic competitive advantage in the next episode.
Listeners are encouraged to check out the full series of Rooted in Revenue on the website, where they can find Rob’s insights on the foundations of Business Acumen, and to not miss the next episode on competitor analysis.
The previous episode in this series is here:
https://rootedinrevenue.com/e/transform-employee-performance-with-strategic-insight/
Listen to the full episode below:
9. Grieving and the Workplace: How HR is Addressing Employee Needs
In this episode of the podcast, Susan Finch and Michelle Cramer from On Angels’ Wings discuss the importance of HR support in the workplace. Michelle discusses her journey writing her book, Uncharted Grief, and her certification as a Grief Recovery Method specialist. Michelle shares her thoughts on the societal norms surrounding grief and how they impact employees in the workplace. She highlights the importance of allowing employees to grieve and the impact it can have on their health and financial well-being. Michelle also shares a story of a gentleman who struggled to find a balance between work and grieving after the unexpected death of his father. This episode sheds light on a crucial topic and highlights the importance of HR support for employees who are grieving. You’ll also hear the variations of grief, it’s not always about death. Listen in to gain insights and understanding on how to support your team and staff through the grieving process.
Listen to the full episode here:
8. You Wrote a Book, Is It Time to Relaunch It?
Holly Jean Jackson is a speaker, author, and holistic coach. This means she gives you three in one – a health coach, life coach, and a business coach. In this episode we are focusing on the value of relaunching your book. You put so much blood, sweat, tears, and hair-pulling into publishing a book. But what happens a few years later? Your publisher did their part, you did the signings, the promotions, and then crickets? Let’s hope not. You may even be working on your next book, but you still really love your earlier works. There may be a few places that could use an update or a new version done as an audiobook. Have you done all that? Doing an audio version gives you the opportunity for updates. What about the Kindle version? Can you update that? What a great way to reopen conversations with fans, clients, and prospects. Holly and Susan talk about the need for an actual marketing plan to relaunch what you did so well the first time. There is always a new way to do it better, and some elements that should be updated. Listen to this episode of Rooted in Revenue, “You Wrote a Book, Is It Time to Relaunch It?”
Listen to the full episode here:
7. Breaking Down Financial Metric Silos Across a Company
In this episode, Susan is joined by Rob Brodo, the CEO and Co-Founder of Advantexe, as they continue their series on business acumen strategies. The focus of this episode is on comprehending the financial position and key metrics, including the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow report. Rob explains that financial management is just a scoreboard for the company’s strategy and that understanding these metrics is crucial in measuring the success of the strategy. He also highlights the importance of cash flow, as it is the lifeblood of any business. The conversation then shifts to the importance of everyone in the company having a basic understanding of financial management and its impact on the company. Join Susan and Rob as they dive into the world of financial management and its impact on business success.
The previous episode in this series is here:
https://rootedinrevenue.com/e/transform-employee-performance-with-strategic-insight/
Listen to the full episode below:
6. Making Use of What Marketers Are Doing Right
We hear about all the ways marketers miss the mark – what they do wrong. What if we focused on what they are doing right and then expand the use of those tactics? Some companies have a team of one or less than five and each must wear several hats. If, as a group, you lay out what is working, analyze the results through Google Analytics and pulling in all the pieces, as a group, you can tackle what is next.
It may be enhancing the most popular pages you have to ensure you move people along on the journey toward a conversation with your sales team. It may be creating a podcast or other content that appeals to your existing customers as the “inside group” rather than only talking to them when you want to sell them something new.
Jeanne Hopkins goes through ways to bring out the best in the existing marketing plan, letting go of what’s not working and allowing companies to divide and conquer what needs to be done to engage, then celebrating the mountain of measurable successes as a group. Join us for, “Making Use of What Marketers Are Doing Right.”
Listen to the full episode here:
5. Mastering Competitive Analysis for Sales Success
In this final episode of the Foundations of Business Series on Rooted in Revenue, Rob Brodo, the co-founder and CEO of Advantexe, and Susan Finch discuss competitive analysis as a foundation of business acumen. They first identify who the real competitors are and how to spot them. They also explain how scanning the environment, including social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, can help companies stay up to date on their competitors and innovations in the market. Rob emphasizes the importance of building trust with customers and having continuous dialogues with them to keep track of who is entering the market and who might be a potential threat. By doing so, companies can use the information gained from competitive analysis to fine-tune their message to either existing customers or new prospects and establish a strategic competitive advantage. Overall, this episode provides valuable insights and practical tips for conducting competitive analysis, regardless of a company’s size.
Listen to the full episode here:
4. Transform Employee Performance with Strategic Insight
In this episode, we cover the importance of understanding business strategy for every person working for a company. Our guest is Rob Brodo. Rob is the Co-Founder and CEO of Advantexe. Rob talks about how many CEOs struggle with leading an organization that lacks a clear understanding of their value proposition to customers. The discussion includes the difference between the “believers” and “non-believers,” and the importance of knowing the company’s strategy and its impact on a company’s success. Listen to this first part of a 4 part series on understanding business strategy and how it can benefit your organization.
Listen to the full episode here:
3. The Importance of a Playbook and Just Sitting for 30 Days
Too many times a new CMO or CRO takes a position in a company and immediately wants to make changes without really observing to see what has been working, experience the company culture and getting to know the team. Jeanne Hopkins has been a CMO or CRO for many notable companies, including HubSpot, Ipswitch, Continuum, and currently OneScreen.ai. She knows the people are the greatest asset a company. In this episode Jeanne talks with Susan about her playbook and how important it is for it to align with that of any company she works for. Sometimes adjustments need to be made. Sometimes the company she is joining doesn’t have a playbook so they start a fresh one based on Jeanne’s. It’s a huge value she brings – the ability to observe and pull from the wide range of experiences and successes she’s had in B2B tech. Join us for this episode of Rooted in Revenue, “The Importance of a Playbook and Just Sitting for 30 Days.”
Listen to the full episode here:
2. You will make more money, work fewer hours, and have less stress – Todd Duncan promises you this.
Sales Managers and Leaders – you need to get your sales teams up 3x. Susan Finch’s guest is Todd Duncan. A great place to start is with his golden nugget of a tip. At the end of each hour at the 55-minute rule. In the last 5 minutes of every hour, review what you did in the last hour. What was productive? What worked? What didn’t work? If you simply start with this ONE tip, you’ll be on your way to working much smarter in the following hours. Waiting until the week’s end, or the month’s end is too late for this review to make adjustments and improve.
He’ll also give his opinion as to why sales pros slip back into bad habits after having great coaching and training. One word – discipline.
And TRUST – the most important thing to earn and the easiest to lose. How do you get back on track?
What is your WHY? What is your deep motivation? How does an action allow you to achieve something that is really emotionally important to you? You will want to listen to this more than once to fully absorb these huge tips you can start today.
And when you’re done listening, go over to ToddDuncan.com and sign up for everything he offers. Follow him on all social channels. As Corey Frank from the Market Dominance Guys says, “Invest ONE hour per day on LEARNING and IMPROVING yourself.” This is a great place to start. Everything can improve – you need to accept that and be willing to do the work to improve – every day.
Listen to the full episode here:
1. Follow Up On the Leads, We’ll Do the Rest
At least a few times a month, I hear from a potential new client that their email marketing efforts produce no results. Once we sit and talk about their process, and how they follow up with the leads they get pretty quiet. This isn’t uncommon. If you are struggling to create and execute targeted marketing campaigns that drive new business, you are not alone, especially for small businesses. It’s critical to the growth of your business, but you don’t have the time or the resources to do it and you cannot afford expensive marketing software or a high-priced marketing professional. Many of these small businesses are a team of one, two, or three trying to wear all the hats. They are great at what the company does, but they are not writers, they are not marketers, but they know they need to do this to get in front of existing customers and prospects. Larry Caretsky, Founder of Commence – a trusted name in CRM is our guest today. Listen to this episode to hear how Commence has solved this common issue of starting, but then dropping the ball on everything after the email is sent through a campaign. There is an answer. Join Larry and Susan for, “Follow Up On the Leads, We’ll Do the Rest.”
Listen to the full episode here:
