Don't Just Endure. Thrive.

I always go to events with great intentions of sharing what I’ve learned afterwards. Sometimes, but not often, the experience is so riveting that I can’t wait to relive it through the telling. So much of the time, the experience is the same old, same old and so I skip the update for fear of being redundant.?

Not in this case! Today, I couldn’t wait to open my notebook (yes, I still use a notebook) and relive a few of the meaningful moments of the day yesterday, along with a very stimulating group of technology sales and marketing leaders at the #PavilionCMOSummit2023. And, it seems like I’m not the only one based on the posts I’ve already seen today.

I’ve been familiar with Pavilion and watched so many of my peers and team members benefit from the curriculum over the years. I haven't had a chance to attend any of their events so I was curious and definitely skeptical. So often, these communities are empty shells of regurgitated content to sell advertising and promote vendors. Not Pavilion , who according to Founder and CEO Sam Jacobs , is committed to being a useful tool, not the “coolest club in the world.” This resonated with me. As a CMO who started my career in database marketing, I was never one of the cool kids. I was a nerd exploring the future of marketing. I’ve always been interested in carving new paths and bringing new technologies to market. To me, it seems like Pavilion is a great place to feed that curiosity, learn new skills, and build an inspiring and supportive community. Something we all need a lot more of right now.

At the event, what stood out to me was the thoughtful storyline that anchored the insightful sessions.? Here’s my take on the narrative and the impact it had on me. I’d be curious to hear what others experience.?

Don’t just endure. Thrive.

We’re enduring another big uncomfortable market moment. How do I not only survive this, but thrive and grow in this environment? In his opening remarks Sam reiterated the burnout and exhaustion we all feel. How do we keep up the pace for another five years? We’ve grown up in an industry where the motivation is the next growth target or financial milestone. When the industry has a financial event unlike any we’ve ever seen (it’s not over yet), how do we find a way to thrive? What happens on the other side of this event and how can I be ready? How do we do this for the long haul instead of waiting for the “big event?”? What can we do with this really fascinating and challenging moment??

Engagement is the new currency.?

According to Guy Rubin from Ebsta, nearly $2 trillion is being wasted by focusing on driving higher revenues. When one third of sales reps aren’t meeting their numbers and sales are 30% or more longer than they used to be, there has to be a more efficient way to stay the course. Guy was joined by Jeff Marcoux from Bombora to highlight where to focus now. Efficient and predictable growth is the key. Find the friction points in the funnel and work on those. By focusing on delivering a great experience and building relationships with the buying committee you can boost win rates by 3X and reduce sales cycles by 40%. That’s some big improvements and doesn’t require more budget! Just better data and orchestration.?

To find growth, reinvent your strategy.?

I was inspired by a conversation between Kipp Bodnar CMO at HubSpot and Jane Alexander from Carta about the importance of category creation during tech disruption. Category creation takes time, patience, and clarity of messaging. As marketers, we have to create a clear story and build around that, layering in new strategies like thinking like a media company or leveraging AI.

Leverage data to do less with less.?

The data stack is the new tech stack. Probably one of my favorite lines of the day was “how are we going to do less with less?” In a session with Jon Miller , CMO Demandbase , Alex Poulos , CMO Crossbeam , Nikki Parker , SVP Marketing at Insight Partners , and Ramu Yamalachi, of Sona Labs, it’s time to double-down on efficiency and lean into overlooked sources of data like your partner ecosystem and product signals. As a data geek, I’ve been dreaming of this for years. Bring it on!??

Focus on revenue plays.?

In a panel hosted by product marketing leader Rowan Noronha, Meagen E. , CMO of Lacework (ex MongoDB), Sydney Sloan and Kyle Coleman CMO Clari brought their significant product marketing experience to the table to provide practical advice for right now! Big takeaway for me: design the marketing plan around revenue plays. What’s the customer problem? What’s the solution we provide? How do we get the entire team behind it to accelerate success. It’s the ultimate framework for land and expand.

Empower everyone to be a creator.?

I love hearing stories of scale through grass-roots tactics. The panel hosted by Mark Kilens CMO at Airmeet with ?? Will Allred Co-founder at Lavender and Udi Ledergor ?? ?? Chief Evangelist Gong inspired me to unleash the content potential not just of my team, but the entire company. People are sick of polished content. They want authenticity. They want to connect with real people. Find the people who are passionate about a P.O.V. and want to share it. A great starting point is to pick a theme a week, gather perspectives, and write about it.?

Build for efficiency.

I always love hearing from Latané Conant (she/her) , CMO 6sense and her infinite “fox in the henhouse” wisdom. Coming from a sales background, she has such a practical view of how to scale marketing organizations that actually drive revenue. My big takeaway is that I should be building towards 30% more efficiency year-over-year. Except of course when I launch new markets or audiences. But it’s a simple formula for going from growing my budget every year to establishing foundational efficiencies, building a topline model for growth, and defining a budget with the efficiencies built in.

Let’s get this AI show on the road.?

A topic dear to my heart is how to really leverage AI to my team’s benefit. A panel on generative AI hosted by Paul Roetzer , Founder of the Marketing AI Institute with Meghan Keaney Anderson, CMO at Jasper, and Jamie Barnett, CMO of Writer, addressed my top concerns and gave me really great ideas. As a champion of authenticity in communications, I’m not ready to let “AI take the wheel.” It’s a tool that can help expand on ideation or reduce friction in processes. But we still need humans in the mix for ideas as well as editors and a diverse team that can recognize bias and errors. The tools are fragmented and no well-coordinated so we have to be strategic on where and how we apply AI including aligning people outside of marketing.?

If it hurts you, it will kill the competition.?

Delightful and energetic as always,? ?? Jacco van der Kooij from Winning by Design provided essential wisdom, hope, and excitement for what we can build from all of this. As he pointed out, “If it hurts you, it will kill the competition.” This really struck me, especially from my position as CMO at Folloze . In times of market shake-up many companies fail, but those with a really good plan thrive. Having the right business model and product / market fit for these times is comforting and exciting. The idea of navigating the current environment is a challenge I’m up to. The idea of “durable” revenue vs. growth at all costs or sustainable revenue? How did we get here? “Growth at all costs.”?

Always great to see friends, colleagues, and collaborators as well like Jill Rowley , Andy Smith , and Evelyn Swaim plus meeting quite a few new folks. Steven Hua we missed you.