Apple •Spotify• Pocket Casts •Youtube •Overcast •RSS
What’s up everyone, today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Andrea Lechner-Becker, mostly retired CMO and Novelist.
Summary: Andrea takes us on a wild ride filled with nuggets of wisdom, a few f-bombs and tons of laughs as she unpacks her deep understanding of marketing. Together, we explore how storytelling breathes life into content and why true enthusiasm for a product can transform marketing strategies. We navigate the crucial skills of recognizing patterns and forming strategic partnerships with finance departments. Andrea also sheds light on how flawed attribution methods can lead marketers to do dumb things, why investing in branding from the outset is table stakes and why marketers have what it takes to be outstanding martech sales reps.
Jump to a Section
- The Impact of Fiction on Real-World Issues
- How to Create More Compelling Content and Messaging
- Pattern Recognition is Key to Future-Proofing Your Career
- Building Influence Through Strategic Relationships with Finance
- Perfect Attribution is Leading Marketers to do Dumb Things
- The Importance of Investing in Brand from the Early Days
- Why Marketers Could be Fantastic as Martech Sales Reps
About Andrea
- Andrea started her career in martech as a database marketing coordinator at the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team
- She later joined a 2-year old marketing automation consultancy called LeadMD. She would quickly get promoted to Principal, VP – Marketing Service and later CMO when the company was acquired by another agency and rebranded as Shift Paradigm
- Through the consultancy, Andrea’s helped huge brands like Adobe, Atlassian, Drift, Tealium
- She also ran marketing at Toolio before leaving her successful career as a marketing exec and going back to her entrepreneurial routes creating uncommonly good content
- She’s the Co-Host of OWNED podcast by AudiencePlus
- She wrote the Practical Guide to B2B Event Sponsorship
- She’s also written an intensely emotional and powerful fiction story called Sixty Days Left
The Impact of Fiction on Real-World Issues
Andrea’s insight into the world of writing and fiction is both refreshing and straightforward. She starts by debunking the myth of the “aspiring” writer—declaring that anyone who writes is indeed a writer. This simple yet powerful affirmation encourages daily writing as a practice, not just a hobby, and stresses that writing is accessible to everyone, regardless of their goals.
The creation of her novel, Willow, stems from her fascination with America’s Death with Dignity laws, a subject she finds both philosophically intriguing and politically complex. These laws allow terminally ill patients to end their lives under medical supervision, a right given more commonly to animals than to humans. Andrea’s story sheds light on this contentious issue by weaving it into the fabric of her characters’ lives, making it more approachable and understandable.
Through Willow, Andrea not only educates her readers about a delicate topic but also challenges them to rethink their positions. She shares feedback from readers who have shifted from staunch opposition to a more supportive stance—or at least to a reconsideration of their views—after connecting with her characters’ journeys.
Key takeaway: Fiction isn’t just for entertainment; it can be a formidable ally in influencing public opinion and sparking debate on critical social issues. For marketers, Andrea’s approach underscores the effectiveness of storytelling as a means to connect with audiences on a deeper level. By embracing narratives that reflect real-world challenges, marketers can create campaigns that resonate more profoundly with their audience, encouraging both engagement and reflection.
Back to the top ⬆️
How to Create More Compelling Content and Messaging
Andrea emphasizes the importance of going back to the basics in marketing, focusing on genuine human connections rather than overused jargon and AI-powered embellishments. She critiques the current state of B2B marketing, noting that many companies sound alike because they fail to make an effort to stand out. Drawing from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Andrea highlights how understanding basic human motivations can enhance marketing strategies. She believes that businesses often overlook the importance of connecting on a personal level with customers, colleagues, and bosses.
Her experiences at networking events reveal a lack of genuine engagement, prompting her to use specific conversational tools to foster meaningful interactions. Andrea uses a set of questions designed to deepen connections, which she adapts from psychologist Art Aaron’s research. These questions help her navigate social interactions more effectively, especially as someone who identifies as introverted.
Andrea argues that the lackluster approach to B2B marketing stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of marketing by those at the helm, particularly in large enterprises. She points out that many CEOs, often with backgrounds in finance rather than marketing, fail to grasp the essence of effective communication and its impact on sales and customer engagement. This gap in understanding leads to marketing strategies that do not resonate on a human level.
She stresses the importance of conveying the ‘benefit of the benefit’ in marketing messages, using B2C strategies as a successful example. Instead of selling a product, companies should focus on selling the lifestyle or emotional benefits that the product enables. This approach is often neglected in B2B settings, where the focus might be too narrow or technical.
Key takeaway: To stand out in the saturated B2B market, companies must prioritize genuine human connections and understand the underlying human needs of their audience. Marketers should strive to communicate not just the functional benefits of their products but also the emotional peace of mind they provide. By doing so, they can create more compelling, memorable marketing messages that resonate deeply with their customers, enhancing both engagement and loyalty.
Back to the top ⬆️
The Magic of Marketing is Genuine Product Enthusiasm
Andrea vividly recalls her journey through the marketing world, from her educational roots to the exhilarating rush of launching campaigns and seeing the immediate impact of her work. With a twinkle in her eye, she talks about the magic of marketing—connecting people to products they’ll hopefully love as much as she does. Even though she’s stepped back from the front lines, her heart remains tied to the craft.
After leaving a high-paced role, Andrea found joy in the simple pleasures of life, like spending time with her dog and tending to her orange trees. Yet, she still dedicates part of her time to sparking career growth in others through social media, teaching job seekers how to think of themselves as products ripe for the job market. Her methods are reminiscent of building a SaaS product—meticulous, thoughtful, and always aiming for scalability.
Andrea’s story is peppered with anecdotes of her early days in an art gallery, where she first realized the power of marketing. She could see the light in people’s eyes as they found joy in the art pieces she presented. This foundational experience shaped her belief that marketing, at its core, is about sharing passion. Whether she was working in a gallery or a tech firm, the essence of her approach didn’t change.
Reflecting on her career, Andrea points out the profound impact passionate marketing has had on her colleagues’ lives—transforming careers, enabling dreams, and changing life trajectories. It’s clear she sees marketing not just as a job but as a vital part of living a fulfilled life, a channel through which one can make a significant difference in both personal and professional realms.
Key takeaway: Embrace the essence of marketing by sharing your genuine enthusiasm for the products or services you represent. This authentic connection not only enhances your marketing effectiveness but also enriches your professional life and touches those around you. Andrea’s story is a powerful reminder that at the heart of successful marketing lies the joy of sharing what you love.
Back to the top ⬆️
Pattern Recognition is Key to Future-Proofing Your Career
Andrea, a seasoned marketer, emphasizes the significance of pattern recognition as a key skill for marketers looking to future-proof their careers. She believes that while writing remains a crucial skill, the advent of AI has changed its landscape. However, the ability to recognize patterns and adapt strategies accordingly transcends the evolving technology.
Andrea describes her process of using AI not just as a tool for execution but as a means to enhance her strategic insights. She actively engages with the technology, assessing outcomes and tweaking approaches based on identified patterns. This method applies not only to writing but to various aspects of marketing and business operations.
She shares examples from corporate settings where recognizing patterns can lead to substantial improvements. For instance, identifying inefficiencies in onboarding processes or communication gaps during meetings can propel significant changes that enhance overall business efficiency and communication flow.
This skill, according to Andrea, is not confined to professional life but is equally valuable in personal situations, such as optimizing daily routines like laundry. The essence of pattern recognition lies in its universal applicability and its potential to drive continuous improvement and innovation across all aspects of life.
Key takeaway: Cultivating the skill of pattern recognition can significantly enhance a marketer’s adaptability and problem-solving capabilities. By learning to identify and respond to patterns, marketers can stay ahead of technological advancements and make informed decisions that propel both their personal and professional growth. This skill is invaluable, ensuring relevance in an ever-changing market landscape.
Back to the top ⬆️
Building Influence Through Strategic Relationships with Finance
Andrea underscores the importance of relationships in marketing, especially for those stepping into chief marketing officer roles. Her perspective is that the initial 90 days should focus heavily on forming strong bonds within the C-suite, particularly with the CFO, who typically holds the purse strings. And not just Kevin from accounting. Andrea argues that while many new leaders prioritize quick wins, the real priority should be on establishing relationships that can secure long-term success.
She shares an insightful strategy: aligning closely with the CFO can be more impactful than trying to win over the CEO right away, especially if the CEO lacks a deep understanding of marketing. By winning the CFO’s trust and demonstrating how marketing strategies can contribute to the company’s financial goals, a CMO can build a formidable alliance that effectively influences the broader C-suite, including the CEO.
Furthermore, Andrea highlights the power of storytelling in internal communications. She recommends the book Made to Stick by the Heath Brothers, which provides practical advice on making ideas memorable and persuasive. Key elements include creating surprise and breaking patterns to capture attention and engage stakeholders effectively.
In her experience, top marketing leaders don’t just share information; they craft messages that are designed to drive action. This approach transforms routine updates into compelling narratives that resonate with their audience, ensuring that important projects and insights gain the visibility and support they deserve.
Key takeaway: For marketers looking to advance their careers and impact within an organization, focusing on building strategic relationships, especially with financial leaders, is crucial. Additionally, applying storytelling techniques to internal communications can significantly enhance their influence and effectiveness. This dual approach not only secures buy-in but also fosters a culture of collaboration and respect across the company.
Back to the top ⬆️
Perfect Attribution is Leading Marketers to do Dumb Things
Andrea passionately argues against the obsession with perfect attribution in marketing, illustrating her point with a memorable example from Vans. The shoe company’s campaign, which featured two vehicles shaped like shoes driving around New York, epitomizes marketing efforts that prioritize cultural impact over direct ROI. Andrea questions the practicality of demanding precise ROI for such creative campaigns, highlighting that some marketing strategies are designed to enhance brand presence and create lasting impressions rather than immediate financial returns.
She emphasizes that while CEOs and CFOs often push for quantifiable marketing results, the real value sometimes lies in actions that foster brand recognition and emotional connections. These efforts, although difficult to measure, can significantly influence consumer perception and loyalty over time. Andrea points out that this approach requires a shift in mindset from top executives, who must understand and appreciate the less tangible benefits of creative marketing strategies.
Furthermore, Andrea discusses the challenges faced by CMOs, particularly the short tenure in their roles, which complicates long-term planning. She shares personal experiences from her extensive career, revealing how projects initiated in the early years only bore fruit much later. This long-term impact is something many marketers may never witness due to the transient nature of their positions.
By referencing the Marketo Summit, Andrea illustrates how appearing larger and more influential at events can be a strategic move, albeit one that’s hard to quantify. She stresses the importance of genuine engagement at such events, advising marketers to be proactive, ask questions, and truly interact with potential clients to maximize the impact of their presence.
Key takeaway: Andrea advocates for a balanced approach to marketing metrics, warning against the overemphasis on attribution that can lead to undervaluing impactful but less quantifiable strategies. For marketers looking to make a lasting impression, focusing on creative campaigns and genuine engagements at key events can be more influential than strategies that offer clear but limited returns. This mindset shift is essential for building a brand that resonates deeply with its audience.
Back to the top ⬆️
The Importance of Investing in Brand from the Early Days
Andrea firmly believes that the concept of delaying brand marketing until a company reaches a later stage is fundamentally flawed. Contrary to the popular notion that early-stage startups should focus solely on demand generation, Andrea argues that brand building is essential from the outset. She points out that a strong brand significantly eases the sales process. Sales representatives can bypass the initial hurdle of establishing trust and credibility if they are backed by a well-recognized brand, allowing them to dive directly into discussing features, benefits, and pricing.
Drawing on her experiences with Marketo, Andrea notes that the company’s robust brand reputation gave its salespeople a considerable advantage. They could immediately engage in substantive discussions with potential clients who were already familiar with and trusted the Marketo brand. This contrasted sharply with other companies where sales reps had to spend considerable time just establishing basic credibility.
Andrea emphasizes the critical role of brand recognition in B2B contexts, suggesting that brand familiarity can be as instinctive as recognizing Coca-Cola’s iconic red label. She advocates for the use of founder-led insights and social media as cost-effective strategies for early-stage startups to build their brand presence. These methods not only enhance visibility but also foster a connection that sales teams can leverage during client interactions.
The discussion also touches on the ego clashes between sales and marketing teams, with Andrea highlighting that sales professionals often understand the value of brand better than marketers. This understanding comes from their direct interactions with clients, where a strong brand can streamline the sales process and lead to quicker conversions.
Key takeaway: Brand marketing should not be postponed until a business matures; rather, it should be a foundational strategy right from the start. Establishing a brand early on equips sales teams with a powerful tool: immediate recognition and trust from potential customers. This accelerates the sales process, reduces the effort required to establish credibility, and ultimately contributes to faster and more effective sales conversions. Early and consistent brand-building activities, especially through digital and social media, can significantly impact a startup’s market presence and sales success.
Back to the top ⬆️
Why Marketers Could be Fantastic as Martech Sales Reps
Andrea challenges the prevailing assumption that marketers are not suited to sales roles, particularly in the martech industry. This belief is widely held despite the clear synergies between marketing knowledge and the skills required to sell martech solutions. Andrea’s perspective is informed by her extensive experience and the interactions she’s had on social platforms where she actively engages in discussions about the role of marketers in sales.
She points out that the key skills for successful sales—listening to customers, managing deals proactively, and understanding buyer needs—are inherently aligned with the competencies developed in marketing roles. Marketers, she argues, are adept at project management and campaign management, skills that are directly transferable to managing sales deals. The challenge, however, is not about capability but prioritization. Marketers often focus less on direct customer interactions, which is more a matter of choice than a reflection of their abilities.
Andrea also touches on the psychological barrier many marketers face: the reluctance to identify with sales. She encounters many young marketing professionals who shy away from sales roles, not realizing that their early career efforts to land a job are, in essence, acts of selling themselves. This mindset limits their career opportunities and prevents them from exploring potentially lucrative positions in sales, where their skills could be highly valuable.
The debate over whether marketers can transition effectively into sales roles continues, but Andrea remains a staunch advocate for this pathway. She encourages marketers to reconsider their preconceived notions about sales and to recognize the overlap in skills and demands between the two fields.
Key takeaway: Marketers possess a rich skill set that is highly applicable to sales roles, particularly in the martech sector. By overcoming biases against sales roles and recognizing their inherent capabilities in deal management and customer engagement, marketers can open up new career opportunities. Embracing these roles can lead to significant personal and professional growth, making them well-equipped to meet evolving industry demands and excel in a variety of settings.
Back to the top ⬆️
The Value of Marketers Experiencing Sales Roles
Andrea strongly supports the notion that marketers can benefit immensely from taking on sales roles, referring to it as a “tour of duty.” This experience, she argues, is not just beneficial but essential for marketers who wish to deeply understand customer interactions, grasp the nuances of customer pain points, and how these customers perceive the products they use. This direct engagement offers a stark contrast to the often detached process of crafting marketing strategies based on second-hand data.
The real value of this approach lies in the firsthand experience of facing customer reactions—positive and negative. Andrea believes that when marketers personally navigate through difficult conversations where the product messaging does not resonate, they gain invaluable insights. This isn’t just about improving communication skills; it’s about building empathy and a genuine understanding of the market’s needs and frustrations.
She notes that while the prospect of handling a sales role might be daunting to many marketers, the rewards are substantial. The direct feedback received during sales calls can expose the weaknesses in current marketing strategies and prompt a more effective reevaluation of messaging and campaign approaches. This process helps in refining marketing strategies to be more aligned with customer expectations and market realities.
For Andrea, the suggestion that marketers should engage more with sales is not just about improving individual skill sets, but about fostering a more robust and empathetic marketing team that is well-versed in the real-world applications and challenges of their strategies.
Key takeaway: A stint in sales roles can be a transformative experience for marketers, providing them with critical insights into customer perspectives and direct feedback on product messaging. This “tour of duty” is recommended not just for personal growth but for enhancing the effectiveness and empathy of marketing strategies across the board. Marketers who embrace this opportunity can expect not only to enhance their career prospects but also to contribute more significantly to their organizations’ success.
Back to the top ⬆️
Cultivating Happiness and Success in Marketing Careers
Andrea, a multifaceted professional with roles spanning from a CMO to a TikTok novice, believes that the key to happiness and success in any career, particularly in marketing, is significantly influenced by the company one keeps. She emphasizes the profound impact of surrounding oneself with positive, ambitious individuals. According to Andrea, people tend to absorb the energies around them—positive environments breed positivity and vice versa.
She shares personal insights into how being around optimistic and driven individuals has shaped her own professional and personal outlook. For Andrea, it’s not just about avoiding negativity but actively seeking out those who challenge her and set high standards. Her experiences underscore the importance of a network that pushes one towards continual improvement and problem-solving, rather than stagnation and complaint.
Andrea points out that true positivity in a business context doesn’t ignore challenges. Instead, it acknowledges difficulties while focusing on solutions and forward momentum. This approach, she suggests, fosters a resilient and proactive mindset, essential for navigating the complexities of modern marketing roles.
Her strategy for maintaining happiness is straightforward yet powerful: engage with people who not only uplift your spirits but also propel you to exceed your limits and contribute positively to your growth. This method, she notes, has been pivotal in keeping her motivated and successful across various endeavors.
Key takeaway: The secret to sustained happiness and success in marketing lies in the company you keep. Surrounding yourself with individuals who are not only positive but also relentlessly forward-thinking can transform challenges into stepping stones for growth. This environment encourages a proactive stance in personal and professional life, essential for those looking to advance their careers in today’s competitive landscape.
Back to the top ⬆️
Episode Recap
For Andrea, stories are more than just entertainment; they grip people’s hearts and can shift views on pressing social issues. By weaving these stories into marketing campaigns, professionals can tap into deeper levels of audience engagement, making every message not just heard but felt. This need for connection is critical in the crowded B2B sector, where understanding and addressing the emotional needs of customers can elevate a company’s message. It’s about showing not only how products work but how they make life easier, bringing peace of mind along with utility.
Andrea also brings personal passion into the spotlight, reminding us that showing genuine love for what you sell doesn’t just enhance your work—it makes it more effective. She also tackles the importance of sharpening your pattern recognition skills and building strategic relationships within one’s company, especially with finance leaders.
Andrea shakes up the traditional views on brand investment and marketing metrics. Starting strong with a clear, resonant brand identity is crucial—it gives sales teams a serious leg up, speeding up sales cycles significantly. At the same time, she warns against an over-reliance on precise attribution in evaluating marketing success, advocating for a balanced view that values creativity and connection over mere numbers.
Together, this episode encourages marketers to rethink traditional strategies, go back to basics and focus more on authenticity and strategic thinking. Andrea’s advice is a call to infuse marketing work with passion and purpose, ensuring every campaign not only reaches an audience but moves them.
Listen to the full episode ⬇️ or Back to the top ⬆️
Follow Andrea👇
✌️
—
Intro music by Wowa via Unminus
Cover art created with Midjourney (check out how)
Apple •Spotify• Pocket Casts •Youtube •Overcast •RSS
Related tags
<< Previous episode
Next episode >>
All categories
- AI (94)
- career (60)
- customer data (59)
- email (64)
- guest episode (168)
- operations (127)
- people skills (34)
- productivity (10)
- seo (14)
See all episodes
Future-proofing the humans behind the tech
Apple •Pocket Casts•Google •Overcast •Spotify •Breaker •Castro •RSS