Bob Gilbreath

The best—and worst—part about collaborating with small- and medium-sized businesses can be the founder. Present company included. Founders are brilliant, passionate, entrepreneurial, and visionary. And sometimes that can be limiting. Read below how agency owners like myself manage the challenges—and opportunities—that come with working with SMBs. Forbes Councils #partnerships #leadership https://lnkd.in/e-uGiSUF

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"As a CMO, if you don't get the right data and measurement in place, you're writing your own death certificate." Thank you for the quote Lindsay Slipacoff Cournoyer (hopefully, I got the quote right from our chat). We see this over and over: A marketing leader starts at a new B2B SaaS company. The company hasn't invested in ops, has terrible GTM ops foundation/data. CMO tries to make decisions with zero data to help them. They try to invest in ops but there are budget and resourcing hurdles. The pain grows, they can't do their job effectively, and they leave (or worse). Every situation has its own nuances, but I believe that if a company is ready to invest in a CMO, they should either have: 1. [Preferred] Invested in building a solid GTM operations foundation BEFORE hiring them vs. AFTER. 2. [Better than nothing] Give them a budget to fix the foundation from day 1. It can take 3-6 months for some companies to have the foundation fixed and starting to generate reliable data. So, CEOs, need to be honest with themselves when hiring marketing leadership if they are actually setting the CMO up for success. CMOs are given several months to prove themselves, but if they are inheriting a operational diaster and can't make clear decisions (and there isn't a clear roadmap to improving the data and measurement) how are they going to be successful? TLDR: invest in ops earlier than you think. #gtmoperations #marketingoperations #revenueoperations  

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Startups need flexibility and cost-effective solutions. I'm inspired by Eric Martindale's post on supporting emerging brands. Here's my current approach: - Value-based pricing (never hourly) - Flexible retainers (always month-to-month) - Project-based for smaller brands - Upfront payment so I can focus on delivery If I agree to a scope, I'll work until it's done - value-based pricing benefits the brand because they know how much it costs upfront. I have boundaries around additional work, but I'm not going to stop until you're happy with the original scope. Startups can't generally do long contracts, so my retainers are month-to-month. (I can understand, however, with services like brokers where there is lots of investment up-front, that they may need a contract.) I make myself obsolete, never hoarding information. I hand out SOPs and templates like candy 🍭 I only work on the thorniest of issues - repetition is my kryptonite. 💥 I'll guide someone else to learn it! 🤓 ------------------------------------- I help innovative and #betterforyou #CPG founders grow their emerging brands with #finance leadership. Please reach out if you think I can help.

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LESSONS LEARNED + PRODUCT UPDATE When I finished reading "Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility" by Patty McCord and I couldn't recommend it enough, especially for team leads. One of the key takeaways for me was realizing that money is not the primary motivator for teams. Instead, working with top-level experts who are continuously growing their skills and facing challenging problems together is what drives a team the most. Another crucial lesson I learned from the book was the importance of full transparency within a team. Patty McCord's advice to report to the team even better than to investors resonated with me. By keeping the team informed about the real situation, goals, and progress, we were able to work more cohesively towards our objectives. Implementing these insights early on has had a significant impact on my team. Not only did they remain resilient during challenging times, but I also noticed a remarkable increase in the speed of delivering new features to our growing user base. We no longer struggle to meet deadlines like we did in the past when working in isolation. Overall, "Powerful" has been a game-changer for me as a team lead, and I am excited to see the continued success and growth of my team as we continue to apply these principles. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to build a strong and high-performing team. I am thrilled to showcase a new set of animations that we have recently integrated into the Editor, offering designers even more flexibility in their projects. #HTML5 #NoCode #Advertising #MarketingAutomation #DesignTool

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“Everybody is a marketer,” chimed a CMO from a $95mil health tech company, “no matter their background or expertise.” This generated a chorus of “amens” and a thoughtful discussion on leading through this challenge. This huddle of CMOs was way past lamentation. Even though it would be inconceivable for the CRO to offer financial advice to the CFO or the HR leader to drop security tips on the CISO, no such boundaries exist around Marketing. Marketing is fair game and everyone wants to play. Rather than fight this truth, many B2B CMOs are finding strength in acceptance and turning what could be a negative into an opportunity. Think of this as leadership jujitsu. It’s using an opponent's momentum to your advantage. Not that your fellow C-Suite members are opponents, it just seems that way sometimes. As one CMO shared, “Since they were going to weigh in anyway, I now involve my peers in all key marketing decisions.” “The remarkable part is that we now share responsibility in the outcomes, we all have skin in the game and it's not just on me,” this CMO added. Sorting through CEO suggestions The most problematic source of marketing ideas is your CEO. First-time CEOs often suffer from rapid-idea syndrome. Everything they read, every event they attend, every conversation they have results in “fresh” input for their CMO (and the rest of the leadership team). And, first-time CMOs rarely have the confidence or experience to handle these barrages. Chaos ensues. Veteran CMOs deploy a variety of approaches. One 3x CMO noted, “My rule is 50% of what they suggest I can ignore (bad idea and they forget it anyway), 40% are good ideas but not relevant at present so I park for later, 10% are smart ideas or passion projects that need to be acted on immediately.” “Amazingly, I have seen this ratio apply to my last 3 CEOs,” the CMO added. Training a meddlesome CEO In an ideal world, every CEO would be great at their job. They would know how to be a leader. They would understand their three fundamental roles: ⚡ Set a clear vision 🦋 Hire a team that can fulfill the vision 💸 Allocate resources to turn the vision into a reality Because it’s not an ideal world, many CEOs are micromanagers. Their insecurities drive them into the weeds and drive their direct reports crazy. These CEOs can’t help themselves. But CMOs can – by learning how to coach and lead their CEOs by example. Thus, I’m adding coaching expertise to the long list of must-have skills for CMOs. While I can’t possibly cover CEO coaching in this post, here are three suggestions from executive coach Susan Gurnik: 🐧 Build trust by listening deeply to the CEO 🐧 Help the CEO to listen deeply to you 🐧 Create a common language that fosters trust and understanding Susan joined us for an instructive Bonus Huddle and explained these points in depth. Let me know if you’d like a sneak peek of the recording. 

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🎙️ Tomorrow on The Covert Code #alohapodcast, I had a fantastic conversation with Todd Robertson, President & CEO of Hyperspective, about how virtual and augmented reality, 3D animation, and immersive content are transforming business and customer engagement. If you want insights into the future of immersive tech, don’t miss this one! 🎧 Stream it on thecovertcode.com or your favorite platform like #Spotify, #Apple, or #Amazon. #Innovation #VirtualReality #AugmentedReality #CustomerExperience #Podcast

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Optionality’s Fall will be Fierce! We slacked a bit over the summer, too. We took a break from webinars and podcasts in July and August. But now we’re back with that new school clothes feeling, and we’ve got some opportunities to share with you. 🔥 September’s fireside webinar: This Friday, September 13 at 12PM PT Hear from journalist and author Brigid Schulte about why work stopped working for so many of us and what we can do about it. Her new book (Over Work) covers both problem and solutions. 🤝 Announcing our first Optionality IRL event October 2nd in Silicon Valley! Thanks to our host, Extreme Networks and its WIN Alliance (their women’s ERG), it’s time for us to start meeting IRL. We’re collaborating to celebrate Optionality member Maria Ross and her new book, The Empathy Dilemma, exploring how empathetic leaders can balance the practice of compassion with performance and protecting one’s personal boundaries. 🕛 September Office Hours: for Premium members, Wednesday, 9/11/24, at 12PM PT. This month, a member is going to workshop her learnings on effective cold email outreach (no, this isn't a paradox!) 👩 👴 👵 Working Groups: Currently, we have a working group dedicated to helping members bring a book to life. And we have a working group dedicated to personal positioning. If you're great at helping other people articulate their personal brand, differentiation, and value proposition but SUCK at doing it for yourself, this is the working group for you. 🧞‍♀️ And don’t forget The Wisdom Exchange! A place to get just-in-time advice, learn a new skill, or get a helpful nudge toward making progress on any number of goals. Link for more details and registration for any/all fall activities: https://lnkd.in/gAMfTE5z

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CMOs at tech companies rarely ask this important question when they seek agency help: “Where on your client ladder do we rank?” You’re a Series A company and you wanna work with the agency that Apple uses? Great, but you better be ready to be a low priority for your shiny new agency. Make sure you ask all prospective clients where you fit in their world.

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Since no one learns Product Marketing in school, 🚘 Nitin Kartik created his own ⭐ Product Marketing School.⭐ I loved joining him to share a hot topic in my recent conversations - positioning and bringing it to life via thought leadership. Check out the video below and let me know what you think! #productmarketing #b2bmarketing #thoughtleadership

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The local AI movement continues to build momentum. Don't blink. (I'm serious!) Real flags are being planted, especially around #ResponsibleAI. Groups like #Cincy AI for Humans continue to pack the University of Cincinnati’s UC Digital Futures building, proving that the progress is not only real and meaningful but wonderfully authentic. Startups like my own BrandRank.AI are popping up. Another group, CAIC (Cincy AI Catalyst, which I co-founded with Carl Fraik, is pushing responsible AI, AI in education, startup creation, and putting the Midwest on the national map. On top of that yet another force, the Enterprise Technology Association (led by Summer Crenshaw) is spearheading with CAIC and other groups are pushing Cincy AI Week June 11-13 (yes right around the corner). Today we build a huge whiteboard of ideas, concepts, and recommendations for the event. We expect quite a few national leaders to make the trek out here. Again, go to cincyaiweek.com to learn more. Jon Salisbury Nate Sowder Kelly Cohen Jocile Ehrlich Zachary Huhn Christopher Brock Helen Todd (Human) Kendra Ramirez Rob Richardson Elisha Herrmann Michael Beck, MBA Neville G. Pinto JP Nauseef ryan hays Katie Trauth Taylor, PhD Maddie Bell ⚡️💬🗓️ Liz Engel Marco Pagani Mike Halloran Gregory Crawford

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The $200 Million Lesson in Pricing for What You're Worth One of the most important lessons I've learned as a fractional CMO is the power of strategic pricing - not just for revenue, but as a critical marketing signal indicating your product's value and positioning. There's a story about graffiti artist David Choe that illustrates this well. Early on, Choe struggled selling his art for $200. But when his finances improved, he defiantly raised prices to $10,000 and above. By pricing himself in a premium tier, Choe started attracting wealthy buyers and his art began selling at the higher price points. This bold move caught the attention of Sean Parker, who offered Choe Facebook stock to create an iconic mural - ultimately earning Choe $200 million. The takeaway? Pricing the same offering differently shapes perceived value and attracts distinct audiences. Pricing is usually a product marketing function, but it's also an important signal of your brand positioning. Apple and Walmart are prime examples - their contrasting pricing strategies attract very different customer targets aligned with their brands. Apple's premium pricing signals luxury, innovation and status, drawing consumers willing to pay more. Walmart's low-cost strategy signals value, attracting price-conscious shoppers. For entrepreneurs and small businesses, strategic pricing backed by your brand narrative is key to working with clients who appreciate your expertise. Underpricing risks commoditization rather than being seen as a premium solution and strategic partner. The right pricing positions you to focus on delivering meaningful impact to audiences that truly value your work. So I encourage business owners - thoroughly understand both the intrinsic worth of your offering and the value perception you want to create through pricing. #b2bmarketing #b2bcontentmarketing #b2bbranding #b2bdigitalmarketing #FractionalCMO Photo by Angèle Kamp on Unsplash

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🔥 Hot Take: Is great communication more important than a great product? 🔥 I posed this tough question in a recent WordBirds Podcast episode: "Without strategic brand communication, most products will fail." Rachel Adam offered an honest and nuanced take. Sure, we all want to believe a great product can sell itself through word of mouth. But in reality, poor communication can sink even the best products, while great communication can prop up mediocre ones… for a while. In today’s crowded market, it’s not just about what you sell, but how you communicate it. 🎙 Full episode: https://lnkd.in/ee5u_Kak Agree or disagree? 🤔 Drop your thoughts in the comments. #branding #communications #marketing #wordbirds #brandstrategy #spicytakes

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Good news on Fridays. Bad news on Mondays. Brands often ask me, at the end of an agency search, or RFP process, how they should let down the other agencies. A few tactical tips. 1) Once you know -- rip the band aid and be direct. Put them out of their misery. Don't beat around the bush. Don't drag it out by not replying or by saying things like 'we're still talking internally' if that's not actually the case. The agencies will like/respect you more. 2) If applicable -- give praise to what the agency did well during the process. Things you would recommend they do not change. 3) If applicable -- call out 1-2 things you think they could have done better or that contributed to you NOT picking them. 4) If this was a pitch scenario -- offer a call. Offer them a 15-min chat to ask questions. Great agencies will be THRILLED to get feedback. If an agency declines that call -- you made the right decision not selecting them :) Pitches take a lot of time, effort, and work. A post mortem call should be a standard offering. 5) Bonus points if you call with the news, but email works as well. 6) Deliver good news on Friday, before the weekend. Your new agency will be thrilled! Deliver bad news on Monday afternoon. Don't ruin the other agency's weekend. And, if you're looking for an actual email template to send? Steal this one. Hi ________, Really appreciate all the hard work in putting together the pitch and for your excitement and passion throughout the process. After careful consideration and a very tough deliberation, we ultimately selected a different agency. While I know that's presumably not the email you wanted to receive, I did want to praise you and your team for ________ and ________. The selected agency had more experience with _______ and their ________ resonated more with the team. I'd be happy to chat live for 15-minutes if you and your team have any additional questions. Thank you again and please do keep in touch. As additional opportunities arise, would love to keep the door open to collaborate. Best, _______.

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⏰ If you have not read this book, think again. There are certain books I categorize as "should be re-read every single year." This book would be on that list for certain. As someone in the middle of a brand transformation, this book was a great though-partner. We are rethinking all elements of a business and brand. And, most importantly, leading others to approach things differently than "the way it has always been done." I look forward to sharing lessons learned in upcoming meetings to spur new takes on old conversations. Beyond business, this book highlights ways we can help our kids, and ourselves, challenge what we think we "know." 🤔 A few thought-provoking questions I will take with me; 1. If you created a pie chart of the tools you use to make decisions, how would it look divided by 1) Assumptions, 2) Instincts, 3) Habits or 4) Having an Open Mind? 2. When you are discussing something with someone, are you a preacher, prosecutor, politician or scientist? 3. Are you practicing the art of persuasive or influential "listening" to help people see new potential? 4. I have a support network. Do I have a challenge network? 5. Asking "what evidence would change your mind?" Or, "how did you originally form this opinion?" Thank you Adam Grant for another helpful book showing me what I don't really know. 😉

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Now that I work with a lot of #founder/CEOs, I kinda feel like an advertising coach or therapist. Not complaining. I love these convos. 😍 👇 Wanted to share about a call I had this week with a brilliant friend who founded a very successful eCommerce company. He's now focused on scaling it. He knew I worked for a competitor so he wanted to pick my brain about what #advertising worked, and what didn't. Our convo revealed a blind spot that some start ups have. CEO: "We can't get more than 25% ROAS." Me: "Yikes...Really? but your product is the BEST out there" I think for a second. Me: "Hmm... My company was the OPPOSITE of your company...Our product was weak. BUT we had an awesome, well known brand. Our #ROAS was around 2 when I began. Made revenue but lots of room for improvement. When I hired a new agency to implement a performance ad program, they got us to an 8 ROAS. In just 7 months." His 25% ROAS vs. my company's 800% ROAS. How is this possible? How did we get an 8X return on ad spend - with a meh product? He and his marketing lead were stumped. Their ROAS was just 25% meaning, for every ad dollar they spent, they only got back 25 cents. The big takeaways: 💪 Anyone can run ads online. Stop wasting your money if you're doing a DIY method or working with a generalist. Instead, hire experts - use a data-driven and a full funnel approach. Hire freelance experts or a small agency. It takes specialized planners - one for search and the other for social/display. Find those small consultant teams or super small scrappy agencies who relentlessly optimize and are laser focused on CPL and CPA/CPS. They do exist. A 2-3 person consultant team is all you need. 💪 Build your brand. A strong brand is like potent fuel for your ROAS. Even when your product isn't the best, the brand saves the day and gets an immediate sale. And a great brand saves you when you run into product issues or when your competitor's product is suddenly better than yours. 💪 Your ads can do BOTH: build your brand while getting a quick sale. Put a brand value prop (tagline!) and feature a product CTA in the SAME ad. So, if you have a great product, congrats. That's the hard part. The advertising is the easy part. And it's relatively fast -- just a couple months and you can get your ROAS to dramatically improve. If I did it, anyone can. What do you think? Does this resonate with your #digital #advertising experience?

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I was reading today’s Out-Of-Pocket newsletter (which is really good, by the way), and it got me thinking about hiring in health tech and how we improve the process around that. When I interview folks for a marketing role, I ask why they are interested in the company, and often I’ll get “Because I really align with the mission” or “Company X is helping improve access to care for people.” And with that answer, I continue on with my barrage of questions, satisfied with their response. Box, checked. But what does that mean, really? Every solution being solved by a health tech company has a negative trade off somewhere. Using the access to care example, if more people can access care…. 🤔Do you then need to hire more doctors to see them, which increases costs that get passed on to patients? 🤔Or, do doctors just have to see more patients faster, which puts more stress on the physician and less attention paid to the patient? For mission-driven job applicants, it’s worth understanding what tradeoffs they are okay with, because there will ALWAYS be one. It’s better to lose that candidate now than later if they aren’t in the same page about what your definition of “improving healthcare” is. Or, you just might find that for the right comp package, they might be willing to accept a mission they aren’t 100% aligned with. But at least everyone’s cards are out on the table and going in with eyes wide open. At the end of the day, health tech is a business, period. They have to make money to survive. Make sure candidates are comfortable with the tough business decisions your company may need to make in order to stay afloat.

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Stop launching products DTC just because it’s an “easy channel to turn on.” You should launch on the DTC channel because you’ve found a way to leverage it in a way that gives you an edge. I think this truth should be applied to all channel selection decisions. How does that channel serve your strategy? Have you identified how your brand can uniquely leverage that channel to give you and edge and win? If you can’t answer these questions then launching into DTC, or any other channel for that matter, is just a “spray and pray” strategy.

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Keep Market Research Accidental... When you speak to anyone about how they ended up working in market research, the almost inevitable response is that they stumbled into it. That it was an accident. Not by design. It’s about the biggest cliché going. I don’t think 'accidental' is the problem here. That’s part of what makes it a nice world to work in; less optimised and cookie cutter-fied by professionalism than lots of other lines of work. What needs fixing is making sure the accidentals stumbling into it aren’t largely all the same as each other; looking the same, sounding the same, acting the same, etc - because that actually doesn’t sound much of an accident at all. Shaping a more accessible type of 'accidental' for the industry lies in a mix of things: broadening entry points, celebrating unconventional success stories, removing gatekeeping barriers, communicating beyond typical circles, mentoring non-traditional candidates etc. (Not 100% sold on the idea of blind resumes; I get the logic but the implication that people should feel ashamed of their heritage or level of education or whatever, and should hide it away, sits uneasily with me; like the problem is with them, not with the industry doing the recruiting). What it’s hopefully not about is standardising entry to the degree (including needing a degree) where everyone’s path is predictable, managed and based on rigid criteria, thereby removing the accidental, and all of the good stuff that comes with it. Mega-sized tangent (but hey, I’m going with it) - reminds me of Austin’s ‘Keep Austin Weird’ slogan, a rallying cry for independent spirit and wonky creativity. Still as much a virtue for that city as ‘accidental’ is to market research - but as told in this piece, also in need of a rethink to deal with forces that make it a less accessible, less diverse kind of weird than it should be.

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