He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast

In B2B marketing, the biggest challenge isn’t always budget or bandwidth – it’s standing out in a market where every competitor looks, sounds, and says the same thing. In this episode, Jaci and Michael sit down with Joya Scarlata, Director of Marketing at InterraIT, a B2B IT services firm serving clients across industries from automotive to retail to manufacturing. With over a decade of marketing experience, Joya knows firsthand how difficult it is to differentiate a service-based business in a crowded, fast-moving industry. The conversation covers what it really takes to build a recognizable B2B brand when your product is invisible – a service that’s hard to explain and even harder to make exciting. From navigating the “sea of sameness” in the IT space, to aligning marketing and sales, to knowing when your messaging has stopped working, Joya shares honest, practical insight from the trenches. If you’re a B2B marketer struggling to cut through the noise, make the case for branding internally, or get your messaging to actually resonate – this one’s for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at razorbranding.org

In this episode of the He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast, Jaci and Michael sit down with Wendy Gugora, Director of Marketing at Prairie Capital Advisors, to talk about what it really takes to market a boutique investment banking firm in a space where the service is deeply personal, the sales cycle is long, and most business owners do not fully understand what they are being sold.  Wendy shares how Prairie has built its brand around thought leadership and education rather than traditional sales tactics, using more than 20 webinars a year, books, client storytelling, and conference speaking to help business owners understand their ownership transition options long before they are ready to act. She also talks about growing her marketing team from a team of one to a team of six, navigating a brand name challenge in a crowded Chicago market, and how a recent logo refresh energized the entire firm right in time for their 30th anniversary. From maximizing conference ROI to measuring what is actually working and cutting what is not, this is a smart and practical conversation about doing professional services marketing the right way. Key Takeaways Thought leadership and education are more powerful than sales tactics when the service is complex, high-stakes, and once-in-a-career for most clients Telling client stories in their own words builds far more trust than any promotional content a firm could create about itself Maximizing conference ROI requires a clear pre-event, during-event, and post-event strategy – not just a booth and a hope Evaluating every marketing initiative against clear goals ensures resources are spent on what is actually working and dropped when they are not A logo refresh done right energizes internal teams just as much as it strengthens external brand perception LinkedIn is the right platform for a B2B professional services audience – knowing where your audience lives and focusing there beats being everywhere at once Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at razorbranding.org

In this episode of the He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast, Jaci and Michael sit down with Bryce McCuin, Director of Marketing at BankSouth, to talk about what it really takes to build an authentic brand inside a community bank competing against institutions with far bigger budgets. Bryce brings a rare perspective shaped by nearly two decades across luxury real estate, fulfillment logistics, and nearly 12 years running his own creative agency before moving in-house at BankSouth. He shares how leaning into real relationships and real customer stories – rather than stock images and rate promotions – is what separates a community bank from the noise. From managing scope creep with agency partners to knowing when to trust their expertise and when to push back, Bryce brings hard-won wisdom from both sides of the client-agency relationship. He also talks about the imposter syndrome marketers are feeling in the age of AI, why discipline and intentionality matter more than speed, and how the slow is fast mindset applies directly to the way modern marketers need to approach the tools at their disposal. Key Takeaways Community banks cannot out-spend the big institutions, but they can out-relate them by showing up as real people in real communities Letting customers tell their own stories on camera – without memorized lines or staged setups – produces more authentic and compelling content Having agency experience makes you a better client because you understand scope, boundaries, and what clear direction actually looks like Marketers should lead with curiosity and questions, not with a list of everything a client is doing wrong AI creates real efficiencies, but only when you feed it the right source of truth – skipping that step means spending more time fixing than producing Staying the course on a campaign long enough to see results is one of the hardest and most important decisions a marketer can make Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at razorbranding.org

In this episode of the He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast, Jaci and Michael sit down with Andy Weiss, CMO and marketing strategist, to talk about why the playbooks that got us here will not get us where we need to go – and what to do instead. Andy brings a perspective shaped by decades of experience scaling B2B companies and working with brands like Sprint, Comcast, and Oscar Mayer, and a conviction that mental models and frameworks outlast any tactical script. He opens up about flaming out in his first in-house marketing role and how that failure led him to Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and a completely different way of thinking about marketing strategy. From the danger of operating like a day trader to the flattening effect of AI giving everyone the same tools and playbooks, Andy makes a compelling case for why the marketers who stop and think before they execute are the ones who will stand out. He also breaks down why B2B brands hide behind rationality when buyers are still making emotional decisions first and justifying them second. Key Takeaways Playbooks work when conditions are ideal, but frameworks and mental models give you a way to think when conditions are not Operating like a day trader in marketing – chasing quick wins without fundamentals – is not sustainable over the long haul AI has flattened execution, which means brands that cannot create a real point of difference are more vulnerable than ever If you do not know your customers well enough to describe them, your marketing will be generic by default B2B buyers make emotional decisions first and rational justifications second – the best marketers meet them on a human level The goal is not to avoid playbooks entirely, but to know when to use them and when to think beyond them Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at razorbranding.org

In this episode of the He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast, Jaci and Michael sit down with Michelle Herl, Vice President of Marketing at SOR Controls Group, to talk about what it really takes to build a marketing function from the ground up inside a mid-size industrial manufacturer – and keep it growing for more than 25 years. Michelle shares how she started with no office, no budget, and catalogs hanging from wires, and turned it into a seat at the leadership table. She also breaks down how SOR manages a house of brands across three distinct product lines – SOR, SSi, and SENSOR – and why educating your internal team on brand structure matters just as much as reaching customers. From building a strategic planning system that keeps the one pager club at bay, to winning over the CFO by watching the bottom line like a marketer who actually cares about money, this conversation is full of real-world lessons for anyone trying to make marketing matter in a complex B2B environment. Key Takeaways Getting the house in order before going to market is essential, especially in manufacturing and industrial B2B Earning a seat at the leadership table takes time, but it starts with proving that marketing drives strategy, not just tactics Managing a house of brands requires consistent internal education across sales teams, partners, and leadership A structured planning system with clear priorities keeps marketing focused and protects the team from reactive one-off requests Building trust with finance means watching expenses, questioning invoices, and showing that marketing is accountable to the bottom line Differentiating through people, not just products, creates authentic brand moments that competitors cannot replicate Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at razorbranding.org

What happens to a brand when growth comes fast—and comes through acquisition? On this episode of He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast, we sit down with Ronnie Hay of UBEO Business Services, a company that has completed 27 acquisitions since 2017. That kind of growth doesn’t just test systems and processes—it tests culture, trust, and brand integrity. Ronnie shares how UBEO approaches branding in the middle of constant change, from deciding what happens to names and logos, to communicating with customers and employees who didn’t ask to be acquired. The key theme throughout the conversation? Empathy. Instead of leading with “here’s who we are now,” UBEO leads with understanding—recognizing the discomfort, uncertainty, and identity shifts that come with M&A. Ronnie also breaks down how they balance local market nuance with national scale, how they measure marketing success beyond vanity metrics, and why some of their most successful campaigns focused on users, not just decision-makers. This episode is a masterclass in branding during growth—and a reminder that people, not processes, are the real brand.

Marketing professional services is hard.Marketing accounting might be one of the hardest versions of that challenge. On this episode of the He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast, we sit down with Sunny Ricks, who leads marketing for a large, multi-state CPA firm across the Southeast. Together, we unpack what it really takes to build a brand in an industry defined by confidentiality, regulation, and trust. This conversation goes far beyond taxes. Sunny shares how professional services firms can stand out when differentiation feels impossible, how personal branding fuels firm growth (without fear), and why thought leadership is no longer optional—it’s survival. We also dig into recruiting challenges, AI’s real role in marketing, and how brands can modernize without sacrificing credibility. If you market in accounting, legal, consulting, or any expertise-driven industry where trust matters more than flash, this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar—in the best way.

Cummings Electrical isn’t the electrician you call when a breaker flips. They’re a major commercial and industrial contractor doing high-stakes electrical work for data centers, hospitals, high-rise multifamily, and massive builds across the country. On this episode of the He Said, She Said: Razor Branding™ Podcast, we sit down with Matthew Stephenson, VP of Marketing at Cummings Electrical, to talk about what B2B marketing looks like when your “product” is trust, your risk is labor, and your growth depends on finding the right work with the right customers—at the right time. Matt breaks down how account-based marketing (ABM) works in the real world, why marketing and sales have to operate as one team, and how his “Blue Ocean” process helps them spot the next opportunity before everyone else floods the market. In this conversation, you’ll hear: Why ABM is the only approach that makes sense when every pitch, proposal, and buyer scenario is different How Cummings positions itself as the safe choice What it takes to build a marketing strategy around labor + backlog—not just visibility and leads How the company identifies and exits red oceans (price-driven markets) and intentionally pursues blue oceans Why relationship marketing still wins—even in 2025—through interviews, experiences, and connection-driven tactics