If I were 22and dying

to rock marketing

#IFIWERE22

11 things I learned on the jobthat will make you rock marketingI have 15 years of experience in marketing related jobs.

Trust me. You won’t regret investing in these seemingly trivial skills.

1. Creative feedbackhow to get it and receive itDavid Ogilvy said it best: “Don’t keep a dog and bark yourself”.

It takes genius and humility to not mess up a good creative concept and not hamper creative talent.

Giving and receiving a brief, essential too.

2. Vlookup & excel tricksRock advanced excel, rock your jobMarketers should not be afraid of numbers.

Number manipulations, functions, pivot tables, statistics add-on. They are your best allies to show marketing savviness and rise above the pack.

3. History of advertisingKnow your wells, bernbach, Ogilvy…You’ll be in the 10th percentile easily if you can rely on the experience and great work of industry legends. The history, the way of thinking, the best practices.

Be discerning, but be a voracious student of your trade.

4. Manage upwardManage expectations & stand your groundMarketing is tricky because it is often a matter of opinions and guesses.

So, set expectations and update about tests, hypotheses, advancement.

Also, forge opinions and be ready to defend them.

While being open-minded.

5. Master the numbersknow your numbers. Calculate on the spotImpress people in the room. Be the number-inclined. It never hurts.

It’s easy. Know the metrics of your sector, of your activity, etc.

And train to do basic ratio and percentage calculations.

6. Project managementtasks, deadlines, follow-up: master themA lot of what we do as marketers is project management – launches, campaigns, tradeshows, websites…

So there is no excuse: learn the ropes. Make Gantt your BFF.

Trust me, a reliable project manager is worth its weight in gold.

7. Storytellingwe always are. Know the ins and outsSpeaking at a conference, writing a blog post, putting together a campaign, delivering an elevator pitch. It’s always about how well you tell a story – yours, your product’s, your brand’s…

Great marketers know how to tell stories. Period.

8. Bargainingwe are deal makers, budget warriorsIf you’re to be a marketer, you will sell and buy –media space, solutions, software, rights… You will make deals –inventory, sponsorships, endorsements… And you will fight for budgets. With your nails and teeth.

So don’t be a fool and think bargaining is a salesman’s job.

9. Art of the sketchget your point across. Visually.We marketers are being paid to get a point across. That point can get pretty technical. The trick? As the proverb says, a picture is worth a thousand words.

So, don’t stand lower than a caveman on the corporate ladder: know how to convey your point of view visually in a strategic manner.

10. Enduranceit’s a marathon. Not a sprint.At Amex, I learned a great word: resilience. That skill was valued. And needed, as I soon realized.

The Oxford Dictionary defines resilience as “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions”.

Yep, it’s tough out here for Marketers. Build a thick skin, and be a pitbull.

11. Don’t do ½ of the jobgo all the way. Hey, you’re 22!I should have written 22 tips for a 22 years old. Not stopped at 11.

I should have put background on that slide.

Don’t be complacent, don’t stop or cope out.

You’re just getting started. Go all in. Go all the way.

Did this help?Or was I just full of it?Please, do say!

then

now

#IFIWERE22

@guillaumerigallinkedin.com/in/guillaumerigal