Modern Business Development Through Content Creation with Refine Labs CEO, Chris Walker

Travis and Kevin talk with the Founder and CEO of Refine Labs, Chris Walker, about the core formula when auditing a company, uncommon but successful marketing and sales strategies, creating meaningful content, and more.
Episode Highlights:
Strategy hasn’t changed
$0 in revenue to well over 7 figures in less than 11 months
0 outbound emails, 0 cold calls, $0 on advertising, 0 trade shows
Produced organic content- efficient way to grow
“I don’t see marketers challenging their behaviors in a way that allows them to change.”
Take budget from things that aren’t working and use it to max out things that are
When auditing a company, core formula = 
Be able to set everything up so you can measure everything 
Capture existing demand
Create new demand- “Ideally what you’re doing is distributing content, your target consumers are consuming that content, there is no call to action, they are receiving messages constantly and through the brand awareness and messaging that you’re delivering it creates new demand and that drives people through the funnel until your processes capture new demand.”
Win on brand
“If you pass enough leads to sales, you’re going to create misalignment.”
Call leads yourself to make sure they’re a good lead, pass these leads to sales so they ultimately prioritize you
Marketing and sales teaming up to create content/how these roles might evolve
Marketers, especially in certain industries, do not talk to customers, they rely on feedback from sales or listen to recorded to sales calls” … disagree because:
Sales gives you feedback because of invested interest in deal, not objective view of what the customer actually told them
The buyer is not comfortable telling you the truth during a sales call
when listening to calls you can’t ask why or how or feel the reaction/see nonverbal cues about what they’re actually telling you
“I decided that actually going to talk to customers in non-sales situations and getting the real answers even if they weren’t the answers I was looking for, was helpful.”
Very helpful, especially when not familiar with the person/industry you're marketing to
Started running ads- saw a lot of traction at certain hours
Creating content
Ignoring regulated industries: “companies should be empowering their people to create content.”
Decide if you’re creating content for who you’re trying to sell to or yourself and your personal brand
“The reps that are able to do their day job well and do other things in extra time to build reputation and audience, will eventually become the best reps.”
“Everyone should know how to create content because that is the most effective way to do modern business development, networking, reputation building, and overall generating revenue.”
Instant gratification is a flaw, difficult to look into the future
Advice for someone who is struggling with the slow pace of building audience on social platform
Think about what they want to do in the future… think about how long you plan to be with a company
Lack of commitment to organization holds people back from taking time to build audience
Assess how it’s going today- look at performance day-by-day
It all comes down to what you’re trying to accomplish
“If you want to be the best or stand out in your career, you have to do stuff differently than everyone else.”
Understanding your audience, creating your content tailored to that… why do so many marketers get that wrong
Step 1: create content
Step 2: know how to distribute it 
“Content and distribution are two different things.”
New theme
“Marketers struggle to do their job because they spend too much time with technology and not enough time communicating.”
Can you communicate with the people you’re trying to sell to
Tech cannot magically create revenue- get away from core marketing principles
Technology is not a replacement
Wouldn’t look at tech as a solution until everything else is exhausted
Simplicity and empathy are the...

Travis and Kevin talk with the Founder and CEO of Refine Labs, Chris Walker, about the core formula when auditing a company, uncommon but successful marketing and sales strategies, creating meaningful content, and more.

Episode Highlights:

Strategy hasn’t changed$0 in revenue to well over 7 figures in less than 11 months0 outbound emails, 0 cold calls, $0 on advertising, 0 trade showsProduced organic content- efficient way to grow“I don’t see marketers challenging their behaviors in a way that allows them to change.”Take budget from things that aren’t working and use it to max out things that areWhen auditing a company, core formula = Be able to set everything up so you can measure everything Capture existing demandCreate new demand- “Ideally what you’re doing is distributing content, your target consumers are consuming that content, there is no call to action, they are receiving messages constantly and through the brand awareness and messaging that you’re delivering it creates new demand and that drives people through the funnel until your processes capture new demand.”Win on brand“If you pass enough leads to sales, you’re going to create misalignment.”Call leads yourself to make sure they’re a good lead, pass these leads to sales so they ultimately prioritize youMarketing and sales teaming up to create content/how these roles might evolveMarketers, especially in certain industries, do not talk to customers, they rely on feedback from sales or listen to recorded to sales calls” … disagree because:Sales gives you feedback because of invested interest in deal, not objective view of what the customer actually told themThe buyer is not comfortable telling you the truth during a sales callwhen listening to calls you can’t ask why or how or feel the reaction/see nonverbal cues about what they’re actually telling you“I decided that actually going to talk to customers in non-sales situations and getting the real answers even if they weren’t the answers I was looking for, was helpful.”Very helpful, especially when not familiar with the person/industry you're marketing toStarted running ads- saw a lot of traction at certain hoursCreating contentIgnoring regulated industries: “companies should be empowering their people to create content.”Decide if you’re creating content for who you’re trying to sell to or yourself and your personal brand“The reps that are able to do their day job well and do other things in extra time to build reputation and audience, will eventually become the best reps.”“Everyone should know how to create content because that is the most effective way to do modern business development, networking, reputation building, and overall generating revenue.”Instant gratification is a flaw, difficult to look into the futureAdvice for someone who is struggling with the slow pace of building audience on social platformThink about what they want to do in the future… think about how long you plan to be with a companyLack of commitment to organization holds people back from taking time to build audienceAssess how it’s going today- look at performance day-by-dayIt all comes down to what you’re trying to accomplish“If you want to be the best or stand out in your career, you have to do stuff differently than everyone else.”Understanding your audience, creating your content tailored to that… why do so many marketers get that wrongStep 1: create contentStep 2: know how to distribute it “Content and distribution are two different things.”New theme“Marketers struggle to do their job because they spend too much time with technology and not enough time communicating.”Can you communicate with the people you’re trying to sell toTech cannot magically create revenue- get away from core marketing principlesTechnology is not a replacementWouldn’t look at tech as a solution until everything else is exhaustedSimplicity and empathy are the focus “Until you can run a mile there is no sense in trying to run a marathon.”

Favorite Points:

When auditing a company, core formula = Be able to set everything up so you can measure everything Capture existing demandCreate new demand- “Ideally what you’re doing is distributing content, your target consumers are consuming that content, there is no call to action, they are receiving messages constantly and through the brand awareness and messaging that you’re delivering it creates new demand and that drives people through the funnel until your processes capture new demand.”Win on brandMarketers, especially in certain industries, do not talk to customers, they rely on feedback from sales or listen to recorded to sales calls” … disagree because:Sales gives you feedback because of invested interest in deal, not objective view of what the customer actually told themThe buyer is not comfortable telling you the truth during a sales callwhen listening to calls you can’t ask why or how or feel the reaction/see nonverbal cues about what they’re actually telling you“I decided that actually going to talk to customers in non-sales situations and getting the real answers even if they weren’t the answers I was looking for, was helpful.”Tech cannot magically create revenue- people get away from core marketing principlesTechnology is not a replacementWouldn’t look at tech as a solution until everything else is exhausted“Until you can run a mile there is no sense in trying to run a marathon.”

Tweetable Quotes:

“I don’t see marketers challenging their behaviors in a way that allows them to change.”“If you pass enough leads to sales, you’re going to create misalignment.”“I decided that actually going to talk to customers in non-sales situations and getting the real answers even if they weren’t the answers I was looking for, was helpful.”“Companies should be empowering their people to create content.”“The reps that are able to do their day job well and do other things in extra time to build reputation and audience, will eventually become the best reps.”“Everyone should know how to create content because that is the most effective way to do modern business development, networking, reputation building, and overall generating revenue.”“If you want to be the best or stand out in your career, you have to do stuff differently than everyone else.”“Until you can run a mile there is no sense in trying to run a marathon.”

Links:

Travis King: LinkedIn

Kevin Mulrane: LinkedIn

Chris Walker LinkedIn