Stop Wasting Your Marketing Dollars with Sacha Awwa

Marketing expert Sasha, founder of Sasha AWA Marketing Group and co-founder of My Marketer Mentors, shares insights on effectively navigating marketing for small businesses without overspending. She emphasizes the importance of building a strong local presence before expanding nationally and highlights the significance of establishing a solid marketing foundation. Sasha advises against falling for exaggerated marketing promises and stresses the value of community and organic growth. Her upcoming book will delve deeper into these strategies, providing actionable advice for entrepreneurs. Sasha's podcast, "Uncomplicated," further explores marketing challenges and innovations.

• Sasha's journey into entrepreneurship was driven by dissatisfaction with corporate environments and a desire for autonomy.
• She recognized the limitations and short-sightedness of leadership in traditional companies, which motivated her to create her own path.
• Her entrepreneurial drive was rooted in the need to implement her own visions and to escape the constraints of corporate politics.

"I found myself in situations where I felt that I was never going to be happy unless I stepped out on my own and course-corrected certain things."

• Sasha's decision to become an entrepreneur was influenced by her desire to improve upon the leadership and vision she experienced in corporate settings.

• Entrepreneurship is characterized as a roller coaster ride, regardless of industry or financial backing.
• The initial challenge is the misconception that launching a business will immediately attract clients or customers.
• Maintaining a continuous pipeline of clients is crucial for business sustainability and growth.
• The consistency of this pipeline is a persistent challenge that requires strategic marketing and product-market fit testing.

"The biggest thing from my side is just the business development of having a continuous pipeline of clients coming through the funnel."

• The challenge lies in ensuring a steady flow of clients through effective business development and marketing strategies.

• Sales is often perceived as uncomfortable and challenging, with a common stereotype of the "sleazy car salesman."
• Effective sales strategies involve transparency and honesty about what is being offered.
• The book "Fanatical Prospecting" by Jeb Blount is recommended for insights into successful sales techniques.

"Sales is always hard, it's always uncomfortable... I'm not looking to be sleazy or anything. I'll tell you exactly what it is, what you're getting from me and then we'll go from there."

• Emphasizing honesty and straightforwardness in sales can help counteract negative stereotypes and build trust with clients.

• Focus on building traction at a local level before expanding nationally to ensure organic growth.
• Success in a local market can naturally lead to awareness and expansion into neighboring regions.
• Testing and learning gradually helps identify effective channels for growth.

"Win local. So then grow national. Because if you build attraction on a local level, you will start to pick up awareness that is natural and it's organic and you will grow organically."

• Emphasizes the importance of starting small and building a strong foundation locally to facilitate national growth.

• SAMG Marketing provides strategic support to entrepreneurs and startups, akin to McKinsey & Company but on a smaller scale.
• Marketer Mentors is an online community offering foundational marketing courses and weekly support meetings for small business owners and entrepreneurs.
• The focus is on connecting businesses with customers and providing high-impact, low-cost strategies.

"SAMG Marketing is my strategic agency that we help support entrepreneurs and tech startups in terms of, you know, growth."

• Highlights the role of SAMG Marketing in providing strategic growth support to businesses.

"Marketer Mentors is an online based small business owner and entrepreneur community that we're trying to build."

• Describes the community aspect of Marketer Mentors and its role in supporting small business owners.

• Small businesses often waste marketing dollars by not understanding their specific needs and falling for generic marketing promises.
• Be cautious of marketing that promises unrealistic results, such as "10x your business in one month."
• Importance of understanding the business's unique needs and asking the right questions about tools and platforms.

"First of all, let's stop with this whole 10x stuff. It's really getting out of control because nobody's going to 10x your business in one month."

• Warns against falling for exaggerated marketing claims that promise quick, unrealistic results.

"Pay attention to how you're being marketed to and really try and get to the nitty gritty of understanding where am I in my business."

• Encourages business owners to critically evaluate marketing efforts and understand their specific business needs.

• Achieving significant results in marketing takes time and effort, and businesses should set realistic expectations.
• Initial efforts, such as social media campaigns, may not yield immediate returns but are part of a long-term strategy.

"It takes time. Right. A lot of people I've come across, they want these instant results."

• Stresses the importance of patience and setting realistic expectations for marketing outcomes.

• Marketing should be approached as a three-part process: building a foundation, developing a go-to-market strategy, and leveraging analytics.
• Building a foundation involves understanding your ideal customer profiles and ensuring your marketing channels are aligned and effective.
• Establishing clear goals (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) is crucial for tracking progress and understanding budget allocation and ROI.
• Analytics, particularly through tools like Google Analytics, are essential for understanding customer behavior and optimizing marketing efforts.

"Think of marketing in a three-part process. Number one, you have building your foundation. You can't live in a house if you're not laying the bricks."

• Emphasizes the importance of establishing a solid marketing foundation before advancing to other stages.

"Number two is really getting that go-to-market platform and that strategy into play. And number three is analytics and understanding how to look at the data, very simplistic data."

• Highlights the need for a strategic approach and the role of data analytics in marketing success.

• Small business owners should leverage their networks and engage with marketing professionals for guidance and support.
• Asking for help is not a failure; collaboration and consultation can provide valuable insights and assistance.
• Utilizing tools like ChatGPT can aid in navigating marketing challenges and trends.
• Persistence and perseverance are key, as reflected in the quote from Winston Churchill about continuing efforts despite difficulties.

"It takes a village. And learn how to ask, you know, and asking is not failure. We're all in this together."

• Encourages collaboration and seeking assistance as a strength rather than a weakness.

"But perseverance. I mean, it's like Winston Churchill said, beer in the dark. Keep going. It really pays off because you're going to get somewhere."

• Stresses the importance of persistence in achieving marketing success.

• Building a community is a powerful marketing strategy, as demonstrated by companies like Red Bull and Liquid Death.
• Red Bull has successfully created a community around its brand, despite having a modest budget, by engaging in high-impact, low-cost marketing.
• Liquid Death targeted specific communities, such as festival-goers, to effectively penetrate the market with a unique product presentation.

"When you're thinking about doing marketing, think about community and think about where does my audience hang out?"

• Advises marketers to focus on community engagement and understanding where their audience is most active.

"They went to festivals and they went to concerts and people then shortly started to realize I don't want to drink water out of a bottle because I don't look like a cool person."

• Illustrates Liquid Death's strategic approach to community engagement by aligning their product with the lifestyle of their target audience.

• The speaker is in the process of launching a book that has been in development for two and a half years.
• The book includes a three-part process and worksheets designed to empower readers to better understand financial decisions and avoid wasting money.
• A second book is also in development, with the speaker contributing as one of several authors.
• The speaker emphasizes the rewarding nature of completing a book, despite the challenges and time commitment involved.

"Getting my book to market. It's been two and a half years in the making and it's really on the, on the heels of getting, of getting there."

• The speaker is focused on finalizing and launching their book, which has been a long-term project.

"I just shared my three part process which is going to be digging in deep into all of those different types of three parts and the individual and there's going to be a lot of like worksheets in there."

• The book will include a detailed three-part process and worksheets to help readers understand and improve their financial decision-making.

"I actually do have a second book coming out, but it's not, I'm, I'm one of, I'd say a few authors."

• The speaker is involved in a second book project, indicating ongoing engagement in writing and publishing.

• The podcast "Uncomplicated" aims to help marketers simplify the complexities of marketing.
• It features interviews with business founders, entrepreneurs, and tech startups to explore their paths to market success.
• The podcast also discusses the evolving marketing landscape, including topics like AI.
• The content is organized alphabetically by industry and marketing channels, providing targeted insights for listeners.

"My podcast is called Uncomplicated, Uncomplicate it. And we really, you know, want to help marketers uncomplicate the landscape of marketing."

• The podcast's mission is to demystify marketing for professionals in the field.

"I interview business founders and entrepreneurs and tech startups in every industry to understand their grit to grade and really how they got their business to market."

• Interviews focus on the entrepreneurial journey and strategies for market success across various industries.

"AI is a huge conversation right now, but my playlist is what I'm most proud of. It's alphabetically organized, so you'll see that based on the industries and then a few things in there like email marketing, influencer marketing."

• The podcast covers current topics like AI and is organized for easy navigation based on industry and marketing topics.

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning from businesses outside one's immediate industry.
• Networking and connections are highlighted as crucial components of marketing success.
• The speaker is open to collaborations and networking opportunities, particularly in the marketing space.

"One of the biggest thing is, is don't just pay attention and look at your competitors within your industry because you can learn a lot from other businesses that are doing cool things that you can replicate within your business."

• The speaker advises looking beyond direct competitors for innovative ideas and strategies.

"I have some introductions for you in the marketing side, and I know we just had Sheila on the show. She's got another marketing podcast. She'd be a good connect for you."

• Networking and collaboration are encouraged as valuable tools for marketing professionals.

• The speaker provides contact information and resources for those interested in their work.
• Websites and platforms where the podcast and upcoming book can be accessed are shared.

"So my website is samghq. So samgheadquarters.com my marketer mentors is my marketer mentors.com and you can find my uncomplicated marketing on Spotify podcasts, Apple podcast, wherever you take in your podcast."

• The speaker shares multiple platforms and websites where their work can be accessed, facilitating engagement with their content.

"We also have a YouTube channel called uncomplicated."

• A YouTube channel is available as an additional resource for accessing content related to the podcast.