Latest / Glovisor Podcast / Your Business Isn't Ready to Scale Until You Fix This | Rich M. Smith [Ep 86]
Transcript
- Rich M. Smith: I'll get questions like, Well, should we be doing more on social media or Facebook? Do we need to be investing more in SEO or now? know, AEO should we go to more trade shows, I get questions like that, and my answer is always, well, maybe, Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Welcome to the Glovisor Podcast, where we explore business growth, communication, and personal development through real conversations with people who make an impact. Our guest is an executive advisor, behavioral marketing strategist, and a speaker with more than 30 years of experience across financial services, healthcare, insurance, mortgage, and technology. His career includes launching the first Platinum MasterCard and Visa in the US and helping scale a healthcare company beyond $100 million in revenue. Glovisor welcomes Rich Smith. Rich M. Smith: Hey Joe, how are you? Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Great thanks. A pleasure. I'm excited. I can't wait to hear more. so Rich, tell us, what is it that you do and who do you help? Rich M. Smith: Well, you know, today I have a company that I call Growth Studio, and we work with usually founder-led organizations, typically around the point where they've gotten market traction, but they're looking for more predictable and sustainable ways to scale and to get to, you know, the ultimate outcome that they're looking for. so we help them with all sorts of strategic challenges, everything from market selection to you know refining their ICP to just putting sales pipeline process in place, right? So there are those are just a few examples, but often find that in these situations it's really helpful to begin to put systems and structure in place around the founder. Because usually what happens is up until that point they've kind of been doing everything themselves. And they need to then put some systems and processes in place and people in place around them in order for them to scale themselves up, which is necessary to scale the organization up. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: out of all those situations that you mentioned, which is the most challenging? The one that you see coming up the most? And you you think that probably it's the one that most people should put a focus on? Rich M. Smith: Yeah, I'd say the the one that comes up the most in in in almost every case is there there's a tendency to jump straight to tactics without thinking about the strategic questions. You know, I I'll often an initial conversation with a a CEO, founder, I'll get questions like, Well, should we be doing more on social media or Facebook? Do we need to be investing more in SEO or now? know, AEO with you know, AI answer engines. should we do more go to more trade shows, right? I get questions like that, and my answer is always, well, maybe, right? Tell tell me you know, those are all fine tactics, but you have to have the strategy first. So tell me what your strategy is, and then I'll tell you what tactics you should use, you know, to give you the best shot of achieving that strategy. I think it often happens backwards. You jump straight to tactics without thinking through the strategy and the strategic questions. And then, you know, you might get lucky, right? you know, hey, you could get lucky, but chances are pretty good that if you even if you do get lucky, you won't know why and you won't necessarily be able to repeat it. So that is as I said, that that's the one that I think is the most prevalent. A close second to that would be what's your top line message? and usually it's something, you know, again, this is another question that I'll ask a CEO in our first conversation is I'll ask him something like, pretend that I'm your ideal prospect. Tell me why I should buy from you as opposed to one of your competitors or some other solution. And you can't say people, service, or quality. And then I usually get stammering. You know, I don't I don't get a straight answer because so much of what, particularly, I think in the B2B world, so much of what you see in top line messaging on a website is all about some f some flavor of people service or quality. And you know, the problem with that is everyone's saying the same thing, then your prospects can't tell the difference between you and your competition. So That that's a really prevalent problem as well. And it shows up, you know, a great way to tell whether you're kind of falling into this trap or not. Go to your website, just go to the home page, right? Turn the color off. Make it grayscale. With the color off, is your website distinguishable from your competition? Or could it fit, you know, slap a different slap your competitor's logo on there? Would it work for them too? So that's one thing to do. The second is count up the number of times you say we, our, or your brand name on your homepage versus the number of times you say you, your, or something about the customer. Right? Almost always the we's and ours. vastly outnumber the use in yours, right? So your website is basically talking about yourself. So who's it for? Is it for you and your company or is it for your prospects, your customers, right? And so that perspective is really important because your prospect comes to the website, it's just all about you. It's not really telling them what's in it for them if they were to buy from you. So you have to flip that perspective. So th those are I'd say the The two most common problems that I see. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Boy, I really like those. And you know, as you're mentioning this, I'm going through my website in my mind, I'm saying, how many we's, how many you's? but going back to the top line, do you have an example of the ideal top line if that doesn't include people, quality, and service? Rich M. Smith: Yeah, I well, so that's a that's actually a really good question. I don't know that I've been asked that one recently. Yeah, I I I think the the ideal would obviously be different for you know every business, but it it's it's usually some case of what kind of impact are you trying to have in the world? You know, it you could one one way to start thinking about. Top line message would be finish the sentence. I envision a world where. complete that sentence with respect to what you do, right? And and really be problem focused, not solution focused. This is another thing that I see a lot with founders is that they're very solution focused. They have this great idea for a product or a service and they are bent on that solution and that idea that they have in their mind. But usually what happens is when any solution makes contact with the marketplace, it has to change, it has to adapt or shift in order to really solve the problem. So you really need to be problem-focused, not solution profocused. What's the problem that you're solving? And if you were to work that into that top line statement, you know, we envision a world where and then talk about the problem that you're solving, that's usually a great place to start. Yeah, there's It takes more than that, of course, but that's that's a really g really strong place to start. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Now, are there specific industries that you work with? Rich M. Smith: I I tend to work more with B2B services companies. So companies that are are selling, you know, software or you know, fintech or Martech or health tech, even data companies, organizations like that, even some you know, e-commerce. I mean I I do more in the B2B world than in the B2C world, even though my background is mostly B2C. I I've I've Because I've been the buyer of a lot of those things for corporate organizations, I kind of have an understanding of what the typical, you know, B2B service business that's trying to sell into large corporate America. I understand the psychology of their buyer really, really well. So I tend to work with a lot of them because you know, I can help them that way. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: I want to go back to the bio that that I read off earlier. It talks about you launching the first platinum MasterCard and Visa in the US. Can you tell us a little more about that? Rich M. Smith: Yeah, sure. it was relatively early on in my career that I got the opportunity to manage product development at a growing and and becoming a big player credit card company called MBNA America, you know, based out of Newark, Delaware. And MBA had grown quickly over the first few years that I was there. And mostly due to being pioneers in the affinity marketing space. So you could get you know, we had endorsement arrangements with professional organizations like the the NEA, the National Education Association. we had them with you know, interest organizations like Ducks Unlimited, American Dental Association, right? And then lots of different colleges and universities, which is actually how I ended up with the school. I went to Penn State and MBNA sponsored. And state card. So so so I that had helped the organization grow very quickly. But one of the challenges that we were facing was attracting a higher spending consumer. Because you know, credit card companies make money in multiple ways, but the most common ones are through interest, right? And then also through interchange. which is a fee that the merchants pay when you use your card there. So a higher spending customer, even if they don't revolve a balance and don't end up paying you interest, can still be very profitable for a credit card company because of the interchange, as long as you know they're transacting a good bit. So so that was a challenge that we had. And the solution that we came up with was, you know, create a new category. American Express had had a platinum card for years. in fact, they actually had the trademark on the word, the platinum card. so you know, we were a little bit concerned that you know, if we if we went out with a platinum card, we were gonna get cease and desist. But you know, just going through the research and talking to consumers about, you know, if we put together the package of benefits that we were thinking about and services that we were thinking about, and then you know, asking people in a focus group what we should call it, it was over and over again. They were saying, platinum, platinum, platinum. And then when we introduced that in focus groups, you know, you could just see people smile. And and, you know, the the because it's it's status, right? So much of what we do as humans is and the things that we buy and the places we go and the services that we seek, they're all about status. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Sure. Rich M. Smith: and even though we don't like to admit it, but that's that is really the truth. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Yeah. Rich M. Smith: it's it's all about status and you know where you fit in the social order, right? So creating a whole new category that went up market, one immediately differentiate differentiated us from our competition because nobody else had that category. now, you know, credit card world is about as close to pure competition as you can get, you know, from a classical economics standpoint. So any advantage is typically copied quickly by other issuers. So, you know, we might have had a three to six month head start, but that was enough to do, you know, millions of new accounts and billions of new receivables in just that short time frame. And it honestly changed the industry completely because I imagine if you pull out your wallet or many of your listeners pull out their wallets, they've got platin cards in their cards plural in their wallet. That's where it all started. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Yeah. So now every time I use my card, I'm gonna think of Rich. It'll come into my mind. Rich M. Smith: Good. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: So now Rich, you were at MBNA. What was the defining moment that took you from working for a bank or organizations and then going to entrepreneurship, doing this on your own? Rich M. Smith: Yeah, so I got a taste of it about six, seven years ago. So I had been working actually maybe even go back a little bit further than that. So I I I left a CMO corporate job. I I started my own management consulting business. And because it was something that I'd I just always wanted to try to be out of my own. and I did that for a year or so on my own. Then I joined a management consulting firm and became a partner there. And I happened to be doing some work for one of for a company that I knew pretty well because I had been a customer of theirs like several corporations ago. And they were local to me in the Philadelphia area. And I was doing some work for them as a consultant. Then the CEO called me up one day and said, Hey, would you be interested in coming in and and Joining us full time as our chief marketing officer. We really want to get the company. And he was very upfront about it. He's like, I'm trying to sell within 12 to 18 months. So I knew it was a short-term assignment, right? but I love I had a great time. You know, we ended up selling the company within a nine months. so for a really good, you know, multiple strategic buyer. And that kind of I kind of caught the bug from that experience. Just, you know, helping them to get to an exit, being part of that exit. And, you know, just the sense of accomplishment that the entire team had at that event. That was that was pretty special. So that's how I kind of got the bug. And and that's you know, one of the reasons why I do what I do today. you know, I firmly believe that. The act of entrepreneurship, that creative spark, you know, that bringing a new organization to life, a new product or a service. That that activity drives our entire economy. And it also drives the like just improvements in human quality of life, right? I want those medical new medical devices to be on the market. I you know, I I so I want to help the people that are doing those things because selfishly, like as a consumer, I want them, I want the good stuff to exist. And I want those new jobs created. And I want, you know, people to, you know, build companies and sell them for a big number and you know, because that fuels just growth across the entire economy, which you know, fuels. advancements in our standard of living. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: absolutely. Now can you share a client success story of someone that's worked with you in the past? Rich M. Smith: Yeah. one of my early clients happened to be in the behavioral health space. when I started working with them, they had one location in New Jersey. It was outpatient only and it was out of network for insurance. it was doing well, but it was just very small. And over course of a few years, I worked with them, started working with them as their kind of interim CMO. just helped them retool their marketing, website, messaging, all of those things, as well as their kind of go-to-market and sales process. And so we got that facility doing really well. And then we began to expand. I eventually, you know, we hired a marketing more marketing staff. I didn't need to be the CMO anymore. I became a board member and helped to advise the company as a board member. They eventually added, you know, mental health in addition to substance use, the two licenses, multiple locations, expanded into neighboring states, you know, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and they got to a nine figure exit about a year and a half ago. So that that was another really, really good experience to see it go from, you know, one location, small operation in frankly middle of nowhere southern Jersey. to you know getting a a really, really big impact like Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Yeah, sounds like a great story. as a CMO, when you come into a business, what is the first step that you take? And how long does it take before you provide the action steps for them? Rich M. Smith: Yeah, really good question. The very first step for me I've had seven CMO roles in the last twenty five years. first step for me is to go on a sales call or walk the sales floor, sit down with a rep, and you know, if you're in a B2C environment, you call center environment, you know, you used to have headsets, you just plug in next to the other person or you know, sometimes there are digital listening rooms, et cetera. But what I want to do is I want to hear what customers and consumers are saying. And I can let other people tell me what they're saying and I get that information as well and whatever research is available, you know, but there's just no substitute for listening to a sales call. And B2B world, be in the be in the conference room, you know, be a part of the presentation, be on the Zoom call, right? You just you're just another person from the organization there. You don't have to say anything necessarily, but you know, just hearing from customers and prospects directly is is invaluable. So that that would always be the first place I would start. And then after that is talk, you know, talk to your own people. And these don't necessarily have to happen one and then the other or they can you know can work in parallel. But yeah, talk to your people. Ask them where what what do you think we should be doing? Usually, you know, they will have strong opinions about that. Maybe not always accurate, but E either way, you want as a leader, you want to know that. And you want people to feel like they have a voice with you. and and and you're not doing that, I don't mean to do that in a disingenuous way. I mean, like genuinely, you you should be interested in what they have to say and you should take it into account. You won't always do it. May not always be the right call, but I tend to find that when people feel like they have a voice. even if you choose to go in a different direction, they will embrace what they're being asked to do and and will do it will be more enthusiastic about it and feel like they're part of the team because they're heard and seen, right? And so I think that's very important too. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Is a true buy-in for sure. Now, who should be contacting you right now? Rich M. Smith: I'd say, you know, any any founder who has gotten to the point where, you know, they've got traction in the marketplace, they've gotten from zero to one, but they're struggling getting one to ten or ten to a hundred. And they find themselves involved in every sales call. They find themselves involved in solving customer service problems. they find themselves involved in like every HR decision, every invoice that's sent out, right? And and part of it is just, you know, a natural fear of giving up control, I think that keeps people stuck there. Another is just feeling like, well, you know, we can't afford to do X, Y, Z, right? We can't afford to scale these things up. And and you you have to challenge those assumptions. And so I'd say if you find yourself in that situation, you know, you've gotten out there in the market, you've got people that are buying your product, but you just can't scale, that's when you should call me. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: what is the single most important takeaway that you want our listeners to remember from this conversation? Rich M. Smith: I think we hit on some really important things. you know, and and I'll go back to your question about, you know, what what should what should you look for first? Or what's the kind of the first questions that you ask? And and I, you know, I would encourage people to take away from this. Your your messaging and your communication needs to be written in the language of you, your. It's written for your audience. And Not for yourself. So to the extent that you see in I don't care what it is, your website, an email, your sales deck, an investor pitch deck, it all has to be written from the perspective of what's in it for the reader, not what's in it for you. And it's just way too easy. You know, you see it over and over again. I mean, I can go down my LinkedIn feed, and I'm sure right now I will have multiple posts on LinkedIn. With someone saying, I'm attending such and such a conference, come set up an appointment with me. Okay, well, that last thing I want is another meeting, right? If I'm like a I'm a corporate, you know, B2B, I'm a buyer for a corporation, I'm a executive. The last thing I want is another meeting. So if you're not giving me a reason why I would want like what's in it for me as your audience, right? So you have to flip all of that messaging to be from the perspective of what's in it for the reader. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: these are great takeaways. Now Rich, where can people connect with you, find out more about your work, and continue this conversation? Rich M. Smith: The easiest place to find me is on my website. It's just richmsmith dot com. I also have a podcast called Revenue Science. You can find that on on my website as well as all the major outlets and I'm pretty easy to find on LinkedIn as well. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Rich, thank you so much for joining us today and for the value shared. Rich M. Smith: Yeah, thanks for having me on, Joe. I enjoyed the conversation. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR.com: Likewise. If this episode inspired you, make sure you share it with someone and don't forget to follow the Glovisor Podcast for more conversations that make an impact. Till the next time.