Joe Marston 🚀’s Post

As a marketing leader, I’m often asked what would be at the “top of my list” after jumping into a new role, opportunity, and/or company. This comes up both formally in a professional context, but also sitting on the couch over drinks and candid conversations. Obviously, it can vary by specific team, company size, industry, trends, etc. Overall though, across all of the above, here would be my Top 3 things on my radar if starting that new gig today: 👂🏻 1) Listen, listen, and listen some more. 👂🏻 Listen to team members, executives, interns, new customers, old customers, ex-customers, contractors, partners, and market feedback. And then do more listening. And more listening tomorrow. And never stop listening. How can you make an informed decision without having a pulse and know where the team has been already? Actions should be dictated by insights, information, cues, reading between the lines, and taking calculated risks after listening, IMHO. Listening to Speaking ratio of at least 2:1. 🦈 2) Do a marketing deep dive. 🦈 Take stock of the valuable talent, technology, and knowledge you *already* available today. Since you’ve invested time listening, you can hopefully help position folks at the intersection of needs (individual, team, company) and genuine employee interests. Swim with each person and squad, and examine strategy and tactics. Examples: Brand - consistent delivery, transparency Content - repurposing webinars, entertainment value Creative - brand kit, repositories Community - expertise, feedback loops Demand Gen - organic posts, referrals Events - live updates, partnerships Hiring - pay equality, accurate descriptions Ops - request form, double opt-ins Sales Enablement - before & afters, experience focus And no, I would definitely NOT change the website just to make a splash in the first 90 days! 😂 🎯 3) Detach, observe, and make a call. 🎯 Studying the Navy Seals, they coach on using this strategy to help prevent freezing up during intense, critical situations. Also, not all decisions will be right, but each one will provide additional information for more accurate future decisions. So, I would take in as much guidance as possible, and make decisions based on those cues. And constantly try to improve on being an effective decision-maker that can walk and chew gum at the same time. Folks far smarter than me figured out it’s much better to make a decision and keep moving forward than get stuck in an analysis paralysis pattern. ====== Ultimately, marketing’s “job” is to be the best possible storyteller, acting as a pseudo media company in the process. This move generates leads, which turn into customers, which generate revenue, and help crank up this flywheel. The more I can be a servant leader and support my team, the happier they’ll become, and the healthier the bottom-line will become tomorrow and over the long-term. #Marketing #Leadership #DayOne

🚨 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 & 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬: 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 🚨 In today’s fast-paced business environment, the pressure to fill roles quickly can lead to costly mistakes. When it comes to 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 and 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, hiring the 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 people can mean the difference between 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 and 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. Here’s why: ✅ 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬: These professionals are the 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥. They don’t just answer calls; they shape customer experiences. The right hires are skilled communicators who know how to build trust, handle objections, and close sales—all while maintaining your brand’s voice. ✅ 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬: These experts are the architects of your growth. They turn ideas into campaigns that generate leads, nurture relationships, and drive conversions. A strong marketer doesn’t just 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦; they 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞: 🚩 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 can result in unmotivated employees who don’t align with your culture or goals. 🚩 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲—soft skills like adaptability, creativity, and emotional intelligence are often the real drivers of success. 🚩 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 can lead to silos and miscommunication, costing you time and money. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐈𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 🔍 Look beyond the resume. Use situational interviews and tests to evaluate real-world problem-solving abilities. 🎯 Prioritize culture fit. Skills can be trained, but attitude and alignment with your vision can’t. 📈 Think long-term. A strategic hire today can prevent costly turnovers and stagnation tomorrow. 💡 At Strategic Edge CMO, we understand the power of 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. Whether you’re building a high-performing marketing team or optimizing your call center operations, we’re here to help. Let’s focus on growth that scales! ➡️ 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧: What’s the best hiring decision you’ve made recently? Share in the comments! #Hiring #CallCenterExcellence #MarketingStrategy #GrowthMindset

If you're hiring a Head of Growth to do 𝙖𝙡𝙡 these things, that's not a growth hire. That's a growth team! I've seen several job postings lately from companies looking for a growth leader who'll own: - Paid ads - Acquisition - Data analysis - B2B Influencer - User onboarding - Pricing optimization - Upgrade campaigns - Account-based campaigns - Conversion rate optimization This is a huge red flag. It means that the founders don't know the exact skills they're looking for. It's a "spray-and-pray" approach to hiring a growth leader—and it rarely works out. ┊ ┊ ⭐️ ┊ ┊ Hi, I'm Ramli "RJ" John. 👋🏽 I help B2B companies turn more new customers into lifelong champions. 👉 Follow me for more posts like this about growth, product, and onboarding.

Incredible connections & conversations this past weekend with candidates. We are still actively reviewing candidates for this highly specialized, senior level search listed below where we need a true, close to perfect match. Have a read. We have been engaged to kick off a search for a Head of Demand Generation (remote) for a highly successful, mature PE-backed Software Development firm. Enterprise licensing AND SMB solutions in a subscription based model (we need both). We are looking for a very particular type of individual. This IS a unicorn search for sure. Having deep demand generation knowledge while currently working for a 300-500 FTE person similar objective firm. And so my search efforts will be focused on finding someone with 100% of the items below: -Someone who is experienced at setting a companies course & vision rooted in demand generation growth (we do not need a CMO), -Solid PLG experience, -Deep diving into large data sets to make decisions, spot trends to direct the course based upon learnings, attribution modeling, -Building high-performing marketing programs across digital channels+ that drive qualified leads, fuel business growth and have a positive impact on the firms future, -This position will be a part of executive team management decisions; this critical leadership role. Leading, mentoring, recruiting a smart Team of highly integrated Demand Generation Talent. Leading then. Not supervising them. There's a difference. If you are this person, feel you directly have solid experience that matches the above, please DM me and we'll line up time to chat. I've got lots to share with you. Compensation - (roughly) $260k+ base, bonus and equity. David Honig #hiring, #demandgeneration, #softwaredevelopment, #subscription, #growth #executivesearch

8️⃣ differences between high-performing and mediocre marketers, in my humble experience: Low to mediocre performers:  ✖ Do not persist past a struggle. They come back to you with more problems.  ✖Are not detail-oriented; their work requires multiple rounds of revision and often includes easy-to-catch mistakes. ✖Are resistant to collaboration; they think they know better than others with more experience.  ✖Do not learn from the past. They repeat the same errors. ✖Are slow to complete work and need repeated reminders to follow a process. ✖ Do not understand that marketing is about taking the prospect’s perspective–If they don’t already understand the concept, I’ve never been able to teach someone the idea that leading with value/“what’s it it for me” means (almost) *ev.er.y.thing.*   ✖Get to about step 2 in an 8-step process, never considering that there are 6 additional steps.   ✖Can compile data, but not interpret it or use it to inform future tactics. High performers:  1️⃣ Come forward with solutions. 2️⃣ Give you high-quality, accurate work the first time, saving you time & energy.  3️⃣ Only ask questions when they’ve exhausted every channel for the answer.  4️⃣ Take the prospect’s perspective, and adjust content by persona accordingly, without prompting. 5️⃣ Operate from a strategic perspective vs. a tactical one, i.e., they’re always thinking of the ultimate *goal* of a tactic and the best way to accomplish it.  6️⃣ Are skilled collaborators and listeners, taking into consideration other stakeholders’ motivations. 7️⃣ Use data & mistakes to learn.  8️⃣ Get stuff done & have new ideas (okay, I snuck in 2). You will pay more for this second type of marketer AND You will get exponentially better, faster results. If you don’t know what to look for, it can be really difficult to tell the differences between good and bad marketers when hiring. Look for examples of the traits in the second half. If you want ideas for how to do that, hit me up. If you have ideas for how you've done that, share below! 👀 Any other traits you'd add to either bucket?

We’re hiring growth marketers. Are you or do you know any curious, driven, and kind people? I’d love to talk. We’re looking for folks who: - Get excited about the full-funnel vs. just a stage in the customer journey - Are super curious and want to learn new things - Love getting in the weeds, but also talking big picture - Maybe you’ve even built something yourself?  - Are kind and love to collaborate Why work with us? - We have a robust growth practice and you’ll get to work on a diverse set of clients, projects, and campaign types - Autonomy to tackle your work in your own way and support to develop your own POV - We value creativity in systems - A great place to deepen and practice your craft - Work with a team that has expectations that match your own - Competitive salary, profit sharing, health benefits, 401k, family leave, and flexible PTO and WFH policy Sound interesting? Link to the JD in the comments. #growthmarketing #gigalert #marketing

My former colleague stopped me in the street. After we caught up, he had a burning question. How do you hire great ecommerce marketers? As a former VP of Retention, I interviewed hundreds and hired less than a dozen. Those hires helped me grow as a marketer and helped me grow email & SMS revenues by millions in months. Here are my three key hiring values I always look for… and continue to look for in HiFlyer Digital. What’s your hiring process look like? #retention #ecommerce #emailmarketing

we've learned a lot from hiring over the years. through it all, we've learned a valuable lesson: it's about hiring the athlete—not the sport. what do I mean by this? we've discovered that hiring people who don't have the typical b2b SaaS background or the 'ideal' LinkedIn profile can actually work wonders. when we evaluate candidates, we ask ourselves: ➝ can this person handle our unique challenges and opportunities?  ➝ are they smart, high-energy, super driven, and hungry to learn?  ➝ do they just 'get it'? if yes, how fast? we've found it's often better to hire someone with these qualities than someone with a perfect profile who's just been 'part of the sport' for many years. they might not know everything about our specific industry, but if they're smart and adaptable, they'll figure it out quickly. take Kayla Mosebrook, one of our newest Customer Success Managers. she's never worked in b2b SaaS before—but she's crushing it. why? because she speaks our customers' language—because she was the customer. or look at Hurriyeh Iftikhar, our new Director of Marketing. her skills in organic reach, brand marketing, and positioning are having a huge impact. what's really valuable is her deep understanding of how our market operates, thinks, and makes decisions. plus, she's a passionate consumer who frequently engages with the types of brands Siena AI works with. this firsthand experience is invaluable. then there's Priya Shah, our recently promoted Director of Product. she brings a fresh perspective on how to build products sustainably and align all departments in bringing those products to market effectively. her 'founder mindset' is driving innovation across the company. we're focused on hiring hungry people who are eager to learn and have a vision for themselves. because in the end, it's not about the sport they've played. it's about their potential to win the game.

They Saved on Hiring, But It Cost Them Their Growth: A D2C Hiring Tale a leading D2C skincare brand based in MP was scaling rapidly and needed to build a strong marketing team to support their growth. They partnered with a recruitment agency to help hire key roles, including a Performance Marketing Manager. The agency assigned Ananya, a recruiter with 7 years of experience in hiring for D2C brands. She quickly understood the brand’s vision and identified candidates with expertise in scaling campaigns on platforms like Meta and Google. Within 6 months, AnanyA filled 5 critical marketing positions, including the Performance Marketing Manager, who drove a 40% increase in ROI within the first quarter. After a year, when the agency’s contract was up for renewal, the brand decided, “Why pay agency fees anymore? We now know the profiles we need, and our in-house team can handle it at a fraction of the cost.” They let the agency go and shifted hiring in-house. What happened? • Their in-house team struggled to find candidates with niche D2C expertise. • Campaign performance stagnated as key roles remained unfilled. • Critical hires turned out to be poor fits, leading to high turnover and wasted time. After 8 months of slowed growth, the brand reached out to the agency again, admitting, “We didn’t realize how much expertise and market insights matter in finding the right talent. This hiring gap has cost us more than we saved.” The lesson for D2C brands? In the fast-paced world of direct-to-consumer businesses, hiring the right talent isn’t just a task—it’s a growth strategy. Cutting corners on recruitment can be the most expensive mistake you’ll ever make. #d2c #d2cHiring #Recruitment

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 “𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞”. We buy things because the marketing is telling us a story. ❓ How will it impact people’s lives ❓ It is appealing to consumers desires, aspirations and values. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 And I don’t mean by charging a stupidly low fee. You want loyal customers who recognise why they came to you in the first place They are happy with the results and the consulting you did to make hiring easier. 😲 Don’t brag that you have undercut the competition by 5% 😲 It’s not the brag you think it is You have to fill 5 times as many jobs, meaning you don’t spend the time consulting on the one. #r2r #rec2rec #marketing