How I Made it in Marketing

Data-driven marketing.

That is an oft-repeated phrase in our industry. It’s hard to find a LinkedIn profile that doesn’t make a claim of being a data-driven marketer these days.

And while data is helpful, it’s not the only thing that should drive you, my next guest says. Be human first, because people drive brands.

To hear that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Desiree Sanchis, VP of Marketing for Beliv US [https://belivcompany.com/].

Beliv has sold a million cases across 40 brands in 30 countries. Sanchis manages innovation, marketing, and e-commerce for Beliv’s U.S. portfolio of eight active brands in addition to those in the company’s development pipeline 

Lessons from the things she made

• Human First: People drive brands
• Dream big and embrace change
• Find your purpose and execute relentlessly
• Lead with empathy
• Storytelling is powerful
• Build internal momentum

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

CPG Campaigns: Marketing is often about showcasing human truths (podcast episode #107) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/CPG]

Marketing Storytelling Examples: How 3 brands told their stories (with results) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/marketing-storytelling]

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This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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

Timing is key to successful marketing.

If you broke it down, that’s probably a third of it. Right offer to the right prospect…at the right time.

But how well do you focus on timing for your personal brand in your own career?

You can hear ideas for that from this episode’s guest – she said one of the key lessons in her career is ‘know when it’s time to leave.’

Here to share the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, is Lisa Lahiji, CMO, Eurest [https://www.eurest-usa.com/] and ESFM [https://www.esfm-usa.com/].

Eurest and ESFM are part of Compass Group, a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It reported $42.2 billion in revenue in 2024. Lahiji oversees the strategy for 45 marketers. 

Lessons from the things she made

Know when it’s time to leave

• Scaling up means letting go
• When the world changed, so did we
• Advocate for others
• Relationships matter
• Raise your hand

Discussed in this episode

Advertising and Brands: Details matter, know when to quit, …be nice (podcast episode #27) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/advertising-and-brands]

Marketing Adaptability: The art of letting go of creative ideas so you can champion future concepts (podcast episode #112) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/marketing-adaptability]

Elements of a Landing Page, Advocate Marketing Program, and Conversion-Optimized Blog Post: 3 quick marketing case studies [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/elements-of-a-landing-page]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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 there’s one word that defines what I’ve seen in the marketing industry in my career, it’s ‘acceleration.’

When I started, I was writing print ads in The Wall Street Journal for clients all over the country. So the deadline was when FedEx came to our building…or if we were really pushing it, FedEx’s deadline at the airport. This created a natural ebb and flow.

Then PDFs came along, and well, that deadline got pushed much farther back. But because it still ultimately had to go to print, there was still an ebb and flow.

Fast forward to today. Everything is always on, real time, with endless data streams. It feels like there is no more ebb, only flow.

Which is why this lesson really caught my eye in a podcast guest application – It’s important to ‘take a beat.’

To hear that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Cindy Van Horne, global head of marketing & communications, McKinsey & Company [https://www.mckinsey.com/].

Lessons from the things she made

• It’s important to ‘take a beat’   
• Be fearless with your ambition  
• Reinvention is not optional   
• When goals are not hit, leadership is about finesse 
• The pathway to innovative campaigns is about breaking down barriers
• Real change comes when others are inspired to break their own ceiling 

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Strategic Marketing Collaboration: Find your partner in crime (podcast episode #68) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/strategic]

Branding Lessons from TV Production: Don't focus on failure, keep moving towards success (podcast episode #92) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/brand-lessons]

Leadership Development: Network every day (podcast episode #72) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/leadership-development]

B2B Marketing Leadership: The higher you get in the organization, the more details you need to know (podcast episode #115) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/B2B-marketing-leadership]

Customer-First Marketing: Every click is a wish (podcast episode #85) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-first]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-first] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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

As an entrepreneur, as a marketer, the world is conspiring to grab your attention and distract you.

For example, when I started in this career, there were really only a few channels you could go to. Newspaper. TV. Radio. Direct. Maybe outdoors.

Now, that number has exploded.

Just one example of how many things you could possibly do with your business and your campaigns and your budget and your time.

But to find success, my next guest says – focus on one thing.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Gidon Rotteveel, co-founder, Delka Talents [https://www.delkatalents.com/]. Gidon manages a team of 25.

Hear the full episode using this embedded player or by clicking through to your preferred audio streaming service using the links below it.

Lessons from the things he made

• You always have to separate work from your personal life
• Great things take time to grow
• Focus on one thing
• You don’t need 100 employees
• Entrepreneurship does not have an age
• Influencers come and go
• Don’t let small setbacks in the business distract you from your insane vision

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Adaptive Leadership: It’s never too late to reinvent yourself (podcast episode #90) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/adaptive]

Female Entrepreneurship and Marketing: Having built a big community doesn't mean you will be able to monetize it (podcast episode #71) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/entrepreneurship]

Best Practices Are Pooled Ignorance: 4 quick marketing case studies of brands that found success by taking a different approach [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/best-practices-different-approach-brands-marketing-case-studies]

Customer-First Marketing: Every click is a wish (podcast episode #85) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/customer-first]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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

Career growth is a funny thing.

That is the goal after all right? Junior copywriter, Senior copywriter, creative director, etc.? We all want a career path.

But that journey towards something – often people leadership – can also pull us away from something else. And it can be the thing we were most passionate about and got us into this industry to begin with.

So when I saw this lesson in a recent podcast guest application, it grabbed my attention – strike a balance between management and production.

That is, really, one of the core challenges of growing a marketing career.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Mary Church Cornette, CEO and Head of Creative, FUEL [https://www.fuelforbrands.com/].

Lessons from the things she made

• Strike a balance between management and production
• Learning and adapting to new tools will serve you well
• Maybe
• Build brands as systems
• Appreciative leadership is powerful
• Curiosity fuels leadership growth

Discussed in this episode

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Fintech Marketing: Creativity and technology is a killer combo (podcast episode #50) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/fintech]

Creative Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: Hold the line & get a door kicker (podcast episode #84) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative-marketing]

Building Brands: People and culture matter a lot, mentorship matters even more, product matters the most (podcast episode #119) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/brands]

Career Adaptability: Marketing can lead to many other things (podcast episode #103) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/career-adaptability]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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

I’ll tell you what happened in my career before. Maybe you’ve been there, too.

There’s a sponsorship, sometimes a fairly high-profile sponsorship, and I have gotten asked to write it about it in an ad or email…but, there wasn’t really a strategy. 

That is not the way to get the best ROI, the most juice for the squeeze.

Sponsorships truly succeed when they tie into the value proposition of the brand. So this lesson in a recent podcast guest application really grabbed my attention – “Maximize brand awareness by going beyond the ‘logo slap’ sponsorship”

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Rebecca Biestman, Chief Marketing Officer, Guild [https://guild.com/].

Guild raised $175 million in a Series F funding round in 2022, at a $4.4 billion valuation. Wellington Management led the financing, and Oprah Winfrey participated in the round, along with other backers. 

Biestman manages a team of 70 in the marketing department.

Lessons from the things she made

• Maximize brand awareness by going beyond the “logo slap” sponsorship
• Embrace new tech that helps drive your brand strategy
• To build a brand that lasts, consider rebranding a team sport 
• Be prepared to step up when the unexpected happens
• The best candidate for a role isn’t always the one who has done it before
• Making a difference and building something great aren’t mutually exclusive

Discussed in this episode

Join us for MEC050: Let AI Agents Market For You [https://join.meclabsai.com/ai-agents] on Tuesday, May 13th at 2 pm EDT

Creative Marketing: Does it all make sense? (Podcast Episode #19) [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/creative]

Marketing at 200 MPH: Sports sponsorship lessons from F1 & finance (podcast episode #125) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/sports]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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

FUD. Fear, uncertainty, doubt.

I first learned about this sales and marketing tactic – which is aimed at influencing perceptions by highlighting potential negative outcomes – early in my career when working with big tech companies.

An example – nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.

Then later in my career when I worked with cybersecurity companies, I saw the tactic on steroids.

But I always wondered – is this really the most effective way to treat our potential customers? Is this customer-first marketing? Is there a better way?

So I rejoiced when I saw an anti-FUD lesson in a recent podcast guest application. To hear that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to B2B fractional marketing executive Nick Lagalante.

Lessons from the things he made

• Consultative selling sharpens your message
• You don’t need to scare people to sell them security (FUD vs. value-driven messaging)
• Research-driven rebranding preserves value
• Genuine partnerships redefine tech PR
• Collaborative creativity sparks breakthrough campaigns
• Strategic internal comms empower brand resilience

Discussed in this episode

The 8 Micro-Yes Architecture that Drives Conversion – Join us on Thursday, May 8th at 1 pm EDT for the latest session of MEC200: Design Your Offer [https://join.meclabsai.com/design-your-offer] (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company). Discover how a series of small, affirmative steps can guide your prospects toward a big, final “yes”...transforming incremental trust into measurable conversion.

Content & Communications: Use your marketing budget and AI to make your customers’ lives more fun and interesting (podcast episode #51) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/content-and-communications]

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Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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 artificial intelligence revolution is upon us. Today we see AI doing everything from taking orders in a drive-thru to serving as a pseudo boyfriend or girlfriend.

But, according to my most recent guest, more importantly – AI boosts revenue.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Dario Markovic, CEO, Eric Javits [https://ericjavits.com/].

Eric Javits had $15 million in revenue last year and is tracking to hit $18 million this year.

Markovic manages a team of 10 with a three- to four-million-dollar marketing budget, along with a worldwide vendor ecosystem.

Lessons from the things he made

• Data wins
• AI boosts revenue
• Sustainability sells
• Funnels = profits
• Retention over acquisition
• Sell outcomes, not products

Discussed in this episode

Learn how to craft an Offer Value Proposition in our April 24th session of MEC200: Design Your Offer [https://join.meclabsai.com/design-your-offer]. Join us at 1 pm EDT for a live online, interactive session (from MeclabsAI, MarketingSherpa’s parent company).

Conversion Rate Optimization: 3 effective marketing strategies explained by the marketers who created them [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/conversion-rate]

MarketingSherpa Customer Satisfaction Research Study [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/freestuff/customer-first-study]

Online Business Strategy: Steps marketers took to create powerful marketing funnels with Google, Amazon, and Facebook [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/online]

Help, Don’t Hype: A guide to customer-first marketing [https://sherpablog.marketingsherpa.com/customer-centric-marketing-2/help/]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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 are always tough times as you build and grow a startup.

So how do you keep a team going when times are tough? ‘Culture is the glue’ my next guest says.

To hear the story behind that lesson, along with many more lesson-filled stories, I talked to Dawn van Hoegaerden, CMO, DefectDojo [https://defectdojo.com/].

She is building out the marketing department at DefectDojo, has three vendors, and recently made her first hire. DefectDojo recently announced a $7 million funding round. It has been downloaded 38 million times.

Lessons from the things she made

• Adaptability creates opportunities
• ‘Soft skills’ are really hard skills
• Customers will tell you how to market to them if you ask them
• Find a mentor who champions your growth
• Culture is the glue
• If you don’t want the job, rethink the path

Discussed in this episode

Let AI Agents Market For You – April 23rd at 2:30 pm EDT

AI Guild [https://join.meclabsai.com/]

Career Adaptability: Marketing can lead to many other things (podcast episode #103) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/career-adaptability]

Marketing Career: What you need to understand at each step of the job seeker’s journey (even if you’re not looking) [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/job-seekers-10-step-journey]

Marketing Mentorship: 10 digital marketing lessons your fellow marketers learned from their mentors [https://marketingsherpa.com/article/best-practice/mentorship]

The Prospect’s Perception Gap: How to bridge the gap between the results we want and the results we have [https://meclabs.com/education/Flint-prospects-perception-gap]

Get more episodes

Subscribe to the MarketingSherpa email newsletter [https://www.marketingsherpa.com/newsletters] to get more insights from your fellow marketers. Sign up for free if you’d like to get more episodes like this one.

For more insights, check out...

This 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.

Apply to be a guest
If 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