Dear BAMf Podcast: Episode 37 with Rob Gonzalez

Dear BAMf // Episode 37: Rob Gonzalez of Salsify explains the importance of the digital shelf and gives tips on improving internal communications.

In this episode of the Dear BAMf podcast, we speak with Rob Gonzalez, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Salsify. Rob's career in software has spanned research, engineering, product management, and marketing, with a healthy dose of customer support and sales along the way. In this episode, Rob answers some tough marketing and PR questions from our listeners, including this one about internal communications:

Dear BAMf,

So I'm seeking some advice. I'm internal comms at a large health tech startup and have handled all things PR related to date. Despite COVID, we closed out the year with media placements that were triple the amount that we set back in the start of January, 2020 —when we had no idea what this virus was going to be. The issue is, the CEO who signed off on our original KPIs isn't satisfied with these killer results. We've been measuring inbound leads and other data to show how much this press has mattered to us this year. So I know this isn't about, "Oh, we have no idea what the ROI is." My CEO says we just need to do more, but I'm struggling how to get that in a concrete form.

Listen now to hear how Rob advises this writer to move forward.

Dear BAMf: Episode 37

Episode 37 highlights:

• (02:00) What is Salsify?

  Rob gives the BAMf listeners a 60-second blurb on Salfisy saying, "We sell software to brand manufacturers to help them win on the digital shelf." Rob explains further by saying Salsify is a company that can help businesses who are, "selling in true omni-channel fashion, where they've got to match their digital marketing to their in store strategies." 

• (02:28) What are you most proud of accomplishing in the last 12 months?

  Rob has a yearly tradition saying, "Every year we throw a big conference. It's an in-person conference called the Digital Shelf Summit. So we pivoted hard and launched the Digital Shelf, Virtual Summit series in late March and have done consistent video and fireside chat production of that throughout the rest of the year." Rob could not be more proud about how the summit handled this pivot saying, "It's some of the highest performing work we've ever done from an engagement perspective."

• (06:47) What is your favorite way to tell a story?

  Rob starts by giving an ode to Matthew Dicks, author of "Storyworthy" and encourages others to use Matthew's method of storytelling to gain attention. One tip is to start with an action and proceed with your story from there. This technique immerses the listener into the scene. Rob says, "I've been trying to incorporate that into what I'm pitching and presenting in front of folks. If I start with that, it immediately grabs attention."

• (12:51) Our client's CEO is not impressed by our team, even though we have tripled our KPI expectation?

  
  Rob is the perfect person for this question as he has worn many hats as both the owner and co-founder of Salsify. Rob suggests, "When somebody is putting pressure on you and you don't quite understand it, that means that you're missing something." This very well may not have been articulated, but it's up to the communications professionals to dig deeper. Rob suggest putting yourself in the CEO's headspace, "It's not about you, it's about something else that you're not seeing. So figure out what that other thing is that you're not seeing." Rob proposes the principles in the book, "Turn the Ship Around" by David Marquet. "The three principles of leadership, from a cultural perspective, are clarity, competence, and autonomy, and clarity is the foundation of this." Gain clarity through specific questions that articulate your client's issue across the board.

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