Freedom Fighters Series - Episode Two: Garrett Mehrguth

This week on The Sales Development Podcast, we are doing a four part series called Freedom Fighters where we interview entrepreneurs who have gone from the corporate world to entrepreneurship and have utilized their Sales Development skills to start successful businesses!

On episode two, we have Garrett Mehrguth, CEO at Directive, an enterprise search marketing agency. Listen how Garrett took his interest in entrepreneurship to bootstrap Directive into the powerhouse it has become today. He outlines his journey with the ups, downs and sideways to success. Must listen!

#sdr #bdr #salesdevelopment #sales #marketing

Notable Quotes:

            “I created a little motto called, ‘Learn, engage, create.’ So if I could learn something
                        new every day and engage with it, I could create more value for myself
                        and the customer.”

– Garrett Mehrgut

“Anything you do on a consistent basis and you’re passionate about, you can become
                        really, really good at. You might not be able to come to the best in the world at it
                        unless you fully commit to it, but you can become really good at things if you just
                        decide that you’re going to give it time, attention, and appreciation.”

– Garrett Mehrguth

“My point is, if you get to that level, there is no limit for what you can make
financially. You are truly limited if you’re not a subject matter expert.”

– Garrett Mehrguth

Brief Summary

This episode is the second installment of the Freedom Fighters series, and we’re talking to Garrett Mehrguth who started in sales, made his way through passion and expertise, and now runs his own consulting firm.

Today’s Guest: Garrett Mehrguth

Garrett Mehrguth began his sales career selling social media calendars until he decided to take different perspective on things. He decided that the secret to closing deals was being an expert on whatever field you’re selling to, which was what landed him big deals. Now he runs his own consulting firm as the CEO of Directive Consulting.

The episode touches on the following key topics and ideas:

David introduces the Freedom Fighters Series (00:00)
David introduces the episode’s guest, Garrett Mehrguth (01:08)
Garrett Mehrguth, his background, and Directive (02:12)
Garrett reflecting on people’s perception of him and the value he can bring (04:45)
The initial focus on SEO and building it out from there (06:50)
We all start somewhere: being bad first before getting really good (07:23)
The sales reps, entitlement, and prioritization (09:22)
Going deep into the industry and becoming a subject matter expert (11:00)
How to become a subject matter expert in the industry you’re selling to (12:48)
The introspection to find that passion (14:06)
Garrett: I’m not ever about the money first. You can’t be. (15:25)
Take the time to become the sales professional you want to be (17:28)
Constantly having your career at your core (20:57)
Becoming an expert and on par with industry people with 10, 20 years’ worth of experience (22:38)
Thinking about the company holistically across the different silos (24:33)
Now and the organizational structure set up from 50 years ago (26:40)
What to do as a CEO coming into a disorganized meeting (29:17)
Making the hard decisions is part of advancing the company (30:07)
What an SDR should do if they realize they aren’t communicating well with the other silos (31:01)
It’s hard to be consistent (32:48)
Where to get in touch with Garrett Mehrgruth (36:43)