Scaling Growth for Mid-Sized Companies | Angela Hill from Chief Outsiders

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition online. Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us out at pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Angela, CMO with Chief Outsiders. How are you doing today, Angela?

Angela Hill: I’m great, thank you.

Ernesto: It’s great to have you on today’s show, Angela. Well, let’s kick it off right. Let’s learn a little bit more about what Chief Outsiders does. So in your own words, tell us a little bit more.

Angela: Chief Outsiders is a strategic consulting agency comprised of over 150 Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Sales Officers within the United States. We act as fractional resources within growing companies who need the benefit of the experience of a Chief Marketing Officer or a Chief Sales Officer but can’t necessarily afford that full-time resource.

Ernesto: All right, great. Good to hear that. So, for our listeners to get a good understanding of Chief Outsiders, what would you say are those key problems that you solve for clients?

Angela: There’s a lot of problems we solve. Some of the key challenges that your listeners might find interesting are those companies run into when it comes to scaling and growing. For example, they may have a set number of marketing and sales tactics and strategies that have been working to date, but now the marketing and sales effectiveness has either plateaued or is starting to decline, and they’re not sure why. Or it could be a situation where the company is scaling rapidly, doubling or tripling in size, and the infrastructure—teams, Martech stack, systems, and processes—isn’t built to scale with the company in the way that it’s growing, so they need someone to help with that. Another situation might involve brand transformation, where a company that has grown to a certain point now needs to update its products, services, and target customers. Finally, we often assist companies looking to acquire or get acquired, providing pre- and post-M&A marketing and sales prep work.

Ernesto: All right. Is there a certain vertical, segment, or ideal ICP for Chief Outsiders?

Angela: We work with companies of all sizes. For smaller startups, they’re typically well-funded. For midsized companies, it could be a family business or one recently brought into a private equity portfolio. Our sweet spot is companies ranging from $5 million to $900 million in revenue. Most of my clients, though, fall between $5 million and $200 million. These companies have reached a certain point but need help to get to the next level. A fractional CMO or CSO can help bridge the gap until they build out the internal marketing and sales infrastructure.

Ernesto: How would someone usually find out about Chief Outsiders? Is there a top client acquisition channel for you?

Angela: Our co-founders and managing partners have written books on marketing, such as Growth Gears by Art Saxby and Pete Hayes, and Random Acts of Marketing by Karen Hayward, our managing partner. Karen is a prominent speaker at conferences across the U.S., discussing Growth Gears and Random Acts of Marketing. We also sponsor events, host speaking engagements, and leverage traditional marketing strategies like organic search, paid search, organic social, paid social, email marketing, blogging, PR, podcasts, and videos.

Ernesto: Okay, I like that. For listeners tuning in, they can visit you at chiefoutsiders.com. What role does the website play for client acquisition?

Angela: It’s essential for brand awareness and educating prospects about our capabilities. It’s a good legitimizer for prospects doing their due diligence after being referred to us.

Ernesto: On that note, are there any tools or tips you would recommend to our listeners for website lead generation?

Angela: Start by understanding your customer, competition, and company. Knowing your product’s differentiation and creating detailed customer archetypes is key. For example, if you’re targeting an analytical decision-maker, include proof points like charts, graphs, statistics, case studies, and testimonials. For an emotional decision-maker, focus on messaging, imagery, and videos. Tailoring your website content to your audience’s needs and decision-making styles is crucial for successful lead generation.

Ernesto: Great advice. Let’s switch gears a little. As a leader and CMO at Chief Outsiders, what are some key tasks you focus on day to day?

Angela: At any given time, I’m typically working with three to five clients. My focus is diving deep into brand strategy, ensuring that all my recommendations are directly tied to profitable revenue, marketing attribution, and ROI.

Ernesto: How do you stay up to date with marketing trends and strategies?

Angela: There’s so much information out there. I subscribe to newsletters, select the most interesting articles in the morning, and skim through them later. At Chief Outsiders, we also have company-wide Slack channels where we share insights, industry reports, and tools. It’s a collective effort that keeps us all informed.

Ernesto: Let’s jump into our rapid-fire question round. Are you ready?

Angela: Ready.

Ernesto: What is the last book you read?

Angela: Pitch Anything.

Ernesto: If there were no boundaries in technology, what would you want fixed to make your role as a marketer easier?

Angela: I’m always experimenting with AI to automate and streamline audit work.

Ernesto: You recently won an award for AI innovation. Can you share a bit about that?

Angela: I developed a process using Siple Cloud AI, BuiltWith, and Google PageSpeed Insights to generate in-depth website performance audits. This includes a technical analysis, a Martech audit, and page speed reports for mobile and desktop. I use AI to summarize findings for executives and provide detailed reports for SEO teams.

Ernesto: Amazing! Lastly, what advice would you give yourself if you were starting your marketing journey today?

Angela: Develop systems and processes early on. Streamline administrative tasks so you can focus on high-level strategic work. Find tools that help you operate at your best.

Ernesto: Great advice. As we wrap up, what’s the one thing listeners should remember about Chief Outsiders?

Angela: We provide an independent, objective third opinion to help businesses make the best decisions for growth. We’re not emotionally or financially tied to the outcomes, so our advice is solely in your best interest.

Ernesto: Perfect. Thank you, Angela, for joining us today, and thanks to our listeners for tuning in. See you on the next episode of Pathmonk Presents!

Angela: Thank you so much. It was a pleasure.