Today’s guest is TJ Waldorf, Chief Marketing Officer at OneWorldSync. TJ joins Host Chris Mechanic to discuss his journey from sales to marketing, emphasizing the importance of staying close to marketing fundamentals despite the allure of new technologies like AI. TJ also shares insights on the significance of direct customer engagement and maintaining a focus on basic marketing strategies.    Takeaways: Stick to the fundamentals of marketing, even with AI and shiny new tools. Engaging with customers, delivering the right message at the right time to the right people remains crucial.  Sales and marketing are not isolated functions; they're deeply interconnected. Even as a marketer, it's essential to maintain direct contact with customers and understand their perspectives. Look for opportunities to learn directly from customers. For example, a CEO made a point of interacting with at least one customer daily and shared insights from these interactions company-wide. This fosters a customer-centric culture and ensures that the entire company is aligned with customer needs and expectations. Dedicate time each week to dive into customer feedback, like satisfaction surveys and NPS scores. This not only helps in understanding customer sentiment but also provides real, actionable insights that can guide marketing strategies and initiatives. Don’t shy away from the ‘basics’ of your job, no matter how high you climb the ladder. Being involved in messaging and understanding the impact of marketing efforts through metrics like open rates and response rates is crucial. It ensures that your marketing efforts remain grounded and effective. Embrace tasks that don't scale. Sometimes, diving deep into the nitty-gritty aspects of your business, like manually reviewing how leads are managed in the CRM, can uncover valuable insights that automated processes miss. A mix of inbound marketing, community engagement, and a proactive sales development team can create a powerful revenue engine. It’s critical to balance these elements and continuously evaluate their effectiveness.   Quote of the Show: “Get in front of customers, grab lunch, have dinners. Don't think that that's not part of your role because you're in marketing and not in sales. It really is part of our role.” - TJ Waldorf   Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjwaldorf/  1 World Sync Website: https://1worldsync.com/   Shoutouts: Taking People With You by David Novak High Output Management by Andrew Grove The CMO Podcast: https://www.jimstengel.com/the-cmo-podcast/    Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7334aa0c-702a-47aa-8c55-760fa2cf4dda/the-revenue-driven-cmo  Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-revenue-driven-cmo/id1444680950    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OCuYchAG8TlGv82YARRhy?si=60a093a194c64c17  iHeart: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-revenue-driven-cmo-99614345/  Listen Notes: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-revenue-driven-cmo-chris-mechanic-rdU1oESluqs/ YouTube: https://youtu.be/LveJh5zrO-8    The Revenue-Driven CMO is sponsored by WebMechanix, the performance marketing agency that makes you smarter. Learn more at https://www.webmechanix.com/    The Revenue-Driven CMO is produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/