Navigating International Markets: Essential Strategies for Revenue Teams

Intro/Outro Voiceover [00:00:06]:
Welcome to Revenue Rehab, your one stop destination for collective solutions to the biggest challenges faced by marketing leaders today. Now head on over to the couch, make yourself comfortable and get ready to change the way you approach revenue. Leading your recovery is modern marketer, author, speaker and chief operating officer at Tegrita Brandy Star.

Brandi Starr [00:00:35]:
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to another episode of Revenue Rehab. I am your host, Brandi star, and we have another amazing episode for you today. I am joined by Ellza Malek and Baron Lucas. Ellza is a principal and CMO at ExechQ which leads the international group supporting organizations expanding into new markets. Ellza is an award winning CMO, drives businesses into the future with a data driven and strategic mindset. She has led global marketing teams, spearheaded brand transformations and achieved remarkable results. Baron is also a principal at ExechQ as an executive leader, board member, advisor, coach and retired Marine Corp. Colonel Barron has 43 years of leadership, management and mentoring experience.

Brandi Starr [00:01:31]:
His professional career spans a diverse spectrum of positions including fighter pilot, instructor, strategist, intelligence officer, professor, commander and finally business executive, entrepreneur, board member and advisor. Ellza Barron. Welcome to Revenue rehab. Your session begins now.

Ellza Malok [00:01:55]:
Thank you so much for having us, Brandi.

Baron Lukas [00:01:57]:
Hello there.

Brandi Starr [00:01:58]:
I am excited to have you guys. Ellza, you are no stranger to the couch. You have been here on revenue rehab before, so I'm excited to have both of you here. But before we jump into our topic, I like to break the ice with a little woo saw moment that I call buzzword banishment. So Baron, since you're new here, I'll let you go first. Tell me, what buzzword would you like to get rid of forever?

Baron Lukas [00:02:28]:
It's more of a buzzword phrase and it's market entry strategy. The reason why I want to. Yeah, it is. But the reason that I think that needs to be banished is because so often people that think they have a strategy haven't done their homework, haven't done the validation of assumptions, and haven't really put in the time to figure out what they really want to do. It's a trap. Be careful.

Brandi Starr [00:02:53]:
Okay. I can definitely banish that one. I don't know that it's a phrase that I ever really use, so that one will be an easy one for me. Ellza, you're back. You get to pick another banish. Another buzzword to banish. What are you getting rid of this time?

Ellza Malok [00:03:12]:
I would like to get rid of globalization plans. And the reason I would like to banish that word is because we tend to think about globalization plans as using what works in the US and then just mass applying everywhere else, which is not really globalizing. When you truly think about it, it doesn't take into consideration culture and legal requirements and all those components that are quite critical to future success when you think about expanding into new markets.

Brandi Starr [00:03:48]:
I love that as well. And also a phrase that I rarely use. And I think you both just kind of gave us a little bit of a sneak peek into what we're talking about today, because both of your buzzwords definitely tie to our topic. And so now that we've gotten that off our chests, Ellza, can you tell me what brings you guys to revenue rehab today?

Ellza Malok [00:04:14]:
Yeah, absolutely. So, Baron and I have been talking about our globalization and our overall global expansion programs. And we thought this was a great platform for cmos that are looking into entering new markets and just the complexity that it really has. And it doesn't really matter if you're moving into Europe or the MENA region or even Asia PAC, there's a whole component that you have to address. And I think that addressing international markets and really getting to a point that we call revenue stable is much more of a deeper process than potentially the cmos that are doing this maybe the first time or maybe the third time, it's just a different world, even post Covid, that we think would be a very helpful topic to cover.

Brandi Starr [00:05:04]:
Awesome. And so, I believe in setting intentions. It gives us focus, it gives us purpose, and most important, it gives our audience an understanding of what they should expect from our discussion. And so, Baron, I'd love to hear from you. What is your best intention? What would you like people to take away from the discussion?

Baron Lukas [00:05:23]:
That going overseas in any direction, no matter what the country, what the culture is, it becomes more complicated than most people give it credit for. It isn't business as usual. So your planning process, your sensitivity to culture and language issues, legal issues, financial issues, has to be that much more heightened for you to be successful.

Brandi Starr [00:05:46]:
Okay, perfect. And so I'm going to start with just a really basic question. You know, in my own career experience, I have not had the pleasure or pain, I don't know which it is, of, you know, moving into new markets. So this is a little bit of a new conversation for me. And so you guys can determine who best to take the question, but can you lay the foundation for what you see as kind of the key steps? Like, what does that overall process look like from the time the decision is made that we need to move into, you know, X or Y market? What should those key milestones be or those key steps? Can you kind of outline that for me.

Ellza Malok [00:06:35]:
Yeah. I think there are three major phases that every organization goes as they're planning and deciding to move into new markets and whatever, whatever that new market looks like or whatever country it is. The first phase is really the validity space. Are you prepared for that investment both from a team, a strategy, a cultural intelligence perspective? Really getting all of your ducks in a row. I kind of equivalent it to, are you ready to start a new business? Because that's really what you're doing when you're entering a new country, and then you have to do it in a new country. So that's the, that's kind of the layer of the validity component that we always recommend and we always say, do the validity component before you make the decision, because that may determine we can't go into that country. We should probably not do it now. We don't have enough resources.

Ellza Malok [00:07:31]:
Maybe our financial Runway isn't as strong as we thought it was. That's really a very critical component. The second phase is the due diligence phase. So you said, okay, I've made the decision. I've kind of evaluated that this is a good decision for us to do. Now we have to figure out what it takes. And this is also Baron's specialty around strategy development in the sense that you have to have a very thoughtful and comprehensive strategy in order to move, not only enter the market, but get to a phase that you are considered stable. It's one of the reasons why market entry strategy is one of our banishments, because we think of, oh, I'll just enter the market and I'll be, okay.

Ellza Malok [00:08:12]:
It's like, no, what is the lifetime to get you to that stability phase that we really need to kind of take into consideration? And that's culture, that's legal, that's compliance, that's labor laws, talent acquisition, everything that's included. That's really what that due diligence phase is about to be for. And the last phase is the strategic implementation. We know that you can create the most beautiful strategy in the world, and things will just still happen. Things in real life versus the theoretical are always, are never really going to work out exactly that way. So the strategic implementation is also a critical part because you may enter a market and say, oh, we missed this component. How can we quickly turn this around and adapt to that, that process? If you can nail those three phases out, that will get you to that revenue stable environment and start getting you to a place where you're getting a return on your investment.

Brandi Starr [00:09:12]:
Okay. And before I jump into, because what I will do is just kind of walk through and ask some questions about each phase, but I want to talk about what goes wrong first. So where do you guys see the challenges? I always like to really identify what is the problem, especially, you know, because some people will say, oh, I've done this before. It was, you know, successful in some capacity. And, you know, what I know from just talking to you guys in the past is that sometimes can be muddy. And so tell me, where do people typically go wrong? What problems do you usually see when people are trying to, you know, enter a market, get stable in that market, et cetera?

Baron Lukas [00:10:00]:
I think I'll take this one. I'll take this one. I have a client that's going through this process right now, so there's a couple of things that stand out to me in a painful way. First thing is, planning is continuous, and that's something that most american companies don't do. They plan something, they put their plan on the shelf, and then they never see it again. So planning is a continuous process because no plan ever survives. First contact with the enemy is the military term, but it could be the client, the other country, the legal issues, the financial concerns. So you have to plan continuously.

Baron Lukas [00:10:34]:
And in that plan, you have to make some assumptions, right. You should know what you know. You should know what you don't know. Then there are assumptions you have to make to continue planning. The concern is that people don't validate their assumptions. They just assume. And then when that assumption goes wrong, they get caught by surprise. Bad mistake.

Baron Lukas [00:10:58]:
Next thing is when you go into another country, and I don't care how culturally aware you are, how international you are. I'm a german immigrant, so I am bilingual. Elder is an immigrant as well. But when you go into another culture, be aware of that culture. Something as simple as not having the right kind of translations for documents can get you in a significant amount of trouble. Get a local language speaker who translates for a living, preferably in a legal office, to get that done, and then the interpretation is another one. I can simulate, interpret English to german, german language. There are people out there that are native language speakers that can interpret correctly.

Baron Lukas [00:11:42]:
So get a professional interpreter so that what you say is interpreted and translated correctly for the meaning of those people. Next thing is, have a local presence. If you're not in the country, you're not in the country. And while we are very, very happy being on Zoom and teams and all the other things that we've done since COVID and I know elder and I spent all day looking at a screen, talking to clients that doesn't work internationally. And depending on what culture you're talking about, the degree changes. So for example, if you're going to go to southern Europe, the arab speaking country, Africa, you need to be there because unless you're shaking people's hands, making eye contact, there's no trust developed and nothing gets done because it's still waiting to germinate. Be there. And if you are there, make really sure you have competent local legal counsel that understands the local peculiarities, the legal system, the bureaucracies, so that when you, when you translate an english contract to something else, the local council can, can find issues that you can never find yourself because the language is different and the legalese, the cultural implications are not being accounted for.

Brandi Starr [00:13:10]:
Okay, Ellza, anything you want to add?

Ellza Malok [00:13:13]:
I'll piggyback off of the in person boots on the ground model and I'll give you a really good example. If you as an american organization are not there in person, your competitors from other countries are, and they are making, they are making a lot of headway at your expense. And often as a competitive strategy, they will say, hey, we're here, we're in person, we've made the investment. If you're bidding on pieces of business, the other person is not, they're on a zoom. So they actually use that to their advantage. If you are a us company that is looking to migrate internationally, to say we've taken the time and spent the investment to be here, don't you think the other person bidding in the business should also.

Brandi Starr [00:14:03]:
That's a great point. And I think, you know, that is, I mean, that's a lesson in general in, you know, when you're looking at your competitors and what they're doing and what that presence looks like, that can be a disadvantage. I want to shift gears a little bit because our audience is, of course, revenue leaders and so likely to be less involved in securing legal or translation support. And so I'd like to hear your thoughts, like, throughout the process, are the revenue leaders more involved at different points? Should they have the same level of involvement through your three steps? Like where is it that we should be looking to lean in and where are there places that, you know, I mean, as a part of the C suite, you generally are involved, you know, at some degree across the board in these big initiatives, but I'd really like to understand roles and responsibilities there. And what if, you know, if you're a first time CMO going through one of these global expansions, what should you expect in terms of where you need to be most involved and where your time and expertise are required?

Ellza Malok [00:15:20]:
Yeah, I think that if you are a revenue leader, whether that be a CMO or otherwise, you should probably be there at the very beginning. Chances are this is a three to five year plan, so you'll be part of the process, or at least you'll hear it. But making sure you're integral to the first two phases is really, really critical. If your bandwidth doesn't support going through the strategic implementation, bring on a leader for that country, whether it be a country manager or a director of marketing for that region. It's really critical if they report up to you or kind of connected to you somehow because I know that Baron mentioned a lot of the legal components in translation, but that is just as critical in marketing as well and in revenue generation. Because when I am sitting at a meeting and I'm trying to translate information, there's a, it's not even a direct translation. It's a cultural adaptation that you're going through because it's language, interpretation and the understanding of it. I have had clients who have lost business because they didn't know what time to have coffee with their client in a region to say, oh, we're going to have a meeting in the morning and we're going to get coffee.

Ellza Malok [00:16:35]:
That culture doesn't have coffee in the morning, and therefore they declined and took a different session. That's kind of the level of intelligence you need to have from a cultural perspective. And having somebody, whether you hire somebody in country to be that director and report up to you is really important. And then as you think about where is the brand now, because you're in two locations, it's really critical for a revenue leader to see that as a whole and say, what's our new identity and how do we build brand equity and trust into that region while maintaining the company that we are.

Brandi Starr [00:17:14]:
Yeah, and I know, you know, thinking about the validity phase a bit like there are a lot of cmos that are dropping the ing in marketing and really focusing on being a chief market officer and being that revenue leader that truly owns the market. And it, you know, sounds like when we are thinking about globalization, those sort of skills and insight that you already have into the current market, the market opportunity, you know, competitors, et cetera, it sounds like that then grows further and becomes more important in that validity stage in making sure that there is a product market fit that, you know, there is the, you know, the things that translate that the market that you're trying to move into is sizable enough and you know that you can stand up against your competitors and all those sorts of things. And so from what I'm hearing, that feels like it's really important and that that's a key place where a revenue leader would lean in in that validity stage. But I'd love to hear a bit more from you all around what should be happening in that phase and where we should be leaning in what we should be thinking about. So really focusing in on that first.

Baron Lukas [00:18:32]:
Phase, if I can. The term revenue leader, I think, needs to be redefined for this. And by that I mean everybody in the C suite is by definition a revenue leader because that's what we're in business for. Actually, we're in business for profitability, but you can't get that way without revenue. So the first thing that I would do is make sure that the planning team incorporates every single C suite position. Everybody has to be considered when you're going into any kind of new venture, whether it's local or outside the country, it just becomes more complicated outside the country. So if OPS is not talking to marketing or is not talking to sales, and none of them are talking to legal, you're going to have siloed effect and you won't be able to be there in a coherent manner at all. So picture everybody in the company as a revenue officer and incorporate a team that includes all the C suite positions.

Baron Lukas [00:19:33]:
You'd be much better off.

Ellza Malok [00:19:36]:
Yeah, and I'll piggyback off of that. The kind of the key activities that should occur in that validity is that alignment is really, really critical for across the team, because it's. This is a joint effort. Other ports are going through a short market research phase, validating the assumptions and the givens that you've identified for yourself. Because it is important to say, is this the right product market fit? Do we, do we know what competitors are currently playing in that space? Do we know how we would be seen as a us company entering that market? That's a really big component of if you're entering a market specifically that has american affinity or doesn't have american affinity, that will change your entire strategy, and it will also require more funds to adjust if it doesn't have american affinity. The Balkans is a really good example. They have a lot of american affinity. So you open a location there, it's pretty easy.

Ellza Malok [00:20:36]:
Other parts of the globe, that may not be the case for it, and then you have to kind of say, what is the total addressable market that you can take into and what is the pricing translation? If there's a, if there's a currency component and if there's a lifestyle expectation component, your total addressable market maybe may look very differently than it does here in the US and kind of working that, that way through. I always recommend, and we have a language partner on our team that helps us throughout that process just to get some of that more detailed cultural intelligence to say what is the rumblings in that region right now. Just so we have a current state ecosystem that we can address in that validity state, I highly recommend you kind of work with those. And language partners are always happy to kind of tell you, like here's probably three to five things you should know if you're looking to enter a market and you're in this industry, okay.

Brandi Starr [00:21:36]:
And then shifting to the due diligence phase and, you know, developing that strategy. I know that that is. I know Baron, you have some pretty strong opinions in terms of that phase and how getting that wrong can cause the whole thing to fall apart. And so I'd love to hear some of your perspective around what should people be thinking about during that due diligence phase. What do you feel like should be happening that you don't always see happening? Share your thoughts around what's important in that second phase.

Baron Lukas [00:22:16]:
Yeah. First of all, let's consider what whoever is leading this planning discussion should be. The CEO, quite frankly, with the guidance from the board, what are we trying to achieve? Make sure that that's clear. A lot of times it's not and we kind of fumble our way into, well, let's open and expand the market, but we don't really know what that means. So have clear intent. And second, do the analysis of the situation both domestically and whatever country you're going to. So make sure you do know what you know. Make sure you know what you don't know and then assign somebody to find that out in a timely fashion.

Baron Lukas [00:22:53]:
If you're going to make assumptions, as we said before, they have to be validated on a continuous basis. And when the assumptions change, the plan changes. Make sure that you understand your shortfalls. Lack of legal counsel, lack of local banking, lack of integration with the US export import bank. There's a whole bunch of things that need to be looked at. And make sure that we cover those shortfalls and then build a plan according to your strengths, weaknesses and the opportunities and threats in the country. Elton, I have talked several times where I have had issues overseas where a international competitor is not playing nice, cybersecurity attacks, personal surveillance. My room was bugged in one country.

Baron Lukas [00:23:37]:
All those things have to be considered. Yeah. Also considered in the planning process. How are we going to get there? And what is our security environment? What is the banking environment, what is the legal environment? Make sure that all that is known and then plan from there. Obviously, the chief marketing officer, the chief market officer should understand the market and make sure that whatever you bring into that country, whether it's manufacturing personal goods, whatever is wanted, certainly that's the first step. But then take the other approaches of what else is included. Do we have labor? All those things need to be considered in a coherent planning process. That again, and there's a warning to everybody.

Baron Lukas [00:24:18]:
If it's not continued, then you're wrong, because as soon as the ink dries on the first plan, things have already changed and you're too late. Make it continuous and make sure you never, ever rest on your laurel. Execution and planning go hand in hand and they have to change with the changes in the situation.

Brandi Starr [00:24:39]:
Okay. And that, yeah, I was gonna say I never thought about the fact that sort of the, what's acceptable or things that people do is so different. Because saying that a competitor bugged your room, like thinking about in the US, it's like that would just never happen. But, you know, I travel internationally a lot and things are very different. Have you had someone bug your room in the US?

Baron Lukas [00:25:07]:
I worked with a company that had a very interesting technology. We were spied upon by several nations and by several domestic competitors. So never be, never be assured that something isn't happening that is seemingly right. It happens all the time. Just be aware of it and be aware of your surroundings. Just because you're in a friendly country, quote unquote, doesn't mean that everybody in that country is friendly to you.

Brandi Starr [00:25:34]:
Yeah, that is a good point. I was gonna say you are now increasing my suspicion of, like, everything. I watched so much crime drama, it's already high. And now I'm like, oh, there's some other things.

Baron Lukas [00:25:48]:
It's real.

Brandi Starr [00:25:51]:
So let's talk about the third phase, which is that strategic implementation. And I know, like, just the way you summarized it in that, you know, best laid plans, we still have the shit happens scenarios that we've got to adapt for, which I think, you know, anyone who's heading marketing has tons of experience with that. But let's also talk about, and I'd like to, just because I know that there are so many things that can go wrong or that have to be thought about during that strategic implementation. And so I really want to limit it to, you know, when I say revenue teams, I'm thinking about those go to market leaders. So marketing, sales success, product, what are some of those things that one we need to be thinking about and two, that are the, you know, watch out for is if we are in that strategic implementation phase.

Ellza Malok [00:26:48]:
Yeah, I'll start with the sales and marketing teams because I think that they're always kind of front of the lines and if things go bad, they're the first ones to feel it, so to speak. And in that aspect, when you're talking about the strategic implementation, really being succinct to say, this is our plan and this is how we're operating, whether that be, if you're, if you're a technology company, that's a little bit easier. There's less logistics, maybe things like that, but there's a lot more interpersonal conversation. So you have to, you have to go through a little bit of culture training, you have to. And then as you're having those conversations, you have to give feedback back to marketing. It's basically everything that you would do internally. You would just, you just have way more complexity because now you're in a new country and the sales team that you may have, there may also have a language barrier to communicate with you. So just having that rules of engagement around how you're going to operate in the country and then within the two locations, especially if the revenue leader may not have a leader that's driving that force in that new country.

Ellza Malok [00:27:59]:
I think about areas of, if you're starting off new campaigns, what does a kickoff look like? Is it more in person campaigns through an event or is it a digital one? The Nordics are really powerful, are really well known for absorbing digital strategies better than the southern countries in Europe. So that's also a component of it, even down to the ideation phase. And then as you're talking about those stages, you just got to have a continuous loop and have a continuous plan. As Baron was mentioning, feeding through. If you're in product and maybe you have a physical product, there's a logistical component that impacts customer success and customer experience. So you have to say what even this is why you have to talk to your operations team is what is kind of the guaranteed delivery time for this product. Because I want to make promises that I hopefully can keep and I don't want to set the wrong expectation to the customer and ruin our brand trust before we even got it. And that's really with the complexity.

Ellza Malok [00:29:02]:
And I think lastly, the last component is you tend to have like a more skeleton crew of a team when you're in that early phase. And this is where executive kind of comes in, it kind of helps you phase that out to say, you'll probably have some fractional, you'll probably have some full time folks, and then eventually you want to just get to full time because you have enough revenue to sustain on your own and kind of address those. So if you're looking at customer and product, it's probably more logistical and customer expectation focused. If you're thinking about marketing and sales, it's much more around like, hearing what the feedback is and what is, are the assumptions and even the validated assumptions coming true. And then how do you all work together? This is a, this is a joint task for force that you kind of have to keep working with.

Brandi Starr [00:29:55]:
And one question that you guys have brought up multiple times is the importance of really getting in and understanding the culture and how businesses operate and what they respond to. And so I think one of the big things that runs through my head is the, where do we hire local? You know, and so it almost feels like you need to hire local. But then quite often when you are going through an expansion, you know, it's like, well, we hire someone too soon, like, what are they doing? Do we have the revenue to support it? You know, is there a place where going into this, there's like training and education that should happen for the committee that's involved, some combination of both, something completely different, like in thinking about the people aspect of this, there feels like there is a key consideration that organizations need to make. And so I'd love to hear some of your thoughts there, if I can.

Baron Lukas [00:31:05]:
That was it. Every situation is different. So there is no blanket statement here. It depends on what industry you're in. Do you need local labor? Do you need local sales force? You need whatever, right? Manufacturing course. Just be aware of where you're going and what that country's strengths and weaknesses are and what your needs are. Certainly in anything you're doing, where you're going to incorporate a large local labor force, training, cultural integration, language, all needs to be considered so that when you do hire somebody, they know how you operate and your operations is geared towards the cultural requirements for that country. So go into it slow and go into it knowing that most countries that I've dealt with want you to hire locals.

Baron Lukas [00:31:57]:
And it's going to be a requirement, certainly. So if it is, then you need to make sure that you've got the right kind of training, the right kind of HR onboarding for local hires and give them the opportunity for the same kind of career advancement that you would find from an american going overseas, working on most of these countries, particularly in the developing world, want us leadership and us training. Make that part of your program, make that part of your strategy. You do much better in that country.

Brandi Starr [00:32:27]:
Ellza, anything you want to add?

Ellza Malok [00:32:30]:
I will say that the labor laws just vary so differently from each of them. I think to Baron's point, every company, every industry is very different. Kind of my rule of thumb is if you have some type of logistical aspect, you're always going to need in country labor that knows the rules and so on, rather than transplanting a us employee to that country. If you're more tech enabled or maybe your services are digital, you can get away with it for a little while, maybe in that validity stage, but once you enter that due diligence stage, you're going to have to at least have a leader or a liaison to be your. To be your translator, so to speak, between all of these aspects. Because I know a company in a very small one, they had to spend 200,000 just in legal fees for a mishap that they had in labor laws. And that was only for an employment around like two months because they didn't understand the ramifications of hiring somebody in that country and the incentives they were receiving in order to go through it. So when they, when they pulled out, they had all these fees, and just the labor one was that price tag.

Brandi Starr [00:33:40]:
Wow. And then my last question is, you know, I definitely have a. I don't know what I don't know because this isn't something I've experienced. And so I'd love to just ask, is there anything that I haven't asked you about that you feel important for those listening to hear as they, you know, if they are faced with this situation and need to, you know, be able to navigate it effectively.

Ellza Malok [00:34:09]:
I think that if I really like what you just said about I don't know what. I don't know. I think that if you think that you don't know something, there's probably a well of information that you haven't tapped into. So if you have that feeling, trust your gut on it. Like, go find the information, dig through that hole and look through it, because you may actually stumble upon a major issue that you didn't know even existed. And sometimes there's rumblings, which is why that. I don't know. I don't know.

Ellza Malok [00:34:40]:
I don't know what I don't know sometimes occurs go find a resource and see if you can get that answered, or at least figure out how big that problem is that maybe you aren't aware of. That's always kind of my go to is, if you're not sure, go check.

Brandi Starr [00:34:57]:
Okay, Baron, anything you want to add there?

Baron Lukas [00:35:00]:
Yeah, I think the commonality of american business is that we're all just a little bit arrogant about it. What we know, and the phrase the ugly American overseas comes to mind. I think everybody that does anything in business always needs to think of themselves as missing something, always question everything. In fact, I still do it every day. What did I miss today? What could I have done better? What information do I need? Keep that kind of mindset. And then when you bring your team together and again, include everybody, don't go into silos. Make sure that your rhythm, your staff rhythm, is appropriate for the pace of operations. So that means in my world, it is a weekly, monthly, quarterly cycle and discontinuous.

Baron Lukas [00:35:51]:
So those questions, that little spidey sense, if you will, that I'm missing something is addressed right away and it's addressed to the group so that somebody says, oh, yeah, I got that covered. Well, great. But I didn't know that that kind of open communication and being open about what you think you're missing is critical in this kind of environment.

Brandi Starr [00:36:11]:
Awesome. Well, talking about our challenges is just the first step, and nothing changes if nothing changes. And so, in traditional therapy, the therapist gives the client some homework. But here at revenue rehab, we like to flip that on its head and ask you to give us some homework. And so I'd love for you guys, and you can pick which of you want to, gives the one thing, but love to give everyone an action item. So if, you know, if what you've said has resonated with the audience, what's their first step? What's something that they should, you know, what's their next action?

Ellza Malok [00:36:49]:
Yeah, I think that if you're an organization that is planning or working through this idea of globalization, contact a trusted partner for a validity study. That's the major component. If you are in market and maybe you're not doing very, very well or not meeting the expectations that you work through, go back to your due diligence phase, like take a pause before things go through and take a step back. Those are probably two of our best suggestions, because the further down you go, the harder it is for you to pivot, because you've just sold yourself on an idea, so to speak, and you're like, I've already invested a lot. But if you take the pause and you take the breath and say, hold on, this isn't working. Let's take a step back into due diligence that can really save you a lot of time and pain and, frankly, money.

Brandi Starr [00:37:47]:
Awesome. And so I have enjoyed our discussion with you both, and I have learned some things, but that's our time for today. But before we go, I'd like for you to share. How can our audience connect, connect with you and definitely give the shameless plug for ExechQ. And I know that you guys do the validity studies, so, you know, for someone that is potentially in this situation that is looking for some help, what do you guys do?

Ellza Malok [00:38:19]:
Yeah. So I think if you're. If you have any questions around that topic, Baron and I are both available for, you know, a 15 minutes consultation just to see if this is something that we can help you with. And we do offer our comprehensive validity study for organizations that want to take that next step and say, I really think I need this. But we're always happy to take a call and say, hey, this is what I'm going through. Is this something you can help me with? That's kind of the exec HQ motto, so to speak, is we're here to help and bring that expertise where you need it.

Brandi Starr [00:38:52]:
Okay, well, we will make sure to link to both ExechQ as well as your LinkedIn. So if anyone wants to connect with you individually. So wherever you are listening or watching this podcast, check the show notes so that you can connect with Ellza and Baron as well as ExechQ. Well, thank you both so much for joining me. It's been a pleasure.

Ellza Malok [00:39:19]:
Thank you very much.

Brandi Starr [00:39:21]:
Awesome. And thanks, everyone, for joining us. I can't believe we are at the end. I hope you have enjoyed my conversation with Ellza and Baron. Until next time. Bye bye bye.

Intro/Outro Voiceover [00:39:35]:
You've been listening to revenue rehab with your host, Brandi star. Your session is now over, but the learning has just begun. Join our mailing list and catch up on all our shows at Revenue Revolution rehab live. We're also on Twitter and Instagram at revenue rehab. This concludes this week's session. We'll see you next week.