Nick Salvatoriello, also known as Nick Sal, is a former HubSpot consultant who spent years running HubSpot’s partner training program but is now a partner and the vice president of client services at the Boston-based agnecy Innovative Marketing Resources (IMR).
A quick overview
IMR started life in 2010 as a spinoff of Innovative Fulfillment Services, a print-based marketing agency that, Nick says, had “caught the HubSpot bug.”
The owners, Kevin Jorgensen and Joe Pettirossi, brought in their first consultant, Max Traylor, to facilitate the turn toward inbound. Nick, who had worked with Max while at HubSpot, eventually replaced Max at IMR.
“I wanted to be part of it. I didn’t want to just talk about it,” Nick says, adding that he sees leaving HubSpot (a decision he explains in more detail in a blog post) as a “civil service” that enables him to share and apply the knowledge he gained during his time at HubSpot. Although he has only been at IMR a few months, he is excited about the opportunities this new path offers.
“I’ve never in my life been so motivated to jump out of bed in the morning… I chose this future for myself that I’m helping build here,” Nick says.
In this episode (Nick’s second appearance on the show), Nick discusses the origins and evolution of the Content Marketer’s Blueprint, the importance of having tough conversations with clients, and his decision to have everyone work from the IMR office.
The CMB
- During the early days of HubSpot (there were only about a dozen consultants when Nick started), Nick saw the need for a blueprint that HubSpot partner agencies could follow.
- This blueprint would include spreadsheets, questionnaires, blog post ideas, template outlines, and different offers for different stages.
- “I can’t really show a customer what success looks like… For some people we’re just laying bricks; for other people, we’re building a cathedral. What does the cathedral look like that I’m trying to sell this customer?… If they don’t really know what the ultimate strategy looks like, they’re not going to be that motivated after the initial excitement of purchasing the product and getting started wears off.” – Nick
- IMR developed the blueprint under Nick’s auspices while he was at HubSpot.
- Unfortunately, the model they created for selling the blueprint to other agencies proved to be neither scalable nor sustainable.
- When Nick joined IMR, he scaled down the CMB program, limiting it to about a dozen key agencies and making it more of a focus group.
- This limitation allows IMR to refine and expand upon the blueprint using tools like PandaDoc.
Tough Conversations
- A recent IMR client seemed ideal at first, but later showed signs of internal miscommunication that Nick took as a red flag.
- It’s easy to think that everything is going to work out perfectly with a client based on early conversations.
- Joe Pettirossi offered the client the opportunity to end their relationship with IMR on good terms, but the client decided to stay.
- The client appreciated IMR’s flexibility and ability to serve as a pivot point for internal communications.
- This new information allowed IMR to better serve the client.
- “We would never have known that if we didn’t push back and test the entire relationship itself… I’ve found that diving headfirst into these more difficult conversations that some people might avoid has been our strength… We can oftentimes reengage stronger than if we had just kept that under the radar and gritted our teeth and did our best.”
Working from the Office
- Nick has decided that, until IMR becomes better established, none of his employees will be allowed to work remotely.
- Working remotely doesn’t provide the quick and efficient communication they need during this transitional stage.
- “Trust and collaboration is super important in these crucial days… we’re pivoting and adjusting on a daily basis… We’re finishing each other’s sentences and anticipating each other’s moves.” – Nick
- Centralizing the team at the office also allows Nick to focus on time tracking.
- Keep in mind that everyone works differently.
- Be aggressive and thorough without being tyrannical.
- Nick is still working on finding a balance between meetings and work.
- Spending too much time in meetings can interrupt workflow.
- IMR has about seven issue-specific meetings per week.
- Issues include internal lead generation, account reviews, skill development, and content production.
