What if your entire go-to-market strategy had to change overnight?
In this episode, you’ll hear how Ryan Davis, co-founder of People First, pivoted from political influencer marketing to public health campaigns at the height of the pandemic—and used that momentum to scale a thriving agency.
Ryan breaks down how they won high-budget clients, built strong referral pipelines through white-label partnerships, and used newsletters and case studies to close million-dollar deals—without chasing every shiny object.
If you’ve been trying to figure out how to pivot, position, or power up your agency or service-based business, you don’t want to miss this conversation.
Keypoints & Chapter Markers
00:00 – Launching a business… right before the world shut down
04:00 – Finding a “blue ocean” in an overlooked niche
08:13 – Turning case studies into real campaigns
14:35 – The long sales cycle and building trust through newsletters
20:04 – How AI is changing the agency model (and hiring)
Want to connect with Ryan?
People First: https://peoplefirst.cc/
Influencer Impact: https://people1st.substack.com/
The Month In Digital: https://monthindigital.substack.com/
CONNECT WITH US!
Download The Free Outbound Sales Playbook:
Master cold outreach, close more deals & drive revenue to your business using The Outbound Sales Playbook. Battle-tested on over 1,000+ businesses and proven with over 100M data-points, this Free E-book will give you the tools you need for predictability and scalability in your marketing and sales efforts. Disclaimer: Only download if you want more customers!
Join The Takeover Community:
- Sign up for The Takeover newsletter and get the latest marketing tips, sales strategies, and business insights delivered straight to your inbox. Join a community of entrepreneurs & high-performers dominating all areas of Sales & Marketing. Sign up for the newsletter.
About The Hosts:
- Tim & Cindy Dodd are the Co-founders of PEMA.io, based out of Miami, FL. Connect with Tim and Cindy on LinkedIn and Instagram:
About PEMA.io:
PEMA.io is an Inc. 5000 Outbound Agency specializing in helping Marketing Agencie...
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Charlie Kirk Show
Charlie is America's hardest working grassroots activist who has your inside scoop on the biggest news of the day and what's really going on behind the headlines. The founder of Turning Point USA and one of social media's most engaged personalities, Charlie is on the front lines of America’s culture war, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of students on over 3,500 college and high school campuses across the country, bringing you your daily dose of clarity in a sea of chaos all from his signature no-holds-barred, unapologetically conservative, freedom-loving point of view. You can also watch Charlie Kirk on Salem News Channel