How our company’s podcast helps with a long sales cycle featuring Josh DeTar

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Episode Summary

Launching a podcast sounds like a lot of fun, but most companies don’t do it because it also looks like a ton of work. Or, there’s pressure to justify a short-term ROI in terms of sales or immediate opportunities.

Podcasting, however, has plenty of advantages when you think about it from a broader perspective. In the latest episode of Recorded Content, Tyfone’s Josh DeTar talks about what it was like to launch the company’s first podcast, the Digital Banking podcast, and shares the biggest lessons he’s learned along the way.

Josh’s successful venture into podcasting began by identifying a clear purpose for the Digital Banking podcast. The objectives involved focusing on learning from others and connecting with people. Having these primary goals defined, helped the show get off on the right foot and allowed Josh to approach the recording sessions with an open mind. There was no pressure to sell to guests or to capture a lead.

Josh also breaks down how Tyfone uses the company’s podcast. He details how to get started, identifies where the podcast fits into his sales process, and explains his system for distribution.

Guest Profile

Key Insights

“I looked like the hero…because I was able to connect people. All because of the podcast.”

Josh DeTar

VP of Sales and Marketing

Tyfone

Episode Highlights

Know Your Purpose for Podcasting

Stakeholders in your company might have different perspectives on the benefits of podcasting, but you need to get everyone on the same page about the purpose of the podcast to be able to use it as your foundation. Josh sees the podcast as an educational tool and one that would provide benefits even if no leads ever came from it.

“It really comes back to that education element. You know, I always kind of joke with folks when the podcast comes up. Because the podcast was never something we planned to do. The podcast was never a ‘we need to generate leads and sales’ thing.”

“And so, you know, because of that, it’s also given me an opportunity to have conversations with people that I may never have had a conversation with or that I may never even have connected with. This is great from a networking standpoint, but then I also get the opportunity to have conversations with people with potentially very different thought processes or opinions or takes on philosophy.”

Podcasts also helped replace the conversational connection previously driven through conference attendance. When COVID hit, launching a podcast was a way for Josh and his team to continue talking to other experts and their own audience.

“Things like customer and prospect visits and conferences educated me. And so when we started looking at how we could replace those conversations and those education elements, it just so happened to be the same time that you and I connected. [Through the podcast,] I’m just getting better at my job and becoming more educated; I’m networking better. And I’m also actually providing value to my industry, which is something that our company cares a lot about and that right there pays for my podcast.”

Podcasts Help with Complex Sales Cycles and Sales Training

According to Josh, It’s not easy to figure out if someone signed up or took the next step because of a specific episode. For companies with longer sales cycles, a regular podcast keeps your name top of your prospects’ minds.

But it’s not just about prospective customers. Often, you also build rapport with others in your company who listen to the show. Josh shares that the CEO of Tyfone eagerly awaits each episode and that they’ve also directed new hires to published episodes that showcase the company’s background and their approach to the market.

“It’s become a really cool tool for giving people insight into our mission, vision and values really easily. They can see it, they can feel it, and they can hear it on the podcast. If you want to hear what we’re thinking about, what we care about, or where we’re headed – it’s all on the podcast. And if you want to hear what our customers and our industry thinks of us and our space, the best way to do that is to go listen to the podcast. And a lot of times, depending on the role of the new hire, [the CEO will] pick out a couple of episodes for them.”

Work with an Outside Agency to Make Podcast Production Simple

Since Josh and his team want to remain focused on content creation, they partner with Motion to keep them on track. This ensures that all their content is on-brand and removes the stress of production.

“We consider [Motion] a part of our team. We feel like our marketing team just got bigger when we hired you guys. And so Kevin got an opportunity to really immerse you in our brand, our culture, how we communicate, and then he gets to turn a lot over to you. So we get all of this great content and collateral. It’s super on-brand and helps us ingrain this message that we are thought leaders in our space. [The best part is that he] doesn’t have to put it all together. He just has to find the right places to add the podcast, the right times to distribute it and a way to weave it into the whole story that is Tyfone.”

You’re Building a Following Even if it Doesn’t Show up in Likes and Comments

It can be disheartening, especially as a new podcast host, to discover so few shares or comments that it makes it seem like no one is listening.

“My single most popular LinkedIn post of all time was a picture of my son, my wife and me while I was out on paternity leave. In the post I said that I was one of those people who liked to be the hardest worker in the room. I’m super dedicated to what I do, but that I was taking a break because my family is so incredibly important to me. I wanted to be there during these bonding times. So peace out, LinkedIn. I’ll be back. And I had 15000+ impressions and hundreds of likes and comments. And then I post the single most informative podcast that I’ve ever recorded with an incredible guest. It’s the kind of great content that had me scratching my head for weeks. And I’d get one like. That’s it.”

Josh also points out that some of the most meaningful conversations he’s had were driven by people who had never liked, shared, or commented online, but instead chose to connect with him in person to talk to him about the podcast.

Distribute your Podcast Episodes Strategically

Once the podcast is recorded and ready to launch, you’re not obligated to release it in a particular order. Being consistent is important, but decide when you want to vary up content so that it can align with major industry events or trends, or contribute to the overall variety of topics and guests.

“How we decide which episode gets launched can also vary. So sometimes it’s literally just the order in which we recorded — just one after the other. But, other times, we schedule the release based on something that’s happening.”