Belly-to-Belly Marketing: Old-School Tactics Driving Modern Startup Success
by Gary Jader
What you'll discover
when watching Gary's story
- Tech startups should be prepared for long development cycles, slow adoption rates, and the need for substantial funding to achieve product-market fit.
- Face-to-face interactions and relationship building are crucial in certain industries, especially when traditional marketing methods are ineffective.
- Building trust and encouraging healthy conflict within leadership teams is essential for organizational success.
- Transitioning from sales to marketing can provide valuable insights and strategic perspectives for a marketing career.
- Successful branding requires identifying and consistently communicating key features, benefits, and differentiators.
- Effective go-to-market strategies often involve trial and error, measurement, and adaptation based on results.
- Starting a sales career can provide future marketers invaluable experience and skills.
Meet Gary Jader - CMO @ Portages Health
Gary Jader is the Chief Marketing Officer at Portages Health, a company providing mental health and well-being services to American Indian tribes and primary care physicians.
With over 30 years of marketing experience, Gary transitioned from a successful 7-year sales career to marketing after earning his MBA. He launched 10 new products at 3M before joining Portages Health.
At Portages, Gary has helped achieve 10,000 mental health encounters for an Native American tribe in Minnesota in just one year. He emphasizes face-to-face interactions and relationship-building in their marketing strategy.
Gary also teaches in an MBA program and advocates for aspiring marketers to start in sales. He believes in the power of trust and healthy conflict within leadership teams.
Under Gary’s leadership, Portages Health has developed a technology platform with apps for patients, providers, and administrators, positioning the company as both a service and tech provider.
Check out Gary Jader's thoughts on experiential learning & adaptability in marketing
When it comes to the importance in building a leadership team, Gary shares:
"We've got to have trust, and the only way to create trust is through conflict. It’s about disagreement and creating a team where the space is big enough and safe enough for people to disagree."
He also shares about how marketers should approach go-to-market strategies:
"This is really about trial and error. You try something, see if it works, measure outcomes. If it works, you keep doing it. If it doesn’t, you stop."
And some advice for future marketers:
"You’ve got two ears and one mouth. That’s the ratio you need to be thinking about when you do sales and marketing—listen twice as much as you talk."
Get exclusive business growth tips from our top thought leaders
Subscribe and get weekly tips on growing your successful business.