💪 Mike Phillips 🎷

Marketing and Sales Jedi (Manager)

#MarketingMuscle by Mike Phillips

Job Description: All of the things

I have been accelerating revenue growth for large and small businesses for over 12 years. My marketing grew revenue for businesses ranging from Silicon Valley tech startups to mom-and-pop local businesses. Now, I apply modern marketing to help freelancers, solopreneurs, and creators grow stronger revenue.

Solopreneur

Bringing creators, solopreneurs, and freelancers together — because nothing helps you grow stronger than good training partners. THE GYM is a free-to-join community dedicated to helping creators, freelancers, and solopreneurs grow stronger businesses. Together, we provide the mutual accountability, support, referrals, and knowledge you need to successfully grow your revenue in the creator economy.

Community Manager

Maple and Honey LLC

Founded Maple & Honey LLC in 2017 with the focus of delivering brand strategy & growth marketing consulting agency. Served dozens of local and global clients as a bespoke agency partnership.

Expanded by adding a media branch in 2020, producing content and digital products branded with the #MarketingMuscle hashtag. The content was originally distributed on exclusively LinkedIn and later expanded to include YouTube. The focus remained the same as the original consulting work: to make marketing make sense for regular people with small ventures.

Founder and Managing Partner

You have a rare story. Let's make you unforgettable. Find your sweet spot with Maple & Honey.

M&H is a professional storytelling firm; we build authentic, compelling narratives that move customers, hiring managers, and donors to take action with our clients. 

Our clients are small businesses and individual professionals, and they often find it challenging to engage their “audience” — whether they’re a business owner trying to reach out to customers, a careerist trying to impress their bosses for a raise, or program leader working to earn donations for a worthy cause. Our clients often experience a frustrating disconnect between what their unique value really is and how others perceive it -- and so their audiences aren't taking the action our clients desire.

As specialists in Business Storytelling, what we do is help our clients shape and communicate authentic and compelling narratives that truly connect with the people who matter to them. We teach them to sell the idea they are driven to champion by selling the story behind that cause.

Neuroscientifically, the parts of our brains that are lit up during a story are also where feelings of trust, loyalty, and hope are activated. If you know how to reach people at an emotional level, you’ll activate trust, hope, and loyalty for your brand. Well crafted and well-told stories are what move your audience to take action. People want memorable experiences, and the experience of stories call them to a deeper level of caring & investment in you.  People who care take the positive action you want them to.    

With a focus on Sales Enablement thru Business Storytelling, we offer custom-tailored services including Sales and Communications Training, Brand Audits, Online Social Selling Lessons, Video Media Creation, Copywriting, PR Issue Response, SEO, Digital Content Optimization, Google Analytics Implementation, Personal Branding Coaching, and more — from simple one-time projects to continuing retainers.

Marketing Consultant

12twenty

I get to scale the only deep data-powered, privacy-obsessed early-career talent platform! 

12twenty provides the reliable information graduates require to take confident action in their job search, the systems university career centers deserve to productively harness data to prepare students for better careers, and the tools employers need to recruit ideal candidates efficiently and competitively.

Here's my contribution to the team:

Drive full-funnel revenue growth through a holistic, modern marketing strategy. Develop and implement the growth playbook to take 12twenty to the next level of hyper-growth by working directly with the founders and the executive team to serve three key stakeholder groups:

1) Enterprise Employers seeking elite candidates from top-ranked universities

2) Universities looking to support their graduates' early careers and achieve enhanced graduate success 

3) Students & Alumni looking to elevate & accelerate their careers

Drive enterprise growth through ABM, demand generation, and social brand advocacy strategies to achieve ARR & subscription targets benchmarked via OKR reporting:

→ Set the strategy and write the growth marketing playbook

→ Develop and execute data-driven growth marketing strategies

→ Create reports and forecasts to track the performance of campaigns continuously

→ Monitor marketing and sales performance metrics to forecast trends and optimize for
growth

→ Keep up-to-date with our target audience’s preferences and proactively initiate new strategies to meet them

→ Create programs and campaigns that engage and grow a user base from signup through conversion, engagement, and advocacy.

→ Develop creative assets, including copy and visuals, across a wide variety of formats to support marketing efforts.

→ Design, implement, and scale organic and paid marketing strategies, analyzing and optimizing channel mix and funnel performance.

Sr. Growth Marketing Manager

Rapid Response Monitoring

Advise executive leadership on the integration and modernization of sales & marketing revenue operations via digital strategy. Responsible for developing and executing plans to elevate the company’s digital brand in the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Develop & implement new digital growth strategies including enterprise-wide social media brand advocacy programs, social selling, content curation, and advocate training. Connect with industry professionals & news outlets to establish our thought leadership & brand authority.

Develop & optimize marketing and content funnels under an integrated marketing plan that covers inbound lead generation & product marketing. Define, track, & benchmark KPIs under a growth hacking (growth marketing) OKR model. Rebranded & redesigned the company website, developing  customer persona/archetype, design UX customer journey, site mapping, copywriting & content building, and management of contracted web designers.

Lead sales enablement projects to increase pipeline velocity & lead quality. These projects extend into product adoption & launch marketing for new offerings & value-add services for existing customers. Broad implementation covers new customer acquisition, existing customer engagement & retention, and revenue optimization for existing clients. B2B and B2B2C focus.

Own the video content creation for all digital publications (including social, web, online press, and digital events) and full-stack video production process (including strategy, storyboarding, filming, film crew management, editing/postproduction, management of contractors, and implementation of the content). See project list.

Liaise with Talent Acquisition to build & implement employer brand marketing & recruitment lead generation strategy. Manage budget for all PPC and paid social ads, including building and maintaining a data analysis dashboard for tracking key performance metrics to advise senior leadership on ROI.

Digital Brand Strategist

Drive digital marketing and media relations growth through strategic planning, development, and oversight of every facet of Rapid Response’s digital brand identity across all web presences, social media profiles, email marketing campaigns, and blogs.

Built & implemented digital marketing strategy from the ground up for a company that was a late adopter of digital. Owned & directed content creation and curation for organic social, CPC ads, blog, & landing pages. Lead transition to full-digital brand marketing, demand generation, social selling, and lead generation during COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Design, implement, and optimize content and digital strategy on corporate websites and social media platforms for B2B lead generation, lead nurturing, and sales conversions.

• Create, curate, and manage organic and paid social media content (video, image, and copywriting), as well as live events. Utilize analytic data, SEO, and A/B testing to drive traffic, grow the audience, and increase conversion.

• Build-out, design, and execute email marketing campaigns including targeted drip content to nurture leads with a modern marketing funnel.

• Launch a customer-facing company blog, and write, edit, and publish highly-engaging and thought leading articles to build brand authority. Promote the blog using advertisements, email campaigns, social media advertising, etc to attract and retain a strong reader and subscriber base.

• Lead employer branding efforts via web, social media campaigns, and paid ads. Liaison with leadership in Talent Acquisition and other internal departments to research and develop key communication strategies and community outreach campaigns.

Social Media and Assistant Brand Strategist

Tractor Supply Company

Led, Inspired, Motivated, and Developed a diverse team of 17 employees. Championed the brand promise, positioning, and mission.  Made a true difference in the working lives of the team members that I was privileged to lead.  

• Basic responsibilities included key holding, opening and closing security, cash handling and accounting, loss prevention, pricing coordination, event marketing, and merchandising.  Managed the store in the absence of the store manager.

• Advanced development assignments included: driving store P&L performance, analyzing sales metrics reports and moving the needle on store sales metrics versus district and region rankings, screening and interviewing potential new hires, facilitating tenured team member advanced sales training, screening/interviewing/onboarding/training of new hires, and managing team member performance/accountability.

• Fast-track “stretch-assignments” resulted in improved store sales and operational performance year over year, to plan, and versus comparable stores in the region.  Specifically, private label credit applications by team members increased 47% (+6% penetration), attach rates of protection plans and warranties increased by 30% (+54% spend), and sales volume of the store increased 7% when compared to the 12 months prior to my time in position.  

• I personally raised my store from a bottom-third sales performer to a top-third sales performer within four weeks through intensive sales training. This included group lessons and one-on-one mentoring using my own curriculum design and training methods to teach corporately-supported methods and metrics. After my training, the team has maintained its status as a top-performing store in the district and region.

• I wore all the “business hats” of a sales trainer, recruiter, hiring manager, people manager, operations manager, loss prevention leader, and merchandising director.

Team Leader (Manager)

KRIEMHILD DAIRY FARMS LLC

• Managed all Sales & Marketing Activities within the Company: Wholesale, B2B Sales, B2C Sales, Branding, and Communications Strategy were all my Design and Responsibility; $1M+ Annual Vol.

• Forecasted Sales, Provided Sales and Marketing Data Analytics, Designed and Delegated Marketing Action Plans to Communications support staff.  

• Designed Curriculums &  Facilitated Advanced Training Classes for the Entire Staff and Owners on the Following Topics:  Selling Skills, Active Listening, Conflict Resolution, Branding Theory, Merchandising Design, and others.

• Crafted a Revised Brand Image, Managed and Completed Website Redesign, Developed New More-Efficient Operational Procedures, Prospected for b2b Sales Contracts, Designed and Created new Merchandising Displays for b2c Channel Sales, Crafted and Executed Promotional Efforts for Special Events.

• Planned and executed social media marketing campaigns on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to drive following growth, greater engagement, e-commerce revenue, and retail sales. Paid ads and organic content were used to drive increased event attendance.

• Designed & Implemented a Data-Driven Decision Process for Marketing and Sales Operations based in Analytics (Google), Demographics, Sales History Data, and Measurable Performance Indicators of the Staff.

• Grew Online website traffic by 300% annually, Increased click-thru conversions by 1000% annually, Increased Social media following by 20% annually, and doubled customer in-person attendance to special events.

Unimpossible Longboards

Founded Unimpossible Longboards with the mission of creating the best quality hardwood longboards that push the limits of design and challenge the division of implement and art. The company vision was to become the niche-leader in the premium longboard market.

Startup Activities:

• Lead New Product Development & Engineering Including Product Design Evolution
• Manufactured Prototypes of Design Iterations & Tested Production Processes
• Crafted Brand Image and Content & Created all Copy Writing and Graphics
• Developed Crowdfunding and Social Media Marketing Campaign Strategies.
• Designed Company Website & Crafted Crowdfunding Page Content
• Implemented Google Analytics to Track Key Performance Metrics

Operational Duties: 

• Responsible for Communication & Negotiation with Vendors; Acquire Materials & Equipment
• Managed Product Fabrication, Materials Inventory, & Production Shop Tooling & Safety
• Executed Sales Engineering Strategies, Covering Both Direct Consumer & Outside Sales Channels
• Conducted focus group and customer survey research to distill product improvements.

Why the name "Unimpossible?" Because so many things - so many ideas, concepts, hopes, dreams - that may seem impossible really are quite the opposite. The path may not be obvious, and getting there may require exceptional conviction and innovation; but because the outcome is absolutely, concretely possible, it is worth persevering to accomplish it. It is NOT-impossible; it's Unimpossible.

Ended Venture after a successful run of Direct Sales.

Founder & Chief Innovation Officer

CADimensions, Inc.

• Drove $1M+ Consultative Solution Sales of SOLIDWORKS Enterprise Software and Engineering Design Software (Licenses and SaaS) to New, Existing, and Strategic Corporate Accounts

• Managed the Central NY Territory Based out of the Company Headquarters in Syracuse NY.   Successfully Exceeded Quarterly & Annual Revenue & Gross Profit Targets. 25% Travel 75% Office.

• Collaborated with Inside Sales, Marketing, Business Development, & Application Engineering Staff to Sell Consulting, Implementation, & Training Services in addition to the Resale of SOLIDWORKS Brand Software for 3D CAD, Linear & Non-Linear Simulation (Parts, Assemblies, Fluids, Plastics), Data Management, Industrial Design, Technical Documentation, 2D & 3D Electrical, CAM Tooling, Event Base Motion, and Automation.

• Personally Responsible for Service and Growth of Key Strategic Accounts in the Assigned Territory.  Conducted Regular Discovery Calls (by Phone Email or In-Person) to Prospect for Critical Business Issues, Partnered with Application Engineers to Conduct Benchmark Proofs of Concept and Software Demonstrations, and Directed Business Meetings with Executive Decision Makers Within Client Corporations.

• Created & Delivered ROI Presentations to VP & C-level Executives, Negotiated & Closed Deals; Received PO's and Payment for Software; Provided Post-Sale Service and Continued to Evaluate Potential for Additional Solution opportunities.

• Facilitated Technical Pre-Sales Engineering Presentations for 10-50+ ppl; Coached Salespeople via Role-Play Sales Sparring

Software Solutions Specialist

Elkay Manufacturing

• Managed Over 30 Retail Accounts with 120+ Sales People Across Western/Central NY and Northern PA; Acted as a Brand Evangelist with Focus on Sales Team Engagement & Training, Consumer Education, and Value Positioning.

• Represented the Cabinetry Division within the Lowe's Home Center Channel; Maintained a Home-Based Office within the Territory, with regular Air Travel to Regional and National Sales Meetings.  90% Travel, 10% office.  Facilitated Group Trainings for up to 120+ Salespeople; $2.4M Annual Territory Sales

• Provided Training (product, process, sales), Customer Relation Support, and Product Support to Over 100 Designers and Project Managers. Facilitated Formal Technical Training Sessions with Topics Covering Design Software, Brand Features, and Selling Skills.

• Responsible for New Product Release Presentations, Display Merchandising, Literature & Sample Distribution, End Consumer In-Home Quality Inspections, and All Communication from the Wholesaler to the Retail Outlets.

• Coached and developed new-hires during onboarding and tenured employee performance building exercises.

• Developed & Executed Territory & Account Action Plans to Build Sales Volume, Increase Market Share, and Motivate Disengaged Associates to Support the Brand.

• Closed Out First Fiscal Year with Sales Volume up 50% and Market Share up 4% Over the Prior Year

Territory Sales Manager

Lazarus & Williamson, LLC

• Fabricated, Assembled, Finished, and Installed High-End Custom Cabinetry, Furniture, and Millwork Projects from CAD Designs

• Applied Hands-On Mechanical Aptitude, Spatial Reasoning, and Blueprint Interpretation Skills in a Collaborative & Project-Based Setting

• Built Structural Components Utilizing Joinery and Hidden fasteners; Operated Stationary Machines and Handheld Power Tools; Completed Fine Finishing Processes Including Multiple Sanding Processes, Staining, Blending, and On-Site Touch-Up.

• Performed Needed Hand & Power Tool Maintenance and Repairs; Worked on Projects to Improve Shop Workflow and Task Efficiency

Fine Woodworker

Become a stronger creator ▶ THE GYM is your community of creator economy training partners ▶ Follow #MarketingMuscle to grow a stronger mindset and skillset for creator economy success.

I fell in love with a problem — the chasm between new and established players in the creator economy:

52% make <$10k/yr. Only 1% hit $500k/yr.

Solving that problem is my mission — to help solopreneurs, freelancers, coaches, course creators, and consultants build their bridge across the income chasm.

👋 I'm Mike — growth marketer, weightlifter, content creator.

I've used marketing to grow revenue for large and small businesses for the better part of 2 decades. Now I'm on a mission to help you grow stronger revenue too.

📉 Many players in the creator economy build large followings through a creator motion, yet they continue to see their revenue underperform.

How you position your brand and go to market with your offer is the key to exceeding the average. That’s the power of marketing.

👉 I make marketing make sense for the creator economy — in 3 ways:

1. Content that connects the dots between enterprise growth strategies and the creator economy.

2. Community that brings creators together to collaborate, lift one another up, and grow stronger together.

3. Coaching that helps you break your limits and grow reliable revenue through strong and simple marketing.

(Don't take my word for it. Take a look at my recommendation section.)

💪 #MarketingMuscle began as my personal brand hashtag, but it grew into a business.

Through years of creating content and engaging with other players in the creator economy, I found the niche of helping online entrepreneurs develop marketing skills and a growth mindset.

📈 My vision is the democratization of success through the creator economy. With the right mindset and marketing, you can cross the income chasm and achieve financial success on your own terms.

Always be growing,
—Mike

P.S. If you're looking at my profile, that's marketing in the creator context. My content and brand inspired you to learn more. Now you can check out what I offer. Marketing works; it will work for you too.

🏋️‍♂️ Follow my hashtag: #MarketingMuscle
🔔 Ring my bell: Mike Phillips

Statistics Sources:
Influencer Marketing Hub; Linktree Annual Report; Content Marketing Insitute

↓ Check out the links in my experience section ↓

Mike Phillips

Trevor van Woerden 🐓

Trevor van Woerden @ INFUSE

VP of Commercial Demand, North America

INFUSE

Director of Strategic Accounts & Campaign Architect

INFUSEmedia is a fully integrated, data-fueled, demand generation engine that offers a host
of industry-leading solutions designed to help B2B organizations drive quality interest.

As a full stack sales rep, my role is to identify contacts => initiate engagement => deliver value messages => negotiate contracts => be accountable to outcomes.

Senior Account Executive

Hotness Unleasher Studios

Founder

Accident Data Center

In this role, I handled all sales and marketing functions for this 3/4 person startup, and I loved this experience.

We sold to Personal Injury lawyers around the US, and I particularly enjoyed them as clients. 

- over 60 new Personal Injury law firm accounts closed
- over $750k  revenue generated

The goal of the company was to demonstrate the opportunity of topical curation against a geographic structure while developing the artificial intelligence technology to support it at scale. 

Unfortunately, the dev team couldn't pull off the AI, and Google stopped rewarding curation. The site died, and the company died with it.

Director of Sales and Marketing

Dex Media, Inc.

I really wanted to like this job, and there were parts of it that I really did enjoy. But the problem was that it was built on a print product that was in fast decline, and I was there near the end of it to mop up whatever I could under increasingly fearful managers. The company eventually went into bankruptcy and was reborn as Thryv, but my timing was just all wrong. 

7-14-14 - highest ranked DexMedia Marketing Consultant in Washington State YTD.

3-31-15 - highest ranked DexMedia Marketing Consultant for new/non+increase out of ~90 reps in the Northwest region.

Mediabistro

This role was responsible for generating advertising revenue through hunting new accounts. Secondary functions included new product innovation and development, managing business development partnerships, project management, and strategic input. 
-Grew revenue by 15% YOY 2011-2012 for Inside Network 
-Conceived and launched 5 new advertising products: Audience Extension, Inside Solutions,    Sponsor Highlights, Newsletters, and Full-width banners 
-Launched Sponsored Posts for over $100k in new revenue in Y1.
-Led the consolidation rollout of Inside Network into mediabistro

Senior Sales Manager

Bellingham Vacation Rental, LLC

We repurposed our primary home to be used as a vacation rental
-Prioritized and executed refurbishment projects that would appeal to an upscale market
-Advised marketing strategy including Facebook, VRBO.com, AirBnB.com, TripAdvisor, and Craigslist
-Y1: $38k revenue. Y2: $45k revenue. Y3: $50k revenue projected
-facebook.com/bellinghamvacationrental
-vrbo.com/326141

co-owner

QuinStreet - internet.com

This hunting role focused on generating revenue from new accounts. Secondary functions included new product innovation and development, and strategic input.
-Focused on CPL, CPC, and CPM based campaigns
-Identified, acquired and managed direct to client and agency accounts including SalesForce, F5 Networks, Quantum, BlueArc, InterSystems, Infragistics, VMWare, and Verio
-Consistent on-target/over-target performer against $1MM to $2MM annual quota
-Launched HotList product line and ranked #1 in sales for both direct to client and agency business

Client Strategy & Development Manager

Bellingham Insurance, LLC

Bellingham Insurance, LLC was an extension of the MetLife insurance agency model focused on non-standard commercial, flood, life and health insurance products. The primary purpose was to transition out of insurance and capture revenue from existing lead pipeline.

Owner

MetLife

This was a hybrid owner/agent model where I built an insurance agency from scratch for MetLife by hunting new clients. I also took on independent agency relationships and cross sold multiple product lines while managing personnel, marketing, and business development relationships.
-Grew local auto and home insurance agency from ground up and acquired more than 600 individual and commercial clients while maintaining over 91% customer retention rate
-Recruited, hired, and supervised highly proficient support staff in response to rapid business growth to ensure superior customer service
-Granted Advanced Property and Casualty Council Award for P&L balance (2004 – 2006), qualified for sales volume awards each year, and consistently ranked in top 10% of MetLife Agents for new business production

Property & Casualty Specialist

Buyers are in charge of their purchase journeys in 2025, and GTM teams must adapt.

The old lead gen + SDR outbound playbook has struggled for an eternity because it doesn't offer value to buyers. Adapting tools and workflows to meet buyer needs and turn them into hand raisers will take commitment to developing your brand, to understanding real time ICP data, participating in relevant ecosystems, and equipping sellers with relevant messaging when buyers engage.

A few more things I like to say...

Creator Motion is what selling like a marketer means.  

Your LinkedIn audience isn't interested in what you sell, they're interested in how you go about selling it.

The final decision often doesn't get made until after you've made your final decision.

Process >>>>> Goals

achievement => confidence => ACHIEVEment => CONFidence => ACHIEVEMENT => CONFIDENCE

Persistently doing the wrong things will persistently yield undesirable outcomes.

There is no failure, only data.

Sales sourced opportunity mandates are bad.

On parenting: without quantity time, you'll have way less quality time.

ps - I also produce a livestream called "The Hotness Unleasher Show" - it has its own business page, but it's not a business. It's a passion project. The point of it is to 1)practice with a channel that is largely underutilized on LinkedIn 2)make friends 3)fight against LinkedIn stuffiness.

This really is my favorite role to date. The company affords me extraordinary latitude and autonomy to represent the company as I think best. I am encouraged to think creatively, solve problems, continuously learn, and take risks. 

My managers trust my intuition and experience to do the work competently. I'm never asked to do anything without the utmost integrity and fair dealing.  

I am accountable to outcomes, so the processes of working with clients, figuring out what they are trying to accomplish, coming up with ways to do it, and making sure it all goes smoothly are all rewarding.

taplio

The Battle

Mike Phillips

Trevor van Woerden 🐓

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