Tag Archives: Outsourced CMO

The WIMS Consulting 2020 Rebrand

There is just something about transition, a new decade (even though January 1^st seems like it was already another decade ago), and a new mission to undergo a massive scaling of one’s company that requires a bit of a shakeup. Huge transformative shifts force all involved to level up and evolve for the better. They demand a heightened sense of commitment to excellence and discipline.

As they say, the things that got you here will rarely get you there.

The first 6 years of WIMS Consulting have been great, the company has grown double digits every single year (with 2 years at triple), and despite the state of the market, this year is already on track to achieve exponential growth compared to last year (in fact it economy appears to be helping it along even more as companies go all-in on digital). That said, I have still been playing too small and remain far from where I want the company to be yet. It is time to ramp things way up and kick things up another notch.

A rebrand is often mostly symbolic, it is a way to re-engineer how you would like the public to see and perceive your company, and to re-calibrate the first impression for those that do not know you yet. It also allows you to set the tone for current and future employees, partners, and clients. It is an opportunity to recommit and reestablish your values of who you are and who you aspire to be.

Up until this point we have been far from perfect and have certainly underdone some growing pains along the way. As difficult as it is to admit, not every single client project has exceeded expectations for one reason or another. On the flip side plenty of them have gone really well too. Regardless of which side the responsibility lies solely with us for better or worse. Moving forward, that level of accountability and transparency must be the standard. A rebrand is a way to draw a line in the sand, a demarcation to demonstrate that whatever happened before going forward this is the way we will do business no matter what.

Now for a little background and insight on the creative. The spartan warrior is a deeply personal symbol to me since I was young. For one, I grew up attending a school called Milton Hershey (from kindergarten to graduation), and it was our mascot. We learned about their culture and their values (mostly the romanticized and positive version, not as much of the negatives side of it).

Then when I watched the movie 300, wow what an impact it made. To see a group of soldiers, and a King no less, willingly sacrifice themselves with such honor and grace for the good of their tribe, it really stuck with me. I know it was embellished a bit as all movies are, but that didn’t take away from the impression it left.

Between Milton Hershey and the culture resonating so much throughout my life I even got a tattoo of the spartan helmet. For those reasons and others, it sounded like a great place to start when considering what I wanted my company to look like.

Fortunately, when leveraging history to inspire the future you can learn from, and remove, the negatives in order to improve upon an ideal, allowing you to adopt the things that translate. Further, WIMS Consulting is not adopting ALL their values after all (for one we are very much capitalists). “The word “spartan” means self-restrained, simple, frugal, and austere” plus they were clearly pretty violent and brutal. So again, it is not exactly a direct comparison.

The positive side, such as their discipline, commitment, team-oriented collaboration and community are things you build a company around. Others include being strategic, thoughtful, well organized, and assertive. They were creative in their approach to problem solving. The soldiers in their army were only as strong as the person standing next to them and the collective unit as a whole. They tempered the potentially corrosive nature of outsized individual egos. They played offense and defense equally well. They had an unwavering obligation to do whatever necessary to achieve a desired outcome.

Now THAT is what I want the WIMS Consulting cultural values to represent and embody. I want the company to uphold its commitment and dedication to its community (clients, employees, and partners) to that standard of excellence every single day and in every single project and task. This is the mindset required that will subsequently lead to producing outstanding work and deliverables for our clients. It certainly won’t be easy, but nothing worth doing really is.

Hopefully, we nailed that impression and give this perception with the logo and throughout the supplemental components of the branding. More importantly however, is that we maintain the standards and values in a clear and tangible way. Stay tuned for more, but I would love to hear what you think so far!

2018 Call to Action

Happy New Year! I’ll save you the “new year new me/new year new you” talk (even though I’m always a sucker for self-improvement) and get straight to the point. You already know this is going to be your best year yet or you wouldn’t be reading this. And you KNOW it’s going to be my best year yet too. Now for the important part, HOW are we going to do that? This is OUR call to action!

Now I’m not some business guru, I’m still closer to the beginning of my come up, building the foundation of my future empire just like most of you. But I often have people reach out to me beginning with something along the lines of, “I’ve been meaning to reach out to you.” Or “I’ve been following/keeping tabs on you for months now and planning to hit you up.”

The reasons and motivations usually vary, it could be about entrepreneurship, marketing, CRM, augmented reality, blockchain/cryptocurrency, etc. My point in all this is to explicitly say, THIS is your invitation to reach out to me. Don’t wait another 3 months until your life gets less complicated (it won’t) or less busy (it won’t) before doing it. Now is as good a time as any.

It’s obvious we’re all ambitious people grinding our asses off to continue building our businesses and to add more value to our clients and prospects. If there’s a way we can help each other to do just that it’s very much worth at least a conversation.

Further, even if you’re not ready just yet, there’s a good chance I’ll be reaching out to you soon regardless. I will always make sure there’s something valuable tied to it though. But in 2018 I truly want to connect people in a way that helps them grow their businesses and networks. People ask me to make introductions/referrals to professionals in my network often. If it’s a connection that doesn’t make sense to you, you are more than welcome to say no thanks (or ignore it like some do). But keep in mind that on the flip side I’d probably make the intro for you too.

When the dust settles this time next year we’ll all have just got done celebrating the best year of our professional lives and strategizing on how to make 2019 even better. As my boy Tony Robbins says, “If you want to take the island, burn the boats!” I’m ALL IN on 2018 and I know you are too, so let’s get to work already and make it happen!

P.S. I’m always looking for new clients, investors, partners/collaborators, etc. so if there’s someone you think it would make sense for me to talk to please don’t hesitate to answer the call to action!

CRM Revisited (Again): It Should be Your #1 2018 Priority

I’ve been harping on the importance of CRM programs for about a decade now (here’s the last time), yet it still hasn’t caught on the way it should. This is the year that changes. Like with most technology, competition, economies of scale, and innovation have driven costs down significantly. Not only are they cheaper, but the functionality and value has simultaneously increased dramatically. Now, you can even get basic versions of a CRM program for free. It’s why acquiring and implementing a CRM program is my #1 recommendation for every business, regardless of industry or target market, if you’re looking to increase revenue.

Whether you work for a large and complex company, or if you’re an independent freelancer, or if you’re a sales mercenary who is compensated by getting to “eat what you kill,” there is a CRM program out there for you. Regardless of your budget (or lack thereof), you can customize the level of sophistication of your CRM program, as they all have various subscription levels. Further, there was recently an absolutely game changing announcement from one of my CRM platform preferences (and the one I personally use for my business).

Zoho One – An Operating System for Business

“Zoho One is a broad and cohesive set of applications that work collectively to run an entire business on the cloud. It includes more than 35 web applications and an equal number of mobile apps—under a single sign-on, with centralized administration and provisioning—making it a true operating system for any business. While each application punches above its weight against the competition, collectively they deliver a knockout punch.

With Zoho One, we’ve put together all the applications a company needs to acquire and serve its customers (marketing, sales, and support apps); run its operations (finance, recruiting, and HR apps); and provide all the tools for its employees to work collaboratively and get their work done (office suite, mail, personal productivity, and collaboration apps). Almost any company has these same needs. With Creator, our drag-and-drop app builder, customers can even build custom apps for unique business needs—like logistics scheduling—and put them under the same umbrella that forms the single operating system for their business.

Zoho One is available at $30 a month—or just about a dollar a day, per employee. ($35 if you pay on a month-to-month basis).”

While WIMS, Inc. is platform agnostic (we work with all of them, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, and Insightly among others) it’s getting more difficult not to refer my clients and prospects straight to Zoho right now. There are of course exceptions, but they’ve built something special, particularly for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Now, back to the more general CRM theme.

They all integrate with your email provider of choice, along with most social media channels, so tracking communications is easy (and automated). There are an incredible number of third-party add-ons you can incorporate depending on how robust your operations processes are to add additional functionality too.

Most importantly however, is that the ROI (return on investment) will more than make up for the expense.

CRMs help you automate your sales process. The more automated your sales cycle and follow up efforts can be, the greater volume of deals your business will be able to close. Further, the more accurate data you have about your sales cycle, the more deeply you can analyze it to gain insight that will not only help increase revenue, but ultimately help you improve:

Close rates,
Customer service and retention,
Length of sales cycle, and
Forecasting efforts and projections.

While implementing a CRM program can be a significant commitment initially, if you do it right, the benefit to your business is invaluable. With just over two months left in 2017, now is the perfect time to start planning and conduct your due diligence to start 2018 with yet another New Year’s resolution.

We’re here to help if you need it!

It’s Q4: Finish Like a Savage & Prepare for 2018 Domination!

There’s something about Q4 that is always exhilarating to me. Knowing that “the game” is coming to an end, each and every play is more significant, there’s less margin for error. Perform well during this time and you can make up for a lot of previous mistakes and setbacks along the way. Let up or fumble the ball, and you can destroy all the momentum you made thus far. No pressure, right?

All of this is going on while simultaneously a new game is going to begin soon thereafter. Endings are always thrilling, but so are new beginnings after all.

Despite the hectic grind I’ve been on lately, I made sure to take a little time to write up a quick “Q4 Manifesto” which is mostly for myself, but then I decided to add a few extra tips for others too, primarily applicable to your business or professional life.

Don’t wait for January 1^st to start your New Year’s Resolutions, now’s as good a time as any. It’s a misguided practice that usually doesn’t end well anyway. You don’t need an arbitrary start date to work on self-improvement, that should be a daily practice as it is.
Get AGGRESSIVE – Close out ALL of those pending dream deals that have been lingering. Do much more outreach and lead generation. Don’t dwell on whether you’re annoying people or assume that they already have an expert helping them that does what you do.
Debrief/Reflect on the past year. What worked, what didn’t, what do you need to improve upon? Lay it all out objectively and identify opportunities to get better.
Strategize for 2018 now. Spend an appropriate amount of time writing out goals, sketching out project plans, be thoughtful and deliberate. But once that’s completed, start working on implementing that strategy ASAP.
Don’t eat and drink everything in sight just because it’s the holidays. Maintain (or in some cases start) your workout routine consistently and only indulge occasionally.
Enjoy time with my family and friends and BE PRESENT. Don’t spend that precious time distracted with your head in the clouds and worrying about things that are out of your control.

A few specifically for you:

Get and implement a CRM already! Seriously, how many times do I have to say it? If you need to spend some time asking a few questions on how to get started, reach out to me, that part is, and always will be, on the house.
Start a blog, a podcast, video/webinar series, whatever. Leverage content marketing to develop and enhance your brand and get your business’ name out there.
Finally start that business you’ve been day dreaming about for years now.
Or at least start working on that side hustle you’ve been planning.
Identify an organization you’re interested in and get involved in the community. This could be philanthropic or civic, doesn’t matter as much as simply taking action and giving back.

I’m sure there are plenty others I’m forgetting. And I will likely revisit this some more over the next few months to continue tweaking it.

What are some of your Q4 goals? What about your 2018 goals? How can I help you achieve them? Please let me know, would love to hear from you!

The Most Epic Entrepreneur Resource Guide of All Time

As the title says, I’ve set out to build “The Most Epic Entrepreneur Resource Guide of All Time.” I’ve seen and read most of them throughout the past five years plus while researching all things related to being an entrepreneur, and while there are plenty of good, even great, ones I’m working on building a better one.

The amount of time I’ve spent doing research is incredible, so hopefully I can save you a little time while on your own journey. Being an entrepreneur is hard enough as it is, so if I can make it a little easier for you I can’t ask for much more than that.

First, a disclosure, please pardon our dust while this remains under construction. But as the great Reid Hoffman says:

“If You’re Not Embarrassed By The First Version Of Your Product, You’ve Launched Too Late.”

Updates will be coming fast and furiously throughout September, with function being prioritized over form (for now). That of course is in development as well.

Everything will be broken down into sections based on specific topics related to your business, along with location specific pages for the cities that WIMS Consulting operates in for now (Charlotte, Miami, New York, San Diego/LA to start). There will be an index to help assist with where everything is located as well.

To give you an idea, so far the following pages are live despite not being complete yet.

Topics in the pipeline include (among many others):

Startup/New Business
Business Development, Lead Generation, Sales
Creative
Software/Platforms
Training/Education
Legal

In the mean time, make sure to bookmark this page and check back often.

Also, if there are topics/resources/service providers/vendors missing that you’d like me to add, please let me know!

The Potential ROI of Social Media

By now I shouldn’t have to articulate the value or justify the need for a social media strategy for your business. There are literally thousands of articles, white papers, and studies that have been written and distributed highlighting facts, figures, and metrics galore. Rather, I wanted to share a couple recent social media success stories and provide some tangible action steps for you to implement because that’s what this blog is for. As I’ve mentioned publicly, the new mantra is: Add Value.

LinkedIn Is Still King (depending on your target market)

I get referrals on LinkedIn all day long, but then again, I’m fairly active and present on the network. It’s my obvious preference with regard to the long game of business development. Every time I meet a new person at a networking event, or get introduced to a prospect or potential COI (center of influence/referral source) via email my first follow up step is to connect with them here. It just works and compounds.

Another tip: if someone asks you to introduce them to someone you’re connected to: do it. What do you have to lose? Sure, there are exceptions to this, but if you’re not comfortable with that then why are you connected to them in the first place? Even if I don’t know them all that well, I just disclose that fact in the intro and let that person make the call to follow up or not. This simple act often leads them to reciprocate when needed, and is a good reason to reach out to the other person too. Try this: “Hey I know it’s been a while, but so and so reached out to me and asked if I’d make an introduction, figured was a great reason for me to follow up with you too.” The answer is always no if you never ask.

However, you can’t neglect the others such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Sometimes you spend days and weeks shouting into an empty vacuum of time and space. The social media vortex swallows your content and garners little more than a like or two, and maybe a share or a re-tweet. You have great content but no one is really seeing it, so you get discouraged and post less frequently or stop altogether. BAD MOVE.

Now these results aren’t typical, but in addition to managing my company’s social media accounts along with a few clients, I also do it for some of my joint ventures. Recently, a life-altering event occurred when we received an inbound lead worth well into the high six/low seven figures. And this deal came in from a single TWITTER post. No joke, you read that right. Even if I never get another lead from Twitter again, that one tweet will pay for a life time of tweeting. The point is keep sharing, and sharing, and sharing.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Make sure to be very specific about what you’re looking for. When asking for a general referral, it’s often answered with crickets. It’s not that people don’t WANT to help, rather they just don’t know exactly how, or even what you have to offer. If they have to think too hard about it, you’ve lost them. Therefore, its best to keep things simple and specific.

For example, I recently posted that I was looking for a referral to accounting firms with annual revenue over $5 million. I have an abundance of experience in that space and currently have a gap in my client portfolio. Literally within 3(!) minutes of posting it on Facebook I was introduced to a dream prospect that would be a perfect fit for my business. And 10 minutes after that I was introduced to another one equally as good.

Action Keeps You Top of Mind

Even if you do nothing but share existing content from sources such as Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc. Magazine, and others that regularly post timely business-oriented content online you could still see ROI. Take it a step further and curate it with a nugget of commentary and context and over time that’s enough to garner goodwill and establish yourself as a thought leader and resource. This really adds up and pays dividends over the long-haul. People in your network will appreciate your contribution to enhancing their education along the journey.

As always, if there’s anything I can ever do to assist you along your social media journey, please don’t hesitate to reach out! And don’t forget to check out the WIMS Blast Off Bundle: 10Kto10X if you haven’t yet.

WIMS Client Spotlight: GNEISS (Global Network Encryption Investment Security Service) Ethereum Blockchain

GNEISS App Takes Development to Next Level; Launches Alpha to Users
New, Charlotte-based player in blockchain brings new value to crypto-tokens, smart contracts & economy.

Global Network Encryption Investment Security Service (GNEISS) officially launched the Alpha version of their much-anticipated App to the public.

GNEISS is the newest player in the blockchain platform space, crafting and adding unprecedented value and security for users. With its exchange platform, GNEISS users can create, transact, and destroy any crypto-asset or smart contract in a personal “E-Vault” utilizing the Ethereum blockchain. The GNEISS app is built to replace traditional dependency upon third-party market vendors (such as banks) for transactions and to provide a unique capacity for users to easily create crypto-assets of their choosing to trade in a digital marketplace via smart contracts.

Each GNEISS user who registers for the app via the website will have secure access to a private E-Vault. Although this is required by law to uphold any smart contracts made, the GNEISS app development team has gone to great measures to provide an added security measure.

Starting today, users will have the ability to create, send, and trade their own crypto-asset with the built in smart contracts of Privacy, Mint/Burn, Transaction and Interest Tax. Users will be able to trade a number of fiat currencies including: the U.S. Dollar (USDT), the Euro (EURT), Chinese Yuan (CNYT), Great Britain Pound (GBPT), Canadian Dollar (CADT), and the Australian Dollar (AUDT).

“This launch gives people the ability to create their own crypto-tokens and smart contracts,” Founder Michael Morton stated. “We have had six fiat currency pairs tethered for weeks which means users can start trading the world’s most-traded forex pairs on the GNEISS platform.”

This Alpha version is just the beginning. Secured, smart contracts, including (but not limited to) derivatives, insurance and loans are in the process of completion as are DAOs. As well, a decentralized mobile app is set for completion by the end of 2017. It is reported that a Beta version will be available by the end of Q3 2017. The full launch of the platform will happen in early 2018. All appropriate paperwork has been filed to list GNEISS on Poloniex; the company anticipates listing on that exchange in the next several weeks.

Morton is adamant that GNEISS has the power to transform investing in what he calls a ‘trustless economy’. “GNEISS will revolutionize financial transactions between people as much as the internet changed the transmission of data,” he says. “It will bring into existence an open, free, and accessible market powered by blockchain technology which will put the power of Wall Street into people’s hands – where it should be.”

ABOUT GNEISS
Unlock the power of the blockchain, and take control of your financial freedom. GNEISS is the first peer-to-peer blockchain platform that allows the creation of any financial contract middleman-free by leveraging the power of blockchain technology. GNEISS can do everything financial marketplaces can do – only better, cheaper, faster, peer-to-peer, and more efficiently. Welcome to the GNEISS Revolution. For more information, please visit GNEISS.io.

10Kto10X: The WIMS Blast Off Bundle

Whether you’re launching a completely new business, legitimizing a side hustle, or going back to the drawing board with an existing entrepreneurial endeavor, The WIMS Blast Off Bundle is the perfect solution to help you get started and hit the ground sprinting. Whether you’re a first-time entrepreneur or of the serial variety you know that getting your brand and marketing on point is crucial. So, while you focus on building your business and doing what you do best, leave that part to us.

The WIMS Blast Off Bundle includes the following:

Website (Created w/ Wix)
- 5 pages: landing page, contact, about, product/service, bonus (client’s choice).
- Mobile Friendly.
- Standard SEO optimized.
Video
- Corporate landing page video (up to 3 minutes).
- Half day, onsite shoot.
- Up to 4 interviews with partners, employees, clients, and/or testimonials.
- Includes music/GFX, B-roll, editing, and post production.
- Condensed version for social media (30 seconds).
Social Media Activation
- LinkedIn, FB, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram account set up.
- Creation of first 30 days’ worth of content.
Content
- Press Release.
- Launch blog post.
Creative
- Logo
- Branding Kit.
- Stationary (Business Card, Letterhead, etc.)
4-hour one-on-one strategy session to get launched. Time allocated for feedback, editing, etc. as well.
$250 cash commission for referrals (upon completion of project).

*Restrictions

The following options are considered upgrades and not included in the 10Kto10X package. However, we would be thrilled to accommodate you for an additional fee on an ad-hoc basis.

Website – e-commerce functionality.
Video – access to Drone and 360 videos.
- Travel across the country is possible and negotiable on a case by case basis.
- The specific package will be discussed prior to launch, and additional options are available on an appropriate basis.

**10X does not imply a 100% guaranteed 10X return on revenue.

Visit https://www.wims-consulting.com/10kto10x if you’re interested in registering.

WIMS: Where is Mike Simmons?!

To say that the 1^st quarter plus of 2016 has been intense would be an understatement! WIMS Consulting has been in full-on hyper growth mode with lots of incredible new clients and projects currently underway and several others in the pipeline as well. While I’m extremely grateful and would never complain about that, one downside has been that The WIMS Guide has fallen off a bit.

Luckily, thanks to lessons learned from Tim Ferris and The 4-Hour Workweek this will no longer be the case due to a technique called “batching.” Essentially that means that I’ve been writing several posts simultaneously so that I can build up an inventory in advance to keep them going regularly. Between my personal posts and the stacked roster of diverse guest writers I’ve been recruiting there is going to be a lot of great content coming your way.

Now, back to my original question of “Where is Mike Simmons?!”

Over the past few months I’ve been extremely focused on growing the business. Landing new clients in my home base of Charlotte has been a significant priority, and so far this year has already been exceeding expectations as I’m now working with companies here varying from startups to multi-billion dollar entities and everything in between.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to be able to do quite a bit of traveling, my business trip to Miami last month was very successful as it remains a key component of my growth strategy. Maintaining my footprint there means a great deal to me and fortunately my existing relationships continue to bring new opportunities.

The California trip was primarily for vacation, however expanding the business there is another 2016 goal of mine and it looks very promising. In addition, as New York remains the holy grail of markets, I’m thrilled to have landed an amazing client there too, which I will elaborate on further when the time is right.

While some of the current projects remain confidential, I at least wanted to share some details about a few of them.

Nimbus – A payment processing platform based in Charlotte. It’s currently available online, via iOS mobile application (soon on Android as well), and it’s compatible with PC/Mac. You can process credit card payments on your phone by taking a picture so a swiper is no longer needed, it also processes ACH, Apple/Android Pay and other alternative methods as well. Rates start at 2.25% (best rates available) and will decrease automatically based on transaction volume. It also has an open API, allowing other applications and platforms to integrate it into their own systems to process payments. Pretty cool stuff and that’s just the beginning of what it can offer.

SalesFuel – This is a really interesting concept that I’m excited about collaborating on. I recently partnered with a South Florida based company called On the Ball/SalesFuel which is a business development firm that works with organizations’ sales team to get them meetings with the C-Level suite. We’re building a team that will span across the country and already beginning to work with some amazing companies.

Golf Squad – In a business world where sales and lead generation strategies are rapidly evolving, one approach continues to remain extremely effective: the game of golf. The Golf Squad Corporate Program was created to pursue the mission of formally blending the golf and business worlds together. Each program is led by a PGA professional and operations currently exist in over a dozen states and counting.

Ok, that’s enough of the shameless plugs for now but I wanted to provide some additional insight into what I’ve been up to, along with a snapshot of some of the companies I’ve been working with.

I will start wrapping up with a lesson I’m currently learning the hard way. Most of the talk about being an entrepreneur focuses on how difficult it is to get new clients and business. That is certainly true, but what seems to be discussed less often is the great challenge it is to service them and implement afterwards which is at least as equally important. To be frank the balancing act is a full on struggle and I’ve certainly been experiencing growing pains. Because of that I’ve been working on building the team, so any referrals in that regard would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, as always I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, insights, etc. so please feel free to reach out and let me know what you think!

The New WIMS Inc: Putting In-House Marketing Departments on Notice

Unlike my typical blog posts, this one is certainly going to piss people off, including current and former colleagues, friends, clients, and prospects. While I usually try to avoid that, I can’t any longer as some things just need to be said. Change can be a scary and complicated thing, but there’s just a better way to do business and it’s nothing personal.

Now, the trend of outsourcing is far from a new or innovative concept. Yet companies like professional services firms continue to allocate extremely high budgets of $500,000-$1,000,000 and often much more to their in-house marketing departments. They do this despite the fact that they could spend a fraction of the cost while simultaneously getting significantly better service and results.

Regardless if you prefer to keep your team in house or to use a consulting firm, one thing is constant in either case, you need to DEMAND to see ROI. There are some advantages to keeping the team in-house I’ll admit that, but you should at least be able to make an apples to apples comparison between both approaches.

The way to do that is ROI, the objective metric that evens out all playing fields. I’ve seen many CMO’s apply the “smoke and mirrors” strategy year after year. They avoid accountability by overlooking past failures while waving the amazing, shiny new “marketing strategy” that they’re going to deploy this year. This is often just the old strategy repackaged to appear new however. CEO’s looking to avoid conflict accept it as a cost of doing business and then proceed to kick the can further down the road.

Now while there are plenty of exceptions, as there always are when dealing with people, there’s something I’ve often observed in the corporate world, I call it the “comfort theory.” Essentially, when you’re paying someone a predictable and stable salary it inherently allows most people to start cutting corners and reducing the quality of their work because they can get away with it. Not only is there a reduced quality of work, but why subsidize employee’s internet browsing time and social media addiction when you can just pay for the work that’s actually done. Besides, I doubt they’re going to give you a cut of their fantasy football winnings despite squandering hours a week of your time managing their team.

Don’t just take my word for it, conduct your own experiment and see for yourself. The next time you’re in a meeting with your marketing department demand more out of them or suggest changes, and watch the level of pushback, reluctance, and resistance you get. On the contrary call a consultant about a new project idea and watch them passionately geek out about all the possibilities.

I understand the comfort of familiarity and the status quo believe me, but is it really worth spending $50,000-100,000 on a salary for someone to just write an occasional blog post or article, blankly stare at a twitter feed, or create an occasional ad. You can get the same result or better for a tenth of the cost in many cases.

As another experiment, this Friday afternoon say around 3pm, take a walk around your building and see how empty the offices and cubicles are. The mentality of being an employee and working for your boss vs. being a client and working for your business partner can’t be compared. Working with independent contractors that need your business takes the quality of work to another level. They are mini-CEOs trying to better their lives, they’re not just punching a clock while desperately waiting to leave the office early on Friday afternoon. They’re the ones working at midnight on a Saturday because they’re hungry and ambitious.

You create the best work when you absolutely need to, like when writing a paper the night before it’s due. There’s something about having your life depending on it that generates this hyper-focus of productivity. Imagine having a team of people producing this kind of work every day because that’s how they approach their live, very deliberately.

Typical counter-arguments for in-house departments include things like, “oh but we know the brand so well,” or “what if someone urgently needs a brochure for a sales call?” It may not be a popular sentiment, but people are easily replaceable. We work with various brand guidelines all the time and pick them up very quickly. Also, I’ve seen countless desks with stacks of brochures piled high collecting dust, as much as marketers may try to convince you otherwise, your beautiful brochure is not what’s going to win you new business, relationships are.

Perhaps this post is like that old “Magician’s Greatest Secrets Revealed” show where the masked magician showed you how the tricks were really done and made a lot of magicians extremely angry. If you’re feeling that way right now I hope you take this opportunity to step your game up and prove me wrong.

Changing a decades long mindset of keeping marketing teams in-house is going to require evolution and a rebuilding process, but there’s definitely hope. It will force people to BE BETTER. Think about the Golden State Warriors a few years ago. They were very bad, but they had some decent and promising players, they stuck to their long-term plan to build their team, make a few strategic moves and then a few years later they won a championship. The metaphor is very relative in business as well.

For the sake of full transparency, this long-winded blog post has the additional goal of announcing the new WIMS, Inc. We now offer a complete suite of marketing, CRM, and business development services that are provided for literally a fraction of the total cost you’re paying for your entire marketing department. By leveraging strategic partnerships and a deep team of independent contractors we are now able to offer literally any marketing service, and to any size firm in any industry. If you’re interested in video, we can develop the content, build an entire distribution network, and even create your own online channel. If audio is your thing, we can help with the creation, publishing, and promotion of your own radio show and/or podcast. If you need a website, an ad campaign, online content creation, or social media network, whatever it is you’re looking for, we can help facilitate.

Give us a call or send us an email and we’ll be happy to provide you with a FREE consultation to see if our companies would be a good fit to work together. Part of building strong long-term relationships includes occasionally offering some free advice, which we do happily. What do you have to lose by at least evaluating whether it’s worth pursuing a potential 6-figure a year cost reduction in your marketing expenses?