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.

The more I do this whole ~eNtRePrEnEuR~ / work for myself thing...I'm convinced that success is 99% hitching your proverbial wagon to / surrounding yourself with, a few of the right people, and dodging sh*theads like the plague.

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

Everyone thinks I started YouShouldTalkTo for money, fame, cars, and women. 

In reality...it was just to get free stuff in the mail.

From now on, if you want ANYTHING from me..and I mean ANYTHINGGGGGG -- I want cheese products at my doorstep! 

Shout out to Jenny Mehlman at Dairy Farmers of America / Borden for following through when she said she was going to send me queso. 

There is now a tie for best package I have ever received between this and the time Heather Trell Schlesinger and Handel's Homemade Ice Cream sent me 12 pints of ice cream after a successful agency search.

Smart insights from marketing leaders smarter than I :) 

Ana Malmqvist 
Ameetess D. of Petzey
Jeff Jenkins
Meghan Irwin of Blaze Pizza, LLC
Angela Johnson of Edible Brands

There is no greater feeling I can think of than being in a crowded sweaty college / dive bar, between the years 2005 and 2012 with my best friends, tipsy, and either Avicii 'Levels' or Rihanna 'We Found Love' coming on. 

The smell of cigarettes and stale beer in the air. 
The sticky floor. 
Impending bad decisions to be had. 
Not a care in the world.

Ah, the good ol' days. 

You probably smiled a little reading that, didn't you?
You were transported back to simpler, easier, times...weren't you?

Me too.

THAT is what you should strive for as an agency when talking to brands. 

That magic.
That excitement. 
That feeling.
That smirk from a CMO that says 'yep, they get it' or 'this is exciting'
That nostalgia.
That warm fuzzy feeling, like everything is gonna be ok. 

Agencies who execute on deliverables are cool.

Agencies who provide an experience, at every touch point are cooler.

Me when one of my agency partners wins an RFP.

There is almost certainly an agency out there that is a BETTER fit for you and more right for you than your current agency. That does NOT mean you should fire your agency today, I promise 😇

Most companies, when looking for a new partner, will chat with 5-7 agencies. 

For massive opportunities, maybe they have 20 groups involved for some sort of RFI before whittling that list down. 

There are 100k+ agencies in the US alone. 

I'm no mathemetician but that means brands are chatting with such an astronomically small % of the agency pie as a whole. 

That's why, when agencies talk to me about their pricing strategies and their own messaging...and their website...my eyes glaze over a bit and I start twitching. 

Those things matter, sometimes. 

Ya know what matters more? 

GETTING IN THE F***IN' ROOM! 
BEING IN THE F***IN' MIX, IN GENERAL! 

How are you optimizing for more people knowing and liking you? That's the thing. The only thing, I'd argue. 

How are you optimizing for people saying nice things about you in rooms you're not in?

Many an agency coach say that referrals aren't a long term strategy past a certain point. I say...hogwash. Malarkey. Nonsense! 

It's not a long term strategy for those who are bad at it. Duh.  

You may be thinking "well, doesn't things like pricing, our website, and our messaging help optimize for those things?".

Sure...but very rarely on the front end! 

I don't know many substantial engagements where the marketing leader is Googling or using LLM's to START. 

They are asking friends and other CMO's. 

Then they google, LLM, etc.

Things no CMO has ever said to me BEFORE an agency is mentioned...
"Man, that agency I have never heard of or spoke to has really great pricing!"
"Damnnnnn, that website of the agency no one told me about looks dope"
"Wait...they have 'partners' not 'clients'? I'm sold!"

The agencies I work with (and one's I don't) who are the most successful are seemingly SIGNIFICANTLY more focused on getting in rooms and being on good graces with a few of the right folks MORESO than stressing over messaging...their website...their pricing strategy.

Why? 

Because when you're in the mix, and in the room...you can just like...talk about those things.

Them: "Daniel, does the podcast work? Does it lead to new biz?"
Me: "Yes, I don't really know how/why, but it does"

Welp, here's how. 

Reached out to Eric Tessel, VP of Marketing at Door Pro America a few weeks ago, inviting him on the podcast. 

He graciously accepted. 

A couple days before recording, Eric shot me a note...

"Hey Daniel -- we're thinking of doing some brand work -- a refresh. Have an agency in mind?" 

12 seconds later. 2 intro's made.
1 week later. Agency hired. 

Now back to the pod. Eric and I talked about a lot, but a few things that stood out to me. 

--Marketing Leaders Should Speak the Language of Finance--
One of the most important shifts in a marketer’s career happens when they begin connecting their work to financial outcomes. 

When marketers can communicate effectively with finance teams, they elevate their influence within the organization. This often helps bridge the gap between creative strategy and business impact.

-- Authentic Conversations Beat Generic Messaging -- 
In a crowded agency landscape, decision-makers are getting more and more frustrated with templated messaging and generic positioning statements. Every agency is giving every potential client the whole ‘we don’t have clients, we have partners’ speech and marketing leaders are catching on. 

What stands out today is authenticity. Real conversations, thoughtful introductions, and meaningful connections carry far more weight than polished marketing copy. Duh. 

Full Audio: https://bit.ly/46Q7AFI
Full Video: https://bit.ly/4b0rU9X

My inbox here has been especially unhinged and absurd lately. Anyone else experiencing the same? Is everyone ok? Am I ok!?

It is WILD the sh*t people write, reviewk, and think "yep...this is the one! SEND!"

Ah, comparison...

...you joy stealing mother f***er! 

I've been forcing myself to run the last 6-months or so. 

I hate it. I hate it so much. It is the literal worst thing I have ever done in my entire life. Every step feels like a mile. Everything hurts before, during, after. 

And it pisses me off! I can run around a basketball court for days and feel good. Running for the sake of running. So so so dumb. 

I run 2ish miles a few times per week. 11 minute miles turned to 10, then to 9. 

Progress! 

I am inundated with content of people running...
- 100 mile races
- ultra marathons 
- 4 minute miles

I got served a piece of content the other day reminding me that so so so many people can barely run a mile. 

So so so many people don't run at all.

So so so many people give up or don't try at all. 

So so so so many cliches between running and life. I hate those too :)

The only thing I actually like about running is it is hard and I suck at it...which makes me want to do it more. 

Ah, the cliches.

- We all really are running our own race. 
- Trying and sucking is so much cooler than not trying at all.
-  Consistency ----> progress
- While you're comparing yourself to others you perceive to be doing 'better' ... there's plenty of people probably comparing themselves to YOU and wishing they are in your (running) shoes. 
- Just keep moving.

🏃💨 🥵 (actual depiction of me running)

Many of the things that are supposed to make it easier for CMO's and other marketing leaders to find agencies ACTUALLY make it more difficult. 

For example, LinkedIN and various communities SHOULD make it easier...they make it astronomically more difficult and keep me in business. 

I see this multiple times per day, in communities I'm in. 

- Marketing leader posts they are looking for an agency. 
- 25 comments quickly ensue
- 12 from agencies saying they are a perfect fit (with very little info and no questions asked).
- 13 from other random people recommending agencies (with very little info and no questions asked). 
- Freelancers chime in "if you're looking for 1 person instead I'm your guy! Would love to chat. Will DM"
- Marketing leader gets stressed trying to dig through 25+ recommendations, direct messages, comments, and ultimately gives up.
- Reaches out to me, instead. 

I can eyeball those lists most of the time and tell them pretty quickly if an agency is not even CLOSE to what they are looking for. 

LinkedIN posts asking for an agency recommendation will ultimately make your computer explode with veryyyyyyyy little relevance. 

The problem is this. 

The marketing leader, rightly so, doesn't post with a million details. But, there are, in fact, a million details required to find the right agency. 

Agencies lie, kinda. 

People recommending agencies they know, blindly, aren't helping even tho the intent is good. 

Platforms that aggregate agencies where you can search based on specific criteria are so ungodly inaccurate it is criminal. 

If you're a marketing leader 2 spots on the internet remain pure...

1) Closed CMO communities with strict membership policies (where people like me or agencies are not allowed) are still good. 
2) Group texts

My periodic reminder to agencies who win awards to make sure to provide some context when using them for new biz purposes. 🏆

There are a lotttttttt of awards.

Some matter.
Some don't (as much).
Some matter more than others. 

A lotttttttttt of agencies say they are an 'award winning agency'.

A lotttttttttt of marketing leaders do not religiously follow advertising focused publications. 

A lotttttttt (virtually all) of CMO's tell me awards do NOT factor into agency selection bc mostly they seem like bullsh*t. 

When talking about awards -- a few friendly recommendations. 

1) Provide context on selection. "We won this shiny award -- it was voted on by peers/marketing leaders and was a culmination of our work for clients like X, Y, and Z"

2) Tie it back to why the brand should care at all. "We won this shiny award. There are a lot of awards! We're especially proud of this one because of _____ and it directly relates to you all and what we're talking about here because _______. 

3) Talk about it in a humble way. Duh. 

🏆🏆🏆

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The Battle

Taylor Wells

Daniel Weiner

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Daniel Weiner's LinkedIn Performance

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