How I Made it in Marketing

Blandvertising [https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting/writing-meaningful-copy].

It’s a word I coined 13 years ago to describe a wishy-washy marketing claim.

The type of words that fill a copy block. They look right. And it’s probably sprinkled with words like “scalable,’ ‘ecosystem,’ ‘user-centric,’ ‘best-in-class,’ ‘leading,’ and on and on. But after you read them or hear them you realize – they don’t really say anything at all.

So I loved this lesson I read in a podcast guest application, “A brand that says something is more important than saying everything perfectly.”

To hear the lesson behind that story, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Millie Hogue, CMO, Hakkoda [https://hakkoda.io/].

Hakkoda is part of IBM. IBM reported total annual revenue of $62.8 billion in 2024. At Hakkoda, Hogue manages an internal team of nine along with an array of 20 vendors and freelancers.

Lessons from the things she made

A marketing and sales team divided cannot stand
A brand that says something is more important than saying everything perfectly
Expertise matters more than ever
Build for your audience
The success of your team is YOUR success

Join us at our next virtual event

AI Executive Lab: Transform billable hours into scalable AI-powered products [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-executive-lab-transform-billable-hours-into-ai-powered-products-tickets-1872389821359] – Tuesday, November 11th at 2 pm EDT.

Discussed in this episode

Marketing Experimentation Strategy: Define and differentiate between experimentation and execution in marketing activities (podcast episode #93) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-experimentation]

Authentic Brand Transformation: To build a brand that lasts, consider rebranding a team sport (podcast episode #137) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/authentic-brand]

Analytics: Driving business value matters more than perfect models (podcast episode #133) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/analytics]

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Some of the best conversations I have with my kids are during filler time. Not the quality time you hear hyped up – just a side conversation over breakfast, or driving to an errand, or putting together Ikea furniture.

Marketing and public relations can be the same. Instead of focusing all this attention on forcing a customer to take an action, give them value in other ways and naturally bring up your product. Like this episode’s guest’s story about selling insurance by bringing owls and foxes to schools. It’s not an aggressive sales pitch, it’s the side conversation.

Which is why a key lesson for this episode’s guest is – ‘don’t underestimate the soft sell.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Kelly Coulter, head of marketing, Private Advisor Group [https://www.privateadvisorgroup.com/].

Private Advisor Group has $35.2 billion in advisory assets under management. Coulter leads a small but mighty team of five at the investment service firm, a team located all across the country.

Lessons from the things she made

Learn from your mistakes and “let it go”
Preparation is the key to success
Collaboration is powerful
Invest in your mental health
Don’t underestimate the soft sell
Don’t be afraid to ask for help

AI Executive Lab

Join us forAI Executive Lab: Transform billable hours into scalable AI-powered products [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-executive-lab-transform-billable-hours-into-ai-powered-products-tickets-1777237287569] on Thursday, October 23rd at 2 pm EDT.

Discussed in this episode

Marketing Leadership Lessons: Kill snakes, create the category, assume noble intent (podcast episode #61) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-leadership]

CMO-CPO Collaboration: Bridge Marketing and Product for collaborative growth (podcast episode #95) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/CMO]

DTC Ecommerce: Your worst friend is still better than your best marketing (podcast episode #132) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/DTC]

Marketing Mentorship: 10 digital marketing lessons your fellow marketers learned from their mentors [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/best-practice/mentorship]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I am not a numbers guy. And I’ve been in my fair share of meetings with decks filled with endless charts and data and my eyes glazed over. I’m sure you have as well.

So were we the problem? Were we just not captivated enough by the correlation coefficient?

I think not. And I think the reason why can be best summed up by this lesson I read in a How I Made It In Marketing podcast guest application – Even the most rigorous analysis fails without the right story.

Numbers, even very impressive numbers, still need that marketer’s touch.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with a numbers guy who also has some deep marketing and business insights to share with us – Jiaxi Zhu, head of analytics, SMB division, Google [https://www.google.com/].

Google’s SMB division works with five million customers. Zhu leads the analysis for how to manage and prioritize the division’s several-hundred-million-dollar budget.

Lessons from the things he made

Even the most rigorous analysis fails without the right story
Landing solutions requires going deep and doing the hard work
Define your data with your business partners
Real influence means accepting the world is not fair or rational by default
True empathy is active work
Intellectual curiosity means always asking “why” behind the observations

Turn your knowledge assets into a new revenue stream

MarketingSherpa has teamed up with parent company MeclabsAI to produce a research study. We are granting 10 AI engineering vouchers worth $7,500 each to eligible companies. Apply for your $7,500 AI Engineering Voucher [https://meclabs.com/research/ai-engineering-voucher]

Discussed in this episode

Transparent Marketing: How to make your product claims credible … not incredible [https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/transparent-credible-product-claims]

Customer-First Marketing: How The Global Leadership Summit grew attendance by 16% to 400,000 [https://meclabs.com/gls]

B2B Marketing Leadership: The higher you get in the organization, the more details you need to know (podcast episode #115) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B-marketing-leadership]

Marketing and Brand: Embrace healthy friction (podcast episode #48) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-and-brand]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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The total addressable market. TAM.

We sometimes think the bigger the better, right? Hey, it means I can go to potential investors with a more impressive number.

But too large a total addressable market can hinder success. As this episode’s guest says, “serving everyone serves no one.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Itai Sadan, CEO & co-founder, Duda [https://www.duda.co/].

Duda has raised $100 million, including most recently $50 million in Series D growth funding. Sadan manages a team of 180 people at Duda.

Lessons from the things he made

No one needs to give you a mandate (even in a big company), just find your customer’s problem and solve it for them
Crank through it
Evolve your product over time to land on the right idea
Speed in decision making is very important
If you are feeling the pressure, it means that you are not applying enough pressure
Solve the right problems for the right customers…serving everyone serves no one

Turn your knowledge assets into a new revenue stream

MarketingSherpa has teamed up with parent company MeclabsAI to produce a research study. We are granting 10 AI engineering vouchers worth $7,500 each to eligible companies. Apply for your $7,500 AI Engineering Voucher [https://meclabs.com/research/ai-engineering-voucher].

Discussed in this episode

Open-Source Start-up Marketing Strategy: Sometimes you need to poke the snake (podcast episode #147) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/open-source]

Time To Value: 3 speed-to-value marketing case studies featuring A/B testing, value focusing, and niche ad targeting [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/time-to-value]

Entrepreneurial Resilience: Many of the day-to-day annoyances that inspired him to sell, he actually missed after he sold (podcast episode #78) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurial]

B2B SaaS Marketing: No progress after Series A without product marketing (podcast episode #148) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B-SaaS]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Data, data everywhere, but not a drop of insight.

Excuse my remixing of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, but doesn’t it feel that way when staring at a dashboard sometimes.

We have so much data – and frankly, our competitors probably have a lot of the same data – but can we turn those numbers into real insights to better serve a customer?

Here’s one way to do it, that I read in a recent podcast guest application, but you have to close your laptop first – “Walk the market.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Katherine Melchior Ray, faculty member and lecturer at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business [https://haas.berkeley.edu/], and author of the book ‘Brand Global, Adapt Local: How to build brand value across cultures’ [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brand-global-adapt-local-katherine-melchior-ray/1146174119].

Berkeley Haas ranked No. 8 among U.S. business schools in the 2025 Financial Times Global MBA Ranking.

During her career, Ray managed teams up to 150 and reported to CEOs in Germany, France, Japan, and the US.

Lessons from the things she made

Nurture your curiosity
History is not just for school
Prioritize relationships
Walk the market
Infuse a founder’s values into the brand
Combine audacious risk taking with care

Our next event

Join us for ‘AI Executive Lab: Transform billable hours into scalable AI-powered products’on September 10th at 2 pm EDT. Register here [https://join.meclabsai.com/mec050].

Discussed in this episode

Customer Experience: Great experiences are invisible, but they require relentless alignment (podcast episode #145) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer]

An Effective Value Proposition: What it is, why it is so important to business and marketing success, and how to use it [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/value-proposition-business-marketing%20success]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I love Delta Air Lines. It’s my favorite airline. Please understand that.

Now, that said, when I was a kid, their tagline was ‘We love to fly and it shows.’

I would see the tagline on TV ads. I would see it on giant posters in the airport.

And then I would get on the plane. And even as a kid I could tell…the people working on the airplane, are not the ones that wrote the jingle.

So I love this lesson from a podcast guest application – Your brand is only as strong as your frontline experience.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Melissa Archer-Wirtz, CEO, Century 21 Circle [https://c21circle.com/].

Lessons from the things she made

Your brand is only as strong as your frontline experience
Change management isn’t about being right – it’s about being clear
People don’t fear change – they fear confusion
Culture is built through relationships, not policies
Your integrity is your most valuable asset
You don’t have to be the loudest voice in the room to be the most effective leader

Discussed in this episode

Advertising and Brands: Details matter, know when to quit, …be nice (podcast episode #27) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/advertising-and-brands]

Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you]

Cybersecurity Marketing: You don’t need to scare people to sell them security (podcast episode #136) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/cybersecurity]

500 Mangled, Stretchy Rubber Guys: Make sure you have the right marketing partner for your super creative plan – Podcast Episode #3 [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/direct-mail-podcast]

Adaptive Leadership: It’s never too late to reinvent yourself (podcast episode #90) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/adaptive]

Transform your intellectual property into a revenue engine…in just days

How I Made It In Marketing is brought to you by MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa's parent company.

In just 21 days, you can pilot your first AI-powered product with MeclabsAI [https://meclabsai.com/]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I know the pinch when budgets tighten, customers shift, and deadlines close in. Yet, marketers have a superpower: like Superman’s X-ray vision, we see through constraints to the core idea.

That is the essence of our craft – not waiting for perfect conditions but delivering breakthrough concepts right here, right now.

So I loved this lesson in a recent podcast guest application – ‘every challenge is a creative opportunity.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Dana Bodine, US VP of marketing, Trustpilot [https://www.trustpilot.com/].

Trustpilot is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange. In 2024, it reported $211 million in revenue.

Bodine looks after the entire US market, the US portion of an international audience of 64 million monthly active users.

Lessons from the things she made

Every challenge is a creative opportunity
Building a relationship with commercial partners is key
Stay calm under fire (+ on tight deadlines)
Get a seat at the table by creating sales materials
To truly be customer-obsessed, respect the customer’s time
Ideas are only powerful when they come with context

Discussed in this episode

Strategic Advertising and Marketing: It’s not what you make, it’s what you make possible (podcast episode #117) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategic-advertising]

Team Building: Loyalty, relationships, pre-selling, and other keys to marketing management success (Podcast Episode #16) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/team-building]

Marketing & Communications: It’s important to ‘take a beat’ (podcast episode #140) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-and-communications]

Five Tips From a Personal Care Industry CEO for Setting (and Getting Approval for) Your Marketing Budget [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/tips-marketing-budget-approval/]

Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you]

The Radical Idea: Customer-first marketing prioritizes customer experience over upsells [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/the-radical-idea-customer-experience-over-upsells/]

AI engineering voucher

MarketingSherpa has teamed up with parent company MeclabsAI to produce a research study. We are granting 10 AI engineering vouchers worth $5,000 each to eligible companies. Learn more at https://meclabs.com/research/5k-engineering-voucher

Next event

Join us for AI Hackathon: Build a powerful lead gen agent in just 90 minutes [https://join.meclabsai.com/mec050] on Wednesday, August 20th at 2 pm EDT.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Let’s step into these shoes for a minute. You’re the sole marketer at a B2B startup. You’ve been hustling, pitching investors, and finally you close your Series A. Suddenly, you have the budget to make real progress. What do you do next?

Here’s the lesson that stood out to me in a recent guest application: “There is no real progress in marketing, especially in B2B and post-Series A, without product marketing.”

I love that lesson and I think of product marketing as the translator between what engineers build and what customers truly need.

To hear the story behind that lesson – and many more insights born from wrestling with real revenue goals – I spoke with Asaf Raz, VP of Marketing at Agora [https://agorareal.com/].

Agora secured $34 million in Series B funding last year and has raised a total of $63 million in funds so far.

Raz manages a team of 12 demand gen, product marketing, creative, and field marketing professionals.

Lessons learned

Marketing can’t be successful without being connected to sales goals
One of the most important things about being a marketing executive is to know your market really well, knowing the actual people.
There is no real progress in marketing, especially in B2B and post-Series A, without product marketing
There’s nothing helpful that comes from complaining about things and blaming other people for your problems
Take full ownership
Frame for persuasion

Discussed in this episode

MarketingSherpa has teamed up with parent company MeclabsAI to produce a research study. We are granting 10 AI engineering vouchers worth $5,000 each to eligible companies. Learn more at https://meclabs.com/research/5k-engineering-voucher

Product Quality: Marketing's job is to help the product win (podcast episode #97) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product-quality]

Marketing Career: How to become an indispensable asset to your company (even in a bad economy) [https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/marketing-career]

Customer-First Marketing: The customer is always right … but not always right for your company [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2c-marketing-2/customer-is-always-right-but-not-always/]

Clarity Trumps Persuasion: How ordinary marketers are learning to write high-impact copy [https://www.meclabs.com/training/misc/optsummit/slides/10-Flint-McGlaughlin-MECLABS-Copywriting-FINAL.pdf]

Turn content into pipeline – In this episode, Raz discusses how he uses a podcast to better understand prospects and get more deals. Build your own playbook to get more leads with your content using a multi-agent protocol workflow. Launch the workflow [https://win.meclabsai.com/build-lead-gen] (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

Subscribe for more tactics that turn content into closed business

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I love the movie City Slickers.

If you’re unfamiliar, Billy Crystal is a Manhattanite, has a midlife crisis, and goes out West on a cattle drive to try to figure life out.

Spoiler alert, the crusty old cowboy teaches him that the secret to life is – ‘One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean shhh…” Well, you get the idea.

It struck me that this is a great brand lesson as well. You’ve seen the stats – our ideal customer simply gets hammered with messages every day. And there are so many things your internal team could work on. How to break through the noise? How to prioritize? I love what my next guest told me – “If you don’t have one clear position of who you are and why they should care, you’re just throwing spaghetti at a wall.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Margaret Dawson, CMO, Chronosphere [https://chronosphere.io/].

Chronosphere has raised $343 million in three rounds. In its Series C round in 2023, the company was valued at $1.6 billion.

Dawson leads global marketing efforts at Chronosphere, overseeing a budget of $12 million and a team of 23 working on digital experience, corporate communications, demand generation, customer marketing, ABM, Marketing Ops, and Product Marketing.

Lessons from the things she made

If you don’t have one clear position of who you are and why they should care, you’re just throwing spaghetti at a wall
Sometimes you need to poke the snake
Integrated marketing moves the needle
Mentoring is a two-way street
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should
Don’t focus so much on winning each battle that you lose the war
If you channeled the characteristics that made you so competent and made you authentically you, you would have the greatest power
We do not serve ourselves or the world by hiding our light or being afraid to stand tall

Discussed in this episode

Join us on July 30th at 2 pm EDT for AI Hackathon: Build a powerful lead gen agent in just 90 minutes [https://join.meclabsai.com/mec-050-masterclass] (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

Outside-In Messaging: Nothing counts more than the language of the customer (podcast episode #75) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/outside-in-messaging]

The 4 Pillars of Email Marketing [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/4-pillars-email-summit-2014/]

Building Brands: People and culture matter a lot, mentorship matters even more, product matters the most (podcast episode #119) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/brands]

Marketing Campaigns: Lose the brand ego and lean into humility (podcast episode #130) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-campaigns]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

T

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Instead of burning budgets on Facebook ads, Talya Elitzer, CEO, Overmind Merchandise [https://www.overmind.co/], grows global merch sales with just seven employees by building worlds, not products.

In this episode, she reveals the underground community-building strategies that transformed grassroots buzz into international demand.

Hear her playbook using this embedded player or by clicking through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Lessons from the things she made

Culture moves in different ways
Build a world, not just a product
Scale is a strategy, not a starting point
Confidence clears confusion
Vulnerability builds loyalty
Let instincts override the brief

Discussed in this episode

Connect your product to your customer’s story – People don't just buy products; they buy into narratives. A powerful value proposition taps into this emotional connection. Quickly discover if your value prop resonates deeply enough using this MeclabsAI workflow – Is your value prop (really) strong enough? [https://win.meclabsai.com/value-prop] (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

Marketing Strategy: Data tells stories at Nationwide, fast mistakes, and the triage method (podcast episode #25) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-strategy]

Authentic Brand Transformation: To build a brand that lasts, consider rebranding a team sport (podcast episode #137) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/authentic-brand]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

That is a famous quote from Anton Chekhov, and it has informed everything I personally do in writing and marketing.

And it’s why I was so excited to read a podcast guest application that referenced the famous writer’s maxim I’ve lived my career by – show, don’t tell.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Dave Anderson, Vice President of Product Marketing, Contentsquare [https://contentsquare.com/].

Contentsquare has secured $1.4 billion in funding, including most recently a $600 million Series F, at which point it was valued at $5.6 billion.

Anderson manages a global distributed team of 10 across France, UK, Spain and the US, and currently manages 10 AI tools as well.

Lessons from the things he made

Great experiences are invisible, but they require relentless alignment
Telling stories with data creates internal momentum
Experimentation wins, but only if it’s cultural
Don’t make assumptions. Listen to customers.
Show, don’t tell
Innovation isn’t about waiting for a perfect idea, its about moving fast, failing smart, and building a culture that learns at speed.

Discussed in this episode

Is your value prop strong enough? [https://win.meclabsai.com/value-prop] (MeclabsAI workflow, from MarketingSherpa's parent company)

Corporate Marketing: Feedback is respect (podcast episode #44) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/corporate-marketing]

Creating a Culture of Testing: How to defeat the tyranny of best practices [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/corporate-marketing]

Show, Don’t Tell: 3 quick case studies where companies help customers reach their own conclusions [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/show-don-t-tell-3-quick-case-studies-where-companies-help-customers-reach-their-own-conclusions]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Yes, the Super Bowl ad. How exciting. The experiential activation with the major influencer. The new branding campaign roll out. So wonderful.

But don’t stop there.

You could have the most compelling and creative ad campaign, but if you don’t optimize for every customer touch point, you are undercutting the expectation you have built for the customer with the reality your brand is actually delivering.

So I love this lesson from a recent podcast guest application – “Marketing is the chief customer advocate.”

To hear that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Scott Neuman, Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Calix [https://www.calix.com/].

Calix is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2024, it reported $831 million in net sales.

Neuman leads the corporate marketing strategy team at Calix, including branding, communications, content development, digital and event strategy, and field enablement. Collectively the Calix marketing team is approximately 100 professionals with a primary focus on the North American markets of broadband service providers.

Lessons from the things he made

Marketing is the chief customer advocate
Always think B2B2C
Activate your social army
Great marketers are great storytellers
There’s more science than art to great storytelling
Effective leaders challenge rather than direct
“Every day, let ’s try to suck less”

Discussed in this episode

Join us Tuesday, July 8th at 2 pm EDT for AI Masterclass: Build a powerful lead gen campaign in just 90 minutes [https://join.meclabsai.com/mec-050-july-8]

The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising (and Why It Matters) [https://marketingexperiments.com/digital-advertising/the-difference-between-marketing-and-advertising-and-why-it-matters]

Marketing Chart: Biggest challenges to growing membership [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/challenges-to-growing-membership]

B2B External Communications: How IBM conveys the value of complex products, spotlights innovative employees and entrusts employees with social media [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2b-marketing/ibm-b2b-external-communications/]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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It’s a noisy world out there.

So anytime you have that most valuable of things – a small window into your ideal customer’s attention span – are you clear and memorable with your value proposition?

Of course, that is all the more complicated by the fact that the small window of attention isn’t only when they see your big TV campaign or whatnot, it can come from so many places – it’s also when they step into your store, add something to the cart on your website, reach out to customer service, and on and on.

Which is why this lesson from a podcast guest application stood out to me – “Even bad brands can be good, when they’re consistent.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, I talked to Drew Holmgreen, CEO, PPAI [https://www.ppai.org/].

PPAI is the Promotional Products Association International, the largest trade association in the world for the $27 billion promotional products industry – a community of 15,000 members.

Holmgreen manages a team of 50 and a budget of $25 million.

Lessons from the things he made

Rally together to overcome Murphy’s Law
When you can’t send a sample, send the entire state
Formalize the brand and consistency will come
Tell them what you know definitively. Not what you think.
Even bad brands can be good, when they’re consistent
Volunteers are your best resource
You should always have a chip to help push you forward

Discussed in this episode

When you can’t send the entire state, send a customer story. In this episode, our guest discusses sampling on an experiential marketing scale. If you don’t have that budget, try sending a customer story instead. Our latest MeclabsAI Workflow makes it easy – turn a client win into more leads [https://win.meclabsai.com/]. (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

B2B Marketing Leadership: The higher you get in the organization, the more details you need to know (podcast episode #115) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B-marketing-leadership]

Creative Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: Hold the line & get a door kicker (podcast episode #84) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative-marketing]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Data-driven marketing.

That is an oft-repeated phrase in our industry. It’s hard to find a LinkedIn profile that doesn’t make a claim of being a data-driven marketer these days.

And while data is helpful, it’s not the only thing that should drive you, my next guest says. Be human first, because people drive brands.

To hear that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Desiree Sanchis, VP of Marketing for Beliv US [https://belivcompany.com/].

Beliv has sold a million cases across 40 brands in 30 countries. Sanchis manages innovation, marketing, and e-commerce for Beliv’s U.S. portfolio of eight active brands in addition to those in the company’s development pipeline

Lessons from the things she made

Human First: People drive brands
Dream big and embrace change
Find your purpose and execute relentlessly
Lead with empathy
Storytelling is powerful
Build internal momentum

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

CPG Campaigns: Marketing is often about showcasing human truths (podcast episode #107) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/CPG]

Marketing Storytelling Examples: How 3 brands told their stories (with results) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-storytelling]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Timing is key to successful marketing.

If you broke it down, that’s probably a third of it. Right offer to the right prospect…at the right time.

But how well do you focus on timing for your personal brand in your own career?

You can hear ideas for that from this episode’s guest – she said one of the key lessons in her career is ‘know when it’s time to leave.’

Here to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, is Lisa Lahiji, CMO, Eurest [https://www.eurest-usa.com/] and ESFM [https://www.esfm-usa.com/].

Eurest and ESFM are part of Compass Group, a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It reported $42.2 billion in revenue in 2024. Lahiji oversees the strategy for 45 marketers.

Lessons from the things she made

Know when it’s time to leave

Scaling up means letting go
When the world changed, so did we
Advocate for others
Relationships matter
Raise your hand

Discussed in this episode

Advertising and Brands: Details matter, know when to quit, …be nice (podcast episode #27) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/advertising-and-brands]

Marketing Adaptability: The art of letting go of creative ideas so you can champion future concepts (podcast episode #112) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-adaptability]

Elements of a Landing Page, Advocate Marketing Program, and Conversion-Optimized Blog Post: 3 quick marketing case studies [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/elements-of-a-landing-page]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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If there’s one word that defines what I’ve seen in the marketing industry in my career, it’s ‘acceleration.’

When I started, I was writing print ads in The Wall Street Journal for clients all over the country. So the deadline was when FedEx came to our building…or if we were really pushing it, FedEx’s deadline at the airport. This created a natural ebb and flow.

Then PDFs came along, and well, that deadline got pushed much farther back. But because it still ultimately had to go to print, there was still an ebb and flow.

Fast forward to today. Everything is always on, real time, with endless data streams. It feels like there is no more ebb, only flow.

Which is why this lesson really caught my eye in a podcast guest application – It’s important to ‘take a beat.’

To hear that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Cindy Van Horne, global head of marketing & communications, McKinsey & Company [https://www.mckinsey.com/].

Lessons from the things she made

It’s important to ‘take a beat’
Be fearless with your ambition
Reinvention is not optional
When goals are not hit, leadership is about finesse
The pathway to innovative campaigns is about breaking down barriers
Real change comes when others are inspired to break their own ceiling

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Strategic Marketing Collaboration: Find your partner in crime (podcast episode #68) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategic]

Branding Lessons from TV Production: Don't focus on failure, keep moving towards success (podcast episode #92) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/brand-lessons]

Leadership Development: Network every day (podcast episode #72) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/leadership-development]

B2B Marketing Leadership: The higher you get in the organization, the more details you need to know (podcast episode #115) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B-marketing-leadership]

Customer-First Marketing: Every click is a wish (podcast episode #85) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-first]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-first] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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As an entrepreneur, as a marketer, the world is conspiring to grab your attention and distract you.

For example, when I started in this career, there were really only a few channels you could go to. Newspaper. TV. Radio. Direct. Maybe outdoors.

Now, that number has exploded.

Just one example of how many things you could possibly do with your business and your campaigns and your budget and your time.

But to find success, my next guest says – focus on one thing.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Gidon Rotteveel, co-founder, Delka Talents [https://www.delkatalents.com/]. Gidon manages a team of 25.

Hear the full episode using this embedded player or by clicking through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Lessons from the things he made

You always have to separate work from your personal life
Great things take time to grow
Focus on one thing
You don’t need 100 employees
Entrepreneurship does not have an age
Influencers come and go
Don’t let small setbacks in the business distract you from your insane vision

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Adaptive Leadership: It’s never too late to reinvent yourself (podcast episode #90) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/adaptive]

Female Entrepreneurship and Marketing: Having built a big community doesn't mean you will be able to monetize it (podcast episode #71) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurship]

Best Practices Are Pooled Ignorance: 4 quick marketing case studies of brands that found success by taking a different approach [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/best-practices-different-approach-brands-marketing-case-studies]

Customer-First Marketing: Every click is a wish (podcast episode #85) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-first]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Career growth is a funny thing.

That is the goal after all right? Junior copywriter, Senior copywriter, creative director, etc.? We all want a career path.

But that journey towards something – often people leadership – can also pull us away from something else. And it can be the thing we were most passionate about and got us into this industry to begin with.

So when I saw this lesson in a recent podcast guest application, it grabbed my attention – strike a balance between management and production.

That is, really, one of the core challenges of growing a marketing career.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Mary Church Cornette, CEO and Head of Creative, FUEL [https://www.fuelforbrands.com/].

Lessons from the things she made

Strike a balance between management and production
Learning and adapting to new tools will serve you well
Maybe
Build brands as systems
Appreciative leadership is powerful
Curiosity fuels leadership growth

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Fintech Marketing: Creativity and technology is a killer combo (podcast episode #50) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/fintech]

Creative Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: Hold the line & get a door kicker (podcast episode #84) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative-marketing]

Building Brands: People and culture matter a lot, mentorship matters even more, product matters the most (podcast episode #119) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/brands]

Career Adaptability: Marketing can lead to many other things (podcast episode #103) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/career-adaptability]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I’ll tell you what happened in my career before. Maybe you’ve been there, too.

There’s a sponsorship, sometimes a fairly high-profile sponsorship, and I have gotten asked to write it about it in an ad or email…but, there wasn’t really a strategy.

That is not the way to get the best ROI, the most juice for the squeeze.

Sponsorships truly succeed when they tie into the value proposition of the brand. So this lesson in a recent podcast guest application really grabbed my attention – “Maximize brand awareness by going beyond the ‘logo slap’ sponsorship”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Rebecca Biestman, Chief Marketing Officer, Guild [https://guild.com/].

Guild raised $175 million in a Series F funding round in 2022, at a $4.4 billion valuation. Wellington Management led the financing, and Oprah Winfrey participated in the round, along with other backers.

Biestman manages a team of 70 in the marketing department.

Lessons from the things she made

Maximize brand awareness by going beyond the “logo slap” sponsorship
Embrace new tech that helps drive your brand strategy
To build a brand that lasts, consider rebranding a team sport
Be prepared to step up when the unexpected happens
The best candidate for a role isn’t always the one who has done it before
Making a difference and building something great aren’t mutually exclusive

Discussed in this episode

Join us for MEC050: Let AI Agents Market For You [https://join.meclabsai.com/ai-agents] on Tuesday, May 13th at 2 pm EDT

Creative Marketing: Does it all make sense? (Podcast Episode #19) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative]

Marketing at 200 MPH: Sports sponsorship lessons from F1 & finance (podcast episode #125) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/sports]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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FUD. Fear, uncertainty, doubt.

I first learned about this sales and marketing tactic – which is aimed at influencing perceptions by highlighting potential negative outcomes – early in my career when working with big tech companies.

An example – nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.

Then later in my career when I worked with cybersecurity companies, I saw the tactic on steroids.

But I always wondered – is this really the most effective way to treat our potential customers? Is this customer-first marketing? Is there a better way?

So I rejoiced when I saw an anti-FUD lesson in a recent podcast guest application. To hear that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to B2B fractional marketing executive Nick Lagalante.

Lessons from the things he made

Consultative selling sharpens your message
You don’t need to scare people to sell them security (FUD vs. value-driven messaging)
Research-driven rebranding preserves value
Genuine partnerships redefine tech PR
Collaborative creativity sparks breakthrough campaigns
Strategic internal comms empower brand resilience

Discussed in this episode

The 8 Micro-Yes Architecture that Drives Conversion – Join us on Thursday, May 8th at 1 pm EDT for the latest session of MEC200: Design Your Offer [https://join.meclabsai.com/design-your-offer] (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company). Discover how a series of small, affirmative steps can guide your prospects toward a big, final “yes”...transforming incremental trust into measurable conversion.

Content & Communications: Use your marketing budget and AI to make your customers’ lives more fun and interesting (podcast episode #51) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/content-and-communications]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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The artificial intelligence revolution is upon us. Today we see AI doing everything from taking orders in a drive-thru to serving as a pseudo boyfriend or girlfriend.

But, according to my most recent guest, more importantly – AI boosts revenue.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Dario Markovic, CEO, Eric Javits [https://ericjavits.com/].

Eric Javits had $15 million in revenue last year and is tracking to hit $18 million this year.

Markovic manages a team of 10 with a three- to four-million-dollar marketing budget, along with a worldwide vendor ecosystem.

Lessons from the things he made

Data wins
AI boosts revenue
Sustainability sells
Funnels = profits
Retention over acquisition
Sell outcomes, not products

Discussed in this episode

Learn how to craft an Offer Value Proposition in our April 24th session of MEC200: Design Your Offer [https://join.meclabsai.com/design-your-offer]. Join us at 1 pm EDT for a live online, interactive session (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

Conversion Rate Optimization: 3 effective marketing strategies explained by the marketers who created them [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/conversion-rate]

MarketingSherpa Customer Satisfaction Research Study [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/freestuff/customer-first-study]

Online Business Strategy: Steps marketers took to create powerful marketing funnels with Google, Amazon, and Facebook [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/online]

Help, Don’t Hype: A guide to customer-first marketing [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/customer-centric-marketing-2/help/]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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There are always tough times as you build and grow a startup.

So how do you keep a team going when times are tough? ‘Culture is the glue’ my next guest says.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Dawn van Hoegaerden, CMO, DefectDojo [https://defectdojo.com/].

She is building out the marketing department at DefectDojo, has three vendors, and recently made her first hire. DefectDojo recently announced a $7 million funding round. It has been downloaded 38 million times.

Lessons from the things she made

Adaptability creates opportunities
‘Soft skills’ are really hard skills
Customers will tell you how to market to them if you ask them
Find a mentor who champions your growth
Culture is the glue
If you don’t want the job, rethink the path

Discussed in this episode

Let AI Agents Market For You – April 23rd at 2:30 pm EDT

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Career Adaptability: Marketing can lead to many other things (podcast episode #103) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/career-adaptability]

Marketing Career: What you need to understand at each step of the job seeker’s journey (even if you’re not looking) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/job-seekers-10-step-journey]

Marketing Mentorship: 10 digital marketing lessons your fellow marketers learned from their mentors [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/best-practice/mentorship]

The Prospect’s Perception Gap: How to bridge the gap between the results we want and the results we have [https://meclabs.com/education/Flint-prospects-perception-gap]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Want to move up in your organization? Here’s the best advice I’ve gotten in my career – ‘train others to replace you.’

Hey, it’s a bit scary. If others can replace you, it’s easy to fire you, right? However, if you’re truly providing value, once others can do your current tasks, it also makes it possible for you to move up to the next level in your organization.

Now here’s another version of that same wisdom – ‘automate your job.’

That’s a lesson from my most recent guest. To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Prateek Shrivastava, advanced analytics manager, Cummins [https://www.cummins.com/].

Cummins is a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It reported $34.1 billion in revenue for 2024.

Shrivastava leads a worldwide team of five data scientists, and his team estimated they generate $50 million in annual savings with their models.

Lessons from the things he made

Embrace failure
Pivoting is a superpower
Driving business value matters more than perfect models
Helping others creates genuine connections
Automate your job
Be your own brand

Discussed in this episode

Customer-First Offer session of MEC:200 Design Your Offer [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/DTC] – April 10th at 1 pm EDT

Social Media Marketing: Educate your executives (podcast episode #123) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/social]

Value Proposition Power: 3 ways to intensify the force of your value proposition [https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/value-proposition-power/]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I realize everyone who listens to How I Made It In Marketing is not a marketer, per se.

Entrepreneurs also listen. Not native to our industry, so to speak, but you still need to know it well enough to get customers…so you can run your business and do whatever it is that you really are passionate about.

Well take heart in a lesson from my next guest – everything is learnable. Even marketing. Even photo shoots.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Connor Swegle, CMO and Co-Founder, Priority Bicycles [https://www.prioritybicycles.com/].

Priority Bicycles started by raising $565,000 on KickStarter 11 years ago, and now has 35 models and fields 25,000 orders a year. Swegle manages four brands – including e-comm, omnichannel, advertising, and events – with a core nimble team of six.

Lessons from what he made

Everything is learnable
Whatever they said about lemons and lemonade
Your worst friend is still better than your best marketing
You can (and should) be yourself
People want your story – be brave enough to tell it
You are not alone

Discussed in this episode

Join us to learn how to craft a Customer-First Objective in Session #2 of MEC200: Design Your Offer [https://join.meclabsai.com/design-your-offer] on April 10th at 1 pm EDT (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa's parent company).

Creative Social Media Marketing: When to break the rules (podcast episode #129) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative-social]

Strategic Advertising and Marketing: It’s not what you make, it’s what you make possible (podcast episode #117) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategic-advertising]

Email Marketing: 3 award-winning lessons about relevance [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/email-awards-winners-relevance/]

3 case studies of marketers that made a positive change in customers’ lives (while getting results for their business) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/positive-change-marketing-case-studies]

Content and Communications: Tenacity, keep it simple, authenticity works (podcast episode #33) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/content]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters]to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/ free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Perception changes everything.

Think about many of the chores your customers endure in their lives. Or you do personally. The perception of a chore is not positive, right?

Take shaving – dragging a sharp metal object across your face every morning to meet societal norms…sometimes even drawing blood. Ouch. Literally.

So how do you turn something like that into a luxury experience? According to my latest guest, that is ‘the power of storytelling in branding.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Eric Malka, CEO and Founder, Strategic Brand Investments [https://www.strategicbrandinvestments.com/], and author of On The Razor’s Edge: The story of The Art of Shaving [https://www.strategicbrandinvestments.com/projects-1].

Malka was the co-founder and CEO of The Art of Shaving and sold it to Procter & Gamble. He currently advises and coaches seven entrepreneurs and founders through Strategic Brand Investments. He has invested in more than half of their companies.

Hear the full episode using this embedded player or by clicking through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

PLAYER GOES HERE

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on Amazon Music

Key lessons (backed by critical case studies) from what he made:

The power of storytelling in branding
Truth in marketing matters now more than ever
Word-of-mouth helps you find your best customers
Actionable takeaways from the people he made it with
Greatness in the detail
Sometimes firing someone is doing them a favor
Every brand should have a battle cry

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Authentic Brand Storytelling: Embed creative within your business model (podcast episode #105) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/authentic]

“Authenticity” vs. “Professionalism”: Should you be your authentic self in your brand’s content and marketing? Or must you adhere to certain strictures considered “professional” in your industry? [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/authenticity]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Would you ever launch a campaign celebrating your brand as second best? That’s exactly what Sandy Rubinstein did at Nick at Nite.

I sat down with Sandy Rubinstein, CEO, DX [https://dxagency.com/], to discuss that story, and many more lesson-filled stories, in this episode of How I Made It In Marketing.

DX is a 20-year-old company with $20 million in revenue. Rubinstein manages a team of 70 across five cities in three countries.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Seek serendipity
Lose the brand ego and lean into humility
Bet on yourself
Seek out every voice in the room
Be the all-weather friend
Mentorship is not a one-way street

Discussed in this episode

Want to boost your conversions and collaborate with customer-first marketers? Claim your free 3-month AI Guild scholarship [https://join.meclabsai.com/] (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

Innovative Marketing Leadership: It is okay to think outside the box but make sure you don't create surprises (podcast episode #82) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/innovative]

Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you]

Marketing Career: How to become an indispensable asset to your company (even in a bad economy) [https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/marketing-career]

Voice-Over Coaching: Tips for improving external webinars, internal trainings and other content [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/video-marketing-2/voice-over-coaching/]

Creative Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: Hold the line & get a door kicker (podcast episode #84) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative-marketing]

Marketing Mentorship: Direct feedback is a gift (podcast episode #98) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-mentorship]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters]to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Sometimes we overlook the ends, because we’re so focused on the means.

Today in marketing, that means can be algorithms and machine-built lookalike audiences and automations.

But as our latest guest explained in her podcast guest application, all that technology doesn’t matter if you don’t focus on the right ends: “It's all about the story – and it needs to include empathy.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Carmen Collins, director of social media, Generac [https://www.generac.com/].

Generac is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange and reported $4.3 billion in net sales for 2024. Collins manages a team of three at Generac.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Sometimes, you just do it. Consequences be damned.
Your network is your net worth.
It's all about the story – and it needs to include empathy.
Speaking of breaking rules, that's her biggest learning, and it's taken her a long time.
Metrics are the best sword and the best shield when it comes to social media marketing
Have your own Fabulous Personal Advisory Board
Advocate and champion for each other

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild – Want to boost your conversions and collaborate with top marketers? Claim your free 3-month AI Guild scholarship [https://join.meclabsai.com/] (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

Social Media Marketing: Educate your executives (podcast episode #123) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/social]

Substance Over Style: Good work has to speak for itself (podcast episode #111) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/substance-over-style]

CMO-CPO Collaboration: Bridge Marketing and Product for collaborative growth (podcast episode #95) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/CMO]

Innovative Marketing Leadership: It is okay to think outside the box but make sure you don't create surprises (podcast episode #82) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/innovative]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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How do you stand out in a sea of competitors when margins are thin and trends shift overnight? For Jaci Volles, the answer is: serve your customer’s customer – and innovate when the budget is tight.

Jaci Volles, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Jelmar [https://www.clrbrands.com/] shared the lessons and stories from her career journey in this episode of How I Made It In Marketing.

Jelmar is a 50-year-old, third-generation family-owned business that is best known for its CLR and Tarn-X cleaning product brands. Volles leads the sales, marketing, strategy, and product development teams, a total group of 100 internal and external professionals.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

When innovation meets tight budgets, be creative where you look for inspiration
Stand out in a crowded market by serving your customer’s customer
Find your brand’s competitive advantage
Respect the brand, history, and people when going through an acquisition
Focus on what you can control to lead through transitions
Be open to new possibilities while leveraging your core skills to break industry boundaries
Concentrate resources to make the biggest impact

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Marketing Pragmatism: Embrace ‘hand-grenade math’ over false precision (podcast episode #101) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-pragmatism]

Marketing 101: What are decoy marketing and price anchoring? [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/marketing-101-decoy-marketing-price-anchoring/]

B2B Marketing Infographic: How are B2B marketers optimizing their funnel? [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2b-marketing/infographic/]

Value Focus: Which aspect(s) of your product should your marketing emphasize? [https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/value-focus-aspects-of-product-marketing]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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What if collaborating with a competitor could significantly boost your revenue? That’s exactly what Sagnik Roy, SVP at Times Internet [https://timesinternet.in/], did. In this episode, he shares how listening before selling and prioritizing soft skills reshaped his career.

Times Internet has 571 million monthly users and a US audience of five million. It is owned by the Times Group, publisher of The Economic Times and The Times of India, the largest English-language newspaper by circulation. The Times Group is a private company and claims revenue exceeding a billion dollars a year.

Roy manages a team of 15 to 20 people across three customer-facing brands.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Ask, or you’ll never know
Prioritize soft skills when hiring
Listen first, sell second
Lead with latitude
Precision builds trust
Transparency is strength

Discussed in this episode

Join us for Get Productive With AI [https://join.meclabsai.com/mec050-accelerated] on February 27th at 1 pm EST.

Strategic Delegation: Time is your most precious asset (podcast episode #96) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategic-delegation]

Marketing Pragmatism: Embrace ‘hand-grenade math’ over false precision (podcast episode #101) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-pragmatism]

Sustainable Marketing: Take the time to understand your target audience deeply and your value proposition (podcast episode #104) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/sustainable]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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To me, every customer touchpoint is a thing of value.

And yet, some brands will pour millions of dollars into a Super Bowl ad while at the same time cutting customer service to the bone.

Yet, both ads and customer service are valuable customer touchpoints.

So I saw a kindred spirit when I read this lesson in a recent podcast guest application that came across my desk – “Brands are built by how you show up every day.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Thea Hayden, Interim CMO at Cognizant [https://www.cognizant.com/us/en].

Cognizant reported $19.4 billion in revenue in 2023. Hayden manages a team of 350 across brand and digital marketing, global communications, events and sponsorships, field marketing, marketing operations, and technology marketing.

Hear the full episode using this embedded player or by clicking through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Communication can be hard…and it’s critical
Always start with the end in mind
Brands are built by how you show up every day
The best cultures can be both positive and aggressive
Enthusiasm and optimism can be contagious
Pay attention to your say/do ratio

Discussed in this episode

Join us for Get Productive With AI [https://join.meclabsai.com/mec050-accelerated] on February 27th at 1 pm EST, taught by Flint McGlaughlin. There is no cost (from MarketingSherpa’s parent organization, MeclabsAI).

Corporate Communication and Marketing Innovation: The dangerous delusion of safety – playing it safe can hurt you more than you know (podcast episode #41) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/corporate]

Using the Science of Habit Formation in Customer-First Marketing (interview with Charles Duhigg) [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/charles-duhigg-interview-part-two/]

Marketing, Advertising and Brand Strategy and Culture: You don’t “build" community, you “facilitate” community (podcast episode #52) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-advertising]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Your first day at a new job. Sounds exciting, right?

Now imagine it's at a major bank in crisis, fresh off a £40 billion taxpayer bailout. Oh, and you're in charge of sports sponsorships – an easy target for public outrage.

That’s exactly where Louise Johnson found herself. What did she learn from that experience? 'You must be a master of yourself during uncertain times.'

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from throughout her career, I talked to Louise Johnson, Global CEO, Fuse [https://fuseint.com/].

Fuse is part of Omnicom, which reported $14.7 billion in revenue in 2023. Johnson is a Board Director at Omnicom Media Group UK, and manages a team of 400 at Fuse.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Instill emotional discipline
You must be a master of yourself during uncertain times
Be restless and challenge the status quo
“You cannot fail unless you quit”
Ignore purpose at your peril
Say it how it is from the very beginning

Discussed in this episode

Join us for How to take a conversion marketing approach to Agentic AI and RAG (with zero tech skills)[https://meclabsai.com/Conversion]on February 12th at 2 pm EST

Authentic Brand Storytelling: Embed creative within your business model (podcast episode #105) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/authentic]

An Inspirational Guide for Uncertain Times: 7 ideas and resources for marketers and business leaders to help spark your next great success [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/inspirational-guide-in-uncertain-times-for-marketers-business-leaders]

Marketing Chart: How a customer experience #fail affects brands [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/customer-experience-fails]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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In marketing, it’s easy to become a manager and lose touch with the craft. Val Riley, VP of Marketing & Strategy at Unbounce [https://unbounce.com/], has embraced the ‘Player-Coach’ mindset, blending leadership with hands-on execution to stay relevant and drive results.

I sat down with her to discuss how she learned that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from her career.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Take risks to propel your career
Stay a ‘Player-Coach’ as long as you can
M & A = Opportunity
Marketing is like a soccer team
Reflect on the day
Why kindness is a competitive advantage in leadership

Discussed in this episodeJoin us for How to take a conversion marketing approach to Agentic AI and RAG (with zero tech skills) [https://MeclabsAI.com/Conversion] on February 12th at 2 pm EST

Entertainment Industry Marketing: Never forget the independence of your imagination (podcast episode #121) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entertainment]

Customer Engagement: Marketing case studies from Coors Light, a professional soccer team, and a private jet charter [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/customer-engagement]

Copywriting Contest: Write the best-performing subject line and win [https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting/subject-line-reader-contest]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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There’s a great Chris Rock bit where he says educational leaders lie to kids when they say kids can be anything they want. He says to – tell kids the truth, “You could be anything you’re good at. As long as they’re hiring. And even then, it helps to know somebody.”

The good-at part, hopefully we help you with that everyday on MarketingSherpa.

But the “it helps to know somebody,” that ties into one of the key lessons my next guest has learned in his career, and he uses the famous Porter Gale statement to explain it “Your network is your net worth.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from throughout his career, I talked to Carlos Gil, U.S. Market Brand Evangelist, GetReponse [https://www.getresponse.com/], and author of The End of Marketing: Humanizing Your Brand in the Age of Social Media [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-end-of-marketing-carlos-gil/1138482940].

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Build a brand around authenticity
Every piece of content is a stepping stone to something bigger
Educate your executives
Pivoting fast and recognizing opportunities is key
Your network is your net worth
Failure is a stepping stone to reinvention
The right leaders can unlock your potential

Discussed in this episodeEducate yourself. Join us for How to take a conversion marketing approach to Agentic AI and RAG (with zero tech skills)[https://meclabsai.com/Conversion] on February 12th at 2 pm EST. There is no cost (from MarketingSherpa’s parent organization, MeclabsAI).

Social Media: Marketing to millennials [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/ecommerce-eretail/social-media-millennials-2/]

Authentic Brand Storytelling: Embed creative within your business model (podcast episode #105) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/authentic]

Strategic Marketing Communication: Don't do something for the sake of ticking a box (podcast episode #91) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategic-marketing]

Marketing: Sometimes you have to throw the business model out (podcast episode #34) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-business]

Strategic Marketing Communication: Don't do something for the sake of ticking a box (podcast episode #91) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategic-marketing]

Innovation Leadership and Coaching: You should almost always do less than you think (podcast episode #46) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/innovation]

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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“Incorporate lessons from others' mistakes into your business strategy.”

I read this lesson in a recent podcast guest application and I thought, ‘well, that is actually a pretty good summary of what we do here on How I Made It In Marketing.’ You can tune in and learn from others’ mistakes so you don’t have to make them yourself.

And, of course, their triumphs as well. What fun would it be to only discuss the mistakes?

So I talked to the man behind that podcast guest application – AB Lieberman, CEO and Founder, Clicks Talent [https://www.clickstalent.com/] – to hear the lessons from his triumphs and mistakes, along with the stories behind those lessons.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Act Fast
Location matters
A $300,000 Wake-Up Call: Why your accountant matters
Incorporate lessons from others' mistakes into your business strategy
The customer is always right and make sure they are always happy
Look at the person, not at the product

Discussed in this episode

Get Productive With AI [https://meclabsai.com/GetProductive] – January 8th at Noon EST

Copywriting: Every word matters in these marketing case studies from AAA, a consultant, and a real estate company [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/brand-direct-case-studies-AAA-word-marketing-examples]

Help, Don’t Hype: A guide to customer-first marketing [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/customer-centric-marketing-2/help/]

Marketing Experimentation Strategy: Define and differentiate between experimentation and execution in marketing activities (podcast episode #93) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-experimentation]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Come with me if you will, for just a moment, to the small shtetl of Anatevka, in Tsarist Russia, the year is 1905, and we are in the barn of Tevye, a dairyman.

In his reality, he is poor. But in his imagination, ah in his imagination, he is a rich man.

I thought of that famous musical number when I read this lesson in a recent podcast guest application – “Never forget the independence of your imagination.”

A perfect explanation of Tevye. And hopefully, of you and I as well, after we listen to my latest guest…Jeffery Keilholtz, SVP of Marketing, Broadway Licensing Global [https://broadwaylicensing.com/].

Tune in to the full episode using this embedded player or by clicking through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Win the day – how daily focus leads to campaign success
Stay nimble
Stay cool under pressure
“Never forget the independence of your imagination"
Execution sets people apart
Endurance is essential

Discussed in this episode

Get Productive With AI [https://meclabsai.com/GetProductive] – January 8th at Noon EST. There is no cost.

Enterprise Solutions Marketing: You can make a big career, and still stay human (podcast episode #99) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/enterprise]

Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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When this CMO's team proved her wrong about their ebook program, she didn't just accept it – she made them broadcast their victory to everyone.

Hear that lesson – “let your team take a chance on testing it and prove you wrong” – and many more lesson-filled stories in my in-depth discussion with Susanne Rodriguez, Chief Marketing Officer, Auvik [https://www.auvik.com/].

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Be an uncertainty killer
Don't always trust your gut
Clear is kind
Lean in and listen on Zoom to connect and build deep relationships remotely
Bring your best, most efficient self to the office every day to keep it moving
Prioritize by business impact
Let your team take a chance on testing it and prove you wrong

Discussed in this episodeGet Productive With AI [https://meclabsai.com/GetProductive] – January 8th at Noon EST. There is no cost.

Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (Podcast Episode #11) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast]

Team Building: Loyalty, relationships, pre-selling, and other keys to marketing management success (Podcast Episode #16) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/team-building]

A/B Testing Prioritization: The surprising ROI impact of test order [https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/surprising-roi-from-test-order]

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For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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We recently published data on interdepartmental collaboration by marketing teams [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/interdepartmental-collaboration]. More leading marketing departments had a strong partnership with the product team than with any other internal team.

But for the lagging marketing departments, strong partnerships with the sales team fell in the middle – 4th out of 7 departments – and they had far fewer strong partnerships with the product team than leading marketing departments did.

I was working on the data for that chart article when a podcast guest application came across my desk with these lessons – People and culture matter a lot, mentorship matters even more, product matters the most.

To hear the stories behind those lessons, along with more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Yana Ernazarova, CMO, Edushape [https://www.edushape.com/].

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

People and culture matter a lot
Mentorship matters even more
Product matters the most
Vision and culture are key to long-term results in large organizations
Sometimes you should kill bad business ideas quickly, no matter how passionate you are about them
A marketing or business idea is useless until it's executed upon

Discussed in this episode

Get Productive With AI [https://MeclabsAI.com/GetProductive]– January 8th at noon. No cost.

Enterprise Solutions Marketing: You can make a big career, and still stay human (podcast episode #99) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/enterprise]

Marketing Mentorship: Direct feedback is a gift (podcast episode #98) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-mentorship]

Product Quality: Marketing's job is to help the product win (podcast episode #97) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product-quality]

Creative Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: Hold the line & get a door kicker (podcast episode #84) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative-marketing]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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We’ve all seen it in the movies. A character has an invisibility cloak, or drinks a potion, or perhaps turns into a ghost. And then, oooh how tantalizing, they can see what goes on when they’re not around.

Well as our latest guest explains it, we shouldn’t just think of that kind of moment as some sort of sci-fi fantasy. We should work as if we’re trying to optimize that conversation.

As she puts it – “It's about what people say when you are not in the room.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Allyson Havener, Chief Marketing Officer, TrustRadius [https://www.trustradius.com/].

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Creating a category is one of the most difficult GTM strategies, but if you have enough conviction, time, and money to pull it off, it's worth it
Done is better than perfect
It's about what people say when you are not in the room
Align marketing initiatives to revenue
Lead marketing strategy with the voice of your customers
Partner to understand the investment needed for growth while also achieving profitability

Discussed in this episode

Get Productive With AI – Join us on November 20th at Noon EST. There is no cost. See the 7 principles you can learn in this session and register to join us at MeclabsAI.com/GetProductive (from MarketingSherpa’s parent company, MeclabsAI).

B2B Digital Marketing & Demand Generation: My boss has asked me to produce $1 billion in revenue. Now what? (podcast episode #109) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B-digital]

Female Entrepreneurship and Marketing: Having built a big community doesn't mean you will be able to monetize it (podcast episode #71) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurship]

Brand Voice: 3 quick marketing case studies from Pedigree, a freelance marketplace, and a marketing agency [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/brand-voice-case-studies]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I would never read so much text. This is long and boring to me.

Versions of this have been said to me throughout my career from designers. And not to pick on designers, but I really don’t care. Because they weren’t the ideal customer for the product. So of course they weren’t interested in the copy.

Like my old boss Mike Morgan used to tell me – you never read the refrigerator ad on page 3 of the newspaper…until your fridge breaks.

So when I came across this lesson in a podcast guest application, it grabbed my attention – ‘You don’t have to like it. You aren’t the target.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, I invited on Renee Miller, Founder and Executive Creative Director, The Miller Group [https://www.millergroup.com/].

Tune in to the full episode using this embedded player or by clicking through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

To mine own self be true.
Say YES then figure out how to get it done
Provide an exceptional experience
Be modest
You don’t have to like it. You aren’t the target.
The more you value yourself, the more likely you are to take calculated risks

Discussed in this episode

Get Productive With AI – November 20th at noon EST: Join Flint McGlaughlin, CEO, MeclabsAI, for an accelerated version of the AI Guild MEC050 course. There is no cost. See the 7 principles you can learn in this session and register to join us at MeclabsAI.com/GetProductive (from MarketingSherpa’s parent organization, MeclabsAI).

Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/]

Creative Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: Hold the line & get a door kicker (podcast episode #84) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative-marketing]

Value Proposition Articulation: Examples of helping customers understand and believe your business’ marketing messages [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/value-proposition]

Strategy: Don’t think of your customers as a ‘target’ to acquire (podcast episode #65) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategy]

Enterprise Solutions Marketing: You can make a big career, and still stay human (podcast episode #99) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/enterprise]

Special Report: How to Market to the Super Rich -- 4 Challenges and 8 Must-Know Strategies [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/how-to-market-to-super]

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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One of the biggest transformations in my career came when I went from trying to sell people with my writing, to trying to help them.

Helping people understand whether a product or service is truly right for them creates long-term trust. So does helping them even when they don’t buy from you.

Not only is this more effective, but my work is part of my life. My soul doesn’t magically leave my body during the workweek. And it is fulfilling to help people – both morally and financially.

So when I read this lesson in a podcast guest application, it struck a chord – "Clear, simple language can cut through the noise and drive results." I knew I wanted to sit down with the man behind it, and see what we can learn from him.

I talked to Dr. Yaniv Zaid, CEO, The Art of Persuasion [https://www.persuasion.co.il/en/], and author 11 books (most recently The 21st Century Sales Bible [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-21st-century-sales-bible-yaniv-zaid/1142120003]).

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Clarity is powerful for persuasion
Understand cultural nuances
Turn failures into learning opportunities
Effective storytelling is a tool for persuasion
Be Batman, because nobody is really Superman
Positive messages win over more people than negative messages

Discussed in this episode

Join us for Get Productive With AI – November 20th at Noon EST. No cost to attend. See the 7 principles we'll be teaching and register at MeclabsAI.com/GetProductive

Clarity Trumps Persuasion: How changing the first seven seconds of user experience drove a 201% gain [https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/surprising-wins-from-2009-using-insights-from-an-uncertain-economy-to-drive-302-growth]

Global Technology Leadership: Adapt your marketing to reflect cultural nuances (podcast episode #113) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/global]

Branding Lessons from TV Production: Don't focus on failure, keep moving towards success (podcast episode #92) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/brand-lessons]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Think branding and demand generation are separate functions? Jim Kruger, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Informatica [https://www.informatica.com/], discusses why they shouldn’t be on this episode of How I Made It In Marketing.

Informatica is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. It reported total annual recurring revenue of $1.63 billion for 2023. And Kruger manages a team of 140 people.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Understand your customers' needs and build personalized strategies
Combine your branding and demand generation
Eliminate silos and cultivate trusting relationships
People want to feel part of a team and without empathy, that is very difficult to do
Branding is much more than a campaign and it must be connected to your strategy and messaging hierarchy
Test messaging and usability
The higher you get in the organization, the more details you need to know

Discussed in this episode
Customer-first Objective (CFO) Builder: In this episode, Kruger discusses customer strategy. If you need help, try the CFO Builder app in MeclabsAI [https://meclabsai.com/share/8ZiYRidqZbqPvEg]. It’s free to try, you don’t even have to register to get started (from MarketingSherpa’s parent organization, MeclabsAI).

Empathy Marketing: 3 examples of empathetic marketing in action (with results) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/empathy-marketing]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Marketing is about helping your ideal customer perceive the value your products deliver.

But before they can perceive that value, you have to create it.

When I received the podcast guest application for my next guest, in my due diligence I found that Consumer Reports named its Stratami mattress one of the 9 best mattresses of 2024.

To hear key lessons and stories from building the company behind made that mattress, I talked to Jack Dell’Accio, CEO and Founder, Essentia [https://myessentia.com/].

Dell’Accio originally funded Essentia himself, investing $3 million to develop the products and build the brand. The organic mattress company is projected to surpass $50 million in revenue in 2024. He oversees the company’s 100 employees, but does not manage the marketing team directly.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Innovation driven by personal passion can lead to extraordinary outcomes
Keep pushing forward
Educating consumers about the products they use and the impact on their health is crucial for building trust and driving change
Find a strategic partner who understands your vision
Collaborate to bring greater visibility to your brand

**Discussed in this episode

Conversion Pro –** In this episode, Dell’Accio emphasizes consumer education. The Conversion Pro expert in MeclabsAI [https://meclabsai.com/share/v1rYyjM1ZgieOa5] can help you understand how to optimize your marketing strategies to not only educate but also convert your audience effectively (MeclabsAI is MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

Female Entrepreneurship and Marketing: Having built a big community doesn't mean you will be able to monetize it [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurship]

Marketing is Teaching: 3 examples of high-performance marketing that worked by educating the customer [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/3-examples-marketing-is-teaching]

Strategic Marketing Collaboration: Find your partner in crime (podcast episode #68) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategic]

Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore."

That quote is from Nobel Prize winning novelist André Gide. And I think there is a great lesson for marketers here.

For 25 years, MarketingSherpa has published case study articles. And sometimes when I talk to marketers, they are so myopically focused on just the case studies from their industry.

We’re an ideas profession. And sometimes to get the best ideas you have to step away from the familiar…including your industry.

Which is why I was intrigued by a story in a recent podcast guest application, about a tech industry leader who learned the transformative power of digital marketing by pivoting away from the tech world for a bit to run a charity.

To hear that story, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Tim Peters, the CMO of Enghouse Systems [https://www.enghouse.com/].

Enghouse Systems is a public company, founded in 1984, that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It reported $454 million in revenue for fiscal year 2023. Peters manages a team of 52 marketing professionals at Enghouse.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Leverage digital platforms to build strong communities and amplify your message
Adapt your marketing to reflect cultural nuances for global success
Foster trust and cooperation through transparent communication in M&A
Embrace strategic thinking and creativity to drive measurable marketing outcomes
Invest in people to foster talent growth and a collaborative team environment
Align marketing strategies with financial accountability for strategic success

Discussed in this episode

Resume and Cover Letter Writer – Some marketing professionals listen to How I Made It In Marketing to get ideas for managing their career. If you’re ready to take the next step in your career, here’s a shared chat I made in MeclabsAI that can help – the resume and cover letter writer [https://meclabsai.com/share/NUB98Ta7PdfdhA8] (MeclabsAI is the parent company of MarketingSherpa).

Customer-First Marketing: Every click is a wish (podcast episode #85) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-first]

CMO-CPO Collaboration: Bridge Marketing and Product for collaborative growth (podcast episode #95) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/CMO]

Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you]

Marketing: High growth can be excruciating (podcast episode #64) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-growth]

Marketing, Communications, and Pricing Leadership: Business must have a relentless focus on ROI, which includes marketing (podcast episode #35) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-communications]

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Imagine this: you've spent months ideating, planning, and crafting the perfect marketing campaign. The creative is stunning, the messaging is on point, and the target audience has been meticulously defined. But as the launch date approaches, things start to wobble. A key department is out of sync, a crucial piece of technology isn't ready, or the timeline starts to slip. We've all been there – standing on the precipice of what could be a game-changing launch, only to watch it teeter on the brink of failure.

The truth is, no matter how brilliant your marketing idea is, it will never see the light of day without the support of a well-oiled machine behind it. And that machine? It’s built on relationships.

So I loved this lesson in a recent podcast guest application – ‘Building healthy cross-functional relationships is the key to any successful marketing launch.’

To hear the lessons behind that story, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down Nicole Sumner, Brand Director, Ollie Pets [https://www.myollie.com/].

Ollie has delivered more than 200 million meals, and Sumner leads a team of nine marketers at Ollie.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Building healthy cross-functional relationships is the key to any successful marketing launch
Sometimes you must let go of a creative idea to ensure you have the opportunity to stand up for something you really believe in later
If you don’t have contagious conviction in your idea, you can’t expect anyone else to be excited about it.
Act like you already have the job title you want
It’s OK if you’ve never done something before, say yes and figure it out
You can’t be upset over an opportunity that you don’t raise your hand for

Discussed in this episode

Brand value prop refinement [FREE interactive tool] –After listening to this episode, you may be inspired to brainstorm on your brand a bit. I can’t be there with you, but I gave custom instructions telling MeclabsAI how to help you. Just click here to try out this shared chat [https://meclabsai.com/share/IxnQg61yGo65oY6]. It’s FREE to try, you don’t even have to register to get started (from MarketingSherpa’s parent organization, MeclabsAI).

Enterprise Solutions Marketing: You can make a big career, and still stay human (podcast episode #99)

Creative UX/UI For Impactful Marketing: Think, build, and scale like a product owner (podcast episode #102)

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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“Writing is never done, it is just due.”

This is a common sentiment from anyone who has ever worked in a deadline-driven field like journalism or academia.

And it certainly holds true right here in the marketing industry as well, made all the more difficult in my career personally when I transitioned from print to digital…which could be changed an infinite number of times.

Or as my next guest puts it – ‘Don’t let perfection get in the way of completion.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Kelly Cutler, Lecturer and Associate Director of the Spiegel Research Center, Northwestern University [https://www.northwestern.edu/].

Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and has an annual operating budget of $3 billion. Cutler has published five papers on topics including ChatGPT and Web3. She recently published her first book, called ‘Search Marketing: A strategic approach to SEO and SEM’ [https://www.koganpage.com/marketing-communications/search-marketing-9781398612808].

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

“If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter.”
Don’t let perfection get in the way of completion
Good work has to speak for itself
Reach for the stars
Delegate
Don’t give up

Discussed in this episode

In this interview, Cutler and I discuss strategic marketing ideation and refinement. So I started a conversation with MeclabsAI to help you get personalized strategy development, overcome challenges, explore creative boundaries, and get evidence-based suggestions. Just click here to interact with this shared conversation [https://meclabsai.com/share/6qq1fggvdn25TtF] and brainstorm your next marketing breakthrough (MeclabsAI is the parent company of MarketingSherpa)

Marketing Promotion Strategies: These 3 message levers moved people to click, link, and refer [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-promotion]

Enterprise Solutions Marketing: You can make a big career, and still stay human (podcast episode #99) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/enterprise]

Copywriting for Marketing Leaders: Why you should never delegate the marketing message (and how to get it right) [https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting-2/copywriting-for-marketing-leaders-dont-delegate-the-message]

Don’t Give Clients What They Want (podcast episode #6) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/client-management]

How I Made It In Marketing podcast [https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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My latest guest represents the perfect dichotomy of what it takes to make it in marketing.

On the one hand, the word rockstar is half the name of her company, which connotes to me, Mick Jagger strutting around on-stage crooning “I’m a man of wealth and taste.” Or perhaps for a newer generation, Adam Levine in the spotlight belting out “I got the moves like Jagger.”

But then when I went through her podcast guest application, it was filled with humble lessons like, “Be a Horse Whisperer,” “Always Gain Alignment Behind the Scenes,” and “Be the Woman Behind the Woman.”

To help us figure out how to be horse-whispering rock star marketers, I sat down with Rachel Minion, Cofounder and CEO, Rockstarr and Moon [https://rockstarrandmoon.com/].

Rockstarr and Moon is a privately held company with $1 million in annual revenue. Minion manages a team of 10.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Silence can be deafening – so, take action
Live loud. Be authentic.
Firefighters are heroes, but you don’t have to be
Be a horse whisperer
Always gain alignment behind the scenes
Be the woman behind the woman

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Content and Communications: Tenacity, keep it simple, authenticity works (podcast episode #33) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/content]

Clarity Trumps Persuasion: 5 examples where clarity soundly beat out persuasion tactics [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/content]

Internet Marketing: Landing page optimization for beginners [https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/internet-marketing-for-beginners]

Innovation Leadership and Coaching: You should almost always do less than you think (podcast episode #46) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/innovation]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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When I started in B2B, my mentor told me, “We call this business to business, but make no mistake, people buy products, not businesses. It’s people who make decisions for these businesses.”

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. If you’re only focused on businesses as accounts, you’re overlooking opportunities.

For example, as our latest guest shared in his podcast guest application, “Track when your customer champions change jobs.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I spoke with Matthew Bowman, VP of Strategy, GTM, and Growth Marketing, ACT [https://www.acttoday.com/].

ACT is a 100% employee-owned company with 12,000 employees and 23 offices around the world.

In Bowman’s previous role, he oversaw a team of 32 direct and indirect reports and a budget of $3 million. He is currently in a startup role where he is scaling up the marketing teams.

While seemingly simple, Bowman says these lessons served as part of the foundation for his creating an international department that generated $1.6 billion in revenue over 11 years’ time:

Message trumps channel
Track when your customer champions change jobs
Interview your customers
Watch for unintended consequences of strategic initiatives
Prioritize with the RACE (Return, Amplitude, Conviction, Energy) Method of decision making
Generate buzz with guerrilla marketing
Foster a positive and productive atmosphere to optimize team performance

Discussed in this episode

Build an artificial intelligence strategy that helps you produce more revenue in an AI Quick Win Intensive [https://intensives.meclabsai.com/] (from MarketingSherpa's parent organization).

Career Adaptability: Marketing can lead to many other things (podcast episode #103) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/career-adaptability]

Marketing Career: How to become an indispensable asset to your company (even in a bad economy) [https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/marketing-career]

Marketing Strategy: 5 successful (and 1 failed) strategic approaches to everyday marketing challenges [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-strategy-5-successful-and-1-failed-strategic-approaches]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Content Warning: On How I Made It In Marketing, we delve beneath the buzzwords of our industry to uncover the biggest lessons from successful careers. Our guests share detailed, hard-fought, in-the-trenches stories of how they learned these lessons and put them into practice.

Today's guest has spent a significant part of her career selling condoms. As a result, our in-depth conversation may involve frank discussions about sexual topics. If you are uncomfortable with this subject matter, you should not listen to this episode. You can explore our 107 other episodes [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/podcast].

Marketing can be perceived as a devious force, tricking people into buying things they don’t need and using services that exploit them. Ouch. I don’t want my life’s work to be that.

In a society of choice, marketing can also connect people with things that bring them utility and joy. That’s a better place to be.

Even better, I believe the highest and best use of marketing is to nudge people towards choices that benefit them in the long term, even if they’re less appealing in the short term, like healthy eating and exercise.

Our next guest markets a product that helps reduce health risks, even though it’s often more fun not to use it. Adding to the challenge, it’s a taboo topic. The product is condoms.

To hear lessons and stories from her experience marketing this product, I talked to Milla Impola, Director of Marketing & Communications, Global Protection Corporation [https://globalprotection.com/].

Global Protection Corporation is owned by Karex Berhad. Karex is a publicly traded company on Bursa Malaysia. It reported 532 million Malaysian Ringgit in revenue in 2023, equal to approximately $117 million Impola manages a marketing team of 10 along with 50 contractors.

Here are some lessons from Impola that emerged in our discussion:

Force yourself to practice public speaking
The best way to learn your customers is to talk to them
Don’t just think outside the box. Throw that box away and reimagine it as a glitter-covered bean bag.
Mentorship is so rewarding and impactful
Find a job you love
Find research-focused reporters

Discussed in this episodeOur team has made 41 updates to MeclabsAI [https://meclabsai.com/] since the official launch of the full-featured version, including:

Shareable conversations
Voice to text
Image generation
The ability to create and link prompts directly from the dashboard (when you build your custom experts and apps)

MeclabsAI is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa.

Marketing Pragmatism: Embrace ‘hand-grenade math’ over false precision (podcast episode #101) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-pragmatism]

Top HARO (Help A Reporter Out) Alternatives: How to find primary sources for business journalism and content marketing [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/content-marketing-2/haro-alternatives/]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Look, let’s face it, our industry can have a bad reputation.

And I can see why. Just scroll through YouTube or social media and you’ll see self-appointed gurus shouting about tricks and hacks and shortcuts.

But sustainably successful marketing is not about shortcuts, it’s about digging into the very essence of what it means to be a human being.

Sounds pompous, I know, but hear me out.

Effective marketing deeply understands and portrays human realities, behaviors, and emotions. It connects authentically with people's experiences, desires, and needs.

So when I read this lesson in a podcast guest application – ‘marketing is often about showcasing human truths’ – I knew I had found a kindred spirit I wanted to sit down with and learn from Karuna Rawal, CMO and CRO, Nature’s Fynd [https://www.naturesfynd.com/].

Nature’s Fynd has raised $500 million in funding since its founding in 2012. Backers include celebrity investors like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Al Gore, and Jack Ma; along with institutional investors like SoftBank and Blackstone.

Rawal leads a team of 17 across Marketing, Sales, PR, Innovation, Culinary, Business Development and Creative – plus three agencies. Startups run fast and lean, she says.

Here are some lessons from Rawal that emerged in our discussion:

Marketing is often about showcasing human truths
Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Marketing matters, even for legacy brands
Set a high bar for quality customer experiences
Always choose to do the harder right thing than the easy wrong thing
Align strategy with creativity

Discussed in this episode

Craft an AI strategy that resonates with your customers' human truth. Join Flint McGlaughlin and the MeclabsAI team for an AI Quick Win Intensive [https://intensives.meclabsai.com/] (from MarketingSherpa’s parent organization).

Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you]

Content and Communications: Tenacity, keep it simple, authenticity works (podcast episode #33) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/content]

CMO-CPO Collaboration: Bridge Marketing and Product for collaborative growth (podcast episode #95) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/CMO]

Get more episodes

This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters]. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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The Accidental Recycled Poop Marketer!

That’s the headline of a recent podcast guest application.

And it came from someone leading marketing for an interesting product – a paid B2B and B2C product, sold by a nonprofit, that is run by an independent city government authority, a water and sewer utility formed in collaboration with the federal government.

So no matter what type of marketing you do or business you run, there’s probably a lesson for you in this episode with April Thompson, Senior Director for Bloom, Blue Drop [https://bluedrop.co/], (part of DC Water).

Blue Drop is a nonprofit organization created by DC water to generate revenue and therefore save its ratepayers money. DC Water is the District of Columbia Water and Sewage Authority. DC Water reported $898 million in operating revenues for 2023.

Thompson manages a two-person saleswoman team that has sold 65,000 tons of biosolids in its recycled poop fertilizer/soil amendment product in fiscal year 2024. Biosolids are a product most utilities pay to dispose of.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Thompson that emerged in our discussion:

Marketing socially and environmentally responsible products is no different than marketing a conventional product
Champion your champions
Quit while you're ahead; no risk, no reward
Optimism is underrated
“It's not brain surgery on babies"
Highly successful people give more credit than they take

Discussed in this episode

Get your Quick Start AI Productivity Kit when you sign up for a free, 3-month scholarship to the AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Sustainable Marketing: Take the time to understand your target audience deeply and your value proposition (podcast episode #104) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/sustainable]

Why You Should Thank Your Competitors [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/why-thank-your-competitors/]

Customer-First Marketing: Every click is a wish (podcast episode #85) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-first]

Client Pitch Call from the Maternity Ward: “That sound? Oh, you know, the sounds of Brooklyn” – Podcast Episode #8 [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/client-pitch-call]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Be careful you don’t engage in marketing color by numbers so to speak. It’s easy to get lost in process flowcharts and databases.

You could build out the perfect infrastructure – the right media buys, marketing automation and drip campaigns all set, everything is being properly measured and attributed – yet in all that work it is easy to overlook what that infrastructure should be for. This is just marketing color by numbers.

So I love this lesson from my latest guest – ‘Embed creative within your business model.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Diego Osorio, Founder & Chief Creative Office, Lobos 1707 Tequila.

Lobos 1707 is a privately held company. Investors include Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, and Rich Paul. It has had a product in market for three years.

Osorio oversees a team of 100, and directly manages a leadership team of 13 people and a nine-person marketing department.

To dive deeper into Osorio’s strategies and gain actionable insights for your marketing journey, listen to the full episode using this embedded player or by clicking through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Osorio that emerged in our discussion.

Authenticity should be at the core of a brand
Embed creative within your business model
Break down the barriers of titles
Grab the tiger by the tail
Build something you’ll be proud of
Pressure is a privilege

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild (https://join.meclabsai.com/)

Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (Podcast Episode #11) (https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

“Authenticity” vs. “Professionalism”: Should you be your authentic self in your brand’s content and marketing? Or must you adhere to certain strictures considered “professional” in your industry? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/authenticity)

Creative Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: Hold the line & get a door kicker (podcast episode #84) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative-marketing)

How the Pandemic Inspired Brands to Rethink their Marketing Strategy: 3 quick case studies (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/pandemic-brands-rethink-marketing-strategy-case-studies)

Marketing Career: Can you explain your job to a six-year-old? (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/marketing-job)

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Who is your ideal customer? And how does your brand serve them?

Yes, I know you have KPIs to hit this quarter. Leads. Sales. A specific revenue target. And so it can be easy to quickly drill down to targets.

But all marketing beings by asking… who is the ideal customer? And how does our brand serve them?

So I loved a lesson I recently read in a podcast guest application – ‘Take the time to understand your target audience deeply and your value proposition.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from throughout her career, I sat down with Kristen Stevens, Senior Marketing Manager for the US, at the Marine Stewardship Council. (https://www.msc.org/)

The Marine Stewardship Council is a nonprofit organization that was formed by the World Wildlife Fund and Unilever. It reported £32.73 million of total income in its most recent fiscal year ending in March 2023, which equates to roughly $41.3 million – 19% of the world's wild fisheries are engaged in the MSC program.

In 2023, Stevens oversaw 58 co-marketing campaigns for the MSC.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Stevens that emerged in our discussion.

Turn critical feedback into your strength / learn to thrive in ambiguity
The importance of a 'hero' metric that you and team work toward
Take the time to understand your target audience deeply and your value proposition
Balance the lending and borrowing of trust and credibility in partnerships
Present research with clear narrative arcs and actionable takeaways
Structure feedback requests with specific lenses and pointed questions

Discussed in this episodeAI Quick Win Intensive –Get help building an artificial intelligence strategy that aligns with your brand’s value proposition. Join Flint McGlaughlin and the MeclabsAI team for an AI Quick Win Intensive (https://intensives.meclabsai.com/) from MarketingSherpa’s parent organization.

Data as Marketing Fertilizer: You can have piles and piles of data, but unless you know how to use the data correctly, it won’t get you very far (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/data)

Customer Value: The 4 essential levels of value propositions (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/levels-of-value-propositions)

Get more episodes

This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Where do you see yourself in five years?

I always hated this interview question. It’s not that I’m against planning; it’s that I’m for flexibility. And I don’t want to get trapped in a five-year plan.

I try to focus on delivering value today helping people out, and improving my future self for tomorrow, and from there, opportunities naturally arise.

So a lesson from this episode’s guest really resonated with me – ‘be open to where your path takes you.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Melinda Marchesi, Chief Marketing Officer, Prosper Marketplace (https://www.prosper.com/).

Since its founding in 2005, Prosper Marketplace has originated $28 billion in loans for two million customers. Prosper Marketplace is backed by leading investors including Francisco Partners, Institutional Venture Partners, Third Point, and Jefferies.

Marchesi manages a team of 30 and a $50 million marketing budget at Prosper. Throughout her career, she has managed teams as small as five and as large as thousands, and marketing budgets from $20 million to hundreds of million dollars.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Marchesi that emerged in our discussion.

Be open to where your path takes you
Marketing can lead to many other things
Know the numbers and how your work impacts them
Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you
Respect people’s lives outside of work
What are YOU going to do about it?
Passion and curiosity fuel the best work

Discussed in this episode

Get a Quick Start AI Productivity Kit when you apply for your free three-month scholarship to the AI Guild (https://join.meclabsai.com/) – courtesy of MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company.

Marketing Career: How to become an indispensable asset to your company (even in a bad economy) (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/marketing-career)

The Data Pattern Analysis: 3 ways to turn info into insight (https://marketingexperiments.com/digital-analytics/episode-2-using-data-as-a-force-for-the-good)

Enterprise Solutions Marketing: You can make a big career, and still stay human (podcast episode #99) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/enterprise)

Get more episodes

This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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You can’t do everything. So you essentially have to make some ‘bets,’ for lack of a better word. What is going to have the biggest impact with your audience?

Focus your energy and budget there, to make the biggest splash you can.

OK, that’s a boring way to say it. So I like how my next guest worded it in his podcast guest application – ‘If you're gonna be a bear, be a Grizzly.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from throughout his career, I sat down with Clinton Bonner, Vice President of Marketing, Launch by NTT Data (https://launch.nttdata.com/).

Launch by NTT Data is owned by NTT, a publicly traded company. It most recently reported annual revenue of over 13 trillion Yen, roughly equal to $85 billion at current exchange rates.

Bonner manages a team of 10 and a $5 million to $10 million marketing budget.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing:

Empower your team with top designers
Think, build, and scale like a product owner
If you're gonna be a bear, be a Grizzly
Trust great creative people
Don’t be afraid to let the deep work be the star

Discussed in this episode

Get a Scenario Analysis with this command in MeclabsAI.com (it's free to get started):

/SNA analyze [specific scenario] for conversion rate impacts and suggest strategies

MeclabsAI is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa

Marketing 101: What is a Design Brief? (with 2 examples) (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/design-2/marketing-101-what-is-a-design-brief-with-2-examples/)

Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product)

Enterprise Solutions Marketing: You can make a big career, and still stay human (podcast episode #99) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/enterprise)

B2B Marketing: Marketing shouldn't be about driving demand; it's about driving value (podcast episode #40) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B)

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This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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In the fast-paced world of marketing, precision can often be a double-edged sword. In our this episode, Kiara Kempski, Vice President of Global Consumer & Vendor Marketing at The Knot Worldwide (https://www.theknotww.com/), shares why sometimes ‘hand-grenade math’—a rough yet pragmatic approach—is more effective than chasing false precision.

I discussed forecasting, along with resilience, entertainment, and many other elements of a marketing career with her.

Intrigued by Kempski’s insights? Listen to the full episode now and subscribe to our newsletter for more marketing wisdom (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Think you have a story to share? Apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application).

The Knot was a public company traded on NASDAQ until 2018, when parent company XO Group merged with WeddingWire and to form a privately held company in a $933 million buyout deal. Today, The Knot Worldwide connects nearly 4 million couples with approximately 900,000 wedding professionals per year. It earned $450 million of revenue in 2023.

Kempski leads a team of 150 marketers.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Kempski that emerged in our discussion:

Find a business problem and recommend a solution.
Entertainment is powerful for brand building
Resilience is the key to success…and mental health
‘Hand-grenade math’ is good enough, don’t chase false precision (and everyone thinks they are a brand marketer)
Stay data informed, but lead with vision and strategy
Be purpose led
Never be complacent or stagnant – always keep learning

Discussed in this episode

There are 4 days left until the official launch of the full-featured MeclabsAI (parent organization of MarketingSherpa). Use it for free (until June 17th) at MeclabsAI.com

Entrepreneurial Resilience: Many of the day-to-day annoyances that inspired him to sell, he actually missed after he sold (podcast episode #78) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurial)

Female Entrepreneurship and Marketing: Having built a big community doesn't mean you will be able to monetize it (podcast episode #71) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurship)

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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How I Made It In Marketing is not about marketing.

Not really.

It’s about marketers. And the funny thing about marketers is that we’re not just marketers, we’re also human beings. So to succeed as marketers, we also have to be successful humans.

Which is why I always love a lesson like – ‘Balance ambition with well-being.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lessons and stories from throughout her career, I talked to Jordan Welby, Director of Marketing Ops at Cella by Randstad Digital (https://www.cellainc.com/).

Cella is owned by Randstad. Randstad is a publicly traded company that generated 25.4 billion euros in revenue in 2023.

Welby oversees operations for a marketing team of 11, including two direct reports.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Welby that emerged in our discussion.

Inconsistent branding dilutes the message
Successful mergers require integration and alignment around strategy, goals, and team structure
Launch campaigns based on data, not personal preference and assumptions
Balance ambition with well-being
Take someone under your wing
The true essence of being a marketer is the ability to inspire, empathize and ignite a spark

Discussed in this episode

Get a free 3-month full scholarship (https://join.meclabsai.com/) to the AI Guild and we’ll send you a Quick Start AI Productivity Kit (provided by MeclabsAI, parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Branding: 8 lessons to help you make the most effective brand decisions every day (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/branding-8-lessons-most-effective-brand-decisions-every-day)

Data-Driven Marketing: 7 examples of using data as a force for the good (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/using-data-as-a-force-for-the-good)

8 Mini Case Studies of Using Marketing as a Force for Positive Change in Our World While Getting Results for Your Company and Clients (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/8-case-studies-using-marketing-for-positive-change)

The Last Blog Post: How to succeed in an era of Transparent Marketing (https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting/last-blogpost-transparent-marketing)

Marketing Experimentation Strategy: Define and differentiate between experimentation and execution in marketing activities (podcast episode #93) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-experimentation)

Get more episodes

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I like to call it blandvertising. I’m sure you’ve read it and heard it before.

There are words. Lots of them. They fill a space – in an ad, on a landing page, in a press release, maybe even in a keynote presentation.

You’ve seen these words before if you’re in the target audience. Scalable. Leading. Agile. Enterprise-grade. Full-service. Data-driven. Cross-platform. Seamless.

They seem to say something, but you’re left walking away…not really understanding and certainly not believing anything at all.

I feel like my career is a battle against blandvertising. Which is why I loved this lesson in a recent podcast guest application – ‘marketing goes beyond buzzwords.’ Perhaps I found a fellow traveler on the journey.

So I sat down for an in-depth discussion with Marco Mueller, CMO, AVEVA (https://www.aveva.com/).

AVEVA was a public company until it was acquired by Schneider Electric last year. Schneider Electric is a public company and reported 36 billion euros in revenue in 2023.

Mueller has had up to 800 people reporting to him in his career. Right now, his team is 250, but he says this is the most exciting job he’s ever had.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Mueller that emerged in our discussion.

Leadership Is everywhere
Marketing goes beyond buzzwords
Trust is earned, not given
Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets
You can make a big career, and still stay human
Confidence is everything

Discussed in this episode

Innovation Leadership and Coaching: You should almost always do less than you think (podcast episode #46) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/innovation)

Customer-First Marketing Strategy: The highest of the five levels of marketing maturity (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2c-marketing-2/5-levels-marketing-maturity/)

Get more episodes

This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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“The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer.” That quote is from David Ben-Gurion.

And it reminds me of marketing. We’re in the digital age, or maybe we’ve crossed over into the AI age. Either way, we don’t have the long deadlines we had when I started my career writing print ads.

And that’s just the difficult. What about the impossible? Well, that is part of our stock and trade as marketers, right? We push, try new things, experiment, innovate – that which was impossible yesterday is our new campaign or new tool we built for the customer.

So let me drop another quote in here, this one from my next guest – “Embrace ‘riding the worm.’” That’s her way of saying, don’t be afraid to try something that seems virtually impossible. It takes resourcefulness and the ability to tame something seemingly uncontrollable.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Erika White, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Affirm (https://www.affirm.com/).

Affirm is a public company that trades on NASDAQ. It reported $1.588 billion in revenue in 2023. White oversees a team of 35 professionals driving all aspects of marketing and communications for the company including growth marketing, martech/ops, partner marketing, brand marketing, research, and public relations. She was a core member of the team leading the $12 billion IPO in early 2021.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from White that emerged in our discussion:

Embrace ‘riding the worm’
Don’t forget to laugh and help others do the same
Within teams, make ownership a feature not a bug
Energy and positivity are contagious
Always take the call
Direct feedback is a gift

Discussed in this episode

Customer-First Marketing Guide: 4 steps (with case studies) to build a customer-first marketing strategy (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/customer-first-marketing)

Just type /SNA into MeclabsAI (https://meclabsai.com/) and get conversion rate optimization ideas for your specific scenarios. It’s totally FREE to use, for now (Meclabs is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I’ve been watching the new Steve Martin documentary, and it includes a clip of him accepting the Mark Twain Prize.

He calls it “The only significant American award for comedy…except for money.”

It reminded me of our own industry, but in a different way. We have many awards for creativity, and I am a creative person so I love them, but ultimately this art we do is a business art. And the ultimate measure of success is often monetary.

So when I saw this lesson in a podcast guest application – ‘make people money’ – I wanted to dive deeper.

To hear the story behind that lesson – why he left another job function to join the marketing department – along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Brad Gillespie, GM of Cvent Consulting, Cvent (https://www.cvent.com/).

Cvent was a public company, until it was acquired by Blackstone for $4.6 billion last year.

Gillespie estimates that over his 20 years in marketing his campaigns have influenced $1 billion in revenue.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Gillespie that emerged in our discussion.

Top-down vs. bottoms-up
Marketing's number is the sales' number
Marketing's job is to help the product win
Make people money
Be the cause
Get it done. Do it right.

Discussed in this episode

Marketing Research Chart: What information do marketers ask for on list registration forms? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/information-list-registration-forms)

Marketing Career: How to become an indispensable asset to your company (even in a bad economy) (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/marketing-career)

Get even more ideas by pasting the URL for this episode into the Analysts – Video Transcript expert assistant in MeclabsAI (https://meclabsai.com/). It’s totally FREE to use (for now). (Meclabs is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Wherever you are in your career today, you are not necessarily stuck there. I’ve heard time again from guests on How I Made It In Marketing about how they’ve been able to make dramatic, perhaps unlikely career shifts.

On the flip side, if you are a hiring manager, do not pigeonhole potential recruits based only on their current experience.

For as my latest guest puts it, ‘look past the CV.’ Hear the story behind how he learned that lesson in his career, along with many more lesson-filled stories, from Tomer Zuker, VP of Marketing, D-ID (https://www.d-id.com/).

D-ID has raised $47 million overall, including $25 million in a Series B round of funding led by Macquarie Capital two years ago. Zuker manages a team of 10 marketers, in addition to freelancers and agencies.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Zuker that emerged in our discussion.

Look past the CV
Delegate
Understand the rules of the game and set your own boundaries according to your values
Time is your most precious asset
Without clear and identifiable goals, you don’t know if you are effective, improving, or contributing
Networking is a talent and skill

Discussed in this episode

Copywriting for Marketing Leaders: Why you should never delegate the marketing message (and how to get it right) (https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting-2/copywriting-for-marketing-leaders-dont-delegate-the-message)

Marketing Career: How to become an indispensable asset to your company (even in a bad economy) (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/marketing-career)

Marketing Research Chart: What are your peers' top email marketing goals? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/seo-campaigns-in-house)

Get even more ideas from this episode by using the Analysts – Video Transcript expert assistant in MeclabsAI (https://meclabsai.com/). It’s totally FREE to use, for now. (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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One of my favorite career analogies is the music video for No Rain, by Blind Melon.

There’s a girl in a honeybee costume, dancing around, and she’s so sad because no one seems to care or understand.

And then one day, she comes across this field filled with people in honeybee costumes hopping and leaping around. A look of elation crosses her face, and she joins them to dance her best dance.

Are marketing careers really that different? As my next guest puts it – ‘find the place where you thrive.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Tifenn Dano Kwan, CMO, Amplitude (https://amplitude.com/).

Amplitude is a public company traded on Nasdaq. Its annual recurring revenue in 2023 was $281 million, up 10% year-over-year. Dano Kwan manages a team of 60 and a budget of $30 million.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Dano Kwan that emerged in our discussion.

Lead with empathy
Find the place where you thrive
Become a natural collaborator
Branding shapes success for companies and leaders
Empowerment and accountability cultivate leadership at every level
Bridge Marketing and Product for collaborative growth

Discussed in this episode

Empathy Marketing: 3 examples of empathetic marketing in action (with results) https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/empathy-marketing)

How the Pandemic Inspired Brands to Rethink their Marketing Strategy: 3 quick case studies (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/pandemic-brands-rethink-marketing-strategy-case-studies)

Spontaneous Combustible Collaboration: Most important things in any company are people, people, people, market, and product (Podcast Episode #9) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/people-podcast)

Personal Development in Career: Step out of your comfort zone (podcast episode #73) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/personal-development)

Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you)

Get even more ideas from this episode by using the Analysts – Video Transcript expert assistant in MECLABS AI (https://meclabsai.com/). It’s totally FREE to use (for now). (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Whatever it is you’re working on and struggling with, don’t pivot too soon. Make sure you give it enough time to work.

For as this episode’s guest explains – resilience pays out.

Frank Spitzer, CEO, Pelecanus, shares the story of how he grew his company’s YouTube channel from zero to 100,000 subscribes, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

Pelecanus has $250,000 in annual revenue. Spitzer manages a team of four employees, along with four freelancers and interns.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Spitzer that emerged in our discussion.

Taking responsibility leads to rewards
Resilience Pays Out: From zero to 112,000 subscribers
Embracing honesty can lead to deeper connections, personal growth, and inner peace
Dedication shapes an entrepreneurial journey
To Achieve Success: Hard work trumps natural talent
A good leader stands up for their team

Discussed in this episode

Get even more ideas from this episode by using the Analysts – Video Transcript expert assistant in MECLABS AI (https://meclabsai.com/). It’s totally FREE to use (for now). (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Female Entrepreneurship and Marketing: Having built a big community doesn't mean you will be able to monetize it (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurship)

PR, Writing, and Marketing Agency Corporate Culture: Think big (podcast episode #49) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/PR)

Marketing Leadership: Aligning the entire team around the unifying vision is an integral part of project management (https://marketingexperiments.com/leadership/aligning-team-around-unifying-vision)

Dive deeper into the minds of marketing mavens with more episodes of 'How I Made It In Marketing.' (https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast) Your next big idea awaits.

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Coders are rewarded for writing new features, not for making their code as efficient as possible, Chirstopher Mims recently reported in The Wall Street Journal. According to the article, bloated software raises many risks, and costs the US alone $2.41 trillion due to cybersecurity issues, operational failures, and other problems.

It would be easy for me to sit here and point the finger at software developers, but are marketers any better? As we focus on getting campaigns out the door, new websites up, and hitting our numbers, what do we sacrifice?

Which is why I love this lesson from a recent podcast guest application – ‘Streamline processes to enable efficiency, smooth operations and get rapid results.’ Not shiny and exciting like new marketing tactics perhaps, but essential for a well-run organization.

So I invited that applicant – Tom Amitay, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, Entail (https://entail.ai/) – on How I Made It In Marketing to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Amitay that emerged in our discussion.

Define and differentiate between experimentation and execution in marketing activities
Prioritize talent over experience when recruiting
Provide talented yet inexperienced people with frequent, short training sessions and support as they tackle new challenges
Capitalize on opportunities when they present themselves, even if you don't fully understand their potential value at first
Streamline processes to enable efficiency, smooth operations and get rapid results
Combine platform expertise with consultative service that builds client trust

Discussed in this episode

Get even more ideas from this episode by using the Transcript Tutor expert assistant in MECLABS AI (https://meclabsai.com/). It’s totally FREE to use (for now). MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa.

Leadership Development: Network every day (podcast episode #72) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/leadership-development)

The Invisible $1.52 Trillion Problem: Clunky Old Software Everwhere (https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/the-invisible-1-52-trillion-problem-clunky-old-software-f5cbba27)

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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We as marketers, we’re the ones that make the brand promise to potential customers.

So it is our job to make sure our companies actually come through on that promise, are consistent with that promise. We are the defenders of the brand.

I love a lesson from my next guest – don't be afraid to say ‘no’ if it serves the brand.

Which of course sounds good in theory but can be incredibly hard in practice. To get underneath that lesson and hear the story behind it, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I sat down with Hilary Young, Brand Strategist, Hilary Young Creative (https://www.hilaryyoungcreative.com/).

Young runs a consultancy with six figures in revenue and seven contractors.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Young that emerged in our discussion.

Don't focus on failure, keep moving towards success
Don't be afraid to say ‘no’ if it serves the brand
Change can be scary, but you have to trust the process
Operate without ego
Integrity over compromise in brand vision
Branding affects more than just the bottom line, it affects people’s lives

Discussed in this episodeHere’s a prompt you can try in MECLABS AI (https://meclabsai.com/). It’s totally FREE to use, for now. (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

‘Review my competitors' value propositions and let me know any opportunities for messaging exclusivity for my brand . Put the information in a table.’

NFTs For Brands: It’s OK to say no, always be a student, don’t resist change (podcast episode #26) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/NFTs-for-brands)

Calling All Writers and Marketers: Write the most effective copy for this Consumer Reports email and win a MarketingSherpa Summit package (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/summit-2016-copywriting-contest)

The De-Branding Campaign: When customers make fun of your new product launch (podcast episode #2) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/debranding)

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Here’s something I get to do as a content writer that I never got to do as a copywriter – I sign my name to my work, and that gets displayed publicly.

I’d like to think I was a conscientious writer before, but this makes me 10 times more so. And is a constant reminder that everything needs to be a certain level of awesome – no filler copy.

Even when you don’t sign your name to something, it’s difficult, that commitment to always striving to make something the best it can be – whether that’s an ad or the next rung in your career.

But as our next guest reminds us – don't do something for the sake of ticking a box.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Nik Maricic, Marketing Director, Asia Pacific, Ria Money Transfer (https://www.riamoneytransfer.com/).

RIA Money Transfer is owned by Euronet Worldwide, which is publicly traded on NASDAQ. Euronet reported $3.668 billion in revenue for 2023. It has the largest direct bank deposit network in the world.

Maricic built a team of 10.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Maricic that emerged in our discussion:

Effective communication plays a vital role in achieving success
Creativity takes center stage in the realm of marketing
Adaptability also proves to be a critical trait
Don't do something for the sake of ticking a box
Win/Win is the concept of not being your way or my way; its a better way, a higher way
Adaptability is pivotal, in all facets of the term

Discussed in this episode

MECLABS AI (https://meclabsai.com/) has a guided headline writing path to write a powerful headline based on your guidance. It’s totally FREE (for now).

How I Made It In Marketing (https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

Artificial Intelligence Demo: A look at the output from an AI-powered podcast assistant service (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/content-marketing-2/ai-demo/)

Marketing and Brand: Embrace healthy friction (podcast episode #48) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-and-brand)

How marketers fixed 4 common marketing blind spots (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-blind-spot-case-studies)

Leading Through Learning: Chief Growth Officer’s innovative approach to marketing leadership (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/leading)

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Rebranding.

We use that term for companies. But what about for you?

What is your current value proposition, and what would you like it to be…no matter where you are in your career?

Because as my next guest has learned – it’s never too late to reinvent yourself.

Here to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, is Carlos Cantú, CMO, Freepik (https://www.freepik.com/).

Freepik is owned by EQT, a public company that trades on Nasdaq Stockholm. It reported 2.131 billion Euros of revenue in 2023, or about 2.41 billion US dollars. Cantú manages a marketing team of 45 people.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Cantú that emerged in our discussion.

It’s never too late to reinvent yourself
You don’t need to know everything to do the job
Diverse teams are more challenging in the short term but worth it in the long run
Clarity and focus are keys to a corporate turnaround
Embrace discomfort to harness creativity
Balance data with intuition for the full story
Discussed in this episode

Leading Through Learning: Chief Growth Officer’s innovative approach to marketing leadership (podcast episode #79) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/leading)

Marketing & Content in Gaming/Esports: Influencers of all sizes can drive product adoption (podcast episode #55) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-and-content)

Innovation Leadership and Coaching: You should almost always do less than you think (podcast episode #46) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/innovation)

Digital Marketing: Be passionate about the challenge you are trying to solve and not stubborn about the product solution (podcast episode #59) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/digital)

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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You know too much. You know too much.

No this isn’t dialogue from a spy movie, I mean in your role as a marketer. You know too much about your product or service or whatever you’re asking your customer to do.

And it makes it hard for you to see your advertising and your conversion funnel through the customer’s eyes.

Or as my next guest put it in her podcast guest application – Be mindful of the ‘curse of knowledge’ (which could itself be a good name for a mystery movie).

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Purna Virji, Principal Consultant of Content Solutions at LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/), and author of the book ‘High-Impact Content Marketing.’ (https://www.koganpage.com/marketing-communications/high-impact-content-marketing-9781398608436)

LinkedIn recently crossed 1 billion users. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, which recently surpassed a $3 trillion market value. Virji functionally manages a cross-functional, global team of 16.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Virji that emerged in our discussion.

Be mindful of the ‘curse of knowledge’
Have a measurement plan in place before even creating content
Focusing on inclusion is of absolute, critical importance
The best performing marketing can come from aligning with Sales folks
Make the case for resources on a project to get leadership buy in
If someone sends the elevator down for you, then it is your responsibility to send that elevator back down and lift others

Discussed in this episode

MECLABS AI (https://meclabsai.com/) now has expert assistants – copywriter, project planner, marketing professor, social media pro, and email assistant. It’s totally FREE to use (for now).

Financial Services Marketing: Don’t fall for Wile E. Coyote marketing (podcast episode #57) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/financial)

MECLABS Institute (https://meclabs.com/)

How to Get Buy-in for Your Projects, Plans and Proposals From the First Pitch to Successful Completion (plus free template) (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/free-template-to-get-buy-in-for-your-projects)

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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If a podcast plays in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Bit of a cheeky thought experiment, I’ll admit, but here’s one thing I’ve noticed – we marketers don’t always create content for an audience, sometimes the audience is an afterthought.

We’re too focused on an algorithm. Or a lead generation goal. Or a calendar. Or a process.

So I love this lesson from a podcast quest application – ‘there is no content without an audience.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Ashley Levesque, Vice President of Marketing, Banzai (https://www.banzai.io/).

Banzai is a public company traded on NASDAQ and currently valued at $100 million. Levesque is currently a team of one, but she manages five functions in this newly public company.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Levesque that emerged in our discussion.

Data is more compelling than anecdote
There is no content without an audience
Overhiring is a real thing
Say ‘yes’ before you’re ready
The higher up you go, your priority becomes the people
There are three things to solve for in times of unmet expectations

Related content discussed in this episode

MeclabsAI.com now has expert assistants – copywriter, project planner, marketing professor, and social media pro. It’s totally FREE to use, you don’t even have to register (for now). MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa.

The Last Blog Post: How to succeed in an era of Transparent Marketing (https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting/last-blogpost-transparent-marketing)

Growth Marketing: Give a choice of "yes" or “yes” (podcast episode #37) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/growth)

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This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Think about the last time you read a piece of content that truly resonated with you. It could have been a news article, a blog post, or even a social media update. Now, consider what made that content impactful. Was it the way it was written, the story it told, or how it connected with your experiences? This brings me to a crucial aspect of marketing – the art of storytelling and the responsibility that comes with it.

In my career, I've seen how powerful content can shape perceptions and influence decisions. It's not just about putting words on a page and filling your site with content to hopefully appease Google’s relentless algorithm; it's about crafting narratives that engage, inform, inspire…and truly serve an audience.

And who better to learn this from than someone who has practiced the art of storytelling in both journalism and marketing?

So I sat down with Nohar Zmora, SVP of Brand and Strategic Marketing, Kaltura (https://kaltura.com/).

Kaltura is a public company with 750 employees that trades on NASDAQ and had $168.8 million in revenue in 2022.

Zmora manages a team of 25 in the company’s 40-person marketing department, and works “super, super closely” with her “better half,” Roi Kaufman, VP Growth, Kaltura.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Zmora that emerged in our discussion.

Don’t just make ‘content,’ take a journalistic perspective and produce impactful material
Balance long-term brand vision with short-term performance
Learn how a team ‘breathes,’ evolves, and adapts
Storytelling has magic and beauty
Actively listen while collaborating with the business and Sales to create effective marketing strategies
Have continuous and profound dialogues with stakeholders to achieve success

Related content discussed in this episode

MECLABS AI (https://meclabsai.com/) now has expert assistants – copywriter, project planner, marketing professor, and social media pro. It’s totally FREE to use, you don’t even have to register (for now).

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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“We can say that. Sure we can say that.”

Oh, I do not like having to utter this phrase in meetings. Because it’s not what you can say, it’s what you should say.

I’ve heard so many times ‘we can say that in an ad.’ Or ‘we can write a press release about this.’ Oh, the hubris in that statement.

Because we get lulled into false confidence in the four walls of our offices, when we think we can make a payment, and put whatever we want into ads or press releases or on websites.

Sure, I guess technically you can. You can write those words down. It’s not illegal. No one will stop you. Media companies and ad networks will glad take your money for that placement. But should you?

Because the ultimate decider is the customer. So no matter what you pay to say, no matter what you can say, the customer will decide whether you should say it.

Which is why I loved this lesson from a podcast guest application – ‘Never underestimate the power of your customer.’ It doesn’t matter if you have a fancy title or massive media budget, the customer has far more power than you.

I talked to Erika Lovegreen, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, ICUC (https://icuc.social/) (a Dentsu agency), to hear that story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

ICUC is a Dentsu agency with a team of 450. Dentsu is a public company that reported 1.117 trillion yen in annual revenue in 2022, or about 8.59 billion dollars.

Lovegreen managed a team of 30 when she ran the strategy team. Now, she runs marketing for ICUC and overseas a team of six, along with a variety of partners and contractors.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Lovegreen that emerged in our discussion.

Be comfortable stepping into new industries to gain the necessary experience
If leading a team, value being patient and hiring the right people
Never underestimate the power of your customer
You need to quickly serve the customer to create a great experience
Value productivity over perfection
Pay attention and look for trends

Related content discussed in this episodeMeclabsAI.com

Artificial Intelligence Demo: A look at the output from an AI-powered podcast assistant service (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/content-marketing-2/ai-demo/)

Value Proposition: Marketing examples for each of the 4 essential levels of value prop (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/value-proposition-4-essential-levels-of-value-prop)

Social Media Marketing: Can you compete with your customer’s mom? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/social-networking-evangelism-community/social-media-marketing-can-you-compete-with-your-customer%E2%80%99s-mom/)

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I remember sitting next to someone at a conference, eating lunch, making small talk. And it came up that his brand had no competition.

And I said, ‘wow, what a dream position to be in.’ I was used to working with a competitive sales office, hyper-focused on differentiating from competitors. You know, us vs. them.

He said, ‘No, no, no. It’s not a dream position, it’s horrible. When you have competition, you know you’re going to get into a set amount of RFPs or bakeoffs, and win a certain percentage of them. When you have competition there is a line item in the budget to choose some vendor, you’ll get a certain percentage of those. We need to start from ground zero and tell them why they should even care about this category.’

Which is why I loved a lesson I read in a recent podcast guest application – creativity matters for category of one. I talked to Gary Stein, CMO, Virtuo (https://www.virtuo.com/), to learn the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

Virtuo has raised C$7 million (in Canadian dollars) to date, with the latest round led by ATB Private Equity and Telus Ventures.

Stein manages a team of ten, including agencies. He manages them remotely and he says they're a team that punch above their weight.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Stein that emerged in our discussion.

Creativity matters for category of one
Tell a compelling story that demonstrates the product
Get your data sorted
Always ask ‘what can we do with this’
Every click is a wish
Think like a challenger

Related content discussed in this episode

MeclabsAI.com can write your headlines, value prop, competitive analysis, and more – based on 10,000 marketing experiments. Totally FREE, you don’t even have to register (for now).

Data Pattern Analysis: Learn from a coaching session with Flint McGlaughlin (https://marketingexperiments.com/digital-analytics/data-pattern-analysis-coaching-session)

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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When I was president of my homeowner’s association, it changed my walk through the neighborhood.

Before I was on the board, it was – hey, how you doing, talk about sports, the weather, whatever. But once I was on the board it became – I have an idea, we should have this, this should change, etc.

And I’d always say – ‘Great, make it happen. We’re an all-volunteer organization, if you want it to happen, make it happen.’ The conversion rate on that was maybe 2%.

Marketing organizations and businesses are really no different. Everyone has ideas. Yet precious few have the tenacity and fortitude to make them happen.

Which is why I loved a lesson from a recent podcast guest application – ‘Ideas are easy. Making is the hard part.’

Here to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, is John Reid, CMO, Aidentified (https://www.aidentified.com/).

Aidentified has raised $10 million in Series A financing for its artificial-intelligence-based platform.

The company has 40 employees, and John manages a team of five.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Here are some lessons from Reid that emerged in our discussion:

The key to turning great ideas into successful campaigns…you need a ‘door kicker’ like Hannah.
If you don’t ‘hold the line,’ you won’t create great marketing
Ideas are easy. Making is the hard part.
Be easy to root for
Make a decision
Marketing’s not going anywhere
Related content discussed in this episode

Related content discussed in this episode
Get ideas for using AI to enhance your marketing campaigns. Begin your free trial to the AI Guild at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Creative Marketing: Does it all make sense? (Podcast Episode #19) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative)

What is B2B?: Discovering what the customer wants by understanding your Buyer’s Funnel (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2b-marketing/what-is-b2b/)

Entrepreneurial Resilience: Many of the day-to-day annoyances that inspired him to sell, he actually missed after he sold (podcast episode #78) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurial)

Informed Dissent: The best marketing campaigns come from the best ideas (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/online-marketing/marketing-dissent-campaigns/)

Marketing Chart: The importance of making the right promise with your marketing (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/make-the-right-promise)

Innovative Marketing Leadership: It is okay to think outside the box but make sure you don't create surprises (podcast episode #82) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/innovative)

B2B Marketing: Marketing shouldn't be about driving demand; it's about driving value (podcast episode #40) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B)

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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I started my career as a copywriter, and I learned a key part of my value to any client or any employer was not just the way I shaped words or filled a block with text – it was to advocate for the customer. Take their viewpoint.

To this end, being an ‘order taker’ was not going to help me create great copy. Or great marketing. I had to get underneath any requests or feedback I received from a client, to understand what they were really getting at, and hypothesize how the audience might react.

So I love this lesson from my latest guest – ‘Figure out the problem.’ A lesson she learned in her first job as an advertising account executive, and still uses to this day as a brand-side marketing leader.

To hear how she learned that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from her career journey, I spoke with Lynn McClouchic, Director of Brand, Marketing and Business Development, CannonDesign (https://www.cannondesign.com/).

CannonDesign is the eight biggest architecture firm in the country, according to Architectural Record, and is the #2 most innovative design firm in North America according to Fast Company.

McClouchic oversees a team of 60 creative writers, graphic designers, digital marketers, business developers, strategists, videographers, and photographers.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from McClouchic that emerged in our discussion:

Obstacles are opportunities to make things happen
It’s about why vs. why not
Don’t stay in your lane
Figure out the problem
Support is everything
Dismissing an idea makes it more powerful

Related content discussed in this episode

Get proactive about using AI in your marketing. Begin your free trial to the AI Guild at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product)

Healthcare IT Marketing: Branding a new service line within Stericycle, getting ONC certification, finding your joy, & more (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/healthcare)

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Any industry, and our marketing industry is no exception, has a pack mentality. We say certain buzzwords and share certain ideas.

But we can hear them ad nauseam, to the point where they just wash over us and don’t really mean anything. We nod in agreement at a networking event with a drink in our hand, but do we actually do anything about it the next day?

Not really. We’re back to going through the motions executing a campaign, buried in email and Slack notifications.

Here’s one such commonly heard phrase – ‘put yourself in the customer’s shoes.’ How many times have you heard that?

Now, how many times have you really done it?

Well, this episode’s guest has. She literally got out of the office, put on the customers’ shoes – or in this case, steel-toed boots – and experienced what her customers’ day is really like.

I talked to Sarah Hodges, CMO, Procore Technologies (https://www.procore.com/), about that experience, along with many more lessons from her career.

Procore Technologies is a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It reported $720 million in revenue in 2022, an increase of 40% year-over-year. More than $1 trillion in construction volume has run on its construction management software platform.

Hodges manages a team of 300 people.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Hodges that emerged in our discussion:

It is okay to think outside the box but make sure you don't create surprises!
To grow as a marketing leader, make the leap to new, unfamiliar, even uncomfortable roles
You have to walk in your customer's shoes.... LITERALLY.
Set and declare your expectations
Coach and simply ask questions, don’t dictate
Believe in yourself

Related content discussed in this episode

Create innovative marketing using AI technology paired with MECLABS consumer psychology. Get a free trial to the AI Guild at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Transparent Marketing: How to make your product claims credible … not incredible (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/transparent-credible-product-claims)

The Hidden Upside of the COVID-19 Crisis for Brands and Marketers: 10 opportunities (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/other/hidden-upside-COVID-crisis-brands-marketers-10-opportunities)

Consumer Financial Services Marketing: Your customer is your most important stakeholder (podcast episode #39) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/consumer)

Marketing 101: What is influencer marketing? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/social-media-marketing-2/marketing-101-what-is-influencer-marketing/)

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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In 1957, Vance Packard wrote a book called ‘The Hidden Persuaders,’ about the mysterious arts of advertising, and how advertising agencies research ways to manipulate people.

I don’t know about you in your career, but I don’t want to be that guy. The way I see it, companies create value. And in a capitalist society of choice, they need to communicate that value to the ideal customer in a way that helps the customer perceive it.

So when I read a lesson like ‘authenticity is fundamental’ in a podcast guest application – with a real advertising story behind it – it resonates with me.

That lesson comes from Tom Ghiden, Managing Director, JOAN London (https://www.joancreative.com/), and he joined me on How I Made It In Marketing to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

JOAN Creative was named Small Agency of the Year by Adweek, at which point the magazine reported JOAN had $20 million in projected revenue for 2022 – an 80% year-over-year increase. The agency has been in business since 2016 with the New York office, and Ghiden opened the London office six months ago.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Ghiden that emerged in our discussion:

Authenticity is fundamental
Keeping a brand modern helps to drive longevity.
All sorts of brands can benefit from humor
Lessons (with stories) from people he collaborated with
Trust in failure
How to embrace empathy and authenticity in leadership – set boundaries and stick to them
Humanity and transparency are fundamental in creative relationships

Related content discussed in this episode
Create advertising messages based on the results of 10,000 marketing experiments with MECLABS AI. Get a free trial to MECLABS AI and the AI Guild at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

An Effective Value Proposition: What it is, why it is so important to business and marketing success, and how to use it (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/value-proposition-business-marketing%20success)

World-Class Consumer & Retail Brands: What right do we have as a brand to be in that business? (Podcast Episode #15) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/consumer-retail-brands)

Innovation Leadership and Coaching: You should almost always do less than you think (podcast episode #46) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/innovation)

Creative Marketing: Does it all make sense? (Podcast Episode #19) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative)

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Let me confess something to you right now — I have my share of weaknesses.

I’m sure you’re not shocked to hear that. We all do, right?

But I don’t go ‘all in’ on improving them. Instead, I focus on my strengths. I learned this lesson from John Maxwell long ago.

He said, “We’re taught to be well-rounded and to improve our weaknesses. However, in many arenas of life, we naturally perform poorly. Even with hard work, we will never become better than average in them. The reality is that people don’t pay for average. No one gets excited to dine out at an average restaurant, to spend two hours watching an average movie, or to hire someone with average abilities.”

I’ve internalized that and live that in my career. So I was excited when I saw the podcast guest application from my latest guest, and wanted to talk to this kindred spirit to learn how he has taken this approach in his – quite successful – career.

But with all due respect to Maxwell, I like how my latest guest worded it even better – “focus on your left foot.” To learn the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I spoke with Asim Zaheer, Chief Marketing Officer, Nasuni (https://www.nasuni.com/).

Since its founding, Nasuni has raised $169 million, with the latest funding round a $25 million investment in which all previous investors participated, including Goldman Sachs, Telstra Ventures, and Northbridge Venture Partners.

Nasuni is above $100 million in annual recurring revenue and Zaheer manages a marketing budget of approximately 10% of that revenue.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Zaheer that emerged in our discussion:

Focus on your left foot
Be an influencer (and I don’t mean Instagram)
Be like Randy (research and rehearse your presentations)
Team above self

Related content discussed in this episode

Advance your career by building your artificial intelligence skills. Get a free trial to the AI Guild at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

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This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Here’s one thing I love about a career in marketing. I’ve gotten the opportunity to learn the inner workings of so many other industries I would have never been exposed to if I didn’t have to tell their story.

So I learned that my skill isn’t necessarily to know everything about every industry. But it’s to be able to learn quickly, work with subject matter experts to get the knowledge out of their head, and clearly communicate it to the ideal customer.

Or as our latest guest puts it – “You don’t have to know it to lead it.”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I spoke with Christine Healy, Chief Growth Officer, Seniorly (https://www.seniorly.com/).

Seniorly has raised $6.5M in Series A funding. Healy and her team have attracted 5 million visitors per year to the site.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Healy that emerged in our discussion:

Believe in people
Embrace the crisis
Say ‘yes, and’
You don’t have to know it to lead it
The best outcomes are created when teamwork is at the forefront
Present situations in a “win-win” light
Power comes from attitude, attention, and presence
No role is high enough to be disconnected from day-to-day activities and initiatives

Related content discussed in this episode

Get access to the Prompt Kit with your FREE trial to the AI Guild:
✅Checklist for optimizing your prompts
📑Series of templates for marketing prompts
💪Series of followup prompts that produce stronger answers
🔥Elements of a powerful prompt
🌐'Switches' that tap into cultural concepts
🛠️Custom instructions for modifying GPT4 Plus
🗃️Prompt database
Begin your FREE trial at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa)How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

Transparent Marketing: How to earn the trust of a skeptical consumer (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/transparent-marketing)

Transparent Marketing: How to make your product claims credible … not incredible (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/transparent-credible-product-claims)

Improve your Marketing Collateral with a Proven Methodology (https://meclabs.com/about/heuristic)

The Psychology of Blue Jeans: What marketers can learn from 150 years of Levi Strauss customer letters – Podcast Episode #4 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-psychology)

Customer Engagement: Marketing case studies from Coors Light, a professional soccer team, and a private jet charter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/customer-engagement)

Marketing Operations: Process is the foundation for success (podcast episode #58) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-operations)

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Running a marketing department or agency can feel a bit like being in that Jay-Z song.

And I gotta admit, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by 99 problems that come my way.

So I appreciate the ray of sunshine who is my next guest, who reminds us that ‘Solving problems for people is a privilege, not a burden.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Rich Davis, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, ThinkSpark (https://thinksparkinc.com/).

In five years, ThinkSpark has grown its gross revenue from $600,000 to a projected $6 million for 2023. Davis leads a team of 15 at ThinksSpark.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Davis that emerged in our discussion:

Many of the day-to-day annoyances that inspired him to sell, he actually missed after he sold
Most clients would rather have passion vs perfection
Don’t look at delegating as a task
Be true to your brand
Let others talk first. Always let them finish their thoughts. Leadership can be more about listening than talking.
Solving problems for people is a privilege, not a burden
You can’t please everyone

Related content discussed in this episode

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Copywriting and Value Proposition: Unleashing the power of compelling copy (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/copywriting/copywriting/)

Servant Leadership in Marketing: We are only as good as how we handle humbling moments (podcast episode #54) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/servant-leadership)

“Authenticity” vs. “Professionalism”: Should you be your authentic self in your brand’s content and marketing? Or must you adhere to certain strictures considered “professional” in your industry? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/authenticity)

Marketing Leadership: Embracing questions and overcoming pretense (podcast episode #74) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-leadership-podcast)

Customer Service Chart: How likely customers are to let your brand fix its mistakes (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/how-likely-customers-let-brand-fix-mistakes)

Customer Loyalty Chart: Just how big of an effect does customer satisfaction have on loyalty? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/loyalty-effect-customer-satisfaction)

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In every survey we conducted for benchmark reports, one challenge consistently topped the list among marketers – the size of the marketing budget.

I mean, who could argue. We would all want a bigger budget, right?

And while a hefty budget is a dream for many, this episode’s guest is a testament to the idea that constraints can actually be a catalyst for innovation and creativity.

I spoke with Jesse Keyser (https://www.facebook.com/JesseKeyserEntrepreneur), a franchisee of Sports Clips, Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning, and Ideal Image, and Chair of the Multi-unit Franchising Conference.

Keyser is co-owner of 50 locations across the U.S., with a combined $10 million in annual revenue.

He manages a team of 350 and keeps their marketing budget between four and seven percent of revenue for each location.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Keyser that emerged in our discussion:

Constraints often pave the way for innovation and creativity
A strategic and unconventional launch can set the stage for ongoing business success
A grand opening is not just an event; it's a statement of intent
Localized marketing (when done right) can outperform broader, generic campaigns
Teaming up with trusted allies can magnify potential and outcomes
Networking with industry experts can offer a fresh perspective and open doors to opportunities
Engaging directly with decision-makers can shape policies that benefit the entire business community

Related content discussed in this episode

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Creative Inspiration: 9 mini case studies of marketing campaigns and business ideas sparked by unorthodox inspiration (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/9-mini-case-studies-of-creative-marketing)

Hospitality Marketing: Have a Gumby attitude to any launch (Podcast Episode #20) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/hospitality)

Nonprofit Marketing: What you can learn from B2B and consumer marketing (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/non-profit-fundraising/learn-from-b2b-and-b2c-2/)

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This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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You’re reading this podcast description right now. But are you really paying attention? I mean, really tuned in?

Or are you half reading and half thinking of your upcoming deadlines, a campaign that underperformed, and a plethora of other tasks, goals, and concerns?

Actually being in the moment – and wringing the most we can get out of it – is so difficult during these modern times.

Which is why I love a lesson in the podcast guest application for this episode’s guest, “Stop running to stand still.”

Sometimes we’ve got to get step off that treadmill and focus on being where we are.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Justine Greenwald, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Managing Director, Mosaic (https://www.mosaic.com/).

Mosaic is an Acosta Group Agency. Privately held Acosta Group is 96 years old and serves 2,500 clients, including 60 billion-dollar brands.

As Chief Creative Officer, Greenwald overseas the strategy, creative, and design departments – 65 people across North America.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Greenwald that emerged in our discussion:

Award-winning work takes a lot of work
If you build it, they will come
Find fantastic mentors
Do good by the work and do good by your people
Stop running to stand still
Disconnect to create concepts that will connect

Related content discussed in this episodeGet the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Customer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (podcast episode #32) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-experience)

The Conversion Heuristic Analysis: Overcoming the prospect’s perception gap (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/episode-3-conversion-heuristic-analysis)

Talking at Your Customers vs. Talking to Your Customers (https://marketingexperiments.com/email-marketing/talking-at-customers-vs-talking-to)

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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How many times have you read a company’s marketing and thought – they’re not talking to a customer; they’re talking to themselves.

This is especially prevalent in B2B. I’ve seen this on homepages, landing pages, print ads, in press releases, and on and on.

I started my career as a copywriter and then worked in sales enablement. So I – it is tempting to write for the person signing your check.

But where the revenue for that check really comes from is the customer. Always write for the customer.

As our latest guest put it in his podcast guest application – ‘Outside-in messaging is the important factor for success.’

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Ralf Paschen, Chief Marketing Officer, xtype (https://www.xtype.io/).

The venture-backed startup just announced $10.8 million in growth funding. Paschen uses five to 10 artificial intelligence and automation tools to run his department.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Paschen that emerged in our discussion:

Outside-in messaging is the important factor for success
Trust and learn from others
Fail fast, fix fast, learn fast
Nothing counts more than the language of the customer
Use data to make informative decisions
Sell a vision by defining a strategy for the company

Related content discussed in this episodeGet the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Customer-First Marketing: Do you put your customers’ interests first? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/customer-centric-marketing-2/customer-interests-first/)

Customer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (podcast episode #32)

Data-Driven Marketing: 7 examples of using data as a force for the good

How I Made It In Marketing podcast, from MarketingSherpa

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Good marketing isn't just about catchy slogans or flashy ads; it's about understanding the human psyche. The psyche of our customers, yes, but our own as well.

So in this episode we’ll delve into a psychological concept called ‘action bias’ – this is the idea that we, as humans, often lean towards taking action, even when standing still might be the better choice.

Or as my latest guest aptly put it in his podcast guest application – Ask yourself, ‘what happens if I do nothing?’

To unpack that lesson, and discuss more insights from his career journey, I spoke with Jonathan Kaufman, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Sage Dental (https://mysagedental.com/).

Originally founded in 1997, Sage Dental has 100 affiliated practices, and it has a 98% three-year growth rate.

Kaufman manages a team of 60, including the new patient management team.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Kaufman that emerged in our discussion:

Everyone is faking it, no matter how smart you are, so it doesn't hurt to ask the question
Bigger isn't better. What is important, however, is doing the simple things as best you can.
If you don’t understand how metrics impact the overall business, you’re going to fail as a marketer
Ask yourself, ‘what happens if I do nothing?’
The relationship part and the art part of marketing and business is as important as the data and the financial metrics themselves
Tailor the experience to that audience

Related content discussed in this episode

The Prospect’s Perception Gap: How to bridge the gap between the results we want and the results we have (https://meclabs.com/education/Flint-prospects-perception-gap)

Evidence-based Marketing: Why you need more than just numbers to truly drive ROI (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/evidence-based-marketing)

Marketing Webinar Optimization: Five questions to ask yourself about webinars (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/b2b-webinars/)

Marketing and Brand: Embrace healthy friction (podcast episode #48) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-and-brand)

Subscribe to our podcast

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This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

This is from Viktor Frankl, in the book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning.’ He learned it in a very serious way, as a prisoner in Nazi concentrations camps.

But he was a psychiatrist, and he used his experience in the Holocaust to write that book, one of the ten most influential books of all time according to the Library of Congress, and help us all learn to live better lives.

Which includes better work lives as well. As a marketer it can feel like you’re in the eye of the storm, with so much happening to you. But as our next guest reminds us, even in the times that seem most challenging to us, “the only thing you can control is your attitude.”

That’s right, when things are out of control, you are still in control of something.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Regina DeMars, Director of Content Marketing and Strategy, FNBO (https://www.fnbo.com/).

FNBO is the First National Bank of Omaha, a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska. First opened in 1857, First National of Nebraska has $30 billion in assets and 5,000 employees.

DeMars manages a team of five people, both internal and external communications.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from DeMars that emerged in our discussion:

The only thing you can control is your attitude
Step out of your comfort zone
It’s so important to take time to build relationships with the people you work with – it builds trust in each other and team effectiveness.
Live a purpose-driven life
Learn how to be a good listener and be your authentic self
Lead by example rather than micro-managing

Related content discussed in this episode

Heuristic Cheat Sheet: 10 methods for improving your marketing (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/10-heuristic-cheat-sheet)

Team Building: Loyalty, relationships, pre-selling, and other keys to marketing management success (Podcast Episode #16) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/team-building)

Servant Leadership in Marketing: We are only as good as how we handle humbling moments (podcast episode #54) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/servant-leadership)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

This article was distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter. (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters) Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

That quote is from George Bernard Shaw, and hopefully is inspiration for anyone trying to make positive change in their organization.

I thought of that quote while reading a lesson in the podcast guest application for this episode’s guest – ‘change starts here.’

Different words, same sentiment. The status quo is tenacious. If you want change to happen, you need to be unreasonable. It needs to start with you.

To discuss the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Dan Garzia, Chief Marketing Officer, Provenance Blockchain Foundation (https://provenance.io/).

Provenance Blockchain Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports a public, open-source blockchain, used by 70 financial institutions, including fintechs, banks, and credit unions. More than $15 billion in financial asset transactions have been supported by Provenance Blockchain.

In his career, Garzia has managed teams as large as 80, up to 12 partners, and budgets as large as $110 million.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Garzia that emerged in our discussion:

Progress beats perfection
Make up for areas where you're not as strong
Celebrate the win
Network every day
Change starts here
Words matter

Related content discussed in this episode

Marketing Chart: How important customer-first marketing is to consumers (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/customer-first-marketing-importance)

The Low-Hanging Fruit: 11 specific examples of small marketing and communication changes that drove big results (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/customer-first-marketing-importance)

Optimization and A/B Testing: Why words matter (for more than just SEO) (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/optimization-and-testing-why-words-matter)

Subscribe to our podcast

This article is distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments working for you. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

It is hard to make this episode of How I Made It In Marketing and share it with you.

Because you are professional marketers and entrepreneurs, many of you know marketing, business, and content creation better than I ever will. So I could work on this forever just to make it better, bulletproof to criticism, dare I say… perfect.

Of course, then we wouldn’t be able to publish regularly. Instead of the other 70 episodes we’ve produced so far, there would only be this one.

Which brings up a great lesson I read from in a podcast guest application – “Done is better than perfect.”

A truism I know I’ve had to live with. It applies very well to my job, as someone who wants to create awesome content, yes, but also lives in the constant reality of deadlines.

In this episode, Cordula Pfluegl, Marketing Director, TNW (https://thenextweb.com/), shared the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

TNW, which stands for The Next Web, is mostly known for its annual tech conference hosted in Amsterdam but is also a media company writing about technology with 1 million monthly readers. TNW is a Financial Times company. I’m sure you’ve heard of the 130-year-old newspaper, and it probably stuck out to you if you ever saw it, as the pink newspaper. FT is owned by Nikkei, Inc., which reported 175.2 billion yen in sales last year.

For the lead-up-time to the conference, Pfluegl oversaw a team of 10 people, including the event-focused marketing coordinators and the company's brand team of designers and content creators. When marketing the annual TNW Conference, they created over 2.8 million organic impressions with user-generated content on LinkedIn alone, in the two weeks around the event.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Pfluegl that emerged in our discussion:

Working in various industries and for different brands/products (D2C/B2B) makes you a better and more versatile marketer overall.
Having built a big community doesn't mean you will be able to monetize it
Practice 'in-company' and 'across-team' learning together
Having a clear purpose will always guide the way
Market localization is important
Done is better than perfect

Related content discussed in this episode

6 Good (and 2 Bad) B2B and B2C Value Proposition Examples (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/6-good-2-bad-b2b-b2c-value-proposition-examples)

Launch and Learn: How marketers can keep up in a real-time world (https://marketingexperiments.com/social-marketing/real-time-marketing)

Pfluegl’s Substack (https://thisisjusthestart.substack.com/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

I wish I could just tell people what they should do. Whether it was people on my team who reported to me, potential customers, or even my own kids.

But that approach has a major flaw – they will resist. Heck, I would resist, too. It reminds me of a lyric from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, “The wisdom that the old can’t give away.”

So what can you do? I love how this episode’s guest put it in his podcast guest application, “It's not just about having the right answer, but about leading people along the journey to understand why that answer is the right one.”

Joining us in our latest episode to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, is Michael Freeman, VP of Marketing, Airbase (https://www.airbase.com/).

Airbase recently raised $60 million in mid-2021 in a Series B round of financing led by Menlo Ventures.

Freeman leads a team of 28 marketers, sales development reps, and revenue operations professionals.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Freeman that emerged in our discussion:

Continuous improvement/ABT (always be testing) over one-off campaigns
Harness technology to enhance customer experience
Never forget that we are all people
The "how" of execution is just as important as the "what"
It's not just about having the right answer, but about leading people along the journey to understand why that answer is the right one.
If something is worth doing, do it well.

Related content discussed in this episode

How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

MarTech Chart: Biggest technology innovation challenges (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/biggest-technology-innovation-challenges)

Corporate Marketing: Feedback is respect (podcast episode #44) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/corporate-marketing)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

This article was distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more articles like this one.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

Get the power of 10,000 marketing experiments. Play with MECLABS AI at MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa).

Perhaps you’re a key business leader and just acquired a company. Or maybe you’re starting your first job right out of college.

Either way, you had to find a way to be effective with your new team. How do you do that?

I love our latest guest’s description of how her CEO handled new brands after an acquisition – “he came in quietly.”

Not throwing your weight around or boasting about how great you are and all the wonderful things you will do.

He came in quietly.

I discussed that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, with Lauren Pasquale Bartlett, CMO, Ingenovis Health (https://www.ingenovishealth.com/).

Ingenovis Health has tripled in size in two years, reporting $2 billion in annual revenue in 2022.

Barlett manages a team of 30 across eight brands.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Bartlett that emerged in our discussion:

Understand the varying needs and perspectives of the stakeholders
Build trust and consensus cross-functionally
Trust in your knowledge and capabilities
Take a bulldog approach
Pair a strong work ethic with a sense of joy in accomplishments
Stand right beside your team when they face obstacles
Come in quietly

Related content discussed in this episode

Data Poetry in Marketing, PR & Corporate Communications (Podcast Episode #17) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/data-poetry)

Marketing, Advertising and Brand Strategy and Culture: You don’t “build" community, you “facilitate” community (podcast episode #52) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-advertising)

Marketing: High growth can be excruciating (podcast episode #64) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-growth)

Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (Podcast Episode #11) (https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

Strategy: Don’t think of your customers as a ‘target’ to acquire (podcast episode #65) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategy)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

This article was distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more articles like this one.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Join us in the AI Guild. Chat with MECLABS AI to learn more – MECLABS.com/AI (MECLABS is the parent organization of MarketingSherpa)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

We all know that if we run a marketing experiment, we can get a loss.

But here’s a topic that is discussed less often.

Sometimes you just didn’t get that win…yet. You need to make sure to let your test run its course.

Or as this episode’s guest describes it in her podcast guest application, “Everything is expensive until it starts working.”

Here to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, is Colleen O’Brien, Chief Communications Officer and Head of Strategy, Armoire (https://www.armoire.style/).

Armoire has raised $13 million in funding so far, and investors include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Its customer base has grown more than 100% year over year.

Over the past year, O’Brien has earned 15 top-tier press mentions for Armoire, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler (and now, the How I Made It In Marketing podcast).

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingSome lessons from O’Brien that emerged in our discussion:

Brand affinity isn’t static
Do something right, once
Find your partner in crime.
Give people something to react to
Go back to the brief
Everything is expensive until it starts working

Related content discussed in this episodeWhat is Data? A discussion about getting value from your marketing analytics (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/value-from-marketing-analytics/)

Creative Marketing: Does it all make sense? (Podcast Episode #19) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative)

About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

This article was distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more articles like this one.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. Join us for an AI Guild session Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more at MECLABS.com/AI-Briefing

I use one word all smooshed together to describe the time I spend on the job – worklife.

I’m not talking about balance. I’m simply saying, ‘Yes we have a homelife. But we have a worklife, too.’ Every hour, every minute you spend working rolls up into that grand big, mysterious number of time you have on this planet.

Which means what we do at work matters. The decisions we make are part of who we are. And it’s why I love a lesson in the guest application for my this episode’s guest, “Find ways to live your company's values in everything you do.”

Rah Mahtani, Head of Buyer Marketing for North America, Alibaba.com, joined me to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

Alibaba.com serves buyers and suppliers from 190 countries and regions around the world.

Mahtani has managed marketing budgets ranging from ~ $8m to as high as $110m. He currently manages a team of six.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Mahtani that emerged in our discussion:

It's OK to flip the script sometimes
Let data inform, don't let it dictate
Find ways to live your company's values in everything you do
Dig into human behavior to create people-first messaging
Respect the power of the rabbit
You can have piles and piles of data, but unless you know how to use the data correctly, it won’t get you very far

Related content discussed in this episode

Customer Theory: How to leverage empathy in your marketing (with free tool) (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/customer-theory-leverage-empathy-free-tool)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

This article was distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more articles like this one.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. Join us for an AI Guild session Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more at MECLABS.com/AI-Briefing

We often talk about product-market fit. But what about marketer-role fit?

You could be an amazing marketer in many ways, but in the wrong role, you will be constantly swimming upstream, expending all your energy on the inconsequential.

However, in the right role…ahh, it’s just gliding along, putting your strongest skills to your highest and best use.

Which is why a lesson from this episode’s guest is so important, “stay true to yourself in your career.”

You’ll hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories from Avi Bhagtani, CMO, Digitate (https://digitate.com/).

Bhagtani manages a global team of 18.

Digitate is a startup of 800 people that has been in business for eight years. The company leverages AI and automation to transform digital operations.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Bhagtani that emerged in our discussion:

Stay true to yourself in your career
Make yourself uncomfortable
Move fast and take risks
Best your best and own the role you are in
“As the environment changes, so must your strategy.”
Patience.

Related content discussed in this episode

Customer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (podcast episode #32) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-experience)

Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you)

Public Sector Marketing and Communication Leadership: Multi-directional learners, multi-colored spiky hair, and wearing multiple hats (podcast episode #31) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/public-sector-marketing)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

This article was distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more articles like this one.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. Join us for an AI Guild session Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more at MECLABS.com/AI-Briefing

When you listen to How I Made It In Marketing, you often hear me challenge a guest. Not because I necessarily disagree with them or think they are wrong, but because you must wrestle with an idea, and challenge it, to truly understand it. And that is what I try to bring you in every episode – not just a surface level, go-along-to-get-along soundbite.

We truly dive into the careers of marketing leaders, and unpack how they learned these lessons and, most importantly, how you can apply them in your own career.

I never stopped to think about where I got this approach, until I read the following lesson in a podcast guest application – “Don’t shy away from a good (respectful!) fight.”

I realize, I was raised (career wise) in the advertising agency world, where the mantra was ‘beat it up internally before the client ever sees it.’ And when you listen to How I Made It In Marketing, you are hearing that wrestling with ideas that is often hidden behind ad agency walls before you see the flashy presentation.

“Don’t shy away from a good (respectful!) fight” is a lesson from this episode’s guest – Jennifer Kim, Executive Strategy Director and Partner, TwentyFirstCenturyBrand (https://twentyfirstcenturybrand.com/).

Kim has managed teams as big as 220 in her career, and right now she helps run the US office at 21stCenturyBrand.

In the most recent year 21CB publicly shared revenue, 2019, the company reported $8 million.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Kim that emerged in our discussion:

Insights about what people DO are just as powerful as insights about what people THINK
Don’t think of your customers as a ‘target’ to acquire, think of how you want to invite them to participate in something with you
Be aware of the biases, baggage and blind spots you may bring to a project
Don’t shy away from a good (respectful!) fight
Managing people isn’t just about teaching the craft of strategy, it’s about helping people grow
Who you surround yourself with matters

Related content discussed in this episode

Creative Leadership Ideas: A behind-the-scenes look at how 9 companies run their marketing departments and agencies (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/creative-leadership-ideas-behind-the-scenes-look-at-9-companies)

The MarketingExperiments Quarterly Research Journal (http://marketingexperiments.com/images/multifiles/journals/4th%20Quarter%20(2010)%20-%20MEx%20Research%20Journal.pdf)

Marketing Operations: Process is the foundation for success (podcast episode #58) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-operations)

Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. Join us for an AI Guild session Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Learn more at MECLABS.com/AI-Briefing

Growth. You see this word everywhere. Growth marketing.

But do you know what uncontrolled growth in our bodies is called? It’s called cancer.

Sorry to be negative, but I think it’s helpful to provide a check on the groupthink and buzzwords roiling around our industry.

OK, growth. Sure, growth. But why? What is the vision? What is your business growing into? And how do you grow a business sustainably? Because again, not all growth is good…uncontrolled growth is cancer.

Which is why it was so refreshing for me to see this lesson in a podcast guest application – ‘high growth can be excruciating.’

In this episode of How I Made It In Marketing, I discuss the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, with Pete Housley, Chief Marketing Officer, Unbounce (https://unbounce.com/).

Housley manages a team of 81 in marketing, customer success and enablement, an ad budget of $3 million, and 15 vendors, including software and direct media channels.

In 2020, the company raised $38.4 million in a funding round led by Crestron Partners. Unbounce currently has 17,000 customers.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

You are only as good as your team
“How data saved my life”
High growth can be excruciating.
“How to crack a strategy. I mean really crack.”
Everyone needs a mentor.
Everyone needs true internal partner(s) in business.

Related content discussed in this episode

Servant Leadership in Marketing: We are only as good as how we handle humbling moments (podcast episode #54) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/servant-leadership)

3 case studies of marketers that made a positive change in customers’ lives (while getting results for their business) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/positive-change-marketing-case-studies)

Communicating Value Proposition: We answer questions from marketers and entrepreneurs (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/website-and-landing-page-design/communicating-value-proposition/)

B2B Marketing: Marketing shouldn't be about driving demand; it's about driving value (podcast episode #40) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B)

Introductory Guide to Developing Your Customer Theory [an interactive worksheet] (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/freestuff/MECLABS-customer-theory-worksheet)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results.

When I was in school, I wanted to be a writer.

And then when I started job interviews with ad agencies I thought, ‘Wow! It would be so amazing to be doing this every day.’

Of course, fast forward to a few years into working at an ad agency, and it was a lot easier to focus on the drudgery.

I was reminded of that when I read a podcast guest application with the lesson, ‘No job is as glamorous as you think it is.’

For me personally, now that I am much deeper into my career, my focus is finding – maybe not the glamour, but the fulfillment – of a job where I get to create and help people every day.

However, I thought this lesson would be helpful for anyone starting their career – what may look glamorous on the outside is hard work on the inside. You just see Michael Jordan hit the game winning jumper, you don’t see the relentless practice that got him there.

I discussed the story behind this lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, when I talked to Adam Vasallo, Chief Marketing Officer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (https://www.bbbs.org/).

Vasallo leads a team of nine, along with four marketing agency partners.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. According to its most recent audit, it received $71 million in public support and revenue in its most recent fiscal year.

Unlocking the Power of Relationships: Inspiring marketing stories

In our discussion, Vasallo discussed stories with lessons about what he made in marketing. Here are some lessons that that emerged in our conversation:

Relationships are powerful. Relationships power change.

When setting goals, say them out loud and share them externally (and then go exceed them)
Start at the end
No job is as glamorous as you think it is
Always have a point of view
Always be confident
Follow your passion

Related content mentioned in this episode

Corporate Communication and Marketing Innovation: The dangerous delusion of safety – playing it safe can hurt you more than you know (podcast episode #41) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/corporate)

Marketing Operations: Process is the foundation for success (podcast episode #58) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-operations)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

This article was distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more articles like this one.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

How I Made It In Marketing is underwritten by MECLABS, the parent org of MarketingSherpa. Learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding at MECLABS.com/results

In this week's episode of How I Made It In Marketing, we’re going to listen to some of the top insights I’ve heard on the podcast.

And let me tell you why. In marketing, we can be so focused on action. We’ve got campaigns that need to go out, products we need to launch, numbers we need to meet.

But to create marketing that is truly powerful, and to chart our overall career journey, sometimes we need to step back from that action for a little reflection.

Summer is the perfect time to reflect. If you’re headed to the beach or the mountains or the city this summer, you’ll probably find yourself in a train, plane, or automobile for an extended amount of time.

It’s a great opportunity to pop in some of your favorite podcasts and fill your brain with ideas, before spending some quality time staring at the lake for a few days and reflecting on your work life, among other things.

Our normal episodes are about an hour long. CMOs and other marketing leaders share the lessons they’ve learned in their careers, and the stories behind how they learned those lessons. A lot of lessons sound good in theory, but how did you put it into practice?

We’ve recorded about 60 hours of those lesson-filled stories so far. Here are a few of the takeaways that most hit home with me.

Stories (with lessons) about what they made in marketing

All great creative begins with a strong consumer insight. via Aron North, CMO & Commercial Owner, Mint Mobile, from Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (Podcast Episode #11)(https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

Tenaciously focus on a few things until you solve them. via Dhiraj Kumar, CMO, Dashlane, from SaaS Marketing: Serendipity’s role in Facebook Ads surprising pivot, focusing (and failing) at PayPal, selling like an engineer, & more (podcast episode #23)(https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/saas)

Look in people’s closets.via Lindsey Lindemulder, Brand Marketing Director, Merrell, from Brand Marketing: Look in people’s closets (Podcast Episode #18)(https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/brand-marketing)

Don’t just focus on your direct competitors. via Derek Detenber, Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer, Batteries Plus, from World-Class Consumer & Retail Brands: What right do we have as a brand to be in that business? (Podcast Episode #15)(https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/consumer-retail-brands)

It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed. via Onaisa Landis, VP of Marketing, Octane, from Marketing: It’s not about you, and when you make it about you, you are never going to succeed (podcast episode #53)(https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-not-about-you)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results.

I love a really good turn of phrase.

Hey, as a writer, I’m a real sucker for words.

So when I saw this phrase on a podcast guest application it grabbed my attention – “Kill snakes.”

I gotta admit, that is not one I have heard before. So I went to the Google, and it served me up… a lot of… how to kill snakes around the house.

So then it was time for AI. And according to ChatGPT, “’Kill snakes’ is an idiomatic expression that means to tackle or deal with a difficult or unpleasant task or situation in a direct and forceful way. The phrase is often used to describe someone who is brave, decisive, and not afraid to take action when faced with a problem. It can also be used to encourage someone to be bold and take action instead of being passive or hesitant. The expression is most commonly used in informal contexts and is often associated with a sense of urgency or importance.

I thought that description was the perfect way to set the tone for the discussion with Shafqat Islam, Chief Marketing Officer, Optimizely (https://www.optimizely.com/).

Islam manages a team of 100 with a $30 million marketing budget. He had zero CMO experience when he got his current role.

Optimizely is owned by Insight Partners. Insight acquired Episerver, NewsCred, and Optimizely. It combined the companies into one, which it branded as Optimizely. Insight Partners is a private equity and venture capital firm with $90 billion of regulatory assets under management.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Islam that emerged in our discussion:

Never, ever, ever give up
Category creation Is hard
Kill snakes
Assume noble intent
Give people outsized opportunity and they will make you proud
Have a plan, communicate it, stick to it, and just execute like crazy for as long as it takes

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing: Sometimes you have to throw the business model out (podcast episode #34) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-business)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

This episode was distributed through the MarketingSherpa email newsletter (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters). Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results.

Given your role in the organization – maybe you’re a director, C-level, or even just a manager – you have certain positional authority. By virtue of your title, you can tell people to do things.

But if you only use your positional authority, how well will those things get done? Will they get done at all?

Employees must perceive the value of what you want them to do, which is where our communication superpowers as a marketer are so helpful for business leadership as well.

And why I love one of the lessons from our next guest’s career, “As a marketer, it’s important to lead up, down, and side-to-side in companies — not just top-down.”

I talked to Karen Possemato, CMO, Seer (https://seer.bio/), on the latest episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast to hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

Possemato has grown her marketing team from four to 14 in two years (and it’s still growing).

Seer is a publicly traded company, listed on Nasdaq. The company achieved revenue of $15.5 million for the full year 2022. It grew revenue 134% and increased instruments shipped 129% year over year.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Possemato that emerged in our discussion:

As a marketer, it’s important to lead up, down, and side-to-side in companies — not just top-down.
No matter how big or small your company, it’s important to build a path to return on marketing investment (ROMI) from the get-go.
Be authentic.
Communication is key.
Lessons (with stories) from people she collaborated with
Ask for forgiveness. Not for permission.
Dig deeper than the data to create a story that’s much more impactful and meaningful.
See the opportunity in any situation.

Related content mentioned in this episode

“Authenticity” vs. “Professionalism”: Should you be your authentic self in your brand’s content and marketing? Or must you adhere to certain strictures considered “professional” in your industry? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/authenticity)

Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)

The Hidden Upside of the COVID-19 Crisis for Brands and Marketers: 10 opportunities (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/other/hidden-upside-COVID-crisis-brands-marketers-10-opportunities)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results.

If you think of what we do as marketers – we take value, real value that can help a person meet a goal or overcome a challenge, and then we package it up and message it so a customer can understand and receive it.

But sometimes, we focus too much on the way we want to package it, and don’t understand enough about the way a person can really understand that value, and the way they want to receive it.

Think Blockbuster and Netflix. Same value, right? Netflix just found a better way to package it.

Which is why I love this lesson from our next guest, “Be passionate about the challenge you are trying to solve and not stubborn about the product solution.”

I talked to Andrew Beranbom, Co-founder and CEO, First Tube (https://firsttube.com/), on the latest episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast to hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

Beranbom manages a team of 25 along with 75 freelancers.

First Tube is a standalone company, majority owned by Horizon Media, which is the largest media agency in the United States, according to Ad Age Data Center 2022. Horizon has media investments of more than $9 billion.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Beranbom that emerged in our discussion:

Be passionate about the challenge you are trying to solve and not stubborn about the product solution.
Make sure you are not too early.
Select your co-founders wisely.
Embrace each person’s strengths and align on an execution plan.
Focus on the value to the consumer.
Create a charter program with three to five key early-adopter customers.
Related content mentioned in this episode

Mentioned in this episode

Marketing Campaigns: Dig deep to replicate your successes (and learn from your failures) with marketing and sales enablement case studies (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/replicate-your-successes-with-case-studies/)

Naming and Branding: How marketing pros chose names for their own companies (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/naming-branding-companies/)

Marketing and Brand: Embrace healthy friction (podcast episode #48) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-and-brand)

Customer Value: The 4 essential levels of value propositions (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/levels-of-value-propositions)

Funnel Strategy: 54 elements to help you guide your buyers’ journey through the marketing funnel (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/funnel-strategy)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

How I Made It In Marketing is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results.

Marketing is such a tricky endeavor.

On the one hand, success is predicated on creativity. Think of some of the most memorable and effective marketing campaigns through history, it took creative brains to pull them off.

But creativity without execution never sees the light of day. And history is littered with great creatives who were never able to get it done.

Which is why a lesson from our next guest is so valuable no matter what role you have in marketing – “process is the foundation for success.”

Not flashy or glamorous, but certainly essential.

I talked to Shruti Joshi, COO, Facet (https://facet.com/), on the How I Made It In Marketing podcast to hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

Facet raised $165M+, led by VC firms like Warburg Pincus and Durable Capital. Joshi oversees the sales, marketing, planning and member experience organizations, a total team of 180.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons that emerged in our discussion:

Process is the foundation for success.
Data is the decider.
Authenticity matters.
There’s no substitute for mastery and grit.
To get an entire organization to follow a concept and execute as intended, the concept(s) must be simple.
There will never be a good time to do this, just get it done.
Create a meaningful people-first culture.
Bring vulnerability and emotion into the workplace.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Value Sequencing Decider Graphic: What do your customers need to know, and when do they need to know it? (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/value-sequencing-decider-graphic)

“Authenticity” vs. “Professionalism”: Should you be your authentic self in your brand’s content and marketing? Or must you adhere to certain strictures considered “professional” in your industry? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/authenticity)

Homepage Optimization Applied: Learn how to replicate a 331% lift on your own site (http://marketingexperiments.com/website-optimization-transcripts/2012-08-13.pdf)

The Last Blog Post: How to succeed in an era of Transparent Marketing (https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting/last-blogpost-transparent-marketing)

Why a Customer-First Culture is Essential for Your Business: Interview with ex-chairman of financial services firm (https://meclabs.com/research/discovery/customer-first-culture-is-essential)

Corporate Communication and Marketing Innovation: The dangerous delusion of safety – playing it safe can hurt you more than you know (episode #41) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/corporate)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results.

Hold a newspaper or magazine or other reading material right up to your face. I mean touching your nose close. Way too close.

What do you read? Nothing. It’s all a blur, right?

Now hold it at a comfortable distance. Everything comes into focus.

This is the perfect analogy for a challenge many marketers face. When it comes to an audience at arm’s length – namely, our current and potential customers – we are practiced at using our communication skills to help them understand the perceived value of our products and overcome any possible anxiety.

But the group of people we are closest to – the ones working inside the very same walls as us, so to speak – our colleagues. We can overlook the necessity of understanding their possible anxieties, the non-monetary costs they face, and help them understand the process-level value proposition for actions they need to take.

We can be so focused on doing the thing, we overlook communicating why others should join us in getting it done.

Or as our next guest puts it, “change agents need broad support.”

I talked to Christina Martin, Executive Director of Marketing for Chase Auto, JP Morgan Chase and Company (https://www.jpmorganchase.com/), on the latest episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast to hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

Martin manages a team of six engaged in B2C marketing for Chase Auto.

JP Morgan Chase has $3.7 trillion in assets and $292 billion in stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2022. One out of every two households in America have a relationship with JP Morgan Chase.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Martin that emerged in our discussion:

Don’t fall for Wile E. Coyote marketing.
Change agents need broad support.
Great brands consistently tell their story.
Stay close to the well head.
Observation is a powerful research technique.
A problem isn’t a problem if it can be solved with money.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Content and Communications: Tenacity, keep it simple, authenticity works (podcast episode #33) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/content)

MarketingSherpa (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/)

How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product)

The Psychology of Blue Jeans: What marketers can learn from 150 years of Levi Strauss customer letters (podcast episode #4) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-psychology)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results.

I have this dream that I can go into other peoples’ heads, kind of like the movie Being John Malkovich.

Friends. Family. Customers. Work colleagues.

And truly get that other perspective. Truly know what those people think of me, my work, our company, our offerings.

Unless my life becomes a surrealist fantasy comedy, this is not going to happen.

But the closest thing I‘ve found is seeing every interaction I have – with a customer, with a colleague – as valuable to me, a thing of value that I must exchange my ego to receive.

It’s amazing what you can do if you just get that darn ego out of the way.

So I loved reading this lesson in a recent podcast guest application – “Feedback is a gift and people are investing in you by providing candid feedback.”

I talked to Bryan Law, Chief Marketing Officer, ZoomInfo (https://www.zoominfo.com/), on the latest episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast to hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories.

ZoomInfo is a public company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. It recorded $1.07 billion in revenue in 2022. At ZoomInfo, Law manages a team of 150, along with 100 different vendors and tech platforms.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Law that emerged in our discussion:

Varied experiences inform a holistic approach to business problems.
You can accelerate your career by identifying areas you are willing to take risks that others are not.
Life is too short to be in an emotionally damaging work environment.
Feedback is a gift and people are investing in you by providing candid feedback.
We can all give way more of ourselves than we believe possible.
Make sure the people you work with know that you care about them.

Related content mentioned in this episode

MECLABS Methodology (https://meclabs.com/about/methodology)

Marketing and Brand: Embrace healthy friction (podcast episode #48) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-and-brand)

Franchising and Marketing: In a world of chicken dinners, be a lobster dinner (Podcast Episode #14) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/franchising-and-marketing)

Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)

Team Building: Loyalty, relationships, pre-selling, and other keys to marketing management success (Podcast Episode #16) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/team-building)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results.

In a recent LiveClass of the MECLABS SuperFunnel Research Cohort (https://meclabs.com/MEC200-RSVP/), I was asked, “should you look to your competitors to determine the appeal and exclusivity of possible elements that could make up your value proposition?”

I said no. You learn exclusivity from your competitors, but appeal you learn from your customers.

To form truly powerful value props, to truly create value in the marketplace, we need to stop being so focused on our competition, and focus more on our customers, and how we can serve them with unique value.

Which is scary, of course. To break away from the pack. So I love this lesson from my next guest, “Don’t be afraid to be the first. While not every innovative idea will be a success, it’s often the most adventurous ideas that end up being the biggest successes.”

We’ll learn the story behind that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, from our guest on Episode #55 of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast – SM Lahti, Head of Marketing, TSM (https://tsm.gg/).

Lahti leads a team of 20 at TSM, and shared the challenges and opportunities of managing a team in the esports industry in this episode.

TSM (Team SoloMid) is the Most Valuable Esports Company, according to Forbes magazines, with an estimated value of $540 million and estimated revenue of $56 million in 2021, which is 32% growth over 2020.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Lahti that emerged in our discussion:

Don’t be afraid to be the first. While not every innovative idea will be a success, it’s often the most adventurous ideas that end up being the biggest successes.
Influencers of all sizes can drive product adoption.
Work-life balance is important. This isn’t stressed enough to people entering the gaming industry.
Good ideas can come from anywhere.
Content creation is truly a business that requires creativity, an entrepreneurial spirit, planning, adaptation, and so much more.
Always consult other perspectives, and value your own perspective as well.
Related content mentioned in this episode

Exploring Value Proposition and AI Technology: How to create unique ideas that you can execute with artificial intelligence (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/value-proposition/value-prop/)

Healthcare IT Marketing: Branding a new service line within Stericycle, getting ONC certification, finding your joy, & more (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/healthcare)

Customer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (episode #32) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-experience)

Consumer Financial Services Marketing: Your customer is your most important stakeholder (episode #39) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/consumer)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results (https://meclabs.com/results).

I think this one of the biggest challenges for when you grow in your career…

When you get into a certain role, you – and others as well – have a general idea of how someone should be in that role. Let’s call the it ‘central casting version of a CMO.’

And yet, in my life I’ve been more successful when I’ve been able to drop the mask and be as much of my true authentic self in my life – even in my work life – as possible.

Our next guests is here to talk about that overcoming imposter syndrome by valuing your experience – he words the lesson as “There is a big difference between 10 years of experience and 10 years of experiences.”

Our guest on Episode #54 of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast told us the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories – David Apple, Chief Marketing Officer, Intuitive Health.

Intuitive Health treated 467,000 patients in 2022. Apple manages a $10 million marketing budget, including joint ventures.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Apple that emerged in our discussion:

There is a big difference between 10 years of experience and 10 years of experiences.
Fancy terms can lead to bigger missed expectations.
Make “it” work.
Partner with a true visionary
We are only as good as how we handle humbling moments.
Leadership is not measured in years, but in character.

Related content mentioned in this episode

The Radical Idea: Customer-first marketing prioritizes customer experience over upsells (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/the-radical-idea-customer-experience-over-upsells/)

World-Class Consumer & Retail Brands: What right do we have as a brand to be in that business? (Podcast Episode #15) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/consumer-retail-brands)

Public Sector Marketing and Communication Leadership: Multi-directional learners, multi-colored spiky hair, and wearing multiple hats (podcast episode #31) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/public-sector-marketing)

Copywriting Contest: Write the best-performing subject line and win (https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting/subject-line-reader-contest)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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The How I Made It In Marketing podcast is underwritten by MECLABS Institute, the parent organization of MarketingSherpa. To learn how MECLABS Services can help you get better business results from deeper customer understanding, visit MECLABS.com/results (https://meclabs.com/results).

Change does not want to happen. The status quo is tenacious. To quote Isaac Newton, “An object at rest stays at rest…yadda, yadda, yadda…unless acted upon by an unbalancing force.”

In your career, in your company, you are that unbalancing force. You tenaciously swim upstream against the status quo, and make change happen.

And yet…even as hard as that is… we can’t stop there. Not if we want to be good marketers. Not if we want to be good leaders. We need to use our communication and collaboration skills, and bring our internal team, and our customers, along for the ride.

I love how our latest guest put it in one of her lessons – “Change (even good change) is hard, and everyone wants to be able to control, or at least influence, the change in their lives.”

That’s true for your employees. That’s true for your customers.

Our guest on Episode #53 of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast told us the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories – Onaisa Landis, Vice President of Marketing, Octane (https://www.octane.co/).

Octane has grown from $350M in loans on an annual basis to $1.2B in the 2 years Landis has worked there. Landis has built her team from 3 to 10+.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons that emerged in our discussion:

It’s not about you ,and when you make it about you, you're never going to succeed
Imperfect action today is better than perfect action tomorrow
To market effectively, you have to think beyond what your product does, you have to understand the role it plays in your customers’ lives
Being an effective manager is as much about driving business impact as it is about growing your team members
No matter how important you are, make the people you interact with feel special
Change (even good change) is hard, and everyone wants to be able to control, or at least influence, the change in their lives

Related content mentioned in this episode

Customer-First Objectives: Discover a 3-part formula for focusing your webpage message https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/customer-first-objectives/

SaaS Marketing: Always bring the customer story forward (episode #42) https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/SaaS-marketing

B2B Marketing: Marketing shouldn't be about driving demand; it's about driving value episode #40) https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B

Content and Communications: Tenacity, keep it simple, authenticity works (episode #33) https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/content

Blog Optimization: Button change leads to 34% increase in comments https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/blog-comment-test

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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We’ve been thinking long and hard about community lately, working with the MECLABS SuperFunnel Cohorts (https://meclabs.com/MEC200-RSVP). I’m sure many of you are as well. It is certainly a popular topic right now for marketers.

And here’s one way I could know our community was working – when we could step back and not solve a community member’s problem. When members were helping each other, collaborating, solving each other’s problems. Making those valuable connections. That is a key inflection point to me.

So when I read this lesson in a recent podcast guest application, it really stuck out to me – “You don’t ‘build’ community, you ‘facilitate’ community.”

It’s not all about us, right? It’s not all about the brand. It’s all about them.

Joining me for a dynamic discussion to share the lesson behind that story, along with many more lesson-filled stories, is Dr. Marcus Collins, Head of Strategy, Wieden+Kennedy New York (WKNY) (https://www.wk.com/), and Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business (https://michiganross.umich.edu/).

Wieden + Kennedy had $413.5 million in 2021 revenue, according to Campaign.

Collins is in charge of the strategy department and leads a team of 70 at WKNY.

Listen to our conversation using this embedded player or click through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Collins that emerged in our discussion:

Identity is more important than value propositions
You don’t “build" community, you “facilitate” community
When people feel seen, they also feel heard.
If you have an idea and it’s logical but people don’t get it, then you’re probably on to something even if people make you feel like you’re wrong
The most powerful skill you can have is the ability to communicate—clearly and evocatively
Execution without good theory is a practice of luck, not strategy

Related content mentioned in this episode

Value Proposition Definition: Optimize your conversion rate with this powerful question (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/value-proposition-definition/)

PR, Writing, and Marketing Agency Corporate Culture: Think big (podcast episode #49) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/PR)

Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)

Evidence-based Marketing: How to overcome the overconfidence bias (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/evidence-based-overconfidence)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free marketing course.

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If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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We’ve been exploring AI in the MECLABS SuperFunnel Research Cohort LiveClasses (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/website-and-landing-page-design/marketer/). But I’ve mostly been thinking of artificial intelligence in a very practical sense.

So when our latest guest shared the lesson, “use artificial intelligence and your marketing budget to make your customers’ lives more fun and interesting” I was all ears to learn a new perspective on using AI…and really, a unique perspective on how to approach marketing in general.

You can hear the story behind that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, from Stacie Grissom, Director of Content & Communications, BARK (https://bark.co/), the maker of BarkBox.

BARK has grown from 2,000 subscribers to over 2 million during Grissom’s tenure, where she was employee number three (now there are over 600). Over the last decade, she has hired 40 writers, comedians, and content creators.

BARK is a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In its most recent full-year results, the company earned $507.4 million in revenue, a 34% increase year-over-year.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

A viral moment can tie into a PR sprint.
You don't need a Super Bowl ad to make a huge impact on social media around the Super Bowl.
Contests can hit it big with an audience (even if, or especially if, they are weird and off-putting)
React to something that happens online and use it to explode a moment
If you aren't hitting huge moments of growth, rethink the metrics you're targeting so that you can make an impact.
Use artificial intelligence and your marketing budget to make your customers’ lives more fun and interesting
Move forward and get sh*t done

Related content mentioned in this episode

Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (podcast episode #11) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

SaaS Marketing: Always bring the customer story forward (podcast episode #42) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/SaaS-marketing)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

We had a recent SuperFunnel LiveClass (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/website-and-landing-page-design/lpo/), and I was giving conversion optimization advice to a participant – it’s live optimization, we see the landing page for a few moments, and then give advice. And the page seemed off to me, so I had specific thoughts on the design and wording and such.

And then Flint McGlaughlin went next, and he took a very different approach then I did. He didn’t talk about the page, he talked about the entrepreneur behind this page. Why this offer? Why this product? How many books have you read about this topic in the past 24 months?

He hit the underlying problem with the landing page. Not what was on it, per se. It’s what wasn’t beneath it. It didn’t tie into the entrepreneur’s personal value proposition. This person was not tapping into his passion, he was trying to get an offer out into the world and just make money.

Who can blame him, you might say. Isn’t that our job?

Pushing pixels on a page is not enough – when you don’t truly believe in what you’re selling, it will hurt your marketing effectiveness. Our latest guest tapped into that caution as well. She said, “If you don’t believe in the company or the product, your job as a marketer is going to suck.”

So true. And I would add – your marketing is going to suck as well.

You can here the story behind that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, from Melissa-Ann Chan, Head of Marketing, Arta Finance (https://artafinance.com/).

Chan helped take a product from 0 to 100 million users, has worked on many lean teams at Google, and currently works on a team of three, along with a “bunch of contractors,” at the Series A startup.

While in stealth mode, Arta Finance raised more than $90 million from Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, Coatue, and more than 140 tech and finance luminaries.

Some lessons from Chan that emerged in our discussion:

If you don’t believe in the company or the product, your job as a marketer is going to suck.
Put the most effort into figuring out what’s the magic ‘a-ha!’ moment of your customer, and relentlessly drive all your marketing efforts towards that.
Putting the user first doesn’t always mean doing whatever users want.
High-performing teams don’t happen serendipitously
Creativity and technology is a killer combo
Cross-functional Power: Bring together product, engineering, UX, and marketing – and watch the sparks fly – in a good way!

Related content mentioned in this episode

Content Marketing: Harvard Business School’s Michael Norton discusses surprising consumer behavior research (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/content-marketing-consumer-behavior-research/)

Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)

Above-the-Fold Psychology: How to optimize the top 4 inches of your webpage (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-psychology/)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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“Position the customer’s ‘gain’ as the direct object of the sentence,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Headline Examples: 3 ways to load your predicate with value (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/headline-examples/).

I thought of this lesson when I heard a lesson from this episode’s guest – “charge what it is worth, not what it costs.”

You can only charge what it is worth if the customer perceives that value. To help them perceive the value, your messaging must emphasize the customer’s gain.

So I asked our guest about this, specifically in regards to his story about using a celebrity endorser for a B2B event.

You can hear the answer to that question, along with many more lesson-filled stories, from Jeff Bradford, President, Dalton Nashville (https://daltonagency.com/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.

Dalton is a $12 million agency that was founded in 1989 and has 100 employees.

Bradford is the only seven-time winner of the Nashville Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO Award. He manages a team of 12 on five accounts at Dalton. He is author of the book The Joy of Propaganda: The How and Why of Public Relations and Marketing (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-joy-of-propaganda-jeff-bradford/1142922872).

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Harness word-of-mouth marketing by making influential people feel special.
Handling a media crisis begins long before the crisis.
Charge what is it worth, not what it costs.
The most important thing when merging companies is the two owners should understand and trust each other.
Think big.
Well-crafted video can shape perceptions by connecting emotionally with your audience.
The manner in which you present your message, and the environment in which it is presented, is just as important (if not more so) than the content of your message.

Related content mentioned in this episode

The Prospect’s Perception Gap: How to bridge the gap between the results we want and the results we have (https://meclabs.com/education/Flint-prospects-perception-gap)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

Differentiation is key in marketing. And now with the rise of AI, I can’t help but think – how can I differentiate from generative artificial intelligence?

One way – our unique backgrounds.

An example. Our CEO’s book – The Marketer as Philosopher: 40 Brief Reflections on the Power of Your Value Proposition (https://meclabs.com/course/the-marketer-as-philosopher/). This book is wildly different than what an AI would write. And just as different from most business books you’ll see – which sometimes seem as formulaic as an AI writer. There are reflections, not directions. There are da Vinci-style illustrations illuminating the core concepts. The book is bound in leather. I think Flint McGlaughlin was able to create it because of his unique background – theology and philosophy combined with marketing bound all together in one human being.

I thought of the importance of our unique backgrounds while talking to our latest guest on How I Made It In Marketing. His background was no less unique – West Texas, childhood illness, art school, world travel, Hollywood, and now – marketing.

One of the lessons he shared was “make the work you would like to see.” So, I asked him about how one’s unique background affects and informs that ethos. While we can all learn the same marketing skills, they are powered by this fingerprint that no one else has – our lived experienced.

You can hear his answer to my question, along with many more lesson-filled stories from a colorful career, in the latest episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast. Our guest is Justin Herber, CMO and Chief Brand Officer, Tractor Beverage Company (https://drinktractor.com/).

Tractor is the first and only Certified Organic, Non-GMO, full-line beverage solution in food service. It is #216 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies, having grown 2,520% in the past year.

Herber manages a team of 11, along with three agency partners.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Herber that emerged in our discussion:

Create your own way
Don't pay for experiences, let experiences pay for you
Make the work you would like to see
Pursue the best version of what an idea could be
Embrace healthy friction
Own your role in the relationship
Carefully cultivate and curate
Don't be a dick

Related content mentioned in this episode

Hard To Stay In Business Against Us: Raising the barrier to entry in the escape room industry (Podcast Episode #12) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/escape-room)

Copywriting: 8 examples of successful marketing copy (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/other/8-examples-of-successful-marketing-copy)

Team Building: Loyalty, relationships, pre-selling, and other keys to marketing management success (Podcast Episode #16) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/team-building)

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

“Refine your value prop until it becomes a reason…the summation of a rational/emotional argument,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Value Proposition Power: 3 ways to intensify the force of your value proposition (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/value-proposition-power/) (McGlaughlin is CEO of MarketingSherpa and MECLABS Institute).

I thought of this lesson while reading through the podcast guest application for the latest guest on the How I Made It In Marketing podcast. She markets to physicians, a perfect example of an ideal customer that needs to hear a rational (there is scientific evidence that this works) and emotional (the human beings in your care will be helped by this) argument.

You can hear how she responded to that question, along with lesson-filled stories from her career, in this episode with Laura Ayala, Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience, Karius (https://kariusdx.com/).

Karius has most recently raised $165 million from a Series B funding round led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2 and $255 million funding in total. Its liquid biopsy for infections diseases got the company named to the Forbes AI 50, a list of the most promising artificial intelligence companies. Ayala manages a team of 12 marketing and customer success professionals, along with five agencies.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Ayala that emerged in our discussion:

No room for error in healthcare marketing (exciting terms like “new product” and “novel” actually scare doctors)
Strike a balance between thoroughness and effectiveness.
There is value in persistence, grit, and sticking to your convictions.
The power of the story and the importance of repetition.
Grit and resilience.
Understand your customer and how to deliver your message effectively.

Related content mentioned in this episode

E-commerce: Testing value proposition leads to 220% increase in total conversions (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/video/testing-value-proposition-conversion-increase)

How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

Healthcare Marketing Leadership: Build communities…not a customer list, walk your own path, take care of yourself (podcast episode #30) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/healthcare-marketing-leadership)

5 mini case studies about understanding and serving the customer (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/understanding-what-customers-want-5-mini-case-studies)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

“Remember that the customer is the subject and your offer is the object,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Effective Headlines: How to write the first 4 words for maximum conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/effective-headlines/) (McGlaughlin is the CEO of MECLABS and MarketingSherpa).

I thought of this quote when our latest guest talked about essentialism. One place I see scope creep and bloat is in messaging – we get so focused on our own product and company we forget that our customer doesn’t know (or care) about our product…they care about themselves. Our guest said his job is simplification, and keeps his message about complex health care products simple by using this litmus test – “if I explained this to my mother or father, how could I message it so they could clearly understand it?”

Learn more about the mental model our guest uses to keep his brand’s marketing communication as simple and easy-to-digest as possible in this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast. I sat down with Jake Watts, Vice President of Marketing, PDI (https://wearepdi.com/en-us/).

PDI is a privately held, third-generation, family-owned company. It currently has 1,000 employees. Over 75% of US hospitals trust PDI for surface disinfection. As head of Healthcare Marketing for PDI, Watts oversees a team of eight marketing professionals.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Watts that emerged in our discussion:

You never have the right answers, to begin with.
You should almost always do less than you think.
You don’t need to go looking for good ideas, they’re already in your org.
Boldness, and clarity, of vision are what motivates teams to sign up for the previously unthinkable.
Radical simplicity plus alignment is key to leading large and challenging organizations towards new business models.
Leadership Happens Outside the Boardroom – Why empathy is the greatest, hidden competitive advantage in organizations.

Related content mentioned in this episode

The Behind-the-scenes Story of How We Optimized Outdoor Advertising That Was Featured in a USA Today Article (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/optimized-outdoor-advertising-bairfind)

The Compounding ROI of Sequential Conversion Increases: How one company took a small gain and multiplied it tenfold (https://marketingexperiments.com/journals/3rd%20Quarter%20(2010)%20-%20MEx%20Research%20Journal.pdf#page=6) (instant PDF download)

Don’t Give Clients What They Want: “That’s also the name of a convention for adults who dress as toddlers” – Podcast Episode #6 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/client-management)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

“The Marketer needs meaningful work and meaningful relationships,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Above-the-Fold Energy: How to engage the prospect’s mind with a carefully crafted opening (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-energy/) (McGlaughlin is the CEO of MECLABS and MarketingSherpa).

I thought of that lesson when our latest podcast guest shared a lesson of her own, “Teams that are steeped in data and conversion numbers are the strongest at the craft.” Which means, we marketers must have meaningful relationships with data scientists and analytics managers. So, I asked her how we do that – after all, creatives aren’t exactly dataheads and sometimes speak very different languages from their more analytical brethren.

Hear that advice, along with lesson-filled stories earned during an impressive career, from Tami Cannizzaro, Chief Marketing Officer, Thryv (https://www.thryv.com/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.

Thryv is publicly traded on Nasdaq and recorded $1.113 billion in revenue in 2021. As CMO, Cannizzaro manages a team of 50 marketers.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Cannizzaro that emerged in our discussion:

There is a dramatic difference between marketing for a company with a large, established brand versus a company building a market presence and entering a category.
Stay consistent.
Teams that are steeped in data and conversion numbers are the strongest at the craft.
It is critical for it all to work seamlessly together.
Weekly growth is a high bar and a strong motivator.
Constantly push to be innovative and on the forefront of a new trend.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Usability and Landing Page Design: 3 quick case studies about improving results by guiding the customer’s perception process (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/usability-landing-page-design-case-studies-improving-results-customer-perception)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

View Details

“Encapsulate the essence of the offer in the top four inches of the page,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Above-the-Fold Strategy: 4 ways to write powerful sub-headlines (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-strategy/). And this essence should inform your entire funnel, from initial ad to final conversion.

I was reminded of this quote when our guest shared the lesson “PR and storytelling come first” – essentially, the story should be the essence of your campaign, and kickoff the campaign as well as inform its downstream messaging – so I asked him about it.

You can hear how he responded, along with many more lesson-filled stories (and even the first-ever How I Made It In Marketing rap), when you listen to this episode with Lucas Welch, Vice President Corporate Marketing, Highspot (https://www.highspot.com/).

Welch manages a team of 14 people and four agencies and oversees a $3 million budget.

Highspot has raised $650 million in venture capital funding since launching in 2012. Most recently, the company closed a Series F round that valued the company at $3.5 billion. It has millions of users around the world.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

The power of integrated storytelling and community
Feedback is respect
Bring your whole personality into work
PR and storytelling come first
Build genuine connections that uplift all involved
Learn it all

Related content mentioned in this episode

Above-the-Fold Strategy: 4 ways to write powerful sub-headlines (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-strategy/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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Our latest guest told the story of how she learned to find the ‘why’ – why a potential customer should act on her conversion objective.

One of the things I really liked about her story – she didn’t only focus on the final ‘why’ the customer should buy the product or work with the company. Much like the sequences of eight Micro-Yes(es) taught in our free marketing course Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/), she considered the ‘why’ for key steps of the customer journey.

That’s just one of the lessons you can learn from Tate Gibson, Head of Growth, Peak (https://peak.ai/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.

Gibson manages a transatlantic team of seven marketers located in the US and the UK and a marketing budget of $2 million.

Peak has $119 million in investment funding raised to date, with SoftBank leading its Series C round.

Some lessons from Gibson that emerged in our discussion:

Understand where to find growth
Attribution is a myth, but you need it
Find like-minded people you can learn from
You don’t have to know your end-destination to progress your path
Find the ‘why’
Know your numbers

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing Career: What you need to understand at each step of the job seeker’s journey (even if you’re not looking) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/job-seekers-10-step-journey)

Creating a Culture of Testing: How to defeat the tyranny of best practices (https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/tyranny-of-best-practices-html)

Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product)

Data Poetry in Marketing, PR & Corporate Communications (Podcast Episode #17) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/data-poetry)

Online Marketing Tests: How do you know you’re really learning anything? (https://marketingexperiments.com/digital-analytics/testing-marketing-validity)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes
To receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“The aim of a headline is not to impress the prospect,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Headline Writing: 4 principles that could drive down your website bounce rate (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/headline-writing/).

I realized that lesson could apply equally well to internal communications, during my latest podcast discussion. Do we spend too much time trying to impress our managers and team internally? Should we just give them the most accurate information and let them come to their own conclusions? As our guest taught – “bad news doesn’t get better with age” and sometimes you just need to “eat the frog.” In other words, stop trying to impress your leaders and your team and just give it to them straight, and quickly.

You can hear that conversation, along with many more lesson-filled stories, from my discussion with Sherry Lowe, Chief Marketing Officer, Exabeam (https://www.exabeam.com/).

Lowe manages a team of 50 marketing and sales professionals at Exabeam.

Exabeam is the ninth-fastest growing company in the Bay Area, according to the San Francisco Business Times. The cybersecurity company has reached unicorn status, with a valuation of $2.4 billion based on its most recent round of funding.

Some lessons from Lowe that emerged in our discussion:

Always bring the customer story forward.
Contributed articles can be used to help ease burdens on editorial staffs.
Honor your brand.
Marketing and sales can’t succeed without the other
Bad news doesn’t get better with age.
Always care about your people.

Related content mentioned in this episodeCustomer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (podcast episode #32) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-experience)

The Indefensible Blog Post: Forget Charlie Sheen, here are 5 marketing lessons from marketers (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/marketing-lessons-peers/)

Kellblog (https://kellblog.com/)

Product Management & Marketing: Surround yourself with the right people (podcast episode #38) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/product)

About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes
To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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“Don’t be afraid of long copy; be afraid of insufficient clarity,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Website Wireframes: 8 psychological elements that impact marketing conversion rates (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/website-wireframes/).

I thought of that quote when my latest guest talked about how often being afraid drives marketing and business leaders, and so they resort to focus groups and consultants to cover for themselves in case something goes wrong. But she called this the dangerous delusion of safety, that playing it safe can hurt you more than you know. And she shared a story from her career illustrating that lesson.

You can hear that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, from Jasmin Guthmann, Head of Corporate Communication, Contentstack (https://www.contentstack.com/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.

Guthmann manages a global team of eight people that she has built from scratch over the past six months, along with a $1 million budget (her part of the organization’s overall marketing budget). Contentstack has raised $89 million in funding over three rounds.

Guthmann is also Vice President of MACH Alliance (https://machalliance.org/). MACH stands for Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless. The not-for-profit industry body has 70 member companies, ranging in size from startups to Google.

Listen to my conversation with Guthmann using this embedded player or click through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingSome lessons from Guthmann that emerged in our discussion:

Be the person who doesn’t give up when things get complicated. Be the one to simplify them. Then, your creative teams can do phenomenal things.
The Dangerous Delusion Of Safety: Playing it safe can hurt you more than you know.
There’s no way you can think your way into predicting what your customers need. Seriously. Stop trying.
“If you want it, don’t be afraid to ask for it.”
“Large meetings are not for decisions” and “Be the calm in the storm.”
“Don’t be afraid to ask for better from your people. But make sure you walk the talk!”

Related content mentioned in this episode

Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)

Using the Science of Habit Formation in Customer-First Marketing (interview with Charles Duhigg) (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/charles-duhigg-interview-part-two/)

About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Apply to be a guest
If you would like to apply to be a guest on How I Made It In Marketing, here is the podcast guest application – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/page/podcast-guest-application

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“We don’t look deep enough; so, we don’t think deep enough,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Website Wireframes: 8 psychological elements that impact marketing conversion rates (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/website-wireframes/).

When I brought up this lesson with our latest guest, and the complex thinking that needs to go into our marketing, she said, “I love how you mentioned psychology because I think that is such a critical part of it…” and went on to share the deep thinking that must focus business strategy and prioritize the tasks necessary to achieve that strategy.

You can hear that lesson, and many more lesson-filled stories, from Tara Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer, Bitly (https://bitly.com/), on this episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.

Robertson has managed teams of 50 people in her career and is currently in charge of a team of 20 people (and growing).

Bitly has 10 million monthly website visitors. In 2017, Bitly raised $63 million in additional funding from Spectrum Equity, which gave the growth equity firm a majority stake in Bitly.

Listen to my conversation with Robertson using this embedded player or click through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Robertson that emerged in our discussion:

You don't know what you don't know.
Focus and prioritization are critical to your success.
Marketing shouldn't be about driving demand; it's about driving value.
Never be afraid to ask for help.
Form a shine crew.
Understand bias.

Related content mentioned in this episode

MarketingSherpa (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/) – marketing case study articles

How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes
To receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Make the object of your headline the psychological driver of the offer,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Headline Examples: 3 ways to load your predicate with value (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/headline-examples/).

I thought of this lesson when my latest guest told me about her marriage, and how her husband was her most important career choice.

It struck me that I’ve learned a lot about marketing from marriage (and vice versa). For example, my wife may have very different psychological drivers for a decision or a choice, and I have to understand hers, and make that the object of our conversation. (It seems obvious when I type it up now but seeing something from another person’s perspective is one of the hardest things we do because we are so blinded by our own perspective).

So, I asked my latest guest what she learned about marketing from marriage as well. You can hear that lesson and many more lesson-filled stories as Radhika Duggal, Chief Marketing Officer, Super (https://www.super.com/), shares insights from her career.

Duggal currently manages a team of 30 people at Super and has managed budgets of $100 million in her career.

Super is an AI-driven platform that helps consumers save money. It is backed by Inovia Capital, Lion Capital, NBA star Steph Curry, and several other venture capital firms. It has raised over $100 million in funding and surpassed $1 billion in sales.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingSome lessons from Duggal that emerged in our discussion:

People think you need vastly different skills in startups vs. large companies, but it’s not true.
Your partner is your most important career choice.
Your customer is your most important stakeholder.
Your home life needs to have the infrastructure to support your work life.
Have conviction, and then don’t give up.

Related content mentioned in this episodeCustomer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-experience)

Marketing Career: You must be your company’s corporate conscience (https://marketingexperiments.com/social-marketing/corporate-conscience)

How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

About this podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course.

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To receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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This article was published in the MarketingSherpa email newsletter.

“Attention precedes interest. Interest precedes engagement; engagement proceeds relationship,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in Headline Writing: 4 principles that could drive down your website bounce rate (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/headline-writing/).

When I asked my latest guest how she builds those relationships with her marketing, she talked fondly of learning directly from real people, whether in her early days in a trade show booth or more recently using digital technology. The end goal of listening to customers is the same – to help her organization and team of marketers understand customers as real people, which will ultimately help them build more relationships with customers.

You can learn the story behind that lesson from Michelle Huff, Chief Marketing Officer, UserTesting (https://www.usertesting.com/), along with many more lesson-filled stories from her career, on the latest episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.

Huff manages a team of 65 at UserTesting. UserTesting is a publicy traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. It reported $147.4 million in revenue in 2021, up 44% year-over-year.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Obstacles are opportunities, if you choose to view them as opportunities.
Utilize customer empathy when trying to involve the customer in marketing efforts.
Surround yourself with the right people.
Marketers should get involved with the sales team to learn from them.
To learn about how your product really works, teach someone else.
Become a true partner with your Sales counterpart.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Empathy Marketing: 3 examples of empathetic marketing in action (with results) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/empathy-marketing)

Informed Dissent: The best marketing campaigns come from the best ideas (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/online-marketing/marketing-dissent-campaigns/)

Healthcare Marketing Leadership: Build communities…not a customer list, walk your own path, take care of yourself (podcast episode #30) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/healthcare-marketing-leadership)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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Attention > Interest > Engagement > Relationship.

That’s how Flint McGlaughlin explains the journey you have to take customers on, in Headline Writing: 4 principles that could drive down your website bounce rate (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/headline-writing/).

I asked our latest guest how he enabled a salesforce to fulfill it’s part of this journey, when he grew that close rate at a real estate company he previously worked for (from a 0.1% close rate to a 22% close rate).

You can hear his answer, and many more lesson-filled stories from his career, in my discussion with Joe Karasin, Chief Marketing Officer, CircleIt (https://circleit.com/).

Karasin manages a team of four at the startup, a budget of $200,000 to $500,000 per month, and has grown users from one million to five million in one year.

CircleIT has raised $5.1 million in Series A funding, with participation from TeleSoft Partners.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Karasin that emerged in our discussion:

Consumers don't want to be marketed “to,” but “for.”
Permission-based marketing works, and consumers will give you permission.
Give a choice of "yes" or “yes.”
Stories (with lessons) from the people he made it with
You need to believe in your product or service, otherwise, you'll burn out quickly.
Established brands still need to market innovatively
Marketing can truly impact someone's life

Related content mentioned in this episode

Exchange Of Value, Before The Sale: 3 marketing examples showing how B2C companies got customers to take action https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/exchange-of-value)

The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising (and Why It Matters) (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing-and-advertising/difference-between-marketing-advertising/)

Customer Experience: Take risks, fail early, and learn fast (podcast episode #32) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-experience)

How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

What Is Brand Awareness? A glossary definition | plus 4 marketing examples with results (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/brand-awareness)

Seeing Through the Eyes of Your Customers: Case studies about marketing attribution, the content marketing funnel, and headline writing (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/customers-eyes)

MarketingSherpa written case studies (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Remember the prospect is a person. Do not talk AT them; talk TO them,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Above-the-Fold Psychology: How to optimize the top 4 inches of your webpage (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-psychology/).

I asked our latest guest how she keeps the focus on the prospect as a person, and she shared examples ranging from A/B testing of CTA buttons to picking the brains of the person sitting next to her on an airplane.

Listen to my conversation with Lauren Gumport, VP of Communications & Brand, Faye (https://www.withfaye.com/) and hear lesson-filled stories to spark your next great marketing campaign or career idea.

Gumport has managed teams of 10+ and million-dollar budgets and has over a decade of experience in launching high-growth startups to global audiences.

Faye has pulled in $8 million in a seed-funding round led by Viola Ventures and F2 Venture Capital. Also participating was former NBA player Omri Casspi.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Take others' suggestions into account, with the understanding that you're the pro in your field and have the final say.
Being successful doesn't correlate with how many hours are spent in the office nor does it mean compromising on your work/life balance.
Just because others don't get it, it doesn't mean you should stop.
When things go wrong, it's an opportunity.
Don't spray and pray.
If you're not embarrassed about the first iteration of the product you put out, then you're doing it wrong.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing Career: What you need to understand at each step of the job seeker’s journey (even if you’re not looking) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/job-seekers-10-step-journey)

Does Your Marketing Copy Have Earfeel? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/copywriting/does-your-marketing-copy-have-earfeel/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Too often, our campaigns and their messaging are dominated by a social dynamic rather than a science dynamic. Our collateral suffers a ‘designed by committee’ process and thus speaks with the disjointed voice of compromise,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Customer-First Objectives: Discover a 3-part formula for focusing your webpage message (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/customer-first-objectives/).

I thought about this lesson when our latest podcast guest shared a famous Yogi Berra quote about theory and practice. That “science dynamic” Flint mentions, or the “practice” that Yogi mentions, usually translates into data-driven marketing in our industry. When I asked him about what role data plays in his decisions as a marketing leader, he told me…

“I've got a dashboard that's got my three strategies that I mentioned at the beginning – thunder, lightning, and structure. I've got four tactics under each. So that's 12. And I've got three-ish metrics – sometimes two, sometimes four or five – for each one of those tactics. So, I've got a pretty extensive dashboard, and that dashboard tells me directionally correct. I don't get hung up on 3,862 is 112 off of our plan. That is not useful. Just directionally correct.”

That guest is – JD Dillon, Chief Marketing Officer, Tigo Energy (https://www.tigoenergy.com/).

Here’s some quick info so you can understand our guest’s credentials. And then scroll down to listen to and/or read the top lesson-filled stories from his career.

Tigo Energy announced a $20 million round of investment last year, led by Energy Growth Momentum. With over 40,000 installations in over 100 countries on all seven continents, Tigo systems generate more than 1 GWh of daily solar production.

When I asked Dillon about his biggest career accomplishment, he told me that the stock of Enphase Energy rose from 72 cents to $200 while he was Vice President of Marketing & Pricing. He also noted that this happened during the Trump administration, which he called out because the administration was known as not having policies that favored the renewable energy industry.

Listen to our conversation using the embedded player below or click through to your preferred audio streaming service.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Dillon that emerged in our discussion:

“Hit it where they ain’t” – “Wee Willy” Keeler (baseball player from the turn of the century)
“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” – New York Yankees great Yogi Berra
“If my uniform doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done anything in the baseball game.” – Baseball stolen base leader Rickey Henderson
The most important professional skill is getting things done at your company by pushing boundaries but also operating within the culture of the company.
Regardless of job title, use your unique skill sets to accomplish mission critical tasks.
Business must have a relentless focus on ROI, which includes marketing.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Public Sector Marketing and Communication Leadership: Multi-directional learners, multi-colored spiky hair, and wearing multiple hats (podcast episode #31) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/public-sector-marketing)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/

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When we created a free digital marketing course, Flint McGlaughlin put the focus on the marketer before teaching anything about the marketing, even including The Marketer’s Mindset Checklist (https://meclabs.com/course/the-marketers-mindset-checklist/) to help prepare the marketer.

So, when my latest guest shared this lesson – don’t be the manager you want for yourself; be the manager your people want and need – I had to ask her what her team needed to prepare for successful marketing campaigns.

“When we're all working on one big problem, we do spend a lot of time just making sure that we're vulnerable, that we feel collaborative, that no idea is stupid. Before we even start to think about the guest and what the problem may be, we do spend a lot of time with each other just talking through what a possible challenge is and do you feel like you're working on the things that you can control and just spending some time giving people context before you attack the big problem. It has been very helpful for us.”

This is just one of the lessons you’ll hear from our latest guest – Edithann Ramey, CMO, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina (https://www.ontheborder.com/). Ramey has managed teams of 40+ and $150 million worth of marketing dollars.

On The Border is a 40-year-old restaurant brand with 115 locations in 29 states and Asia and $361 million in annual revenue. The brand is owned by Argonne Capital Group.

Listen to our conversation using the embedded player below or click through to your preferred audio streaming service.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Sometimes you have to throw the business model out.
Don’t be the manager you want for yourself; be the manager your people want and need.
Pick people you would be friends with outside of work.
The joy of working in a fast-paced industry.
Ditch the “to do” and focus on doing the activities that drive the desired results.
Build each other up.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing Careers: Why marketers and media professionals must never lose their wild spark (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing-careers/media-professionals-wild-spark/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Nouns form the substance of appeal,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Headline Examples: 3 ways to load your predicate with value (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/headline-examples/).

I love this lesson because as marketers, if we’re not careful, we’ll focus too much on the adjectives and the adverbs. The flowery language. The hype.

Instead of clear communication.

And it goes along with a lesson our latest guest discovered when approving TV commercial concepts from her agencies – keep it simple.

This is just one of the stories you’ll hear from our latest guest – Jeannie Assimos, Head of Content and Communications, Way.com (https://www.way.com/). Assimos manages a team of 20 people in the United States and India. Way.com is a financial platform for cars with $200 million in forecasted annualized revenue for 2022 and has served 6.5 million customers to date.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Assimos that emerged in our discussion:

Trust your instincts.
Keep it simple.
Authenticity works.
Adaptability is important.
Tenacity.
Make a U-Turn when necessary.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (podcast episode #11) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

“Authenticity” vs. “Professionalism”: Should you be your authentic self in your brand’s content and marketing? Or must you adhere to certain strictures considered “professional” in your industry? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/authenticity)

Marketing Storytelling Examples: How 3 brands told their stories (with results) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-storytelling)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Marketing is no longer a creative (-only) job,” our latest guest says.

I have lived this lesson as well. I started my career as an advertising copywriter, writing print ads that appeared in newspapers like The Wall Street Journal. Yes, we got overall results, like how many times we made the phone ring.

But fast-forward to today. When I watch our free course about creating and optimizing high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/), I am struck out how granular the data about creativity is now. Which headline worked best. Which CTA. And on and on.

When I asked our guest how he used data to inform the creative process, he said he always looks to three sources:

His team’s talent – what the marketer’s gut tells them will work best
His customers’ opinions – from focus groups, surveys, etc.
His customers’ behavior – while the first two inform creative directions, the ultimate data comes from A/B testing on real-world behavior

This is just one of the lessons you’ll learn from our latest guest – Julien Rio, Assistant Vice President, International Marketing, RingCentral (https://www.ringcentral.com/). Rio manages a team of 40 and a several-million-dollar budget. RingCentral is a publicly traded company with $2 billion in revenue.

Some lessons from Rio that emerged in our discussion:

Marketing is no longer a creative (-only) job.
Having startup experience is incredibly valuable.
Don't set yourself strict career goals – learn how to uncover and seize opportunities.
Take risks, fail early and learn fast.
Share your knowledge to elevate your people.
Marketers aren't so different from actors.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing Careers: Why marketers and media professionals must never lose their wild spark (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing-careers/media-professionals-wild-spark/)

Marketing Research Chart: Does a good customer experience really affect business success? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/how-customer-experience-affects-business)

Healthcare Marketing Leadership: Build communities…not a customer list, walk your own path, take care of yourself (podcast episode #30) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/healthcare-marketing-leadership)

Advertising and Brands: Details matter, know when to quit, …be nice (podcast episode #27) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/advertising-and-brands)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Form a cohesive picture of value,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Above-the-Fold Psychology: How to optimize the top 4 inches of your webpage (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-psychology/).

Not only can that approach help you get more “yes” answers to your conversion goals, it can help you judiciously use the word “no” as well, a topic I discuss with the latest guest on the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.

You can hear that conversation, filled with lesson-filled stories from her career, in my discussion with Ariel Glassman, Director of Marketing, Sage Communications (https://www.aboutsage.com/). Glassman has worked in small businesses in the federal government marketing space for 20 years and has worn many hats in her career.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Humble leaders provide more than expertise and direction.
Successful business happens when the focus is on relationship building, not the transactions. Plus, it’s much more rewarding and fun!
Don’t hesitate to say ‘yes’ when presented with a cool, unique opportunity (carpe diem).
Flexibility and agility are key components of a successful collaboration.
Be aware of your limits; challenge them; push them; know when to say ‘no’ – especially when you have people on your team who specialize in the tasks that need to be done.
Trust your gut and have patience

Related content mentioned in this episode

MarketingSherpa (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/)

How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

Social Media and Content Marketing: Don’t expect the world to find you (https://marketingexperiments.com/social-marketing/social-media-content-marketing)

Public Relations: The best press release is no press release (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/pr-fame-communications/public-relations/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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“There is a difference between doing things right and doing the right thing.” Flint McGlaughlin shared that strategy maxim in Customer-First Objectives Application Session: See real webpages optimized for marketing conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/customer-first-objectives-application-session/) and it got me thinking about the marketer’s role in the organization while reading over the podcast guest application from our latest guest.

When reading about pivoting a startup to do the right thing earlier in her career, I wanted to know how that experience helped her focus the larger companies she worked in do the right thing as well, a challenge many marketing leaders face while filling a key role in the organization – being the advocate for the customer.

You can hear the answer to that question, along with plenty of lesson-filled stories, from Kristin Russel, Chief Marketing Officer, symplr (https://www.symplr.com/).

The enterprise healthcare operations software and services company is backed by Clearlake Capital, which currently has $60 billion of assets under management, and Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private investment firm that has raised $15 billion.

In her role as CMO, Russel manages 16 agencies in the content and creative lines, seven in marketing. She also manages relations with 230 vendors and partners.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Take chances, be prepared to fail, and pivot
Walk your own path
Take care of yourself
Build communities, not a customer list
Transparent leadership with a first-team mindset
Unvarnished truth leads to powerful solutions and better collaboration

Related content mentioned in this episode

How I Made It In Marketing podcast (https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast)

Marketing 101: What is funnel creation? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/website-and-landing-page-design/marketing-101-funnel-creation/)

Brand Marketing: Look in people’s closets (podcast episode #18) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/brand-marketing)

How to authentically build communities, from the co-founder of Reddit (https://marketingexperiments.com/social-marketing/authentically-build-communities)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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Our latest podcast guest discusses balancing the art and science of marketing.

But I asked her a deeper question as well – what about philosophy in marketing? After all, our free digital marketing course is called Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/).

You can hear the answer to that question, along with plenty of lesson-filled stories, from Emily Campbell, Chief Marketing Officer, Infinite Electronics (https://www.infiniteelectronics.com/) (a Warburg Pincus portfolio company). Warburg Pincus is a global private equity firm with $85 billion in assets under management. Campbell manages a 40-person team and a $30 million marketing budget.

Lessons (with the stories of how she learned them) we discussed

Balance the art and science of marketing
Get out of your comfort zone
First team first
Challenge your team and help them grow
It’s hard to be simple
Balance an extremely successful career with a really interesting life
Coaching and mentoring can help people grow in their current roles but also help them plan for their future career – even if it is not with their current place of employment
Go into a meeting with a high-level story – never the details

Related content mentioned in this episode

NFTs For Brands: It’s OK to say no, always be a student, don’t resist change (podcast episode #26) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/NFTs-for-brands)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course.

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Structure an engagement continuum that attracts people with varying degrees of motivation,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Above-the-Fold Psychology: How to optimize the top 4 inches of your webpage [https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/above-the-fold-psychology/].

In our latest episode, our guest shared the engagement continuum she has crafted for her company’s very complex product – a full-stack machine learning operation system. I hope you get ideas for creating an engagement continuum for your own offering from this discussion, no matter how complex or straightforward it is.

That guest is Maya Perry, Marketing Director, cnvrg.io [https://cnvrg.io/] (an Intel company).

Listen to our conversation using the embedded player below or click through to your preferred audio streaming service.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

How to build a marketing program from 0 to acquisition – strategize, prioritize, and put in the hard work
How to build content when no one understands your field – expert guests
B2B buyers are people, too!
Be BOLD
Learn as you go
Roll with the punches

Related content mentioned in this episode

Momentum Marketing: How to get the ball rolling toward a purchase decision [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2b-marketing/lead-gen/momentum-marketing-toward-purchase-decision/]

The How I Made It In Marketing podcast from MarketingSherpa [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/podcast]

Negative Lifts: Turning a 25% loss into a 141% increase in conversion [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/video/webinar/negative-lifts-increase-conversion]

The Long-Term-Growth Product Launch: Cuisinart has been selling the same food processor since the ‘70s (Podcast Episode #13) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/long-term-growth-business]

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages [https://meclabs.com/course/] free digital marketing course.

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To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Details matter.” That is a key lesson from our latest guest on How I Made It In Marketing. In fairness, it’s probably not a breakthrough new idea to you, right?

But what she said next is the beauty (in my biased opinion) of what we do on the podcast – she told the story of how she lived that lesson with a fascinating example involving Stevie Wonder.

Everybody knows “details matter,” but as Stephen Covey said, “What is common sense isn’t common practice.” That’s why the stories our guest tell can be so helpful – it can give you the information and inspiration to turn these lessons into common practice in your career.

Here’s what her story did for me… while I will never create a VH1 award for Stevie Wonder, her story inspired me to think where I can be more detail oriented as a writer.

And my mind landed on a test I saw Flint McGlaughlin teach in Effective Headlines: How to write the first 4 words for maximum conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/effective-headlines/), where he showed how dropping four words from a headline lead to an 88% increase in conversion.

I hope our latest guest sparks ways for you to connect the dots in your daily work and overall career. Dr. Mara Einstein is Professor of Media Studies at Queens College (https://www.qc.cuny.edu/), part of the City University of New York system, where she recently launched a program in advertising.

Dr. Einstein has written six books, most recently Black Ops Advertising: Native ads, content marketing, and the covert world of the digital sell (https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/black-ops-advertising-by-mara-einstein/). At the time of our conversation, she was deep into researching her latest book (on multi-level marketing) having just attending a conference hosted by Bill Keep.

Some lessons from Dr. Einstein that emerged in our discussion:

Always vet the talent.
Tell the interns that when they aren't doing the job, you’re not going to do them any favors.
Details matter.
...Be nice.
Know when to quit.
Help push people to believe they can do more than they think they can.
There are people who have your back.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Hospitality Marketing: Have a Gumby attitude to any launch (podcast episode #20)(https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/hospitality) – Discussion with Chad Brown, Chief Marketing Officer, JC Hospitality (owner and property manager of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas)

Evidence-based Marketing: This blog post will not solve your most pressing marketing challenges…yet (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/research-and-measurement/marketin-challenges-survey/)

Content Marketing: Harvard Business School’s Michael Norton discusses surprising consumer behavior research (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/content-marketing-consumer-behavior-research/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

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We recently launched a free digital marketing course – Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/). And here’s one thing I’ve noticed…even the most experienced executive makes a mental shift when taking a course – from decision maker to student. From the one dishing out the advice to someone malleable and open to expanding their knowledge base.

Marketers and entrepreneurs need to make this mindshift throughout our careers – a lesson our next guest discovered when entering the ecommerce space many years ago and again more recently while launching a startup in the NFT industry. “Always be a student,” he says.

You can hear the story behind this lesson – and many more lesson-filled stories – from Frank Weil, Founder & CEO, Myntr (https://www.myntr.io/), in our latest episode.

The team Weil manages at Mynter consists of 10 people and two agencies. And Myntr itself is an agency for Advertising Week and Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Some lessons from Weil that emerged in our discussion:

Find great mentors for all aspects of your life.
Do not resist change.
Always be a student.
The best opportunity with the wrong leader is a painful uphill journey, but with the right leader/partner, a tough task is achievable.
It is ok to say no!
One-third of your revenue goes to expenses, one-third goes to people/payroll, and the other one-third goes to profit.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Scaling to a $15 million company in 18 months by transparently serving an ideal customer (and saying “no” to other business) (podcast episode #1) – Whitney Hill, Co-Founder and Head of Business Operations & Development, Snap ADU (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/scaling-podcast)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) free digital marketing course.

Our next live workshop

Join us for our next live workshop – Boost conversion. Learn from 150+ CTA experiments. (https://sharpspring.meclabs.com/boost-your-conversion-august-10-workshop?utm_source=site)

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“You need to commit yourself to mastering you art,” Flint McGlaughlin teaches in High-Converting Landing Page: If you don’t ask this question you will never maximize conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/sessions/high-converting-landing-page/).

So true. Here’s one way to do that.

In my most recent podcast discussion, my guest shared a simple methodology she uses (I’m not one for hyperbole, but frankly it was a life-changing methodology) to help her get the time to focus on what is most important – both at work and at home.

You can hear the story behind that methodology from Tiffany Grinstead, Vice President of Personal Lines Marketing, Nationwide (https://www.nationwide.com/).

The insurance and financial services company is #80 on the Fortune 500 with $47 billion in revenue. Grinstead is in charge of all marketing for the personal lines business, sitting in the cabinet of the Personal Lines president. She manages a team of 20, works in a matrixed organization with additional resources, and personally manages a direct budget of $20 million.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing and the people she made it with

Make your mistakes as fast as you can.
Employ a triage method – should, could, must.
Data tells stories if you listen closely.
People won't put you there until they see you there.
Define your relationships for yourself.
Think like a business leader.

Related content mentioned in this episode

How to overcome 9 common marketing and web design mistakes (https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/overcome-common-marketing-web-design-mistakes)

Data Poetry in Marketing, PR & Corporate Communications (Podcast Episode #17) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/data-poetry)– Discussion with Michael Diamond, Academic Director and Clinical Assistant Professor in Integrated Marketing and Communications, NYU School of Professional Studies

A/B Testing for Fun and Profit [Subject Line Writing Contest] (https://marketingexperiments.com/a-b-testing/copyblogger-subject-line-contest)

Gaining Business Leader Buy-in: 7 CEO personas (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/seven-ceo-functional-personas/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Don’t ask before you have communicated enough perceived value,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Customer-First Objectives: Discover a three-part formula for focusing your webpage message (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/customer-first-objectives/).

This is true in our marketing, but it is also true in how we handle ourselves in our careers, as this episode’s podcast guest summed up well with the lesson, “Always give something before you expect something.”

You can hear the story behind that lesson in this episode from Sarah Bennight, Director of Marketing for the Communication Solutions service line of Stericycle (https://www.stericycle.com/en-us). Stericycle had $2.6 billion in revenue in 2021. Bennight manages a $1 million budget, six direct reports, and three agencies.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Bennight that emerged in our discussion:

Your brand promise is everything.
Never underestimate the power of a great project manager.
Have a plan, but don’t be afraid to blow it up when the market/target needs shift.
Not all marketing metrics are equal. Show leadership a story, not raw data.
Always give something before you expect something.
Find your joy.
You can have it all.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing Chart: The importance of making the right promise with your marketing (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/make-the-right-promise)

Headline Writing: 6 before and after headline examples with results to help improve your copywriting (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/headline-writing-6-before-and-after-headline-examples-with-results)

Four Techniques to Improve Analytics Based on Customer Knowledge (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/video/webinar/four-techniques-to-improve-analytics)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“If the marketer does not know where to focus; then the prospect will not know where to focus,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Customer-First Objectives Application Session: See real webpages optimized for marketing conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/customer-first-objectives-application-session/).

To help drive home this lesson for you, we found a great story of relentless focus from our next podcast guest. While at PayPal, he made it his mission to develop programs that would educate new customers about the product, and it took two years of relentless focus before his efforts paid off. It’s all too easy for marketers to chase the newest, shiniest object, so we wanted to inspire you with this story of enduring tenacity.

And that’s just one of the lesson-filled stories you’ll hear from our latest podcast guest – Dhiraj Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer, Dashlane (https://www.dashlane.com/). Kumar manages a team of 40 at the software company.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Tenaciously focus on a few things until you solve them.
Be purposeful in creating and encouraging serendipity.
Marketing is a craft that requires multidimensional thinking.
Create space for failure.
Approach customers like an engineer and solve their problems.

Related content mentioned in this episodeThe Long-Term-Growth Product Launch: Cuisinart has been selling the same food processor since the ‘70s (Podcast Episode #13) – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/long-term-growth-business

How I Made It In Marketing podcast – https://marketingsherpa.com/podcast – “When you mess up you think you are the only one messing up, right? It's amazing. And I love your podcast because you hear all these stories and like, that's what I went through. And there is something special about as a marketing community, commiserating and kind of sharing stories and kind of seeing we all have been through that journey,” Kumar said.

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course – https://meclabs.com/course/

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“A value proposition focuses on a specific customer segment,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Value Proposition Definition: Optimize your conversion rate with this powerful question (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/value-proposition-definition/).

I thought of this lesson while our latest guest talked about how he learned to ruthlessly prioritize. When I asked what role customer segmentation plays, he replied, “Absolutely. You're spot on, because the way that we look at it is – who are the people that we want to talk to…”

You can hear the full conversation below with Francois-Xavier Reodo, Chief Marketing Officer for North America, Capgemini Invent (https://www.capgemini.com/about-us/who-we-are/our-brands/capgemini-invent/). Capgemini Invent, and its recently acquired frog design studio, are the innovation brands within Capgemini, a technology services and consulting company with €18 billion in revenue, 340,000 employees, and operations in 50 countries.

You can listen using the embedded player below or click through to your preferred audio streaming service.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Reodo that emerged in our discussion:

Always have fun.
Build communities and coalitions
Ruthlessly prioritize
At no point in your career does anyone tell you “Now you can start making decisions.”
You are powerful.

Related content mentioned in this episodeCustomer-First Marketing Strategy: The highest of the five levels of marketing maturity – https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2c-marketing-2/5-levels-marketing-maturity/

MarketingSherpa Customer Satisfaction Research Study – https://marketingsherpa.com/freestuff/customer-first-study

Creative Marketing: Does it all make sense? (Podcast Episode #19) – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course – https://meclabs.com/course/

Live event

Get more inventive marketing ideas. Join the MarketingSherpa and MECLABS Institute team on June 29th at 3 pm EDT for Buyer Psychology: Learn the 4 best ways to increase the power of your value proposition – https://meclabs.com/BuyerPsychology

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To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer,” Flint McGlaughlin taught in Landing Page Creation and Optimization: 6 key questions to prepare the marketer (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/landing-page-creation-and-optimization/).

My latest guest made a hugely transformative change, rebranding her company from General Electric. Imagine having to rebrand from one of the most legendary brands of all time – Thomas Edison, Menlo Park, the light bulb, the Carousel of Progress at Tomorrowland, “We Bring Good Things to Life,” and on and on.

So I had to ask her – what did you have to transform in yourself to make this major marketing transformation possible?

Hear that story, and so much more, in my discussion with Meghan Gainer, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, DSD Renewables (https://dsdrenewables.com/).

DSD was formerly known as GE Solar and is now owned by BlackRock Real Assets. Gainer has managed budgets from $1 million to $10 million and teams from three to 15 people.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Put stock in your own brand
When no one is raising their hand for something that can make an impact, raise your hand
Customer experience and feedback are vital to success
Your company is not your advocate, you need to advocate for yourself
Appreciate your employees – let them challenge themselves, provide feedback and grow…even if it means you’re going to lose them.
When you find people you work well with, stick together and you’ll always enjoy what you do.

Related content mentioned in this episodeCustomer-First Marketing: The customer is always right … but not always right for your company (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2c-marketing-2/customer-is-always-right-but-not-always/)

The Indefensible Blog Post: Forget Charlie Sheen, here are 5 marketing lessons from marketers (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/marketing-lessons-peers/)

Data Poetry in Marketing, PR & Corporate Communications (Podcast Episode #17) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/data-poetry)

14 Strategies for Hiring and Retaining Marketing Professionals (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-hiring)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Beware of going wide with your marketing before going deep with your thinking,” Flint McGlauglin taught in What is the most important question to ask before creating a high-converting landing page? (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/high-converting-landing-page/)

This episode's guest told our host a story about launching an ecommerce store that was the perfect illustration of Flint’s teaching. He put it this way – “Get scalable fulfillment in place before you generate demand.” In other words, go deep before you go wide.

That's just one of the lesson-filled stories you’ll hear in this episode from Chad Brown, CMO, JC Hospitality – owner/property manager of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas (https://virginhotelslv.com/).

The hotel is part of the Curio Collection by Hilton and has a Mohegan Sun Casino. JC Hospitality is a joint venture between Bosworth Hospitality Partners LLC & Juniper Capital Partners. Brown manages a marketing budget of about $7 million dollars with 10 direct reports & 5 agencies.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Brown that emerged in our discussion:

Understand the “why” behind any current program, process, or structure before you make significant changes
Get scalable fulfillment in place before you generate demand
Allow for customization while maintaining brand standards & services
Have a Gumby attitude during launch
Marketing decisions have a ripple effect on the entire organization
Be self-aware of how others perceive you, or more importantly, your delivery of information.
A positive attitude can be viral in any setting

Related content mentioned in this episode

Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)

Scaling to a $15 million company in 18 months by transparently serving an ideal customer (and saying “no” to other business) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/scaling-podcast)

What is the most important question to ask before creating a high-converting landing page? (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/high-converting-landing-page/)

World-Class Consumer & Retail Brands: What right do we have as a brand to be in that business? (https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/consumer-retail-brands)

Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (Podcast Episode #11) (https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“People don't buy from websites; people buy from people.”

That quote is from Flint McGlaughlin in Website Wireframes: 8 psychological elements that impact marketing conversion rates (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/website-wireframes/).

And it’s true of your advertising and marketing as well. Which is what stuck out to me in the podcast guest application from our latest guest. He said, “if you don’t like it, nobody else will.”

I hear that as bringing humanity to your marketing, and not taking a “we’ll fool them” approach to your brand’s relationship with its customers. I hear it as, “If you don’t put some element of yourself in your work, nobody else will really engage with it on a human level.”

It got me thinking – musicians, novelists, comedians, and other artists pour themselves into their work. Why shouldn’t marketing and advertising creatives?

That is just one of the insights our guest latest guest sparked in me. Listen now and see what ideas he will spark in you. Carlo Cavallone is the Global Chief Creative Officer and Partner at 72andSunny (https://www.72andsunny.com/), an agency owned by Stagwell. As part of the agency’s leadership team, Cavallone helps manage the agency’s global team of 400 employees.

Some lessons from Cavallone that emerged from our discussion:

Never, ever, ever go on a shoot without a fully approved concept.
“Better is temporary.”
If your client is not as ambitious as you are, you’re not going to do anything great.
Does it all make sense?
If you don’t like it, nobody else will.
Finish what you started.
If it’s not great, it’s probably bad.

Related content mentioned in this episodeNot Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

99 Problem Ideas: “Harvey Gabor (art director on Coke’s iconic campaign) burned my ad concept with a lighter” (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/99-problem-ideas-harvey-gabor-art-director-on-coke-s-iconic-campaign-burned-my-ad-concept-with-a-lighter)

Transparent Marketing: Do your campaigns sound like North Korean propaganda? (https://marketingexperiments.com/e-commerce-marketing/transparent-marketing-campaigns)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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“Remember the prospect is a person. Do not talk AT them; talk TO them.” This quote comes from Flint McGlaughlin in Above-the-Fold Psychology: How to optimize the top 4 inches of your webpage (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/above-the-fold-psychology/).

And it exemplified the conversation with our latest guest, who literally went into people’s homes and looked in their closets to better understand and communicate to her brand’s customers. Lindsey Lindemulder is the Brand Marketing Director for Merrell (https://www.merrell.com/US/en/home), where she manages a team of five. The hiking footwear and outdoor gear company is a wholly owned subsidiary of shoe industry giant Wolverine World Wide.

Some lessons from Lindemulder that emerged from our discussion:

“There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”
Strong customer insights are the foundation of great creative.
Look in people’s closets.
Mindfulness at work is essential.
Woman can and should be in leadership positions.
Work hard, do cool shit, and be humble.

Related content mentioned in this episodeCorporate Creativity: Managing your marketing team (and career) to balance innovation and execution (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/corporate-creativity-jeff-stibel-lisa-nirell/)

Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (Podcast Episode #11) (https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

The Hidden Side of Email Marketing: The once-and-done option, A/B testing and a supersmart kind of dumb (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/challenge-marketing-status-quo/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

Join us for our next interactive session from the course on Wednesday, June 1st, 2022 – How to Craft Your Value Proposition: A live, working session with Flint McGlaughlin (https://meclabs.com/course/how-to-craft-your-value-proposition/).

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“Trust yourself.” That is a key lesson shared by our latest guest, an academic leader. And really, that is the goal of education, right? To build your capacity, so you can trust yourself to effectively execute.

We also believe in the importance of capacity building for entrepreneurs and marketing professionals. For example, we provide free marketing thought tools (https://meclabs.com/course/tools/) – simplified frameworks to help spark your next great marketing campaign. We call them “thought tools” because they help spark your ideas and insights, so you can trust yourself instead of trusting some tools’ secret AI to magically provide the answer.

“Trust yourself” is just one of the lessons shared by Michael Diamond (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldiamond/), Academic Director and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Integrated Marketing and Communications Department (https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/divisions-and-departments/division-of-programs-in-business/integrated-marketing.html), New York University School of Professional Studies, in our latest podcast episode. Diamond supports over 1,000 graduate students and more than 200 faculty members at NYU.

Some lessons from Diamond that emerged from our discussion:

Build capabilities that endure, and not just quick fixes to near-term problems.
Tackle problems with integrity, self-reflection, and some humor.
Trust yourself and your instincts, especially when you feel passionate about something.
Speak truth to power.
Trust yourself.
“We hired you because you are smart, you have our support, and we expect you can figure it out.”
“It’s not just the how and what of marketing and PR, but often ‘who’ is in the room.”

Related content mentioned in this episode

The MarketingExperiments Quarterly Research Journal (https://marketingexperiments.com/journals/1st%20Quarter%20(2011)%20-%20MEx%20Research%20Journal.pdf)

Executive Master's in Marketing and Strategic Communications (https://www.sps.nyu.edu/homepage/academics/masters-degrees/executive-masters-in-marketing-and-strategic-communications.html)

Value Proposition Workshop (https://meclabs.com/services/value-proposition)

Franchising and Marketing: In a world of chicken dinners, be a lobster dinner (Podcast Episode #14) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/franchising-and-marketing)

Not Enough Lobster In The Ocean: Trusting their gut leads to 90,000% revenue growth at Mint Mobile (Podcast Episode #11) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/revenue-growth-podcast)

Marketing Wisdom: In the end, it’s all about… (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/social-networking-evangelism-community/marketing-wisdom-last-post/)

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When managing a marketing team, success is not necessarily a straight line. No instant inputs and outputs. After all, your team isn’t just filled with employees, it’s filled with human beings.

Complex, fallible, emotional, confusing, questioning human beings. All of us, together, experiencing the human condition while trying to be productive, together, working in an organization.

I say this because, if you’re not careful you might just fast forward to ramming your way through to the goal. The real challenge is to coax fellow humans along to that goal. Enabling them. Preparing them.

In our free digital marketing course, we describe it this way – Website Strategies: 4 ways to prepare your marketing team to increase conversion rates (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/website-strategies/). Not just, how to get higher conversion rates. No. Ways to prepare your team.

And our latest guest manages with the same philosophy. “Pre-sell key ideas internally,” she says. “Build strong CFO relationships,” she says. Don’t just charge ahead with gusto. Lay the groundwork for success.

Those are just some of the lessons Jeanne Hopkins, Chief Revenue Officer, OneScreen.ai (https://www.onescreen.ai/), shared with Daniel Burstein in our latest podcast episode.

Hopkins was the Chief Marketing Officer of MarketingSherpa (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/) and sister publication MarketingExperiments (https://marketingexperiments.com/) before this podcast's host even started here, and he's been here 13 years. She’s had 11 C-level or VP-level marketing roles in her career. And today Hopkins leads a team of 19 (with three more hires slated for this quarter) and manages a $6.2 million budget. In other words, she has a wealth of experience that I thought you could learn a lot from.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Hopkins that emerged in this discussion:

Build strong CFO relationships.
Pre-sell key ideas internally.
Allow your team to shine.
Loyalty first.
Hire in batches.
Remember your interns.

Related content mentioned in this episode

The Long-Term-Growth Product Launch: Cuisinart has been selling the same food processor since the ‘70s (Podcast Episode #13) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/long-term-growth-business)

Table Fries (Hopkins’ podcast) (https://tablefries.com/)

How to Sell Your Marketing and Advertising Ideas to Your Boss and Clients (with free template) (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/how-to-sell-to-your-boss/)

Customer Loyalty Chart: Just how big of an effect does customer satisfaction have on loyalty? (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/loyalty-effect-customer-satisfaction)

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About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages

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“Replace the claim with the reason” – that lesson comes courtesy of Website Wireframes: See real webpages optimized for marketing conversion (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/website-wireframes-application-session/).

It’s far easier to make empty claims than provide true reasons for customers to buy. Especially if you’re a copywriter, designer, or junior-level brand marketer who doesn’t know a compelling reason the customer should buy.

But customers are far more likely to act if you provide them compelling reasons instead of empty claims.

So, our latest podcast discussion did my heart some good, as Derek Detenber, Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer, Batteries Plus (https://www.batteriesplus.com/), discussed specific stories of how he helped shape brand positioning and define the purpose of a business – leadership that can help the marketing team and supporting agencies clearly communicate a reason for customers to buy.

You can listen using the embedded player below or click through to your preferred audio streaming service.

First, a little background… Batteries Plus is a consumer electronic retailer with more than 700 locations.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Detenber that emerged in our discussion:

A quality product isn’t enough, you need to craft experiences.
Understand the economics of the business.
Don’t just focus on your direct competitors.
Sweat the details.
Be strategically consistent and tactically agile
Understand the purpose of the business.
Leadership requires talent and passion.

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing Budget Charts: B2B customer experience investments (plus 4 budgeting tips) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/marketing-budget-charts-b2b-customer-experience-investments)

Market Competition 101: The 3 types of competitors to keep an eye on (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/competition-types-to-watch/)

My Five Greatest Mistakes as A Leader: 30 years of painful data (that might help you) (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/leadership/5-leadership-mistakes/)

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To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

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When our latest guest told me the story of how she learned, “exclamation points are for lazy people,” it reminded me of “foster conclusions with specific, quantifiable facts” ...a lesson from Above-the-Fold Energy: How to engage the prospect’s mind with a carefully crafted opening (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/above-the-fold-energy/).

Take a look at your headlines, sub-headlines, opening paragraphs and other writing you use to communicate about your business. Are you trying to force potential customers to believe it with (literal or figurative) exclamation points? Or are you helping foster conclusions by presenting information?

That is an opportunity for marketing optimization Nicole Salla sparked in me during our discussion. Listen now to discover what ideas the Chief Marketing Officer of Kiddie Academy (https://kiddieacademy.com/) will spark in you.

But first, a little background… Kiddie Academy has 300 locations in 33 states and DC, with 30 new locations opening this year, and Salla manages a marketing team of 20, plus agency partners.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Salla that emerged in our discussion:

Nothing is created alone. Make others part of the discussion.
To be successful in marketing, it is critical to be a skilled salesperson.
LISTEN (with your ears, your eyes, and your gut).
Exclamation points are for lazy people.
In a world of chicken dinners, be a lobster dinner.
When there is a philosopher in the room, you need to diffuse “idea grenades.”

Related content mentioned in this episode

Marketing Career: How to become an indispensable asset to your company (even in a bad economy) (https://marketingexperiments.com/value-proposition/marketing-career)

99 Problem Ideas: “Harvey Gabor (art director on Coke’s iconic campaign) burned my ad concept with a lighter” (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/99-problem-ideas-harvey-gabor-art-director-on-coke-s-iconic-campaign-burned-my-ad-concept-with-a-lighter)

Headline Formulas: A step-by-step process for radically transforming your copywriting (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/headline-formulas/)

Search the MarketingSherpa Library (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/library) – 8,788 articles, videos, and podcasts (including 1,726 case studies)

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To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/)

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Before you optimize your marketing, you must optimize yourself. Which is why we have offered free digital marketing course sessions like The Marketer’s Self Image: Three distorted concepts that are robbing your conversion results (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/the-marketers-self-image/). This approach to self-optimization was top-of-mind as we heard lessons from our latest guest. Lessons like “you must remain wet clay” and “find intellectual inspiration.”

Listen now to hear Mary Rodgers, Head of Marketing Communications, Cuisinart (https://www.cuisinart.com/), discuss the importance of a long-term approach to product and marketing strategy, along with the need to stay flexible and fresh in your approach to your brand and its customers (hence the need for self-optimization).

Rodgers manages a $30 million annual budget with a staff of 20 marketing professionals. In her 26 years leading the brand’s marketing, she has helped position Cuisinart as the #1 high-end housewares brand in a highly competitive industry. The brand holds the first market share position in 13 of 15 product categories, according to NPD syndicated research.

Some lessons from Rodgers that emerged in our discussion:

A never-give-up attitude, resourcefulness, and tenacity are some of the personal characteristics that serve you well no matter what field you are practicing in
Always focus on the needs of consumers
Look for long-term growth
You must remain wet clay
Find intellectual inspiration
Get education through mentorship

Related content mentioned in this episode

Customer-First Marketing: The customer is always right … but not always right for your company (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/b2c-marketing-2/customer-is-always-right-but-not-always/)

Client Pitch Call from the Maternity Ward: “That sound? Oh, you know, the sounds of Brooklyn” – Podcast Episode #8 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/client-pitch-call)

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To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

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You don’t just start with an amazing website. Or product. Or marketing campaign. As discussed in Session #9 of MECABS free digital marketing course – Website Strategies: 4 ways to prepare your marketing team to increase conversion rates (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/website-strategies/)– you start by preparing your team.

Listen now to hear Jonathan Murrell, Co-Founder & CMO, The Escape Game (https://theescapegame.com/), discuss how his company decided on a strategy of long-term quality, prepared the team to executive on this strategy by hiring smart people and empowering them, and many more lesson-filled stories.

The Escape Game has 23 locations across the United States and has served 3.8 million guests so far.

Some lessons from Murrell that emerged in his discussion with Daniel Burstein:

Quality is critical to the long term
Hire smart people and empower them
Learn how to pivot your value proposition
Think big and fast
Details matter
All creative processes start as ugly babies

Related content mentioned in this episode

Landing Page Optimization: Goodbye stock photos and Happy Man, hello social media (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/website-and-landing-page-design/lpo-photo-social-media/)

Why You Should Consider Customer Service to be 1-to-1 Marketing (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/customer-service-one-to-one/)

Email Marketing: Why don’t you want to hear from your customers? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/no-reply-email-marketing-mistake/)

99 Problem Ideas: “Harvey Gabor (art director on Coke’s iconic campaign) burned my ad concept with a lighter” – Podcast Episode #11 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/99-problem-ideas-harvey-gabor-art-director-on-coke-s-iconic-campaign-burned-my-ad-concept-with-a-lighter)

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

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“We run the scientific method. Hypothesis. Experimentation. Observation. Analysis. Optimization,” Aron North told Daniel Burstein in our latest podcast episode. Great minds think alike. North’s approach is almost identical to Step #6 of the Landing Page Blueprint (https://meclabs.com/course/blueprint/).

Listen now to hear Aron North, Chief Marketing Officer and Commercial Owner, Mint Mobile (https://www.mintmobile.com/), discuss allowing for failure (when you follow the scientific method), trusting your gut, conducting a job interview with every single person coming into the marketing department, and more.

Some ideas from the stories North told in this episode:
– If you aren’t failing, then you aren’t trying hard enough
– Trust your gut
– Creative > Production
– All great creative begins with a strong consumer insight
– F.B.N.A (Free Beer No Assholes)
– Fastertizing

Related content mentioned in this episode

Headline Writing: How a junior marketer beat the CEO’s headline by 92% (https://marketingexperiments.com/copywriting/headline-testing)

How Marketing Skills Are Helping Employee Recruitment and Satisfaction: 3 quick case studies (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-skills-employee-hiring)

500 Mangled, Stretchy Rubber Guys: Make sure you have the right marketing partner for your super creative plan – Podcast Episode #3 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/direct-mail-podcast)

Creative Inspiration: 9 mini case studies of marketing campaigns and business ideas sparked by unorthodox inspiration (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/9-mini-case-studies-of-creative-marketing)

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

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Customer-first objectives (https://meclabs.com/course/lessons/customer-first-objectives/). You may think of these three words when you hear our latest guest describe his role in the creation of the first internet banner ad (which had a clickthrough rate of … wait for it… 44%!).

He described the objective behind the ad this way – create a form of advertising that is at once a gift to the consumer, and a doorway to a universe of possibility.

That was one of the lessons from the stories our guest shared with host Daniel Burstein in Episode #10 of the How I Made It in Marketing podcast. Listen now to hear Joe McCambley, Chief Marketing Officer, Saatva (https://www.saatva.com/), share lesson-filled stories from his work with AT&T, Sports Illustrated, Boston Edison, Saatva, and many more brands.

Lessons from this episode

One of the most important lessons he learned as a creative person came as a result of things he DID NOT make
There is someone to delight at the other end of every ad
Create a form of advertising that is at once a gift to the consumer, and a doorway to a universe of possibility
If you always keep your promises, you will be the kind of person people want to do business with
Focus makes an ad great
If you want to create and innovate, you should surround yourself with creative and innovative people

Related content mentioned in this episode

MECLABS Institute Research Library (https://meclabs.com/research)

Marketing 101: What is baking in? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/marketing-101-what-is-baking-in/)

Marketing 101: What are microsites? (plus 3 successful microsite examples and 2 missteps) (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/marketing-101-what-are-microsites/)

Content Marketing and SEO: The world doesn’t need another blog post (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/search-marketing/customer-focused-content-marketing/)

Informed Dissent: The best marketing campaigns come from the best ideas (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/online-marketing/marketing-dissent-campaigns/)

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages free digital marketing course (https://meclabs.com/course/).

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The marketer is central to the success of any organization. Which is why the very first section of the Landing Page Blueprint (https://meclabs.com/course/blueprint/), before there is any mention of anything on the landing page, is about The Marketer.

Our latest guest described it this way – the five most important things in a startup or any creative process are people, people, people, market, and product.

That is just one of the lessons from the stories Paul Krasinski, CEO and Founder, Epicenter Experience (https://www.epicenterexp.com/), shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #9.

Stories (with lessons) about what he made in marketing

Some lessons from Krasinski that emerged in their discussion:

5 most important things in a startup or any creative process – people, people, people, market, and product
Collaboration – there is no place for top-down management when creating something new.
Stand back and let the magic happen

Stories (with lessons) about the people he made it with

Krasinski also shared lessons he learned from the people he collaborated with in his career:

Don’t take things personally
Humility and curiosity
Power of relationships
Don’t act like a rock star

Articles, podcasts, and a book mentioned in this episode:

Content Marketing: How to help subject matter experts come up with blog topics (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/content-marketing-2/content-marketing-how-to-blog-topics/)

Marketing Careers: 6 reasons to embrace a career in marketing (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing)

Forensic Reporting on Marketing Campaigns: Dig deep to replicate your successes (and learn from your failures) with marketing and sales enablement case studies (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/replicate-your-successes-with-case-studies/)

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217649/the-second-mountain-by-david-brooks/) by David Brooks

Don’t Give Clients What They Want: “That’s also the name of a convention for adults who dress as toddlers” – Podcast Episode #6 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/client-management)

The Psychology of Blue Jeans: What marketers can learn from 150 years of Levi Strauss customer letters – Podcast Episode #4 (https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-psychology)

Get more episodes

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

About this podcast

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher free digital marketing course – https://meclabs.com/course/

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Empathy is not just the human choice, it’s the right choice for business. The power that your own stories have to connect more effectively with others.

These are a few of the lessons from the stories Nasya Kamrat, CEO and co-founder, FACULTY (https://www.wearefaculty.com/), shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #8 of the How I Made It in Marketing podcast.

Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketing

Some lessons from Kamrat that emerged in our discussion:

Know when to ask for help

While in the maternity ward, Kamrat led a big pitch via video conference. In the middle of the meeting, the woman in the room next to her went into labor – alarms blaring, hospital machines beeping, people shouting and lights flashing. Of course, she couldn’t mute fast enough. Everyone on the call stopped and looked at her. She responded, “oh, you know, the sounds of Brooklyn.” They all nodded like that was a totally acceptable answer and went on with the meeting.
Empathy is not just the human choice, it’s the right choice for business.

In the early days of Covid, Kamrat had a Zoom call with a prospective client. She went into pitch mode instead of having empathy. Her agency did not get a second call.

Supporting other underrepresented founders, lifting as we climb

When she started her business 12 years ago, Kamrat and her founding partner had to make a decision – were they going to get certified as a woman-owned or a minority-owned agency? Much to their surprise, they couldn’t be both.

Stories (with lessons) about the people she made that marketing with

Kamrat also shared lessons she learned from the people she collaborated with in her career:

Bill Prince, SVP of Entertainment, Holland America Line: An example of how to be authentic

The cruise line is a current and long-standing client of Kamrat’s agency. Early on, Prince would get incredibly annoyed with her. She’d come up with a fancy deck in her fancy clothes and spout all the expected marketing speak. And he’d immediately tune out. The minute she started talking to him as a real person and not a client, they not only became friends but also very effective partners.

Aaron Wolfe, Chief Creative Officer, Faculty: The power that your own stories have to connect more effectively with others

Hearing her co-worker’s story of moving out of New York City inspired Kumrat to move her family out of the city as well.

Lori Spielberger Klein, Consultant, LSK Creative Connect: How to embrace empathy and humor in leadership

Kamrat worked with Klein at Havas Health, when Klein was an EVP and the Director of Creative Strategy. Klein created an environment that made the creative work fun, exemplified by a New Yorker cartoon she had on her door of a bunch of brain surgeons with the caption, “hey, at least it’s not advertising.”

A free tool mentioned in this episode:

Customer Theory: How to leverage empathy in your marketing (with free tool) (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/customer-theory-leverage-empathy-free-tool)

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About

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher free digital marketing course – https://meclabs.com/course/

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Keep it simple. You are nothing without the people around you.

These are a few of the lessons from the stories Maja Frølunde Sand-Grimnitz, Director of Global Marketing for Consumer Gaming, EPOS (formerly Sennheiser Communications)(https://www.eposaudio.com/) shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #7.

Some lessons from Sand-Grimnitz that emerged in their discussion:

– Keep it simple…both in defining the problem/need of the consumer and developing the solution and communication to meet that need

Sand-Grimnitz led sales and marketing for Denmark’s hosting of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship (which has an estimated global viewership of 1.3 billion people). But Danes don’t know ice hockey. Instead of a campaign explaining ice hockey, she kept it simple by focusing on the entertainment/leisure budgets of potential attendees, and focused on the entertainment aspect – adrenaline, action, competition. In the end, the campaign sold 525K tickets and generated 130M+ Danish krone in revenue (116% of the target).

– You are nothing without the people around you

Sand-Grimnitz was part of building the sports media brand, ONE Championship. She was in her hotel room working late to prepare for the mixed martial arts brand’s first Pan-Asian Summit. She rushed down to the first floor where she saw the entire team working on packing gift bags for the hundreds of guests. She went in, got what she needed and went back to her room thinking, “good, they are on that, and I am on the rest.” However, in the eyes of her team, they saw a leader that didn’t pitch in.

– Positioning marketing as a commercial discipline

Going into her 1st budget meeting with C-level management at EPOS, Sand-Grimnitz thought it was enough to put the marketing plan, KPIs & needed budget in front of them. But that didn’t cut it. She went back & restructured the presentation to communicate a more holistic plan.

Sand-Grimnitz also shared lessons she learned from people she collaborated with:

– Keld Strudahl, Founder, BrandActivators & Sports Marketing Strategies: If you master stakeholder management and getting people to buy into your plan/idea, the sky is the limit.

While Strudahl & Sand-Grimnitz were at Carlsberg Group, she briefed the top 3 men & women from the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup about a brand activation. She used marketing industry terms &just told them what to do. Strudahl gently pulled her aside & told her she needed to speak their language

– Victor Cui, President & CEO, Edmonton Elks: The power of being a humble leader when called for

This story place after the gift bag incident (mentioned earlier) when Cui & Sand-Grimnitz were at ONE Championship. Cui informed her that he would scold her publicly at the upcoming team meeting for not pitching in when the team needed her.

– Iris Isabella Engelund, CEO & Founder, Play Your Talent: If you have dreams, pursue them or let them go

Sand-Grimnitz called Engelund saying she was feeling restless & not motivated but didn’t understand why – her job was good & interesting, career path was moving in the right direction, etc. Engelund helped her map out a 5-year plan for professional ambitions, but also the dreams beyond that.

A podcast episode and free toolkit mentioned in this episode:

How to Model Your Customer’s Mind (https://meclabs.com/about/research-partnerships)

500 Mangled, Stretchy Rubber Guys: Make sure you have the right marketing partner for your super creative plan – Podcast Episode #3 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/direct-mail-podcast)

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Don’t give clients whatever they ask for. The most fatal blind spot lies in audience knowledge.

These are a few of the lessons from the stories Liz Harr, Partner, Hinge (https://hingemarketing.com/), shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #6 of the How I Made It in Marketing podcast.

Some lessons from Harr that emerged in our discussion:

Don’t give clients whatever they ask for: When a tech client wanted to name its conference CapCon, Harr’s team did some competitive research and discovered that it was the name of an annual convention for age players – also known as adults who dress up like toddlers and tykes.
The most fatal blind spot lies in audience knowledge: Harr worked with a client whose website messaging centered on the fact that everyone on the team came from a Big Four accounting firm. While the messaging was designed to reassure prospects, Harr’s team interviewed executives from deals the firm lost and discovered this messaging communicated something else…A-team rates for basic administrative tasks.
Keep friends close and your enemies closer…because enemies can make great partners: When Harr owned a VAR (value added reseller), collaborating with and ultimately merging with a competitor ended up saving both companies during the financial collapse of 2008…and it all began by networking with one of their biggest competitors.

Harr also shared lessons she learned from the people she collaborated with in her career:

Junya Sugimoto of the Ministry of Education at Yao Shi Precinct in Osaka taught her to just be. Her first job right out of college was at the Japanese Ministry of Education. One day her boss sat her down for a heart-to-heart talk about how to make a bigger impact by bringing more of her real self to work – the part of her that enjoyed listening to people, making connections with them, and working as part of a team with the same goals.
Shams Zaman, CFO, Technologist taught her the power that your own stories have to connect more effectively with others: Harr was asked to help run a side business, a car dealership. It didn’t work out, and she was fired. Her boss (Zaman) told her, “Sometimes, the worst moments in life are the launch pads for getting us to where we’re really meant to be.” She has used this story and moment of vulnerability to connect with people reporting to her throughout her career.
Lee Frederiksen, Managing Partner, Hinge taught her that our peers play a key role in our development as leaders and experts in our field: Frederiksen coached and advised her through business and personal crises when she ran a startup, and Harr went on to work with him at Hinge.

Articles (and a keynote video) mentioned in this episode:

The Marketer’s Blind Spot: 3 ways to overcome the marketer’s greatest obstacle to effective messaging (https://meclabs.com/research/lecture/marketing-blindspots-flint-mcglaughlin)

Customer-First Marketing: A conversation with Wharton, MarketingSherpa, and MECLABS Institute (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/consumer-marketing/wharton-interview-customer-first-marketing/)

Why You Should Thank Your Competitors (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/why-thank-your-competitors/)

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

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In Episode #5, Daniel Burstein, Senior Director of Content & Marketing, MarketingSherpa, interviewed Jonathan Fashbaugh, President, Pro Impressions Marketing (https://www.proimpressionsgroup.com/).

Some lessons from Fashbaugh that emerged in the discussion:

Popular content isn't always the best content for the client. His team blogged on a dentist’s website about the vampire fang effect that was used in the TV show “True Blood.” The post explained how people could get porcelain veneers that looked like fangs…only problems was, the dentist did not offer that service.
Well-written content put together by someone who understands the business can go a very long way toward the client's success. Fashbaugh went to seminars with a dentist, shared a hotel with him, and was his hands-on patient for the courses they attended together. He used this course as experience to help inform the website he was building for the dentist.
Attention to detail in a niche pays dividends. Dentists have taught Fashbaugh to be very picky. There was a stock photo floating around that many design companies were using. But if you looked closely, the model was missing one of her teeth toward the back of her mouth.

Fashbaugh also shared lessons he learned from the people he collaborated with in his career:

Robin Schmachtenberger, Owner, idolum – Don't go around your supervisor, and you don't throw your weight around as the new person.
Bill Fukui, Senior Director of Business Development, MedShark Digital – Always get the client or prospect on the phone before you give up the goods.
Jeff Haddad, Owner and Dentist, Rochester Advanced Dentistry – Communicating with consumers in their language.

Articles (and a course) mentioned in this episode:

Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/)– free digital marketing course from MECLABS Institute, MarketingSherpa’s parent organization

Banner Blindness: Why your marketing messages are hiding in plain sight (https://marketingexperiments.com/digital-advertising/banner-blindness-messages-hiding)

Ask MarketingSherpa: Copywriting for non-native English speakers (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/copywriting/non-native-english-speakers/)

Quick Win Intensive (https://meclabs.com/QuickWinIntensive) – from MECLABS

Value Proposition Workshop (https://meclabs.com/services/value-proposition) – from MECLABS

Marketing 101: What is a Design Brief? (with 2 examples) (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/design-2/marketing-101-what-is-a-design-brief-with-2-examples/)

Customer Centricity: How to use transparency to generate customer trust (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/video/transparency-to-generate-customer-trust) – featured session from Michael Norton, Associate Professor, Harvard Business School

500 Mangled, Stretchy Rubber Guys: Make sure you have the right marketing partner for your super creative plan (Podcast Episode #3) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/direct-mail-podcast) – Discussion with Michelle Burrows, CMO, Splashtop

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Daniel Burstein spoke to Dr. Michael Solomon, Professor of Marketing, Saint Joseph’s University (https://www.sju.edu/) in Episode #4.

Some lessons that emerged in the discussion:

Don’t overlook unconventional sources of data. When Dr. Solomon worked with Levi Strauss on the psychology of blue jeans, he learned a lot by poring through letters customers had written to the company over 150 years.
Interact as much as possible with real consumers when you’re developing a new product. Dr. Solomon’s team observed how users struggled with a popular cleaning product from Black & Decker. By making a simple design change that didn’t occur to the engineers, this brand became the market leader in its category.
Get frequent reality checks from customers. As an author of several marketing textbooks, Dr. Solomon discovered that his frame of reference is not the same as his readers (typically college students). For example, when he discussed cultural events like 9/11, he had to remind himself that his readers were infants when this occurred.

Dr. Solomon also shared lessons he gained from the people he collaborated with in his career:

John Greco, Chair and CEO, Marketing IMPACT Council taught him about the strength of weak ties. Networking with associates of a colleague can be very effective. John reinforced the value of maintaining strong networks and partnerships where members possess complementary skills.
Dr. Malaika Brengman, Associate Professor of Marketing, Vrije Universiteit Brussel taught him about finding collaborators with complementary skillsets. Collaborating on research about robotic service providers, he has seen how valuable it can be to team up with a colleague who has a different frame of reference and background.
Jacqueline Lew, Executive Director / Global Head of Consumer & Brand Health Practice, CI Product Leadership, NielsenIQ taught him to always be vigilant about updating assumptions. Jacqueline’s frame of reference is global (she is based in Malaysia) and her perspective has been useful to him as he checks his assumptions about consumer behavior in other parts of the world.

Dr. Solomon’s parting words of advice: “Always start at least with the assumption that your frame of reference is not the same as your customers”

Articles (and a book) mentioned in this episode:

The New Chameleons: How to Connect with Consumers Who Defy Categorization (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-new-chameleons-the-new-chameleons-michael-r-solomon/1136940991) – his book

Mobile Marketing: 4 takeaways on how to improve your mobile shopping experience beyond just responsive design (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/mobile-marketing-four-takeaways-on-how-to-improve-your-mobile-shopping-experience-beyond-just-responsive-design)– eBags used customer anthropology to discover how customers shop for handbags online

Customer Theory: How to leverage empathy in your marketing (with free tool) (https://marketingexperiments.com/conversion-marketing/customer-theory-leverage-empathy-free-tool)

Content Marketing: You must overcome The Jackson 5 Effect to find subject matter experts (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/content-marketing-2/content-marketing-jackson-5-effect/)

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Trust your gut – always, especially in regard to hiring and retention decisions. Negotiate – and know your worth.

These are a few of the lessons Michelle Burrows, CMO, Splashtop (https://www.splashtop.com/), shared with Daniel Burstein in Episode #3 of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast.

We discussed:

Make sure you have the right partner for what you want to do: Why a test direct marketing campaign of 500 dimensional mailers went awry
Trust your gut always…especially regarding hiring and retention decisions: The chief marketing officer shares what she learned from leading teams ranging in size from three to 130, including the hiring decision that she realized was a mistake after only three weeks. “What you’ll tolerate speaks volumes to the rest of the organization,” she said.
Negotiate, and know your worth: A tactic she overlooked for the first 10 years of her career

Burrows also shared lessons she gained from the people she collaborated with in her career:

Dick Schulte, Executive Coach, Services, Optiv Security: how to work in a different country, when a move to Europe that was supposed to last six weeks to three months (max) turned into a five-year stay
Denise Persson, CMO, Snowflake: humility from a leader who went on to help launch one of the most successful IPOs ever
Mariann McDonagh, CMO, WorkFusion: heart-centered leadership

Articles (and a webinar replay) mentioned in this episode:

B2B Social Media Marketing: DocuSign's targeted LinkedIn InMail strategy creates 3 large pipeline opportunities (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/video/webinar/successful-b2b-linkedin-inmail-strategy) – interview with Meagen Eisenberg

What are the most valuable marketing skills? (with free resources to improve those skills) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/career-climber/the-5-essential-marketing-skills-you-need-to-be-successful) – includes advice on an interview question to discover how well the candidate understood customers in their previous role

14 Strategies for Hiring and Retaining Marketing Professionals (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-hiring) – discusses some ways to attract employees beyond salary, such as sabbaticals, four-day workweeks, extra paid time off, and more

The De-Branding Campaign: When customers make fun of your new product launch (Episode #2) (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/debranding) – Everyone in the organization has an opinion on marketing

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher free digital marketing course – https://meclabs.com/course/

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In Episode #2, Daniel Burstein talks to Natalie Marcotullio, Head of Growth and Operations, Navattic (https://www.navattic.com/).

Natalie shares key lessons from what she’s made (and in her case, unmade) – ranging from a de-branding campaign to a redesigned website – in her career where she often was the sole marketer in the company. We discussed:

A de-branding campaign and the importance of being agile when things go so wrong
Building, writing, and designing three ad campaigns per month as a solo marketer – why that is too much, quality must trump quantity, and how a marketing calendar helped
“Unless you’re doing research, you’re not going to do effective marketing” – she gets up from her desk, goes for a walk, and listens in to sales calls to learn from customer reactions
Redesigning the website based on a shift in the ideal customer profile. In the redesign, she put prospects experience above all else. The results – 40% conversion rates from any lead who fills out a form on the website to booking a meeting with the sales team. They also have a nearly 50% win rate, showing the quality of the leads.

Natalie also shares lessons she gained from influential mentors and managers in her career:

Matthew Sniff, Chief Product Officer, Map My Customers – blocking off learning time
Andrea Kayal, CMO, Electric – sticking up for brand strategy in leadership sessions
Chris Walker, CEO, Refine Labs – putting your buyer above what may be best for your bottom line

Articles (plus a book and a course) mentioned in this episode:

Product Development Chart: A “minimum viable product” is not enough to satisfy customers (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/minimum-viable-vs-minimum-awesome)

The Marketer as Philosopher: 40 Brief Reflections on the Power of Your Value Proposition book by Flint McGlaughlin, CEO, MarketingSherpa & MECLABS (https://meclabs.com/course/the-marketer-as-philosopher/)

Scaling to a $15 million company in 18 months by transparently serving an ideal customer (and saying “no” to other business) – Podcast Episode #1 (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/scaling-podcast)

The Content Marketing Tipping Point: Marcus Sheridan’s magic number is 30, what is yours? (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/email-marketing/content-marketing-magic-number/)

MarketingSherpa Library (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/library) – 8,768 case studies, articles, and videos

Become a Marketer-Philosopher: Create and optimize high-converting webpages (https://meclabs.com/course/) (free digital marketing course)

Customer-First Marketing Chart: How to get customers to give your company a second chance (https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/how-customers-give-second-chance)

2022 Growth Trends Interview Series, Episode 5: Community building with Chris Walker (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6887062373966848000/)

The Radical Idea: Outsourcing that touches the customer is penny wise, but pound foolish (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/radical-idea-outsourcing/)

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In the debut episode of the How I Made It In Marketing podcast, Daniel Burstein talks to Whitney Hill, Co-Founder and Head of Business Operations & Development, Snap ADU (https://snapadu.com/).

Whitney shares key lessons from what she’s made – ranging from Excel data tools to a transparent website to a memorable brand name – in a career that has spanned Yale, an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, Seamless.com, Bain & Company, and more. We discussed:

Winning on execution: using real-time data to intrinsically motivate a warehouse fulfillment team (and reduce headcount by 20 percent)
Scaling to a $15 million company in 18 months with the help of Excel tools, pricing transparency, focusing on the ideal customer, and more
Promoting transparency to gain trust: being an information source for an industry (whether or not people buy from you) – including clear, upfront pricing – to help attract 75% of the company’s business through organic search
Being memorable and pithy: rebranding from a traditional construction company name (Moore Construction) to a name that better communicates the value proposition and helps with SEO (Snap ADU)

She also shares lessons she gained from influential mentors and managers in her career:

Wiley Cierlli, CEO and Founder, Good Uncle – honing an elevator pitch
Andrew Benoit, Founder & CEO, ZoneJump – building a legacy
Paul Cichocki, EVP & Chief Commercial Officer, BJ's Wholesale Club – managing a data team
Mike Moore, Co-Founder & Head of Production, SnapADU – nurturing business relationships

Articles mentioned in this episode:

Sales Funnel: 3 case studies with tips on how to say “no” to customers and improve marketing results – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/sales-funnel-3-case-studies-with-tips-on-how-to-say-no-to-customers-and-improve-marketing-results (Quick Case Study #1 in this article shows how Whitney helped improve proposal close rate by 55 percent)

14 Strategies for Hiring and Retaining Marketing Professionals – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-hiring

How to Win Friends and Influence People (book by Dale Carnegie) – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-dale-carnegie/1100370318

Hospitals Hide Prices on Web, Undermining Disclosure Rule. – https://www.wsj.com/articles/hospitals-hide-pricing-data-from-search-results-11616405402

Is Your Company Embracing ‘Fear-Based’ or ‘Fear-Less’ Marketing in 2012 and Beyond? – https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing/fear-less-marketing/ (Marcus Sheridan shares how transparent pricing information on River Pools & Spas website helped generate 124,000 page views over two years)

To receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://marketingsherpa.com/newsletters

This podcast is not about marketing – it is about the marketer. It draws its inspiration from the Flint McGlaughlin quote, “The key to transformative marketing is a transformed marketer” from the Become a Marketer-Philosopher free digital marketing course – https://meclabs.com/course/&l

How I Made it in Marketing: Recent Episodes

Daniel Burstein