058 John Doherty - Unlocking SaaS Growth & Optimizing Performance

In our SaaS Fuel™ Expert Series, Jeff is joined by John Doherty,  the brainchild behind two product-based services, Credo and Editor Ninja. In the realm of business and digital marketing, leads are the lifeblood of any successful company. John is one of the few digital marketers that fully understands the significance of lead generation. A digital marketer and writer with a developer background, John was able to build an empire of successful businesses with no financial worries.John discusses how to hire a good marketing agency and what questions to ask them. He suggests doing research online and looking at the agency's blog to see if they are teaching and helping you understand what is involved in their services. Stay tuned and learn more!Key Takeaways00:06:40 From Freelancer To Lead Generator: How One Man Found Success In New York00:12:04 Outsourcing Sales Processes To Scale Business Growth00:14:52 The Importance Of Financial Stability For Entrepreneurial Success00:19:48 The Importance Of Defining Your Own Goals And Avoiding Comparison In Business00:23:29 The Ladder Of Lead Generation For Service And SaaS Companies00:25:01 Mixing SEO And Content With Paid Advertising For Effective Marketing Strategy00:34:53 Hub And Spoke Model Of Hiring For Marketing Teams00:42:00 Key Questions To Ask When Hiring A Marketing Consultant00:46:08 Prioritize Being Around Good People And Take The Long ViewTweetable Quotes“You learn because you can adjust.” - 00:29:55 Jeff Mains“In order to fail fast, you have to be willing to take some bigger risks and you have to be willing to fail.” - 00:30:30 John Doherty“Take a little bit of risk, but do it in a smart way.” - 00:30:14 John Doherty“Build a product for an existing market. Don't build a product and then try to find a market.” - 00:38:29 John Doherty“I think it really comes down to what you want to build, not what are other people building, and stop comparing yourself to other people.” - 00:20:36 John Doherty“You can go advertise till the cows come home, but unless you have an offer that converts and people just fall in love with, it's completely wasted.” - 00:26:37 Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership Lessons1. Financial stability in managing a business is vital.2. Invest in your employees and view them as assets. 3. Practice a hub and spoke model of hiring, where senior marketing generalists manage outside vendors and agencies. 4. Ask potential clients deeper questions during sales calls to show the benefits of working with you and the company.5. Emphasize the importance of having a good offer that converts before investing in advertising. 6 Start small with the budget and gradually increase it based on the revenue generated.7. Build a product for an existing market rather than finding a market for the product.8. It is best to have knowledge and expertise in marketing before hiring an agency.9. Develop a solution for a current need. Don't create a product before determining where to sell it.10. Don't risk your future happiness in exchange for instant gratification, because chances are good that whatever you obtain won't stay.11. Find an agency that asks more in-depth questions that show they really understand your business.12. Focus on surrounding yourself with positive influences.13. Collaborate with people that have the expertise or specialization in dealing with businesses at your stage.Guest ResourcesJohn Doherty (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfdoherty/John Doherty (Twitter): https://twitter.com/dohertyjfJohn Doherty (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/dohertyjf/John Doherty (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/dohertyjfJohn Doherty (Personal Website): johnfdoherty.com Credo Website: https://www.getcredo.comCredo  (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/getcredo/Credo  (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/getcredoCredo  (Twitter): https://twitter.com/getcredoCredo  (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/getcredo/Editor Ninja (Website): https://editorninja.com/Editor Ninja (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/editorninja/Editor Ninja (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/EditorNinja/Editor Ninja (Twitter): https://twitter.com/_editorninjaEditor Ninja (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/_editorninja/Resources MentionedCredo: https://www.getcredo.com/Editor Ninja: https://editorninja.com/InterContinental Hotels Group: https://www.ihgplc.com/enTravelex: https://www.travelexinsurance.com/Zillow: https://www.zillow.com/Hosts.com: https://hosts-global.com/Trulia Rentals: https://www.trulia.com/E-Myth: https://www.emyth.com/Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!: 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential:https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Numbers-Straight-Talk-Profits/dp/1608320561Dan Martell: https://www.danmartell.com/Big Leap: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Leap-Conquer-Hidden-Level/dp/0061735361Snow: https://www.snowsoftware.com/G2: https://www.g2.com/Capterra: https://www.capterra.com/Google: https://www.google.com/Google Ads: https://gmail.google.com/ads/Facebook Ads: https://www.facebook.com/business/adsSalesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/ap/Alex Hormozi (Twitter): https://twitter.com/AlexHormoziRyan Deiss: https://www.ryandeiss.com/Syed Balkhi: https://syedbalkhi.com/Russ Perry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russperryDesign Pickle: https://designpickle.com/SaaS Academy: https://www.saasacademy.com/Episode SponsorOur sponsor today is Champion Leadership Group. Get free growth tools, and map out a plan to scale your SaaS business from 7 to 8 figures. Travel with fellow SaaS entrepreneurs on your growth journey using a proven methodology that is mentor-guided, results-focused, and peer-supported. Celebrate wins and quickly rebound from setbacks. Learn to do the right thing at the right time...