What Makes Marketers Tick?

Most of us are fascinated by what makes others tick.  Why else do so many of us love to see and read interviews?

Pamela Lockard, author of Profiles in Marketing Excellence, is no different. In fact, it was her  inquisitiveness about marketers that led to writing her book.  She says:

“First, I just have this tremendous curiosity about people… and I really wanted to know more about what makes marketers tick. So I started looking… and I found nothing, not one single source where I could go and find a lot of information about marketers. So I decided to create it.”

For Profiles Lockard interviewed 25 marketers, noting, “We began our search looking for marketing pros that had at least one of the following criteria”:

• Top level marketing experience within a large corporation
• National recognition for their work
• Published
• Marketing educator

While the author has been in marketing for 30 years herself, she says she realized she knew little about what makes top-notch marketers tick.  “Those at the top of the field often stay in the background, doing their best work behind the scenes.”

A good interview will give you a snapshot of who the person is (if they are open).  The best interviews come from an interviewer who knows how to ask questions that tease out revealing answers.

Profiles gives you a chance to peak under the hood, inside the minds of 25 marketers.  The marketers reveal in a conversational style how they made it to the top of their game. To some degree the book pulls out and distills lessons about marketing techniques.  But you also get inspiration from reading about others.  You learn from their experiences — when they got it right and also when they got it wrong.

Some of the marketers interviewed are:

John Jantsch, President, Duct Tape Marketing
Small effective and affordable small business marketing

Chris Martin, Regional Director, Radio Disney
Radio home of the hottest kids’ music and videos

Ruth Moss, Executive VP, Added Value
Marketing inspiration that works

She also included me as one of the profiles.  Now, I don’t necessarily think of myself as a marketer — certainly not a remarkable marketer.  But I suppose I’m not that different from many of you who have started your own businesses.  Faced with bills to pay and people depending on us, it’s trial by fire.  We learn how to market and sell if we don’t want to starve.

What Makes The Author Tick

Lockard (pictured in the image above) is not only an author, but is the CEO of marketing agency DMN3.  She’s one of the few Certified Professional Direct Marketers in the United States.

Giving back to the community seems to be the order of business at DMN3, the company that she runs with her husband and a team of 30 marketers.  In fact, a business that cares about and supports the community has become a trend in business and marketing in recent years.  In her case, it’s more than a recent trend — giving back is part of who she is:

“I’m most proud that I have achieved a point in my life, where I can work to give back. I continue this business because it allows me to help a homeless shelter that is very dependent on my husband and myself to stay open. 70 women and children have a place to sleep because of our business.”

Who Should Read This Book

This is a perfect book for marketers, of course.  If you’re committed to the field, you will want to know more about how others made their marks in the world.

But I think it’s also inspiring for entrepreneurs and small business leaders.  We may have the best products or services in the world.  But if we don’t know how to market and sell, we have a tough road ahead.

Thumb through the book, and find a profile for someone in a business similar to yours or in a similar industry.  Dive in and start reading.  This is a good book to pick up and read for 30 minutes here and there, and thumb around in.  It’s not one of those books where you have to start at the beginning.

According to Julie Pitts, Development Director of DMN3 Institute, “Profiles is meant not as a sit-down read but for motivation and insight and new ways of thinking.”

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