From Doubt to Confidence: Mastering the C-Suite Journey

Brandi Starr [00:00:35]:
Welcome to another episode of Revenue Rehab. I am your host, Brandy Star and we have a extra special amazing episode for you today. This is episode 149 and it concludes a full week of dropping an episode every single day as we lead up to episode 150, which is going to be the official relaunch of our new episode format. And so given that it is episode 149 and this is a significant milestone, I wanted to take the time and have a solo episode and really reflect back on the journey of Revenue Rehab. And so for those of you that are just tuning in, you will get a little bit of history of why we started this podcast. But then more important, I'll share some of the lessons learned over almost three years as well as what I've gained. So often I've had people approach me and ask if I find hosting a podcast worth it. You know, it's something they are considering for building their brand.

Brandi Starr [00:01:49]:
So I will give you the skill skinny on all of that in this episode. So first off, why did we start Revenue Rehab? When we initially launched the book CMO to CRO the Revenue Takeover by the Next Generation Executive, we launched during COVID and so our goal was to do like a roadshow tour series of events for the book launch and because of the pandemic that was just not an option. And so instead of doing in person events, we went the path of gaining exposure for the book through being a guest on various podcasts. And going through those conversations was not only really enjoyable, but we recognized that we had a missed opportunity and that was as consultants to really get our voice out out there. And what's funny is I had had the idea to launch podcast a couple years before, but there was a lot of self doubt and I wasn't really sure, I wasn't sure I'd be good at hosting. I wasn't sure that I could stay consistent because, you know, having an episode every week and coordinating calendars and all the different things, there's a lot of work that goes into a podcast. However, what I realized was that there is a collective need to have some of these business conversations and we named it Revenue Rehab with a little bit of a therapy spin to it because I am a big Advocate of mental health. And I am always promoting that I think everybody should go to therapy, that we've all got stuff that we need to deal with and work through and process.

Brandi Starr [00:03:37]:
And I wanted to create a safe space for marketing leaders especially, but really all of gotomarket to have a place to talk about the challenges and to have some open conversations and see how each of us have solved the problems. And not only to tackle like the practitioner part, you know, doing the job of marketing, but also tackling the whole person. Being a leader and having to lead and grow a team while also being a human. Many of us are parents at the age where most executives are. A lot of us are in that sandwich generation where we're still raising our kids, but we are in the place that we are having to air quotes raise our parents. And if you've, if you've been there, you know, the parents are harder to raise than the, than the kids. And so I really wanted to create a space that we really could tackle the whole sole leader because leading go to market is a tough gig. I mean the targets feel like they are consistently moving, the resources feel like they are consistently getting smaller.

Brandi Starr [00:04:47]:
And there are so many different aspects of what we do in trying to drive revenue for our organizations, trying to navigate our own careers, to make the right connections, to hear the right voices, excel, etc, and so that was really, really important to me. In addition to that, being able to bring light to topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging is really important to me, especially as a black woman having, you know, had some challenges, we'll call them, going through my career and then also being able to give more opportunities to women leaders who, who are less likely to have their voices heard. And so all that rolled in together is how we ended up launching revenue rehab. And so what I've learned over the past, and it's hard to believe that it is three years at this point, but what I've learned first and foremost is I can. And it's one of those things that you, you know, you get to a certain level within the organization or within your career and people start to look at you almost like superhuman, that you know someone, once they get to the C suite, that there's nothing they don't know or nothing they can't do. And that self doubt and a little bit of imposter syndrome I have learned creeps in. So much for all of us having conversations with people that I look up to and admire and hearing them talk about how they too have challenges with self doubt or with imposter syndrome really humanizes everyone that is, you know, in my professional circle and even in my personal circle because this is something that we all struggle with. And I have notebook, I collect a lot of notebooks and one of them on the COVID says I can do hard things.

Brandi Starr [00:06:55]:
And I really love that because quite often I have to remind myself of that, that there are all sorts of hard things that I have done and will continue to do. And you know, hosting a podcast is one of them. We made the decision to have a live podcast. So, you know, if you've been following, you see it live stream, we don't edit. And that adds a different dimension because there's no opportunity for flubs or if you have a guest that's not so great, you kind of gotta just roll with it. It's almost like being in theater versus being in movies. You know, in movies there are multiple takes, you have multiple opportunities to get it right. In theater, it is just you on stage, in the audience.

Brandi Starr [00:07:47]:
And that's what we have experienced. And although I can say I've been blessed that the majority of my episodes have been amazing, I've had some great guests. There have also been some episodes that were not so great and where it was really difficult to be able to, you know, pull good content out of the person that I was talking to or last minute cancellations where we had to pivot and you know, know, be able to pull in guests that may have not been as prepared because they, you know, were a fill in. And so just really getting comfortable in my own abilities and you know, adding a layer of confidence to the fact that I can and removing that self doubt, removing that imposter syndrome. You know, I've talked to people who are podcasters, who have audiences, you know, 10x the size of revenue rehab and they're like, oh, you, you know, you don't edit. Like I can't imagine being able to do that. And so it's one of those things that, you know, in thinking, and this is sort of my own reflection that I hope helps someone else in thinking about the things that you feel like you can't. No matter what, it's like you can and there's always someone who is going to value whatever it is that you're able to put out.

Brandi Starr [00:09:10]:
Like where you may feel like, you know, one of the things I felt like was, do I have something to say? You know, is what? Like my path into leadership was not the traditional path. And so I often questioned, you know, do I belong in the room Do I have value to add? Do I have something to say? And through the podcast and the people that I've met as a result of the podcast, I can say firmly, I got a lot to say. And what I've got to say is valuable. And yes, there may be some gaps in my knowledge in certain areas that things I have not experienced, but those gaps don't take away from the two plus decades of experience that I do have and that is valuable to others, even those that I feel are more. More seasoned, more senior, more experienced, more everything. And so I really learned that I can. The second thing that I learned was we have a collective struggle. And through the podcast, I have interviewed solopreneurs, people who are their own business.

Brandi Starr [00:10:18]:
I have interviewed those in startups where, you know, it's they are CMO plus one marketer on up to those that are executives in Fortune 500 companies. And, you know, you wouldn't think that the same problems would exist in a $5 million company as in a $500 million company, but we all have the same collective struggles. It's like there are different flavors of the struggle. It's kind of like pizza. Like, we may all have some different toppings on our pizza, but at the core of it is all pizza. And you know, as I have learned, is that so many of these challenges are universal, that it is so important that we are having these conversations out loud, that we are not just talking about what is the best practice or how to do something or how to approach something, but really digging in and having conversations about what are we struggling with and how, you know, how might we overcome it? How have we overcome it? What advice have we received that was good, bad, or indifferent? And then the third thing that I've really learned is to never get comfortable, you know, go to market changes so rapidly and preferences of the audience change so rapidly. Like if I think about three years ago when we launched the podcast, some of the things that I read and learned then around what works, what the audience wants, etc. Etc.

Brandi Starr [00:11:52]:
Is so different than all of the articles and reports and things that I see now. And so one of the catalysts for changing the format of the podcast and, you know, trying to push a little harder is that never get comfortable. And that's something that, you know, it's very easy to get comfortable, get complacent, and just, you know, keep moving along. And so the lesson that I take from, from that is the importance of having the right people in your corner. Those people who are going to cheer you on when you are doing well, but are also going to give you some tough love and some nudging. You know, some sometimes have they have to voluntell. I always love the term voluntold. You know, you that you need to do something different.

Brandi Starr [00:12:44]:
And so it is great to, you know, we all go through the learning curve and it is great when that levels out and we aren't, you know, constantly going uphill, but at the same time, we can't get too comfortable or too complacent. And then thinking about what have I gained? Or what have we as an organization gained? Because Revenue Rehab is powered by Tegrita and Tegrita is a middle-of-funnel consultancy. And at the end of the day, like, you know, Revenue Rehab is a channel that we have to support the business. And so thinking about what I've gained, number one is the connections. Both like, you know, professional personal connections as well as for the brand. I have met some amazing people. In 149 episodes, I think I've talked to close to 160 different guests. And those guests are from all over the globe.

Brandi Starr [00:13:47]:
They are from all different backgrounds, different expertise. And I've had the opportunity to talk to, connect with and learn from some truly amazing people that I probably would have never crossed paths with, you know, if it weren't for this podcast. And so that's really the personal thing that I've gained. But then, you know, the question I get asked all the time is, does having a podcast support business growth? And one thing I will always say is if you are trying to use a podcast in your attribution model, it ain't gonna happen. It's just not the way that it works. However, having the podcast and having our voice and our brand out there and having us to amplify other people's voices, that is that where you give enough that it does actually come back and you get. And so this is where we do get referrals from. In some cases, it's guests I've interviewed who have asked questions of what does Tegrita to do? And then I'm able to tell them that.

Brandi Starr [00:14:53]:
And, you know, they'll remember that.

Intro/Outro Voiceover [00:14:55]:
And.

Brandi Starr [00:14:55]:
And when that comes up in conversation, they'll say, oh, you should reach out to Brandy or oh, you should check out Tegrita. And in addition to that, we've had people who have listened to the podcast and have shared that podcast with someone else because we were talking on an issue that was related to something that. A challenge that they had. The other thing that we have gained is quite a bit of goodwill because we've had a lot of business owners and leaders who have been guest on the, on the podcast with the intent of amplifying their own brand or their business's brand. And we have had people who have, you know, come back and said they've been heard on revenue rehab and that it became an opportunity for them. Now whether it drove revenue or not, I don't know. However, you know, it is one of those signs of goodwill in being able to be that, that source of helping to amplify others voices as well. And then I think the other thing is it has allowed me to find my voice and not just my voice as an individual and a leader, but my voice within the space as it relates to the way that we work with customers.

Brandi Starr [00:16:13]:
If I look at my career, I have always worked in the middle of the funnel, although I never really called it that. You know, if I go back to my very first role in marketing where I was doing graphic design work and designing flyers that were being distributed via fax machines to totally date how old I am at that point, it still was in a place of the middle of the funnel based on the scenario for that business. And throughout my career, you know, I have, I have always worked in that B2B decision sale where we need to orchestrate the journey once we know who they are, whether that is net new acquisition or current customers being able to figure out how do we communicate in a way that gets them to be sales ready. And then as I progressed through my career and marketing technology became a thing, specifically marketing automation. Because I'm one of those people who is both very creative and also very analytical and technical. I really took to the marketing automation technology and wanted to expand and pursue that. And so although I've kind of always been in that space, I always really struggled to talk about in a really succinct way what is my area of expertise. I would always talk about it's this and that and the other.

Brandi Starr [00:17:43]:
And we think about messaging and positioning when it comes from a business. And it's like so common to go through that exercise and make sure that you've gotten that right. I had never gone through that experience for myself personally. And so as a host of the podcast I, I, it has opened up other doors for me to be a guest on other podcasts and that has, you know, has triggered me to have to really define what is my voice, what is my message, what do I want to get out of there. And so that's one of the reasons Going into the new format of the podcast that we are actually having what we internally call star led episodes that are, we're. There's going to be more of my solo episodes and one of the things with those episodes, just to give you a sneak peek into the new format, is those are going to be almost like reaction episodes, not the side by sides that you see on TikTok, but my reaction to things that are put out into the industry because so often there are LinkedIn posts and articles and industry reports and things that I feel like sometimes are incomplete or misleading or in some cases I flat out disagree. And so there's a lot of people like me who, you know, feel like there's so much information out there and it's hard to sort through and figure out what to do with it. And so that's one of the things that I want to address is look at what the hot topics are and try to make some sense around how you can actually apply or clarify those sorts of things.

Brandi Starr [00:19:31]:
So it's been a really, really interesting journey for those that are regular listeners. I appreciate you sticking by us and you know, I definitely welcome all the feedback. This is a short episode, but I really just wanted to take the moment to reflect and to answer some of the questions I get asked all the time in terms of do you feel it's valuable, is it worth it? And I can say, you know, a resounding yes. Every year that we are doing strategic planning, we evaluate does it make sense to continue with the podcast? And every year there is no doubt that this is a key part of how we get our message out into the marketplace. The circle around the Tegrita T is for community and it symbolizes the impact that we want to be able to have on the go to market community as a whole. And so revenue rehab fits into that. Revenue rehab is our community within that broader community. So, you know, I always like to end on a one thing.

Brandi Starr [00:20:43]:
So my one thing that I would recommend to anyone that is listening is to think about the areas in your life where you may be doubting yourself or you may be complacent in what you're doing and figure out how you do something outside the box. To use a buzzword to move beyond that, to move beyond any sort of self doubt or questioning whether you can, whether you should just do if you found yourself being complacent, figure out what that next step is. But I think as I am reflecting, this becomes an opportunity for you to also reflect in what is the hard thing that you need to be doing. For some people that could be taking on something like a podcast. For some that may be going for a promotion or a larger organization. For some it may be, you know, calling it quits and realizing that the org that you're with is not for you. Maybe you want to go out on your own. Maybe there's a hobby that you've been wanting to pursue or taking that solo vacation.

Brandi Starr [00:21:50]:
Whatever it is, I push you to do the hard things and to move beyond any form of self doubt or complacency that you may have. And so I have truly enjoyed that, enjoyed this conversation, would love to hear your feedback and your thoughts on, you know, what is the hard thing that you are going to do. And so again I've enjoyed But that's our time for today and you can always find me on LinkedIn under Brandy Star as well as we have our Revenue Rehab channels Integrity as well. So I am all over these Internet streets until next week. And next week will be a new episode format. So same great podcast, a little bit difference in the format. Until then, bye bye.