Steven Aguiar

08 Feb

Posted at 00:00h in agency marketing, B2B Marketing
There are no two ways about it: setting business goals is crucial, especially within marketing and sales teams. Goals propel businesses forward, by encouraging teams to strive for the best. And as Stephen Covey said, goals allow us to “begin with the end in mind," enabling us to measure long-term progress and successes on the path to that specific end. While most of us can readily grasp the importance of goals, accomplishing them in practice is another matter. One particularly critical yet challenging element of goal-setting is selecting the metrics by which our performances will be gauged. This is where lead and lag metrics – two ways of organizing internal KPIs – offer a helpful framework for identifying what's working and what's not on the path towards success.

30 Jan

Posted at 00:00h in agency marketing, publisher marketing, Social Media Marketing, Travel Marketing
There's a wave of change sweeping through the ad industry right now. Creative talent is leaving corporate powerhouses to start their own shops. Established agencies are dealing with the structural challenge of creating content for both traditional media and emerging platforms. Programmatic, native, and social advertising each claim to be the next big thing. Agencies are lining up and placing their bets. Seasoned creative pros Eve Asbury and Tina Cervera, the co-founders of Wit & Measure, are building an agency from scratch in the middle of it all. We caught up with them to talk about creating a scalable infrastructure, how to compete with bigger agencies, and the biggest piece of advice they have for creatives looking to branch out on their own.

10 Dec

Posted at 00:00h in B2B Marketing

Scalability is defined as “the capability of a system, network, or process to handle a growing amount of work, or its potential to be enlarged in order to accommodate that growth.” (Thanks, Wikipedia!) Conversations about scalability are commonplace in the venture-backed startup scene, and for good reason. Scalability is a prerequisite for rapid growth. With digital products and social networks, the marginal cost of selling another product or adding another user is practically zero (ignoring, for this moment, the downstream need for salespeople, marketers, customer service reps and other personnel). Code-driven business models create the possibility to build a billion-dollar company with only thirteen people.

30 Nov

Posted at 00:00h in Agency Sales, B2B Marketing, publisher marketing, Travel Marketing
Congratulations. If you've made it to the proposal stage with a potential client, that means you've been out there taking calls, booking meetings and learning about how you can help another company accomplish their goals. Now that you've done the groundwork, its time to seal the deal with a killer proposal. At this point, you've should have already had thorough discussion with your potential client about their needs, bugdet and timeline and how you plan to help. The purpose of a proposal is simple: to formally outline all of your learnings form the sales process and get them to sign (or click) on the dotted line. Whether you are a freelancer, an agency or a business, nailing your proposals is a critical skill. Here’s how to do it.

28 Nov

Posted at 00:00h in agency marketing, B2B Marketing
You got your foot in the door. The VP of Marketing at a Fortune 500 company liked your proposal and has invited you in to pitch. The pressure is on. Winning this contract could be a game-changer. The question is, how do you convince Mr. Fortune 500 that your agency is his best option, especially when he’s used to working with partners who have a more extensive track record? Recently, George Sanchez decided to find the answer to this question. Over a few months, Sanchez interviewed eight former CMOs from Fortune 500 brands. It was an exercise in primary research that Sanchez hoped would validate the hypothesis behind his company. Sanchez is the founder of 49co:, a business development engine which represents a collective of specialized independent agencies, so these questions are key to his work: are big brands open to working with smaller firms? If so, what considerations do they make during the procurement process? What follows are four major recommendations for growing agencies who want to bat in the big leagues, alongside the direct responses CMOs gave on those very topics. After you've reviewed their answers, learn how to seal the deal with a winning proposal.

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