Tag: entrepreneurship

No barrier

FabrizioLeave a comment

It’s easy to fall into the familiar refrain that goes: “B2B marketing is boring”.

That is just an alternative version of the hit: “We have always done it this way”.

The reality though is that most marketers don’t have the guts – sure, sometimes it is the budget, or the time, or the team, but let’s be realistic, it is mainly the guts – to try anything new.

Fortunately, some do. And some others do as well.

There is literally no barrier to B2B marketing today.

Just go experiment.

Note: the image in this blog post is from Postman‘s graphic novel, The API-first World.

Drama

FabrizioLeave a comment

Organizations are perfect sets for dramas.

The problem is that drama is a great way to keep people busy and a poor way to keep people engaged, motivated, creative, purposeful.

While everyone is waiting for the next big reveal, no one will commit to a new idea.

While everyone is betting on which of the two executives will win the next argument, no one is listening to what customers are saying or grasping the emerging trend in the market.

While everyone is invested in wowing their managers, no one will buy into the vision and values that would make employees, shareholders, customers, and community better off.

That feeling of overwhelm, of tiredness, of pointlessness is not due to the job. It’s due to drama.

When you get rid of the spaces where drama flourishes – the hidden information, the decisions behind closed doors, the selected circles, the executive approvals, the vertical silos -, you can repurpose the resources to allow your people and your business to grow.

As you go

FabrizioLeave a comment

We would like there to be a simple answer. And the reality, of course, is that there is none.

We would love the answer to be in the next article we read, the next podcast episode we listen to, the next online class we register for – even though we know we will never have the time, or the motivation, or the incentive to actually take it.

We would love our beloved go-to influencer to share their secret sauce. We would pay hard earned money to get it from their very own voice. We are desperate for it, so much so we convince ourselves that if only we would take the recommendation in the latest LinkedIn post they shared, everything would be fine.

The reality, of course, is that there is no secret sauce.

Every situation, every context, every team, every product, every go-to-market, every business model is different. You can apply some of your own previous expertise, or some of someone else’s previous expertise, but you’ll better do it carefully.

Starting with listening and asking loads of questions, seeing what you can take and what you need to drop, agreeing with others on the next important steps to take together.

That’s probably the only bullet that looks somewhat silvery.

Come up with the plan as you go.