The Professional Services Pursuit

On this episode we welcome Sunday Dinner Founder, Ad Age 40 under 40 recipient and brand strategy thought leader, Lindsey Slaby, to the show. Brent and Lindsey discuss how the marketing and advertising industries have evolved over the years and the growing challenges they face. Lindsey is one of the top consultants in the space and pulls the curtain back on the changes big brands need to see from agencies and gives some insight on how to be an essential partner in 2023 and beyond.Some of the other topics we cover in this interview are:Lindsey’s journey and founding of Sunday DinnerThe power of great work and trends happening in the industry How to model your agency and practices to be an essential partner in the futureHow to market your agency and sell yourself successfully Pitch fundamentals2023 / 2024 necessities - creative production toolsThe most in-demand skills and where to go to upskill  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does professional services look like at Gainsight, THE customer success company? How does customer experience influence customer success? How do you get the best customer outcomes? On the latest episode of the Professional Services Pursuit podcast, we tackle all these questions and more as we talk with Gainsight’s Senior Vice President of Professional Services and Upgrades, Peter Wride. Other topics covered include:Peter’s journey to his current role and the most compelling reason why he joined a customer success companySome of Gainsight’s best practices for customer successAligning teams with the customer journey for a more cohesive experienceThe importance of the sales to service handoff What KPI’s Gainsight is measuring their services and deliveries byThe professional services onboarding process at Gainsight Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another episode of the Professional Services Pursuit Podcast! In this episode we welcome Bruno Gralpois to the show. Bruno is an author and the industry expert on optimizing agency/client relationships and bringing these best practices to life through technology. Bruno and Brent discuss the evolution of his business, Agency Mania Solutions, and some critical tactics agencies and clients can implement to enhance their relationships and collaborate better. Other topics covered include:Bruno’s journey to an agency relations role and how it led to him writing his book, Agency Mania The importance of clarity, partnership principles and cultural alignmentThe key inflection points that drove the need for better management of agency/client relationshipsSimple tactics to help get optimal value from the agency/client relationshipBe sure to stick around to the end of the episode for a special giveaway just for our listeners! Email us at podcast@kantata.com to enter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of the Professional Services Pursuit Podcast, we invite back the Head of Strategy and Managing Partner at Magnetic Customer Experience, Jessica Noble! In this continuation of our conversation with Jessica, Banoo dives into Jessica's book, 'The Five Customer Experience Mistakes you don't know you're making that are causing profit erosion.' Other topics covered include:The five critical mistakes that are made by high-growth companiesTactics and strategies to expand your customer base in a healthy wayAnalyzing the  impact and solution for each customer experience mistakeThe importance of action and continuous improvementBe sure to stick around to the end of the episode for a special giveaway just for our listeners! Email us at podcast@kantata.com to enter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another insightful episode of the Professional Services Pursuit podcast! In this episode, we were lucky enough to sit down with one of the foremost experts in customer experience, Jessica Noble. In part 1 of this conversation Jessica and Banoo discuss what improving the customer experience looks like today and how improving both your employee and customer experience can play a key role in improving margins. Some other topics covered include:Understanding the mechanics of good customer experienceHow to maintain your margins in an inflationary market The PAIR methodology and how it drives both customer and employee experience Incentivizing teams to help reduce waste through programs and think tanksHow customer experience, employee experience and operational excellence are all inextricably linkedWaste management, identifying margin leaks and the most efficient ways to take action  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Professional Services Pursuit Banoo is joined by Charles Gustine, Brand Evangelist at Kantata. They discuss the findings from a new Forrester research study commissioned by Kantata and Salesforce that helps explain the importance of vertical SaaS, how it is helping professional services organizations solve critical problems and how it is proving to be more effective at moving businesses through the maturity curve. Other talking points include:·         A review of the recently released Forester study to provide insights into vertical SaaS·         Trending challenges professional services organizations are facing·         The benefits of vertical SaaS and how it helps solve these challenges for PS companies·         How traditional PSA’s and horizontal SaaS differ from vertical SaaS solutions·         Prioritizing and optimizing client experience with proper resource management capabilities·         Charles’ thoughts on how vertical SaaS can solve future problems and what he expects to see from it going forwardIf you would like to read the full research study you can download it hereTo watch the webinar Charles did with guest speaker Margo Visitacion, Forrester’s Vice President and Principal Analyst, view here  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Brent is joined by Randy Mysliviec, the President and CEO of RTM Consulting and Managing Director of the Resource Management Institute (RMI). They explore the top trends emerging in the industry based on the RMI’s latest research report and Randy’s predictions for the future around resource automation management:The latest survey series results around resource management automationTrends emerging around resource data management Driving down labor costsEmployee engagement at scaleAutomated staffing plansRandy’s predictions for the next year in resource automation managementVisit the RMI website to learn more about the courses they offer, become a member and get access to their free reports - https://resourcemanagementinstitute.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carrie Young, Vice President of Strategic Solutions at Cority, joins Banoo on the show to discuss how to most effectively utilize your employee base by implementing cross training and expanding the skill sets of your team. Carrie has extensive experience scaling PS organizations and managing demand against capacity and resource optimization. Additional topics discussed include:Understanding and mapping your employee base to identify gaps and synergies; Documenting a clear career path for each employee;  People management is not for everyone; The importance of allowing mistakes and providing the tools, time and training needed for employees to grow; Incentivizing cross training and alignment with HR; How to get constructive coaching;  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this special episode of The Professional Services Pursuit, both of our hosts, Brent Trimble and Banoo Behboodi, sit down to discuss the different dimensions of the services industry as it pertains to talent and dive into some recent research on this topic. They also discuss why we are seeing more people taking a less traditional career path, and how services businesses need to adapt to retain their employees. Additional  talking points include:●        The shifting talent pools●        Recent articles and research by Kantata and McKinsey & Company●        Strategies that businesses can use to retain good talent●        The future of business  and getting in a position to optimize and scale●        Reasons why people are choosing to become their own boss ●        How to source talent in this new climate●        Upcoming webinar with TSIA addressing the changing workforce dynamicsCheck out the McKinsey & Company article referenced and keep your eyes peeled for Kantata’s upcoming report, “The Changing Dynamics of the Modern Workforce”, or read more about the research here.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining us on the podcast is Dave Yusuf, Senior Vice President of Customer Success at Q2. With a successful background in CS and PS, along with many other roles in the services industry, Dave is well versed on the idea of a “customer for life”. Dave talks through the journey to success and the role implementation, support, customer success, and product teams play in this process; including:●  Creating a successful cross-team strategy●  Determining KPI’s that dictate success●  The importance of aligning client success with your company values●  Measuring your clients success using a balanced scorecard●  Potential roadblocks to look out for along the way Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.