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Hosted by Steve Phipps of Wayfind Marketing, The Growth-Minded Marketing Podcast simplifies marketing for B2B CEOs ready to grow with confidence. Each episode offers real-world strategies, step-by-step coaching, and inspiring CEO interviews—all designed to help you align your marketing with your business goals, stop wasting time and money, and scale without the stress. If you’re a growth-minded leader tired of vague advice and underperforming tactics, this is your next step.
AnnieLaurie: How much money
have you wasted on marketing?
That didn't work?
Steve: If you're like most CEOs
that we talk to, it's probably
more than you would want to admit.
Maybe you've tried hiring a
marketing agency, maybe you've hired
a marketing person on your team.
Maybe you've even rolled up your
own sleeves and you're still not
getting the results you expected.
AnnieLaurie: That's exactly why we
created this podcast, and we are so
excited to introduce the Guide Marketing
framework to you, which will help
address all of these issues and more.
Welcome to the Growth Mind
and Marketing podcast.
I'm Annie Laurie Walters.
Steve: I'm Steve Phipps, and we are
so glad that you were tuning in.
Whether you're a business owner,
a marketing manager, or even a
solopreneur, this podcast is for you.
AnnieLaurie: Yes, that's right.
We know that for a lot of leaders,
marketing just feels overwhelming.
Maybe you've hired an agency, maybe
you try to do it yourself, but at
the end of the day, it still feels
scattered and you're not seeing
the return that you expected.
Steve: Exactly, and that is what we hope
to help fix by launching this podcast.
We want to simplify marketing
and help you create a strategy
with tactics that actually work.
AnnieLaurie: So I mentioned it before,
but today we are going to introduce
to you the Guide Marketing Framework.
This is a five part model that we
use at wafi Marketing to help CEOs
bring clarity to their marketing.
So Steve, before we get into the
framework, let's set the stage.
You've had the opportunity to work and
interact with thousands of business owners
across various different industries.
Why does marketing so often fail,
especially in the B2B space?
Steve: A lot of different reasons, but
the core reason that I see more times
than not is that most businesses are
starting their marketing with tactics.
But there's no strategy.
They launch a website, they run some ads,
maybe they post on LinkedIn send out some
emails, but there's no core strategy.
There's no framework that's
giving it cohesive direction.
It's like trying to build a
house without a blueprint.
Stuff gets built, but it's not
working together, and there's
definitely not a foundation.
AnnieLaurie: I love that metaphor,
and I know that we've seen this same
thing time and time again with people
that we've worked with over the years.
CEOs who've invested their time, their
money, and their effort, and they're
simply frustrated because it's not
working, and even worse, they can't
figure out why it's not working.
That is what the guide framework
is meant to address and
relieve is that frustration.
This is a framework that is a
formula that you can follow that
will help you to address these things.
So let's talk solutions, Steve.
Let's talk about the guide framework.
Tell us why you built it, how it came to
be, and what does this acronym stand for?
Steve: So I've been in business.
20 plus years.
and so really this framework is
a culmination of that experience.
Things that I've seen, that work, that
don't, it's been informed by frameworks
like StoryBrand and they ask you
answer and what guide stands for G is
generate your story and your strategy.
You is upgrade your online presence.
I is in form with content DI.
Develop and execute a sales plan.
And e is evaluate and adjust.
Now, each of these is what we would
call a path, and inside each path
there are specific guideposts,
practical checkpoints that tell
you if your marketing is on track.
And there's one thing I just
wanna make, a clarification
about this particular framework.
We built this specifically with B2B.
Service-based companies, based
on the structure of how those
companies operate, how they're
selling, how they're marketing.
It's also applicable to B2C companies
that have a similar type of process.
So, companies that are providing
home services, painting companies,
or, other companies like that that
have a similar type of, process.
AnnieLaurie: I love that.
what I think is really cool is that
this is not just a theory either.
These are the same steps we've been using.
with clients that you've
coached, that, we've worked
for providing agency services.
We've seen it work.
We know that it works, and
we're really excited to bring
this to a wider audience today.
So, all right, let's take a
quick tour through each of the
five paths of the guide framework.
Okay?
So that our listeners
can get the big picture.
And in future episodes, we're gonna take
a deep dive into each one of these letters
in the guide framework acronym, and
unpack that in a more intentional level.
But for today, let's do the flyover.
Let's start with G.
Generate your strategy
and generate your story.
what's the point of this being first?
Why is this the foundation?
Steve: Good question, and,
several reasons for that.
Number one is if you don't know
who your target audience is, the
best marketing in the world's not
gonna help you grow your company.
So the first thing we want to do is
get our arms around who is the target
audience, what are the challenges
that they face that you solve?
That then feeds into messaging.
What is it that you're saying?
Are you communicating to them clearly
so that they understand the value
that you bring to them and how you
are different from your competitors?
And of course along with that,
working with folks to set goals.
What does success look like?
And then you've gotta
have a way to get them.
To reach them, to build trust,
to build credibility so that
ultimately they become customers.
So in this particular stage, we're
laying the foundation for all of that.
as I tell people, it's where we
focus on, what to do and what
to say to grow your business.
AnnieLaurie: You know, a lot of times.
In this industry, you work in a,
any kind of marketing agency, you
get someone, they come and they say,
I need a new website, or I'm not
getting any leads from our website,
or my social media is not working.
And you know, as we know, those are all
tactical issues that need to be addressed.
But we as Wayfind have always
said, we are strategy first.
And how does that strategy first
mindset create the foundation for
which all this other stuff is built?
Steve: It's really the old adage.
Hope is not a strategy.
And a lot of times marketing
tends to happen by accident.
We should do these particular tactics,
or this is what this agency said
we should do, but it doesn't always
correlate to that strategic plan
that's aligned with business goals.
So by pausing and taking the time
to figure out where you're trying to
go, and the best way to get there.
It generates a much better ROI.
And I mean, honestly, how frustrating
is it to have things happening, money
being spent, but it's not working.
And so that's why now I'll tell folks
we're not always the right fit, because
sometimes people wanna jump straight
into tactics, but we're gonna take the
time, build a strategy, and then move
into tactics informed by the strategy.
AnnieLaurie: Yes.
Tactics informed by the strategy
that is a much better approach for
so many measurable reasons, and I
can't wait to dive into that more.
. Steve: That's why a framework is really
helpful because a lot of the CEOs that.
We work with, and I talk to they don't
know where to get started with marketing.
So they reach out to an expert
or somebody that says they're
an expert or they hire somebody.
But here again, there's no
framework, there's no plan.
And so we've got some guidance
for you, so hang around.
We're gonna keep talking about the
framework, but we've got a free resource
gonna be incredibly helpful to give
you your bearings, help you figure
out what's working and what's not.
So just wanted to go ahead and plug that.
AnnieLaurie: Oh, yeah.
Absolutely.
And I think framework is,, you know,
that's language that we can identify with.
you might have a framework for other
areas of your business that you follow.
So to have a framework for your
marketing just really makes sense so,
okay, let's move on to letter you.
Once you've got your story and
your strategy in place, you
need a platform to tell it.
That brings us to upgrade
your online presence.
Unpack what that means.
Steve: Yeah, so this became upgrade
your online presence, because the
assumption is you have some sort
of an online presence, right?
And oftentimes your website
is going to be the core of
whatever your online activity is.
The problem in many cases is the
website ends up being a static brochure.
That gives basic information,
but it doesn't really answer
your buyer's questions.
So your website should
be your best salesperson.
your buyer should be able to get the
answers to their questions there.
We know that, in general, 80%
of the buying process happens
before someone reaches out to you.
And so if they can't find the
answers on your website, they're
gonna try to find it somewhere else.
If your website's outdated, if it's
confusing, if it's hard to navigate, it's
working against you, it's not helping you.
And so in this particular path of
the framework, we're looking at
things like the website design.
It doesn't need to just be pretty
for the sake of being pretty.
It needs to be functional.
It needs to tell, a clear story.
It needs to be, easy to
use, easy to navigate.
AnnieLaurie: It's like our friend Donald
Miller always says, if you confuse, you
lose, and it is so shocking to me how
many times I go on a website and it is
beautiful and it has bells and whistles
that are impressive, yet I have no clue
what they're trying to communicate.
Steve: Absolutely.
Error on the side of clarity.
Yes.
Be clear, not clever.
Yes.
these are all things that I'll
tell people in workshops because
at the end of the day, people
just wanna know, what do you do?
Why does it matter to me, and
what do I need to do next?
and that translates over
into other channels as well.
LinkedIn, Facebook.
So wherever you are online, it's
communicating clearly and making
sure that your online presence is.
Building business for you.
It's building trust.
It's building credibility as
opposed to tearing it down.
AnnieLaurie: Yes.
And it's not.
Only these things, which are
all very urgently important.
It's also the technical side that gets
overlooked often when you put a lot of
effort into creating this website, you're
very happy with it, and then you just
sort of forget it, like it's out there.
Your services haven't changed.
What you do hasn't changed.
But if you're not constantly.
Monitoring the technical health of
your website, then you can incur
technical debt and things start to
break or get outdated, or a plugin's
not updated in time, and then that
causes your website to run slowly.
And all of those things have significant
impact on whether or not people find
you when they search for information.
I think that's something that often gets
missed too in this conversation about
our online presence is that there's a
functional technical element going on
underneath the surface that can be working
against you without you even knowing it.
if you're not just, experienced
and gifted in the technical side of
running a website, you can be great
at the content and making sure that
the words are updated, but is the
technical side of it updated as well?
Steve: absolutely.
Well, and back to your question earlier
about the importance of strategy first.
because oftentimes when somebody
comes to us and says, I need a new
website, we start asking questions,
and oftentimes something's not working.
and the assumption is, I
just need a new website.
And sometimes that's the case.
But again, we want to take it
back to who's your audience?
What do you want them to do
when they get to your website?
What does success look like?
How does this fit into
the buyer's journey?
So that it's not just a pretty website
that's disconnected from everything else.
AnnieLaurie: Yes.
Well.
we've kind of danced around the topic of
content, but now it's time to dive in.
I, in the guide framework
stands for Inform with Content
and content is my baby.
That's what I do.
I'm a content strategist.
Words are life.
I love the content.
I love creating the different
kinds of content that we can use in
various ways on various platforms,
and I love that it's the center.
I have to say, Steve, I love that content
is in the center of the guide framework.
It just really makes me happy.
Steve: Well, it really is.
You're right about that.
AnnieLaurie: it is.
So with that, what's
our goal with content?
What is the goal?
Steve: the first thing I'll
point out about this step is
we're informing with content.
We're not just trying to sell.
This a lot of times can raise,
objections and concerns.
Yes, we want to sell, but we want to
do it by educating the buyer so they
can make the best decision for them.
it's informing with content,
it's content that builds trust.
So, think about it for a second.
for everybody who's listening to
this, think about, do you like
to feel sold, like somebody's
trying to sell you on something?
no.
Nobody wants to be sold.
People like to buy when they're the
ones in control, but if you feel
like you're being sold, you know that
person's not telling you everything.
You know, they're trying to spin
everything, so it makes them look like
the best option, even if they're not,
and even if they are, it's still all of a
sudden is creating this gap of distrust.
So.
What we want to do is answer the hard
questions, make it easy for people to find
the information they need on the website.
Again, we know 80% of the buying process
is often happening before they reach out.
People want, to be able to go through
the buyer's journey by themselves as
much as they can, so It's talking about
some of the topics that people don't
want to talk about on their website, like
pricing or their competitors, comparisons.
There's a list of different topics
that we encourage our clients to write
about or that we write about for them
that are focused on the questions
that people are asking when they are
buying, and when you answer these
questions clearly with expertise.
And without bias or trying to make
it all about sales, then you're
building trust and credibility.
AnnieLaurie: Okay.
Steve, what about the listener who's
like, oh, I know they're getting
me on the content like that, that's
not their natural bent or giftedness
because the listener might think, oh,
I'm not good with words, or I'm not a
writer, or whatever the case may be.
What would you say to that person?
Steve: I would say if this day
in time that's not an obstacle.
And so again, we work with folks
in a couple of different ways.
So for some of our clients that outsource
their marketing to us as their agency,
that just is a non-issue for them.
They still review it, edit
it, give input, et cetera.
But for those that we coach who have
somebody in-house using tools like Chad,
GPT, and Claude, it really, lowers the
threshold for creating good content.
Now, there's still.
As you know Annie Laurie, there is an
effective way to use the AI tools so that
the content is trustworthy so that Google
isn't going to penalize you for generic
sounding content, but it does help remove
that onus of I have to be a really good
writer in order to create good content,
whether it's written or otherwise.
AnnieLaurie: Yes.
And just before we move on to the
next letter and the framework, just
to clarify, content isn't just words.
It can be other things too, right?
Steve: Absolutely.
I mean, so much of it is visual.
It's the images, it's the videos,
it's audio there's just, so many
different tools available that really
isn't the barrier that it used to be.
AnnieLaurie: and I think of content
as it's making a connection, the
content needs to make a connection.
And that is, where it starts with the
whole, like, no trust, you know, this
is the beginning of that process.
Steve: and let me just say one
more thing because I don't want
anybody who's listening to hear.
This and think all they have to do is
go out and ask Chad GPT to write a blog
post about this particular topic, right?
Yes, you can do that, but chances
are that content is going to suck.
From your buyer's perspective,
from Google's perspective.
You want content that sounds
like you, that is authoritative.
Yes.
And we're not gonna be getting into
Google's framework, their EAT framework
in terms of how they evaluate content.
But you don't just go create a blog
post generically, there's a process
for training it, getting it rifled
in so that it sounds like you,
it's authoritative, it's credible,
it's, it's more original than just
something just generically cranked out.
So.
Yeah, that's a, that's a free aside.
Yeah.
Yes, it's effective, but you still
have to use it strategically.
AnnieLaurie: Yes.
That is great advice.
And something you said
earlier in the podcast.
Your website should be
your best salesperson.
it's, you're always on
24 7, 365 salesperson.
And that's partly because you create
great sales content, not to sell them
and it to sound salesy, but to answer the
questions they would be asking if they
were talking to any of your salespeople.
Yes.
And so that transitions us into D.
To develop and execute a sales plan.
Sometimes marketing and sales
don't always play nicely together.
We know this, right?
But if you can find a way to support
one another, sales and marketing can
just be like the wind and the sail.
Steve: Absolutely.
And the first step here is documenting
your buyer's journey and what does the
sales process look like related to that?
Uh, a lot of companies, I.
have a sales process in practice, but
it's not something they've intentionally
designed out and thought about.
They haven't looked at the different
touch points and how they're
communicating, and that's an important
thing for both sales and marketing
to know and understand because really
marketing our job, if you think about
it, is generate the initial interest.
Their sales teams have a role in going
out and prospecting and doing that.
Absolutely.
And marketing is a partner in
helping drive that initial interest.
And so if we don't have a clearly
defined sales process, then we're
just, we're not gonna be aligned.
Marketing and sales a lot of times,
have this just internal conflict
because marketing creates content.
Sales doesn't like it, it's not working,
or marketing's generated a bunch
of leads that might be considered,
marketing qualified leads, but sales
gets 'em and they think they suck,
and so they're not working together.
What we.
Love to help people do is get sales and
marketing at the same table where they're
talking about the buyer's journey, talking
about what content is needed that the
sales team can use in their process.
I mean, here's the truth.
The sales team are, they're hearing from
the buyers more than just about anybody.
Mm-hmm.
So when marketing can
listen to what sales.
Hearing the questions
that they're getting.
Then marketing goes and creates
content that answers those questions.
Well, one, it can help drive search
traffic, and two sales can then take
that content and start using it in the
selling process and educate the buyers.
But that doesn't happen if
sales and marketing are.
Just at, at each other's throats.
And so that's where we encourage
people, get your sales and marketing
teams together, meet regularly.
Have conversations align
to goals, align to content.
Is it always easy?
No.
But if you don't get that taken care of,
um, man, it's just that conflict is gonna
hinder the results that they could be
achieving if they were on the same page.
AnnieLaurie: This may be a little
nuanced for an overview podcast,
but I'll ask the question anyway.
So some of our listeners may be
in a situation where they have a.
one person marketing team, and maybe the
CEO is the salesman how, what would you
say to somebody that's in a situation like
that where they might not have a dedicated
marketing and sales team or person, it's
just a little, you know, it's orchestrated
a little differently on their team.
will this still apply to them?
Steve: A hundred percent.
The principles are the
same, whoever it is.
and I get it, a lot of times, until the
company reaches a certain size, the owner
or the CEO is the primary salesperson they
know the business better than anybody.
They're hearing the questions from
the customers and the prospects.
if there is a marketing person who's
creating the marketing content, make sure
you're getting together, talk about what
those questions are that you're hearing.
So that then your marketing person
can start creating the content.
If you're the marketing person
working with the CEO, go and ask
them what questions are you getting?
what is it that you would like a
buyer to know before you sat down
and had a conversation with them?
That can start generating different
questions, different thoughts.
And I'll even mention, on our website,
we can post this in the show notes.
we have an article, it's called the
Big Five, and these are the five
topics to write about, that correlate
to what people are searching for.
The questions that they are asking
when they are in buying mode.
Doesn't matter the industry.
B2B, B2C.
These are the questions that
we're asking when we buy.
Those are, great.
Guides for creating content,
and a lot of times it's going to
align with what questions you're
getting asked in the sales process.
AnnieLaurie: Yes, thank you.
That's, that's a good word.
And just to, have a little commercial
for our website real quick.
marketing.com,
go to the learning center.
We have a wealth of articles on all
the things we're talking about today,
and you can sort by topic if you're
interested in website development.
If you're interested in SEO and AI
marketing tools, you can easily sort and
find a lot more content on our website.
If you're into that and you're looking
for more of that highly encourage
you to go over to wafi marketing.com.
Check that out.
Okay.
Commercial aside.
Let's move on to the last
letter E, evaluate and adjust.
We have come to the end of our guide
acronym and now it's time to evaluate.
Why is this the final step?
Steve: Okay.
I'm gonna try to be concise here.
all of the different marketing
and sales activities need to
have a KPI associated with them.
All these activities need to
push towards some sort of goal
that we're trying to achieve.
You have revenue goal that correlates
to a certain number of customers.
In order to get those customers, you
have to have out so many proposals,
which means you have to have so many
leads, which means you have to have
so many website visitors or prospects,
and we wanna make sure that we're
looking at what those metrics are.
This is not just looking at how many
Facebook fans you have or how many
people liked the last LinkedIn post.
Yes, those have their place, but
what we're talking about here are.
Things that, how many meetings were set?
Where did those meetings come from?
Which channels drove that activity?
Looking at those types of metrics
that you can use to make decisions
about what's working and what's not.
AnnieLaurie: Yes, We've talked several
times about AI in this episode,
but I think how AI is impacting
marketing at breakneck speed.
if you're not keeping up with
that, you could be walking down one
marketing path that AI has already
changed and your customers are all
walking in a different direction.
And if you're not evaluating, you wouldn't
know that and you might continue to walk
the wrong way while everyone else is
taking a left turn into a new direction.
Steve: And that's where the numbers,
it's important not only to be looking
at lag indicators like revenue growth,
but looking at the activities, those
lead indicators that, let you know
if those numbers start to decrease
or go in the wrong direction, that
lets, you know something needs to be
adjusted, sooner rather than later.
And that way you're not just
waiting until you missed your
revenue mark to make adjustments.
AnnieLaurie: Yes.
Great.
Okay.
So.
If someone's listening and thinking, I
have no idea where I'm strong, I have
no idea what I'm missing, I don't even
know what's happening with my marketing.
What's your advice for that person?
Steve: So what I would suggest
is that you head over to our
website way, find marketing.com,
and take our free marketing assessment.
This is a 25 yes no question assessment
that is based on this five part
framework that we just unpacked.
And once you take it, it
gives you an overall score
for each of these five paths.
Then from there you can download
our free marketing playbook.
That's almost 40 pages
of tactical information.
It is based on the assessment, and
that's where I would suggest you start
. It gives you a point of reference.
Oftentimes folks don't have a strategy.
They don't necessarily have a reference
point in terms of where to get started.
This can at least give you some
bearings to where you can begin to
understand what's needed and some
guidance on those next steps so
that you're not just floundering.
AnnieLaurie: So go to Wi-Fi marketing.com
and take the free assessment.
Work through the questions.
They are designed to be easy to answer.
You will know right off the top of
your head, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no.
And when you're finished
you get our playbook.
That unpacks everything here.
'cause as we mentioned before,
guide is our acronym, but even
within the guide we have specific.
Guideposts within each letter that
inform different aspects, different
parts of the marketing framework
that we're talking about here.
So when you take the free assessment, you
get your score, but it's not just a score.
You can then take action by looking
at the playbook and comparing it
with your score and get ideas for
some things you can do right away.
Today you can make changes.
Right now
Steve: the assessment will take less
than five minutes for most folks.
AnnieLaurie: Yes, . So go to the website,
take the assessment, and if you need
help processing some of the things
that you've learned or discovered about
your marketing, or if you're looking at
the playbook and there are some things
in it that you haven't tried before
and you need some help, or you wanna
ask questions, what should they do?
Steve: Well at that point, once
you've downloaded that we do offer
a free one-to-one conversation.
To go through it.
We'll review your assessment score and
we can talk through where you are and
what's needed to help you move forward.
All right.
Friends, this episode is brought
to you by US way, find marketing.
We simplify marketing for growth-minded
CEOs, and we do that by helping
you build a plan, sharpen your
messaging, and grow with clarity.
As Andy Laurie just mentioned, head
to the website way find marketing.com,
and click the link at the top to take
the free guide marketing assessment
today and grab your copy of the playbook.
AnnieLaurie: Okay, so that's it.
That's our first episode of the Growth
Minded Marketing Podcast, and we can't
wait to introduce the next episode . We
are going to do a deep dive into
generate your story and your strategy.
And I've gotta say I've known Steve
Phipps for a very long time and he
has always been all about strategy.
So I can't wait till we
get to the next podcast.
Can't wait to hear all the great wisdom
you're gonna be able to share with us
about generating story and strategy.
Steve: Well, I, I'm gonna have to try to
live up to that, but I will do my best.
AnnieLaurie: I have no
question you'll, and,
Steve: uh, but yeah, looking
forward to that next episode.
AnnieLaurie: So that's
it for this episode.
If you're ready to get clarity around
your marketing, start with the free
guide assessment@wayfindmarketing.com.
Steve: And don't forget to hit subscribe
so you don't miss the rest of this
series when we're gonna be walking
through each part of the guide framework.
And if you found this
helpful, tell a friend.
We'll see you next time.
See ya.