Currently, every department in B2B companies is under immense pressure. And more often than not pressure leads to activities that don't drive value. That's why Ahmet and Julia in this episode talk about the Sales and Marketing activities they have done in their career, which they aren't proud of. What are the things they have done even though they knew they don't move the needle? Let's confess together and learn how to prevent focusing on activities that don't create value. 

The topics discussed in this episode:

• Marketers being tempted to present numbers that look better than they are in reality
• Why sellers think it's easier to lie if they don't know the answer
• How missing sales training can lead to mistakes
• The difference between click-baiting and quality content
• Why you can't get tired of creating content
• How content and our consumption thereof has changed
• Booking meetings to book meetings
• Focusing on lead generation vs. demand generation
• Sending terrible emails is quick and dirty
• How false is false advertising?

Brand awareness - every B2B is currently trying to build and increase their brand awareness, but why is it so important? In this episode Julia and Ahmet take a deep dive into the psychological impact brands have on our decision-making, and how B2B companies can use this to build their brand and create demand in the market. 

The topics discussed in this episode:

• The power of brands
• Branding vs. Brand awareness - What is the difference
• The brand psychology and its impact on our decision-making
• Why B2B companies are so far behind on branding 
• How B2B buyers make purchase decisions
• Does every B2B company need a brand?
• Why branding and content are intertwined
• Our favorite B2B brands that get it right

Sign up for the B2B Saas Growth Day on May 25th

Sources:

• When B2B brands influence the decision-making of buyers
• What B2B needs to know about their buyers

Listen to Shoot the SHFT for more content on how to turn your brand into a long-term asset

Everyone is talking about it, everyone has tested it, and everyone has implemented it - AI. In this episode Ahmet and Julia discuss the AI-based tools they use to get more efficient in their everyday work in B2B Sales and Marketing. They take a deep dive into the use cases for the different tools and tasks. 

The 4 use cases discussed in this episode are:

• Research
• Content creation
• Design
• Other (Graphs, Coding & Sound)

Here is a full list of the tools mentioned in the podcast:

1. Research

• Chat GPT 4
• AgentGPT
• AutoGPT
• Camel AGI
• Superpower ChatGPT
• Stability.ai

            2. Content Creation

• Copy.ai
• Writesonic
• Writer.com
• Autoblogging.ai
• Supermeme.ai
• Tome
• Lavender
• Smartwriter.ai

           3. Design

• Lumen5
• Canva
• Midjourney
• DALL-E 2
• Blue Willow
• Runway
• Uizard

           4. Other

• Notion (Project management)
• Chart GPT (Graphs)
• Taskade (Task management)
• Descript (Video editing)
• Wellsaidlabs (Text to speech)
• Github Copilot (Coding)
• Adobe Sound (Sound editing)

Go get your dream job! In this episode Julia and Ahmet share their best tips and tricks to land your dream job in Sales and Marketing. This episode is especially useful for newcomers who are looking to land their first job in the B2B industry, but also has lots of tips for everyone else that wants to go on a successful job hunt. 

Topics discussed in this episode:

• The power of networking
• How to choose your career path in Marketing
• The skills you need to start in Marketing
• Why applying is the same as selling
• How to make your application stand out
• How to reach out to the hiring manager
• How to handle the first interview
• What questions to bring to the interview

Check out Glassdoor to see if a company is a fit for you: https://www.glassdoor.com/

Playbooks, by now they're a buzzword, and yet too many B2B companies fail at creating, maintaining, and implementing playbooks that Sales and Marketing need. In this episode Ahmet and Julia dive deeper into what kind of playbooks are needed, why they're important, and what needs to be in them. 

Topics discussed in the episode:

• Do playbooks reduce creativity?
• Sales onboarding with vs without playbooks
• What is Demand Generation Playbook
• How playbooks help new employees
• What needs to be in an effective Sales playbook
• Why the CRM is an important part of a playbook
• Do we need standardized outreach cadences?
• Standardization vs. Creativity
• Why Marketing needs a playbook as well
• Why it's more fun to work in Sales and Marketing

The tech stack is much talked about and in this episode Julia and Ahmet take a deep dive into the tools and solutions Sales and Marketing need. This is an episode full of name dropping, recommendation, and useful tips on the most important sales and marketing tools that make a difference in the day-to-day work of busy marketers and sellers. 

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Who has the biggest tech stack - Sales vs Marketing
• What team adopts technology more
• CRM and Marketing automation tools
• The tools needed to analyze, track, and optimize
• LinkedIn tools and post scheduling
• AI: what are the tools actually worth the cost
• Project management tools - when is it time to invest in them
• Analytics and dashboarding
• Do you need sales content management
• Are sales intelligence tools actually worth the cost?

You want to keep up with the newest tools on the market and stay ahead of the game? We can recommend Poduct Hunt to do exactly that: https://www.producthunt.com/

As both Julia and Ahmet started new jobs four months ago they are talking onboarding and training in this episode focusing on what training Sales and Marketing need to perform at their best.

Topics they discuss in this episode:

• What does Marketing need to know to be fully onboarded?
• What does the perfect Sales onboarding look like?
• How onboarding differs between startups and enterprises
• Why we love playbooks
• How do you stay up to date in Sales?
• How do you keep up with market trends?

This episode is a personal one: Ahmet and Julia take a tour back memory lane and talk about their first work experiences, how they ended up pursuing careers in Sales and Marketing, and how they ended up doing a podcast. Most importantly, in this episode they discuss what they truly love about Sales and Marketing. 

We need Sales - all of us can agree on that in the B2B industry. But we also hate Sales. That's why Julia and Ahmet talk about the root of the Frenemies relationship between Sales and Marketing starting with everything they hate about Sales. 

While Julia has a lot of experience being a prospect and working with the Sales department, Ahmet gives an inside view on what Sales is currently lacking, and why people can hate Sales. 

Topics they discuss in this episode:

• Why Sales isn't a team sport
• Does Sales have to be pushy?
• Is the Sales quota what makes everything so difficult?
• How sellers always find a shortcut

We love marketing, but we also hate marketing. That's why Julia and Ahmet talk about the root of the Frenemies relationship between Sales and Marketing starting with everything they hate about marketing. 

Naturally, Ahmet has a lot of experience collaborating or not collaborating with the Marketing department. Julia uncovers what she hates about marketing as an experienced marketer. 

Topics they discuss in this episode:

• Is Marketing just a bunch of ideas and no follow-through?
• The downside of Marketing being so visible
• How Marketing can approach Sales to collaborate well
• Why Marketing emails suck and how to fix that
• Why Marketers are excellent data analysts
• What Sellers need from Marketing
• Why every departments thinks they have the toughest job