058 John Doherty - Unlocking SaaS Growth & Optimizing Performance

In our SaaS Fuel™ Expert Series, Jeff is joined by John Doherty, the brainchild behind two product-based services, Credo and Editor Ninja.

In the realm of business and digital marketing, leads are the lifeblood of any successful company. John is one of the few digital marketers that fully understands the significance of lead generation. A digital marketer and writer with a developer background, John was able to build an empire of successful businesses with no financial worries.

John discusses how to hire a good marketing agency and what questions to ask them. He suggests doing research online and looking at the agency's blog to see if they are teaching and helping you understand what is involved in their services. Stay tuned and learn more!

Key Takeaways

00:06:40 From Freelancer To Lead Generator: How One Man Found Success In New York

00:12:04 Outsourcing Sales Processes To Scale Business Growth

00:14:52 The Importance Of Financial Stability For Entrepreneurial Success

00:19:48 The Importance Of Defining Your Own Goals And Avoiding Comparison In Business

00:23:29 The Ladder Of Lead Generation For Service And SaaS Companies

00:25:01 Mixing SEO And Content With Paid Advertising For Effective Marketing Strategy

00:34:53 Hub And Spoke Model Of Hiring For Marketing Teams

00:42:00 Key Questions To Ask When Hiring A Marketing Consultant

00:46:08 Prioritize Being Around Good People And Take The Long View

Tweetable Quotes

“You learn because you can adjust.” - 00:29:55 Jeff Mains

“In order to fail fast, you have to be willing to take some bigger risks and you have to be willing to fail.” - 00:30:30 John Doherty

“Take a little bit of risk, but do it in a smart way.” - 00:30:14 John Doherty

“Build a product for an existing market. Don't build a product and then try to find a market.” - 00:38:29 John Doherty

“I think it really comes down to what you want to build, not what are other people building, and stop comparing yourself to other people.” - 00:20:36 John Doherty

“You can go advertise till the cows come home, but unless you have an offer that converts and people just fall in love with, it's completely wasted.” - 00:26:37 Jeff Mains

SaaS Leadership Lessons

1. Financial stability in managing a business is vital.

2. Invest in your employees and view them as assets.

3. Practice a hub and spoke model of hiring, where senior marketing generalists manage outside vendors and agencies.

4. Ask potential clients deeper questions during sales calls to show the benefits of working with you and the company.

5. Emphasize the importance of having a good offer that converts before investing in advertising.

6 Start small with the budget and gradually increase it based on the revenue generated.

7. Build a product for an existing market rather than finding a market for the product.

8. It is best to have knowledge and expertise in marketing before hiring an agency.

9. Develop a solution for a current need. Don't create a product before determining where to sell it.

10. Don't risk your future happiness in exchange for instant gratification, because chances are good that whatever you obtain won't stay.

11. Find an agency that asks more in-depth questions that show they really understand your business.

12. Focus on surrounding yourself with positive influences.

13. Collaborate with people that have the expertise or specialization in dealing with businesses at your stage.

Guest Resources

John Doherty (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfdoherty/

John Doherty (Twitter): https://twitter.com/dohertyjf

John Doherty (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/dohertyjf/

John Doherty (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/dohertyjf

John Doherty (Personal Website): johnfdoherty.com

Credo Website: https://www.getcredo.com

Credo (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/getcredo/

Credo (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/getcredo

Credo (Twitter): https://twitter.com/getcredo

Credo (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/getcredo/

Editor Ninja (Website): https://editorninja.com/

Editor Ninja (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/editorninja/

Editor Ninja (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/EditorNinja/

Editor Ninja (Twitter): https://twitter.com/_editorninja

Editor Ninja (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/_editorninja/

Resources Mentioned

Credo: https://www.getcredo.com/

Editor Ninja: https://editorninja.com/

InterContinental Hotels Group: https://www.ihgplc.com/en

Travelex: https://www.travelexinsurance.com/

Zillow: https://www.zillow.com/

Hosts.com: https://hosts-global.com/

Trulia Rentals: https://www.trulia.com/

E-Myth: https://www.emyth.com/

Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!: 4 Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential:

https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Numbers-Straight-Talk-Profits/dp/1608320561

Dan Martell: https://www.danmartell.com/

Big Leap: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Leap-Conquer-Hidden-Level/dp/0061735361

Snow: https://www.snowsoftware.com/

G2: https://www.g2.com/

Capterra: https://www.capterra.com/

Google: https://www.google.com/

Google Ads: https://gmail.google.com/ads/

Facebook Ads: https://www.facebook.com/business/ads

Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/ap/

Alex Hormozi (Twitter): https://twitter.com/AlexHormozi

Ryan Deiss: https://www.ryandeiss.com/

Syed Balkhi: https://syedbalkhi.com/

Russ Perry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russperry

Design Pickle: https://designpickle.com/

SaaS Academy: https://www.saasacademy.com/

Episode Sponsor

Our sponsor today is Champion Leadership Group. Get free growth tools, and map out a plan to scale your SaaS business from 7 to 8 figures. Travel with fellow SaaS entrepreneurs on your growth journey using a proven methodology that is mentor-guided, results-focused, and peer-supported. Celebrate wins and quickly rebound from setbacks. Learn to do the right thing at the right time...