Abdul Rastagar is Tired of the Marketing B******t

Life Science Marketing Radio

I had a fantastic conversation with Abdul Rastagar, founder of Serona Marketing, about his mission to cut the b******t out of marketing. Abdul runs both a podcast and newsletter with that exact title. It’s pretty clear he feels strongly about this. I thought it would be fun to find out what’s been bugging him lately. I was not disappointed.

Abdul's beef is that we're stuck using outdated marketing processes from a decade ago that don't match how customers buy today. There’s too much friction. Customers want to see pricing, but we force them through multiple calls with SDRs and demos before revealing whether they're even in the right ballpark. Meanwhile, they're already sharing pricing information in peer communities and researching vendors thoroughly before ever contacting sales. I’ll write more about this soon, but it seems like a missed opportunity to build some trust.

While Amazon has systematically removed friction at every step, B2B companies have done the opposite - we've added barriers and complexity. I pushed back a bit about competitive concerns, but he made the case that if you're worried about competitors seeing your pricing, they'll find out anyway through those peer networks. More importantly, if you hide pricing while competitors don't, you're not even getting into the conversation. Better to reduce friction and actually engage with prospects than lose them before they ever reach out.

One of his most painful observations is that marketing is the only function where everyone else in the company tells you how to do your job. I laughed at his story about the CEO's spouse not liking the logo colors, but it's not really funny - it's a genuine challenge marketers face daily. Operations, finance, sales, and even board members all have opinions about marketing decisions they'd never dream of weighing in on for other departments. Try telling the CFO about where they should invest all that cash you generated!

Here is how he suggests you handle those suggestions: figure out which ones might have merit, prioritize them appropriately, and learn to say no constructively while maintaining collaborative relationships.

We briefly discussed LinkedIn’s own flavor of BS: those trade show announcement posts. They're mostly checkbox exercises - the real value comes from personalized outreach using the event as a conversation starter.

Given all of this, I asked about being more creative and effective. And I loved his answer. Stop selling your product and start selling your knowledge. Be generous with what you know. Don't focus on what your tool does; focus on sharing your perspective on industry challenges and different approaches.

This philosophy of thought leadership before product pitching makes perfect sense, especially in life sciences where people are always eager to learn. Scientists want to understand the "why" behind solutions, not just the "what." When you establish credibility through knowledge sharing, product conversations happen naturally.

Abdul shared an example: his client published an industry article, and at a recent conference, the CEO overheard two people discussing that very article. He joined the conversation, revealed he was the author, and one of those people turned out to be an ideal customer prospect. That's how thought leadership creates real business opportunities.

On the other side of that, I asked about the common CEO dilemma: wanting to be thought leaders but not wanting to be the face of their companies. Abdul acknowledged the risk - invest in building someone into a thought leader and they might leave. People do move around. But you're better off benefiting from that voice while you have it than getting no benefit at all.

Instead of getting caught up in the latest marketing technology or tactic, Abdul's focus on fundamentals understanding your customer's buying process, being transparent, and sharing knowledge generously feels more authentic and is likely more effective.

These cold conversations have been a blast and educational for me beyond the content. I have more lined up. If you aren’t subscribed, now might be a good time…

Your deepest insights are your best branding. I’d love to help you share them. Chat with me about custom content for your life science brand. Or visit my website.

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