Scott D. Clary, Host, Success Story Podcast
Scott D. Clary is a career sales and marketing executive. Scott re-writes the playbook on sales, marketing, brand and take to market strategy. Scott's worked with execs and entrepreneurs to 10x their businesses, from startups to enterprises. He's sold and marketed to the most iconic F500/F100 brands throughout his career.
His work has been featured in over 100+ news sites and publications. In addition, he speaks globally at industry conferences and has had articles and insights featured in Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Hackernoon, The Startup and others.
He currently runs a global SaaS sales and marketing organization. He is the host of the Success Story podcast (part of the Hubspot Podcast network). In addition, he interviews inspirational people, mentors and leaders, and the founder of ROI Overload, a daily business newsletter.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
All of them :). Whichever one I'm growing on the fastest.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I'm currently building my podcast, which was just brought into the Hubspot podcast network. I am a career-long sales and marketing executive with multiple execs and C-Suite roles over my career, so along with growing and scaling organizations. I enjoy speaking about sales, marketing, entrepreneurship, personal and professional growth... things I can do in my past roles, as well as things that I speak about on my podcast.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
I get to speak with some of the most interesting people globally and understand how they achieved success. Throughout my career (even before my show), I worked with many entrepreneurs in advisory, mentorship, consulting, and operator capacities, letting me work with some of the world's most ambitious and driven people. The podcast has given me access to even more incredible people, which I'm incredibly grateful to chat with and learn from every day.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The best time to start was yesterday, and the second-best time is today. Whatever you want to do. Just start.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
Progress inspires me. When I start a new project, company, or side hustle, I look for growth trends. For example, when I see a few subscribers every day to my newsletter, that motivates me. When I get more downloads this month than last, that motivates me. As long as I'm moving in the right direction, I'm motivated because I can see the long term vision coming to fruition; all it takes is not giving up too soon.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
Everything. I'm proud of the things I've tried and succeeded at, and I'm proud of the things I've tried and failed. I'm proud of trying and learning because I think there's a shortage of people willing to take that first step, and I think everyone who tries something and succeeds or fails should be proud that they even tried.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
I am slightly privileged because I have a podcast, and I can interview and chat with some of the most incredible people in the world. But, still, before I had this medium, I loved events (industry/professional/networking) where I could sit down and have drinks or coffee with people.
I think the in-person aspect of forming authentic connections is extremely important, and I don't think we'll ever fully get away from that, and it's still my favourite way to network and meet new people.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
I think the most important skills that have helped me in my career are grit, perseverance, curiosity, problem-solving and self-awareness. The grit and perseverance keep me moving forward; the curiosity and problem-solving help me learn new things and figure things out. The self-awareness allows me to be cognizant of my own shortcomings, so I know how to surround myself with the right people or upskill myself so that I can optimize my efficiency and team.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
That you're going to fail, but you need to fail to be successful, and that every single person you look up to has failed multiple times. It's just part of the games, so embrace it and use the failures as learning experiences.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
I admire people who seem to have the ability to enter any conversation on any topic and add value. Certain people have the ability to provide insight, ask the right questions, and contribute to any conversation, regardless of the topic. It seems to me those are the most impressive, high-value people.
These people are the same kinds of people who seem to think creatively through most problems and be a sound voice of reason, regardless of the issue or problem. These are the people I like to surround myself with, and this is also the kind of person I strive to be.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Most of my non-tech hobbies are sports hobbies. Like tons of salespeople I know (I'm not sure why this seems to be a trend), I played every sport under the sun growing up. Hockey, tennis, rugby, football, soccer etc. Now, my non-tech hobbies involve playing some sort of sport (hockey is preferred), going to the gym, or just being active in some way, shape or form.
I've found that having some type of daily activity is the single most important hack to maintain energy levels, creativity, and mood when working hard at work, on a side hustle in an isolated, remote environment.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
I've been extremely fortunate that the pandemic has not seriously impacted anything I'm working on. For example, I led a software sales and marketing team, and we focused on SaaS solutions for broadcast, so we maintained and exceeded projected revenue. Also, for my podcast or personal brand, the pandemic slightly helped as more people spent time-consuming content, which helps any content creator.
Although we were in an industry that was not directly impacted by the pandemic. I did have to be cognizant of our sales and marketing strategy because some of our customers felt the effects of the pandemic. This meant being empathetic to our customers and focusing on customer-centric marketing and sales strategies, which meant prioritizing relationships over revenue when the pandemic was at its worst and people were getting furloughed, and budgets were getting cut.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I have mentors, and I have definitely mentored others before. I am a big fan of learning from people who've done it before. A few notes on mentors. I don't just have one mentor, and I have specific people I go to for advice on specific topics.
I asked people for a specific block of time to help with a very specific question, and I always try to be respectful of their time. Generally, the people who can offer advice and provide value are relatively busy and have multiple people asking them for help.
The more specific you are with your question or ask, the more likely you'll get good advice. And always seek out multiple mentors and experts who have done whatever it is you're looking to accomplish before.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
I would advise someone to go work at a startup, work exceptionally hard and learn at an expedited rate, and then use that learning to start your own business or move into a more comfortable corporate position.
To quote Warren Buffet, whatever you're doing in your career, "At every job, you should either learn or earn. Either is fine. Both are best. But if it's neither, quit."
What do you feel is the most common reason people fail or give up?
They have trouble setting long term goals and seeing the long term vision. This is what allows people to continue long after the initial motivation and excitement wear off. Focus on setting both short-term and long-term goals so that you can be excited about little short-term wins and see progress towards larger, long-term goals.
When you see both the short term and long-term progress, that's when you can muster up the grit, and tenacity and perseverance you need to push through the low points, stresses and struggles which will inevitably come throughout your career or your business.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu.
This is a famous quote, and at face value, it is probably over-shared without much context, but it holds special value to me because the single most important skill that I've seen contribute to my success is my ability to start new things.
I really do believe that as difficult as business, startups, entrepreneurship, career etc., is, the most difficult thing for most people is not moving the needle once the "thing" is started but taking the first step in a new, scarier, riskier direction.
I believe that if more people took that first step towards a thing they wanted to try, there would be a lot more people who would find a way to make whatever aspiration, goal, dream or vision that they have... come to life.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
When I think about brands getting it right, I think about brands that got it right through the pandemic. Brands that really stepped up and supported both internal and external communities throughout one of the most trying times in recent history. Here are just some of the ones that are doing it right.
Microsoft: Paid hourly workers who support campuses even when they were not needed and hours were reduced.
Loom: Video recording/collaboration software that made their service free for businesses and educational institutions.
LinkedIn: Offered free learning for people looking to pivot or upskill in their careers after being furloughed/laid off.
Twitter: Covering daycare and home office expenses. This list is barely gracing the surface of companies that have stepped up over the past two years, but at the end of the day, the takeaway is that people are watching, so step up and do the right thing.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
This is a question that I actually ask all of my guests at the end of each podcast episode I record with them. And the most popular answer I get, and the one that resonates with me the most, is freedom. Success is the freedom to do what you want, when you want and not feel the need to do anything, but have the ability to do everything.