Today’s guest is Valerie Beauchamp, VP Global Head of Agency Development and Marketer Education at LinkedIn. And if you’ve ever written off B2B as a less exciting part of the industry, then this episode will change your mind. Valerie spent two decades agency-side before heading to Amazon and now LinkedIn – so she knows the landscape better than most.
She shares why B2B is full of creative, strategic and commercial gold – and why you don’t need to be a specialist agency to unlock it. She breaks down the legacy myths that have held B2B back and offers a refreshing take on the needs of so-called ‘boring’ brands – from complex buyer psychology and high-stakes storytelling, to brand building for the 95% of people not yet ready to buy.
Valerie also offers practical advice on where you can start, which skills to leverage and how to reframe your B2C experience as a launchpad into B2B.
HIGHLIGHTS:
[03:20] Valerie’s full-circle journey
[07:35] Owning the label of ‘marketer’
[09:52] Why B2B gets misunderstood
[10:52] Applying psychology
[15:32] Finding your ‘why’ in B2B
[22:16] Hidden opportunity in B2B
[26:01] Reaching who’s *not* buying
[30:13] How agencies springboard into B2B
[34:00] The knowledge network
