February 3, 2025 • 60 mins
In this episode titled "Fail Forward: A Content Marketing Victory," host Amy Vaughan interviews Melissa Lou, Senior Director of Content Strategy at Salesforce. They explore the journey of creating award-winning content, focusing on Melissa’s work with Salesforce’s Salesblazer project.
Melissa shares how setbacks and failures can lead to significant victories in content marketing and discusses her keynote speech at Content Marketing World. Her transition from traditional journalism to tech content strategy highlights the changing landscape of the industry.
This episode offers valuable lessons on resilience, persistence, and community-building, emphasizing the importance of learning from failure. Join us as we uncover how to leverage experiences to foster growth and innovation in your marketing strategies!
Connect with Melissa:
Melissa Leu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaleu/
Episode Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
03:21 - The Story Behind "Persistence Beats Resistance"
07:29 - Evolving Careers and the Art of Storytelling
13:50 - Turning Rejection into Writing Mastery
17:05 - The Question: "Why Should Anyone Care?"
25:25 - Solving Problems with a Customer-Centric Approach
26:56 - Archetypes, Branding, and Embracing Vulnerability
36:00 - Successfully Building Online Relationships
39:19 - "Don't Get Furious, Get Curious"
44:17 - Community as a Key to Business Success
50:44 - Moving Past AI Hype: Focus on Practicality
55:27 - The Role of Exercise in Winter Well-Being
58:49 - LinkedIn as a Vital Portfolio Platform
01:02:37 - Outro
Quote of the Episode:
"It's a mindset shift in a world of constant comparison and 'InstaPerfect' lives. As Nelson Mandela said, 'I never lose; I either win or learn.'" -Melissa Leu
"I can pick myself up, dust off, and ask, 'What did I learn?' This persistence helps me overcome any resistance. - Melissa Leu
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello everyone and welcome to our weekly Power
Lounge.
This is your place to hearauthentic conversations from
those who have power to share.
My name is Amy Vaughn and I amthe owner and chief empowerment
officer of Together Digital, adiverse and collaborative
community of women who work indigital and choose to share
their knowledge, power andconnections.
You can join the movement attogetherindigitalcom All right,
(00:33):
so all of us have been there.
You go to conferences andevents and there are just
moments that sort of stick withyou well, after the sessions are
over and for me they wereplentiful at the Content
Marketing World conference thislast year.
But watching Melissa Liu come inand share, I had to paint the
(00:55):
picture.
She's at Content MarketingWorld on the feature stage which
, if any of you have been tothis, it is a 3000 person event.
There are massive screenseverywhere, there's pump up
music playing for everyone andshe steps up onto the stage to
accept the project of the yearaward for sales blazer.
(01:15):
And she didn't just share apolished success story.
Instead, she pulled back thecurtain on the messy and very
honest journey of creatingaward-winning content.
We all know that's the process,right, it's not always perfect,
but her words of persistencebeats resistance really hit home
with me and I felt like it wassomething that our community and
(01:40):
the women everywhere that arelistening to this truly need to
know and hear time and timeagain.
We need to be reminded she iscurrently the Senior Director of
Content Strategy at Salesforce.
We are so excited to have herhere on the Power Lounge to
share her incredible backgroundthat has spanned the Los Angeles
Times, abc and NPR, and she'shere to share a very unfarnished
(02:03):
truth about turning contentinto in marketing, setbacks into
victories.
So if you've ever felt stuck,or if you're wondering if you're
the only one struggling on theproject or at work or in general
, this conversation is for you.
I am so, so excited to have youwith us here today, melissa,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Thanks for having me, Amy.
That was such a nice intro, ohyou're welcome.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
It's absolutely my pleasure.
I love to kind of giveeverybody a chance to feel a
little bit of love and get cozyhere and just settle in for good
conversations and honestconversations, because that's
what we're really all about.
And when you and I talked afteryour session, I so appreciate
you being open because I know itwas probably a lot for you to
jump on stage and do all thatand then be accosted and be like
(02:48):
be on my podcast right after.
But you were so accepting and Ireally do appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Honestly, it was a little flattering.
So that was my first keynoteand so I had no idea what to
expect.
So to hear that someone enjoyedit one person in the crowd at
least- enjoyed it that feltreally nice, absolutely, and
you've had quite a journey.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I'd love for some of our listeners to hear a little
bit more about you and whereyou've come from.
So from journalism into leadingcontent strategy at Salesforce,
what kind of drew you to makethat transition from more
traditional media and some ofthose places I mentioned before
into kind of more digitalcontent?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, so I was a journalist for about 10 years a
decade.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
And.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I went to school for journalism.
That was my passion.
I love to tell stories and,kind of to me, journalism is
this community service.
You know it's a public servicethat you're really kind of doing
good in the world and likeuncovering and telling the
stories that need to be told.
Unfortunately, you know, thebusiness of journalism is quite
(04:04):
difficult, absolutely, and soafter a decade in it, you know
you try all the different rolesand you kind of take a look at
your life and you're like, okay,what is the life that I want to
lead?
Is this kind of the balancethat I'm looking for?
Uh, I had reached a point of,you know, I had gotten to
leadership roles in newsroomsand felt like, oh, I
(04:26):
accomplished a lot, but is is,is this what I imagined?
and now that I've gotten here,is this what I actually wanted?
And then realized, you know, Ithink it's time for a change.
So then I I luckily um, youknow have a couple friends who
(04:47):
were like, hey, I've beenworking at this company for five
years and you know, I reallylove this company, has great
values, and it's really allabout employees and growing
their employees.
Like, why don't you just lookand see if there's any jobs that
you might be interested?
in um, so I applied and, yeah,somehow got it, I don't know how
(05:10):
because you are talentedinterviews and rejections along
the way.
But yeah, that's how I ended upat salesforce and content
marketing yeah, that's amazing,did you?
Speaker 1 (05:25):
so?
It just did you kind of likeset it in your resume without
connections?
Did you know people there Likewhat did that look like that
whole process?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, so obviously when you're making a career
pivot you kind of have toreframe your resume to whatever
that job description looks like.
So for me, when I was applyingto different types of roles, I
basically went through my resumeand looked at the job
(05:55):
description and just synced itup and I was like, how do I
paraphrase this so that I'musing similar language and
similar words and just puttingit on my resume with the
accomplishments that I have?
So that was one thing I triedto do to kind of get through the
algorithms of like getting yourresume surfaced.
But I would say, yeah,unfortunately, you know, the
(06:22):
interview processes that I gotthrough the furthest, with tech
companies at least, came fromreferrals.
So I had a couple friends thatI reached out to on LinkedIn or
texted and was like, hey, I'mlooking for a new role, looks
like you work at this company.
Would you be interested inreferring?
(06:43):
me this company.
Would you be interested inreferring me?
Obviously not words like that,specifically, but and then also
setting up informationalinterviews because there might
be roles that you think the joblooks interesting and then kind
of talk to someone about thecompany culture and yeah, you
know what it's like to workthere and you're like maybe
that's not for me exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah, maybe not worth my time.
I ask because this current jobmarket is extremely flooded,
especially with women who'vekind of had a fallout from
things within, like the economy,the influence of AI on
companies and just in general,like you know, the way things
have gone the last year or so.
But I do think, and we have alot of not just job seekers
within the community but likepivoters, right, women,
(07:28):
especially in digital right,because it's always evolving,
and so I've known so many peoplewho did not start in, like how
many people in this industry,especially our community, which
our median age is like 35, 10 to15 years of experience, like
there was no such thing as likea digital marketing course in,
you know, at school, and so youhave to sort of it's not.
I wouldn't call it necessarilyeven pivoting, I would say it's
evolving, it's really just themindset.
(07:49):
And I love how you talked aboutlooking at what you've done
contextually and saying how do Imake it relevant to where I
want to go?
Because experience is stillexperience.
It's all in how you're tellingthat story and I just think it's
so important for our jobseekers and pivoters, evolvers,
all of us, to hear that and bereminded of those things kind of
, given the times we're in andthe moment you were describing
(08:10):
there, melissa, is so how I feltwhen I got to like my title and
the salary I thought wouldalways make me like super
satisfied and I'm like, yay,this is it, I've made it.
And it's that feeling I call itthe feeling you have when you
basically climb somebody else'smountain.
You're like, wait, now that I'mhere, where's that good feeling
, where's that sense of successand accomplishment, like I'm
(08:33):
accomplished, but I don't feelgratified.
I don't feel like this is thething I was always meant to be
doing.
And then you're like why did Ijust spend so many years
climbing that mountain?
That wasn't even mine to beginwith, but that's how you learn
right.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, so like blinded by your goal kind of like going
straight down that path,everything out of my way for me
to get there, and then youfinally get there.
You're like wait, this wasn'twhat I imagined.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah you goal blindness.
Oh, that's so true.
I like that term too.
All right, so during yourpresentation I remember looking
back in my notes and writingreally big persistence beats
resistance and that really stuckwith me and some of the other
folks around me, so it wasn'tjust me that enjoyed your talk
but I'm curious what I wanted.
(09:27):
I.
One of the first things Iwanted to ask you was like, okay
, you could have just walked upand been like I did, we did this
, and then we did this and thenwe and so just like, sold the
story is something kind of easybreezy and instead you decided
to share the struggle alongsidethe success.
What inspired you to do that?
You decided to share thestruggle alongside the success.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
What inspired you to do that?
I didn't know.
The other way was an option.
I love it.
I was like, how do I tell acompelling story?
And I'm like, okay, what's ahero's journey I could share?
(10:08):
And, like you, you know, it'snever interesting to hear
someone start at the top andthen keep staying at the top,
and that certainly wasn'treality in our project anyways.
So yeah, it's funny because Iworked with a speaking coach to
go through and kind of like talkthrough what I was going to say
and he was actually like wherethe talk started from, where
(10:34):
what you saw on stage wasliterally changing up until the
like hours before, not nervewracking, right yeah, not
nerve-wracking, right yeah.
And the speaking coach basicallywas like, when he looked at my
first version of it, he was likewhy are you just like cutting
yourself down the entire time?
And so, um, what you saw waslike a more, uh, confident
(11:00):
version of actually what Istarted with.
So that's interesting thatyou're like, oh, I really
appreciated your vulnerabilitybecause I'm just like, oh, don't
want to see the mess beforethat.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
You know Z-Draft won, you know, maybe now I kind of
do, but I would have to saykudos to your speaking coach
because I will also say I'vedone a lot of speaking myself.
I've gone through some likespeaker coaching and things and
now I feel like I can see itwhen somebody has been coached
and they can feel a littleovercoached.
Tell your guy he did a greatjob outside of like bringing the
(11:36):
right thing into your talk,which is that confidence.
Really love, how.
Like yeah, I just love that youdidn't sound overcoached to me
at all.
Like I feel like sometimes Ican just be listening or
watching someone on stage andI'm like gosh, they've
definitely been coached.
You know what I mean.
You did not come across thatway at all.
It was still very genuine and Ithink you know.
(11:58):
Kudos to him and to you forthat.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah Well, he's also a part-time therapist, so half
the coaching sound like atherapy?
Yeah well, he's also apart-time therapist, so half the
coaching is on like a therapy,or he?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
used to be a therapist.
That's amazing.
Yeah, I get this guy's number.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
And then I think you know and you said this before
and I think it came from youknow again, bringing those
strengths from one career pathinto the next Storytelling.
You know you were a journalist.
You're like what's the hook?
What um storytelling?
You know you were a journalist.
You're like what's the hook,what's interesting about
everything was perfect andnothing went wrong, or, sideways
, like there's nothing, there'snothing newsworthy about that,
right, yeah, um.
So I'm kind of curious.
You know, with your backgroundand experience, kind of starting
(12:36):
um in journalism instead ofgoing straight, we'll get to
sales blazer, I promise folks.
I'm curious.
What.
What shaped your approach tostorytelling?
Speaker 2 (12:48):
honestly, it's just, it's just practice, right.
Like you start off as a cubreporter very limited experience
, and you're constantly pitchingstories to different editors,
constantly saying this deservesto be in like this part of the
newspaper, this deserves likethis kind of treatment online
(13:13):
and over time you do that enough.
You get rejected enough.
You kind of pick up okay, whydid I get rejected on this one?
What notes did they have onthis one?
You do that enough.
And then once your stuff getspicked up, you're like okay, why
did they pick this one up?
You look at your peers andyou're like, why did their stuff
(13:33):
get picked up?
And you just start to pick upthese little patterns and bring
them into your process.
And once you kind of get morepractice then you eventually
hopefully are able to kind ofbring your own sort of flair to
it.
But definitely, I think, for me.
(13:53):
I started off at a place whereyou know English is actually my
second language.
I went to kindergarten.
I like did not know any English.
All the kids knew the alphabetand I was like what the heck is
happening, and then um and thenyeah, I don't know how I ended
(14:14):
up in writing but I neverthought I was a good writer and
then you just do it long enoughand you fail long enough and
eventually you get to a pointwhere you're like, actually like
I've learned a few things, andit kind of takes that
perspective for you to look backto finally be like, oh, I
landed in a place that all thoselittle failures, all those
(14:35):
little rejections, all thethings that were bumps along the
way, the challenges, actuallyhelped me hone my skills to
where I am today.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Yeah, I love it.
See, I think you were alwaysmeant to give that talk.
It sounds like from early on,you were just okay to like get
out there and try and fail andget up and try again.
You know, and it is a mindsetshift in a society where we're
constantly comparing ourselvesto others, looking at, you know,
insta-perfect lives and notseeing behind the curtain.
(15:06):
It reminded me and I want toshare the quote because we
talked about it before we wentlive was the Nelson Mandela
quote.
I think you just live it.
It's like he says I never lose,I only win, or I learn
something, and that's likereally it.
It's like, okay, it's not thatI have to lose.
You know, just because itdidn't go the way I wanted
doesn't mean that it was a totalloss.
(15:27):
Now, unless you're like a brainsurgeon, then maybe that might
be an issue, but we aren't doingbrain surgery here.
So it's like, okay, I can pickmyself up, dust myself off and
say what did I learn?
And then you become better overtime.
Again, that persistence isgoing to be any resistance
thrown your way.
I love that.
Our live listeners are alreadywriting down.
You're already getting quotedagain.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
It's on her desk now.
I can't take credit for itbecause I stole it from someone
else.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
I don't know, maybe you stole it from someone else.
You're bringing it back around.
You're bringing it back around.
I love it All right.
So let's talk about a littlebit of how did your experience
in traditional media outletslike the LA Times, abc and NPR
influence your approach tocreative content at Salesforce,
because I think sometimes weforget ourselves and that, like
(16:14):
the outside perspective or freshperspective from different
areas or different walks of lifeactually do add to the equation
.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Yeah, so I think through news you're constantly
thinking about what do peoplecare about?
What do they find interesting?
Why is this interesting, and amI covering it in a way that's
different from what's alreadybeen covered before?
So I remember, like when I wasearly on in my career, I would
(16:44):
pitch a story and they'd be likedid you look that up in the
past?
Have we written about it before?
Have other people written aboutit?
How are you moving this storyforward and how are you kind of
bringing a different angle,whether through your writing or
through your reporting orthrough the different sources
(17:05):
that you're bringing into?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
the story and it's funny to hear it because it
reminds me of a strategist thatI used to work with.
I don't even know exactly whathis initial background was, but
he became like the head ofstrategy at our agency over time
and that was his favorite thingto ask everybody was why should
anybody care about this, or whywould anybody care about this?
And it was interesting becauseevery time he asked it it
actually ruffled some people'sfeathers.
(17:26):
It's like because they took itpersonally, like because it's a
brand and I do work on it andeverybody should care about it
because I care about it.
It's like no, that's a reallygreat question.
We are bombarded by content on adaily basis.
Like how, how can you makepeople pay attention and care?
That's an important thing, nomatter what kind of you know
content you're putting out intothe end of the world as well.
(17:48):
It also kind of shortly remindbriefly reminds me of another
talk.
I went to a conference that isnow no longer called
Brandemonium and he talked abouthow, like, how much are you
contributing to the pollution ofthe mind and the world of
content by just putting out?
I was like, dang dude, you'regoing for the jugular, but I get
(18:10):
what you're saying, like Itotally, if it's not something
that is going to stop people intheir tracks and make them care
and pay attention like we'rejust adding to the fray you know
, yeah, of this constantlybuilding content, and now we've
got AI to help us with it.
Oh good, god, it just getting.
That's a whole notherconversation now.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
I'm curious how did you answer that question?
Because I don't know how Iwould answer that question.
I said guilty.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I said guilty because I know that, like in my past
self, you know, juniorcopywriter Amy thought you know
that my brands and the thingsthat I were working on were the
most you know, prevalent andimportant things in the world
and you kind of have to right toto really lean in, to want to
solve the problem with yourcreativity.
So, yeah, no, I was like yeah,guilty, but it definitely made
(18:56):
me think, moving forward, okay,I have to be more intentional
about what I'm pumping out intothe world and more thoughtful,
you know, and really morehelpful, you know, instead of
just putting out garbage for thesake of talking to myself.
I had another creative directorthat had another very
semi-offensive term that I won'tsay, even though I usually say
a lot on this podcast.
But I won't say, um yeah, hejust was like that's yeah, it's
(19:20):
like yeah, it just it's so hardnot to say it, but it's one of
those things where it's moreabout brands pleasing themselves
.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Basically, you know and like the way that people
like to please themselves.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
He's like, oh, that's brand and I was like dude.
But you know, I understand whathe's saying.
It's like, you know, when youkind of forget your audience,
you forget yourself and you'rereally kind of, you know,
putting out a bunch of junk.
So, yeah, no, I, I love thatlens and I honestly think, as
marketers, you know, we, we havea duty and a responsibility to
(19:50):
our customers and the peoplethat we're trying to help with.
Whatever product or servicewe're providing, to make sure
that it's thoughtful andintentional and truly right and
helpful.
But yeah, yeah, anyways, itcould be like a whole nother
episode.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, I'm like I always approach it almost
through, like the opposite side,where I'm like nobody wants to
hear what I have to say.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I don't know what this says about me.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
I'm like nobody cares about what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Like, why would?
Speaker 2 (20:18):
they care about this.
So it's almost like with everyproject.
It's a little bit of provingmyself and saying like hey, let
me make it so beautiful, soamazing that it like can't be
ignored.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
No, I love that.
That's great.
I think that's where, like,coming from a place of humility
is not necessarily a bad thing,right Knowing that you've got
something to prove, versus, likeyou know, crashing in and being
like, yes, I deserve yourattention.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
It's that chip on my shoulder.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
I know right you didn't have that advertising kid
chip on your shoulder.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
No, unfortunately, when you come from journalism
there's a lot of like.
You get a media feedback on theinternet.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Oh my gosh right, you can't be precious.
That was another thing I lovedfrom another boss of mine be
passionate but not precious, notprecious.
And I'm like you are so right.
That saves me a lot ofsleepless nights and makes all
of the feedback that you get youknow a little bit easier to
take.
All right, let's get into theSales Blazer project, and I
would love for you to share alittle bit about what the
(21:18):
initial vision was and how didit evolve from the first
iteration and how did it evolvefrom the first iteration?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, so, man, take me back.
So we launched Sales Laseralmost two years ago like a year
and a half ago at this pointand the intention was how can we
create the largest, mostsuccessful sales community to
help professionals out therelearn new skills, connect with
each other and grow their career?
(21:54):
That was essentially like, in anutshell, our goal Easy peasy.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, easy peasy, you know.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Our CEO basically challenged us and he's like hey,
do this and do this better thaneveryone else and do it now,
and so, so that's how it started, and and yeah, sorry, no,
you're fine.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
How did it evolve?
So where did you guys kind ofcome across your first hiccup,
or kind of?
I'm trying to like dig into,like the picture that you
painted for your talk too?
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Yeah Well, even before Sales Blazer started,
kind of that quintessential ideaor that vision was something
that we had been trying toachieve for years right.
Yeah, and so a previousiteration of Sales Blazer was
this project called ThinkOutside the Quota and
(22:55):
essentially we were going to bethe next Marvel franchise for
salespeople.
You know we were saying likeeverybody was going to love this
thing.
We're going to have movie aftermovie after movie and, yeah, it
didn't work out that way, butyou know, we got some great
speakers along the way.
(23:16):
We worked with Tony Hawk, damonJohn and we thought this thing
was just amazing.
Yeah, expensive, very expensiveand very.
Our goal was like okay,prestige, that'll bring people
in right.
People who other people respectand are excited to learn from um
(23:38):
.
And, yeah, like that didn'tnecessarily bring in the people
that we were, the amount ofpeople that we were expecting
for, the amount that we put inright, the effort, the resources
, all of that.
And so, um, you know, when ourceo kind of pitched this vision,
we're like, hey, we're doingthis, this kind of exists and
(23:59):
like don't you think this kindof fits the bill, and he's like
no, no, not even close.
Well, we tried um, and sothat's kind of how sales blazer
was born is through that failureof learning.
Oh, we really need to get backto our roots, understand what
we're good at, what, what peopleactually want from us, what's
(24:23):
unique about us and how we canserve and solve their problems
specific to them, that we couldactually solve their problems
well versus what we hope tosolve their problems with.
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Right, this is such a common marketing like I don't
want to say faux pas, but justlike a common pitfall.
I guess maybe is more the wordright.
And now that does, when ithappens, when we make the
product, the service or thecompany, that makes it the hero.
And then, in this sense, youguys literally tried to make
you're all the hero.
(24:59):
We are Marvel and it's like,well, you know what the people
that are trying to close dealsday in and day out, in the midst
of everyday life that's.
They know that that's not like,that's not realistic for them.
That's not actually coming into solve the problem, it's fly.
It sounds like you're going tofly in, do the thing and then
fly out and you're not like aconsistent, trusted partner and
(25:19):
ally.
That's not community either, iswhat I would say.
But it is so hard, right, youdon't.
You don't want to ever questionthose that are so far above you
.
You're like that's outside mypay grade.
But I mean I would have to saythat I it's probably
insurmountable the amount oftime and money that a lot of
companies that I've even workedfor have spent.
(25:41):
You know, as an agency creativedirector, you know sort of
chasing down those moreidealized, you know visions of
what something could be versuswhat it should be, because we
forget the customer is the heroand that we're trying to solve
problems for them, and you justcan't always fit a square peg in
a round hole.
So if you're not constantlyasking throughout the process,
(26:02):
how are we making this betterfor the customer?
How are we solving the problemsthat maybe we can't even see
that they're having, then what'sthe point?
What's the point?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
I think we think outside the quota.
It was a little bit about likehow do we build a fandom?
And the community will centeraround this fandom for this
franchise, right, but it's likehow many people out there really
like are you going to watch adigital marketing tv series,
(26:33):
essentially, and like becomesuch a fan over like 10 episodes
?
you know, like and is thatfandom gonna translate into true
community where you're helpingand solving each other, you know
?
So I think that was kind ofsome of the thinking.
Maybe kind of turned it on itshead when we moved into sales
(26:54):
blazer.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Right.
Yeah, it also makes me thinkabout right.
We talk about like the hero'sjourney I'm thinking in terms of
storytelling and then like thedifferent archetypes.
It's funny how sometimes it'slike you can just put yourself
as a brand into the wrong space,right Into the wrong character,
and then trying to play a rolethat maybe others aren't seeing
or just the fact that, like yeah, I go to, I go to disney plus
(27:17):
or wherever I go to watch andstream entertainment for the
sake of entertainment, and it'slike you've kind of forgot the
desired outcome for the idea orthe ideal, like where you want
to be, and I I do truly thinkagain as being, you know,
somebody who's constantlyworking to build and grow and
and really maintain community.
For me it requires vulnerability, you know.
(27:40):
So I think there's nothing tosay that you guys couldn't ever
get to that like marvel status,but like the way the characters
in marvel got to where they arewas you saw peter parker, you
know lose uncle bed.
You know.
You saw Iron man have hisfraught relationship with his
dad.
I mean, they all have, you know, vulnerabilities in their story
(28:00):
that have been shared and shown.
And it's like if you're notkind of building that trust and
relationship, like you're notgoing to get to that hero status
either.
Sorry if you're not a Marvelnerd or nerdy enough to know
anything that I'm talking aboutright now, but hey, I mean, I
think that's true ofentertainment but I'm wondering
like is that true of likebusiness?
Speaker 2 (28:23):
You know, like do people want to build fandoms
around business?
I mean, I would say forSalesforce they've done a pretty
successful job with ourTrailblazer community.
But I think the reason why thatwas successful was because it
focused on the community,putting the community first.
And I think with this series inparticular, it was like let's
(28:47):
focus on the building, thefranchise and the IP first
versus let's focus on buildingthe community first.
Oh, 100% and so that's kind ofwhere we switched and
transitioned.
When we moved into Sales,blazer is like, okay, the
community comes first, what dothey actually care about?
What do they actually want fromus?
Speaker 1 (29:07):
How can we?
Speaker 2 (29:08):
listen to that and kind of build from there.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Yeah, 100% agree.
Listening is huge in thatrespect, and then knowing how to
respond accordingly and justget your house in order, because
a lot of times I think peoplethink that they're just like,
yeah, it's like build it andthey will come.
No, not exactly.
You got to make sure thatyou're listening and responding
to show that you're in alignmentwith what they're willing to
(29:33):
walk in the door for.
It's a lot to get people'sattention, it's a lot to keep
people engaged in a part of acommunity.
But I would say you know,salesforce is a brand.
I mean, I don't know anybodythat doesn't know.
You know in this industry whatSalesforce and who Salesforce is
and you guys have an amazingproduct, so like that is such a
(29:57):
great place to start and wethink you know, turning it
around, I'm kind of curious,like what?
Was there like a kind ofpivotal or specific point in
which you guys are like okay,like this idea is done, we need
to kind of move into, likeshifting our focus and our
attention?
Was there any kind of likespecific point or did it just
slowly kind of evolve throughconversations?
Speaker 2 (30:17):
I mean, yeah, it kind of came down to like I think,
as many decisions sometimes comefrom top down, right, they see
a need for the business andthey're like, hey, solve this
problem, right.
What you're currently doingisn't solving the problem.
And so that's kind of where itcame through yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, I think that's where, too, sometimes we get a
little backwards.
It's like you know, hi, I havea business need, so I'm going to
go impose that business need onmy customers to like somehow
make up and manufacture a needthat they don't really have.
Instead of constantly lookingat your customers and saying
there's a need that they have,let's grow our business by
meeting that need leadership.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
They're talking to customers all the time on these
calls.
They're hearing from them andsaying, like they're saying,
you're in the perfect positionto offer this to us.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
You've been in sales for 20 plus years.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Why aren't you giving this to us?
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Give it to us, oh my gosh, come on, we're asking for
it, that's amazing, that's agreat position to be in,
absolutely when people areasking for it and looking for it
because, again, I thinksomething like community.
I mean, I'm hoping that overthe next few years especially.
I feel like there's just beenmore conversation about
community as of late, especiallyat the start of the year,
(31:42):
because people need it.
You know, more than ever.
You know we feel more isolatedthan ever whenever, whatever
we're doing, work in life, and Ithink you know, once you
understand the power communityholds or the ways in which it
can propel you forward, and thenall of us at the same time
forward, then you're like oh, Idid it.
People say this about togetherdigital so many times over and
(32:04):
over.
This is the thing that I didn'tknow, that I needed.
I don't know if your Salesforcepeople probably feel that way
or sales blazer people feel thatway, but I can only imagine
because I've worked a minute insales and it's just so hard.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
You know it's really tough, right.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Rejection after rejection, you talk about
resilience and persistence, likethere's a lot to be said for
that, and so to have communityand know that you're not alone
in that endeavor and struggle,but then you can also have
people to celebrate and thatwill celebrate with you your
wins, because, also, sales canbe highly competitive.
I really, really love this idea.
I'm so glad that you guys wentoff and did this, so I'm kind of
(32:46):
curious once you decided, okay,hey, the customers are asking
for this.
What were some of the thingsthat you guys put into practice
or into play within Sales Blazerthat had a lot to do with your
customer feedback?
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Yeah, so I would say like the biggest components of
this program are content,community and product right and
a lot of our customers werecoming back and saying, hey, why
is it so hard to figure out andget my questions answered?
(33:21):
Is there one place for me as asalesperson to come through?
So we had that for admins anddevelopers, right like
trailblazers, all dedicatedtowards admins and developers of
Salesforce.
But the end users, a lot of theend users, are in sales.
Yeah, and we didn't necessarilyhave that same community for
(33:43):
the salesperson, gotcha, and soit really centered from that
idea.
How do we bring it all together?
We created a central hub wherewe could bring the best of
Salesforce into one place.
We integrated Sales Blazer intothe product.
We were like hey, look at theseresources that are available to
(34:04):
you.
And then we built a community,online and in person, where
folks could come together notonly talk about how to solve
their problems within Salesforce, but also it was really about
professional growth, right, howcould we all grow together and
share the knowledge, get to knoweach other and be each other's
(34:25):
kind of partners?
As we go through this journeyand probably the part of this
program that keeps me going Iswhen I meet sales blazers in
real life or over Slack andthey're like Thank you so much
for putting this programtogether.
Like I met so many people, I've, you know, expanded my network
(34:50):
or I found a new job, so it'sbeen incredible to kind of see
not only the macro picture ofthe numbers coming in, but also,
on the person to person level,you could see the impact
happening in real life.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Oh, I love it.
Yeah, that does feel good,right, those fringe benefits of
community are completely justpriceless.
They're absolutely pricelessand it's like cool to know that.
You know, by building andcreating and facilitating
community, there's like anabundance now of like
opportunities and positivethings happening for people that
otherwise, without thecommunity, would just not have
(35:27):
ever come to fruition.
I don't think we forget that weneed each other sometimes more
than we do.
You know I love that and I agreewith you kind of going from
that online to offline andseeing those relationships.
You know I love that and Iagree with you kind of going
from that online off online tooffline and seeing in those
relationships you know, andmeeting people.
It is.
It's such a cool feeling.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
I love it, yeah, it almost feels like a class
reunion sometimes at theirevents because a lot of these
folks meet for the first time?
Yeah, at these events, and butthey've been like chatting
online for a while oh yeah, soit's, it's.
It's pretty cool to see thosereunions uh-huh, it's.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
And it's interesting too in this time, in this era of
remote and hybrid, where peopleseem to think that it's like oh
, I can't make professional oradult grown-up friends, you know
, through channels like these orcommunities.
And I'm like guys, like we'vegot people who meet and fall in
love online and get married.
Like do you not pay attentionto the online dating world?
Like I can't think of anybigger, like more potential
(36:22):
long-term commitment than that.
So I'm like why couldn't youform these bonds and
relationships and I believe Imean it sounds like they're
happening all the time with theSales Blazer crew and then
definitely here within ourcommunity as well.
So I love, love, love it.
All right, let's go back to alittle bit of talking about
mindset and a framework thatyou've talked about and shared,
(36:46):
that how you look at setbacks asopportunities.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Yeah, dive into that question a little bit more, like
what are you, what do you hopeto learn?
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Right.
So I think that the keys ofthis question is you know you
have the best of intentions,you're doing the work, you think
the way you should, and thensome, let's say, somebody comes
in and says this is not what Iwanted, this is not what I
expected, or you get told no bysomebody that is integral to
making the thing happen.
Like, if you can think of anexample, maybe maybe it's more
(37:23):
for like give us an example.
Question of like how you'vegotten a setback kind of thrown
in your face and how you've beenable to turn it into an
opportunity.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Yeah, yeah, I think it was the word framework that
kind of threw me off.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I don't know if there's We'll devolve what
you're sharing into, maybe, aframework.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Yeah, I don't know if there's an official framework.
You know, it's like youencounter a setback and I'm like
what are the steps that you do?
You just like you think aboutthe, you take a step back, you
look at the vision.
Are we all still trying to getto that vision?
(38:02):
Okay, so then what do we learnfrom this setback and how can we
take that forward with us andconstantly continue to
experiment and push forward toget to that vision?
I think for me, with SalesBlazer, it was, you know,
(38:23):
learning after learning afterlearning, right, and I think
that phrase of, as I've been intech, the longer I'm in tech,
I'm like, oh yeah, like failfast because, then you really do
like learn very, very quicklyand you're not spending so much
of your time on a initiative,that or a project that won't
(38:49):
necessarily get you to yourultimate vision.
And so for me it's like makingsure you have that clear idea of
where you're trying to get toand dusting yourself off
whenever, whenever somethingdoesn't necessarily go your way,
because it is an opportunity tolearn.
(39:09):
Yeah, it's an opportunity totake that forward with you and
kind of make whatever you'redoing a little bit stronger.
So I guess that that's theframework.
See, I knew I was going toanswer this and we'll have it.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
And I feel like I'm seeing a little bit of that.
That journalists come out andyou again too.
Right, and I say this often.
So it's like an official Amyquote of don't get furious, get
curious.
You're looking at it and you'regoing.
Well, what is happening here?
What's really happening here?
Why have we become misaligned?
What needs to be done?
Or how can we make this towhere?
Now we take this negative andwork it into a more positive,
(39:44):
and so it's like almost likethat who, what, where, when, why
, how sort of approach?
And you get curious and you askmore questions versus just
getting angry, throwing yourhands up and saying this is the
way it was supposed to go, thisis the way it's always going to
go, and I'm not going to bend orflex.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah, I mean part of itis also I'm like very stubborn
and.
I'm like also single-mindedtowards like accomplishing what
I want to accomplish, and Ithink that's also just part of
my natural drive.
But I think, uh, how to make itexecutable?
For, like it, it's just like,yeah, you just have to, you just
(40:23):
have to keep trying.
I think, like, for example, withthink outside the quota, when
we think we created the bestthing ever and someone tells you
no, that that's terrible, throwit out.
You just spent like a yearworking on it, you know.
But as much as, like you mournthe loss of the efforts that you
put in and what you thought youaccomplished, you know that
(40:46):
those learnings help createSales Blazer, which ultimately
led us to you know project ofthe year.
And like quarter of a millioncommunity members.
It's like that.
It's like the scale of sales.
Laser was nothing we could haveeven imagined.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Oh, that's so great.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Think outside the quota, you know.
So hopefully something's alwaysbetter around the corner and
you take what you take what youlearn.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
I love it.
That's so great and super,super inspiring.
Cause I think you're right, itis hard when you spend, you know
, a year plus on something andit all kind of goes to the
ground.
But you're right, like fromthose ashes comes something
better, you know, and I thinkalways having that mindset of
okay, yeah, well, that was agood first draft of a year that
I just spent on on this firstdraft, but like, hey, that means
(41:42):
the next one's going to be allthe better.
And I love that you're able tolike, quantify and qualify and
see the results of all that hardwork, because it was all still
the work, right, Like failing isa part of the process, folks.
We have to remember it's not allabout that perfection every
time, because you're not goingto end up with an optimal
product or service by the end ofthat right, it's going to just
kind of be subpar or okay, andclearly the time and energy that
you've put into it and thelearnings that you've taken have
been a big part of that successand without that failure there
(42:05):
would have been no learning.
So love it.
When it comes to community andcreating content, the word
authenticity gets thrown aroundquite a bit.
I'm kind of curious.
You know how you have tried towork towards doing that,
especially while scaling,because obviously you guys have
grown quite a bit as a communityand the amount of content
(42:25):
you're doing is probably grownalong with it.
Yeah, what are some things thatyou're kind of putting into
place to make sure that it staystrue to you know, salesforce
and the vision and and thevision and for the community too
, right, so they really trulyfeel that sense of connection?
Speaker 2 (42:41):
I think it's really just putting your community at
the front right To maintain thatauthenticity, because for us
it's like if our goal is toreally help sales professionals,
then we need to give them aplatform.
We need to give them theresources, like we need to be
(43:04):
giving more than we're taking.
Yes, and so, yeah, like, if youlook at our content, the vast
majority of our content includessomeone quoted from our
community.
Majority of our contentincludes someone quoted from our
community.
if you go into the our slack,you'll see like we're constantly
engaging, answering questions,making sure that you know the
(43:28):
dialogue keeps going um, but alot of it is also community
driven right we have thesecommunity group leaders who are
like, yeah, I'm gonna everygoing to, every quarter or every
month, I'm going to throw myown sales blazer a bet, and
that's really awesome to seethat progression, right yeah.
So yeah, it just kind of goesback to how do you, kind of goes
(44:01):
back to how do you?
It's like we could be as Iguess our, our authentic goal is
we want to help them, and sothe best way to achieve that is
putting them and at the front ofthat and helping and then
giving them.
Speaker 1 (44:13):
I've've said it so many times before too, being
someone who, like my whole bit,my whole business, is a
community right, and I'mconstantly saying without you,
there is no me.
You know, and when it comes tocommunity, the people within the
community, they are the product, you know, and so it can either
be really good or really bad,and it's you know, so it's one
(44:34):
of those things that I thinklike authenticity and creating
the right kinds of content thatis reflective of you know, of
the people that you're trying tohelp and support.
All right, I want to remind ourlive listening audience that
you all have the chance to jumpin and ask questions just
through the chat.
So just open up your chatwindow and drop questions and,
if you have them, I've got oneor two here left for you before
(45:03):
we go into the power round.
So I'm curious what surprisedyou the most about the elements
of Sales Blazer that resonatedthe most with your audience?
Was there anything that kind of?
Speaker 2 (45:09):
fell into that facet.
You know, I know I shouldn't besurprised, but I am surprised
constantly when, honestly, likewhen the community just wants to
talk about a product.
Yeah, Because obviously I comefrom the perspective of like, oh
(45:53):
, just making making how theproduct functions better in
their organization, and it'sbeen inspiring to see people
connect around that totally ontheir own.
We may have created the workingspace, but they're the ones
(46:14):
directing the connections andthe conversations, and so that's
really cool to see.
Yeah, that's probably the bestpart.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
I love it.
It is so good to hear whenpeople are authentic.
I can say this I know it'sFriday Authentically advocate
for your business because, again, like their words, their
testimonials, that's talk abouttotal authenticity and, you know
, believability and and buildingthat loyalty and all of that, a
(46:46):
trust, all these things thatyou know brands are constantly
trying to work towards.
Community is such a great wayto get there, but you, again,
you can't make it about you,right?
It's like this weird backwardsthinking.
Actually, you're giving meideas.
Also, friends, those of youthat are listening, total, like
(47:11):
slight segue, content marketing,world for 2025.
They're speaking likeapplications are open.
So, melissa, I hope you're gonnago apply, because we I think
you should be on that stageagain, and then all of our
listeners like I think youshould be on that stage again,
and then all of our listenerslike people need to be hearing
from you too.
So I'm going to encourage youall to check it out and apply
and I'm going to do the samebecause I'm not just going to
tell everybody else to do it,I'm also going to do it and
actually, as we're talking, I'mgetting ideas, so I might reach
(47:39):
out to you and maybe we'll makeit like a duo.
Yes, Because this whole idea ofcommunity and how to do it right
and how to build loyaltythrough community by not putting
yourselves kind of center stage, yeah, my brain's like already
building the PowerPoint in myhead, so you know, and we can
kind of bring those twodifferent angles where it's like
one really big kind of likecompany and brand, and then this
other, more kind of missionbased, but there's still like,
as you're speaking, there's somany alignments and similarities
(48:01):
and the ways in which we havemanaged to kind of maintain
throughout a pandemic andnonetheless, you know a very,
very amazing and effectivecommunity that is truly making
differences in people's, notjust their careers, but their
lives, lives and it's like, butthat's not without intention,
that's not happening on accident.
So I think, yeah, there'sdefinitely opportunity for us to
(48:21):
maybe collaborate together ifyou want.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Yeah, I would love to .
Amy I mean, you built such anamazing space for people and so
yeah, and again it wasn't justme, it took, it totally takes a
village.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
So I can't take all the credit.
It's like seriously, Iappreciate it.
And again, it wasn't just me,it took, it totally takes a
village.
So I can't take all the credit.
It's like seriously.
I'm a product of the community.
I was a member first.
So wouldn't even be sittinghere owning and running a
business, much less producing apodcast, if it wasn't for the
women that surround me, theamazing, intelligent, awesome
women that surround me.
So, yeah, all right.
Well, I don't see any questionsyet into the um in the chat,
(48:59):
but I do see lots of they'reready to come and see our talk.
That's, that's good, that'sexciting, all right.
Well, let's get to the powerround questions and then again,
folks, um, we usually go toabout the hour, so if you've got
a question that you want to ask, don't be shy.
It's okay, we like questions,right, all right, we did get a
question from Jillian.
Thank you so much for asking.
She wants to know do you haveany daily habits that help you
(49:21):
succeed?
Speaker 2 (49:23):
Ooh, daily habits.
I don't know if this is daily.
Well, actually, no, it isdefinitely not daily, but I do
think working out.
Yes, so my New Year's resolutionthis year is to work out three
to five days a week, previously,from zero.
(49:45):
I like that.
It's a range too so, but whatI've noticed it's like been so
hard to keep it up, but whatI've noticed is I tend to have
more energy.
Yes, after my workouts I tendto be in a better mood and I I
feel like I read more aboutworking out than I actually work
(50:05):
out.
But they also to say, like thescience of working out is like
it helps you be more productiveand helps you be more on top of
things and more alert andwhatnot.
So yeah, yeah, I guess workingout I don't know.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
I'm with you.
Honestly.
I have swapped the notion thatI am working out for my physical
health.
I've said it's just for mymental health and honestly, it's
easier for me to feel motivated, especially when I wake up and
it's, you know, five degreesoutside and I'm like I don't
want to get out of bed, but I'mlike I know this weather and the
darkness is going to just pullme down If I go work out, I know
(50:40):
at the end, mentally, I'm goingto feel so much better and have
so much more clarity.
So I think that's a great answer, and it doesn't have to be
killing yourself on any kind ofcrazy machines or some
excruciating workout.
Speaker 2 (50:52):
Exactly, it can literally just be a walk.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Yes, a hundred percent.
Let's just not go from zero to60, because that's just setting
yourself up for failure.
Speaker 2 (51:02):
Oh, actually the other thing, I would say morning
routine yes, having a morningroutine, oh, yeah, I got into
coffee.
I was never a big coffee personuntil last year and just like
the routine of making yourcoffee in the morning, sitting
down for breakfast, like gettingyourself, giving yourself some
(51:22):
space before you just roll intowork For some reason, that
really puts me in a goodheadspace before I do anything
for the day.
Speaker 1 (51:31):
Yes, prime yourself for the day.
One of my good friends,lucretia, listening live, she
already put some little clappyhands in there.
She is like so great at morningroutine, by the way, so as soon
as you said that, I'm like Ican just feel her going.
Yes, morning routine, she does.
She has her ritual.
She shares lovely picturesabout it on Instagram.
That, I think, probably helpkeep her accountable At least,
that's how I sometimes use.
(51:52):
Instagram when I'm like I did mycalm up, yeah, meditation.
I'm gonna share it because Idid it.
Yay, me, yeah.
Speaker 2 (52:00):
And it's like it.
Really.
Is that like, yay, me feelingit's like you could make your
morning routine just brush yourteeth and like you're like, I
brush my teeth, pat myself onthe back, that's my morning
routine.
Speaker 1 (52:12):
One of my favorite talks was from a I I think he
was a retired army general whotalked about why you should make
your bed every morning and how,like, no matter how sideways
the day goes, no matter whathappens in that day, at the end
of it you come back to a bedthat was made and you're like I
might've gotten anything donetoday, but that bed was made.
I have made my bed every daysince and it really does make a
(52:33):
difference.
Speaker 2 (52:34):
Okay, gotta go make my bed, which is like right next
to me.
Speaker 1 (52:39):
It's so subtle I'll have to find the talk and share
it with you all.
Maybe we can put it in the shownotes.
But I'm not gonna lie, itreally makes the difference.
And the days that I come backand the bed's not made, I'm like
, oh man it wasn't made andthat's usually because I left
before everybody else was goneand the kids like came in and
messed up the bed or my husbandwas sleeping in.
Speaker 2 (52:57):
Yeah.
But anyways what are your dailyhabits to succeed?
I'm curious.
Speaker 1 (53:02):
I am with you on the working out.
I you know I come, I fall onand off the wagon constantly,
like everybody else, but I dofind that I have greater mental
clarity, stamina, emotionalstability, especially in the
wintertime when I am working out, because I am a nature nerd and
I love the outdoors, and sowhen it's cold and I can't get
out in the sunshine.
I definitely feel a difference.
(53:23):
But yeah, no, that journalingyou know kind of on and off.
Especially I'm more seasonal, Idefinitely feel like I have more
ritual and routine during thistime of year.
I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, soit gets darker earlier, it's
colder, I'm getting lesssunlight, so for me, like
meditation, journaling, workingout, I'm much better about being
(53:44):
routine with those in thewinter months and then in the
summer months it's usuallyactually spending as much time
as I possibly can outside.
That would be my routine.
It's like how do I get?
outside.
I love that.
Yeah, no, those are kind of myfavorites.
All right, it's funny becausethe next power on question.
I'm going to mash withJillian's question here and,
(54:04):
Julie, I'll get to your questiontoo, don't worry.
I love that you guys aresending us so many questions,
but Jillian wants to know, ofcourse do you have any AI tools
that you use or would recommend?
Speaker 2 (54:15):
Well, the tool that we're, I don't want.
I don't think I can promoteanother company.
Oh no, that's fair.
Yeah, but yeah, we use.
We use some internal AI tools.
Actually, you know what thebest AI tool in my life is right
now?
You know what the best AI toolin my life is right?
(54:40):
now I just thought of it andit's like kind of perfect it's
slack like yes, I don't know, Idon't use email anymore, unless
it's with external people andeverything I need to do is in
slack and then now I'm gonnasound like a corporate shell,
I'm like, but honestly, like acorporate shill, I'm like, but
honestly like coordinating,collaborating our documents,
like everything is in Slack, andit also has AI summaries where
(55:05):
I don't have to read through allthe messages I missed.
I could just read the recaps.
And then it also hasintegrations where, like, it'll
tell me what I missed or likethings that I need to do.
So, yes, that's the AI toolthat I literally can't plan my
day without.
Speaker 1 (55:26):
I love it.
That's so wonderful.
I agree.
Our Together Digital Communityis on Slack too.
We've been on it since 2016 andyou know just leaps and bounds
with the abilities, theintegrations, the automations
that just make life easier.
All right, julie had one morequestion and we'll end it there.
Do you have any recommendationsor suggestions or resources for
(55:49):
portfolio development?
She says most of my content isolder and from sites that have
since turned over, which,honestly, that could have been a
year or two years ago.
I've worked on websites thatwere huge lists and they're like
I go back and I'm like youredesigned again.
We spent a year and it lasted ayear.
In more recent years I havebeen doing more long form copy,
more for journalism and tradepublishing.
Speaker 2 (56:13):
Well, I can say, when I had a portfolio well, well,
okay, let me answer thatquestion with the present I
honestly think LinkedIn is thebest place for your portfolio
now, like unless your role thatyou're applying to is like a
creative, creative role, like,linkedin is kind of where I go
(56:34):
to first when I'm going throughpeople's work and just trying to
see what they're talking about,what they've posted, what kind
of um you know projects thatthey've put up there to take a
look at, um.
That being said, though, when Idid have a portfolio outside of
(56:55):
LinkedIn, I would say theproblem that you're encountering
is very common.
You have all this content thatyou've put out there, that you
have your name on, that suddenlydisappears from the Internet.
So, if you can, you can go to.
There's this website, what's itcalled?
(57:17):
Oh my God, internet Archive.
Speaker 1 (57:22):
You can go to Internet Archive.
Speaker 2 (57:23):
put in that website that link if you still have it
and see what the page lookedlike, you can copy that page.
You can take that content, putit onto your website and just do
like a screenshot so you know.
you have that proof that it didlive somewhere at some point and
(57:45):
then to answer your question ifyour content is older, you know
what, if there is somethingstopping you from you know
publishing newer stuff, like askyourself what is that thing
that's stopping you?
Because I will say, as I'mevaluating, I do look for what.
What have you done mostrecently?
And so just just some thoughtsfor you, hopefully that helps
(58:09):
you.
Speaker 1 (58:10):
Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say I think there's like a
website, a website, timemachine site to have to take it
in the show notes, where you cankind of find things like that
and go back and kind of see thesite as it existed um yes, way
back my back.
Speaker 2 (58:24):
Thank you, I was like somebody's gonna come in and
save us here, yeah and then ourcommunity if you need permission
from your publishers, myrecommendation would be put your
website, certain pages of yourwebsite, behind a password
protected page.
And that way it's not.
You're doing it for interviews,no one's coming after you for
(58:46):
republishing something.
Speaker 1 (58:47):
It's a great strategy , melissa.
I love that.
That's a perfect idea.
Yeah, you're sending it tospecific people.
You're not blasting across theinternet.
Just make it password protectedand then you don't have to
worry about them kind of gettingtheir hands on it.
Great strategies, all of this,the mindset, hearing your story,
learning more about you.
It's been so much fun.
Thank you so much again forshowing up and being with us
(59:07):
today.
Thank you, amy for inviting me.
Speaker 2 (59:10):
This was a lot of fun .
Speaker 1 (59:17):
And I can't wait to do our presentation at content
marketing world.
Let's do it.
Let's do it.
I'm so excited.
It was really good this year.
I was kind of nervous at comingout of cleveland and going to
the west coast and I was likeit's gonna feel different.
It's gonna, but the people areall the same and they're so
lovely, um, and we have such ablast and there's such a great
micro community and all the amysall the amys that are there.
Speaker 2 (59:33):
Oh my god, so so many Amy's.
Speaker 1 (59:35):
It's kind of weird.
I know it's not like thatspecial of a name, but it's just
like I've never been in thesame room with so many Amy's.
But on that note, we'll call ita day.
Thank you again, so much forbeing here with us.
Thank you to our listeners forjoining and asking your very
thoughtful and amazing questions.
We always appreciate you, ourlisteners and those who ask Next
week, come back and see usagain.
(59:56):
Same time, same bat time, samebat channel.
We're going to be talking aboutsocial media, sanity and you
and this is one of our members,robbie Schneider, who basically
took a goal last year with ourauthentic, ambition,
goal-setting cohort and took herexperience in healthcare and
mental health and social mediaand created a book out of it.
So we're excited to get in, diginto that with her, celebrate
(01:00:20):
her and learn more how to managesocial media in our sanity.
All right, everyone, thank youagain for joining us.
We'll see you next week.
Until then, keep asking, keepgiving and keep growing.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
(01:00:42):
la, la, la, la, la.
Produced by Heartcast Media.
Hello everyone and welcome to our weekly Power
Lounge.
This is your place to hearauthentic conversations from
those who have power to share.
My name is Amy Vaughn and I amthe owner and chief empowerment
officer of Together Digital, adiverse and collaborative
community of women who work indigital and choose to share
their knowledge, power andconnections.
You can join the movement attogetherindigitalcom All right,
(00:33):
so all of us have been there.
You go to conferences andevents and there are just
moments that sort of stick withyou well, after the sessions are
over and for me they wereplentiful at the Content
Marketing World conference thislast year.
But watching Melissa Liu come inand share, I had to paint the
(00:55):
picture.
She's at Content MarketingWorld on the feature stage which
, if any of you have been tothis, it is a 3000 person event.
There are massive screenseverywhere, there's pump up
music playing for everyone andshe steps up onto the stage to
accept the project of the yearaward for sales blazer.
(01:15):
And she didn't just share apolished success story.
Instead, she pulled back thecurtain on the messy and very
honest journey of creatingaward-winning content.
We all know that's the process,right, it's not always perfect,
but her words of persistencebeats resistance really hit home
with me and I felt like it wassomething that our community and
(01:40):
the women everywhere that arelistening to this truly need to
know and hear time and timeagain.
We need to be reminded she iscurrently the Senior Director of
Content Strategy at Salesforce.
We are so excited to have herhere on the Power Lounge to
share her incredible backgroundthat has spanned the Los Angeles
Times, abc and NPR, and she'shere to share a very unfarnished
(02:03):
truth about turning contentinto in marketing, setbacks into
victories.
So if you've ever felt stuck,or if you're wondering if you're
the only one struggling on theproject or at work or in general
, this conversation is for you.
I am so, so excited to have youwith us here today, melissa,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Thanks for having me, Amy.
That was such a nice intro, ohyou're welcome.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
It's absolutely my pleasure.
I love to kind of giveeverybody a chance to feel a
little bit of love and get cozyhere and just settle in for good
conversations and honestconversations, because that's
what we're really all about.
And when you and I talked afteryour session, I so appreciate
you being open because I know itwas probably a lot for you to
jump on stage and do all thatand then be accosted and be like
(02:48):
be on my podcast right after.
But you were so accepting and Ireally do appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Honestly, it was a little flattering.
So that was my first keynoteand so I had no idea what to
expect.
So to hear that someone enjoyedit one person in the crowd at
least- enjoyed it that feltreally nice, absolutely, and
you've had quite a journey.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I'd love for some of our listeners to hear a little
bit more about you and whereyou've come from.
So from journalism into leadingcontent strategy at Salesforce,
what kind of drew you to makethat transition from more
traditional media and some ofthose places I mentioned before
into kind of more digitalcontent?
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, so I was a journalist for about 10 years a
decade.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
And.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I went to school for journalism.
That was my passion.
I love to tell stories and,kind of to me, journalism is
this community service.
You know it's a public servicethat you're really kind of doing
good in the world and likeuncovering and telling the
stories that need to be told.
Unfortunately, you know, thebusiness of journalism is quite
(04:04):
difficult, absolutely, and soafter a decade in it, you know
you try all the different rolesand you kind of take a look at
your life and you're like, okay,what is the life that I want to
lead?
Is this kind of the balancethat I'm looking for?
Uh, I had reached a point of,you know, I had gotten to
leadership roles in newsroomsand felt like, oh, I
(04:26):
accomplished a lot, but is is,is this what I imagined?
and now that I've gotten here,is this what I actually wanted?
And then realized, you know, Ithink it's time for a change.
So then I I luckily um, youknow have a couple friends who
(04:47):
were like, hey, I've beenworking at this company for five
years and you know, I reallylove this company, has great
values, and it's really allabout employees and growing
their employees.
Like, why don't you just lookand see if there's any jobs that
you might be interested?
in um, so I applied and, yeah,somehow got it, I don't know how
(05:10):
because you are talentedinterviews and rejections along
the way.
But yeah, that's how I ended upat salesforce and content
marketing yeah, that's amazing,did you?
Speaker 1 (05:25):
so?
It just did you kind of likeset it in your resume without
connections?
Did you know people there Likewhat did that look like that
whole process?
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, so obviously when you're making a career
pivot you kind of have toreframe your resume to whatever
that job description looks like.
So for me, when I was applyingto different types of roles, I
basically went through my resumeand looked at the job
(05:55):
description and just synced itup and I was like, how do I
paraphrase this so that I'musing similar language and
similar words and just puttingit on my resume with the
accomplishments that I have?
So that was one thing I triedto do to kind of get through the
algorithms of like getting yourresume surfaced.
But I would say, yeah,unfortunately, you know, the
(06:22):
interview processes that I gotthrough the furthest, with tech
companies at least, came fromreferrals.
So I had a couple friends thatI reached out to on LinkedIn or
texted and was like, hey, I'mlooking for a new role, looks
like you work at this company.
Would you be interested inreferring?
(06:43):
me this company.
Would you be interested inreferring me?
Obviously not words like that,specifically, but and then also
setting up informationalinterviews because there might
be roles that you think the joblooks interesting and then kind
of talk to someone about thecompany culture and yeah, you
know what it's like to workthere and you're like maybe
that's not for me exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Yeah, maybe not worth my time.
I ask because this current jobmarket is extremely flooded,
especially with women who'vekind of had a fallout from
things within, like the economy,the influence of AI on
companies and just in general,like you know, the way things
have gone the last year or so.
But I do think, and we have alot of not just job seekers
within the community but likepivoters, right, women,
(07:28):
especially in digital right,because it's always evolving,
and so I've known so many peoplewho did not start in, like how
many people in this industry,especially our community, which
our median age is like 35, 10 to15 years of experience, like
there was no such thing as likea digital marketing course in,
you know, at school, and so youhave to sort of it's not.
I wouldn't call it necessarilyeven pivoting, I would say it's
evolving, it's really just themindset.
(07:49):
And I love how you talked aboutlooking at what you've done
contextually and saying how do Imake it relevant to where I
want to go?
Because experience is stillexperience.
It's all in how you're tellingthat story and I just think it's
so important for our jobseekers and pivoters, evolvers,
all of us, to hear that and bereminded of those things kind of
, given the times we're in andthe moment you were describing
(08:10):
there, melissa, is so how I feltwhen I got to like my title and
the salary I thought wouldalways make me like super
satisfied and I'm like, yay,this is it, I've made it.
And it's that feeling I call itthe feeling you have when you
basically climb somebody else'smountain.
You're like, wait, now that I'mhere, where's that good feeling
, where's that sense of successand accomplishment, like I'm
(08:33):
accomplished, but I don't feelgratified.
I don't feel like this is thething I was always meant to be
doing.
And then you're like why did Ijust spend so many years
climbing that mountain?
That wasn't even mine to beginwith, but that's how you learn
right.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, so like blinded by your goal kind of like going
straight down that path,everything out of my way for me
to get there, and then youfinally get there.
You're like wait, this wasn'twhat I imagined.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah you goal blindness.
Oh, that's so true.
I like that term too.
All right, so during yourpresentation I remember looking
back in my notes and writingreally big persistence beats
resistance and that really stuckwith me and some of the other
folks around me, so it wasn'tjust me that enjoyed your talk
but I'm curious what I wanted.
(09:27):
I.
One of the first things Iwanted to ask you was like, okay
, you could have just walked upand been like I did, we did this
, and then we did this and thenwe and so just like, sold the
story is something kind of easybreezy and instead you decided
to share the struggle alongsidethe success.
What inspired you to do that?
You decided to share thestruggle alongside the success.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
What inspired you to do that?
I didn't know.
The other way was an option.
I love it.
I was like, how do I tell acompelling story?
And I'm like, okay, what's ahero's journey I could share?
(10:08):
And, like you, you know, it'snever interesting to hear
someone start at the top andthen keep staying at the top,
and that certainly wasn'treality in our project anyways.
So yeah, it's funny because Iworked with a speaking coach to
go through and kind of like talkthrough what I was going to say
and he was actually like wherethe talk started from, where
(10:34):
what you saw on stage wasliterally changing up until the
like hours before, not nervewracking, right yeah, not
nerve-wracking, right yeah.
And the speaking coach basicallywas like, when he looked at my
first version of it, he was likewhy are you just like cutting
yourself down the entire time?
And so, um, what you saw waslike a more, uh, confident
(11:00):
version of actually what Istarted with.
So that's interesting thatyou're like, oh, I really
appreciated your vulnerabilitybecause I'm just like, oh, don't
want to see the mess beforethat.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
You know Z-Draft won, you know, maybe now I kind of
do, but I would have to saykudos to your speaking coach
because I will also say I'vedone a lot of speaking myself.
I've gone through some likespeaker coaching and things and
now I feel like I can see itwhen somebody has been coached
and they can feel a littleovercoached.
Tell your guy he did a greatjob outside of like bringing the
(11:36):
right thing into your talk,which is that confidence.
Really love, how.
Like yeah, I just love that youdidn't sound overcoached to me
at all.
Like I feel like sometimes Ican just be listening or
watching someone on stage andI'm like gosh, they've
definitely been coached.
You know what I mean.
You did not come across thatway at all.
It was still very genuine and Ithink you know.
(11:58):
Kudos to him and to you forthat.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yeah Well, he's also a part-time therapist, so half
the coaching sound like atherapy?
Yeah well, he's also apart-time therapist, so half the
coaching is on like a therapy,or he?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
used to be a therapist.
That's amazing.
Yeah, I get this guy's number.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
And then I think you know and you said this before
and I think it came from youknow again, bringing those
strengths from one career pathinto the next Storytelling.
You know you were a journalist.
You're like what's the hook?
What um storytelling?
You know you were a journalist.
You're like what's the hook,what's interesting about
everything was perfect andnothing went wrong, or, sideways
, like there's nothing, there'snothing newsworthy about that,
right, yeah, um.
So I'm kind of curious.
You know, with your backgroundand experience, kind of starting
(12:36):
um in journalism instead ofgoing straight, we'll get to
sales blazer, I promise folks.
I'm curious.
What.
What shaped your approach tostorytelling?
Speaker 2 (12:48):
honestly, it's just, it's just practice, right.
Like you start off as a cubreporter very limited experience
, and you're constantly pitchingstories to different editors,
constantly saying this deservesto be in like this part of the
newspaper, this deserves likethis kind of treatment online
(13:13):
and over time you do that enough.
You get rejected enough.
You kind of pick up okay, whydid I get rejected on this one?
What notes did they have onthis one?
You do that enough.
And then once your stuff getspicked up, you're like okay, why
did they pick this one up?
You look at your peers andyou're like, why did their stuff
(13:33):
get picked up?
And you just start to pick upthese little patterns and bring
them into your process.
And once you kind of get morepractice then you eventually
hopefully are able to kind ofbring your own sort of flair to
it.
But definitely, I think, for me.
(13:53):
I started off at a place whereyou know English is actually my
second language.
I went to kindergarten.
I like did not know any English.
All the kids knew the alphabetand I was like what the heck is
happening, and then um and thenyeah, I don't know how I ended
(14:14):
up in writing but I neverthought I was a good writer and
then you just do it long enoughand you fail long enough and
eventually you get to a pointwhere you're like, actually like
I've learned a few things, andit kind of takes that
perspective for you to look backto finally be like, oh, I
landed in a place that all thoselittle failures, all those
(14:35):
little rejections, all thethings that were bumps along the
way, the challenges, actuallyhelped me hone my skills to
where I am today.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Yeah, I love it.
See, I think you were alwaysmeant to give that talk.
It sounds like from early on,you were just okay to like get
out there and try and fail andget up and try again.
You know, and it is a mindsetshift in a society where we're
constantly comparing ourselvesto others, looking at, you know,
insta-perfect lives and notseeing behind the curtain.
(15:06):
It reminded me and I want toshare the quote because we
talked about it before we wentlive was the Nelson Mandela
quote.
I think you just live it.
It's like he says I never lose,I only win, or I learn
something, and that's likereally it.
It's like, okay, it's not thatI have to lose.
You know, just because itdidn't go the way I wanted
doesn't mean that it was a totalloss.
(15:27):
Now, unless you're like a brainsurgeon, then maybe that might
be an issue, but we aren't doingbrain surgery here.
So it's like, okay, I can pickmyself up, dust myself off and
say what did I learn?
And then you become better overtime.
Again, that persistence isgoing to be any resistance
thrown your way.
I love that.
Our live listeners are alreadywriting down.
You're already getting quotedagain.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
It's on her desk now.
I can't take credit for itbecause I stole it from someone
else.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
I don't know, maybe you stole it from someone else.
You're bringing it back around.
You're bringing it back around.
I love it All right.
So let's talk about a littlebit of how did your experience
in traditional media outletslike the LA Times, abc and NPR
influence your approach tocreative content at Salesforce,
because I think sometimes weforget ourselves and that, like
(16:14):
the outside perspective or freshperspective from different
areas or different walks of lifeactually do add to the equation
.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Yeah, so I think through news you're constantly
thinking about what do peoplecare about?
What do they find interesting?
Why is this interesting, and amI covering it in a way that's
different from what's alreadybeen covered before?
So I remember, like when I wasearly on in my career, I would
(16:44):
pitch a story and they'd be likedid you look that up in the
past?
Have we written about it before?
Have other people written aboutit?
How are you moving this storyforward and how are you kind of
bringing a different angle,whether through your writing or
through your reporting orthrough the different sources
(17:05):
that you're bringing into?
Speaker 1 (17:06):
the story and it's funny to hear it because it
reminds me of a strategist thatI used to work with.
I don't even know exactly whathis initial background was, but
he became like the head ofstrategy at our agency over time
and that was his favorite thingto ask everybody was why should
anybody care about this, or whywould anybody care about this?
And it was interesting becauseevery time he asked it it
actually ruffled some people'sfeathers.
(17:26):
It's like because they took itpersonally, like because it's a
brand and I do work on it andeverybody should care about it
because I care about it.
It's like no, that's a reallygreat question.
We are bombarded by content on adaily basis.
Like how, how can you makepeople pay attention and care?
That's an important thing, nomatter what kind of you know
content you're putting out intothe end of the world as well.
(17:48):
It also kind of shortly remindbriefly reminds me of another
talk.
I went to a conference that isnow no longer called
Brandemonium and he talked abouthow, like, how much are you
contributing to the pollution ofthe mind and the world of
content by just putting out?
I was like, dang dude, you'regoing for the jugular, but I get
(18:10):
what you're saying, like Itotally, if it's not something
that is going to stop people intheir tracks and make them care
and pay attention like we'rejust adding to the fray you know
, yeah, of this constantlybuilding content, and now we've
got AI to help us with it.
Oh good, god, it just getting.
That's a whole notherconversation now.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
I'm curious how did you answer that question?
Because I don't know how Iwould answer that question.
I said guilty.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I said guilty because I know that, like in my past
self, you know, juniorcopywriter Amy thought you know
that my brands and the thingsthat I were working on were the
most you know, prevalent andimportant things in the world
and you kind of have to right toto really lean in, to want to
solve the problem with yourcreativity.
So, yeah, no, I was like yeah,guilty, but it definitely made
(18:56):
me think, moving forward, okay,I have to be more intentional
about what I'm pumping out intothe world and more thoughtful,
you know, and really morehelpful, you know, instead of
just putting out garbage for thesake of talking to myself.
I had another creative directorthat had another very
semi-offensive term that I won'tsay, even though I usually say
a lot on this podcast.
But I won't say, um yeah, hejust was like that's yeah, it's
(19:20):
like yeah, it just it's so hardnot to say it, but it's one of
those things where it's moreabout brands pleasing themselves
.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Basically, you know and like the way that people
like to please themselves.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
He's like, oh, that's brand and I was like dude.
But you know, I understand whathe's saying.
It's like, you know, when youkind of forget your audience,
you forget yourself and you'rereally kind of, you know,
putting out a bunch of junk.
So, yeah, no, I, I love thatlens and I honestly think, as
marketers, you know, we, we havea duty and a responsibility to
(19:50):
our customers and the peoplethat we're trying to help with.
Whatever product or servicewe're providing, to make sure
that it's thoughtful andintentional and truly right and
helpful.
But yeah, yeah, anyways, itcould be like a whole nother
episode.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Yeah, I'm like I always approach it almost
through, like the opposite side,where I'm like nobody wants to
hear what I have to say.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I don't know what this says about me.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
I'm like nobody cares about what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Like, why would?
Speaker 2 (20:18):
they care about this.
So it's almost like with everyproject.
It's a little bit of provingmyself and saying like hey, let
me make it so beautiful, soamazing that it like can't be
ignored.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
No, I love that.
That's great.
I think that's where, like,coming from a place of humility
is not necessarily a bad thing,right Knowing that you've got
something to prove, versus, likeyou know, crashing in and being
like, yes, I deserve yourattention.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
It's that chip on my shoulder.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
I know right you didn't have that advertising kid
chip on your shoulder.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
No, unfortunately, when you come from journalism
there's a lot of like.
You get a media feedback on theinternet.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Oh my gosh right, you can't be precious.
That was another thing I lovedfrom another boss of mine be
passionate but not precious, notprecious.
And I'm like you are so right.
That saves me a lot ofsleepless nights and makes all
of the feedback that you get youknow a little bit easier to
take.
All right, let's get into theSales Blazer project, and I
would love for you to share alittle bit about what the
(21:18):
initial vision was and how didit evolve from the first
iteration and how did it evolvefrom the first iteration?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, so, man, take me back.
So we launched Sales Laseralmost two years ago like a year
and a half ago at this pointand the intention was how can we
create the largest, mostsuccessful sales community to
help professionals out therelearn new skills, connect with
each other and grow their career?
(21:54):
That was essentially like, in anutshell, our goal Easy peasy.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, easy peasy, you know.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Our CEO basically challenged us and he's like hey,
do this and do this better thaneveryone else and do it now,
and so, so that's how it started, and and yeah, sorry, no,
you're fine.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
How did it evolve?
So where did you guys kind ofcome across your first hiccup,
or kind of?
I'm trying to like dig into,like the picture that you
painted for your talk too?
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Yeah Well, even before Sales Blazer started,
kind of that quintessential ideaor that vision was something
that we had been trying toachieve for years right.
Yeah, and so a previousiteration of Sales Blazer was
this project called ThinkOutside the Quota and
(22:55):
essentially we were going to bethe next Marvel franchise for
salespeople.
You know we were saying likeeverybody was going to love this
thing.
We're going to have movie aftermovie after movie and, yeah, it
didn't work out that way, butyou know, we got some great
speakers along the way.
(23:16):
We worked with Tony Hawk, damonJohn and we thought this thing
was just amazing.
Yeah, expensive, very expensiveand very.
Our goal was like okay,prestige, that'll bring people
in right.
People who other people respectand are excited to learn from um
(23:38):
.
And, yeah, like that didn'tnecessarily bring in the people
that we were, the amount ofpeople that we were expecting
for, the amount that we put inright, the effort, the resources
, all of that.
And so, um, you know, when ourceo kind of pitched this vision,
we're like, hey, we're doingthis, this kind of exists and
(23:59):
like don't you think this kindof fits the bill, and he's like
no, no, not even close.
Well, we tried um, and sothat's kind of how sales blazer
was born is through that failureof learning.
Oh, we really need to get backto our roots, understand what
we're good at, what, what peopleactually want from us, what's
(24:23):
unique about us and how we canserve and solve their problems
specific to them, that we couldactually solve their problems
well versus what we hope tosolve their problems with.
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Right, this is such a common marketing like I don't
want to say faux pas, but justlike a common pitfall.
I guess maybe is more the wordright.
And now that does, when ithappens, when we make the
product, the service or thecompany, that makes it the hero.
And then, in this sense, youguys literally tried to make
you're all the hero.
(24:59):
We are Marvel and it's like,well, you know what the people
that are trying to close dealsday in and day out, in the midst
of everyday life that's.
They know that that's not like,that's not realistic for them.
That's not actually coming into solve the problem, it's fly.
It sounds like you're going tofly in, do the thing and then
fly out and you're not like aconsistent, trusted partner and
(25:19):
ally.
That's not community either, iswhat I would say.
But it is so hard, right, youdon't.
You don't want to ever questionthose that are so far above you
.
You're like that's outside mypay grade.
But I mean I would have to saythat I it's probably
insurmountable the amount oftime and money that a lot of
companies that I've even workedfor have spent.
(25:41):
You know, as an agency creativedirector, you know sort of
chasing down those moreidealized, you know visions of
what something could be versuswhat it should be, because we
forget the customer is the heroand that we're trying to solve
problems for them, and you justcan't always fit a square peg in
a round hole.
So if you're not constantlyasking throughout the process,
(26:02):
how are we making this betterfor the customer?
How are we solving the problemsthat maybe we can't even see
that they're having, then what'sthe point?
What's the point?
Speaker 2 (26:11):
I think we think outside the quota.
It was a little bit about likehow do we build a fandom?
And the community will centeraround this fandom for this
franchise, right, but it's likehow many people out there really
like are you going to watch adigital marketing tv series,
(26:33):
essentially, and like becomesuch a fan over like 10 episodes
?
you know, like and is thatfandom gonna translate into true
community where you're helpingand solving each other, you know
?
So I think that was kind ofsome of the thinking.
Maybe kind of turned it on itshead when we moved into sales
(26:54):
blazer.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Right.
Yeah, it also makes me thinkabout right.
We talk about like the hero'sjourney I'm thinking in terms of
storytelling and then like thedifferent archetypes.
It's funny how sometimes it'slike you can just put yourself
as a brand into the wrong space,right Into the wrong character,
and then trying to play a rolethat maybe others aren't seeing
or just the fact that, like yeah, I go to, I go to disney plus
(27:17):
or wherever I go to watch andstream entertainment for the
sake of entertainment, and it'slike you've kind of forgot the
desired outcome for the idea orthe ideal, like where you want
to be, and I I do truly thinkagain as being, you know,
somebody who's constantlyworking to build and grow and
and really maintain community.
For me it requires vulnerability, you know.
(27:40):
So I think there's nothing tosay that you guys couldn't ever
get to that like marvel status,but like the way the characters
in marvel got to where they arewas you saw peter parker, you
know lose uncle bed.
You know.
You saw Iron man have hisfraught relationship with his
dad.
I mean, they all have, you know, vulnerabilities in their story
(28:00):
that have been shared and shown.
And it's like if you're notkind of building that trust and
relationship, like you're notgoing to get to that hero status
either.
Sorry if you're not a Marvelnerd or nerdy enough to know
anything that I'm talking aboutright now, but hey, I mean, I
think that's true ofentertainment but I'm wondering
like is that true of likebusiness?
Speaker 2 (28:23):
You know, like do people want to build fandoms
around business?
I mean, I would say forSalesforce they've done a pretty
successful job with ourTrailblazer community.
But I think the reason why thatwas successful was because it
focused on the community,putting the community first.
And I think with this series inparticular, it was like let's
(28:47):
focus on the building, thefranchise and the IP first
versus let's focus on buildingthe community first.
Oh, 100% and so that's kind ofwhere we switched and
transitioned.
When we moved into Sales,blazer is like, okay, the
community comes first, what dothey actually care about?
What do they actually want fromus?
Speaker 1 (29:07):
How can we?
Speaker 2 (29:08):
listen to that and kind of build from there.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Yeah, 100% agree.
Listening is huge in thatrespect, and then knowing how to
respond accordingly and justget your house in order, because
a lot of times I think peoplethink that they're just like,
yeah, it's like build it andthey will come.
No, not exactly.
You got to make sure thatyou're listening and responding
to show that you're in alignmentwith what they're willing to
(29:33):
walk in the door for.
It's a lot to get people'sattention, it's a lot to keep
people engaged in a part of acommunity.
But I would say you know,salesforce is a brand.
I mean, I don't know anybodythat doesn't know.
You know in this industry whatSalesforce and who Salesforce is
and you guys have an amazingproduct, so like that is such a
(29:57):
great place to start and wethink you know, turning it
around, I'm kind of curious,like what?
Was there like a kind ofpivotal or specific point in
which you guys are like okay,like this idea is done, we need
to kind of move into, likeshifting our focus and our
attention?
Was there any kind of likespecific point or did it just
slowly kind of evolve throughconversations?
Speaker 2 (30:17):
I mean, yeah, it kind of came down to like I think,
as many decisions sometimes comefrom top down, right, they see
a need for the business andthey're like, hey, solve this
problem, right.
What you're currently doingisn't solving the problem.
And so that's kind of where itcame through yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, I think that's where, too, sometimes we get a
little backwards.
It's like you know, hi, I havea business need, so I'm going to
go impose that business need onmy customers to like somehow
make up and manufacture a needthat they don't really have.
Instead of constantly lookingat your customers and saying
there's a need that they have,let's grow our business by
meeting that need leadership.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
They're talking to customers all the time on these
calls.
They're hearing from them andsaying, like they're saying,
you're in the perfect positionto offer this to us.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
You've been in sales for 20 plus years.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Why aren't you giving this to us?
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Give it to us, oh my gosh, come on, we're asking for
it, that's amazing, that's agreat position to be in,
absolutely when people areasking for it and looking for it
because, again, I thinksomething like community.
I mean, I'm hoping that overthe next few years especially.
I feel like there's just beenmore conversation about
community as of late, especiallyat the start of the year,
(31:42):
because people need it.
You know, more than ever.
You know we feel more isolatedthan ever whenever, whatever
we're doing, work in life, and Ithink you know, once you
understand the power communityholds or the ways in which it
can propel you forward, and thenall of us at the same time
forward, then you're like oh, Idid it.
People say this about togetherdigital so many times over and
(32:04):
over.
This is the thing that I didn'tknow, that I needed.
I don't know if your Salesforcepeople probably feel that way
or sales blazer people feel thatway, but I can only imagine
because I've worked a minute insales and it's just so hard.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
You know it's really tough, right.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Rejection after rejection, you talk about
resilience and persistence, likethere's a lot to be said for
that, and so to have communityand know that you're not alone
in that endeavor and struggle,but then you can also have
people to celebrate and thatwill celebrate with you your
wins, because, also, sales canbe highly competitive.
I really, really love this idea.
I'm so glad that you guys wentoff and did this, so I'm kind of
(32:46):
curious once you decided, okay,hey, the customers are asking
for this.
What were some of the thingsthat you guys put into practice
or into play within Sales Blazerthat had a lot to do with your
customer feedback?
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Yeah, so I would say like the biggest components of
this program are content,community and product right and
a lot of our customers werecoming back and saying, hey, why
is it so hard to figure out andget my questions answered?
(33:21):
Is there one place for me as asalesperson to come through?
So we had that for admins anddevelopers, right like
trailblazers, all dedicatedtowards admins and developers of
Salesforce.
But the end users, a lot of theend users, are in sales.
Yeah, and we didn't necessarilyhave that same community for
(33:43):
the salesperson, gotcha, and soit really centered from that
idea.
How do we bring it all together?
We created a central hub wherewe could bring the best of
Salesforce into one place.
We integrated Sales Blazer intothe product.
We were like hey, look at theseresources that are available to
(34:04):
you.
And then we built a community,online and in person, where
folks could come together notonly talk about how to solve
their problems within Salesforce, but also it was really about
professional growth, right, howcould we all grow together and
share the knowledge, get to knoweach other and be each other's
(34:25):
kind of partners?
As we go through this journeyand probably the part of this
program that keeps me going Iswhen I meet sales blazers in
real life or over Slack andthey're like Thank you so much
for putting this programtogether.
Like I met so many people, I've, you know, expanded my network
(34:50):
or I found a new job, so it'sbeen incredible to kind of see
not only the macro picture ofthe numbers coming in, but also,
on the person to person level,you could see the impact
happening in real life.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Oh, I love it.
Yeah, that does feel good,right, those fringe benefits of
community are completely justpriceless.
They're absolutely pricelessand it's like cool to know that.
You know, by building andcreating and facilitating
community, there's like anabundance now of like
opportunities and positivethings happening for people that
otherwise, without thecommunity, would just not have
(35:27):
ever come to fruition.
I don't think we forget that weneed each other sometimes more
than we do.
You know I love that and I agreewith you kind of going from
that online to offline andseeing those relationships.
You know I love that and Iagree with you kind of going
from that online off online tooffline and seeing in those
relationships you know, andmeeting people.
It is.
It's such a cool feeling.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
I love it, yeah, it almost feels like a class
reunion sometimes at theirevents because a lot of these
folks meet for the first time?
Yeah, at these events, and butthey've been like chatting
online for a while oh yeah, soit's, it's.
It's pretty cool to see thosereunions uh-huh, it's.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
And it's interesting too in this time, in this era of
remote and hybrid, where peopleseem to think that it's like oh
, I can't make professional oradult grown-up friends, you know
, through channels like these orcommunities.
And I'm like guys, like we'vegot people who meet and fall in
love online and get married.
Like do you not pay attentionto the online dating world?
Like I can't think of anybigger, like more potential
(36:22):
long-term commitment than that.
So I'm like why couldn't youform these bonds and
relationships and I believe Imean it sounds like they're
happening all the time with theSales Blazer crew and then
definitely here within ourcommunity as well.
So I love, love, love it.
All right, let's go back to alittle bit of talking about
mindset and a framework thatyou've talked about and shared,
(36:46):
that how you look at setbacks asopportunities.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Yeah, dive into that question a little bit more, like
what are you, what do you hopeto learn?
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Right.
So I think that the keys ofthis question is you know you
have the best of intentions,you're doing the work, you think
the way you should, and thensome, let's say, somebody comes
in and says this is not what Iwanted, this is not what I
expected, or you get told no bysomebody that is integral to
making the thing happen.
Like, if you can think of anexample, maybe maybe it's more
(37:23):
for like give us an example.
Question of like how you'vegotten a setback kind of thrown
in your face and how you've beenable to turn it into an
opportunity.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
Yeah, yeah, I think it was the word framework that
kind of threw me off.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I don't know if there's We'll devolve what
you're sharing into, maybe, aframework.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Yeah, I don't know if there's an official framework.
You know, it's like youencounter a setback and I'm like
what are the steps that you do?
You just like you think aboutthe, you take a step back, you
look at the vision.
Are we all still trying to getto that vision?
(38:02):
Okay, so then what do we learnfrom this setback and how can we
take that forward with us andconstantly continue to
experiment and push forward toget to that vision?
I think for me, with SalesBlazer, it was, you know,
(38:23):
learning after learning afterlearning, right, and I think
that phrase of, as I've been intech, the longer I'm in tech,
I'm like, oh yeah, like failfast because, then you really do
like learn very, very quicklyand you're not spending so much
of your time on a initiative,that or a project that won't
(38:49):
necessarily get you to yourultimate vision.
And so for me it's like makingsure you have that clear idea of
where you're trying to get toand dusting yourself off
whenever, whenever somethingdoesn't necessarily go your way,
because it is an opportunity tolearn.
(39:09):
Yeah, it's an opportunity totake that forward with you and
kind of make whatever you'redoing a little bit stronger.
So I guess that that's theframework.
See, I knew I was going toanswer this and we'll have it.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
And I feel like I'm seeing a little bit of that.
That journalists come out andyou again too.
Right, and I say this often.
So it's like an official Amyquote of don't get furious, get
curious.
You're looking at it and you'regoing.
Well, what is happening here?
What's really happening here?
Why have we become misaligned?
What needs to be done?
Or how can we make this towhere?
Now we take this negative andwork it into a more positive,
(39:44):
and so it's like almost likethat who, what, where, when, why
, how sort of approach?
And you get curious and you askmore questions versus just
getting angry, throwing yourhands up and saying this is the
way it was supposed to go, thisis the way it's always going to
go, and I'm not going to bend orflex.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah, I mean part of itis also I'm like very stubborn
and.
I'm like also single-mindedtowards like accomplishing what
I want to accomplish, and Ithink that's also just part of
my natural drive.
But I think, uh, how to make itexecutable?
For, like it, it's just like,yeah, you just have to, you just
(40:23):
have to keep trying.
I think, like, for example, withthink outside the quota, when
we think we created the bestthing ever and someone tells you
no, that that's terrible, throwit out.
You just spent like a yearworking on it, you know.
But as much as, like you mournthe loss of the efforts that you
put in and what you thought youaccomplished, you know that
(40:46):
those learnings help createSales Blazer, which ultimately
led us to you know project ofthe year.
And like quarter of a millioncommunity members.
It's like that.
It's like the scale of sales.
Laser was nothing we could haveeven imagined.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Oh, that's so great.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Think outside the quota, you know.
So hopefully something's alwaysbetter around the corner and
you take what you take what youlearn.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
I love it.
That's so great and super,super inspiring.
Cause I think you're right, itis hard when you spend, you know
, a year plus on something andit all kind of goes to the
ground.
But you're right, like fromthose ashes comes something
better, you know, and I thinkalways having that mindset of
okay, yeah, well, that was agood first draft of a year that
I just spent on on this firstdraft, but like, hey, that means
(41:42):
the next one's going to be allthe better.
And I love that you're able tolike, quantify and qualify and
see the results of all that hardwork, because it was all still
the work, right, Like failing isa part of the process, folks.
We have to remember it's not allabout that perfection every
time, because you're not goingto end up with an optimal
product or service by the end ofthat right, it's going to just
kind of be subpar or okay, andclearly the time and energy that
you've put into it and thelearnings that you've taken have
been a big part of that successand without that failure there
(42:05):
would have been no learning.
So love it.
When it comes to community andcreating content, the word
authenticity gets thrown aroundquite a bit.
I'm kind of curious.
You know how you have tried towork towards doing that,
especially while scaling,because obviously you guys have
grown quite a bit as a communityand the amount of content
(42:25):
you're doing is probably grownalong with it.
Yeah, what are some things thatyou're kind of putting into
place to make sure that it staystrue to you know, salesforce
and the vision and and thevision and for the community too
, right, so they really trulyfeel that sense of connection?
Speaker 2 (42:41):
I think it's really just putting your community at
the front right To maintain thatauthenticity, because for us
it's like if our goal is toreally help sales professionals,
then we need to give them aplatform.
We need to give them theresources, like we need to be
(43:04):
giving more than we're taking.
Yes, and so, yeah, like, if youlook at our content, the vast
majority of our content includessomeone quoted from our
community.
Majority of our contentincludes someone quoted from our
community.
if you go into the our slack,you'll see like we're constantly
engaging, answering questions,making sure that you know the
(43:28):
dialogue keeps going um, but alot of it is also community
driven right we have thesecommunity group leaders who are
like, yeah, I'm gonna everygoing to, every quarter or every
month, I'm going to throw myown sales blazer a bet, and
that's really awesome to seethat progression, right yeah.
So yeah, it just kind of goesback to how do you, kind of goes
(44:01):
back to how do you?
It's like we could be as Iguess our, our authentic goal is
we want to help them, and sothe best way to achieve that is
putting them and at the front ofthat and helping and then
giving them.
Speaker 1 (44:13):
I've've said it so many times before too, being
someone who, like my whole bit,my whole business, is a
community right, and I'mconstantly saying without you,
there is no me.
You know, and when it comes tocommunity, the people within the
community, they are the product, you know, and so it can either
be really good or really bad,and it's you know, so it's one
(44:34):
of those things that I thinklike authenticity and creating
the right kinds of content thatis reflective of you know, of
the people that you're trying tohelp and support.
All right, I want to remind ourlive listening audience that
you all have the chance to jumpin and ask questions just
through the chat.
So just open up your chatwindow and drop questions and,
if you have them, I've got oneor two here left for you before
(45:03):
we go into the power round.
So I'm curious what surprisedyou the most about the elements
of Sales Blazer that resonatedthe most with your audience?
Was there anything that kind of?
Speaker 2 (45:09):
fell into that facet.
You know, I know I shouldn't besurprised, but I am surprised
constantly when, honestly, likewhen the community just wants to
talk about a product.
Yeah, Because obviously I comefrom the perspective of like, oh
(45:53):
, just making making how theproduct functions better in
their organization, and it'sbeen inspiring to see people
connect around that totally ontheir own.
We may have created the workingspace, but they're the ones
(46:14):
directing the connections andthe conversations, and so that's
really cool to see.
Yeah, that's probably the bestpart.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
I love it.
It is so good to hear whenpeople are authentic.
I can say this I know it'sFriday Authentically advocate
for your business because, again, like their words, their
testimonials, that's talk abouttotal authenticity and, you know
, believability and and buildingthat loyalty and all of that, a
(46:46):
trust, all these things thatyou know brands are constantly
trying to work towards.
Community is such a great wayto get there, but you, again,
you can't make it about you,right?
It's like this weird backwardsthinking.
Actually, you're giving meideas.
Also, friends, those of youthat are listening, total, like
(47:11):
slight segue, content marketing,world for 2025.
They're speaking likeapplications are open.
So, melissa, I hope you're gonnago apply, because we I think
you should be on that stageagain, and then all of our
listeners like I think youshould be on that stage again,
and then all of our listenerslike people need to be hearing
from you too.
So I'm going to encourage youall to check it out and apply
and I'm going to do the samebecause I'm not just going to
tell everybody else to do it,I'm also going to do it and
actually, as we're talking, I'mgetting ideas, so I might reach
(47:39):
out to you and maybe we'll makeit like a duo.
Yes, Because this whole idea ofcommunity and how to do it right
and how to build loyaltythrough community by not putting
yourselves kind of center stage, yeah, my brain's like already
building the PowerPoint in myhead, so you know, and we can
kind of bring those twodifferent angles where it's like
one really big kind of likecompany and brand, and then this
other, more kind of missionbased, but there's still like,
as you're speaking, there's somany alignments and similarities
(48:01):
and the ways in which we havemanaged to kind of maintain
throughout a pandemic andnonetheless, you know a very,
very amazing and effectivecommunity that is truly making
differences in people's, notjust their careers, but their
lives, lives and it's like, butthat's not without intention,
that's not happening on accident.
So I think, yeah, there'sdefinitely opportunity for us to
(48:21):
maybe collaborate together ifyou want.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Yeah, I would love to .
Amy I mean, you built such anamazing space for people and so
yeah, and again it wasn't justme, it took, it totally takes a
village.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
So I can't take all the credit.
It's like seriously, Iappreciate it.
And again, it wasn't just me,it took, it totally takes a
village.
So I can't take all the credit.
It's like seriously.
I'm a product of the community.
I was a member first.
So wouldn't even be sittinghere owning and running a
business, much less producing apodcast, if it wasn't for the
women that surround me, theamazing, intelligent, awesome
women that surround me.
So, yeah, all right.
Well, I don't see any questionsyet into the um in the chat,
(48:59):
but I do see lots of they'reready to come and see our talk.
That's, that's good, that'sexciting, all right.
Well, let's get to the powerround questions and then again,
folks, um, we usually go toabout the hour, so if you've got
a question that you want to ask, don't be shy.
It's okay, we like questions,right, all right, we did get a
question from Jillian.
Thank you so much for asking.
She wants to know do you haveany daily habits that help you
(49:21):
succeed?
Speaker 2 (49:23):
Ooh, daily habits.
I don't know if this is daily.
Well, actually, no, it isdefinitely not daily, but I do
think working out.
Yes, so my New Year's resolutionthis year is to work out three
to five days a week, previously,from zero.
(49:45):
I like that.
It's a range too so, but whatI've noticed it's like been so
hard to keep it up, but whatI've noticed is I tend to have
more energy.
Yes, after my workouts I tendto be in a better mood and I I
feel like I read more aboutworking out than I actually work
(50:05):
out.
But they also to say, like thescience of working out is like
it helps you be more productiveand helps you be more on top of
things and more alert andwhatnot.
So yeah, yeah, I guess workingout I don't know.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
I'm with you.
Honestly.
I have swapped the notion thatI am working out for my physical
health.
I've said it's just for mymental health and honestly, it's
easier for me to feel motivated, especially when I wake up and
it's, you know, five degreesoutside and I'm like I don't
want to get out of bed, but I'mlike I know this weather and the
darkness is going to just pullme down If I go work out, I know
(50:40):
at the end, mentally, I'm goingto feel so much better and have
so much more clarity.
So I think that's a great answer, and it doesn't have to be
killing yourself on any kind ofcrazy machines or some
excruciating workout.
Speaker 2 (50:52):
Exactly, it can literally just be a walk.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
Yes, a hundred percent.
Let's just not go from zero to60, because that's just setting
yourself up for failure.
Speaker 2 (51:02):
Oh, actually the other thing, I would say morning
routine yes, having a morningroutine, oh, yeah, I got into
coffee.
I was never a big coffee personuntil last year and just like
the routine of making yourcoffee in the morning, sitting
down for breakfast, like gettingyourself, giving yourself some
(51:22):
space before you just roll intowork For some reason, that
really puts me in a goodheadspace before I do anything
for the day.
Speaker 1 (51:31):
Yes, prime yourself for the day.
One of my good friends,lucretia, listening live, she
already put some little clappyhands in there.
She is like so great at morningroutine, by the way, so as soon
as you said that, I'm like Ican just feel her going.
Yes, morning routine, she does.
She has her ritual.
She shares lovely picturesabout it on Instagram.
That, I think, probably helpkeep her accountable At least,
that's how I sometimes use.
(51:52):
Instagram when I'm like I did mycalm up, yeah, meditation.
I'm gonna share it because Idid it.
Yay, me, yeah.
Speaker 2 (52:00):
And it's like it.
Really.
Is that like, yay, me feelingit's like you could make your
morning routine just brush yourteeth and like you're like, I
brush my teeth, pat myself onthe back, that's my morning
routine.
Speaker 1 (52:12):
One of my favorite talks was from a I I think he
was a retired army general whotalked about why you should make
your bed every morning and how,like, no matter how sideways
the day goes, no matter whathappens in that day, at the end
of it you come back to a bedthat was made and you're like I
might've gotten anything donetoday, but that bed was made.
I have made my bed every daysince and it really does make a
(52:33):
difference.
Speaker 2 (52:34):
Okay, gotta go make my bed, which is like right next
to me.
Speaker 1 (52:39):
It's so subtle I'll have to find the talk and share
it with you all.
Maybe we can put it in the shownotes.
But I'm not gonna lie, itreally makes the difference.
And the days that I come backand the bed's not made, I'm like
, oh man it wasn't made andthat's usually because I left
before everybody else was goneand the kids like came in and
messed up the bed or my husbandwas sleeping in.
Speaker 2 (52:57):
Yeah.
But anyways what are your dailyhabits to succeed?
I'm curious.
Speaker 1 (53:02):
I am with you on the working out.
I you know I come, I fall onand off the wagon constantly,
like everybody else, but I dofind that I have greater mental
clarity, stamina, emotionalstability, especially in the
wintertime when I am working out, because I am a nature nerd and
I love the outdoors, and sowhen it's cold and I can't get
out in the sunshine.
I definitely feel a difference.
(53:23):
But yeah, no, that journalingyou know kind of on and off.
Especially I'm more seasonal, Idefinitely feel like I have more
ritual and routine during thistime of year.
I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, soit gets darker earlier, it's
colder, I'm getting lesssunlight, so for me, like
meditation, journaling, workingout, I'm much better about being
(53:44):
routine with those in thewinter months and then in the
summer months it's usuallyactually spending as much time
as I possibly can outside.
That would be my routine.
It's like how do I get?
outside.
I love that.
Yeah, no, those are kind of myfavorites.
All right, it's funny becausethe next power on question.
I'm going to mash withJillian's question here and,
(54:04):
Julie, I'll get to your questiontoo, don't worry.
I love that you guys aresending us so many questions,
but Jillian wants to know, ofcourse do you have any AI tools
that you use or would recommend?
Speaker 2 (54:15):
Well, the tool that we're, I don't want.
I don't think I can promoteanother company.
Oh no, that's fair.
Yeah, but yeah, we use.
We use some internal AI tools.
Actually, you know what thebest AI tool in my life is right
now?
You know what the best AI toolin my life is right?
(54:40):
now I just thought of it andit's like kind of perfect it's
slack like yes, I don't know, Idon't use email anymore, unless
it's with external people andeverything I need to do is in
slack and then now I'm gonnasound like a corporate shell,
I'm like, but honestly, like acorporate shill, I'm like, but
honestly like coordinating,collaborating our documents,
like everything is in Slack, andit also has AI summaries where
(55:05):
I don't have to read through allthe messages I missed.
I could just read the recaps.
And then it also hasintegrations where, like, it'll
tell me what I missed or likethings that I need to do.
So, yes, that's the AI toolthat I literally can't plan my
day without.
Speaker 1 (55:26):
I love it.
That's so wonderful.
I agree.
Our Together Digital Communityis on Slack too.
We've been on it since 2016 andyou know just leaps and bounds
with the abilities, theintegrations, the automations
that just make life easier.
All right, julie had one morequestion and we'll end it there.
Do you have any recommendationsor suggestions or resources for
(55:49):
portfolio development?
She says most of my content isolder and from sites that have
since turned over, which,honestly, that could have been a
year or two years ago.
I've worked on websites thatwere huge lists and they're like
I go back and I'm like youredesigned again.
We spent a year and it lasted ayear.
In more recent years I havebeen doing more long form copy,
more for journalism and tradepublishing.
Speaker 2 (56:13):
Well, I can say, when I had a portfolio well, well,
okay, let me answer thatquestion with the present I
honestly think LinkedIn is thebest place for your portfolio
now, like unless your role thatyou're applying to is like a
creative, creative role, like,linkedin is kind of where I go
(56:34):
to first when I'm going throughpeople's work and just trying to
see what they're talking about,what they've posted, what kind
of um you know projects thatthey've put up there to take a
look at, um.
That being said, though, when Idid have a portfolio outside of
(56:55):
LinkedIn, I would say theproblem that you're encountering
is very common.
You have all this content thatyou've put out there, that you
have your name on, that suddenlydisappears from the Internet.
So, if you can, you can go to.
There's this website, what's itcalled?
(57:17):
Oh my God, internet Archive.
Speaker 1 (57:22):
You can go to Internet Archive.
Speaker 2 (57:23):
put in that website that link if you still have it
and see what the page lookedlike, you can copy that page.
You can take that content, putit onto your website and just do
like a screenshot so you know.
you have that proof that it didlive somewhere at some point and
(57:45):
then to answer your question ifyour content is older, you know
what, if there is somethingstopping you from you know
publishing newer stuff, like askyourself what is that thing
that's stopping you?
Because I will say, as I'mevaluating, I do look for what.
What have you done mostrecently?
And so just just some thoughtsfor you, hopefully that helps
(58:09):
you.
Speaker 1 (58:10):
Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say I think there's like a
website, a website, timemachine site to have to take it
in the show notes, where you cankind of find things like that
and go back and kind of see thesite as it existed um yes, way
back my back.
Speaker 2 (58:24):
Thank you, I was like somebody's gonna come in and
save us here, yeah and then ourcommunity if you need permission
from your publishers, myrecommendation would be put your
website, certain pages of yourwebsite, behind a password
protected page.
And that way it's not.
You're doing it for interviews,no one's coming after you for
(58:46):
republishing something.
Speaker 1 (58:47):
It's a great strategy , melissa.
I love that.
That's a perfect idea.
Yeah, you're sending it tospecific people.
You're not blasting across theinternet.
Just make it password protectedand then you don't have to
worry about them kind of gettingtheir hands on it.
Great strategies, all of this,the mindset, hearing your story,
learning more about you.
It's been so much fun.
Thank you so much again forshowing up and being with us
(59:07):
today.
Thank you, amy for inviting me.
Speaker 2 (59:10):
This was a lot of fun .
Speaker 1 (59:17):
And I can't wait to do our presentation at content
marketing world.
Let's do it.
Let's do it.
I'm so excited.
It was really good this year.
I was kind of nervous at comingout of cleveland and going to
the west coast and I was likeit's gonna feel different.
It's gonna, but the people areall the same and they're so
lovely, um, and we have such ablast and there's such a great
micro community and all the amysall the amys that are there.
Speaker 2 (59:33):
Oh my god, so so many Amy's.
Speaker 1 (59:35):
It's kind of weird.
I know it's not like thatspecial of a name, but it's just
like I've never been in thesame room with so many Amy's.
But on that note, we'll call ita day.
Thank you again, so much forbeing here with us.
Thank you to our listeners forjoining and asking your very
thoughtful and amazing questions.
We always appreciate you, ourlisteners and those who ask Next
week, come back and see usagain.
(59:56):
Same time, same bat time, samebat channel.
We're going to be talking aboutsocial media, sanity and you
and this is one of our members,robbie Schneider, who basically
took a goal last year with ourauthentic, ambition,
goal-setting cohort and took herexperience in healthcare and
mental health and social mediaand created a book out of it.
So we're excited to get in, diginto that with her, celebrate
(01:00:20):
her and learn more how to managesocial media in our sanity.
All right, everyone, thank youagain for joining us.
We'll see you next week.
Until then, keep asking, keepgiving and keep growing.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
(01:00:42):
la, la, la, la, la.
Produced by Heartcast Media.
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