Episode Summary

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Ryan Schimmel interviews Greg Graham, a seasoned marketing operations expert, on the critical role of end-to-end testing, the value of adopting a macro view in marketing strategies, and how leaders can tap into their team's collective intelligence. The conversation delves into the importance of thorough testing, highlighting real-world examples and emphasizing the need to trust nothing and test everything. Greg's insights shed light on bridging the gap between individual tasks and broader perspectives within marketing teams, suggesting collaboration across functions and mapping out processes to drive value. Moreover, he explores effective ways for leaders to harness their team's experience before seeking external consultants, from reorganizing teams for improved collaboration to fostering controlled changes for fresh insights

About the Guest

Greg Graham is an expert in diagnosing, simplifying, and resolving demand generation problems to improve business performance. He particularly enjoys helping businesses that have great products and technologies but want the scale effect of a modern marketing and sales engine with the customer at the center. His approach to scaling revenue retention and growth is grounded in Six Sigma principles and has been recognized in multiple company awards. His hands-on approach increases productive leads, builds trust across sales, marketing, and technology teams, and shortens sales cycles lowering operational costs and building greater customer trust and enterprise value.

Connect with Greg Graham

Key Takeaways

- Shift perspective to view challenges holistically, driven by process optimization.

- Prioritize human relationships and avoid getting lost in complex tools and measurements.

- Start by being effective before scaling with technology. Don't overcomplicate tasks.

- Remember the human touch in communication, ensuring emails and interactions are relatable.

- Focus on interconnectedness in campaigns; avoid building disjointed components that lack cohesion.

- Thorough testing guarantees accurate outcomes, uncovering potential issues throughout the process for improvement.

- Collaboration across departments fosters comprehensive views, enhancing solutions and efficiency.

- Effective leadership optimizes team structure and encourages creativity to harness collective expertise.

- Controlled organizational changes spark fresh ideas, breaking routines and fostering adaptability.

- Storytelling and branding connect emotionally, conveying purpose and engaging audiences effectively.

- Diverse podcast guests enrich discussions, offering varied viewpoints and experiences.

- Process mapping and inter-departmental collaboration streamline efforts for value-driven results.

- Strategic team changes stimulate growth and rejuvenate dynamics for long-term success.

Quote

"Trust nothing, test everything... You can sit around a table and concoct these brilliant ideas, only to have one little single thing break and the entire campaign goes."– Greg Graham

Recommended Resources

Book:

Shout-outs

Daniel Sieger – Founder and Chief Storyteller at Stories for Good

Kent Peterson – Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer at McGraw Hill

Joseph Lapin – VP of Marketing at Bisk

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