ποΈ Extra, extra! Read all about it!
- Pop-u-lar: What were the chart-topping digital sales and marketing news stories of 2020? Check 'em out.
- No agenda, no attend-a: How to run a revenue team meeting +example agendas.
- Chief of Irritation: how to get your resistant sales team to use content.
π Get 40% off your IMPACT+ Pro membership through January 30th! Pro memberships include courses and lessons, past event recordings, virtual peer groups, future virtual events, and more! Snag your discounted Pro membership now to save.
One of my favorite feelings is learning how to do something new and then getting really good at it.
For instance, making a new cocktail. I recently attended a virtual mix-along where we learned how to make this drink:
It's vodka, elderflower liqueur, lime juice, simple syrup, and mint. But like with most great cocktails, the proportions and method both matter.
I love getting so good at making a certain cocktail I can make it from memory with the perfect proportions so it turns out the same every single time. Then I keep it in my back pocket for someday when we can, ya know...have people over again.
Unsurprisingly, I tend to apply this same level of hyper-fixation to my professional life. When I started working on transitioning our in person event to a virtual one, I attended tons of other events, read articles and watched videos, joined communities of other event planners, and obsessed over learning about what others were doing in the virtual event space.
It was never going to be enough to settle for simply "putting on" a virtual event. I wanted to get so good at it that our events would be, hands down, the best digital sales and marketing events out there. I like to think I achieved this to some extent but "really good" doesn't mean perfect and it doesn't mean you stop learning or practicing either.
What's something you want to get really good at this year? Is it time management? A certain style of knitting? Maybe it's using video in your digital sales and marketing? (You didn't think I'd make it through this intro without mentioning this, did you?)
Well, if getting really good at using video in your digital sales and marketing happens to be on your list, you've got to check out our two new deep-dive bootcamps.
The Video Marketing Bootcamp is January 20th and while tickets are currently $249 you can get them for just $99 using the code STEPHANIE for the next 24 hours.
The Video Selling Bootcamp is February 3rd and for the next 24 hours you can get these tickets for just $99 as well. Just use the code STEPHANIE.
If what you're looking to get really good at in 2021 is not using video in sales and marketing, hit reply and let me know what IS on your list! I'd love to know.
Now, here's THE LATEST...
2020 was, to over-simplify, quite a year. Digital sales and marketing were certainly not immune to the madness or overwhelm, but thankfully, we have numbers on our side to offer a bit of clarity. What stories mattered? What could we filter out? What did we need to take into the new year? In this insightful round up, IMPACT Associate Director of Content Ramona Sukhraj pulled together the news stories that saw the highest traffic on our site last year and what you need to know as we charge into 2021.
π Related reads and resources:
A revenue team brings together key sales and marketing players within a company into one team that is centered around the shared goal of increasing company revenue, though the implementation of a content strategy. But, how do you actually successfully run a revenue team meeting? IMPACT Digital Sales and Marketing Coach Chris Marr dove into the nitty gritty of how to run a successful revenue team meeting complete with example agendas.
π Related reads and resources:
Youβve produced great content, probably a bunch of it. But, when you ask the sales team to start using that great content? You hear crickets. You know how important it is for the sales team to embrace your culture of content and yet nobody is listening. Or, maybe theyβre listening, but theyβre not really hearing you. In this helpful article, IMPACT Director of Inbound Training and Video Strategy Zach Basner unpacks how he thinks about buy-in in stages and how this can help you get your resistant sales team using content.
π Related reads and resources:
A couple new podcast episodes dropped this week and I wouldn't want you to miss out on them!
IMPACT Elite is our exclusive Facebook group for the brightest minds in digital sales and marketing. Here's a recent discussion that caught my eye:
Whatβs the best approach for building sub-brands under a parent brand in the HubSpot CMS?
Selfishly, I also started this thread. Wanna share something you're proud of? Need to vent? This is the spot!
With everything going on in the world, you now get nonsense in every single issue of THE LATEST...
My friend Katarina got this tote bag from Duolingo. Pretty on point f you ask me.
Side note: I'm also trying to get really good at speaking French. And by that, I mean, I'm just starting to learn French.
I didn't want to continue participating in my all-day meeting yesterday.
I didn't want to make any more decisions.
I didn't want to have any more opinions.
I didn't want to walk the dog.
I didn't want to eat.
I didn't want to turn off the news.
I didn't want to put my phone away, in case I missed a friend from home reaching out to tell me that they were finally safe.
I didn't want to go to bed last night, I didn't know if I could.
I didn't want to get up this morning.
I didn't want to brush my teeth.
I didn't want to put on clothes.
I didn't want to work.
I didn't want to do anything.
But I stayed in my all-day meeting yesterday. It wasn't perfect, but I'm glad I did.
I still made decisions and had opinions. It wasn't perfect, but I'm glad I did.
I eventually walked the dog and ate and turned off the news and put my phone away and went to bed. It wasn't perfect, but I'm glad I did.
Then I got up this morning and I put on my clothes and I brushed my teeth and I sat down for a full day's worth of work. It wasn't perfect, but I'm glad I did.
Jarring, historical events β no matter how you affiliate or identify yourself β are traumatic. Take care of yourself. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself grace. You need space to process, to grieve, to contextualize with friends, family, and loved ones. We all do, for we are human.
But don't let go and don't give up.
Our processes, our norms, our relationships, and our day-to-day activities are what empower us to achieve the forward progress we seek at home and at work and in the world around us. They guarantee the resilience (and the necessary growth) of our systems and institutions, however flawed they may be.
It won't be perfect, but you'll be glad you did.
You will need to create an IMPACT+ account to watch these on-demand recordings:
We have three new bootcamp events coming up:
If you use the code "LATEST," you will receive a significant discount.
This video helps me a lot when I am struggling. It is also one of the most profound and impactful videos I have watched in the past 10 years and one I often share with friends.
It's about how lobsters grow and the human response to stress.
It's under two minutes long.
ποΈ Extra, extra! Read all about it!
π Ring in 2021 with our three brand new digital sales and marketing bootcamps! And you can use promo code LATEST get your tickets for only $140, instead of $399. Learn more about our upcoming bootcamps and register today!
- Data, data, data: Here are the 10 marketing KPIs you absolutely must be tracking in 2021
- Representation matters: 5 quick (but powerful) changes to kickstart your inclusive marketing efforts this year
- Let's talk branding: 6 logo design trends you can't ignore in 2021 (and 3 you really need to)
I get it, there were a lot of big digital sales and marketing news stories this past year and there are numerous new trends we need to cover... but I'm interrupting your regularly scheduled "make smarter decisions faster" content programming for a very important announcement.
After a lot of thought and consideration β as well as an awe-inspiring moment of maturity and wisdom to realize I, in fact, cannot do everything all on my own β over the holidays, I made the decision to expand IMPACT's publishing team by hiring a new associate director of content:
She will be living with me to guarantee streamlined, synergistic
communication and collaboration.
Nugget Moorehead comes to IMPACT with an extensive background in noms and running laps around coffee tables, as well as more than five years of experience in squirrel-chasing and trail-hiking companionship.
Although she doesn't know how to read or write β nor am I entirely sure she looks at They Ask, You Answer as anything other than a shreddable chew toy β I believe she has the tenacity, the moxie, and the out-of-the-treat-box kind of thinking that will propel our content strategy forward in 2021.
Please join me in welcoming Nugget to the IMPACT content team. And with that, here's THE LATEST...
When it comes to setting and tracking your marketing KPIs, many marketers and business owners give all their attention to the usual suspects β sales revenue, leads, and cost per acquisition. But there are a number of other KPIs you should be tracking in order to execute a more successful digital marketing strategy β helping you to identify which campaigns and tactics are having the biggest impact so you can reach your sales and marketing goals. And in this tactics-filled article from IMPACT Talent and Office Manager Carolyn Edgecomb, you'll uncover the 10 exact KPIs you need to be measuring (no matter what industry you're in).
π Related reads and resources:
From a business perspective, diversity and inclusion isnβt just a human resources initiative or social to-do. Itβs something that can grow your audience of potential customers and, ultimately, grow your profits when done well in your marketing. Diversity and inclusion in marketing are about questioning the assumptions you make about who uses your product or service and how they use it. And in this insightful, must-read from IMPACT Managing Editor Ramona Sukhraj, you'll discover your roadmap for getting started with inclusive marketing for your company.
π Related reads and resources:
Logo design is a tricky game, of course. Balancing trends with creating a timeless emblem of your brand is no easy task. You donβt want to do anything too trendy so that you are quickly looking at a rebrand in a year or two. On the other hand, you donβt want to be so safe that your logo is entirely forgettable. Lucky for you, awesome human and IMPACT UX designer Marcella Jalbert is here with the inside scoop on the must-know 2021 logo design trends and what you need to stop doing this year.
π Related reads and resources:
To start 2021 off on the right foot, we're offering three bootcamps to help you kick off the new year:
IMPACTβs bootcamps are a chance to dive deeper on these concepts in a more intimate setting where you can ask questions, share examples, and walk away with a plan in place for your next steps via our guided workbooks.
Get your tickets today for just $149 (normally $399) using the promo code "LATEST."
IMPACT Elite is our exclusive Facebook group for the brightest minds in digital sales and marketing. Here's a recent discussion that caught my eye for those who work in non-profits:
With everything going on in the world, you now get nonsense in every single issue of THE LATEST...
Honestly, I wouldn't put it past 'em...