May 8, 2025 • 23 mins
In this episode of Imperfect Marketing, host Kendra Corman sits down with marketing strategist and educator Jessie Fernández, who brings 20+ years of experience across traditional and digital media. Together, they dive into the real, behind-the-scenes challenges of doing marketing the right way—strategically and with patience.
Jessie shares her story of evolving from local TV marketing in Honduras to teaching at a college and running her own strategic marketing brand. Their conversation peels back the glossy veneer of social media marketing myths and explores what really works in the modern marketing world.
The Reality of Modern Marketing
- How the flood of “quick-win” tactics on social media has damaged perceptions of what marketing really is
- Why strategy must come before execution—every time
- Why good marketing isn’t fast, easy, or cheap (despite what TikTok says)
- The importance of learning not just what works, but what doesn’t, through experience
Why Strategy Outweighs Tactics
- Why posting daily doesn’t equal success—and what to do instead
- The critical role of identifying the real problem before jumping to solutions
- Why strategy needs time, patience, and a client who’s willing to trust the process
The Unsung Hero: Project Management in Marketing
- How project management skills like setting deadlines and stakeholder coordination are essential for execution
- Why most marketing failures happen during execution—not strategy or planning
- Tools and mindset shifts that help marketing professionals stay organized and deliver results
- Jessie's #1 project management tip: “You set the deadlines, so don’t stress them.”
Key Takeaways for Marketers
- Strategy isn’t rigid—it’s flexible, iterative, and deeply rooted in understanding your audience
- Good marketing is a process of learning, testing, adjusting, and being patient with outcomes
- Execution matters just as much as planning, and both need structure and deadlines
- Give yourself grace—but don’t let it become an excuse
Whether you're a solo entrepreneur, marketing team leader, or agency owner, this episode is a reminder that imperfect marketing is still powerful—when it’s strategic, intentional, and adaptable.
Connect with Jessie Fernandez:
Website: https://jessiefernandez.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soyjessiefernandez/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soyjessiefernandez/
🎧 Ready to ditch the marketing myths and learn how to build something that works? Tune in to hear Jessie’s insights and refresh your mindset on how real marketing success happens.
Looking to leverage AI? Want better results? Want to think about what you want to leverage?
Check and see how I am using it for FREE on YouTube.
From "Holy cow, it can do that?" to "Wait, how does this work again?" – I've got all your AI curiosities covered. It's the perfect after-podcast snack for your tech-hungry brain.
Watch here
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Kendra Korman .
If you're a coach, consultantor marketer, you know marketing
is far from a perfect science,and that's why this show is
called Imperfect Marketing.
Join me and my guests as weexplore how to grow your
business with marketing tips and, of course, lessons learned
along the way.
Hello, and welcome back toanother episode of Imperfect
(00:28):
Marketing.
I'm your host, Kendra Korman,and today I am really excited
because we're going to betalking about strategic
marketing, which is a hugepassion of mine, and I am joined
today with Jesse Fernandez.
Thank you so much for joiningme.
I am super excited to betalking about this today.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hello Kendra, thank you so much for this space and
for being able to share one ofmy passions with your audience,
and I think this is going to bea very impactful episode for
everyone.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
How did you get into marketing strategy?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Oh, well, there's a big story about it.
So, first of all, as you said,my name is Jessie.
I've been working in marketingfor the last 20 years and well,
I, technically I lived all thetransition from traditional
media to digital media, somarketing has grown with me as a
(01:27):
professional and as a person.
I did started working ontraditional media on a local TV
station here where I live.
I'm based in Honduras, inCentral America, so, if you like
really hot weather, this is thecountry of the beaches and the
sand and everything that comeswith it.
So I started with traditionalmedia, working on developing and
(01:51):
executing marketing strategies,not just for the television
station, but for each program byitself.
Then the transition to digitalstarted and I moved to sales.
I work in sales with Forbesmagazine, the Central American
part of it.
So that was a great experience,and afterwards I moved to
(02:14):
digital marketing.
So I've been shifting a lot asmarketing itself has changed,
and this has made me a betterperson and a better marketer.
And it's not just what youlearn but what you teach, and I
love sharing what I've learnedwith the new generations so they
don't have to live what I live,and I've been teaching at a
(02:38):
local college for the past sevenyears and for the last year,
I've been on my own.
I have my own I don't know ifto call it a boutique agency or
just my own brand but veryfocused on strategic marketing
for local and internationalbrands.
And as marketing continues toevolve, I continue to evolve
(03:02):
with it.
I continue learning and gettingnew skills, and that's what has
taken me to the place I amright now.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
That's great, yeah.
So I came up throughtraditional media myself and was
there.
I still remember when Facebookcame out and we were advertising
on it and I was the Jeepadvertising manager, we had to
find somebody who had a collegestudent to see our ads, because
we couldn't log into Facebookwithout a university email.
(03:35):
So, just yeah, I remember thefun times that we had back in
the day, very cool.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I do teach that digital marketing course and
when we start social media, Ihave a screenshot of my own
Facebook page but it still saysthe Facebook, I think.
But the interface is completelydifferent and they're like in
chalk, like computers supportedthat.
I mean, yes, computers didsupport that, so, yeah, it's
(04:01):
very interesting.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
That's so funny.
Yeah, that's so funny.
Yeah, there's so many thingsthat we could go down that
rabbit hole on, but let's, let's, let's go ahead and let's talk
about.
So actually, I was in anetworking meeting last week and
somebody had said you know,what'd be really great is if you
explain to people why marketingis important, because now that
(04:26):
I understand it's important, I'mdoing better marketing.
And I'm like how do you dealwith clients that don't
understand marketing itself, letalone why it's important?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Oh well, that's my day to day basic.
I think that the reality rightnow is that, because of our cell
phones and all this informationthat we have access to, we can
see a TikTok, a Reel, hear aninfluencer and we make our minds
of what marketing is based onthat Right.
(05:00):
So marketing, unfortunately, isthe profession where everyone
has an opinion.
But not everyone has reallystudied marketing and how it
works and there are a lot ofpeople out there selling
marketing that doesn't work.
So when these companies, whenthey see this influencer, this
(05:20):
TikTok video, and they startworking with them or
implementing that and thatdoesn't work, it's not the fault
of the person that sold themthat service, it's marketing's
fault.
So here they will need to openup to learn to do marketing the
right way and the strategic wayto do it.
(05:42):
And that's a challenge for us.
In this field and asinformation-based social media
keeps growing and evolving andwe're getting more access, it's
getting a little bit morecomplicated, but it's in our
hands to really do marketing theway that it needs to do.
That.
It's strategically, becauseanyone can make a reel, can make
(06:04):
a post, can even set up ads,but if you don't have the
strategy behind it.
That's not going to work foryou, so that's where we come in.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
What did I say?
I posted not too long ago onLinkedIn and I was like posting
on social media every day doesnot equal a strategy.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
And I've been there myself, because there's
something about strategy that,yes, you need to plan, but those
plans can bend depending onwhat's happening, and there's a
part of marketing where you needto try.
Where you need to try, I didhave my face on LinkedIn where I
posted every single day, butthen something click and this is
(06:44):
not working.
So we go back to the strategy,we change the strategy, we
implement it and now we'restarting to see results.
But I needed to step on thatstone first to realize that.
So that's another thing thatcompanies need to learn that
marketing, I mean, it's notstraight if we can say it's not
(07:05):
like written on stone orsomething that it's really
flexible and you need to try newthings to get to know what
works for you.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Well, I think that's important, Like, what works for
one person isn't going to workfor another, and there's a
multitude of reasons for it.
Even if you're targeting thesame people or the same kind of
people, there's a personalitydifference or a branding
difference, because we're notall the right fit for everybody,
(07:36):
right, and so you might betargeting the same, we'll say,
type of person as I am, butthere's's gonna be different
people that are drawn to thecontent that you provide versus
mine.
Maybe, you know, mine are onLinkedIn and yours are on
Instagram, or you know.
Again, it's just, it's an.
It's very interesting because,while we like to make some
(08:01):
generalizations within the worldof marketing, it's not a
perfect science.
I mean, that's why this show iscalled Imperfect Marketing,
because it does.
You have to adjust, you have totake a look at things, you have
to you know, read the room, forlack of a better phrase in terms
(08:21):
of, like, what's going on inthe world and what's going on on
social media and all of thesedifferent things to be able to
adjust what you're doing.
Now, the thing that I strugglewith when working with some
clients is that they love to gostraight to the tactics.
I want to post more on LinkedIn.
(08:42):
I want to do more speaking gigs, whatever that tactic happens
to be.
That's where they hone in onwhen that may not be the right
even tactic, because theyhaven't taken the time to set
the strategy, but they feel likesetting a strategy is a waste
(09:03):
of time.
What do you say to those people?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
The first thing that I tell my clients is that if
they want to work with me, theyneed to have patience and they
need to go into the process,because marketing is a process.
Yes, we do have money, we haveinvestment.
I do have my fee processbecause marketing is a process.
Yes, we do have money, we haveinvestment.
I do have my fee, but it's aprocess.
So you need to walk with megrabbing my hand.
Are you willing to do thisclient to see if we are a fit
(09:29):
right?
And then I always tell mystudents that clients will come
to you with a problem they thinkthey have, but when you take
your time to study the client,that's not their problem.
They have other problems.
Or maybe that's the problem,but not the correct way to
execute it.
(09:49):
And I know where that tactic orexecution comes from.
Right, everyone wants to sell,everyone wants to grow, but they
need to focus some time on thestrategy, because I have learned
with my own clients through myexperience, that it works when
you set up the basis, even theway you execute in the end and
(10:14):
the results that come with it.
They're better when you have agood strategy.
And marketing is not magic.
It's not that I'm going tostart executing a strategy right
now and I'm going to sell allmy stock in two weeks.
That doesn't happen.
You need to be consistent.
So you need to have a marketingmanager that really handles
(10:36):
these skills and really walksyou through it.
And again we come to thebeginning.
All this information out therein social media makes you think
that marketing is fast, thatmarketing is simple, that
marketing is cheap.
But in the end it's not thatway.
It's not simple, it's reallyhard.
(10:59):
End.
It's not that way.
It's not simple, it's reallyhard and it's not cheap.
And you need to study, and youmentioned that a couple of
minutes ago.
In marketing you need to studyyour client.
You need to study your client'sclient, the market, and it will
take you minimum a month beforegiving strategy.
But sometimes some marketersdon't like to study and some
(11:22):
clients don't see that time asvaluable.
But here's when it comes, likefinding your perfect match as a
client and the client opening alittle bit up to trust the
person that's handling theirmarketing.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
I think that there's a lot in that.
So, yes, you have to be patient, you have to take the time.
What I really loved is how youwere talking about yes, the
social media makes it feel likemarketing is easy, that anybody
can do it, and I do believe thata lot of people are very
capable of doing it right.
I mean, it's not, you don'tneed a marketing degree
(12:00):
necessarily to do it, but you doneed some experience in dealing
with clients and writing andthings like that.
I was on TikTok.
I'm going to say late 2024.
And somehow I got into this.
Like that kept showing up on mypage all of these ads for these
people that were like you canbuild a $10,000 a month digital
(12:25):
online business.
You know, just ask chat GPT andit will create something for
you that you can start sellingand you're going to make
millions.
And I'm like no, that's not howthis works.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Yeah, that's not how it works.
And it's again this informationthat everything is simple and
we don't like to give that extrastep right.
And the thing is that withmarketing plans let's be real
anyone can make you a marketingplan right.
(12:58):
I mean, the deck can haveeverything, you can sell it.
But the execution part if youdon't have a strategy, your
execution is not going to work.
And it's in the execution partthat most marketers and
companies fail.
They don't know where to start.
They have never worked withdeadlines, they have never
(13:20):
worked in project management.
So those are things that needto change in order to make
marketing better.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Let's talk a little bit about that.
You said that they've neverworked in project management.
Talk to me a little bit aboutthe role you feel that project
management or that skill playsin marketing.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
I think that's one of the most important skills.
Sometimes in project managementyou create the strategy and
that makes it flow a littlebetter.
Other times, someone elsecreates the strategy and you
just execute.
But the problem with executionis that you need to handle a lot
of pieces at the same time andthere are people out there that
(14:02):
they haven't had the opportunityto learn to project manage, to
learn to work with deadlines, tolearn to negotiate with vendors
.
I know people that they don'teven know how to call a vendor
to ask for pricing and I'm likedude, but that's basic, I mean,
and that's a skill that helpsyou in life and helps you in
(14:28):
marketing.
I think that my years inproject management did really
shape the marketer that I amright now and made me look into
marketing planning differently,Because now I plan thinking on
the execution, not planning justfor planning.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
So I use Asana.
That's my project managementtool.
I have templates for onboardingnew clients and for projects
and different types of campaigns.
The podcast has certaintemplates and things like that,
because, yeah, you're managingmultiple steps, multiple
projects, multiple pieces, andsome of them are dependent on
(15:08):
one being done before anothercan start right.
So I was a couple minutes latefor our recording because I was
out changing a sign for a client, because I have to change all
of their signs and all of their,their website and everything
all within the next, like youknow, four to six hours, because
everything has to to happen atthe same time Right For for the
(15:31):
campaign.
And so I think there's a lot tobe said for project management.
What's one of your best projectmanagement tips?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
for someone that might be struggling with that a
little bit, oh yeah, this issomething that someone told me
in the last two years.
That continues to resonate withme is that you set the
deadlines so you have control ofyour project management.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Oh, that's so good.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yes, that's really good and that has.
That sticks with me everysingle day with every project
that I manage.
Why am I going to stress, if Iam setting the deadline?
And then I read something,something else I think it was on
LinkedIn that it's not that youdon't have time, you don't have
a deadline.
So that's like the second partof the quote.
(16:21):
So everything that we need to do, even in planning, because the
deadlines start in the planningphase and some clients have
never worked with deadlines.
They One of my last clients.
I was helping them set up theirmarketing team and make them
work more efficiently and theproblem was that they have never
(16:46):
worked with deadlines, they'venever worked with agendas before
a call, they've never sentemails after a call.
So they just didn't know whatto do after.
I mean, they had work, but theydon't know how to project,
manage all the work.
And then they say, oh,marketing doesn't work.
I mean that's not that.
(17:08):
True, you need to start likeorganizing yourself.
But yeah, it's very, very scarywhen you look at the reality
that's over there.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Well and I really like you, know what you said you
set your deadlines right anddon't stress.
So one of the things that I amnotoriously horrible at is I I
have a tendency to stressbecause I did set the deadline
and I usually set it too quicklybecause I do want things to
move for my clients and stufflike that.
(17:37):
But I think you need to take astep back, look what's
reasonable, look what's theright thing to do and then set
the deadline.
That way.
I've been setting longerdeadlines recently for several
projects.
I've been pushing out severalmeetings saying, okay, I can do
this in two weeks, those typesof initiatives and that's really
(17:59):
taken a lot of the pressure offand I'm able to do better work
too when it's not rushed orcompressed on an unrealistic
timeline.
So I think that that tip aboutproject management is a huge,
huge skill to get in marketingis a huge, huge skill to get in
(18:21):
marketing.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yes, and you need to hear your team when you set the
deadlines, you need to hear yourteam and you need to know their
capabilities as well.
And something very important,even with deadlines and with
planning, is that marketing incompanies moves very fast.
Things are for yesterday.
You're just telling me that youneed something changed in the
next six hours.
So, yes, we do plan, we use astrategy, but we move really
(18:45):
fast.
So, as marketers are peoplethat are always busy, are always
thinking ahead, and sometimesthe client doesn't think ahead.
They just think on this moment,because I want to sell right
now, I want to do this right now, but what happens after now?
So, yes, I mean being amarketer right now.
It is challenging, but it's thebest career in the world.
(19:09):
I wouldn't change it foranything.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
I'm with you on that 100 percent.
So this has been an awesomeconversation, I truly believe.
I love how we talked aboutpeople blaming marketing for
things that aren't marketing'sfault right.
So definitely that marketing isnot as fast and as easy as
social media makes it look like.
Right.
Posting on social media is notgoing to just automatically
(19:37):
bring you in a ton of business.
You need to create a strategyand then project manage the
initiatives that come from thatstrategy, especially with
measurement, right, becausemarketing can be flexible to a
point where you do have toiterate and experiment and try
different things out.
So very, very cool.
(19:58):
I have loved our conversation,but there is a question that I
ask all of my guests.
That is that this show iscalled Imperfect Marketing,
because, as we know and as wejust discussed, marketing is
anything but a perfect science.
What has been your biggestmarketing lesson learned along
the way?
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Well, first of all, kendra, thanks again for having
me here.
This has been a very meaningfulconversation.
Oh wow, marketing is imperfect,but I am also imperfect, but I
think that the greatest lessonthat marketing has given me is
to be patient Be patient withthe processes, be patient with
(20:35):
the client, be patient with thevendors, because there was a
time in my career that I didthings like really fast, but
that doesn't take you anywhere.
So you need to be more patientwith yourself, give yourself
some grace and also supportyourself.
I mean, you know you haveeverything to succeed, so also
(20:59):
be patient in that part.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, that's so great .
Patience is something that Ithink a lot of marketers do not
have enough of, and definitely,giving themselves grace is
definitely something that I findmarketers either have not
enough of or way too much of,and they miss deadlines right.
So there's got to be a happymedium and I think that having
(21:22):
that patience and givingyourself that grace is really
important as you work throughmarketing because, again, it's
not perfect.
We're not perfect, as you said,and it's really about figuring
out what's going to be right orwhat is going to provide the
best outcome that's going tohelp drive your strategy forward
(21:44):
.
This has again been an awesomeconversation, thank you, thank
you.
Thank you so much, jesse, forjoining me.
For those of you listening andwatching, thank you for tuning
in to another episode ofImperfect Marketing.
Thank you for tuning in toanother episode of Imperfect
Marketing.
If you learned something and Ireally hope that you did,
because I have enjoyed ourconversation do me a favor and
rate and subscribe whereveryou're listening or watching.
(22:06):
That really helps us out.
Until next time, have a greatrest of your day.
Hi, I'm Kendra Korman .
If you're a coach, consultantor marketer, you know marketing
is far from a perfect science,and that's why this show is
called Imperfect Marketing.
Join me and my guests as weexplore how to grow your
business with marketing tips and, of course, lessons learned
along the way.
Hello, and welcome back toanother episode of Imperfect
(00:28):
Marketing.
I'm your host, Kendra Korman,and today I am really excited
because we're going to betalking about strategic
marketing, which is a hugepassion of mine, and I am joined
today with Jesse Fernandez.
Thank you so much for joiningme.
I am super excited to betalking about this today.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Hello Kendra, thank you so much for this space and
for being able to share one ofmy passions with your audience,
and I think this is going to bea very impactful episode for
everyone.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
How did you get into marketing strategy?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Oh, well, there's a big story about it.
So, first of all, as you said,my name is Jessie.
I've been working in marketingfor the last 20 years and well,
I, technically I lived all thetransition from traditional
media to digital media, somarketing has grown with me as a
(01:27):
professional and as a person.
I did started working ontraditional media on a local TV
station here where I live.
I'm based in Honduras, inCentral America, so, if you like
really hot weather, this is thecountry of the beaches and the
sand and everything that comeswith it.
So I started with traditionalmedia, working on developing and
(01:51):
executing marketing strategies,not just for the television
station, but for each program byitself.
Then the transition to digitalstarted and I moved to sales.
I work in sales with Forbesmagazine, the Central American
part of it.
So that was a great experience,and afterwards I moved to
(02:14):
digital marketing.
So I've been shifting a lot asmarketing itself has changed,
and this has made me a betterperson and a better marketer.
And it's not just what youlearn but what you teach, and I
love sharing what I've learnedwith the new generations so they
don't have to live what I live,and I've been teaching at a
(02:38):
local college for the past sevenyears and for the last year,
I've been on my own.
I have my own I don't know ifto call it a boutique agency or
just my own brand but veryfocused on strategic marketing
for local and internationalbrands.
And as marketing continues toevolve, I continue to evolve
(03:02):
with it.
I continue learning and gettingnew skills, and that's what has
taken me to the place I amright now.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
That's great, yeah.
So I came up throughtraditional media myself and was
there.
I still remember when Facebookcame out and we were advertising
on it and I was the Jeepadvertising manager, we had to
find somebody who had a collegestudent to see our ads, because
we couldn't log into Facebookwithout a university email.
(03:35):
So, just yeah, I remember thefun times that we had back in
the day, very cool.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I do teach that digital marketing course and
when we start social media, Ihave a screenshot of my own
Facebook page but it still saysthe Facebook, I think.
But the interface is completelydifferent and they're like in
chalk, like computers supportedthat.
I mean, yes, computers didsupport that, so, yeah, it's
(04:01):
very interesting.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
That's so funny.
Yeah, that's so funny.
Yeah, there's so many thingsthat we could go down that
rabbit hole on, but let's, let's, let's go ahead and let's talk
about.
So actually, I was in anetworking meeting last week and
somebody had said you know,what'd be really great is if you
explain to people why marketingis important, because now that
(04:26):
I understand it's important, I'mdoing better marketing.
And I'm like how do you dealwith clients that don't
understand marketing itself, letalone why it's important?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Oh well, that's my day to day basic.
I think that the reality rightnow is that, because of our cell
phones and all this informationthat we have access to, we can
see a TikTok, a Reel, hear aninfluencer and we make our minds
of what marketing is based onthat Right.
(05:00):
So marketing, unfortunately, isthe profession where everyone
has an opinion.
But not everyone has reallystudied marketing and how it
works and there are a lot ofpeople out there selling
marketing that doesn't work.
So when these companies, whenthey see this influencer, this
(05:20):
TikTok video, and they startworking with them or
implementing that and thatdoesn't work, it's not the fault
of the person that sold themthat service, it's marketing's
fault.
So here they will need to openup to learn to do marketing the
right way and the strategic wayto do it.
(05:42):
And that's a challenge for us.
In this field and asinformation-based social media
keeps growing and evolving andwe're getting more access, it's
getting a little bit morecomplicated, but it's in our
hands to really do marketing theway that it needs to do.
That.
It's strategically, becauseanyone can make a reel, can make
(06:04):
a post, can even set up ads,but if you don't have the
strategy behind it.
That's not going to work foryou, so that's where we come in.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
What did I say?
I posted not too long ago onLinkedIn and I was like posting
on social media every day doesnot equal a strategy.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
And I've been there myself, because there's
something about strategy that,yes, you need to plan, but those
plans can bend depending onwhat's happening, and there's a
part of marketing where you needto try.
Where you need to try, I didhave my face on LinkedIn where I
posted every single day, butthen something click and this is
(06:44):
not working.
So we go back to the strategy,we change the strategy, we
implement it and now we'restarting to see results.
But I needed to step on thatstone first to realize that.
So that's another thing thatcompanies need to learn that
marketing, I mean, it's notstraight if we can say it's not
(07:05):
like written on stone orsomething that it's really
flexible and you need to try newthings to get to know what
works for you.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Well, I think that's important, Like, what works for
one person isn't going to workfor another, and there's a
multitude of reasons for it.
Even if you're targeting thesame people or the same kind of
people, there's a personalitydifference or a branding
difference, because we're notall the right fit for everybody,
(07:36):
right, and so you might betargeting the same, we'll say,
type of person as I am, butthere's's gonna be different
people that are drawn to thecontent that you provide versus
mine.
Maybe, you know, mine are onLinkedIn and yours are on
Instagram, or you know.
Again, it's just, it's an.
It's very interesting because,while we like to make some
(08:01):
generalizations within the worldof marketing, it's not a
perfect science.
I mean, that's why this show iscalled Imperfect Marketing,
because it does.
You have to adjust, you have totake a look at things, you have
to you know, read the room, forlack of a better phrase in terms
(08:21):
of, like, what's going on inthe world and what's going on on
social media and all of thesedifferent things to be able to
adjust what you're doing.
Now, the thing that I strugglewith when working with some
clients is that they love to gostraight to the tactics.
I want to post more on LinkedIn.
(08:42):
I want to do more speaking gigs, whatever that tactic happens
to be.
That's where they hone in onwhen that may not be the right
even tactic, because theyhaven't taken the time to set
the strategy, but they feel likesetting a strategy is a waste
(09:03):
of time.
What do you say to those people?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
The first thing that I tell my clients is that if
they want to work with me, theyneed to have patience and they
need to go into the process,because marketing is a process.
Yes, we do have money, we haveinvestment.
I do have my fee processbecause marketing is a process.
Yes, we do have money, we haveinvestment.
I do have my fee, but it's aprocess.
So you need to walk with megrabbing my hand.
Are you willing to do thisclient to see if we are a fit
(09:29):
right?
And then I always tell mystudents that clients will come
to you with a problem they thinkthey have, but when you take
your time to study the client,that's not their problem.
They have other problems.
Or maybe that's the problem,but not the correct way to
execute it.
(09:49):
And I know where that tactic orexecution comes from.
Right, everyone wants to sell,everyone wants to grow, but they
need to focus some time on thestrategy, because I have learned
with my own clients through myexperience, that it works when
you set up the basis, even theway you execute in the end and
(10:14):
the results that come with it.
They're better when you have agood strategy.
And marketing is not magic.
It's not that I'm going tostart executing a strategy right
now and I'm going to sell allmy stock in two weeks.
That doesn't happen.
You need to be consistent.
So you need to have a marketingmanager that really handles
(10:36):
these skills and really walksyou through it.
And again we come to thebeginning.
All this information out therein social media makes you think
that marketing is fast, thatmarketing is simple, that
marketing is cheap.
But in the end it's not thatway.
It's not simple, it's reallyhard.
(10:59):
End.
It's not that way.
It's not simple, it's reallyhard and it's not cheap.
And you need to study, and youmentioned that a couple of
minutes ago.
In marketing you need to studyyour client.
You need to study your client'sclient, the market, and it will
take you minimum a month beforegiving strategy.
But sometimes some marketersdon't like to study and some
(11:22):
clients don't see that time asvaluable.
But here's when it comes, likefinding your perfect match as a
client and the client opening alittle bit up to trust the
person that's handling theirmarketing.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
I think that there's a lot in that.
So, yes, you have to be patient, you have to take the time.
What I really loved is how youwere talking about yes, the
social media makes it feel likemarketing is easy, that anybody
can do it, and I do believe thata lot of people are very
capable of doing it right.
I mean, it's not, you don'tneed a marketing degree
(12:00):
necessarily to do it, but you doneed some experience in dealing
with clients and writing andthings like that.
I was on TikTok.
I'm going to say late 2024.
And somehow I got into this.
Like that kept showing up on mypage all of these ads for these
people that were like you canbuild a $10,000 a month digital
(12:25):
online business.
You know, just ask chat GPT andit will create something for
you that you can start sellingand you're going to make
millions.
And I'm like no, that's not howthis works.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Yeah, that's not how it works.
And it's again this informationthat everything is simple and
we don't like to give that extrastep right.
And the thing is that withmarketing plans let's be real
anyone can make you a marketingplan right.
(12:58):
I mean, the deck can haveeverything, you can sell it.
But the execution part if youdon't have a strategy, your
execution is not going to work.
And it's in the execution partthat most marketers and
companies fail.
They don't know where to start.
They have never worked withdeadlines, they have never
(13:20):
worked in project management.
So those are things that needto change in order to make
marketing better.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Let's talk a little bit about that.
You said that they've neverworked in project management.
Talk to me a little bit aboutthe role you feel that project
management or that skill playsin marketing.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
I think that's one of the most important skills.
Sometimes in project managementyou create the strategy and
that makes it flow a littlebetter.
Other times, someone elsecreates the strategy and you
just execute.
But the problem with executionis that you need to handle a lot
of pieces at the same time andthere are people out there that
(14:02):
they haven't had the opportunityto learn to project manage, to
learn to work with deadlines, tolearn to negotiate with vendors
.
I know people that they don'teven know how to call a vendor
to ask for pricing and I'm likedude, but that's basic, I mean,
and that's a skill that helpsyou in life and helps you in
(14:28):
marketing.
I think that my years inproject management did really
shape the marketer that I amright now and made me look into
marketing planning differently,Because now I plan thinking on
the execution, not planning justfor planning.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
So I use Asana.
That's my project managementtool.
I have templates for onboardingnew clients and for projects
and different types of campaigns.
The podcast has certaintemplates and things like that,
because, yeah, you're managingmultiple steps, multiple
projects, multiple pieces, andsome of them are dependent on
(15:08):
one being done before anothercan start right.
So I was a couple minutes latefor our recording because I was
out changing a sign for a client, because I have to change all
of their signs and all of their,their website and everything
all within the next, like youknow, four to six hours, because
everything has to to happen atthe same time Right For for the
(15:31):
campaign.
And so I think there's a lot tobe said for project management.
What's one of your best projectmanagement tips?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
for someone that might be struggling with that a
little bit, oh yeah, this issomething that someone told me
in the last two years.
That continues to resonate withme is that you set the
deadlines so you have control ofyour project management.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Oh, that's so good.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Yes, that's really good and that has.
That sticks with me everysingle day with every project
that I manage.
Why am I going to stress, if Iam setting the deadline?
And then I read something,something else I think it was on
LinkedIn that it's not that youdon't have time, you don't have
a deadline.
So that's like the second partof the quote.
(16:21):
So everything that we need to do, even in planning, because the
deadlines start in the planningphase and some clients have
never worked with deadlines.
They One of my last clients.
I was helping them set up theirmarketing team and make them
work more efficiently and theproblem was that they have never
(16:46):
worked with deadlines, they'venever worked with agendas before
a call, they've never sentemails after a call.
So they just didn't know whatto do after.
I mean, they had work, but theydon't know how to project,
manage all the work.
And then they say, oh,marketing doesn't work.
I mean that's not that.
(17:08):
True, you need to start likeorganizing yourself.
But yeah, it's very, very scarywhen you look at the reality
that's over there.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Well and I really like you, know what you said you
set your deadlines right anddon't stress.
So one of the things that I amnotoriously horrible at is I I
have a tendency to stressbecause I did set the deadline
and I usually set it too quicklybecause I do want things to
move for my clients and stufflike that.
(17:37):
But I think you need to take astep back, look what's
reasonable, look what's theright thing to do and then set
the deadline.
That way.
I've been setting longerdeadlines recently for several
projects.
I've been pushing out severalmeetings saying, okay, I can do
this in two weeks, those typesof initiatives and that's really
(17:59):
taken a lot of the pressure offand I'm able to do better work
too when it's not rushed orcompressed on an unrealistic
timeline.
So I think that that tip aboutproject management is a huge,
huge skill to get in marketingis a huge, huge skill to get in
(18:21):
marketing.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yes, and you need to hear your team when you set the
deadlines, you need to hear yourteam and you need to know their
capabilities as well.
And something very important,even with deadlines and with
planning, is that marketing incompanies moves very fast.
Things are for yesterday.
You're just telling me that youneed something changed in the
next six hours.
So, yes, we do plan, we use astrategy, but we move really
(18:45):
fast.
So, as marketers are peoplethat are always busy, are always
thinking ahead, and sometimesthe client doesn't think ahead.
They just think on this moment,because I want to sell right
now, I want to do this right now, but what happens after now?
So, yes, I mean being amarketer right now.
It is challenging, but it's thebest career in the world.
(19:09):
I wouldn't change it foranything.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
I'm with you on that 100 percent.
So this has been an awesomeconversation, I truly believe.
I love how we talked aboutpeople blaming marketing for
things that aren't marketing'sfault right.
So definitely that marketing isnot as fast and as easy as
social media makes it look like.
Right.
Posting on social media is notgoing to just automatically
(19:37):
bring you in a ton of business.
You need to create a strategyand then project manage the
initiatives that come from thatstrategy, especially with
measurement, right, becausemarketing can be flexible to a
point where you do have toiterate and experiment and try
different things out.
So very, very cool.
(19:58):
I have loved our conversation,but there is a question that I
ask all of my guests.
That is that this show iscalled Imperfect Marketing,
because, as we know and as wejust discussed, marketing is
anything but a perfect science.
What has been your biggestmarketing lesson learned along
the way?
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Well, first of all, kendra, thanks again for having
me here.
This has been a very meaningfulconversation.
Oh wow, marketing is imperfect,but I am also imperfect, but I
think that the greatest lessonthat marketing has given me is
to be patient Be patient withthe processes, be patient with
(20:35):
the client, be patient with thevendors, because there was a
time in my career that I didthings like really fast, but
that doesn't take you anywhere.
So you need to be more patientwith yourself, give yourself
some grace and also supportyourself.
I mean, you know you haveeverything to succeed, so also
(20:59):
be patient in that part.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, that's so great .
Patience is something that Ithink a lot of marketers do not
have enough of, and definitely,giving themselves grace is
definitely something that I findmarketers either have not
enough of or way too much of,and they miss deadlines right.
So there's got to be a happymedium and I think that having
(21:22):
that patience and givingyourself that grace is really
important as you work throughmarketing because, again, it's
not perfect.
We're not perfect, as you said,and it's really about figuring
out what's going to be right orwhat is going to provide the
best outcome that's going tohelp drive your strategy forward
(21:44):
.
This has again been an awesomeconversation, thank you, thank
you.
Thank you so much, jesse, forjoining me.
For those of you listening andwatching, thank you for tuning
in to another episode ofImperfect Marketing.
Thank you for tuning in toanother episode of Imperfect
Marketing.
If you learned something and Ireally hope that you did,
because I have enjoyed ourconversation do me a favor and
rate and subscribe whereveryou're listening or watching.
(22:06):
That really helps us out.
Until next time, have a greatrest of your day.
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