GE 260: MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman Shares How They Grow 30% YoY & Did $50 Million in Business Last Year (podcast)

Hey, everyone! In today’s episode, I share the mic with Todd Krizelman, Co-Founder and CEO of MediaRadar. Media Radar is a firm that helps ad sales workers and business development people find and identify the best prospects. They are a CliffsNotes for ad sales.

Tune in to hear Todd share why almost every fashion website and broadcaster in America uses MediaRadar, why he spends 50-60% every week selling, how they increase sales by 8-18% per year for each client, and what his strategy is to weed out mediocre employees.

Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman Shares How They Grow 30% YoY & Did $50 Million in Business Last Year TRANSCRIPT PDF

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• [00:32] Before we jump into today’s interview, please leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast!
• [01:44] The idea for MediaRadar came from Todd’s time working in the industry.
• [01:58] He noticed there were very few tools to help salespeople do their jobs.
• [02:15] MediaRadar is a subscription service. They charge an annual fee to use the platform.
• [02:36] It’s a SaaS business.
• [03:03] Almost every fashion website and broadcaster in America uses MediaRadar.
• [03:17] They believe they increase sales by 8-18% per year for each company.
• [03:45] Most of their business is people actually selling the ads.
• [04:00] They work across media formats.
• [04:42] MR has over 2000 customers and they have grown by about 30% per year.
• [05:10] It is a challenge to maintain that growth year over year.
• [05:33] The median customer spends about $25,000/year for their subscription.
• [06:00] The first 100 customers were achieved by strategizing.
• [06:12] They wanted to the first 20 customers to be from very small businesses.
• [06:38] Bigger companies are sometimes slower on the trigger.
• [06:54] They also wanted to be able to improve using feedback before approaching bigger conglomerates. Smaller companies are better partners and listeners.
• [07:35] After the first 20, they looked for companies that would make quick decisions.
• [08:15] They ruled out publicly held companies or any with procurement departments.
• [08:47] Last year, MR did around $50 Million in business.
• [09:10] The most important thing Todd has learned is that you need to provide value back to the ecosystem you serve.
• [09:45] Sometimes, this means providing free insight to the people you serve.
• [10:06] Thought leadership is important, as well.
• [10:40] At conferences, they don’t try to sell, but rather talk about industry trends and how to be a good partner.
• [11:15] MR has booths at conferences, which are big investments, but a great way to get your name out there.
• [12:15] Be diligent about collecting information: if you meet someone at a conference, get their name and put that into a database. Track your interactions in all forms.
• [12:57] MR has built profiles on people over time.
• [13:45] They are really playing the long game.
• [14:12] It is very hard to force a true relationship. You have to earn the right to talk to someone.
• [15:20] In his last company, Todd never worked in sales.
• [16:10] It weighed on him that he never understood sales.
• [16:25] There is huge value for a CEO to meet with clients.
• [16:41] Don’t be an armchair quarterback, lead the charge.
• [17:00] His biggest failure was not putting himself on the front lines in his last company.
• [18:02] It’s hard to identify middling employees and clear them out.
• [18:35] Even if they are nice, they have to go.
• [19:05] You need people who can deliver quick results in order to grow your company.
• [19:55] During review periods, try to question how well a person is doing.
• [20:22] MR has been employee a helpful metric to weed out employees.
• [20:50] Predictive Index is less known than Myers-Briggs, but Todd likes it better.
• [21:35] One helpful tip Todd believes in is consistently upgrading your equipment (laptops, phones, etc.).
• [22:22] He doesn’t want to spend his time worrying about battery life, so he will upgrade purely because he knows the newest phone will have a better lifespan.
• [23:00] Todd recommends the book written by one of the founders of Sony.

Resources From This Interview:

• MediaRadar
• Todd@mediaradar.com
• Must-read book: Made in Japan by Aiko Morita

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