Today on the Purposeful Marketing podcast we dive deep into the world of Marketing Operations (MOPs) with our guest, Sydney Mulligan, co-founder of Emmie Collective—a women-led marketing and revenue operations consultancy. Sydney Mulligan takes the floor to introduce herself and share her decade of experience in marketing ops, particularly in Marketo. Sydney also hosts the "Pretty Funny Business" podcast, which offers an entertaining look at our marketing world filled with humor and laughs. To frame the episode, hosts Aaron and Mary introduce their approach to recent guest interviews, which combines tactical implementations with big ideas. They emphasize starting with the "why" and exploring profound questions to gain insights and truths that can enhance your marketing strategies. The central question for this episode is: "What is the right and wrong way to enter a lead into your CRM or MOPs software?" Sydney emphasizes the importance of aligning marketing operations with your organization's goals and sales processes for data accuracy and efficiency. Aaron shares his experience, highlighting the challenges of inheriting a complex marketing tech stack and the importance of setting clear goals. Sydney further elaborates on common pain points in marketing ops. The conversation turns to lead generation, with Sydney discussing high-intent leads and the efficient operationalization of lead qualification processes. Sydney also shares insights into the freelance market for marketing operations professionals, describing how Emmie Collective supports businesses seeking MOPs expertise. In conclusion, this episode offers a comprehensive exploration of the world of marketing operations, emphasizing strategic alignment, data management, and expert collaboration. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or new to the field, this conversation provides valuable takeaways for your marketing journey. You can tune in and find out about the purposeful side of marketing operations.