Episodios

  • Excluding People Isn’t a Creative Choice. It’s a Strategic Mistake.

    Excluding People Isn’t a Creative Choice. It’s a Strategic Mistake.
    Jun 25 2025
    This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by Maxwell Ivey, internationally known as the Blind Blogger and an expert in accessibility education, who believes “Accessibility isn’t charity—it’s untapped market access,” and he’s ready to prove it. In this episode, Maxwell dismantles the common industry belief that accessibility is a mere “nice-to-have,” arguing that overlooking people with disabilities is a costly, strategic mistake that hands revenue directly to competitors. Drawing on data, buyer journey insights, and firsthand stories, he exposes how accessible marketing drives greater loyalty, expands market reach, and can directly boost revenue for B2B leaders. Will Maxwell’s bold challenge reshape your approach to inclusion—or do you still think accessibility is optional? Join the debate! Episode Type Problem Solving: Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives. Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1: “Inclusivity” Is Just Empty Jargon [02:45] Maxwell Ivey boldly claims that the word “inclusive” is an overused, misleading buzzword that allows companies to feel good without doing the work of true accessibility. He states, “It allows a lot of people to feel like they are doing the right thing…without actually taking action,” directly challenging revenue leaders to move beyond declarations and toward measurable accessibility changes. Brandi Starr agrees that the term is often empty, setting the stage for a debate on what genuine inclusivity should look like in B2B marketing and customer experience. Topic #2: Accessibility Isn’t Charity, It’s a Market Advantage [04:29] Ivey confronts the myth that accessibility is just altruism or only benefits a niche group, arguing, “Accessibility isn’t charity, it’s market access.” He emphasizes the significant, loyal purchasing power of people with disabilities—estimated at $3.5-4 trillion annually—and reveals that inaccessible marketing directly costs businesses revenue, saying, “you are walking away from revenue and your competitors are happy to pick it up.” This challenges conventional thinking by reframing accessibility as a core business growth lever, not a compliance box to check. Topic #3: Accessibility Enhancements Benefit All Buyers [06:09] Ivey dismantles the belief that accessibility improvements are only for the disabled, stressing that accessible design actually improves user experience for everyone—including those browsing in poor lighting, on mobile devices, or with age-related challenges. Concrete tactics like simplifying website navigation, keyboard-first design, and minimizing distractions are highlighted as universally beneficial. He argues, “A lot of things that you will do to improve accessibility will improve the user experience of all your other customers who don’t have a disability,” pushing revenue leaders to rethink accessibility as a competitive differentiator rather than a narrow accommodation. The Wrong Approach vs. Smarter Alternative The Wrong Approach: “I think I’d like to get rid of the word inclusive because it’s such a vague word, it doesn’t really get to the heart of the matter. It allows a lot of people to feel like they are doing the right thing for their business or for people with disabilities without actually taking action, without really empathizing with the needs of this huge market of highly loyal consumers. And it allows them just to avoid the hard conversations, to avoid the time and effort. Although it isn't really a lot of time and effort in most people’s cases. But by saying that they’re inclusive, it allows them to feel good about themselves, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve done the work.” – Maxwell Ivey Why It Fails: Using “inclusive” as a buzzword lets companies check a box without making real changes. This superficial approach fails to address the specific needs of people with disabilities, meaning businesses miss out on both a substantial market opportunity and true accessibility. Ultimately, it leads to lost revenue and leaves the door open for competitors who genuinely address accessibility. The Smarter Alternative: Companies should move beyond vague commitments and take concrete, tactical actions to improve accessibility. Maxwell recommends focusing on simplifying user journeys, prioritizing keyboard navigation, and designing with a minimalist, distraction-free mindset. These measures not only support people with disabilities but also improve usability and satisfaction for all customers, driving better business outcomes. The Most Damaging Myth The Myth: “I don’t have customers who with disabilities or if I ...
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    35 m
  • Revenue Starts with Brand. Brand is Marketing + HR.

    Revenue Starts with Brand. Brand is Marketing + HR.
    Jun 18 2025
    This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by Sherry Grote, creator of the Harmony Hero framework and a B2B marketing leader with 25+ years transforming brands and driving revenue. Sherry believes marketing and HR hold untapped power as revenue accelerators—but only if their voices are amplified beyond traditional roles and given real influence in the boardroom. Challenging the status quo that sidelines these functions, Sherry argues that true revenue growth hinges on aligning people, brand, and culture—not just products and pipelines. If you’re ready to rethink where brand power really drives the bottom line, tune in—and decide if Sherry’s perspective changes your mind. Episode Type: Problem Solving - Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives. Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1: Marketing & HR—The Undervalued Revenue Drivers [04:44] Sherry Grote boldly argues that marketing and HR are essential drivers of revenue and brand but are consistently marginalized in executive decision-making. She challenges the conventional belief that marketing is a “faucet you can just turn on” and spotlights how HR’s influence on culture is chronically overlooked—particularly damaging “in an artificial everything world.” Brandi Starr echoes the misalignment, noting most companies pigeonhole this partnership as “marketing giving HR tchotchkes,” prompting a debate on the true strategic potential of these functions when united. Topic #2: Boardroom Influence—Turning Up the Volume on Brand Voices [07:14] Sherry argues that the boardroom routinely sidelines marketing and HR, relegating them to after-thought status in favor of sales, finance, and product updates. “HR, we really don’t have time for you to talk, so just put your slide in there and we’ll just make sure that the board has that.” She proposes a radical change: marketing and HR should proactively demonstrate their impact on revenue, culture, and pipeline to win advocates among CFOs, CROs, and CPOs—shifting from self-promotion to integrated business influence. Topic #3: Rethinking Compensation and Collaboration for Revenue Alignment [17:50] Sherry challenges revenue leaders to recognize compensation misalignment as a core driver of inefficiency and discord between marketing, sales, and HR. She critiques the “rip and replace” approach to CMOs, tying it to systemic incentive problems: “It’s often the head of marketing that really sees this breakdown and challenge and having that real relationship with HR could be an opportunity to help to influence that.” Brandi pushes for actionable solutions, leading to a discussion about moving BDRs into marketing and partnering with HR to overhaul incentive structures for true revenue team alignment. The Wrong Approach vs. Smarter Alternative The Wrong Approach: “A leader before they've had a time to actually make an impact in the business.” – Sherry Grote Why It Fails: Swapping out marketing or HR leaders too quickly disrupts momentum and undermines strategic initiatives before they can take hold. This short-sighted turnover prevents teams from making the incremental changes necessary for lasting impact and damages organizational culture and continuity. The Smarter Alternative: Instead of jumping to leadership changes, companies should focus on building strong alignment and rapport between sales, marketing, and HR, giving leaders the space and support needed to drive meaningful, long-term business results. The Most Damaging Myth The Myth: “Marketing is a faucet that you can just turn on and you will get instant results.” – Sherry Grote Why It’s Wrong: This belief leads organizations to expect immediate impact from marketing efforts, creating unrealistic timelines and frustration when quick results don’t materialize. As Sherry explains, marketing is actually more like a well that requires consistent pumping—building effective campaigns takes time, ongoing effort, and a systems approach. When companies operate under the “faucet” myth, they make disruptive changes or swap out talent prematurely, undermining long-term progress and ROI. What Companies Should Do Instead: Treat marketing as an engine that needs sustained investment and incremental improvement. Allow marketing leaders time to build momentum, focus on developing processes, and foster strong cross-departmental relationships—especially with HR—to build a people-first culture that supports brand and revenue growth. The Rapid-Fire Round Finish this sentence: If your company has this problem, the first thing you should do is _ “Ensure that you have built rapport with sales, ...
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    29 m
  • AI Search Isn’t ‘Coming’ — It’s Already Rewriting the Way Buyers Find You

    AI Search Isn’t ‘Coming’ — It’s Already Rewriting the Way Buyers Find You
    Jun 11 2025
    This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by Michael Buckbee, founder of Knowatoa and AI-driven search marketing expert, who believes most marketers are missing out on revenue by ignoring how their brands appear in AI search tools—and he’s ready to prove it. In this episode, Buckbee challenges the industry’s Google-first mindset and argues that AI platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini are now the key gateways to buyers, demanding a radical rethink of content and SEO strategy. From shifting content budgets to exposing overlooked technical pitfalls, Buckbee makes the case that revenue leaders must adapt now to avoid losing visibility and pipeline in an AI-dominated landscape. Is your strategy keeping up, or is it time for a rehab? Episode Type: Problem Solving - Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives. Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1: Google’s Grip on B2B Search Is Slipping [02:41] Michael Buckbee argues that relying solely on Google for B2B brand discovery is now a critical mistake. He highlights how AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are rapidly changing buyer behavior and asserts that “most marketers have no idea how they’re showing up in AI and it's costing them real revenue.” Brandi Starr questions whether AI is truly overtaking Google, leading Michael to explain that even Google is transforming its search experience in response to these new AI platforms. Topic #2: Outdated SEO Strategies Are Killing Organic Growth [06:23] Michael challenges the conventional top-of-funnel, high-traffic blog strategy that marketers have depended on for years. He points out that informational queries are increasingly answered directly by AI summaries, saying “those are going away as a traffic source,” and urges leaders to shift focus toward bottom-of-funnel content that addresses specific buyer objections and differentiators. Brandi Starr pushes for actionable advice, sparking a discussion on how marketing budgets and content plans need to be realigned for this new search landscape. Topic #3: Winning Requires Siteless SEO and AI Indexing [15:56] Michael pushes revenue leaders to rethink basic SEO, warning that many websites are inadvertently blocking AI crawlers and missing out on AI-driven buyer research. He explains the need to ensure that AI bots can index your content and introduces the concept of “siteless SEO,” recommending that brands publish content directly on platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit for broader visibility. The segment includes specific tactics as Michael calls this a foundational shift that “marketers need to act on now.” The Wrong Approach vs. Smarter Alternative The Wrong Approach: "A common trap is to stick with the existing content plans. You know, you had mentioned AI overviews and how it lists sources. You know, you can still fight for those terms, those like high level informational terms. But I do think you really need to consider, is this something where people are going to read this and then there's a list of 30 sites on the side? Is that a benefit to you that you're one of those 30 links that's buried in there? Are people actually going to find you? Is it actually going to move things forward or are your efforts better spent elsewhere?" – Michael Buckbee Why It Fails: Traditional top-of-funnel content strategies focus on broad informational keywords, but AI search tools now summarize these queries and bury brands in a long list of sources. This leads to reduced visibility and engagement, as buyers are more likely to rely on AI summaries instead of clicking through to individual sites. The Smarter Alternative: Companies should pivot their content strategy toward mid- and bottom-funnel topics that address buyer objections and showcase clear differentiation. Distributing this content across multiple platforms, not just your website, increases the likelihood that AI systems will pick up and accurately represent your brand, making it easier for buyers to discover and trust you during their research process. The Most Damaging Myth The Myth: “We kind of don't need to care about these new AI startups and all we need to do is care about Google and they just go back to doing things how they have been doing them.” – Michael Buckbee Why It’s Wrong: Many marketers believe that focusing on traditional Google SEO is enough, but Google itself is evolving in response to AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Ignoring these changes means companies risk losing visibility where buyers are actually researching and making decisions, leading to missed revenue opportunities. What Companies Should Do Instead: Companies should ...
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    25 m
  • Strategic Foresight Is The CMO’s Real Job. Everything Else Is Execution.

    Strategic Foresight Is The CMO’s Real Job. Everything Else Is Execution.
    Jun 4 2025
    This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by Laura Patterson, a data-driven growth strategist and co-founder of VisionEdge Marketing, who believes strategic foresight—not campaign execution—is the CMO’s real job, and she’s here to prove it. In this episode, Laura challenges the industry’s fixation on activity and trend-chasing, arguing that revenue leaders must shift their focus from reactive marketing to proactive market-making by interpreting the signals that shape the future. By exposing the pitfalls of “random acts of marketing” and sharing actionable strategies, Laura makes a compelling case for why true leadership demands more than just looking in the rearview mirror. Ready to step out of the weeds and into bold strategy, or will you stick to business as usual? Episode Type: Problem Solving Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives. Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1: Strategic Foresight is the CMO’s Core Mandate [00:00] Laura Patterson asserts that the true role of the CMO is strategic foresight—actively interpreting market signals to drive the business forward—instead of focusing on executional tasks like campaign management. “If your strategic plan is just a mirror of historical data, you're not owning the market, you are in fact reacting to it,” she argues. This challenges the conventional wisdom that CMOs should be operational leaders, pushing the audience to reimagine marketing leadership as market-making rather than maintenance. Topic #2: Countering CEO and Board Pressure to Chase Trends [00:08:33] Laura tackles the challenge many CMOs face from CEOs and boards demanding action on the latest trends (e.g., AI), even when it’s not strategically aligned. She insists CMOs must lead with business value, stating, “If you're going to be the leader, then you have to be willing to take a little risk and have a response that says... what about what we're trying to achieve for the organization?” The discussion centers on how revenue leaders can reframe these conversations to focus on business goals, even when faced with top-down mandates to pursue shiny objects. Topic #3: Using Market Signals for Proactive Strategy [00:17:21] Laura advocates for harnessing both internal and external market signals—such as airline reservations or box orders—as tools for strategic foresight, rather than relying solely on the company’s own lagging indicators. She challenges the common practice of dashboard-driven decision making, asserting that by the time trends appear in company data, "you're already kind of behind the eight ball." The debate explores how CMOs, especially in smaller organizations, can identify forward-looking market signals to anticipate change and shape strategy, not just react. The Wrong Approach vs. Smarter Alternative The Wrong Approach: “They try to reverse engineer. What I mean by that is they try to reverse engineer what they're doing to an outcome that is a mistake. Right. It doesn't start at the bottom, it needs to start at the top.” – Laura Patterson Why It Fails: Reverse-engineering from current activities up to business outcomes leads to weak alignment and rationalizes existing work, rather than ensuring marketing efforts are directly tied to organizational goals. This approach results in disconnected tactics, poor measurement of impact, and a continual cycle of busyness without meaningful progress. The Smarter Alternative: Start with clear business outcomes and define success at the top level—then build your marketing strategies and initiatives to directly support those outcomes. Measure and communicate value based on how each initiative contributes to creating customer value and competitive advantage, rather than backfilling activities into justifications after the fact. The Most Damaging Myth The Myth: “If we just do more campaigns, adopt more tools, generate more content, we'll eventually hit on something that works. And that is the myth that activity equals progress. Right? And that's not true.” – Laura Patterson Why It’s Wrong: Laura explains that this belief leads companies to chase trends, pile on campaigns, and stay busy with random acts of marketing—all of which result in misalignment, wasted energy, and diluted impact. Instead of delivering on strategic business outcomes, marketing teams become stuck in endless execution, masking the absence of a clearly defined, customer-centric strategy that truly drives growth. What Companies Should Do Instead: Companies should pause and get serious about evaluating their marketing work through the lens of impact and deliberate, value-driven moves. Focus on creating a ...
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    35 m
  • When Your Buyers Are Ready to Engage You’re Dropping the Ball

    When Your Buyers Are Ready to Engage You’re Dropping the Ball
    May 28 2025
    This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by Maddie Bell, CEO and Co-founder of Scheduler AI, who believes “the real risk isn’t in the dark funnel—it’s failing to deliver when the buyer finally raises their hand.” In this episode, Maddie challenges the industry’s obsession with “speed to lead,” urging revenue leaders to prioritize “speed to first conversation” with AI-driven, buyer-centric engagement. She warns that outdated playbooks and one-way automation are leaving revenue on the table, while today’s buyers self-educate and expect immediate, meaningful interaction. Will Maddie’s call for rethinking the moment of engagement change your strategy—or change your mind? Episode Type: Problem Solving Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives. Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1: Dark Funnel Obsession—Are Revenue Teams Focusing on the Wrong Problem? [01:10] Maddie Bell argues that while the industry is fixated on the challenges of the dark funnel and invisible buyer research, the true risk lies elsewhere: "The real risk isn't what you can't see, it's what you fail to act on when the buyer finally makes themselves known." She challenges CMOs and CROs to shift resources away from just uncovering hidden intent and instead ensure their processes and tech are ready for the critical moment buyers raise their hand. Brandi aligns with this shift, probing what readiness really entails and how companies can retrain their focus accordingly. Topic #2: Personalization at Scale—Why Automation Isn’t Enough [13:36] Maddie claims that traditional personalization methods—triggered email sequences and static nurture paths—have reached their limits due to the sheer number of signals and permutations needed. She challenges the industry to move beyond guessing with automation: "It's just really hard to personalize for a person without asking them about themselves again, without starting a two-way conversation." The discussion centers on the need for AI-driven, dynamic conversations to achieve true personalization, not just more sophisticated drip campaigns. Topic #3: AI as the Connector—Transforming Handoffs and Sales Structure [28:38] Maddie boldly asserts that AI agents are poised to revolutionize not just engagement, but the very structure of sales teams and revenue processes. She explains, "If you have the AI routing, you can create intelligent loops that essentially solve the leak across the pipeline..." prompting leaders to rethink their approach to sales specialization, handoff rigor, and marketing-sales alignment. Brandi challenges the scalability and organizational implications, sparking discussion on how revenue leaders should sequence process improvement before layering on AI. The Wrong Approach vs. Smarter Alternative The Wrong Approach: “I think they look for solutions to new things rather than solving problems that again, they already have. Right. Because at the end of the day, if we’re already making buyers wait hours, days, if we follow up at all, just solving that in the near term is going to get you a measurable pipeline win now without having to re redo and try all this new stuff that you don’t really know where it’s going to go.” – Maddie Bell Why It Fails: Chasing after new, untested solutions distracts teams from addressing the core issues already affecting buyer engagement. If companies ignore existing process gaps—like long response times—they miss out on immediate revenue gains and risk investing in initiatives that may not address their current challenges. The Smarter Alternative: Focus first on quantifying and solving existing friction points in the buyer journey, such as reducing wait times and ensuring prompt follow-up. By tackling these proven problems, organizations can unlock measurable wins and lay a stronger foundation before experimenting with new tools or strategies. The Most Damaging Myth The Myth: “The moment they raise their hand visibly is the start of the process.” – Maddie Bell Why It’s Wrong: Many go-to-market teams treat the buyer’s visible hand-raise—like filling out a form—as the beginning of engagement. But as Maddie points out, buyers actually start their process much earlier, often spending significant time researching and self-educating long before giving up their information. This myth leads companies to ignore the vast majority of prospects who never fill out a form (97%), missing opportunities to start conversations earlier and losing out on pipeline growth. What Companies Should Do Instead: Recognize that the buying journey begins well before formal hand-raising. Invest in strategies and ...
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    43 m
  • The Real AI Readiness Test: Is Your Data Clean Enough to Matter?

    The Real AI Readiness Test: Is Your Data Clean Enough to Matter?
    May 21 2025
    This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by John Williams, a fractional CRO, and Jonathan Moss, founder of AI Business Network, who believe that “AI is useless if your customer data is a chaotic mess”—and they’re here to prove it. In this episode, they challenge the widespread assumption that companies are AI-ready just because their data is accessible, arguing that fragmented, siloed data creates “context debt” and erodes trust, retention, and revenue. From eye-opening client stories to tactical fixes, John and Jonathan reveal why senior revenue leaders must prioritize data clarity before chasing AI transformation—or risk accelerating mistakes instead of results. Is your data clean enough to matter, or are you just accelerating garbage? Listen in, debate, and decide. Episode Type: Problem Solving Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives. Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1: Clean Data is the Real Prerequisite for AI Success [00:00] John Williams and Jonathan Moss argue that most companies are rushing into AI without first fixing fundamental data problems. They challenge the popular belief that AI alone can drive revenue impact, asserting instead, “AI can’t save your revenue engine if your data is a chaotic mess.” Brandi Starr pushes for specifics, leading to a candid debate on why data readiness—not AI adoption—is the real starting line for AI ROI. Topic #2: The Cost of Context Debt on Revenue Teams [05:37] Jonathan Moss introduces the concept of “context debt”—the hidden tax organizations pay when fragmented data erodes efficiency and trust. He challenges the common practice of making decisions in data silos, warning that “strategic decisions on impartial information” will hurt revenue and customer relationships. Brandi spotlights Moss’s point that context debt directly leads to lost deals and missed growth, stirring debate on how leaders should audit and connect data before deploying AI. Topic #3: RevOps, Not IT, Should Orchestrate Data Readiness [22:17] Jonathan Moss boldly claims that revenue operations—not IT or individual business units—should own the responsibility for stitching together customer data. He disrupts the status quo: “The go to market system, which I consider data, process and technology, should be owned by RevOps.” The discussion challenges traditional data ownership models and urges CROs/CMOs to empower RevOps to connect silos, warning that without clear ownership, AI projects will fail to deliver impact. The Wrong Approach vs. Smarter Alternative The Wrong Approach: “They try to think about connecting all their systems to the single truth without asking the question, what decision are we trying to make that this would help us be faster and better? And so they try to take on the entire the entire project of connecting versus thinking about what, what do we need to answer and how do we, how do we do that in a better way?” – Jonathan Moss Why It Fails: Attempting to integrate every data system all at once often leads to overwhelming complexity, wasted resources, and solutions that don’t directly support urgent business needs. Without clarity on the specific decisions the business wants to improve, massive integration projects lack focus and can stall or fail, burdening teams instead of accelerating outcomes. The Smarter Alternative: Start with the decisions that matter most—determine which questions need answering to drive business impact and work backward to connect only the necessary data sources for those outcomes. By aligning data efforts with clear, actionable objectives, companies can deliver value quickly and ensure their data strategy fuels smarter, faster decision-making. The Rapid-Fire Round Finish this sentence: If your company has this problem, the first thing you should do is _ “List all your customer data locations. Don’t worry about whether it’s clean yet—just knowing where all your data is and what it contains is your starting point.” – John Williams What’s one red flag that signals a company has this problem—but might not realize it yet? “Confusing data infrastructure with decision infrastructure. Just because your data is ‘clean’ and stored in the right place doesn’t mean it’s actionable or aligned for decision-making.” – Jonathan Moss What’s the most common mistake people make when trying to fix this? “Trying to connect every system to a single source of truth without first asking what business decision you’re actually trying to make. Instead, start with the question you need to answer, then connect only the data necessary for that.” – ...
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    45 m
  • Treating Marketing Ops Like a Cleanup Crew is Killing Your GTM

    Treating Marketing Ops Like a Cleanup Crew is Killing Your GTM
    May 14 2025
    This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by Leah Russo, a veteran marketing and rev ops executive and founder of Novara, who believes “treating ops like a cleanup crew is killing your go-to-market”—and she’s ready to prove it. In this episode, Leah challenges the widespread practice of sidelining marketing and revenue operations, arguing that only by giving ops an equal seat at the table can companies unlock faster, more scalable, and burnout-free growth. By exposing the cost of reactive ops and sharing playbook-shifting strategies, Leah makes the case for why it’s time revenue leaders stop seeing ops as tactical support and start leveraging them as true growth architects. Is it time to rethink your approach, or will you change her mind? Episode Type: Problem Solving Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives. Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1: Why Treating Ops as a Cleanup Crew Is Broken [05:21] Leah Russo boldly asserts that the biggest myth in go-to-market is viewing operations as an afterthought or “cleanup crew.” She challenges the conventional wisdom that strategy comes first and ops simply executes, arguing, “when you build without your ops team in the room, you're not really moving fast... you're actually moving blindly.” Brandi Starr pushes for practical ways to elevate ops, spurring debate on where the real strategic value of ops lies. Topic #2: Ops as Strategic Architects, Not Order Takers [07:38] Leah Russo reframes operations as critical “architects” of scalable growth, rather than mere tactical support. She insists that modern ops leaders understand both the back-end structure and front-end goals: “Ops isn't a band aid. Ops is truly your blueprint for scalable growth, but you have to treat it as such to get there.” Brandi challenges her with a “building a house” analogy, sparking discussion on how early ops involvement powers cleaner, faster execution and prevents costly rework. Topic #3: Stop Hiring More Ops—Fix the Strategic Process [29:07] Leah Russo contends that the default reaction to operational chaos—simply hiring more ops staff—is misguided. “They hire more ops people to clean everything up faster instead of changing how they strategically plan,” she states, urging leaders to overhaul their approach and involve ops early. The debate zeroes in on practical actions: bringing ops into strategy meetings and empowering them to identify root issues before launching new initiatives. The Wrong Approach vs. Smarter Alternative The Wrong Approach: “They hire more ops people to clean everything up faster instead of changing how they strategically plan.” – Leah Russo Why It Fails: Simply adding more operations staff treats ops like a reactive cleanup crew rather than addressing the root issue—poor planning and lack of early involvement in go-to-market strategy. This results in inefficiencies, repeated fixes, burnout, and a failure to build scalable, sustainable processes that drive predictable revenue growth. The Smarter Alternative: Instead of reacting with more headcount, companies should bring ops into go-to-market strategy discussions from the start. Treat ops as architects who help sequence priorities, identify potential pitfalls, and architect scalable solutions—ensuring the revenue engine is set up right the first time and reducing the need for expensive, disruptive fixes later. The Most Damaging Myth The Myth: “Ops is an afterthought, right. That we're here to clean up the mess once your strategy's already been put in place.” – Leah Russo Why It’s Wrong: When companies treat operations as a post-strategy cleanup crew, they believe they’re moving fast, but in reality, they’re going blindly. This reactive approach slows down execution and leads to preventable mistakes, inefficiencies, and burnout, ultimately undermining the effectiveness of the entire go-to-market strategy. What Companies Should Do Instead: Involve your ops team early in the strategic planning process. Treat operations as true architects of scalable growth by giving them a seat at the table from the start—ensuring that plans are executed in the right order, with the right people, and built to scale without costly rework. The Rapid-Fire Round Finish this sentence: If your company has this problem, the first thing you should do is _ “Stop treating ops like the help and start treating them like architects.” – Leah Russo What’s one red flag that signals a company has this problem—but might not realize it yet? “When ops is the last to know but the first expected to actually clean it up.” What’s the most ...
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    32 m
  • Turning Booth Buzz into Closed Deals: A Case Study in Pop-Up Podcasting

    Turning Booth Buzz into Closed Deals: A Case Study in Pop-Up Podcasting
    May 7 2025
    This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by Rita Richa, a B2B podcast strategist and executive producer with a track record of turning conversations into revenue. Together, they break down how Lenovo overcame lackluster event ROI by transforming traditional conference sponsorships into a pipeline-driving “pop up podcast” experience—turning fleeting booth traffic into meaningful, mid-funnel conversations and a year’s worth of content in days. They discuss the end-to-end playbook for integrating real-time podcast activations, coordinated sales efforts, and data-driven storytelling to accelerate deals and maximize event impact. If you’re looking to turn event spend into measurable pipeline momentum, this episode is for you. Episode Type: Case Study Revenue leaders who’ve been in the trenches share how they tackled real challenges—what worked, what didn’t, and what you can apply to your own strategy. These episodes go beyond theory, breaking down real-world implementation stories with concrete examples, step-by-step insights, and measurable outcomes. Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: Topic #1: Transforming Event Sponsorship With Pop Up Podcasts [06:04] Rita Richa identifies the inefficiency of traditional event sponsorships—“Too many CMOs are dropping six figures on conference booths only to walk away with bad scans, vague brand awareness, and no clear ROI.” She discusses how introducing a structured popup podcast experience enabled B2B brands to turn event conversations into revenue by “creating content with your ideal, you know, business targets, your ICP, your prospects...in real time at the event.” This shift made event investments directly tied to pipeline acceleration and measurable impact. Topic #2: Driving Pipeline and Content Scale Through Experiential Coordination [09:18] Rita describes the end-to-end activation of Lenovo’s popup podcast, detailing coordinated touchpoints that move prospects from coffee sponsorship to booth engagement, culminating in short, strategic interviews rooted in case studies. “It’s the entire collective experience of getting your customer from point A to point B to actually even want to come to your booth and have those conversations.” By enabling sales teams as ‘super fans’ and centering content on relevant industry reports, the team achieved 15+ high-value interviews in two days, batching a full year’s content while accelerating deal movement. Topic #3: Measuring and Maximizing Event ROI Beyond Brand Awareness [22:29] The discussion shifts to the trackable business outcomes derived from the popup podcast approach. Rita shares, “They were able to book like really significant follow up meetings and close a couple of, you know, deals because of this activation that if it were not to happen, like they wouldn’t have an easy way to like follow up with these people essentially.” Brandi Starr highlights the benefit of activating both top-funnel and middle-funnel prospects at events, increasing velocity for deals already in the pipeline, and providing actionable methods to improve event ROI for CMOs and CROs. Key Learning If you had to do it all over again, what’s one thing you would do differently? Rita would focus on incorporating public relations from the start to boost exposure—think reaching out to event journalists or organizers ahead of time and making the pop-up podcast an event in itself. Treating the brand like a media entity, she’d look for ways to gamify and engage the audience even more, ensuring content is compelling enough that people want to stop, watch, and share. The Big Win By transforming a traditional event sponsorship into a targeted pop-up podcast activation, Rita Richa enabled Lenovo to batch a full season’s worth of high-quality prospect interviews in just two days, accelerate pipeline engagement with key decision-makers, and directly drive follow-up meetings and deal progression that would not have happened through conventional event tactics. Buzzword Banishment Rita’s buzzword to banish is "just another day in paradise." She dislikes this phrase because it projects a disengaged, apathetic mindset in workplace interactions and can unintentionally define someone’s personal brand as indifferent or uninspired. Rita argues that being real and genuine in responses fosters better human connection and avoids falling into autopilot, noncommittal communication habits. Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritaricha/details/experience/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_ritaricha/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rita.richa Podcast: https://bippityboppitybiz.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bippityboppitybusiness Subscribe, listen, and rate/review Revenue Rehab Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts , Amazon Music, or iHeart Radio and find more ...
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