Seasoned cybersecurity revenue leader by trade. I'm a typical PNW nature enthusiast who enjoys cooking, paddleboarding with my wife, and chasing my daughter around. 

I'm on a mission to make the digital world a safer place by bringing the cyber ecosystem together. 

Join me?

Taylor Wells

Daniel Weiner

Daniel is a natural connector. YouShouldTalkTo is a culmination of a decade plus of industry experience and connections with brands of many shapes and sizes. YouShouldTalkTo pairs brands/marketers with agencies and/or freelancers for marketing and tech needs. 

Notable brands YouShouldTalkTo has worked with include -- Casey's, Blaze Pizza, Krystal, Denny's, Perkins American Food Co., Maven Clinic, Caliber Car Wash, Owens + Minor, TRUBAR, Brandsmart, Aaron's, Pilot, T3Micro, SkyZone, Ricoh, Smarsh, and countless others.

Founder

YouShouldTalkTo pairs brands + marketers (for free) with vetted agencies and/or freelancers for marketing + tech needs. In turn, we help agencies and freelancers grow their business.

We work with brands/marketers of all shapes and sizes from -- from startups to Fortune 100 companies. 

Notable Brands Served: Hitachi, FAT Brands, Yamaha, The Myers Briggs, Click Up, Medly, KeyFactor, Allbound, Brightwell, MainStreet, Clif Bar, Touchcast, and many many more.

CMO, yesterday, via text. "Daniel, have you ever heard of ______ agency?"

Me: "Hey! Good to hear from you. Yep, I have, what's up?"

CMO: "Came recommended by a board member. Hear good/bad/otherwise?"

Me: "I've helped several brands move away from them the past 12-months. Want to chat with some of those leaders if they are open to it?"

CMO: "That would be a huge help, thanks!"

This happens, on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. 

The backchannel. 

There are so so many text threads between marketing leaders just like this. I know this, because many send me screenshots. 

SEO + GEO are important. 

These text threads, private slack channels, communities, etc. are MORE important. 

How are people talking about your agencies in rooms you'll never be in?

How are people talking about you via private texts? 

This is what SHOULD keep you up at night, as an agency?

There's only 1 real way to optimize for it too. 

No hacks either.

- Be nice / pleasant (but not a pushover)
- Have no ego
- Do the right thing, always 
- Reply / call people back quickly
- Be fun to work with and be around. 
- Do reasonably good work.

I pair brands and marketers (for free) with vetted agencies and/or freelancers | Private Dinner thrower | Podcast host|

You can almost certainly/always come back from "I don't like that"...

It is virtually impossible to come back from "I don't like you"...

This, my friends, is why I over index for agencies that are nice, pleasant, and fun to be around and work with.

Creative? Super subjective. Should be rooted in an insight or a strategy, but it's not always the case. 

Lets say a nice, pleasant, thoughtful agency presents some creative and is met with 'we don't like that!" from the brand/marketing leader.

Well, because they are nice, pleasant, and thoughtful, they will presumably take that feedback and run with it. 

Once a brand/marketing leader has decided they don't like you. Once you've done something 1 degree over the line. Once they have start to get that teeny tiny ever growing pit in their stomach when they see your name pop up in email or on their phone...you're donezo.

Maybe not today. 
Maybe not tomorrow.
But, soon.

I hear, often "well Daniel it should be about the work!"

It is.

But, there's a lot of agencies who do good/great work AND are pleasant to work with. 

Fight me in the comments if you disagree but I think the job of an agency is first and foremost a tie between...

1) Elevating the brand (whatever that means -- sales, awareness, etc.)
2) Making the lives of the brand marketing team easier/better/more fun

The work matters...but if no one wants to work WITH you...nothing matters.

Hiring agencies is always a bit of a crapshoot. You can review case studies. You can check references. You can visit the agency. None of it promises success. 

None of it guarantees the desired results. 

Because I like to think I'm pretty good at what I do, at the end of an agency search process or RFP or pitch scenario...a brand is often left with a tough decision.

"We like 2 agencies -- we could see working with both" 

I'll never tell them who to pick but I do generally ask a few pointed questions and tell them to answer as quickly as possible. 

1) If you HAD to pick right now, and stake YOUR career on the results...who would you choose? 

2) Who could you see being in the trenches with when sh*t undoubtedly hits the fan at some point? 

3) Which ideas did you like more? This is an interesting one bc I also encourage them to remember that (depending on the process) these agencies don't know you incredibly well yet. The follow up here if they didn't love the ideas from one group is -- "do you think you can get there with them."

My final reminders I give is... 

1) that hiring any agency COULD be the worst professional decision of your life. It could go horribly horribly horribly wrong. I then remind them that while it would suck...nothing is forever. You aren't required to stay with an agency if it isn't working out. 

2) When it comes time to sign, you should be supremely excited. Excited at the possibility of what's to come. Of what your team and their team can accomplish together. 

If you are NOT supremely excited to sign with an agency...you either need to chat more, OR, you need to talk to more agencies bc this one is not for you.

You don't have to listen to/watch this podcast. You DO need to post a picture of your pet in the comments. Them's the rules!

BUT ALSO PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE I NEED THE DOPAMINE HIT.

Full episode is linked in the comments. 

I met Ameetess D. at a Brandweek Happy Hour in Atlanta a couple months back. She was the first person I met when I walked in the room and was so warm/nice/friendly, I actually said "wait, do we know each other?" I felt like we did. Talked about her animals for the next 30-minutes. It was awesome. 

She also happens to know a thing or two about marketing as CMO at Petzey.

Some highlights...

Today’s Consumers Are More Intentional Than Ever: Modern consumers are no longer passive recipients of marketing messages. Across global markets, people are becoming increasingly selective about which brands earn their attention, loyalty, and dollars. Every interaction is evaluated through a lens of relevance, authenticity, and alignment. This shift means brands must move beyond surface-level engagement. It’s not enough to simply be visible - brands must be intentional about how and why they show up.

Focus Creates Momentum: Clarity of purpose is one of the most powerful leadership tools available. When an organization commits to a clear mission, decision-making becomes faster, sharper, and more effective. Everything that doesn’t serve that mission naturally falls away. For marketers, this means aligning strategy, messaging, and partnerships around a single, clearly defined goal.

The Small Details Define Agency Credibility: In agency relationships, fundamentals matter more than flashy promises. Thoughtful outreach, attention to detail, and basic professionalism set the tone before strategy is ever discussed. Simple actions - like personalization, preparation, and respect - communicate seriousness and care. Brands notice when agencies do their homework. They also notice when they don’t. Generic outreach and careless mistakes send a clear signal about how a partnership will unfold.

Consistency is (sometimes) incredibly boring but vvvvvvv effective. 

I have some version of the below every day. 

I love it. 
I crave it. 
Quick. Easy. Delicious. 

Avo toast on low carb bread.
Egg white omelet (f*cked up the yolk on this one :( )
Girthy af pickle spears. 

Agencies ask me a lot of questions, but they ask me one question more than others. 

"Daniel -- what should we change?" 

They mean...
- what should we change in our pitch?
- in our deck? 
- in pricing? 
- on our website? 

The answer is generally to change nothing. At least, yet. 

Why? Because if you're an agency that has been around any sort of time and survived the ups and downs of the industry -- I'm guessing you have done at least a few things right, right? 

The question of "what should we change" almost always comes after something negative happens. 

- losing a pitch
- not getting past the chemistry round
- negative client feedback

Until something becomes a trend, change is unnecessary. 

Agencies, a lot of the time, don't need to change, they need more relevant at bats to see if something is a moment in time, or a trend. 

I took about it frequently, but as an agency, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. 

It's what makes the world of pitching an enormous pain in the ass but also incredibly exciting. 

Do something one day...
Win pitch...
Feel like genius.

Do same thing next day...
Lose pitch...
Feel like bozo.

It's less about 'what do we need to change'

and more about...

Accepting that some days you're a genius and the next you're a bozo :)

Ever see the movie Match Point with Scar Jo? 

The movie has very little to do with ACTUAL tennis, but there is a moment with a slow motion shot of a tennis ball hitting the tip of the net, slowly bouncing up and for a moment...you don't know which side of the net the ball will fall on.

Without spoiling it for you, the movie showcases a series of decisions, actions, and moments that ultimately lead to someone maybe getting in trouble for something, or maybe not. 

Luck plays an enormous role too. 

I think of this often with agencies vying for business with brands. 

There are so many moments, seemingly small, that make the ball fall on one side of the net or the other. 

Some of these moments are so (seemingly small), you don't even realize it when they are happening. They might even make you say "THAT played a role in the decision!!?!?!?!?!"

For some of the larger opportunities I'm fortunate to support, there is life / agency changing revenue on the line. 

For well known logos, all the PR juice an agency gets from winning a brand everyone has heard of, is on the line. 

The ball falls on your opponents side...elation, celebration, big time revenue, excitement, validation. Perhaps more important than those...RELIEF. They can breathe again. 

The ball stays on your side of the net...disappointment, self reflection, anger, confusion...perhaps questioning everything, missed / lost potential revenue. 

No groundbreaking advice other than to treat EVERY SINGLE moment, interaction, email, phone call, text, like it's the Super Bowl.

Treat every interaction like it's the only thing that matters and the only criteria for the decision to be made off of. 

Sounds exhausting, right? 

It is. 

But, it works. 

And, if you do that...you're going to win more points than you lose.

Heated Rivalry this, Heated Rivalry that...

WHAT ABOUT TELL ME LIES COMING BACK NEXT WEEK!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Look, I'm a fan of a gay hockey love connection as much as the next guy, but I have chest palpitations thinking of the fact that I have to be personally victimized by Stephen DeMarco again starting next week. 

Ok, I feel better. 

Anywho, let's talk about some of the lies agencies tell me / themselves. 

1) "Daniel, we are the ONLY one's doing this." 
-Can't remember the last time I heard something where I thought, wow, no one else is doing this. 

2) When asked, what are you best at..."Honestly, we do everything great."
-Heavy sigh. If you do 1-3 'things' this is probably a fair answer. If you do 57 things...it's virtually impossible to give this answer and it be true. 

3) "We have a proprietary process."
- No, you don't. 

4) "All our clients love us"
- Many of your clients LIKE you. Most (maybe all) of your clients LOVE literally one person on the team and the entire relationship hinges on that person staying.

5) "That call went AMAZING! They love us. We love them. We're getting married." 
- This was a real quote from an agency partner after an intro call in 2025. This was roughly 2-minutes after I got off the phone with the CMO and they told me they never wanted to speak with them again. L O L O L. 

Disclaimer -- not all agencies lie, and even the one's who tell me this stuff...don't necessarily mean to lie. Many believe it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I'd rather blind conviction than the alternative. 

The thing I have to remind agencies often is that they drink their own Kool Aid too much and remaining humble and nimble and nice and flexible is the way.

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The Battle

Taylor Wells

Daniel Weiner

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The Battle

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