Charlie Calabrese

While it is certainly not the first sign, I think a person's well-being and work-life balance are the greatest indicators of the need to delegate. In my experience the most dedicated people are often the people who feel the need to own as much as possible. They want to make sure everything is just right so they are constantly taking on more. This ultimately leads to burnout and that turns into contempt for the place you work. Delegating work, having faith in your co-workers, and knowing that as digital marketers, we are not saving lives should provide a much-needed respite. Finding your personal balance can take time, but we all deserve to play as hard as we work!

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks…PROVE THEM WRONG! Learn a new software, teach someone your soft skills, make yourself a mentor and learn from them as they learn from you. But above all else, don’t rest on your laurels. The only constant in this world is change so be ready for it!

Test…test…test again…then do the analysis. There are so many options for you in the digital space, if you aren’t trying what’s new you are falling behind. Take the lowest performing 20% of your budget and put it into something new. Make your money work for you. I can guarantee you that your competitor is testing as we speak.

The world is changing at a pace our generation has never seen. The ability to research, educate, and generally learn has never been closer to our fingertips. It is, in fact, at your keyboard. Take the time to evaluate what new technology is applicable to your business. My first stop, at present, is asking AI language models, like ChatGPT, for their opinion. Try the prompt: “Acting as an analyst for a business owner in the [insert your business vertical here] space, identify 10 innovative technologies that can enhance your clients sales and product offerings” The response you get will vary but it will give you solid starting points for your initial research.

The secret to any successful dialogue is common ground and finding a level of conversation where you feel as equals. Once you have established that you are both very capable and have a shared goal the focus becomes the problem, in this case effective lead gen. The next logical step is to explain your individual approaches and not picking them apart but enhancing them with your counterparts perspectives. Like they say - two heads are better than one!

If we focus on established businesses, there really is no better decision than investing in testing. Some of my current favorites are both old and new: Newsletters had a massive resurgence during COVID and continue to be a highly targeted opportunity. CTV has become more and more cost effective as it’s matured. Once again, this is an opportunity for people to target specific buyer demographics.