How I Made it in Marketing

“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

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