On episode #147 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Colin Jeffries and Nick Smith explore when hands-on sales management is ideal and when leaders should be hands-off with their revenue teams. If goals are clearly defined and deals are closing, do sales leaders really need to micromanage daily habits of the team? When should salespeople push back,…

On episode #146 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Colin and Nick explore the goals of cold calling and where it should live within our organizations. Is cold calling a sales function, or is it better at achieving marketing objectives? Should sales development (or business development) representatives report through sales or marketing hierarchies? You can listen to…

On episode #145 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Eric and Colin are joined by Tendayi Viki, Ph.D. He is an author, speaker, academic, consultant, and corporate innovation expert. Tendayi unpacks how we can turn ideas into innovations and innovations into successful, scalable business models. Remember, just because we find a market does not mean we have…

On episode #144 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Eric and Colin are joined by Marianne Lewis, the Dean of the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati and author of Both/And Thinking. Dean Lewis explains why paradoxes are so common in business and how to navigate them well. Both/and thinking takes work and repetition,…

On episode #143 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Eric and Colin are joined by innovator, professor, speaker, and retired tech executive Vivek Wadhwa. Vivek shares his insights on what the near future holds for businesses of all sizes and those who lead them. Technology, customers, the workforce, delivery channels, computing power, and seemingly everything else are…

On episode #142 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Eric and Colin get into interview mode and talk through some new and creative ways to answer the common sales prompt, “Sell me this pen.” Spoiler alert: it’s not about the pen! From creatively positioning the pen as a bridge-building tool to giving it away for free, Eric…

On episode #141 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Eric and Colin put together some easy check-boxes to determine when a marketing plan makes sense. There are many scenarios where it makes sense to throw out an annual plan in favor of agility and flexibility. There are also many business strategies that demand an annual marketing plan…

On episode #140 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Eric and Colin speak with the “AI Nerd,” Thomas Helfrich, about the importance of clear success metrics and how SMBs can leverage the power of organic social media. Thomas shares his guidance on leveraging virtual assistants and agencies aided by artificial intelligence and software to build audiences on…

On episode #139 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Eric and Colin share some wisdom to recent college graduates about landing their first marketing job! If you aren’t well networked, how do you get an organization to consider you? What is your professional social media footprint conveying? Most hiring managers can’t stack rank people on an even…

On episode #138 of the Rethink Marketing Podcast, Eric and Colin are joined by entrepreneur, author, social media guru, and coach Ramon Ray. After leaving the United Nations, Ramon jumped into his own startups, with multiple successful exits. Ramon speaks to empowering employees to build audiences on social media, providing engaging perks, and the allure of…