Savage Mindset: Top Talking Too Loud Moments of 2023

Welcome to my newsletter. Each month, I share things that have recently inspired me. This December, I'm reflecting on some of the top moments from my podcast, Talking Too Loud in 2023.

It's hard to believe 2023 is almost over, and with it, another roster of intriguing guests dropping their Talking Too Loud takes. 

On the show, my co-host Sylvie Lubow and I have the honor of talking to some of the most thought-provoking entrepreneurs and innovative marketers in the game. Here are a few of our favorite moments that stuck with us long after the recording stopped.

The storytelling gap between marketing and sales – April Dunford , B2B positioning expert

"So, I'm a positioning expert, but there's this thing that happens to your positioning when it makes the jump from marketing to sales. And I'm starting to see very clearly that we have this big issue. We do all this thinking on the marketing side about how we craft the words and the message, and then the prospect comes in, and they click on that button that says, "give me a demo. And they get over to sales. And sales does none of that! There's no storytelling. And I don't mean everybody, right? But a lot of the companies, what they're giving them is like a product walkthrough. They're like: 'Here's how you log in. Here's a menu.' But we're not positioning, we're not storytelling."

April's advice is so real and tangible that you can't help but shift your mindset to put it into practice immediately. So many marketers are thinking about how to build more human brands and how to tell a story behind a company or product. But if that narrative isn’t reaching sales teams, how will customers connect with you? 

Spoiler alert: they won’t.

Simplicity endures – Kieran Flanagan , CMO at Zapier

"I think there's two parts of marketing, right? There is brand — which is really being crystal clear on why you exist. Then, there's the creation of demand and the capture of demand. I think incredible marketing is getting really simplistic, clear messaging into your brand that's differentiated. And I'll give you a really good example. There was this incredible advertising campaign recently from IKEA, And it was this ad, and it started with a camera, and it was panned to a crib. And it was so focused that you couldn't see if anyone was in the crib or not. And then it started to pan out, and it was empty, and then it panned out again, and the baby was lying on the mother's chest, and the message was 'IKEA, proud to be second best.' And that's an example of clear brand messaging. It's creative, saying a lot without having to say much."

Kieran stands out to me as a master of high-level marketing and a specialist in harnessing the kind of creative energy that businesses need to succeed in the long haul.

So much thought and energy goes into our marketing campaigns. But Kieran’s point about simplicity, showing rather than telling, can help marketers elevate their message. It also reminds us that sometimes, we just need to ask ourselves a few basic questions:

+ Who are we?

+ Where do we need to go as a brand?

+ How do we show small moments that create an emotion that gets people where we need them to be?

The holy grail of metrics: customer retention – Dani Grant , CEO of Jam

"When we started, the first thing we did was 45 user interviews – just to determine if this was an industry-wide problem. And we just heard such passion. Such frustration, real emotion. So we knew there was problem-market-fit. The only question was how to solve it; what's the product solution to this thing that's never had a product solution before? And answering that question took a really long time. We kept seeing that people were signing up in mass if we just tweeted or launched something on Product Hunt. The problem resonated so much, thousands of people were signing up! But they weren't retaining. And that told us this messaging and positioning works; people are willing to jump through hoops, they're even willing to pay. But the product doesn't solve their problem. And so, we realized the most important metric to track is retention. And we became hyper-focused on retention as the only thing that matters. Because you can't fake retention. No one's gonna come back to your product and pretend to use it for you."

Dani's episode was electric. She's wise, in touch with experiences as she's having them, and has the incredible ability to articulate what she was discovering at a particular time and place to be better prepared for the present. She is the kind of leader we can all relate to because we've all been there and one we should all strive to be – curious, vulnerable, and willing to share for the greater good of her community.

The power of video – Natasha Pierre , host of the Shine Online Podcast and video marketing coach

"Don't get me wrong, I think audio podcasts are great, emails are great. That's content I love to create and consume. But when people ask 'why video, is it really video? Really?' I say yes, video because it's the most dynamic type of content we have! It lets you see emotions, movement, and inflection. Other mediums only touch one of those aspects, but video lets you experience content holistically. Other mediums only touch in one way really well. And funnily enough, I think the thing that makes video so scary — the fact that you're on full display — is what actually makes it so powerful."

Video is unequivocally the medium of now, but so many B2B marketers are resistant, and it's usually for two reasons:

• They don't believe it works well enough to make a difference
• They're afraid to get in front of the camera

At Wistia , we believe anyone can succeed with video. Natasha shares that same DNA. Audiences crave human connection with B2B brands. Video is the closest we can get without meeting our communities face-to-face.

Hearing Natasha talk about helping people get comfortable on camera was inspiring and a total blast. 

Uncensor yourself and watch what happens – Dan Martell , founder of SaaS Academy

"When people meet me for the first time, especially if they're clients, they're going, 'is he the real deal? Is he full of crap? Is he like one of those guys that says one thing on stage, but says something completely different one on one?' And my whole point is you should never try to pretend to be anybody but yourself. So whether you're creating content or speaking at an event, it's important to amplify exactly who you are. That's what's going to allow you to connect with people."

I've been considering Dan Martell's point about finding your authentic self for the past six months, and it's changed my approach to putting myself out there. It's a very simple idea, but it can be hard to put into practice. 

As a leader, you inevitably construct filters that you reflexively put on for different people and audiences. Over time, it becomes harder and harder to get in touch with your unfiltered voice, which got you to where you are today. 

When you consider the fact that your friends, who fully know you – the good and the bad – are still your friends, that they trust and root for you and lean on you, it’s easier to see why your public persona shouldn’t be any different.

 You’re never going to please everyone, but if you censor yourself, you'll dilute your voice and the essence of what makes you distinctly yourself. 

So with all that in mind, Here's to a year of being unabashedly ourselves, in leadership and life.