Director of Digital Marketing Strategy, Business Development, and Founder
Cheddar Advertising | May 2012 – Present
I founded and bootstrapped an exceptional boutique digital advertising agency with a staff of 15 full-time team members. Over the last eight years, I have scouted, developed, and signed over 100 clients in verticals ranging from Home Services, Medical, eCommerce, and everything in between. I had to become an expert at all things marketing, advertising, and sales. I have a lifetime of experience and results; below is a list of each skill while actively working and promoting Cheddar Advertising.
Digital Marketing and Advertising
Copywriting and Content Marketing
I write copy that sells and words that Google Loves to List. More on that when you read list item #2. I create content that can live in blogs, websites, marketing emails, direct mail, and direct response.
Search Engine Optimization, aka SEO!
I have a deep understanding of SEO tactics, including EAT theory, Google’s Artificial Intelligence “Rank Brian,” Backlinking, and website content aging.
I have developed multiple 1st, 2nd, and 3rd keyword positions for national clients. I created a winning hyper-local strategy for more localized regional and small businesses.
WordPress Development and Graphic Design
I have ten years of experience as a WordPress frontend designer.
- Designed or Art Directed over one hundred client websites.
- HTML+CSS 10 years experience
- Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator expert with ten years of experience
- I Developed landing pages designed to convert visitors into users or leads.
- UX Design and A/B testing
Social Media Marketing and Advertising
Paid Social Media Advertising: I have designed and or lead hundreds of social media paid campaigns.
- Facebook and Instagram Advertising
- YouTube Pre Roll Ads
Google AdWords & PPC
Google AdWords & PPC: As an early adopter of pay per click advertising. (Do you remember Overture?) I have built a multitude of PPC, Display, and remarketing campaigns through the GoogleAds bing platforms.
CRM’s, Demand Generation, and Marketing Campaigns
I take a holistic approach to understand the stakeholder’s journey. Ensuring each tactic, platform, and arrow in a quiver are used in a marketing plan or advertising campaign is where the rubber meets the road in results.
- Landing Page Design
- Account-Based Marketing Principals.
- Marketing Automation
- Drip Campaigns
- Salesforce, ZOHO, Pipedrive
Analytics and Analysis
I use Google Analytics in all of my web projects since 2008. It is the tool in which I use to measure all of my work’s success rates. I have a deep understanding and experience in the following:
- Data Measurement
- Understanding Metrics and Dimensions
- Custom Segmentation
- Custom Reporting
- Google Tag Manager
- Google Search Console
Business Development
Business Development Overview
I developed an intricate account-based marketing strategy for both short and long sales cycles. While creating new ways to make the business grow in the face of an ever-growing competitive landscape, I promoted the Cheddar brand through outreach, press, and public speaking events. All of these efforts worked in concert will our digital strategy. Below are the tactics, platforms, and techniques I used in my demanding role.
Client Prospecting and Account-Based Marketing
I bootstrapped Cheddar through advanced account-based marketing methods that I have honed over my career. I have combined cold outreach, targeted client prospecting, lead sourcing, and CRM platforms to achieve success not only for Cheddar Advertising but our clients as well.
Marketing Automation
The agency sales cycle can be as short as a week to as long as a couple of years. I developed a Marketing Automation process that incorporated a personal drip email campaign, Google Ad Remarketing, and social media retargeting.
Strategic Thinking
To both pitch and execute on new business, I developed strategy and tactical plans for each proposal.
- Job and Labor Costing: I planned labor and execution costs to ensure each proposal would make money for the agency.
- Negotiating Skills: With each proposal, I had numbers I had to meet to make the machine work. I used the knowledge of each clients’ business circumstances to ensure I could make the agency’s best deal.
- Sales Forecasting: I developed a sales forecasting formula to predict my deal opportunities’ outcomes accurately.
- SWOT Analysis and Marketing Plans
- Sales Proposals: Cheddar’s Unique Sales Proposition is custom digital marketing plans and execution at the highest level. To be effective, I developed the clients’ digital and marketing strategies while proposing new business. This work helped the operations process by having a blueprint for our clients’ success from when they said: “Go.”
- Project Management: Managing projects and client expectations is the least glorified and most undervalued of my leadership skills. I have used platforms like Trello, Teams, and Slack to manage our projects.
- Business Intelligence: Inbound Marketing Strategies, Outbound Marketing Strategies, and Customer Segmentation.
Other Roles
Director of Sales and Marketing
Alert Telematics | Feb 2009 – May 2012
I developed and supervised the execution of marketing and sales strategy within the company. My day to day duties were to manage a department of marketing and sales professionals. I created KPIs for measuring individual, department, division, and company success. I also directed the creation of internal development initiatives and assisted in implementing critical operational software integrations.
- Improved cost/lead to $97 and $218 per sales ready lead reflecting 22% lead to conversion ratio and 8% close rate
- Increased website visitation 63% and online lead sources 800% resulting in 630% yearly ROI
- Outperformed yearly goals with increasingly complex marketing plans and development of business KPIs
- Coordinated marketing programs with technology partners and resellers
- Created email nurturing and content strategy resulting in 2,400 marketing ready leads
- Designed new corporate brand standards, website and online marketing programs
- Improved sales processes with sales funnel definitions and marketing process workflows
- Implemented marketing automation platform to improve department performance and ROI
Director of Revenue and Digital Strategies
Direct Web | March 2001 – Feb 2009
Overview
I came together with young entrepreneurs to build their digital marketing startup. After becoming a new business star, my role evolved into ensuring our level of creativity and strategic planning exceeded our clients’ expectations. Thie dual role of de facto Creative Director plus lead revenue officer was an intense time demanding position. That experience enabled me to become an interdisciplinary strategist in marketing, brand strategy, and product innovation. I have a multidimensional understanding of what makes brands and products succeed and what drives people to engage with them. Proficient at uncovering actionable insights and strategic opportunities for brand creation, positioning, branding, design, brand experiences, campaigns, and product innovation.
Director of Revenue and Digital Strategies
2003-2009
- Lead our integrated agency team of 100+ (PR, media, digital, and web developers)
- Managing the asset conception, production, and execution of new campaigns
- Developed hundreds of client product ideas inspired by insights from social behaviors, pop culture, and design trends
- Responsible for the integrity of clients websites globally; built custom content landing pages, and updated product launches, editorial features, signature events, promotions, and ad campaigns
- Monitored website maintenance including platform categorization and taxonomy management to deliver ongoing SEO optimizations
Account Director of New Business
2001-2003
- Responsible for reaching out to new business leads and growing and developing long-term partnerships
- Crafted insight-based creative briefs, functional and emotional design principles to inspire the creation of physical and digital products, as well as campaigns and content series for leading technology, entertainment, financial, sports apparel, CPG, and food and beverage brands
- Effectively communicated products and service offerings for onboarding.
- Generate new business leads and develop thoughtful strategies for proposal submissions and statements or work
- Manage client relationships and proactively grow new and existing business
- Created, processed, collected invoices, and managed budget projections
- Web development and digital agency teams point-of-contact to facilitate end-to-end online project scope and objectives, ensuring technical feasibility to meet strict deadlines and ensure budgetary obligations
Account executive
v2 Web | May 2000 – March 2001
v2 Web is where it all began for me in the marketing and advertising world. I took my Marine Corps work ethic and applied it to this digital startup. As a junior marketing executive, I started making 100 daily cold calls for Senior Executives. I quickly became one of the top Senior Account Executives within the company. I have always known that I have had a natural persuasive ability, so sales came easy.
While I developed my ability to prospect and close, I realized that understanding how to create a creative idea and execute a marketing plan is where the real value lies. I began a self-taught journey of all things, advertising and digital.
- I developed custom marketing solutions with C-level executives, directors, and ad agencies to leverage and grow their businesses.
- Brainstormed innovative ways of capturing and retaining new customers for our clients
- Responsible for ongoing client product recommendations
- Sold in the top 1% of the company
infantry 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines
squad leader
United States Marine Corps | June 1996 – June 2000
The USMC provided me with food, shelter, and a mindset that lives within me to this day. As an Infantry Marine, I learned to take orders, put others and the mission before myself, and finally lead. The actual day-to-day objectives of existing as a Marine don’t apply to corporate America; the work ethic and mindset I learned there have paid dividends my entire life. I love this quote by Ronald Regan, “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.”