Mario Paganini -- VP of Marketing at Stord

Episode SummaryFinding a reliable and trustworthy agency is never easy, and many different factors go into picking the best external vendor for your business. However, sharing the same values with your agency should be at the top of your list.In this episode of the YouShouldTalkTo podcast, our host Daniel Weiner welcomes Mario Paganini, the VP of Marketing at Stord. They chat about the benefits of working with smaller agencies, the importance of personal referrals, and the power of a strong client-agency relationship.Guest-at-a-Glance💡 Name: Mario Paganini, VP of Marketing at Stord💡 Noteworthy: Mario is a 3x Head/VP of Marketing, leading 2 of those startups to unicorn status and seeing an exit with the 3rd. 💡 Where to find Mario: LinkedInKey Insights ⚡Playing it safe is holding you back. Marketing is constantly changing and evolving. That's why playing it safe may hold your business back. Mario explains, "Once we established that our goal is to be more successful than what is already out there, the game theory became unbelievably clear because if you're trying to be here and everyone else is here, and you look at them, and you say, 'All right, these big incumbent competitors that exist today, our goal is to unseat them. Our goal is to disrupt them.' The game theory becomes so clear that that outcome is impossible by playing the game the same way that these players are playing."⚡Working with smaller and specialized agencies is better for your business. Specialized agencies are more focused on a specific goal and therefore, can lead your business to success. Mario says, "In cases where there's a specific area of skill that you need help with, and you are able to support them properly, manage them properly, communicate with them properly — hyper valuable. In cases where you're like, 'I don't know what to do. I need help. I'm just going to hire an agency and hope that they solve my problems,' basically, never seen that work personally."⚡Build a strong relationship with your agency. When building a strong client-agency relationship, both parties need to do the work. Mario says, "It's about finding people you trust, finding people that have proven they're able to do work that inspires you. And then trust is a two-way street. You have to be candid with the agency. You've got to tell them when things are not going well in your business. You've got to tell them when things change. You've got to open the doors to and, oftentimes, the financial success of your business, the business goals. And once you've established that and assuming that you did the vetting right and have a good agency, they're going to be sharing in your success."