From Siloed Heroics to Aligned Growth Playbooks with John Common - The Transaction - Ep # 25

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Sep 19, 2024

In this discussion, John Common, CEO of Intelligent Demand, shares his insights on B2B growth strategy. He emphasizes the shift from siloed tactics to strategic integration for overall business efficiency. John also highlights the necessity of clear role definitions and effective collaboration between sales and marketing. He stresses the importance of regularly refining the Ideal Customer Profile and developing primary go-to-market motions to achieve scalable growth. Practical steps for CEOs to enhance business performance through alignment are also explored.

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ADVICE

Prioritize Strategy over Tactics

Focus on integrated growth plays and aligned go-to-market strategies instead of solely focusing on tactics.
Regularly assess and adjust your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to ensure focused targeting.

INSIGHT

Siloed Heroics Harm Growth

Doubling down on tactics in a siloed go-to-market strategy can hurt your brand and waste budget.
It can also burn out employees and lead to higher turnover.

ANECDOTE

Org Chart as Growth Strategy

Many companies use their org chart as their growth strategy, leading to siloed budgeting and execution.
This approach often results in missed growth goals and internal friction.

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In this episode of 'The Transaction,' Matt and Craig are joined by John Common, CEO of Intelligent Demand, to discuss various aspects of B2B growth strategy. The conversation focuses on the importance of different go-to-market motions, ICP targeting, and the implementation of cross-functional alignment. John stresses moving beyond tactical focus to strategic integration, operationalizing alignment, and realistically tackling people problems to achieve scalable growth. The episode wraps up with a focus on practical steps for CEOs and ELTs to improve business performance through clearly defined roles and metrics, and learning from successful case examples.

Takeaways:

Regularly assess and adjust the ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) to ensure that targeting remains focused and effective. This ensures marketing and sales aim at the most lucrative customer segments.
Translate alignment from a conceptual level to actionable, everyday practices. Implement clear role definitions, SLAs, and regular cross-functional meetings to ensure sustained alignment.
Distinguish between primary and secondary go-to-market motions. Focus resources on getting exceptionally good at one or two primary motions before expanding efforts.
Constantly educate and train leadership and teams on effective go-to-market strategies and the importance of cross-functional collaboration. Consider establishing training programs or workshops for this purpose.
Sales and marketing should collaborate closely during the budgeting process to ensure coherent and mutually supportive plans. Present a unified budget to the board to reinforce company-wide commitment to shared goals.
When facing alignment or performance issues, carefully diagnose whether they stem from role misalignment, poor management, or cultural issues. Address these root causes rather than defaulting to replacing personnel
The CEO or top leadership must set a strong precedent for cross-functional collaboration. Leaders should emphasize the importance of integrated strategies and reinforce them by example and mandate.

Chapters:

00:00 - Craig’s Hat and John's Music
03:50 - Transition to Business Talk
05:19 - Discussing Business Alignment
08:28 - The Importance of Integrated Growth Plays
25:17 - Professed vs. Actual Alignment
29:05 - Realistic Expectations for Operators
29:26 - Challenges in Sales and Marketing Alignment
31:57 - Product Management in SMBs
33:21 - Scaling Post Product-Market Fit
36:49 - The Role of Heroics in Business Success
47:20 - Final Thoughts and Reflections

Quote of the Show:

“By doing more, you actually might be hurting your brand more, you might be pissing buyers off more, and you definitely will be wasting your budget more.” - John Common

Sponsor:

The Transaction is sponsored and produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through Branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/

Connect with John:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncommon/
Website: https://intelligentdemand.com/
Podcast: https://www.growthdrivershow.com/

Shoutouts:

Mark Kosoglow https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkosoglow/
Ray Rike https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayrike/
Salesforce https://www.salesforce.com/
Definitive Guide to Lead Scoring https://business.adobe.com/resources/guides/lead-scoring.html
Quartet https://www.quartet.com/

Follow the Show:

Craig’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigrosenberg/
Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-amundson-91657236/
The Transaction on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-transaction/
The Transaction Website: https://thetransactionpod.com/
Substack: https://thetransaction.substack.com/

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