The Alignment Podcast

This episode I speak with Maggie Safro, CEO of Meres Consult located in London. She is an author, speaker, advisor and consultant that focuses on transformation, business growth, and peak performance. Maggie has significant cross-industry experience with a special interest in high-growth B2B tech companies embarking on ambitious growth strategies and digital transformation. Her more recent work with world class advisory, research, and consulting firms like Gartner and WPP has led her to partnering on numerous strategic sales/marketing growth programs. What you'll learn from our conversation: >> Importance of tying alignment efforts to corporate strategy to get better CEO and stakeholder buy-in >> Most relevant KPIs to focus on for an aligned revenue growth effort >> Alignment must start with decoding the buyer’s journey using insights from both Sales and Marketing >> The #1 question the CEO should be asking every head of Sales and Marketing Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Moran Cerf, Ph.D. He is a professor of Neuroscience and Business at Northwestern University. His research uses methods from neuroscience to understand the underlying mechanisms of our psychology, behavior changes, emotion, decision making and dreams. He holds multiple patents and his works have been published in wide-circulation academic journals such as Nature and Journal of Neuroscience, as well as popular science journals such as Scientific American Mind, Wired, New Scientist and more. Additionally, his work has been portrayed in numerous media and cultural outlets such as CNN, BBC, Bloomberg, NPR, Time, MSNBC, and dozens of others. He has been featured in venues such as the Venice Art Biennial and China's Art, Science and Technology association, and has contributed to magazines such as Forbes, The Atlantic, Inc., and others. What you'll learn from our conversation: >> What neuroscience teaches us about human collaboration >> Multiple types of empathy are need for a team to be optimally effective >> Methods to improve trust between sales and marketing teams >> How to construct reward systems that actually incentivize better collaboration and higher performance Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Nancy Nardin - Founder of Smart Selling Tools and Co-Founder of Vendor Neutral - a company that helps enterprises identify technology requirements and discover practical industry solutions personalized for where they are in their technology journey. She is an expert in Sales Technology and Sales Transformation backed by 25+ years of experience as a sales executive in information technology and services. Her customer list includes Fortune 100 companies such as Microsoft, Intel, and Hewlett Packard as well as many of Silicon Valley’s hottest start-ups. What you'll learn from our conversation: > It’s no longer about MarTech or SalesTech, it’s about building an effective Revenue Tech Stack > The basic Revenue Tech you need to empower your team to close more deals > How AI is helping us sell smarter or more efficiently > Why leadership needs to invest more budget in SalesTech immediately Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions Visit jeffdavis2.com for more information about working together on speaking, coaching, or consulting engagements.

This episode I speak with Mike Schultz. He is the Founder and President at RAIN Group - a global sales training and performance improvement company that unleashes sales potential by delivering transformational experiences for clients. Beyond being a world-renowned speaker, researcher, and sales expert, he is also the author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller “Rainmaking Conversations”. Business Week, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, American Express OPEN, MSNBC, and hundreds of others have interviewed and featured Mike's original articles, research, and white papers. He has often appeared on top-ranked radio, TV, and podcast programs to discuss various sales topics and research findings. What you'll learn from our conversation: > The fact that buyers actually want to hear from sellers much earlier in the buying process and why > How the Paradox of Choice is killing your deals and what to do about it > The 2 most important questions you must be able to answer for b2b buyers today in order to get their attention and actually close business Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions Visit jeffdavis2.com for more information about working together on speaking, coaching, or consulting engagements.

This episode I speak with Peter Strohkorb - Founder/CEO of Peter Strohkorb International. He is a consultant and author of "The OneTEAM Method". He focuses on aligning Sales, Marketing, and Customer Experience (CX) with the way customers want to buy to make companies a customer magnet.  What you'll learn from our conversation: >Peter's "aha" moment about the way Sales and Marketing interacted with each other in the corporate setting >An alignment test that shows you how well your Sales and Marketing teams are actually collaborating >What happened in the 90's that caused today's current state of misalignment >Who should "own" alignment between Sales and Marketing within the company Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions Visit jeffdavis2.com for more information about working together on speaking, coaching, or consulting engagements.

This episode I speak with Roderick Jefferson - CEO of Roderick Jefferson & Associates, LLC which is sales enablement company focused on driving growth in small/mid-size companies and Fortune 500 corporations. He is also a founding member of the Sales Enablement Society which has the goal to better define the sales enablement functions and roles that currently exist within organizations and ultimately solve the vast disparities that exist in the profession today What you'll learn from our conversation: >The relationship between Sales Enablement and the strategic alignment of Sales and Marketing >A phased approach to decreasing time to revenue >The importance of focusing on customer value throughout the entire customer journey Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with David Coleman, collaboration expert and managing director of Collaborative Strategies, Inc. He has been an author and industry analyst on collaboration and digital transformation for the last 30 years. He is a columnist for CMSwire.com, CIO.com, and the Cutter IT Journal. He consults with management teams about the digital transformation in all of its many aspects What you'll learn from our conversation: How CEOs view the topic of collaboration. Gamification can be used to have effective and long lasting results in promoting collaboration. Where to start when attempting to align your sales and marketing teams. Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Justin Shriber - VP of Marketing at Linkedin. He has over 20 decades of experience in software as well as having roles in both sales and marketing. He helps us see and understand the future of Marketing and Sales Alignment. What you'll learn from our conversation: >The importance of language and how it can cause conflict between Sales and Marketing >Netflix has totally changed the game on how we should see Alignment and Customer Experience (CX) >What the future of Sales and Marketing Alignment looks like Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Dan Cilley - CEO of telemaxium and co-founder of Vendor Neutral. He is a technologist that is able to help company leaders get clarity on what technology they need to deploy into their organizations to enable growth acceleration.  What you'll learn from our conversation: >The fundamental components that are necessary for the modern day revenue tech stack >Technology is making it easier to quantify marketing's contribution to pipeline revenue >How to integrate AI and other advanced technology into the workflow of your teams to enable their productivity >The 3 questions that all leaders should be asking vendors before adding new technology to their organization Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Trish Bertuzzi. She is the CEO of the Bridge Group which works with technology companies to build, evolve or validate their inside sales strategies and the author of the author of The Sales Development Playbook. What you'll learn from our conversation: >How to align your BDR team within the organization for optimal performance >Who should "own" an alignment effort >The Revenue Tech Stack (sales + marketing tech) necessary to effectively sell in today's modern B2B environment Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Ted Corbeill. He is an accomplished military veteran who has taken the skills he has learned during active duty and transitioned them into creating innovative sales enablement programs.  What you'll learn from our conversation: >The difference between data, insights and intelligence and how they should be used in making sound business decisions >Don't overwhelm salespeople with random data, give them insights >The One Team, One Fight mantra for creating effective collaboration Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Debra Mashek, PhD. She is a professor of social psychology at Harvey Mudd College and has spent over two decades studying how people form relationships with each other, as well as the challenges and rewards of doing so. What you'll learn from our conversation: >The definition of collaboration and the spectrum in achieving it >5 necessary ingredients to sustainable organizational change >Empathy and its importance in helping Sales and Marketing work better together Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Tracy Eiler, CMO at InsideView and co-author of the book "Aligned to Achieve". She believes that "Marketing exists to make sales easier" (but they're not doormats) What you'll learn from our conversation: >The reason why Sales and Marketing have had this long-lasting conflict >How to get CEO support for an alignment effort >The metrics that sales and marketing leaders should be focused on to drive growth for the organization >The traditional sales funnel is dead Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

This episode I speak with Anthony Iannarino - international speaker, bestselling author, sales leader, and entrepreneur. He posts daily sales tips and insights to The Sales Blog. What you'll learn from our conversation: >How to adjust to the new non-linear sales process >What sales leaders should be requesting from Marketing to help their teams sell more effectively >How alignment can lead to higher-value sales conversations with prospects Music/Production: Chris "KID" Robinson, Hitmakuzz Productions

A brief explanation of why I created The Alignment Podcast