“Learn how to make advertising work, or you’re gonna raise skinny kids.”
My first clients were desperate for their advertising to work, and so was I.
If my ads didn’t bring in new customers, we were all going hungry.
Three decades later, the gravity of what we do still weighs on me, even with clients making tens of millions each year.
For me, this is so much more than business. It’s personal.
Who I Can Help:
- People who are pissed off that being good at what you do isn’t good enough to grow your business.
- People who are frustrated and tired of “winging it.”
- People who’ve come to the painful conclusion that playing “Follow the Leader” is a lousy business plan.
Who Is Not a Good Fit:
- People who are not familiar with humility or honesty.
- People who need the approval of others before making a decision.
- Anyone who views customers only as walking wallets to be picked.
- People with the attention span of a puppy.
What I Do For Clients:
- Develop marketing campaigns that make people fall in love with you before they meet you.
- Create campaigns that make your company the preferred choice in your market.
Example Ads:
Select Success Stories:
Automotive
When Bess took over at Gresham Ford, it was notorious for decades of the worst customer satisfaction scores in the nation. The reputation was so bad it would have been easier to burn it down and start over, but that wasn’t an option. My team’s job was to rebrand the dealership to overcome the sins of the past and position it against the competition.
The messaging acknowledged the poor reputation of the dealership and the broader car buying experience in general and boldly stated how customers should expect to be treated at the new company. To make the messaging more engaging and relevant, a persona was developed for the owner as a champion of the customer.
People liked what they heard. The messaging inspired trust, buyer reluctance dropped, and profits grew. Through effective ads and media strategy, their advertising spending per vehicle sold is about half the competition’s spending, allowing them to keep prices low while earning greater net profits.
Plumbing, Heating, and Air
When the brothers took over their parent’s 34-year-old plumbing company, they quickly added HVAC. The company’s advertising had been minimal and haphazard, with no clear brand or marketing strategy.
My team developed a branding campaign that used subtle humor to highlight the brothers’ unique personalities and pay homage to the values passed down by their parents that define the company’s culture.
Soon, new customers and new-hire candidates were parroting quips in the ads.
By the end of the first year, their sales were up 36%.
Agricultural Real Estate
Dan has helped farmers buy and sell farmland for over a decade. He wanted to increase the number of property listings and eventually add additional agents and offices.
My team developed a branding strategy around his humble and likable personality and his history in farming. By the end of his first year as our client, his soft-spoken, homespun demeanor attracted a book of new listings and inspired him to expand his business sooner than he had planned.
Manufacturing
The manufacturer had sold exclusively through distributors, and sales had plateaued. They came looking for breakthrough marketing strategies. After researching, my team found an opportunity to increase sales and profits by selling directly to the consumer. We developed customer-focused marketing and sales strategies that grew sales by 110% and profits by 178%.
