Drew Sanocki’s Post

All 30 Tips from 25 years of fixing Big, Busted Brands: 1) Set the right culture: Urgency, Meritocracy, Profitability. 2) Break the biz into Strategic v. Non-strategic costs: Strategic = profit-driving. Non-Strategic = not. 3) Jam suppliers: Put all contracts out to bid, cut consultants, negotiate agency fees. 4) Reduce subsidy costs: AKA discounts for ppl who’d have bought anyway. E.g. Timed exit pop-up. 5) Increase prices: Test price elasticity on popular products. 6) Adopt zero-based budgeting: 0 every expense. Justify new ones in writing. 7) Use discount ladders: Only discount @ the point of biggest impact + the minimum amount. 8) Rework compensation: Realign incentives. Profits > tenure. 9) Don’t become a tech org: Don’t hire engineers to build a crazy data pipeline. 10) Fix 1x buyer problem: Analyze Recency to drive 2nd purchases. 11) Be okay with layoffs: RIF = expected. Go once, go deep. 12) 3 Rev Multipliers: Purchase Frequency, AOV, # of Customers. 2x Rev by increasing each by 30%. 13) Juice AOV: Premium service upsells ^^^ your AOV. Also: cross-sell high-margin, low-cost items. 14) Use bounce-back campaigns: When a 1x buyer purchases from one category, trigger them an offer off another category. 15) Hunt 🐋: Not all customers are created equal. Focus on VIPs = massively outsized impact on your biz. 16) Cut 3 costs: Meetings, Org Spam (e.g., 100 emails CCs every day); 6+ mo IT Projects 17) Don’t overoptimize for satisfaction: Profits + growth > NPS. 18) Hire a baller CMO: The Meta ad funnel hacker or Klaviyo expert. 19) Work AP/AR: Time = $. If you’re Net 15 on AP, move to Net 30. If you’re Net 30, go for 60. 20) Rethink free shipping: Set threshold at 50-75% of historical AOV. 21) Use Direct Mail: The only full-funnel channel. 22) Two books: John Doerr’s Measure What Matters: how to set goals. Gino Wickman’s Traction: bridge the gap b/w goals + execution. 23) STOP overtesting: “We need to AB test that + figure out the incrementality.” JUST ACT. 24) Have a 30-60-90: Have a 3-month plan. Get early wins. You need to win the trust of your team + your investors. 25) Cut HR: Use an external HR consultant or service. 26) Implement volume discounts: Find avg. # of SKUs per order. If # is >1, your customers are organically buying multiple units. Incentivize them to buy even more. 27) Implement a backlog process: Brainstorm cost-cutting + rev-generating moves with the org. Rank by expected impact + ease of implementation. 28) CEO = Chief Rainmaker: “Growth Hackers” end up optimizing existing channels vs. finding new biz. The CEO alone has to own it. 29) Fix chain of command: Get rid of the “pure” managers: the best ones can strategize + execute. 30) Enjoy the Game: Separate ego from outcome. Journal, meditate—whatever it takes. Try to have fun. Want to dive deeper into these turnaround secrets? Download all 30 tips from the series, link in the comments👇

My team and I have doubled revenue for tech founders. The best ones consistently had these 15 principles. Use them to build your top 1% tech brand. 1. Know your why 2. Ideal client clarity 3. Crystal clear value 4. Solid brand identity 5. Data-driven decisions 6. Results-driven mindset 7. Targeted traffic magnets 8. Messaging that resonates 9. Deliver beyond expectations 10. Established thought leadership 11. Lead gen to warm up cold traffic 12. Optimized marketing and brand strategy 13. Strategic content that positions you as a trusted guide. 14. Client acquisition funnels that qualify leads and close deals. What did I miss? Anything else you’d add to the list? PS: did you notice the mistake I made? 👀

Many CEOs/founders spend 90% of their time on daily operations — and then jump right into ads, but this does NOT ensure growth Here are a few foundations you need to nail down immediately 👇🏽 — An onboarding motion — Activation - ensuring that people use your key feature — Referrals: Make it easy for your customers/partners to talk and get into your product — Automated e-mail loops to support each of the motions above If you do this before scaling your ad spent you'll be in a much better place to experience "effective" growth. ====================================================== Your business needs focused growth. DM me "Growth" if you're ready to solve inconsistent growth.

One of the things I learned the hard way is that there’s a MASSIVE difference between Go-To-Market “Activities” and Go-To-Market “Strategy.” As Founders, we can be quick to jump into firing off emails, buying ADs, publishing blog articles… all without doing the underlying strategy work. When you jump into the execution without getting the strategy right, everything becomes 10X harder. When you nail the strategy first, the execution becomes 10X easier. The moment I defined our Go-To-Market strategy, nailed our messaging, and executed on a consistent playbook of activities, everything for our business changed. If you’re a SaaS Founder and you’d like to revamp your GTM strategy to scale your growth, grab a complimentary copy of my 5-Point SaaS Growth Strategy Guide. Just follow the link in the comments below. If you don't see my comment, choose "Recent Comments" in the dropdown below this post. 👇

Let’s talk about beginnings and endings….   It’s always a bittersweet moment when a project comes to its natural end with a client, particularly when you have been working with them for some time.    For good reasons, this has been the case recently for a B2B tech client I have helped to build and grow a strong social media presence for.   It’s been fun, busy, educational, challenging and fulfilling. I have got to know their business extremely well, felt like an extension of their team and had a great working relationship with them.  So I’ll miss them!   However, whilst I know this is the way it goes, I also know that the same client might come back to me at some point needing my help again.    This scenario happened about a year ago when a previous client got back in touch, post-merger, to ask if I could work with them again. I am, and I love both the familiarity and the people, but also the sense of renewed energy in the business.   Either way, I feel a sense of pride when I reflect on what I achieved together with the outgoing client, and as importantly, I am optimistic about welcoming new businesses into the space that leaves!   I’m also taking stock - Kate and I have worked hard to build our business over the last 5 years and are enjoying the process of reviewing our branding and website to better reflect what it is we do best, and who we love to work with ✨   So watch this space - exciting times ahead for us and Generation Social 2.0 😉   #NewBeginnings #B2BMarketing #PersonalBrand #LinkedInMarketing #TechMarketing 

2023 has certainly kept us marketers on our toes! Between layoffs, budget adjustments, navigating new AI tools, grappling with diminishing organic reach, economic shifts, and the ever-present challenge of zero-click search, it's safe to say we've faced our share of hurdles. As we enter the final quarter of this rigorous year, this meme encapsulates not just my sentiment but perhaps that of many marketers out there. Here's my response when someone asks me, “How’s work coming along?” #marketing #marketers

Even when we look back, the ride is still jolting. And the joke was definitely not on us, as companies doubled layoffs in Q124 vs Q123. GTM Partners' research found that 57% of companies still didn't build enough pipeline as they cut back hard on marketing spend (without a counter strategy). This is where #Fractional Leaders come in - that is, those with the ✨ right ✨ experience - to help companies get back on track and make 2024 a year of growth. We’re seeing similar marketing strategies and similar positioning from a lot of companies - saving time and saving money are not sufficiently compelling for buyers to buy. We’re also seeing that 47% of tech buyers expect ROI within the first six months of purchase of software. Traditional customer case studies don’t communicate this value. Notably, we are seeing an #innovation explosion from companies such as Ignition, ProofAnalytics.ai, and others. Jared Robin ⏭ Robin gives the full run-down in his posts. Now is the time to return to #fundamentals to ignite growth. If your #marketing isn’t connected to your business' #outcomes - rethink it. The time is now to steal #marketshare and with a strong point of view. #winning. Entry Point 1 #gtm #marketing #sales #revenueteam #gotimmarket

Marketing people often struggle to sell the idea of demand gen for C-Level and finance people, due to its long-term nature. It's especially true when the times are tougher (recession, war, layoffs, budget cuts) and every expenditure is under scrutiny. 💸 Here's an analogy you can use: 📈 Talk with the CEO/finance person about the Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy as an investment portfolio. 💰 In that portfolio, demand generation is a long-term investment that you 'BUY and HOLD' onto.  ✅ In contrast, lead generation and cold outbound can be considered 'day trading' – the quick in-and-out strategy. While tempting, they might not be the most effective route to build the brand for the company. In every case, diversification is key! 🔑 – not relying on one or two tactics, but embracing a variety to build revenue streams. Every good GTM strategy uses demand gen, lead gen and cold outbound tactics as well - just like every good portfolio has short and long-term investments in them. In challenging times, understanding the buy-and-hold strategy can be a game-changer. Daniel Zsolt Rényi talks about it more deeply in our latest ⚡Spark episode. Links are in the comments! #demandgeneration #gtmstrategy #marketingstrategy

Frustrating... That is exactly what it is to experience 3 consecutive years of decline with no possible ray of profit in sight. I mean, your pocket is bleeding, you're spending money on ads, paying your team, and paying agencies, YET for 3 good years, your business has been stuck in a downward spiral. I was shocked when I heard this story last year from a brand founder over zoom. What was the issue? Or rather issues.. 1. Their previous partner missed the most crucial asset they had: data. 2. Spend kept being scaled but the results weren't there to justify this. 3. They were unsure of which of the thousands of SKUs to focus on for paid media. 4. They were throwing things at the wall, hoping something would stick, without a clear roadmap. Essentially, they were making decisions based on guesswork rather than solid, actionable data. What did we do differently? 1. We dived straight into their SKUs, leveraging data on unit economics and contribution margins to pinpoint opportunities for profitable growth. 2. Instead of simply expanding, we focused on scaling smartly—prioritizing products that not only boosted revenue but also improved overall profitability. 3. We managed to profitably scale their ad spend from $6k to over $80k monthly, making sure each investment contributes meaningfully to their success. The result? ✅ $1M revenue mark with a stunning 78% year-over-year growth. Ended 2023 with their most profitable quarter in 15+ years of business ✅ A proven data-driven strategy for continuous profitable growth Data isn’t just numbers; it's the fuel that drives your businesses forward -- something you simply cannot ignore. Curious to have a deeper look at the strategies that enabled us to fuel this growth? Shoot me a DM or drop a comment below 👇🏻

Ever join a new company only to find out your team’s budget was slashed? Back in the day, I joined a team as the Director of Growth Marketing and was hit with a reality check on my first day: A $1,500/mo budget staring back at me. Competitors? Easily outspending us by tens of thousands. The looming cloud of layoffs and a gargantuan sales team of 250 overshadowing our tiny marketing trio. But, even in the direst situations, magic can occur. Our scrappiness and persistence helped us: • Quadruple leads amidst these constraints. • From an initial 3 to an impressive 30 per month. • Achieving seemingly improbable goals against the odds. Challenged by your marketing budget? Remember, constraints can also be a catalyst for creativity. Reach out to learn how I help founders with small marketing budgets make big impacts with AI tools & market insights to drive more leads.