The $600K Marketing Mistake (Mar. 14, 2025)

Send us a text

What would you do if you discovered your company had been unknowingly wasting $600,000 on an ad that had been running unchecked for FIVE years?

That’s exactly what happened during one of my routine marketing audits. A LinkedIn ad, buried deep in the system, had been quietly charging the CFO’s corporate credit card $10K per month—without oversight.

🚩 The company had hired a marketing agency before I came onboard—but they never flagged it.
🚩 My predecessor, reportedly a marketing “whiz,” either never knew about it or never caught it.
🚩 Leadership didn’t want to discuss it. If the CEO found out, heads would have rolled.

In this episode, I break down:
✅ How I uncovered this costly mistake
✅ Why agencies aren’t always looking out for your best interests
✅ The actions I took to stop the financial bleed
✅ How we redirected $120K annually into higher-performing marketing
✅ Lessons learned to prevent these costly errors

💡 Marketing oversight isn’t optional—it’s essential. Whether you’re working with an agency or managing your own campaigns, this episode will help you rethink how you track your marketing spend.

🔎 When was the last time you audited your marketing budget?

🎧 Listen now and learn how to protect your business from costly marketing mistakes.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

🛡️ About Lead Like a Compassionate Warrior Podcast

This bi-weekly podcast is for bold visionaries who are building businesses, leading teams, and making a difference—and who don’t want to burn out in the process.

Hosted by Michelle Silva, fractional CMO and founder of The Savvy CMO—a boutique marketing consultancy—and co-founder of The Savvy Business Woman community, this podcast is where smart strategy meets soulful, values-led leadership.

Through honest conversations and real-world reflections, we explore what it means to grow with intention, lead with compassion, and stay grounded when the path gets messy.

Whether you’re building a business, running a nonprofit, mentoring a team, or simply trying to hold it all together—this podcast offers space to reconnect with your mission, your clarity, and your whole self.

Ditch hustle culture, lead with heart, and build something that lasts—on your terms.

🎧 Support the Podcast: If this episode resonated, please subscribe, rate and leave a review. Your support helps other leaders find their way here—and feel less alone in the process.

👭Join The Savvy Business Woman community - where smart women grow together.

#LeadLikeACompassionateWarrior #TheSavvyCMO #TheSavvyBusinessWoman #CompassionateLeadership #WomenInBusiness #EmotionalIntelligence...