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Hosted by Steve Phipps of Wayfind Marketing, The Growth-Minded Marketing Podcast simplifies marketing for B2B CEOs ready to grow with confidence. Each episode offers real-world strategies, step-by-step coaching, and inspiring CEO interviews—all designed to help you align your marketing with your business goals, stop wasting time and money, and scale without the stress. If you’re a growth-minded leader tired of vague advice and underperforming tactics, this is your next step.
Steve: If your marketing feels like a
gamble and you're tired of rolling the
dice on agencies, freelancers, and random
tactics, then this episode is for you.
AnnieLaurie: Because more ads,
more content, and more effort
won't fix the real issue.
What most businesses need
isn't more marketing.
They need someone who
knows how to lead it.
Steve: You're probably doing a lot
already when it comes to marketing.
Perhaps you're running PPC ads, posting
on social media, creating content, but
without a clear plan and framework and
someone steering the marketing chip.
All that effort stays disconnected,
inconsistent, and that gets expensive.
AnnieLaurie: And if you're the CEO wearing
both hats, running the company and leading
the marketing, that's not sustainable.
You need a strategic partner who
can help carry that leadership load.
And if your team isn't ready
to step up yet, that's okay.
There is a way to build their confidence
and their skills and their ability
to lead with the right coaching.
Steve: And it's not just about your team.
Sometimes as CEOs, we need coaching too.
Not because we're not capable, but
because marketing's not our primary lane.
So having this strategic voice
alongside you can help you make
smarter decisions and avoid costly
missteps, and ultimately lead your
team with more clarity and confidence.
AnnieLaurie: Welcome back to the Growth
Minded Marketing Podcast, where we
simplify marketing so you can grow
your business . I'm Andy Laurie.
Steve: And I'm Steve Phipps.
And today we are diving
into marketing coaching.
What is it?
Who's it for?
How does that work?
Alongside of an agency
and your in-house team?
So let's get started.
Most small to mid-size companies
hit a wall with their marketing.
And again, it's not because they're
not trying, it's usually because
there's no marketing system, there's
no framework, which means there's
also no cohesive marketing leadership.
There's no one to say, here's
how all this fits together.
Here's how this supports
grows strategically.
AnnieLaurie: So they do what they can.
They patch things together
and add here a blog there.
Maybe they hire an agency or a freelancer,
and some of it works for a while, but
without strategy, it's just tactics.
And without leadership,
it never gets traction.
Steve: And so you end up chasing outcomes
instead of creating a repeatable system.
And for the CEO, that usually means
you're living in reaction mode.
You're continually in meetings
about marketing and sales.
You're reviewing another set of
underwhelming numbers and trying
to figure out if you need to hire
a new marketing person, do you
need a new or a different agency?
Do you need a new plan?
Or maybe some combination of all that.
AnnieLaurie: And you're not alone.
We talk to CEOs all the time who've said,
we're spending money, we're trying things,
but nothing seems to move the needle.
Or they've just left a meeting
with a slick presentation
and they still feel stuck.
They know something's off, but
they can't put their finger on it.
Steve: That's often a sign that
you don't need more marketing.
You need a better way to lead it
and execute it, and that's where
marketing coaching comes in.
Now, in some cases, this isn't
a replacement of your agency and
it's typically not a replacement
for your team, but rather it's a.
Tool to help your team become
more effective at marketing
and growing your business.
You can think about that as being the
glue that holds all your efforts together
, and makes them perform strategically
and ultimately to generate a better ROI.
AnnieLaurie: If you've been
burned before, you're not alone.
We've seen CEOs who've been promised
clarity and leadership and got little
more than buzzwords and busy work.
Steve: Maybe you've hired a coach
or you've hired an agency who, talk
a big game, but their advice, their
strategic guidance is, is vague.
, It's filled with cliches.
There's no real structure, and when
you start asking hard questions, they
really aren't giving you what you need,
and things start to get messy, and
you're just not getting good results.
AnnieLaurie: Or you invest in an
agency that floods you with reports
and activity, but when you ask,
are we getting closer to our goals?
They can't give you a straight answer.
Steve: And then there's the DIY route.
Maybe you've tried leading marketing
yourself, you've read the books
and maybe you've even handed off
it off to someone on your team.
Who has potential, but they
don't have any real support.
So it's exhausting and it leaves
everyone second guessing the next move.
AnnieLaurie: I recently saw a
comment online from a business owner
who said, most coaches I've worked
with just gave me fluffy advice.
I was still the one doing all
the work, making all the calls,
and carrying all the strips.
Steve: And that's not coaching.
It's leaving you to figure it out alone.
AnnieLaurie: Real coaching is hands-on.
It's structured, it's built around you,
your goals, your challenges, your team.
It's someone in your corner, not
just cheering you on, but helping you
chart the course, make the hard calls,
and grow your internal capacity to.
So what does marketing
coaching actually look like?
For starters, it's not vague advice
or a one size fits all playbook.
It's a strategic partnership
that aligns your vision with
your team's daily execution.
Steve: When we are coaching a
company, we work directly with the
CEO and with their teams, especially
their marketing and sales teams,
and we help them answer questions
like, what should we focus on next?
What are the strategic priorities that
we need to execute over the next 90 days?
What's driving the real results
and not just spinning wheels?
AnnieLaurie: Let's take
content planning, for example.
We coach our clients to collaborate
with their sales teams to create content
that actually drives pipeline momentum.
But if you've never done that
before, the questions stack up fast.
Who runs that meeting?
How should it flow?
How do I even ask the sales team for help,
and how do I get them to actually show up?
That's where coaching makes a difference.
Instead of leaving your team to
figure it out on their own, we
walk with them step by step to
build systems that actually work.
Steve: In many cases, that means
weekly or biweekly coaching sessions,
and those sessions typically will
include the marketing manager.
Sometimes it's the sales team,
and usually it means meeting with
the CEO at least once a month.
Now, I'm doing this right
now with one of our clients.
I meet with, them regularly, meet with
the COO, and I meet with their team.
We talk about strategy, we troubleshoot
challenges, and ultimately it's
helping guide them into implementation.
They're learning how to
think strategically, and
lead marketing from within.
AnnieLaurie: And sure you can read
a blog post or take a course, but
frameworks don't sit in on your calls.
They don't guide your team in real time
or help them problem solve when things
don't go as planned, but a coach does.
So Steve, I know you like to address
objections on the front end, so
what would you say to the person
who's thinking, I've worked with a
coach before and it was all fluff.
I still had to figure
everything out on my own.
Steve: We hear that a lot , and
honestly, they're not wrong.
If they've only experienced coaching
that lacks structure accountability.
Or a clear roadmap.
Now, real coaching doesn't just
hand you inspirational ideas.
It's getting in the trenches with you.
, It builds strategy and execution muscle.
, You're not left guessing.
, You're growing.
And, another thing I'll
say about coaching.
If you're hiring a coach, they're
going to ask you a lot of questions
and that's part of the dynamic
of coaching versus a consultant.
And so if you don't want to be challenged,
if you don't want to be asked questions,
they're gonna make you think, then a
coach may not be the right option, but.
If you recognize that you and your
team have the ability, you just need
that guidance, the coach could be a
fantastic option because marketing
coaching isn't about outsourcing.
It's not handing your
marketing over to someone else.
It's about strengthening and equipping
and training your in-house capabilities.
It's for CEOs and marketing managers
who are tired of guessing and trying
to figure it out on their own.
You can think about coaching as a
middle ground between doing it on your
own without any guidance and hiring
a full-time CMO at $150,000 salary.
With a coach, you're getting a
strategic voice in your corner.
It's someone who helps you learn how to
plan and prioritize and lead confidently.
AnnieLaurie: For some clients, we coach
just the CEO, and for others, we coach
the marketing person they've hired.
Sometimes it's both.
Either way, we guide the strategy, help
them implement and make sure the results
are tied to actual business goals.
Steve: And just to be clear,
we are not anti agency.
We are one, we have clients that
we serve in using the agency model.
We run campaigns, we build
websites, we write content.
We are their outsourced marketing team.
But even in that, everything
that we do is built on strategy.
It's built on a framework, and
coaching is for CEOs and teams.
Who want to grow their
in-house leadership team.
These are companies that would prefer to
keep all of their marketing the activities
in-house instead of outsourcing it.
Now, agency support is is a really
good option when you need skills
and abilities that your in-house
team doesn't have, and it doesn't
make sense to try to bring on board.
Honestly we have clients that do both.
It's a hybrid model between
coaching and agency.
So in some cases it's
not one or the other.
It's both.
AnnieLaurie: Steve, I know some
people wonder if you are already
offering strategy through agency
work, why would someone also
need coaching or put differently?
How do you decide when
coaching is the right fit?
Steve: So, as I mentioned earlier,,
coaching is the right fit for
the right company, for the right
team, for the right culture.
What I have seen is that coaching is a
really good option for companies that
either one already have a marketing
person, and in some cases that's
a seasoned, experienced marketing
person who has a lot of skills.
They just need some strategic guidance.
In other cases, it's , a company
that wants to hire a marketing person
because they recognize the value
of having that person in-house.
A part of their team who lives and
breathes their culture, they become that
in-house expert about the company and
can help translate that into, marketing
content and marketing execution.
And quite frankly, some of
the best coaching clients that
we've had are companies that had
really bad agency experiences.
A lot of times it was working
with an agency that simply,
they were order takers.
They would ask the client for strategic
guidance, well, what do you want to do?
And they weren't giving that proactive
guidance that the CEO o is looking for.
So there are a variety of
different scenarios , that makes
sense for the right companies.
In some cases.
Some people haven't thought
about, they didn't know that
marketing, coaching was an option.
And for others it's a no brainer.
That's why a couple of years ago we
decided to start offering coaching.
Now I'm certified as a, they ask
you answer actually now it's endless
customers, coach, it's based on the book
and the framework by Marcus Sheridan.
And so we incorporate that into our
coaching and it's for the CEOs and the
teams that want more than activity.
They want control, they want
direction, , and they want to
have ownership of that activity.
They wanna have full ownership
of their company's growth.
AnnieLaurie: You know, I
wanna ask you a question.
I think that oftentimes when people think
about a business coach, they're thinking
about the high level entrepreneurial
coaching type of thing that a lot of
people take advantage of, but they don't
think about it in terms of marketing.
Why do you think that is and how
do you think having, specifically
a marketing coach could really be a
game changer for some organizations?
Steve: Well, it, it's, I I think
that's a, that's a good question.
I think.
Marketing is one of those spaces
where it's been dominated by
agencies and even a decade ago.
The fractional CMO started
getting traction me when
I started Wayfind in 2015.
I started it specifically
offering fractional CMO services.
And you're right, there's coaching
and other disciplines, but in
marketing it's still an unknown and
often untapped, avenue and path.
The owners and the CEOs I've talked to, if
they're a good fit for coaching, when they
begin to understand what it entails, the
light bulb clicks on and they recognize
that's what they've been missing.
Because part of it too is the coaching
is on skills and processes , and how to
build your marketing framework internally.
But there's also coaching
because ultimately what
we're gonna do is focus on.
What you say and what you do
to build trust through the
marketing and the sales process.
So there's also some culture change
that sometimes takes place because it
means doing some things differently
than the way they've been done
before, so that business becomes the
most trusted voice in their space.
AnnieLaurie: You mentioned culture change.
That must be.
Difficult.
I mean, maybe you go into coaching
and you don't necessarily expect
it to be the culture change.
How do you help teams
navigate that culture change?
Ha.
Has that been easy or has there
been challenges with that?
Steve: it, it often goes back
to what are the core values of
that company in the first place.
And that's why when it comes to the
marketing coaching that we do, it is it's
crucial that the CEO or in some cases
the COO are directly involved because
they are the ones , who lead this change.
Because when we're coaching people
and using the, the endless customers
that, that they ask you answer
framework, it means talking about.
The things that your competitors
aren't willing to talk about.
And in the B2B space, oftentimes
that means talking about things like
pricing or how your products and
services are priced, and there's
often a lot of resistance to that.
But it comes back to, do you want to
build trust with your buyers by answering
their questions openly and honestly.
So it's being willing to do the things
and say the things that your competitors.
AnnieLaurie: I wanna circle back.
You mentioned fractional CMOA few moments
ago, and I wondered if you could just
help us understand the difference between
what you're talking about when you say
marketing coach and a fractional CMO.
Because I could see where some people
might get those lines a little blurred.
Steve: The delineation I would
make and there, there are
multiple ways to look at it.
A coach's job is to help you figure
out how to do what you need to do.
Now there's training involved,
so a, a coach, when I'm coaching
somebody, I'm bringing information,
knowledge, tools and systems to the
table that they may be unaware of.
But ultimately what I'm trying to do is
ask questions and provide guidance that
empower and equip them to do the work.
Teaching them how to think strategically.
A fractional CMO is going to be
more of an operational type role.
The CMO is going to have certain jobs and
responsibilities, certain deliverables
in some cases that they are providing.
, So for instance, one of the clients,
that we have where I've served as
their fractional CMO for the last four
years, I have tasks, I have takeaways.
There are things that I'm
delivering as a part of that role.
Whereas as a coach.
My job isn't to do the work.
My job is to guide and teach and
challenge and equip so that the
client is equipped to do the work.
AnnieLaurie: That's a really
helpful delineation there, Steve.
And I think it's important to point
out as well that when you enter
into a coaching agreement, you.
Are also committing a certain
amount of your time to invest.
It's not just a monetary investment.
There's a time investment here.
And how would you prepare
somebody who's considering this
about that time investment?
What what?
What are we looking at here?
It's like an hour, a week.
More, less.
Steve: It's well as, as we mentioned
a little while ago, we have some
clients that the coaching's weekly.
And so the cadence, there could be a
weekly coaching meeting with the marketing
manager and then, , a monthly meeting with
the CEO, or it might be twice a month.
And, they there, the understanding
that they need to have is you are
going to need to do some work.
This is, again, this is
part of the difference.
If you're hiring an agency, you're
expecting them to do the work, you give
input, they come back with deliverables.
Coaching, you and your
team are doing the work.
The coach is not doing the work for you.
That's not the coach's job.
The coach's job is to show
you how to do the work.
So yes, there's going to be homework,
there's going to be,, tasks that you
are given as it relates to learning
the processes, developing your skills.
A specific example of something that I
would have a marketing manager do would be
to take time to map out what their content
creation process looks like internally.
That's not something we're
necessarily gonna do on a call.
We'll talk about it, I'll ask questions
about it, but then that's work that
they will go and do, and then , we'll
check in on that the next week.
We'll also talk through, because with the
coaching, we work in 90 day windows, and
so we have a 10 part scorecard that we
update once a quarter, and that helps us
identify what the top priorities are for
the next 90 days, because you can't build
out the marketing and infrastructure,
the processes and systems that you need.
In 90 days, generally the coaching
is gonna last 18 to 24 months, and
so there is an investment of time.
There's an investment of financial
resources so that that company
can become self-sufficient
when it comes to marketing.
AnnieLaurie: So coaching addresses
a pain point, and we've talked
about different services.
Some people may want to hire a
fractional CMO, some may want to just
work with an agency and that's it.
Some may wanna do coaching, some
may wanna a hybrid approach.
What pain point is coaching answering?
Steve: I would say it's ultimately
the pain that a team is feeling.
It's a team who they want to own
their marketing for whatever reason.
There's different reasons why people
want to keep that in-house, but the
pain is they keep trying, you know?
So I'm, I'm, I'm thinking of,
a client that we've worked
with, in sort of a hybrid.
We worked with them to
develop at their strategy.
We guided them through their website
development process, and we've done
coaching with them, but I remember.
The COO telling me, he says, Steve,
we've read over the last year, probably
close to a dozen different marketing
books, and we've done everything that
these books have told us to do, but
we're still not seeing the results.
And they had a capable team still do,
but they weren't getting the traction,
they weren't getting the results.
And so that's where the coaching.
Can help give them direction.
A lot of the coaching, Dean and Laura is
helping people figure out what not to do.
There's so many options.
and in some cases I'm thinking
of a coaching client that I
was working with, last year.
They had a bad agency experience.
They had somebody who was just getting
moved into a marketing position.
And so as I'm meeting with the CEO
and the woman who's coming in as the
marketing manager, they wanted to
do the strategy in-house as well.
And so the first 90 days of coaching were
focused on helping them develop out their
strategy and who is teaching the marketing
manager how to think about these things.
How to use tools like Chad, GPT.
To do customer research, how to,
build out marketing personas, how
to build out a messaging plan, all
of these things that are fundamental
and foundational that oftentimes get
missed and that don't have a clear
connection to the tactics down the road.
AnnieLaurie: Steve, let's talk
about how this actually plays out.
We're talking about coaching, we're
talking about the value of having
a coach, specifically for your
marketing for CEOs and their teams.
What does this look like when you partner
with Wayfind for marketing coaching?
Practically speaking, how are
we helping CEOs and their teams?
Steve: Great question.
Coaching starts with clarity.
As I mentioned earlier, the
first thing that we do when we
started coaching engagement is we
go through a 10 part scorecard.
And that scorecard represents the
framework and so we use that to self
scored process, but we use that to
help determine what those priorities
are gonna be for the next 90 days.
Then depending on how quickly somebody's
trying to scale up and grow, we'll
either meet weekly or biweekly.
So twice a month, with the
marketing manager or the CEO.
Sometimes it's both, and sometimes
the sales team involved in
some of those conversations.
And, you know, again, just to be clear,
we're not talking about feelings.
Here.
These are working sessions.
It's part strategy, it's training,
it's planning, it's guidance,
it's reviewing what's been done.
So again, we define the goals.
What is it we're trying to accomplish,
what's gonna move the needle?
And then we determine the
roadmap for that quarter.
And this is all of course, focused
on what's the longer term goal
that we're trying to get to.
But it's getting that clarity
of who's doing what, where are
the gaps, what are the tools and
resources that are needed, and then.
As a coach, we're there with them, helping
them look through the data, helping them
think through the decisions that they need
to make and ultimately prioritizing things
and providing accountability when needed.
AnnieLaurie: Yeah, it's like
bringing order to the chaos.
You're not just throwing
spaghetti against the wall.
You've got a game plan and
someone helping you run it.
Steve: Exactly.
And you know, it gets messy sometimes.
I mean, marketing, there's a part of
marketing that's squishy, and that's
why this is a process that takes time.
Generally, as I said earlier, it's 12 to
18 months, in some cases up to 24 months.
But the goal, for us as
coaches is to make ourselves.
Unnecessary.
, It's to transition.
You know, you think about
it like a relay race.
We're handing the baton
over to you and your team.
We want you leading with confidence
because once the systems and
the frameworks are in place,
you have your people trained.
You don't necessarily
need weekly coaching.
You've got the ability to do it yourself.
AnnieLaurie: Okay.
That's a little surprising to some.
I would imagine that you
were genuinely trying to work
yourself out of a coaching job.
You want to equip and train them
and then set them free to go and
do the work themselves without
having to rely on you forever.
That's a little bit of a mindset shift.
Steve: Well, it is, and I think
that's one of the reasons why people
don't even realize that coaching
is an option and coaching is not.
A cheap investment.
But when you look at the amount that
you would spend with an agency in
perpetuity, because with an agency,
as soon as you stop paying the monthly
invoice, the deliverables stop.
Whereas with coaching, you're making
the investment in your team, so when the
coaching reaches the finish line, your
team becomes self-sufficient, so you're
no longer paying someone externally.
To do marketing for you because
you have that ability in house.
So it really becomes a cost
effective investment as you
look at that for the long term.
AnnieLaurie: So, Steve, tell
me a coaching success story.
Someone who's really leaned into
the process and seen it pay off.
Steve: So one of my favorite coaching
experiences, was as I was coaching,
, this was a, home and commercial, alarm
and security company, and I had the
opportunity to do weekly coaching
with a marketing manager, and she
was new to marketing and I absolutely
loved that experience because.
For her as an individual.
She grew not only in her skillset,
but I had the opportunity to watch
her grow in her confidence as a
person with how she would interact
with her peers, interact with the
sales team, interact with her CEO.
And at the same time as I continued
to meet with the CEO, he was providing
feedback that they were seeing growth,
they were seeing change in terms of
just the quality of their content.
Things were more strategic, things
were more focused, not just haphazard.
It wasn't just a monthly campaign for the
sake of a monthly campaign, but things
were being developed strategically that
company was, recently acquired, and so
I'm no longer coaching that team, because
they took everything in-house outta
state, but that was absolutely one of
my most favorite experiences and part
of it was because she was coachable.
See that's another thing too, is and I
know we don't have time to go into it.
Into depth at this point.
But not everybody's coachable.
Not everybody is a good
candidate for coaching.
If the CEO comes in thinking that
they know the way everything should
happen, they're not open to being
challenged or asked hard questions,
coaching's not a good option.
If a marketing manager is not willing
to learn how to do things using new
tools, if they're resistant to change.
They're not gonna be a
good fit for coaching.
So that's another important aspect of it.
And this particular client, the CEO,
the core values that he helped them
develop as a company, the marketing
manager, the sales leader that they
brought in all fantastic people that
were, very focused on becoming the
most trusted voice in their space.
AnnieLaurie: So let's make this practical,
Steve, for the CEO listening right now.
How do they know if
coaching is what they need?
Steve: Here's what I would ask.
Are you in your team executing marketing?
Are you still unable
to see what's working?
Is your team overwhelmed with
marketing or, do you feel like
they're stuck without direction?
Again, they're executing, but
there's not a clear direction.
There's no clear results.
Have you outsourced parts of your
marketing or maybe all of your
marketing, but you still feel like.
The burden, especially defining
the strategy is on you.
Are you trying to lead marketing
on top of running the company,
and feeling the weight of both.
Another question is, do you have a
marketing person but you're unsure
of to train them or equip them with
what they need to be successful?
If any of this sounds familiar or the
other, another question is, do you feel
like the growth of your company is out of
your control because you're having to rely
on perhaps freelancers or an agency, or if
it's all in-house, you just don't have a
plan and you're not sure who to turn to?
If any of that sounds familiar,
coaching might be the next right move.
It gives you a strategic partner, again,
who can help you clarify, prioritize,
and strengthen what's already in motion
or what you're wanting to get in motion.
So again, a lot of times you don't
need more content or tactics.
What you need is a system, a framework.
You need a plan that helps you create
a better marketing content that
helps you choose the right tactics,
and all of that helps you become the
most trusted voice in your space.
AnnieLaurie: Okay, one more question.
What about the marketing person
listening Who wants this kind of support,
but they're not the decision maker?
How do they start the
conversation with their CEO?
Steve: All right, so Amy, Laurie, that's
a great question and I'm gonna answer this
from a couple of different perspectives.
So in some cases, I recognize that
a marketing manager may not want to
go to their CEO and say something
to the effect of, Hey, I would
like to get some outside help.
To do this job to help us grow because
depending on the dynamic there, that
might come across or might seem to come
across as them not being able to do their
job, the job that they were hired for.
So there might be some
fear in that capacity.
So I just wanna recognize that
might be a dynamic for some,
for some marketing managers.
For others though, if you have
a good working relationship.
You want to think about it in
terms of ROI, because when it
comes to marketing, there are a
number of different capabilities.
You have some people that are really
good at content, but they're not, they're
tactical, they're focused on execution.
They're not.
They're not the person who's
gonna step back and develop a
full-blown strategy, which is what
a lot of companies are missing.
That again, that's where a
coach can help you develop that.
And so in those cases, it could just
be having that conversation of going
to the CEO and effectively saying, Hey,
look, I feel like you're investing in
me and I want you to get the best ROI
From that, and as I've been doing this
marketing, what I'm recognizing is
that there are some things that we just
don't have internally and positioning
coaching as a tool that can help.
You as the marketing manager, be
more effective and ultimately, be
sort of a multiplier, if you will.
And honestly, another way that you
can do that's a little bit more subtle
is get a copy of the book, endless
Customers by Marcus Sheridan, which is
a lot of what we use in our coaching.
And have your CEO read that
because that gets into.
Not only marketing, but it's how
marketing and sales need to work
together and how it's as a company,
it's more than marketing, it's
sales, it's marketing, it's culture.
It's that willingness to
become the most trusted voice.
And so ultimately it, it comes down
to having a conversation in some
form or fashion where it's an honest
conversation to say, Hey, there's some
things here that we're missing and we
don't have the means or the resources.
In-house to do this on our own so we can
keep reading the books and figure it out.
Or
we could try to bring in a coach
who can help us fill the gaps
and move forward faster and avoid a lot of
the mistakes that we would make otherwise.
And part of it too, I think depends on
the culture of the company that you're in.
Because again, what I've seen , and what
some of, , the other coaches that I'm
connected to see is that if a company
doesn't have a culture that supports
coaching and continuous learning and a
recognition that we all have strengths,
we all have weaknesses and that.
An effective coach, whatever area
that coaching's in, is a fantastic
way to help us be better at what we
do, to do it better, more effectively.
And that, that ultimately is, that's
an investment, not an expense.
So if you're at a company where
that's not a part of the culture,
it's not a part of the core values,
where coaching is not appreciated,
that's a much harder conversation.
Whereas if you're in a company and
that is part of the core value that is.
Uh, your, your CEO is coachable.
Maybe they're working
with a business coach.
Then it becomes an easier
conversation because the idea
of the concept of coaching is
already valued and appreciated.
AnnieLaurie: I worked in a position
many years ago, probably 15 years ago.
It was in the middle of my career where
I made a shift from, I worked on Capitol
Hill, I was a press secretary, a lot of
media relations and things of that nature.
And I was shifting into more of an
organizational communications role
and, directing communications for a
nonprofit, which very large nonprofit.
They had never had a communications
director before, and I would have jumped
at the chance to have had some coaching in
that season of my life because I, I knew.
Tactically a lot and, and how
to, to do a lot of doing checking
a lot of box, keeping a lot of,
things moving forward, engaging
stakeholders and so forth and so on.
But there were some things that I
just didn't know how to do yet, and it
would've really been amazing to have
had this kind of coaching opportunity
in that moment to, to come in, you
know, this was back in the early two
thousands if something like this existed.
I didn't know what it was.
I had not heard of it yet.
I feel like it's.
I don't know.
Would you agree?
It's kind of a relatively new concept.
Steve: It's, it is.
It's a newer concept that a lot of people
haven't heard of or even thought about.
AnnieLaurie: Yeah.
I think some people still find themselves
in that situation, especially in those
instances where you've gotta a company
that's growing and they have a very small
shop, maybe one person, maybe that one
person's really great at one aspect of.
Marketing, like I was really great at
pr, media relations, but I hadn't done
a whole lot of marketing, you know, from
like a numbers and sales perspective.
And I would've really benefited
from having that kind of,
coaching back in that time.
I think there are people now too
who, who might find themselves
in that exact same scenario.
Steve: Absolutely.
So for any CEOs, marketing managers
who are intrigued with or at least
curious about the idea of coaching,
I would ask yourself these questions.
Is what we're currently doing
going to help us achieve our goals
over the next 12 to 24 months?
If you keep doing what you're
doing, are you gonna get there?
And if the answer to that question is
yes, and you feel like those are good
goals, then keep doing what you're doing.
If the answer to that question is no, what
we're doing isn't going to get us there,
then consider What do you need to do?
what are the obstacles that you
need to overcome if, if you have
somebody in-house, do you need that
system and framework, or do you want
to keep trying to figure it out?
If you have an agency,
are they the right agency?
And ultimately, if you're not sure where
to start and you haven't started anywhere.
Think about, do you want to
have ownership of your growth?
And that's actually a good question
for anybody that's listening, is if
you want ownership of your growth, you
don't wanna outsource it, then coaching
is a really good consideration and you
can learn more about it on our website.
So to, to wrap all this up, if you are
on a healthy growth track and you feel
like you're gonna hit your goals and
you're content with what you're doing,
then keep doing what you're doing.
But if you're not, if you're trying to
figure out a better way to grow your
business and you want control of that
and you feel like you're coachable, your
team is coachable, then by all means.
Take a harder look at marketing coaching.
Now that you know it's an
option, start educating yourself.
You can find some articles on our website
about it, and I would even encourage
you go read the book, endless Customers
by Marcus Sheridan, because it's a
framework, it's a system, and a lot of the
coaching that we do is about implementing
that as a framework, as a part of our
whole framework, our guide framework.
AnnieLaurie: Alright, well that's
it for this episode, but before
we go, here are a few resources
to help you take the next step.
First, if you haven't already,
check out our podcast series on
the Guide Marketing Framework.
It's our five-part approach to helping
growth-minded CEOs and their teams lead
marketing with clarity and purpose.
If you are serious about building
a strategy that works, go back
and listens to those podcasts.
It lays the foundation for everything
we've talked about today, and
it's full of rich information that
you can put to work right away.
Steve: And then while you're there, take
our free guide marketing assessment.
In just a few minutes, you'll get
a snapshot and a score showing
you how your marketing stacks up.
And you'll get instant access
to our marketing playbook.
That has a ton of tactical ideas
that you can begin to work on.
It helps you figure out what's
missing and where to focus next.
AnnieLaurie: You'll also find tons
of helpful resources at our learning
center, blogs, videos, checklists, and
all the things designed to help you lead
your marketing and grow your business.
Just go to wafi marketing.com/learning
center to explore more
thanks for joining us today.
And remember, you don't need
magic to lead your marketing.
You need a map, a mission, and
a guide who's been there before.
Steve: We've helped clients go from
overwhelmed and reactive to confident
and strategic in a matter of months,
and that's what we want for you.
Stop gambling.
Stop guessing.
Start leading with the right plan,
the right rhythm, and the right
people to guide you through it.