Funnel Radio

Tenlo's Chief Technology Officer and podcast host, Tessa Burg joined Susan Finch to talk about the recent merger with Mod Op. Tessa talks about the expanded opportunities for their team, their clients, and the beauty of having an HR department. Sometimes trading the owner hat for a W2 is a very good thing. Tune in for this 15-minute visit, "From owner to employee - when mergers align with your vision."
About Tenlo:
Tenlo is a digital B2B marketing agency. They use data-driven marketing for lead generation and customer retention. Digital and sales tactics are aligned to drive more traffic to your website, trade show booth and sales team. Their passion for increasing a digital marketer's contribution to sales is pipeline marketing—a discipline focused on results. Learn more: https://tenlo.com .
About Mod Op:
At Mod Op, everything they do starts with understanding their clients’ marketing opportunities. Then, they identify the unique methods to help them achieve those goals. That may mean launching a complete, integrated advertising and PR campaign or tapping into some of their more specialized expertise for a given project.  Learn more: https://modop.com .
They have experts in B2C and B2B communications with deep industry experience in consumer and lifestyle products, energy, media and entertainment, technology, and travel and hospitality. Currently, they have offices in New York City, Miami, Kansas City, Dallas, Portland, Los Angeles, and Panama City, Panama.

You know the music, you know how it works. Play along with our version - Funnel Feud to hear the answers to these questions:
1. What is a reason you would want a do-over with a guest?
2. What is the reason your podcast failed?
3. What is your favorite podcast equipment?
We asked 100 podcast hosts, producers and teams and the answers in this episode are what they said. You can get the full list from us - just email us. If you want to know our favorite equipment, we'll tell you that, too! It will be part of another upcoming episode on Behind The Mic - Funnel Media Group's favorite equipment and tools for producing podcasts.
 

B2B Podcasts have matured to reach a passionate narrowcast audience.  The Two Podcast Guys, Paul Roberts, and Jim Obermayer discuss the differences between broadcasting and narrowcasting and the benefits of narrowcasting for B2B Makreters.    This program’s audience is every B2B marketer.

Before books and before drawings on cave walls, there were stories. Stories of the human struggle—maybe heroic stories, personal trials, or business successes and failures that draw in listeners. When someone says they have a story to tell, others grow quiet, shift their gaze to the storyteller, and wait for what comes next. It’s a natural yearning to hear something that hasn’t been shared very often.
Yes, each of us has a thousand stories. Since getting into the business of producing podcasts, I have found that podcasting and broadcasting, in general, are a natural medium for storytellers.
For this podcast on the Funnel Radio Channel, we discussed the importance of storytelling in radio podcasting.  We know instinctively that anecdotes fuel conversation, and Darryl Praill, CMO of VanillaSoft and the host of INSIDE Inside Sales, called into the program and talked about how the beginning of each of his podcasts generally starts with a personal story of his own. He then explained how that story is interwoven with the interview of his guest.
Jeanne Hopkins, CMO of Lola.com, called into the show talked about her podcast, Table Fries, where she interviews the women in her company. Jeanne says she doesn’t tell stories herself. Instead, she likes hearing the stories of the women in the company: how they came to be a part of Lola, what they’re doing now, and what they want to accomplish.
Susan Finch, VP of Operations at the Funnel Radio Channel, talked about the joy of storytelling and its impact on the listener and the storyteller. Susan has been involved in several thousand podcasts on the channel and she said that in the process of telling a story the storyteller becomes animated and it becomes something the audience follows and enjoys.
There is something about two people brought together in a podcast, maybe separated by hundreds or thousands of miles, who discuss the problems and challenges of the day. When these thoughts are shared with thousands of others who seek to know how to overcome their own tests, it becomes personal for everyone.
While many people hope their podcast will relate to people—maybe establish their own thought leadership or enhance their personal brand or the brand of the company—most of them realize after they get into it that it’s all about storytelling.  It’s personal and compelling, sometimes humorous, and often entertaining, but seldom dull.
Today, there are official storytellers employed by companies to promote the art of storytelling in business. Some courses and workshops teach people what they already know deep down inside: people thrive on stories.
In business, old salespeople have taught young salespeople that the secret to success as a salesperson is the ability to tell a credible story about themselves or maybe about their products and services. And now, young marketers are finding out that podcasts are a natural medium for them and their companies.
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 Funnel Radio Channel is hosted byJames Obermayer, which is a   program on the Funnel Radio Channel.    

 
Program title: It isn't Too Late to Have a Sales Plan for 2020
Did you know that on average only 25% of B2B sales managers have a sales plan? Aside from a forecast, compensation plan, and territory alignments and additions, 75% of sales managers aren’t creating a written, objective-strategies and tactics plan similar to a marketing plan. A sales forecast is not a sales plan.
Our guest this week, Matt McKnight, Founder of McKnight Advisors LLC, a Sales Xceleration Partner, says few managers have a SWOT, customer plan, target market programs, territory expansion strategies, a tactical action plan, customer attrition and margin calculators, product introduction schedules, or a multi-year revenue plan. In other words, they are flying blind and hoping to make forecast. Hope is not a sales plan. Listen and learn.
Our Guest Matt McKnight
Matt is the President and Founder of McKnight Advisors LLC, a Sales Xceleration Partner.  His firm helps customers launch, expand or improve their sales operations to accelerate revenue growth. With a 30-year history of sales leadership, Matt has extensive experience and success in start-up, private and public companies. His company’s approach is based on accountability, transparency, integrity, and trust focusing on the people, process and strategy to achieve sustained growth for its customers.
Matt McKnight can be reached at 847.867.5963 and at mmcknight@salesxceleration.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-mcknight-2463121/
Sales Xceleration Background (www.salesxceleration.com)
With over 100 Advisors across North America, Sales Xceleration provides outsourced sales consultants to small businesses and mid-sized corporations that want to drive revenue growth.  In 2019, Inc. magazine announced that Sales Xceleration is No. 2353 on its Annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. 
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Funnel Radio Channel is hosted byJames Obermayer, which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.    

Direct Marketer and Cartoonist Stu Heinecke reveals how it is possible to use direct marketing techniques to achieve a 100% response rate by salespeople asking for meetings. In his previous book, How to Get a Meeting with Anyone: The Untapped Selling Power of Contact Marketing (2016) Heinecke discuss his campaign strategies which have brought his clients to unprecedented success in obtaining meetings with people unknown to the salesperson.
In ”Get the Meeting” he steps up further to reveal details about techniques and campaigns (which can be a campaign of one to one). He says that this isn’t only a marketing book. His concepts can work for an individual or hundreds of salespeople.
About Stu Heinecke
Stu Heinecke is a bestselling business author, a hall of fame-nominated marketer and one of The Wall Street Journal cartoonists.
In How to Get a Meeting with Anyone (2-2016), he introduced the world to "Contact Marketing," which uses micro-focused campaigns to connect with critically-important accounts and prospects.
Using the twenty categories of contact campaigns in the book, readers have gone on to produce explosive scaling of careers, businesses and lives. In Even More Outrageous Ways to Get a Meeting with Anyone (10-2019), Heinecke adds more techniques, tips and strategies, more than sixty illustrated case studies, an updated Contact Marketing model that sets a new baseline for response--at 100%--and introduces "Pocket Campaigns" as a replacement for business cards.
Get the Meeting!: An Illustrative Contact Marketing Playbook with detailed case studies. • Kindle$14.49 • Paperback$24.95
Stu Heinecke can be reached at CartoonLink

Seleste Lunsford, Chief Research Officer of CSO Insights discusses the surprising results of their latest Sales Performance study with Funnel Radio host Jim Obermayer. She talks about how the 900  companies in the study report that 95% are on their revenue plan and yet other parts of the report show some disturbing sales performance outcomes that show there could be trouble on the horizon. It appears companies are hiring more sales reps, but sales performance is down per rep; this means sales expenses are up and with any downturn there will be large problems.
About the report and how to get a copy:  
Selling in the Age of Ceaseless Change: 2018-2019 Sales Performance Study.  
Sections:
Revenue Are up Sales Performance is Not.
Customer-Centricity Separates Top-Performing Organizations
Lead Generation Suffers from Organization Silos
Planning improves New Account Capture
Account Renewals Dominate Revenues
Win Rates of Forecasted Deals Vex Sales Leaders
Roughly 900 global sales leaders were surveyed to identify the four main objectives underpinning their performance improvement efforts in the coming 12 months. These main objectives were improving lead generation, capturing new accounts, expanding penetration into existing customers, and increasing win rates. The purpose of this report is to show how sales organizations today are performing in terms of these objectives, how that compares to recent years and what successful companies are doing that’s working for improving sales performance.
GET THE REPORT
GET THE REPORT SUMMARY
About Seleste Lunsford
Seleste Lunsford has consulted with sales and service organizations for more than 20 years, helping them acquire, grow and retain client relationships. As Managing Director of CSO Insights, Seleste guides CSO Insights’ research focus areas and define its market deliverables. An experienced business leader, Seleste has led a range of consulting, product development, professional services and operations functions.
She has co-authored two books, “Secrets of Top-Performing Salespeople” and “Strategies that Win Sales.” She’s also written articles on sales effectiveness found in Selling Power, Entrepreneur, Chief Learning Officer and PharmaVoice, as well as DestinationCRM.com and HR.com. She’s proud to have supported some of the world’s most recognized companies including AAA, Alliance Bernstein, American Express, Arrow Electronics, Citibank, Convergys, U.S. Department of Defense, Office Depot, Traveler’s Insurance and Verizon Wireless.
Seleste earned both her bachelor’s degree and MBA from Florida State University.
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Funnel Radio is hosted by James Obermayer and sponsored by the radio/podcast company the Funnel Media Group LLC.

Ahh, the sweet promise of Sales Enablement.  If only the right content could be created to support what salespeople really need to sell.  If only sales training were more than product training. If only sales enablement enabled salespeople to be the best that they can be. If only the marketing and sales people could talk to each other to discuss sales enablement. If only sales enablement would benefit the prospect. 
Our guest this week, the Chief Readiness Officer at Brainshark says all of this is not only possible but when solved it brings a ROI that any CFO would be proud to claim.  Find out about the three baskets of measurement that Jim and Brainshark say are not only possible, but expected when Sales Enablement is done right.
Jim Ninivaggi Chief Readiness Officer
Leveraging more than 30 years of B2B sales productivity expertise, Jim leads Brainshark’s sales enablement and readiness strategy. Jim previously worked as a sales enablement analyst with SiriusDecisions, where he provided clients with data, insight and thought leadership to maximize sales effectiveness and accelerate revenues. Today, he uses his knowledge and expertise to prepare the Brainshark sales force with the knowledge and skills to optimize every buyer interaction.
Why Brainshark?
For nearly two decades, our solutions have helped companies improve the way they communicate with, educate and inspire their customer-facing teams.
Today, we’re proud to provide our customers with the most comprehensive, proven platform for sales enablement and readiness.
More Ninivaggi  from Sales Pipeline Radio on the Funnel Radio Channel
Sales Enablement’s Evolution from a Front Row Seat with Jim Ninivaggi
The Continued Evolution of the Sales Enablement Function