One of the biggest keys to having success in your role and your projects in operations is getting buy-in from your team, your stakeholders, and executive leadership (aka CRO, CMO etc). But sometimes, as many of us likely know, this can be tough.So this week we asked CS2's Director of Marketing Operations, Christie Fusco, to hit the pod and break down three key steps to getting the buy-in you're looking for.Learn from Christie how to:Tie the projects you need buy-in for to key business objectivesMarket your wins internally through data and reportsDevelop relationships by understanding the people you work with and what their individual goals areListen in to learn more about how you can put these tips into action!

Gany and Brian join the podcast this week to continue the New Marketing Automation Platform Series. Here we talk through key admin settings needed for a brand new instance.Join us as we chat through:- Domain Registration and Setup- Dedicated IP Warming- CRM Sync- and More!Whether you're implementing for the first time or auditing an existing platform, this practical episode has a lot of valuable insights for you.

Cassie Vitelli, VP of Marketing at Litify, joins this week to share her experience building their Revenue Growth Architecture with CS2. When Cassie took over the marketing team, they did not have a strong operational foundation built out, which was a first-time dilemma for her. After selecting and working with CS2, her experience drastically turned around after building a dependable funnel that not only improved their sales process and buyer journey but also one that could be leveraged to make better decisions as a leader. Tune in to this week's episode to learn from a fantastic marketing leader who has seen what works and what doesn't.

Xander Broeffle is joined again by Brian Morris and Gany Rodriguez for part 1 of 3 in their discussions on how to implement a new Marketing Automation Platform. This episode they explore the importance of proper preparation, and how it can make the difference between having a successful transition and a chaotic one. A few of the topics they go into include:The potential benefits of starting fresh, especially when implementing things like order of operations.The importance of including relevant stakeholders at the beginning to ensure alignment and buy-in.Considerations for auditing existing assets like templates, current lifecycle, lead scoring, and enrichment tools.Get ready to plan and prep successfully for your new MAP from the experts!

Step into your buyer's shoes on this week's episode as Xander Broeffle and Crissy Saunders explore the power of "secret shopping" your company's buyer journey. In Crissy's first guest episode since her maternity leave, she dives into why you need to regularly test out your buyer journey yourself to give you and the revenue team guidance on how to optimize and improve it.In this episode, you will learn:Why to "Secret Shop": Discover the friction points in your buyer journey and understand the gravity of lost business due to poor follow-up or an overly complex journey.How to actually do it: Learn Crissy's tips for how to actually secret shop your buyer journey technically, what to look out for, and the importance of bringing in your key stakeholders who own parts of the buyer journey on this activity. How to turn your insights into action: Learn how you can use your findings to drive action and improvements to the buyer journey.Tune in and let's get shopping! 😁

On this week's episode, we welcome one of our favorite guests - Alison Rouse, Chief Architect and Analyst at CS2, to talk about why using a custom object to track your funnel is our preferred method.Historically marketers have been stuck with some less-than-ideal solutions to track their funnel properly. Whether it's only on the lead/contact object and losing out on multi-journeys and causing inaccurate data, or having to invest money into solutions that are separate from your CRM, trying to track the funnel has always felt "hard."Well - Alison has a solution that she has developed for our clients that uses an SFDC custom object and it has made us all true believers. So sit down and hear why you need to think about adopting this approach and the benefits you will see from using it! And if you are interested after the show to learn more, reach out to us on our website www.cs2marketing.com.

These days we are hearing from so many marketing teams that they just need to get some "quick wins." Well, in marketing having a quick win can be tough, but Crissy thinks there is one great source of data to inform some actions to get quick wins. And most of them don't require any spending.So what is it?It's your funnel data!In this episode of Revenue Growth Architects, join Crissy and Xander as they dive into the importance of tracking your funnel properly, and how you can look to your conversion data for insights that you can put into action to improve your pipeline and revenue. Get ready to hear how you can move away from random acts of marketing to show a win and move toward prioritizing strategic decisions that can really provide fast improvements and results.

In this episode of Revenue Growth Architects, Matt Cronk, Director of Marketing Operations at CS2, joins Xander to discuss why it's necessary to "tier" your MQLs and how it can drastically improve both your lead follow-up and improve the buyer experience.In this episode, we cover:How you should treat your 'Handraiser' or 'Hot' leads compared to your 'Warm' leads to optimize both of their journeys. How lumping all MQLs together can skew your analytics and risk misguiding your optimization efforts.Some handy tips on separating online and offline hot leads, activating this in your systems, and effectively reporting on the data to get better insight into the performance of your different types of MQLs.If you're aiming to bring more precision to your marketing efforts, improve lead handling, and ultimately drive more revenue, this episode is your essential guide.

This week, we're diving into the crucial yet often overlooked area of Opt-In Management and Compliance. We're breaking down:Importance of Opt-In Management and Compliance: The relevance of data privacy regulations, how preventing fines from GDPR non-compliance can provide peace of mind, and how proper opt-in management can enhance email deliverability rates.Tips for MOps teams: Establishing strong data governance, understanding different data privacy regulations, and providing a pleasant buyer experience without compromising on privacy.GDPR Dashboard: Advice on why and how you should track opt-in regularly through a GDPR dashboardWhether you're navigating the ever-evolving world of data privacy laws or seeking ways to make your opt-in management process more efficient and less of a headache, this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode, Xander and Joy dive into the different lifecycles in sales and marketing: Lead, Account, and Product Lifecycles/Funnels. They review each one's unique Go-to-Market motions, involved teams, and key stages.Let's unpack:Understanding Lifecycles: Recognize distinct characteristics of lead, account, and PLG funnels. Learn how these different approaches to driving demand, selling, and growth significantly impact their specific lifecycles.Navigating Tools & Metrics: Talk about the wide array of tools that support tracking and data in each funnel type, the differing metrics to track, and areas of the funnel that need optimization.Getting Started: Learn some of our quick tips to kick-start your journey in mapping out each funnel. Consider critical factors such as understanding your value metrics and identifying the 'aha' moment in your product.If you are looking to understand the distinctive features of these lifecycles and how to optimize them for success, this episode is for you.

In the world of MOps & RevOps, it's not just about who you work with; it's about how you work together. So, we're breaking it down to help you become a master in working with Marketing and Revenue Ops agencies.We're diving into:Agency Selection: Finding the right agency doesn't have to feel like speed dating. Learn how to differentiate between different types of agencies, and get the right balance of strategic vs. tactical expertise.Leveraging Strengths of the Agency: Once you've found 'the one,' how do you get the most out of the relationship? We'll guide you through five ways to get the best from your partner: from embedding them in your team to getting different agency partners to partner with each other to improve your business across all channels.Systemizing the Work: How do you build a system that gets the work done? It's all about establishing a shared roadmap, setting expectations, regular check-ins, and harnessing the power of shared Project Management tools. An agency should be your secret weapon, not a secret worry. So optimize your operations to hit the high notes and gain better results from your agency relationships.

Looking for the next promotion in your career? Are you hungry for growth, but not sure if you're interested in managing people? We've got you covered. On this week's episode, Claire Pockell-Wilson, CS2's Senior Manager of People Operations, joins Xander to discuss how to shift career development talk into a new perspective. We're challenging conventional wisdom, discussing not just career growth, but how you can lead, inspire, and instigate change, regardless of your current job title.We break down some alternative routes for professional growth that don't have to necessarily involve conventional ladder-climbing, such as: Self-Driven Growth: Own your 1-1s, separate career discussions from tactical talks, and identify opportunities for skill enhancement. Make your growth journey your own adventure.Fostering a Growth Culture: Understand how clear progression paths, learning and development budgets, and feedback cycles contribute to a robust growth culture. And bonus - learn how to evaluate these aspects right from the first interview.Helping Others Level-Up: Dive into the world of delegation, succession planning, and stretch assignments. Discover how promoting others' work and effective escalation can accelerate team growth.We'll also delve into the skills and challenges that come along with assessing readiness for growth, figuring out what you want out of your career, and the role of skill assessments in shaping career trajectories. If you've ever wondered "what's next" in your career, this episode is tailored to you.

In this week's episode, Charlie and Xander dive into the latest AI Rev/Marketing Ops news and showcase seven use cases and tools they're experimenting with. Learn more about:Vowel: An AI meeting platform that transcribes in real time, effortlessly integrates with your favorite tools, and helps your latecomers catch up with AI-generated summaries.ChatGPT Code Interpreter: Our go-to tool for data visualization and analysis, capable of creating interactive charts and providing you with effortless insights. Marketo Velocity Scripting and Excel Formulas: Leveraging ChatGPT to learn technical MOps skills faster than ever before.Trained AI Chatbot: The ability to train your own chatbot so your team can ask questions and get accurate answers from your own vast knowledgebase.Lead Scoring: An AI scoring system that not only provides a score but also outlines its reasoning.Strategy Creation for ABM: A on-demand strategist to help develop and document your ABM strategy. Data Cleanup: How we use the ChatGPT plugin for Sheets to streamline our data cleanup process.As we've seen already, AI has the potential to change the day to day of marketing and revenue operations completely, but only for those who take full advantage of its capabilities.

CS2 is taking you on an epic journey in a galaxy not too far away. This is a new mini-series, where we walk you through the many phases of a brand-new Marketing Automation platform. In this episode, we're joined by industry veterans Gany and Brian as we tackle the intimidating yet exhilarating task of establishing a fresh start in your Marketing Automation platform.In this episode, we'll be navigating:The Prep-work: To rebuild or not to rebuild? We'll weigh the pros and cons of each approach. Gany and Brian will guide you through the need for stakeholder alignment, dealing with constraints like contract negotiations and balancing daily tasks, and who you should rope in for this mission.The Implementation: Here's where we roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. We'll walk you through the down and dirty of the tech setup, laying down the foundation with templates, campaign management, GDPR programs, and more. And then we'll leap into the optimization phase where we discuss deprecating old processes, data hygiene, and nurturing campaigns.Testing, Enablement, and Launch: We'll demonstrate how to thoroughly test every lead scenario, enable users based on their comfort level with the new tool, and finally, prepare for the grand launch. But the journey doesn't end here. We'll also talk about monitoring and further optimization once you're in a live state.Join us as we embark on this thrilling journey, blasting off into the world of Marketing Automation platforms. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to explore new territories in their Marketing Automation journey or those seeking to optimize their current platform. May the force of good data and efficient processes be with you!

Welcome to another insightful episode of the Revenue Growth Architects podcast, where we untangle the complex world of marketing operations. Today, we're joined by Grant Booth, a seasoned Salesforce admin with a passion for clean data. Buckle up for an intriguing ride into the depths of Data Normalization, and learn how you can save yourself hours and headaches down the road.In this episode, we're demystifying:The Basics: What is Data Normalization, really? Often referred to as data cleaning, we'll discuss its role in simplifying complex data and eliminating redundancy, ensuring you're not slowing down your processes with countless redundant values.The Why: Why should you care about Data Normalization? We highlight its importance in facilitating easy and reliable reporting, fostering standardized data, and contributing to simplified automation downstream. We'll discuss why minimalism is key in retrieving and grouping particular datasets.The How: How can you do Data Normalization efficiently? We'll explore strategies for future-proofing your data structure, determining the 'correct values', and how to categorize for simplicity. Most importantly, we will share detailed steps you can do to leverage CSV supported automation out of both Salesforce or Marketo to make this scalable and easy to maintain.We're not about blocking data - we're here to transform it. We want to flip the script on the old adage, "Garbage In, Garbage Out" and make your marketing ops work smarter, not harder. And at the end of the day, it all comes down to your ABC's - Always Be CSV-ing.

Are you ready to take your HubSpot game to the next level? This week on the Revenue Growth Architects Podcast, Gany Rodriguez joins to dive into how to maximise your use of HubSpot. Get ready for a whirlwind tour of HubSpot best practices as we break down:Strategy: Learn how to approach your go-to-market process, whether or not to adopt HubSpot's built-in features or customize them to fit your own, and the ins and outs of opt-in/opt-out strategies and global formsOperations: Discover the secrets of operationalizing global forms, templatizing workflows, and managing marketing vs. non-marketing contacts Analytics: Uncover the power of HubSpot's campaign tracking and reporting features, including form submissions, workflow details and audits, and the versatile journey report builderWhether you're a HubSpot novice or a seasoned pro, this episode is packed with tips and tricks to help you optimize your enterprise experience with this powerful marketing tool.

Are you struggling to measure the impact of your marketing channels and track the origin of your leads? You're not alone! This week on The Revenue Growth Architects Podcast, Nina Valtcheva, Director of Solutions Architecture at CS2, comes back to chat about how to unravel the mystery of SFDC Campaign/Channel Tracking and help you master the art of attribution.In this information-packed episode, we'll cover:The Where/What Challenge: Discover how to track how someone got to your content and what they converted on, and learn about the different methods to set up your SFDC Campaigns for better attributionSetting Up SFDC Campaign Tracking: Dive into the process of creating SFDC Campaign Types, defining UTM values, and setting up automation to streamline your tracking and reportingReporting and Utilizing Data: Explore various reporting techniques and learn how to use the data to optimize your marketing campaigns and boost your ROI, and finally,Common pitfalls to be aware of, key monitoring strategies, and the importance of not setting and forgetting your tracking processThis episode is sure to help you take your campaign tracking skills to the next level!

AI has gone from 0-60 in the past three months. The speed of development is both exciting and unnerving. In this week's episode, we're diving deep into AI and exploring its potential impact on how we interface with our marketing/revenue ops tech stack. From SFDC's AI flow builder, Zapier's AI automation builder, Chatspot.ai by Hubspot, AutoGPT, and dozens more examples of marketing and sales tech embedding advanced AI into their products, we'll examine the wild developments in AI-driven chat interfaces and their potential to revolutionize the way we interact with technology.Join us as we explore:• The current state of AI in Rev Ops tools and the move towards a more prompt-driven interface • The possibilities and potential stages of AI evolution, from building complex automation to fully autonomous AI doing our jobs• The pros and cons of AI-driven tool development, including the good (increased efficiency) and the bad (tech debt) • The future of AI in sales and marketing, and the potential for a centralized AI that could change the fabric of our economy Will AI eventually replace the need for marketers and salespeople or even reshape the entire tech industry? We are not sure, but we're going to discuss it nonetheless.

Is your campaign operations process a little chaotic? Do you want to scale up your campaigns without adding stress? In this week's episode of The Revenue Growth Architects, Jerel Allen and Ruben Rangel, two of CS2's top Campaign Ops experts, sit down to discuss the do's and don'ts of campaign operations that will help you scale your campaigns like never before.In this episode, we dive into the key components of a best-in-class Campaign Ops process, covering aspects like:• The importance of having a project management tool and a well-defined request process, and the necessity of training, enablement, documentation, and optimized MAP assets• The necessity to have clear roles and responsibilities, reporting, and regular meetings or check-ins• The essential technical and soft skills you need to own and manage your COps processes, and• Some of the most common challenges faced in developing and maintaining a robust Campaign Ops process. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the pros and discover how you can avoid common pitfalls to revolutionize your campaign operations.

Are you looking to build a top-notch nurture strategy that effectively engages your audience and drives results? Dive into this insightful episode of The Revenue Growth Architects, where CS2's Joy Martinez joins Xander to explore the ins and outs of creating a successful nurture campaign.We broke down some essential aspects to consider when building a nurture strategy: • Establishing clear goals and reporting needs • Understanding entry and exit points for a seamless sales funnel experience • Crafting content that speaks to your audience at every stage of the buyer's journey (ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu) and, • Finding the perfect cadence and frequency to keep your prospects engagedWe've got some great tips for setting up a nurture campaign that drives real results, so stick around while we break it down.

"AI isn't going to steal your job, but someone using AI might." Welcome to the newly branded Revenue Growth Architects Podcast (formerly fwd:thinking podcast). In this episode, Charlie joins us to discuss his take on the quickly-evolving developments of ChatGPT, AI, and how that's going to change the way we work in marketing and revenue operations. Specifically, we'll dive into these topics: • Why you need to care about AI now, and what you can do to keep up with this technology • How to make AI work for you, • And practical ways you can integrate AI and ChatGPT into your workflow, including use cases surrounding using AI to optimize lead scoring, how to write an effective ChatGPT prompt, and using AI to improve your company's documentation processes. This topic has the business world buzzing, so you won't want to miss out. Charlie and Xander break it all down for you. PLUS - we've got some exciting news to share with you!

Get ready to get technical with us, because in today's episode of fwd:thinking, we dive into the art of building a successful nurture program within Marketo.Colton Slauson, Senior Manager of Marketing Operations at CS2, joins us to share some valuable insights on how to approach this project.Specifically, we'll be talking about how to:Start with a solid plan and identify your nurture audiences.Overcome common hurdles by creating a repeatable process with set guidelines.Prioritize effective reporting to evaluate and optimize your nurture programs.We’re getting detailed today, so grab a pen and some paper and be prepared to take some notes.For more information on Nurture Handling, check out Colton's step-by-step Nurture Handler Guide.

In this episode, Xander is joined by CS2's Director of Solutions Architecture, Nina Valtcheva to talk about an essential need for your business, data enrichment.If you can optimize your enrichment process, you'll improve your database's health, completeness, and accuracy - a win for both marketing AND sales teams!Join us as we break down:What is data enrichment and why is it usefulHow to build a business case if you don't already have a data enrichment toolWhat to do (and not do) when setting up a data enrichment tool, andHow to measure the impact data enrichment has on your businessAt CS2, we're all about working smarter, not harder. Enrichment is one way you can improve the quality of your data and make it easier on your sales and marketing teams to connect with your target market.

How To Level Up Your Operations Using the CS2 PRODUCT MethodToo often, we see clients approaching their roles with a project mindset. A project mindset is a temporary endeavor, with timelines, budgets, endpoints, and deliverables. Project mindsets can make MOps teams feel like they are seen just as order takers who only process incoming tickets.Today, we're going to introduce you to CS2's PRODUCT method. This method focuses on ongoing concerns, and is positioned for strategic conversations that influence business decisions. A product team is never done as long as the product remains on the market, which means there are continual opportunities for learning, feedback, improvements, enhancements, and expansions. The focus here is on outcomes.The PRODUCT method is actually an acronym. It stands for:P - PrioritizationR - RoadmapO - Outcomes MeasuredD - DocumentationU - User ExperienceC - Continuous ImprovementT - Team Structure and AlignmentJoin us as we break this all down for you with Joy Martinez, CS2's Senior Director of Marketing Operations. Joy is an expert in shifting clients from the project mindset to the PRODUCT mindset.This method will be a game changer for you and your teams - trust us.

It's 2023, so why on this forward thinking episode are we still talking about lead scoring? Is using “lead scoring” still relevant?In this episode, CS2's Director of Marketing Operations, Matt Cronk, talks us through how to do lead scoring right. And, disclaimer, we use the term “lead scoring” here, but really it’s setting a priority to prospects so you can optimize where and how sales spends their time - even if you are just sending hand-raisers over to them.So join Matt and Xander as they take a deep dive into why lead scoring is still useful especially when done right, how we at CS2 suggest approaching your model, and lastly, how to set it up to be successful and have sales singing your praises!

If you missed last week's episode - Technical Debt to Technical Equity Part 1 - you're going to want to give that a listen first.This week we're bringing you part two, featuring CS2's Senior Salesforce Consultant, Grant Booth, for the second week in a row. We're covering topics including: Apex CPU Limits - what it is and why it mattersWhy you should move to flowsHow to build and run a tech debt projectDisclosure: we recommend checking this episode out on our YouTube channel or our website, cs2marketing.com, because Grant shares his screen as he walks through some great examples of salesforce automation, workflow rules, process builders, and running tests and analyses.If you're deep in technical debt, and are desperate to reach technical equity, this episode will help.

We all talk about technical debt, but talking about it doesn't make it go away. One of our predictions at the start of 2023 was that technical debt was going to skyrocket this year, and companies would struggle to dig themselves out of that hole come 2024. That's one prediction we hope doesn't come true, but it's going to take more than wishful thinking to make that happen.On this week's episode of fwd:thinking, CS2's Sr. SFDC Consultant, Grant Booth, joins us to discuss technical debt: why you need to prioritize fixing it and how to get executive buy-in for this critical project.We didn't stop there though. This episode is a two-parter, and Grant will be back with us next week to dive more into the weeds of what CPU limits are, the types of Salesforce automations and flows and their impact on processing, and what a successful SDFC tech debt project looks like.After hearing this episode, you'll definitely want to mark your calendar for part two next week.

Inheriting a new instance can be tricky. You need to understand the context around how things were built, align with the marketing strategy, and identify the business goals related to your marketing automation platform.Once you've uncovered the why, you need to focus on uncovering the "who". Who are your key stakeholders? Who's in charge of using the system, and what are team expectations? And then finally, focus on the "how". How do you get the information you need out of a new instance? What's the first thing you tackle?On this week's episode of the fwd:thinking podcast, CS2's Senior Manager of Marketing Operations, Chelsea Byron, breaks down the do's and don'ts of inheriting a new instance, and provides several key takeaways.If you or your company is in the middle of this process, you'll definitely want to tune in.

Most marketers have used Account Based Marketing (ABM) strategies before. It's not a new concept by any means. In a sea of multi-colored rubber duckies, you pinpoint the blue ones and focus your marketing there. (Don't know what we mean? Give the episode a listen)What many teams get wrong is that ABM is not just a for large enterprise accounts requiring white glove marketing tactics. You should be using an ABM strategy for all of your accounts.You have to ask yourself:Which buyers should we be targeting?Which buyers should we not be targeting? (Not doing something is a great strategy)Which of those buyers are in market... nowOnce you've got those three questions roughly answered, you can start operationalizing your ABM strategy.On this week's episode, Xander and Crissy break down all the ins and outs of an ABM strategy and how you can use it to get the maximum return on your marketing investments. If this seems right up your alley, you'll definitely want to give this episode a listen.

CS2's Guide to Customer and Prospect Communication OrchestrationOn this week's episode, Xander sits down with Crissy to talk through CS2's Guide to Customer and Prospect Communication Orchestration.In the last several years, companies have brought on more and more technology and adopted more channels to communicate with their prospects and customers. From marketing automation, sales engagement platforms, to social messaging and their product itself, companies are creating disjointed customer experiences with duplicative messages and lack of cohesive efforts across the whole revenue team who work in silos.How we communicate to prospects and buyers is a HUGE part of that customer experience alone so we need to care!During the episode we will share our tips for creating great communications orchestration within your org, how to get buy-in and alignment toward this effort, and also what outcomes you will see as a result of it.Get your notepads ready. Trust us.

We've seen a huge growth gap within organizations over the last several years: the executive team wants to grow faster than the operations team has capacity to keep up with. MOps teams want to make impact aligned with the executive priorities, but often times get bogged down in day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. This makes it difficult for their teams to prove their value to the C-Suite.If you relate to this, have no fear. During this week's episode, host Xander Broeffle, and CS2's CEO and CRO, Crissy and Charlie Saunders, introduce a framework that's been in the works for the last several years at CS2. Enter: Revenue Growth Architecture and the GROW Framework.First, let us break it down for you:G - Go-to-Market DesignR - Revenue AnalyticsO - Operational InfrastructureW - WinsUse this GROW Framework to align your teams on the most impactful projects and objectives. Align with core marketing strategy, execute the processes efficiently, and leave every initiative with meaningful analytics. Get the results that will make your executive team cheer.Intrigued? Then this is the episode for you. Grab a pen and some paper and be ready to take some notes.

Change - some of us love it, some of us hate it. But no matter which side of the fence you fall on, change is inevitable, especially in business. What's the best way to get buy-in from your team and make the change stick? CS2's Senior Director of Marketing Operations, Joy Martinez, joins us on the fwd:thinking podcast again this week. She breaks down the do's and don'ts of introducing change in your organization, through these three key steps: Building great documentationEmpowering your team through training And enabling them to be successful through open lines of communicationWhether you're a C-level exec, or just starting out in your marketing career, Joy's advice applies to you to get the most out of your next process improvement.

CS2's founder and CEO, Crissy Saunders, knows a thing or two about building a career in operations, starting an agency, and consulting in general! And over the past few months, she has received dozens of questions on LinkedIn from others looking to do the same. So this week, Xander sat down with Crissy to get her answers to a few of the top ones. Whether you are looking to make a career change to an operator supporting the revenue team, looking to get into independent consulting or building a small agency, or thinking about how a create a path to ops leadership and beyond - this podcast is filled with great career advice you can take yourself or share with your team.

"All Models Are Wrong, But Some Are Useful" - British statistician George E. P. BoxWe have quoted our good man George so many times on this podcast, and today's episode title is even inspired by it as we talk all about Pipeline Source.Right now when jobs are on the line or teams are looking to show their impact, it can be very tempting to want to try to use pipeline source to give "credit" as to which team or channel (marketing, sales, partner) drove the opportunity. Or, even if the intention is to not use pipeline source for credit, some teams are just identifying it in the wrong way.So on today's podcast we will give you or take in under 30 minutes on:All the reasons why pipeline source can be wrongHow to do it right if you still plan to use itAnd how, even though it can be "wrong", it still can be usefulTake a listen and let us know -- are we wrong or was our advice useful? 😄

2022 was another unexpected year that we couldn't predict in the B2B SaaS and tech space. During the summer, companies were all in the thick of a talent war and now heading in 2023, many companies have had to do layoffs and are on hiring freezes. But even though this space feels unpredictable, we wanted to come to the podcast like we have done over the years with our team's predictions for 2023 in marketing, sales and operations and B2B SaaS in general.Join Xander Broeffle as he sits down with Crissy and Charlie to talk through predictions provided by the team and give our commentary on whether they agree or not.This episode is always a fun one so listen in and see if any of our predictions match up to yours!

CS2'S Guide to Revenue Planning It's the end of year and many revenue teams are looking to do their revenue planning and tapping operators to help work with finance to do so. However, from our experience, companies are often missing the proper data or practices in order to revenue plan with success.So want to be the hero and lead this important project successfully? We got you!On the podcast this week, new host Xander Broeffle interviews Alison Rouse, CS2's VP of Solution Architecture and Analytics as she walks through CS2's guide to revenue planning. They both dive into:Tops-down versus Bottoms-up data modelingThe risks when only utilizing one of these modelsFoundational data points needed for both modelsHow goals should be communicated and revisited by the revenue teamAnd how to approach next year's planning if you already do have a strong data foundationGet ready to take some serious notes!

Product-Led Growth is all the rage right now and has infiltrated it's way into B2B SaaS and many sales-led first companies are dipping their toes on the PLG waters and deciding to launch this new strategy.The only problem?Companies are underestimating all the changes and things you need to do strategically and operationally in order to make it work. And you can't just apply your same sales-led processes, team, or data structure to it and assume it will work.So what are the most common mistakes we see sales-led first companies do? Listen in to hear from Xander, Crissy, and Charlie all the things to avoid so we can't tell you we told you so ; )

It's that time of the year. Time to prep for end of quarter business reviews and annual reviews. Whether you're attending sales QBR's or prepping your own, there are key insights that you should be preparing to show what marketing is doing well and also highlight areas that can improve.This week, Crissy, Charlie, and Xander discuss key metrics to highlight, and how to tell stories from your data. They also share insights into which teams you should align with prior to the QBR to make sure that your review is aligned with other revenue teams.This is a must listen for anyone looking to be a strategic partner with their marketing and sales leadership teams!

Making the case for budget and resources for RevOps or MOps is..... tough. Especially when you are trying to get the buy-in from execs like your CMO or CEO.But why is it so difficult?What are the negatives impacts that they care most about that are tied to being under-resourced?What can you do to make it so you can get enough resources?What types of resources or support should you be looking for?Well, we cover all over that and more in today's episode. Join Xander, Director of MOps from CS2 as he takes over as host for the first time and see what him and Crissy and Charlie have to say on the topic.

Building a strong team culture is hard. Especially while remote. And especially as your team grows.But how do you maintain the same level of connection for the team while also ensuring they feel supported and are growing as you add on more people?Well, on this week's podcast our very own Sr. Manager of People Operations, Claire Pockell-Wilson, takes us through why culture is so important and dives deep into some of the many programs and tactics she has rolled out or refined here at CS2 to maintain our strong culture based on our values even while doubling our team size.This is a great listen for any leader - even if it is just of a small team, to gives you ideas on how to make sure your team is happy and healthy and ready to take on their job! To connect with Claire and keep the conversation going, find her on LinkedIn!

Do you know that your marketing automation system can easily be attacked or threatened? And these attacks, when not handled properly or prepared for, can really impact not only your reputation, but your customer experience and trust with your whole revenue team, especially sales?It's better to be prepared than surprised, so this episode is a must listen if you manage the marketing automation platform for your org.This week, we introduce our new cohost Xander Broeffle, Director of MOps at CS2, and he joins Crissy and Charlie to dive into two very common security threats to any marketing automation platform that happen a lot.During the episode we will cover:What the two (kind of 3) threats areHow to identify or tell you have been attacked or at riskWhat proactive steps you can do to be prepared for oneWhat to do in the event you are attackedAnd how you can minimize the impact of a potential attack on your reputation, your systems, your customer experience and your trust from sales.So join us for this quick chat and then go inform your revenue team and the IT/ security team and build a preparation plan. You will be SO happy you did!

You or your team is discussing switching marketing automation platforms. But wait! Are you about to make the right decision? After listening to this podcast episode you will find out! Join me and CS2’s very own Xander Broeffle, Director of MOps, as we dive deep into all the things to consider and plan for before you switch MAPs. We cover: The right reasons to switchThe wrong reasons to switchThe requirements you need to gather and assess before selecting a new MAPHow to plan appropriately for the switchAnd, how to really ensure your process of switching is successfulThis podcast will be your savior - trust us. If you have any more questions for Xander or just want to network, connect with him here on LinkedIn! 

So many times we position and measure people on our ops teams based on their technical skills. But how do we actually understand what someone’s true strengths are? These aren’t skills they learn or train themselves, but really the traits they just naturally have that can help them be successful and energized. So this week, we have our very own Sr. Director of MOps, Joy Martinez, on the podcast to talk all about one her favorite topics, strengths, and how mangers and individuals can identify their own and their team’s strengths and use that knowledge to make them and their team more effective. Joy will also cover how she led our CS2 team through a workshop on strengths at our team offsite this summer and how it can maybe inspire you and your team to do the same!To learn more from Joy, connect with her on LinkedIn and check out some of the strengths resources we talked about on the podcast below.Find out more about CliftonStrengthsFind about more about 16 Personalities

Measuring ROI on marketing is probably one of the trickiest things to do for operators and analysts.There are so many things to consider from your campaign structure, how you track cost, and even what tools to use.But this week, our very own VP of Solutions Architecture and Analytics Alison Rouse will dive into another meaty topic for analytics - and that is yup, marketing ROI!On the podcast we will dive into:The definition of ROI and the different types you can measure for marketingWhat pitfalls or issues you can face when trying to track ROIWhat methods we see work best across clients and an overview on a few tools to useAnd, what you really to also track first before even trying to measure marketing ROI to tell the full storyIf you loved our attribution episodes on the pod - you will love this one! Whether you are a CMO trying to understand marketing ROI, or an analyst tackling it yourself, it will be super helpful.To connect with Alison and ask any follow-up questions for her, connect with her on LinkedIn.

Lead scoring is getting a lot of hate recently. You know, the same hate MQLs get. But like MQLs, is it warranted or are people just doing it wrong or using it for the wrong purpose?On this week's episode, Charlie sits back down with Crissy again to dive deep into a lead scoring project they have done for a client and repeatedly iterated on over the 10 months. In the episode, Crissy will give her tips on:What you need to do ahead of creating a lead scoring model to make it effectiveWhat analysis and modeling you can do before launching a model to ensure it's effectiveWhy having a goal conversion rate of MQL to SQL to model to is effective in your modelingWhy having the right data is so importantAnd why it's not a "one and done" projectSo sit back and learn how you can take CS2s same approach to your own organization to see success with a lead scoring model.

Your budget just got cut and you are on a hiring freeze, but your marketing team's goals stayed the same. How do you deal? Where should you make the sacrifices and what should you stay invested in? And how can you articulate to finance why you actually need more to deliver on those goals?On this week's episode, we have a MarTech veteran and now VP of Marketing at Metadata.io, Jason Widup on to discuss all about what to do when your budget is cut and all the ways he handled it himself in his current role during this "slow down" and in past roles.We answer all of those burning questions above and more so this is a great one not only for MOps but anyone in marketing.To learn more about Metadata.io go to their website here or follow them on LinkedIn. And to continue the conversation with him, connect with Jason on LinkedIn here.

When your company is focused on revenue growth, one of the most impactful things the whole team can do is approach working together like a unified team.Not just separate teams aligned to each other, but one team that is unified on goals, strategy, and thinking about the experience for the prospect and customer through their whole journey.On this week's episode, we have Chief Growth Officer at Klearly, Mary Blanks on to talk about why revenue growth is team sport, how approaching it that way can have some amazing beneficial impacts on customer journey and pipeline creation, and what it takes to move the revenue team to this way of working by managing organizational change effectively.To connect with Mary, check her out on LinkedIn and make sure to follow Klearly, as they are about to also launch their very first podcast all around revenue growth best practices.

If you have a small marketing operations team supporting a marketing team creating a lot of campaigns, you might be interested or even have a decentralized campaign operations model where marketers can create campaigns and send emails themselves.This can be great for giving your team more time to be strategic on other projects. But how do you do it well? What processes and documentation need to be put in place? And what happens when your marketing scales so fast, the decentralized model starts to show some signs that it is not working anymore?On this week's podcast we will dive into all of that with two incredible women marketing operators, Amy Goldfine, Head of Marketing Ops and Geraldine Gudino Garcia, Marketing Operations Manager at Iterable.Both Amy and Geraldine have had experience with adding processes and enabling the decentralized model at their organization and share their experience and tips with us all. And, (SPOILER ALERT) they also go into why they are planning a to change to a new model this year.This episode is so informative and jam packed with great advice and things to consider if you have or you are thinking of putting in a decentralized campaign ops model.To learn more from Amy Goldfine, check her out on LinkedIn or go to her website MarketingOpsAdvice.com and to learn more from Geraldine, you can also connect with her on LinkedIn.