As a co-founder of The Squad, I've never been afraid to share our secret sauce. We're not making Big Macs, we're helping businesses grow and transparency is important to everything we do.
Here at The Squad, we've found that our sweet spot is ongoing digital marketing partnerships. Many agencies claim to do it, but we've got the secret sauce that enables us to do ongoing well and to continue serving our clients year after year - some for as many as 10 years.
No smoke and mirrors, no jazz hands, just solid a process and an even more solid team. This is a bit of a long read, but in this post I'm going to outline all of the elements that make up a powerful outsourced marketing team that you could unleash for your business.
If I told you for the cost of one of your lowest salaries, you could gain access to the following outsourced marketing team and processes and about 30 hours for them to crush your marketing and sales goals each month, then would I have your ear?
Occasionally we work with businesses who have a Marketing Director, Chief Marketing Officer, or a VP of Sales and Marketing. These businesses still rely on our outsourced marketing services, but usually, they have a specialized need that we can meet.
They may need someone to ramp up content on their blog, social channels, or email in a way their internal team can’t fulfill.
They may need a graphic designer and web developer to help handle technical aspects of their website or online presence.
They may need access to video and photography skills they don’t possess in-house.
They may need an SEO and Digital Ad specialist who can help lay out strategy, execute, and report on results in a timely manner. They may also want access to the ever-changing knowledge this specialist tunes into.
They may need someone who knows a certain marketing automation software or CRM like HubSpot, Pardot, SharpSpring, Active Campaign, Keep (formerly Infusionsoft), Mailchimp, Pipedrive, or many others.
They may need an expert in slicing and dicing Google Analytics in a way that’s focused on business development, not just telling you your bounce rate dropped 2% or that you have many visitors from Norway.
Whatever the case this arrangement can be mutually beneficial and honestly we love supporting these marketing directors and helping them achieve the goals and objectives they are tasked with.
These are some of our best clients. Our team really enjoys serving these businesses. They typically have over $20 million in revenue and maybe upwards of $75 or $100 million. It makes sense to gain access to the team of experts here at The Squad. We’ll do our best to lead in strategy and creative when we need to, but we also follow and execute on the direction of our client’s internal team. It’s the perfect dance.
The other large group of clients we work with don’t have a Marketing Director. These businesses are typically a little smaller. They likely have an active owner or owners, along with a key General Manager or potentially an Operations Manager. They also typically have someone focused on sales or business development. What they often don’t have is a full leadership team. This means they don’t have someone to sit in a role like Marketing, or maybe even IT, finance, or HR.
These businesses may range in revenue from $3 million up to $20 million. They are poised for big growth but need someone to own the marketing function at a high level and they need help executing.
Any time we enter a new ongoing partnership, we get right into action. We’ve never been an agency that sits back and plans forever. We also find our clients don’t like paying those “onboarding” type of invoices. So our onboarding is pretty fluid.
Content Marketing isn’t something you turn off and on frequently. It’s good to keep a base level of activity at all times. When we begin a new ongoing partnership we jump into ongoing messaging and campaigns that are already in motion. Then we commence our onboarding to see how we can do it all a little smarter.
When we think about our own marketing strategy here at The Marketing Squad, we first align our sights on our Core Focus and Niche. That flows right into our goals and objectives in different areas of our business.
The next thought that pops into our noggins is our target audience. You may call it your buyer persona or target market. This is the profile of your buyer.
Then we get into how we speak to our audience, both internal and external. How we maintain a consistent look and feel. This is where a brand messaging guide comes into play.
The last major step in our 90-day onboarding is to build out the roadmap, which is the 90 - 180 day content and campaign calendar. We follow this process for ourselves and for all our ongoing partner and program clients.
When you partner with our agency, you’re popping the top on our secret sauce. That secret sauce is our ability to drive results month in and month out, year in and year out by following our core processes. We’ve been doing it 11 years and we’re getting better at winning every year.
Every partner client we work with has a Monthly Strategic meeting each and every month. Our key people meeting their key people. Every partner client has specific reports we cover based on the activities of the past month or quarter. We don’t just provide a flashy dashboard (although we do have one).
Did we have an email campaign the past month? Were we running a webinar or event series? Were we focused on crushing new organic traffic with a super strategic SEO strategy? Were we optimizing Google Ad campaigns and all the landing pages therein? Were we embarking on an influencer social media campaign or contest with FB and Instagram ads? Were we blogging like mad people telling the story of our clients to grow their business?
Whatever the case, we’ll provide the measurements in relation to your goals and benchmarks. We ask questions about winning. We don’t hide behind awareness or anecdotal evidence. Sure some of marketing is a cost of doing business, but we don’t retain clients for years without a growth objective.
Each month we check-in and set course for the next month based upon your growth objective.
So we’ve talked a lot about how we work, and who we work for, but we haven’t introduced the team of experts who serve your business.
To start off you get a business development-minded sales person to escort you in the door. Then you get to work with these guys and gals:
Rather than doing a roll call here, head over to our team page to meet each of the individuals on our team and learn more about their talents and strengths.
Occasionally, a business wants to outsource the Chief Marketing Officer function. We’ve placed a CMO in 3 different businesses this year and also supported that role with the team above. We have another CMO in the waiting, and we’re looking for 3 additional businesses where this could be a fit.
If outsourcing your marketing makes sense to you, then let’s talk. Marshall Fall is ranked in the top 3 of coffee buyers in Louisville based on the most recent polls. He’d love to buy your next cup of Java.
Like to start with a little higher level convo? I’d be glad to connect myself. Hit me up in the comments, through our get started form, or just ping me on LinkedIn. I’ll buy the coffee but just not as good as Marshall.
A few weeks back we started a series about foundational aspects of your business identity. We discussed the importance of a shared company vision. Next time around we’ll talk about your Core Focus, Niche, and Mission. In a few weeks, we’ll discuss your Company’s Marketing Strategy. Finally, we’ll wrap up this particular series with a post on EOS. EOS is the Entrepreneurial Operating System that we’ve been implementing the last 6 months here at The Squad. In this post though, we want to address the topic of Core Values.
We’ll answer the following questions:
The Core Values at The Marketing Squad came about almost by accident. I guess you could say it was amidst a time of turmoil that we found a chance to gain clarity amongst ourselves. We took the better part of an overnight retreat at the Louisville Marriott East to put index cards and sticky notes all over a table and wall. We cut and sliced and diced until 8 remained. Some say you only need 5-7. We settled on 8 and wouldn’t trade a single one. We’ve never felt like we needed a 9th. So I guess that’s telling.
In order to see if we had the "right people in the right seats on the bus," we took to the exercise of determining our Core Values. The goal was to see if we were on the same page. The goal was a conversation starter. The end results was a beautiful expression of 8 Core Values that have guided our business ever since.
It’s hard to know your common thread as an organization if you don’t have shared Core Values. People can get behind a vision, but it doesn’t mean they will attack the goals and objectives in a common way. Core Values assure you have a chance to win as a team. Not having them could mean half your organization is heading in the wrong direction.
I don’t know that our method was the best, but the end result turned out just fine. Whether you’re implementing Gazelles Scaling Up or EOS, or some other system, they should point you to some version of building your Core Values.
If you don’t think your ownership or leaders can pull this off, don’t be afraid to ask for help. We lean on Daniel Montgomery and Lauren Tharp of Leadership Reality to help facilitate many of our discussions around topics like this.
You can have reminders on your website or signs put on the wall, but it will all fall flat if you don’t live them out day in and day out.
Spencer Smith wins the Truth Teller Core Value Champion award at our annual kickoff lunch.
If you’re curious about our Core Values, here they are in all their glory.
We Are:
Here is a quick video where we discuss them further. Stay tuned next time for our post on Core Focus, Niche, and Mission.
Are you interested in learning more about how our Core Values impact the way we serve our clients? Let's grab coffee. I'd love to learn how your business' mission and our Core Values compliment each other.
Our family loves watching Andy Griffith episodes on Netflix. I grew up watching the reruns with my dad, uncles, and grandpa on TBS or TNT. The show never loses its nostalgia for me. In modern days, I may look to Seinfeld or The Office for my fix, but I’ll never lose my love for Andy and Barney.
I’m speaking of the old black and white episodes of course, before Barney’s exit. Andy Griffith without Barney was like The Office without Michael Scott. It worked, but it just wasn’t the same.
Given that it’s 4 degrees in Louisville, and thus Netflix season, my family has been binging on Andy again. When I watch with my kids, I love that they get a good wholesome perspective on life. I wish more shows today mimicked Andy. As Andy is teaching his lessons to Barney, Opie, Aunt Bee, Goober, Gomer, Floyd, and others, he’s also always teaching us.
Since I’ve logged a good portion of screen time watching Andy throughout my life. I thought it was worth pointing out some of Andy’s greatest lessons on leadership that have influenced me.
He rarely found black and white answers to many of the situations he encountered. I love finding black and white answers to life’s situations. Problem is, I hardly ever encounter ones that have a simple fix.
Usually, many of life’s issues live in the gray. As leaders, they require us to pause and reflect - to empathize and put ourselves in other's shoes and show some compassion. Andy exemplified the ability to pause and reflect on each situation at hand. And how he approached them leads me to my second lesson.
Being creative problem solvers is one of our 8 Core Values here at The Squad. We have some great team members who exemplify creative problem solving. I think Andy did this about as good as anyone I’ve ever seen - fictional or in real life.
Leaders are often called to solve large and complex problems. It’s just what people look to us to do. Andy often found himself in a situation that called for this trait. Whether he was bailing out Barney, disciplining Opie, or leading Aunt Bee, he was the ultimate creative problem solver.
He looked for ways to give others the credit and he created environments where others could flourish. There’s no other explanation of how one could work with characters like Floyd, Gomer, Goober, of course, Barney, and even it’s me, it’s me, it’s Ernest T.
Andy could have taken back the reins from any of the above, but he worked hard to find ways to work with them, despite their ineptness at times.
Leaders at times must take charge, and Andy did so on many occasions. But they must also let go and create a path for others to grow and develop. Leaders have to get the best from others. I always liked the quote from Ronald Reagan, “Leadership is letting someone know their breath smells, without actually telling them.”
Andy Griffith was a humble man who didn’t see himself as more than he was. I believe that’s why he’s been such a darling for so many years. The fact that generation after generation can relate to Andy, Barney, and their little town of Mayberry is quite impressive.
Leaders must be able to relate, serve, and lead all at the same time. Andy modeled this quite well. He would jump in next to his team, advocate for the least of these, and lead with wisdom when the situation called for it. Around The Squad, we always strive to operate as Servant Leaders to our partners and to others on our team.
In the coming weeks, we’ll continue talking about things like Leadership, Vision, and Core Values. Hopefully, amidst the busyness of life and business, a nugget will stick with you and make you better tomorrow than you were today.
If there’s a topic you’d like us to address, then leave a comment below or on social and we’ll move it to the top of the content calendar.
If you’re looking to work with a marketing agency that operates by strong foundational Core Values, then look no further, here we are. Let’s start a conversation!
As I’ve grown as the leader of The Squad, things that previously had little meaning to me, now capture the majority of my focus. It’s quite the shift. I’m referring to our Core Values, Vision, and Mission (Core Focus). Our operating system is another. For many years I just thought, "We operate and that’s our system."
In the coming weeks, I’m gonna go deeper on my journey into how and why our Vision, Core Values, Core Focus, and EOS operating system not only became important but also the biggest part of my job daily here at The Squad.
Until recent years, vision was one of those things that had little meaning to me. I never understood the importance of vision. I believed that I was acting in the capacity of a visionary just from sheerly starting the business and cultivating the brand, however, vision wasn’t much in my mind beyond some good quotes.
Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. — Jonathan Swift
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. — Helen Keller
Where there is no vision, the people perish. — Proverbs 29:18
Through business coaching, an EOS implementation, and a few more years of wisdom under my belt, I’ve come to realize just how important vision is to an organization.
Whether you’re leading a softball team, a business, a non-profit, or even your family, if you don’t have a shared vision it’s really hard to get anyone to follow along or buy-in.
I’ve found that having a vision that’s on paper is key. For years it was in my head. I see it when I look around at the team we’ve built, the office we just moved into, the partners we serve, and the culture we have. However, it’s not that useful if it’s all in one or two owners’ or leaders’ heads.
I’ve worked hard to sell people on the vision of who we are and where we’re going, but as you grow you don’t have as much time to spend with each person on the team, especially new ones. You have to trust that a common vision is documented and expressed so that the team you’re building knows where we’re going and can buy into the journey.
When you’re recruiting, people aren’t just interested in good compensation, benefits, and meaningful work. They want to buy into a vision. Is this a home for me?
When you’re serving clients or selling a product, people don’t just buy for now, but they want to buy into a vision. What’s coming next?
When you’re creating emerging leaders within your business, they want to see themselves in the future and buy into a vision. How can we grow alongside one another?
It’s the same thing for a group of parents and kids on a softball team or a soccer team. It’s the same thing for a group of volunteers who’ve organized themselves toward a common cause.
There needs to be a leader and the leader needs to express (with the help of other key stakeholders) where the group is heading by way of a vision. At The Squad, we go a step further and collect the ideas of everyone on our team as we’re shaping our vision and our goals.
The biggest breakthrough we’ve had in 2018 and 2019 is that we’ve chosen to document our vision in the EOS system. EOS is a business operating system that we found through a referral from Scott Diamond, CEO of Unified Technologies. Unified has leaned on EOS and in the process experienced scalable growth, making the Fast 50 list in Louisville for multiple years. We jumped in sideways last year and began our own journey with the help of an EOS integrator and our business coach.
Creating our VTO was one of the final steps of the Proven Process in EOS. We completed ours and presented it to our team on Friday, January 11 at our annual kickoff luncheon.
Squad annual kickoff luncheon January 11, 2019.
The VTO is the document we use to capture all aspects of our vision. It’s shared with our team for full transparency. Below are the items that make up the VTO:
We’re super excited to have completed ours and now the larger journey begins. Leading to it and adjusting it as we gain traction in the business, and from time to time, hit the ceiling - which is a normal part of a business cycle.
If you’re a business leader or owner who’s interested in topics like this, then stay tuned for one of our next posts about establishing Core Values.
P.S. If you’re a fellow EOS-run business, and you think we have some synergy in working together, then let’s connect. We’d love to learn about your business to see how we can help Tell Your Story and Grow Your Business.
Spring is all about "new" beginnings. But by summer it’s hot and muggy around this part of the country, and it’s usually time for a refresh. Well, we’re rolling into our first full week of summer and it’s gonna be heating up. So you might be thinking a refresh means jumping in the pool, or grabbing a cold drink in the shade. We have a different type of refresh in mind.
We’re talking about giving your website a refresh. After all, it is the hub of all your offline and online marketing activities. People search and find you there. They validate you on the web and it’s your biggest source of credibility outside testimonials and positive reviews.
Since we’re rolling into summer, we’re working hard to fill our project pipeline heading into fall and the end of the year. And if you keep reading on, you’ll hear about an offer we’re making to those considering a website refresh in 2018.
In the agency world, summer can be a slower time of year. We’re still busy launching websites that were sold through the spring, but we want to make sure our project team stays sharp in these dog days of summer. So If you’re in the market for a website, that makes it an opportune time to get your project launched in the next 30 - 60 or 90 days.
Taking the time to give your website a refresh can position your brand for a strong close to 2018. We see a lot of businesses start the year or even end it with a website refresh, but why wait? The best time to plant an oak tree was 30 years ago. As the old adage says, the next best time is now.
If you’re on the fence and need a nudge to tip you over, we’ve created a little incentive for the end of June and the wrap up to the 2nd quarter. Check out the video below and we’ll explain. This applies to new website sales signed between now (June 25th) and June 30, 2018 end of day. If you have a proposal you haven’t signed or if you are expecting a proposal this week, then this deal is for you.
If you execute your agreement by June 30th EOD (that’s end of day 🙂 then we’ll throw in that half-day video and photo shoot we mentioned above.
If you’d like to talk more about a website redesign, then fill out our online form and there’s a chance we can meet or talk and have a proposal to you by the end of the week. If not, we’d still love to pursue this with you heading into July.
P.S. These are the longest days of the year so make sure and get outside and enjoy them by the way.
More and more over the last few years I’ve been thinking about how I lead The Squad. It’s not something I ever thought about for the first 7-8 years. I can think of a few natural reasons why and other reasons based on my internal wiring.
Naturally, when there are just a few people to lead, then it follows that leadership doesn’t come to mind much. That’s especially true in a partnership where all the partners are involved in the day-to-day operations. That was pretty much us for the first several years. Another thing that squelched some of my leadership opportunity was an illness a few years back. When your mind is on survival it’s not on leadership.
Internally I’m wired to want to drive, produce, and go. If I had any leadership focus it probably came through in the way I tried to lead by action or the way I tried to energize the team around a common mission, vision, or big goal.
In recent years a few things have really propelled the way I think about leadership. Our annual owner’s retreat has been great breeding ground for getting my head up to 30,000 feet and out of the weeds. One output from the annual meeting in 2016 was a set of 8 Core Values.
Another thing that has helped me is watching others lead the way. One particular CEO that comes to mind is Scott Diamond over at Unified Technologies. I’ve watched from nearby as Scott has created Core Values, led through them, and created an amazing team and culture. They have also created amazing growth over the years.
Another leader who I’ve watched is Meg Panella over at Keller Williams Louisville East. Meg has taught me a lot about leverage when it comes to systems, training, and your team. There are several others, both local and some from a distance, that I’d love to mention. Maybe that’s a future blog. There are a few other leaders I’ve had the privilege of getting to know recently, and I’m watching and learning a lot from them along the way. Who are you watching? Better find them. Leadership is a lonely place.
Lastly, the biggest impact has been coaching. I spent some time working through X’s and O’s with the team at ActionCoach Louisville. I learned a lot about leading to our Core Values and Culture. It helped me work people onto and, frankly, off of the team over the past few years. It also gave us the initial tools to start documenting our business processes. More recently in the past 8 months, I’ve been blessed to work with Daniel Montgomery of Leadership Reality. Daniel approached me after launching his business around a year ago. He’s been instrumental in my personal development and helping me to learn my leadership style. I’m in the middle of creating a life plan with his guidance. Then we’ll be shifting to my leadership story: past, present, and future. This coming week, our entire team will be journeying with Daniel and his team through their Leadership Challenge workshop. Stay tuned for updates.
So there you have the history of my leadership of The Marketing Squad. And as I’ve reflected on it, I wanted to leave you with 10 philosophies that have developed over these last 10 years. Heck probably over the last 42 years if we’re being real.
My hope is that they help you form some of your own.
My goal is to begin sharing wins, insights, problems, and pains each week. If you’re a business owner or leader out there, my hope is that these will add value as you reflect on your own journey. I know none of us need more noise.
Copyright 2025 The Marketing Squad | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Terms of Service
