How I Made it in Marketing

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 episodeScaling 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 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.Our next live workshopJoin 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)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

“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 withMake 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 episodeHow 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 StudiesA/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 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 (https://meclabs.com/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

“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 marketingSome 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 episodeMarketing 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 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 (https://meclabs.com/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

“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 marketingTenaciously 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-businessHow 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 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 – https://meclabs.com/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

“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 marketingSome lessons from Reodo that emerged in our discussion:Always have fun.Build communities and coalitionsRuthlessly prioritizeAt 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-studyCreative Marketing: Does it all make sense? (Podcast Episode #19) – https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creativeAbout 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 – https://meclabs.com/course/Live eventGet 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/BuyerPsychologyGet 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

 “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 marketingPut stock in your own brandWhen no one is raising their hand for something that can make an impact, raise your handCustomer experience and feedback are vital to successYour company is not your advocate, you need to advocate for yourselfAppreciate 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 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/) 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 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 (https://meclabs.com/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

“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 marketingSome lessons from Brown that emerged in our discussion:Understand the “why” behind any current program, process, or structure before you make significant changesGet scalable fulfillment in place before you generate demandAllow for customization while maintaining brand standards & servicesHave a Gumby attitude during launchMarketing decisions have a ripple effect on the entire organizationBe self-aware of how others perceive you, or more importantly, your delivery of information. A positive attitude can be viral in any settingRelated 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 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 (https://meclabs.com/course/).Get moApply 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

“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 episode Not 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 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 (https://meclabs.com/course/).Get more episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://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

“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 episode Corporate 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 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 (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/).Get more episodesTo receive future episodes of how I Made It In Marketing, sign up to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter at https://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

“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 episodeThe 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/)Get more episodesApply 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