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OhHello - our first "Oh" - Ray Bennett Jr.
63 Plays1 year ago
It's episode 55 and this one is w/ our 1st "Oh" - mentee
A lot of firsts...
Over the last month, when OhHello.io 🌞☕️ soft-launched (read: limited capabilities and a sample of our mentors), we set out to connect with EVERY "Oh" (mentee) to thank them for using the platform, to listen to their feedback, and to get their advice on what we can do to improve.
We really enjoyed getting to know our first "Oh", Ray Bennett Jr.; we appreciated the convo so much that I asked Ray if he'd be a guest on the pod/vod to walk us through his experience as the first "Oh".
🥇 Ray is the platform's 1st official "Oh"
🥇 Ray is our 1st "Oh" to book multiple sessions (recurring) on the platform, and is loving his cont'd mentorship via Mary Sheehan
🥇 Ray has now completed his 1st podcast
🥇 Ray is our 1st "Oh" to also become a "Hello" (mentor) ---> you'll be able to book time with Ray (and many more mentors) OhSoSoon when we open up the floodgates w/ v2.0 of the platform!
In this episode, Ray drops knowledge on:
💬 how he came across OhHello
💬 why he signed-up to be a mentee/Oh
💬 who he envisions using OhHello (the ICP)
💬 the impact his sessions have made on his confidence growing in #product and #marketing
In the meantime, let's #payitforward and help Mr. Bennett!
A genuine person, a proud family man, a #marketer, a #productmarketingmanager , a #productmarketing exec on the move!
Don't be a stranger - reach-out to Ray!
Recommended
Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:08
Speaker
Oh, hello, Ray Bennett Jr. What's up, Jeremy? How you doing? I'm feeling great.
Special Announcement
00:00:15
Speaker
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, everyone who listens to this pod, who watches us on LinkedIn, who watches us on YouTube, who basically is a fan of Oh, hello.
Guest Introduction: Ray Bennett Jr.
00:00:26
Speaker
We have a very special announcement. Ray Bennett Jr. is the first Oh of Oh, hello.
00:00:32
Speaker
Thank you. First, oh, first podcast. It's a lot of first today. It's a lot of first, a lot of first rate. So excited to have you join us. So excited that you are our first. Oh, who organically found. Oh, hello. It just makes me feel great. I am so excited that we were able to help you. But before we get into, oh, hello, why don't you tell us a little bit about you?
Ray's Background and Values
00:00:55
Speaker
All right. Thank you. So I'm a Ray Bennett, Jr. I'm a proud
00:01:01
Speaker
Chicago and the South Sider especially have to distinguish the South Side because we have our little South versus North thing. But yeah, so aside from that, I am a proud son of a great mother and father. I'm a very family oriented. I love my family to death. And in addition to that, I aspire to be a
00:01:25
Speaker
Just a genuine person who looks to help others where I can. In addition to all of that, I am a marketer. So I've been doing marketing for probably about a decade now. And I've been really fortunate enough to have some great experiences at great companies. Love it. Love it. And big shout to your parents and your family. I love that you said that.
From LinkedIn to Mentorship
00:01:47
Speaker
The irony, and I am a big fan of six degrees of separation and how we're all connected.
00:01:54
Speaker
that we both are in the same general vicinity. We've never met. This was where you organically came across Oh Hello. And tell us a little bit why and how you found Oh Hello and just what kind of advice you were looking for. Sure. So I found Oh Hello through LinkedIn. So basically I follow Mary Shan and then she had posted about it.
00:02:20
Speaker
And then it was one of my goals because she was like a person I really wanted to talk to. But because I kind of thought that her schedule would be too busy to kind of organically kind of send a LinkedIn request for a meeting, I felt like this was a perfect opportunity for me to kind of
00:02:37
Speaker
get in contact with her and have a session. So once I saw her post that she was a mentor for Oh, hello, I immediately signed up. And then I was fortunate enough to, cause it was also like kind of nervous cause I didn't know what she would be accepting or not because it kind of was like maybe what I want to talk about wasn't what she was able to kind of discuss. But then I got the confirmation and she accepted. I was excited. And then it just turned out to be a great conversation and learning more in depth about her background.
00:03:06
Speaker
product marketing and some various tools I can use. It's amazing. Well, big shout out to Mary.
Insights on Personal Branding
00:03:12
Speaker
That's, that's awesome. Mary is fantastic. Go Mary Sheehan. What was the, what was the experience like when you were talking with her and just the kinds of questions and the conversation, the dialogue? Yeah. So the conversation was, it was really good. So I kind of came into it with the, um, two goals in mind. One, I know that she was really good at personal branding herself on.
00:03:33
Speaker
on various social media outlets and just in general. So I kind of wanted to understand where our process was to kind of branding herself. And then she felt like that helped her and her career. So we're really able to dive into like the personal branding piece and then like the discussions there. And then I also was curious about just like various specific product marketing questions, because I'm always trying to get better at my craft. So I just really ask her some specific questions regarding
00:04:02
Speaker
positioning and messaging and that she was really able to kind of give me some tips and things to think through there. And then overall, like one of the big things that I didn't ask for, but what she was able to kind of help me accomplish was that she kind of really continued to give me confidence that I could do the job and then I am good at what I'm doing because she just based upon like, you know, like sometimes, especially in this environment, like you might start doubting yourself here and there,
00:04:29
Speaker
But she reaffirmed that I have the experience, I've done the work, and then it gave me tips to do to showcase what I've already done and to continue to improve. So that was the discussion and how it worked out for me.
The Role of Mentorship Platforms
00:04:43
Speaker
I love that, especially that you pointed out the confidence component. And that's part of the reason that the mentors who are signing up to be the hellos on Oh Hello and the O's that are choosing, finding, picking, trying to identify what characteristics amongst those hellos can help the O's. That's part of the reason and rationale is just having the confidence to go onto a platform and be able to just say, hey, I really wanted to speak with her. I really wanted to speak with him.
00:05:11
Speaker
Oh wow. Her, her advertising experience, his marketing experience, their technological background, being able to just go and say, Hey, and they have an opening on their calendar. It's a little bit different than not than just saying, can I pick your brain for 30 minutes? Do a zoom because everyone has, everyone has a busy schedule. It builds confidence when you know that they are setting aside time. And then also obviously taking the time.
00:05:40
Speaker
meeting with you because they want to be doing it. And then at the back end, they have the opportunity to donate money. So donate money to 50 different charities, which is awesome. Cool. That's great. That's, and that's really exactly one of the great things about Oh, hello. Hello. And that's kind of what I learned as I kind of learn more about the product. Thank you, Ray. Who do you think is going to benefit from the platform?
Target Audience for Oh Hello
00:06:04
Speaker
Honestly, I think
00:06:07
Speaker
Everyone could benefit, but I know we have to have a specific segment of mine. It doesn't line my product marketing brain. It's coming into place. But I specifically think it's going to be more mid-market and entry-level. And that's why I believe, because I feel like from an entry-level standpoint, if you are entry-level, some of these mentors can help guide you and do some things that you need to do to progress in your career. But the sweet spot, I think, is going to be mid-market because it's
00:06:36
Speaker
you're trying to get to that either like you kind of have your career is going in a certain direction and then talking to these mentors and kind of help you just decide like, Hey, what's the next step for me? Kind of like, where do I want to go next? And just really think through your, your, your, your previous experiences and where you want to go, because you can kind of pivot and adjust to become better. Or you might decide like, Hey,
00:07:02
Speaker
based on what they said, I want to go in a complete new direction, or this is how I want to think about getting promoted, or this is how I want to think about becoming in their leadership. So I feel like mid-level professionals will greatly benefit from this program. I love that you, I did not cede that to you.
Ray's Future Aspirations
00:07:23
Speaker
I love that you had that same kind of outlook that was
00:07:26
Speaker
one of the rationales and somewhat of the ICP, the ideal customer profile that I was thinking about as well. What's next in your career? What can we, as a tribe, as a community, you being the first O, I am going to help you however I can, as I've mentioned to you. But what can those watching in our mutual networks, what can those listening across the pod that are in marketing, that are in advertising, that are in tech, that are in product,
00:07:56
Speaker
that are in software, that are in media, what can we do to help you? Sure. So currently, like I'm always open for conversation. So like, I love meeting new people and interacting with everyone. So if you would like to contact me, just feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, we can have some time for conversations. And then I myself, like, granted, I'm not a old mentor that might be coming in the future once I gain more experience in the field, but
00:08:23
Speaker
If there's anybody that's like, feels like they're a mentee that kind of wants to get a device about breaking into marketing, things like that, or kind of how to navigate the path, I'm more than happy to talk to them like younger professionals in marketing. But from my career specifically, I'm looking to continue along to progress as a product marketer and in the marketing field. So I'm currently open for new opportunities. So if you have an exciting opportunity like that, you're looking for a mid-level product marketer, I'm happy to hear about that.
00:08:53
Speaker
and kind of have a discussion. And other than that, it's just kind of continuing to grow, be active in the space and really focus on helping young marketers really grow and progress in the field. Amazing, Ray.
Becoming a Mentor
00:09:12
Speaker
Well, congratulations. I'm going to move you from an O to hello. And part of the beauty of that is you can be an O, you can be hello, you can be hello, you can be an O.
00:09:22
Speaker
In different situations in life, you're going to be a mentee, you're going to be a mentor, you're going to be an expert, you're going to be learning. And I'd love to have you, we would love to have you as a mentor because you do have a decade worth of experience in search, in marketing, in product marketing, you have a great agency background, you have a great startup background.
00:09:45
Speaker
From a mid-market perspective, you're in the middle of your career and the fact that you're able to sound off and reach out and bridge the connection between us as the first O, we are here to help you. So congratulations, my friend. Thank you. And thank you so much for having a great product. You rock. You rock, Ray. All right. We're here to help you in any way. Please, everyone that's looking, please hit up Ray. Ray is fantastic. Ray Bennett Jr. Thank you. We're going to put on our music.
00:10:43
Speaker
and we appreciate you. Thank you and have a great day.