OnBD with ALF

Amanda Rosevear, Host and General Manager of ALF Insight, welcomes returning guests Rich McHardy and Jody Osman, Co-Founders of The BD100.

They discuss this year’s BD100 theme, ‘The Art and Science of Business Development,’ and how technological innovation and AI adoption is impacting day to day business in the BD community, sharing why they believe the ‘human side’ of the role remains as important as ever and how to strike a balance.

They also share advice for the BD100 nominations and highlight some of the stand-out achievements from past winners. Head to the website to submit your application or nominate a colleague!

Plus, Rich and Jody answer Amanda’s quickfire questions and set a challenge to everyone listening.

Make sure you also check out our Spotify playlist, Hype Songs by ALF Insight, updated with their latest picks. It’s the perfect soundtrack to get energised ahead of your next pitch.

00:00 Welcome

01:24 BD100 Theme Explained

03:38 Rich and Jody’s Own Art/Science Split

06:06 AI Research Workflows

12:41 Beyond Tech Metrics

16:02 Creative Outreach Stories

19:30 Skills That Matter Now

26:40 Celebrating BD100 Winners

28:18 What Judges Look For

33:41 BD100 Timeline Key Dates

35:30 Quickfire Questions

39:44 Advice to Past Self

42:49 I Love My Job When…

44:43 Listener Challenge

48:01 Wrap-up and Key Takeaways

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

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Amanda Rosevear, host and General Manager of ALF Insight, meets Paloma Walder, Managing Director at Canopy Media, to discuss company culture and how it impacts business success.

Paloma sets out the importance of a good workplace culture, how to define and measure it, practical strategies for building a positive, cohesive environment and the impact of culture on employee motivation and retention.

Amanda and Paloma also talk about how to address toxic behaviour, strategies for implementing cultural change and evolution, and the role of leadership in shaping that.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:10 Defining Company Culture

06:42 Trust Respect and Tolerance

07:04 Canopy Culture and Values

11:19 Building Culture Post Pandemic

15:30 Hiring for Cultural Fit

18:10 Where Companies Get It Wrong

24:46 Measuring and Maintaining Culture

31:18 Healthy Sales Team Culture

39:12 Fixing a Broken Culture

42:14 Quick Fire Questions

44:55 Listener Challenge and Summary

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

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Host and General Manager of ALF Insight, Amanda Rosevear, chats with Oya Mustafa, the newly appointed Head of Partnership Innovation at Chelsea FC, and former Chief Growth Officer at Not Normal Group, about how to approach growth intentionally and mistakes to avoid.

Oya tells us why it’s important to understand and analyse your data and define the meaning of growth before chasing new business and why you should prioritise efficiency over simply being busy. 

She also shares the four sales personas she’s created – the tree shaker, the pirate, the transformer and the unicorn. Which one are you?

Oya also advises how to avoid key blockers including emotional attachment to the wrong opportunities and the qualities you need to master sustained growth. 

Plus find out about Oya’s listener challenge as she reminds you to ask, “what kind of growth are we actually trying to create?”

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:31 What Growth Really Means

03:21 Oya’s Four BD Personas

06:28 Start with the Numbers

12:47 Intentionality and Alignment

16:14 Blockers to Growth Plans

18:22 Sustaining Focus Over Time

22:54 Everyone Owns Growth

25:52 Growth vs Sales Explained

28:53 Quickfire Questions

32:29 One Thing to Start Today

34:25 Wrap Up and Listener Challenge

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

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Listen back to highlights from the first season of OnBD with ALF, hosted by Amanda Rosevear, General Manager of ALF Insight.

Featured topics and guests include BD100’s Jody Osman who tells us what he thinks distinguishes a ‘great’ business development person from a ‘good’ one. 

Becky Hipkiss from We Are Futures offers insights on outreach and explains her belief on why ‘people buy people’, whilst global media and tech leader, Evelyn Oluwole, shares follow up advice including common mistakes to avoid. 

Rob Biagioni, CEO of Time Out, tells us about building community and deepening engagement with their audience to steer content and support commercial aims. And Kim James from Havas Media Network talked us through the steps they take when considering their own growth strategy.

Katie Street, founder and MD of Street Agency, spoke to us about overcoming some of the challenges of business development, and sales trainer Debra Sharron offered advice on honing your skills as a salesperson and what she means by ‘consultative selling’.  

Charlie Celino, Commercial Services Director at News UK, discusses how AI is transforming planning and buying infrastructure but why he believes a human touch will always remain central. 

Plus, we hear back from all our season one guests on the advice they would give their younger selves. Topics include authenticity, speaking up, patience, networking, relationships, trusting your gut, and starting your pension sooner!

00:00 Summer Bonus Highlights

00:19 What Makes Great BD

02:28 Outreach That Cuts Through

04:10 Follow Up Like a Pro

05:01 Audience Engagement at Time Out

05:52 Building Growth Communities

07:36 Authentic New Business Content

10:38 Consultative Selling Skills

13:11 AI in Media Sales

14:54 Advice to Your Younger Self

24:52 Final Thoughts

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo

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In this episode, host and General Manager of ALF Insight, Amanda Rosevear, meets Evelyn Oluwole, a global media and tech sales leader to discuss why ‘follow-up’ should be viewed as a strategy not a task.

Evelyn highlights common mistakes when it comes to follow up and shares her advice and tips for adding value to cut through noise, the role that AI should and shouldn’t play in your communications and her recommendations for building relationships. 

Plus, what should you do if your emails continually get ghosted? Amanda and Evelyn debate different approaches for leaving the door open.

If you want to enhance your follow up, then this is a must-listen. 

00:00 Welcome and introduction to Evelyn

01:30 What Follow Up Means

02:42 Three Follow Up Mistakes

06:52 Add Value Not Noise

09:28 Stakeholders and Account Mapping

14:01 Trust and Retention Mindset

15:46 AI and Human Touch

22:24 McDonalds Follow Up Example

26:59 Timing Next Steps and Value

32:23 When to Stop Following Up

36:39 Dear John Email Debate

40:00 Quick Fire Round

42:00 One Follow Up Challenge

43:36 Final thoughts and goodbye

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

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Amanda Rosevear, host and General Manager of ALF Insight, chats to Becky Hipkiss, who leads new business at marketing agency, We Are Futures.

In 2025 Becky was named as BD100’s Rising Star with judges citing her "purpose-driven mindset, tenacity and clear results" and in this conversation, she shares her expertise on effective outreach strategies, relationship building, and pipeline health.

Discover practical tips on how to cut through digital noise and build meaningful connections that lead to long-term success.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:27 Bad Outreach Red Flags

03:59 Channels That Cut Through

06:57 Email vs LinkedIn Messaging

10:41 Creating Cut Through

13:04 Building a Flexible Framework

18:22 Staying Top of Mind

23:06 Pipeline Roles and Relationship Equity

27:16 Metrics That Matter

30:22 Personalisation at Scale

33:32 Team GB Outreach Win Story

38:55 Quick Fire Questions

42:48 Wrap Up and Key Takeaways

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, General Manager of ALF Insight, Amanda Rosevear, is joined by Rob Biagioni, CEO of Time Out.

Rob shares his journey through the media industry, offering insights on adapting to digital transformation, and strategies for engaging audiences in a rapidly changing landscape.

This includes how Time Out is pivoting in the face of AI challenges, why they won’t succumb to the drive for ‘negative news’ clicks and how their 4,000+ members of the ‘Time Out Loud’ community is being used for editorial direction and advertiser insight work.

00:00 Introduction and Rob's Career Beginnings

02:51 Rob's Journey from Sports Science to Media

08:41 Leadership lessons

10:08 Joining Time Out 

11:25 Time Out Markets model

13:10 The Evolution of Media and Audience Engagement

18:14 Moving Away from Page Views to Core Value

19:06 The Power of Human Reviews and Authentic Content

21:29 Using Community and First-Party Data for Insights

30:44 Adapting to Platform Changes and Diversification

34:02 The Future of Media and AI Challenges

34:44 Leadership, Culture, and Learning from Mistakes

35:19 Quickfire Questions

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

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In this episode, Amanda Rosevear, General Manager for ALF Insight, is joined by Charlie Celino, Commercial Services Director at News UK. 

Charlie shares insights on navigating the evolving media landscape, the impact of AI on news and advertising, and proactive strategies for future success. 

Discover how News UK is leveraging technology and innovation to stay ahead in a turbulent industry.

00:00 Introduction and Background of Charlie Celino

02:59 Role of Commercial Services Director at News UK

04:45 Challenges in the News Industry: AI and Trust

06:21 Advertiser Relationships and Brand Safety Concerns

13:02 Proactive Strategies in a Changing Landscape

16:09 Embracing AI: Opportunities and Internal Initiatives

22:24 Revolutionising Sales with Digital Tools

31:16 The Future of Media Consumption

34:37 Quickfire Insights on Sales and Authenticity

40:24 Charlie’s life as a movie and favourite hype songs

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

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In this episode of OnBD with ALF, Amanda Rosevear, General Manager of ALF Insight, chats to James Walmsley, Ad Director at Immediate Media. 

James shares insights from his career in media sales, including what he loved about his early days at MTV and why he’s stayed at Immediate Media for so many years.

He discusses the industry's challenges, including the shifting digital landscape and the resurgence of print media. 

James also tells us about the idea behind Atria, a new collaborative initiative among major UK publishers aimed at simplifying media buys and driving investment into trusted, editorial brands and why he thinks joining forces with ‘competitors’ is a positive move.

00:00 Introduction

00:47 James’s Career Journey

04:11 Life at Immediate Media

05:56 Challenges and Innovations in Publishing

07:27 Focus on Video and Social Content

09:14 Subscriber Growth Strategies

12:40 Launch of Atria: A New Marketplace

20:31 The Future of Publishing and AI

22:06 The Importance of Human Connection in Media

23:15 The Value of Trusted Brands

24:56 Launching a New Initiative

25:59 James's Passion for Media Sales

29:03 The Future of Print and Digital Media

31:42 Advice for Aspiring Salespeople

36:00 James's Career Reflections and Hype Song

37:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

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In this episode, Amanda Rosevear, General Manager of ALF Insight, chats to Kim James, Chief Growth and Business Development Officer at Havas Media Network. 

Kim shares her journey through the media industry, starting as a graduate TV buyer to her current role at Havas Media Network. 

Discover her thoughts behind the importance of building communities for business development and the strategies Havas uses to maintain relationships with prospective clients over long periods. 

Kim emphasises the necessity of a team effort in successful pitches and tells us how Havas is working to expand their pitch bench. 

The episode also discusses the evolving role of procurement in the pitch process and how Havas is addressing these changes through technology, robust qualification processes, and data-driven strategies.

00:00 Introduction

00:43 Meet Kim James: A Journey in Media

03:29 Strategies for Business Development

05:12 Building and Leveraging Communities

14:45 The Art of Pitching

21:38 The Changing Landscape of Pitch Processes

26:07 Utilising Technology and Data in New Business

33:36 Final Thoughts and Advice

37:58 Conclusion and Farewell

If you want to do business with the UK’s leading brands, request an ALF Insight demo.

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