How I Made it in Marketing

“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 marketingTake 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 episodeMarketing 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 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 episodesTo receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf 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

“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 marketingSome 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 HendersonThe 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 episodePublic 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 podcastThis podcast is not about marketing – it is about the mApply to be a guestIf 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

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 marketingSometimes 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 episodeMarketing Careers: Why marketers and media professionals must never lose their wild spark (https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/marketing-careers/media-professionals-wild-spark/)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 episodesTo receive future episodes of How I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf 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

“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 marketingSome 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 episodeNot 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 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 episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf 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

“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 behaviorThis 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 episodeMarketing 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 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 episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf 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

“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 marketingHumble 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 patienceRelated content mentioned in this episodeMarketingSherpa (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 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 episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf 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

“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 marketingTake chances, be prepared to fail, and pivotWalk your own pathTake care of yourselfBuild communities, not a customer listTransparent leadership with a first-team mindset Unvarnished truth leads to powerful solutions and better collaborationRelated content mentioned in this episodeHow 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 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 episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf 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

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 discussedBalance the art and science of marketingGet out of your comfort zoneFirst team firstChallenge your team and help them growIt’s hard to be simpleBalance an extremely successful career with a really interesting lifeCoaching 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 employmentGo into a meeting with a high-level story – never the detailsRelated content mentioned in this episodeNFTs 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 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.Get more episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf 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

“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).Editor's Note: Unfortunately, there is a few minutes of static-y audio here and there in this episode, but stick with it. It doesn't last long. "Lo Nora" (you'll understand that reference when you listen to the episode).Stories (with lessons) about what she made in marketingHow to build a marketing program from 0 to acquisition – strategize, prioritize, and put in the hard workHow to build content when no one understands your field – expert guestsB2B buyers are people, too! Be BOLDLearn as you goRoll with the punchesRelated content mentioned in this episodeMomentum 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 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 episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newslettersApply to be a guestIf 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

“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 episodeHospitality 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 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 Apply to be a guestIf 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