We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Klint Ciriaco. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Klint below.
Klint, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.
Let me tell you about my current boss. When he hired me he said, “I won’t tell you what to do. You’ll tell ME what to do and I’ll give you the resources to get them done.”
Of course, he vetoes my ideas if they’re too wild or terrible. But for the most part, he gives me creative freedom which makes me effective at my job.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a full time marketer and part time CrossFit trainer. Shameless plug, visit us at CrossFit Endemic in Fountain, CO, and I’ll give you the best hour of your day.
I also make videos on the side for business owners. I have my FAA drone pilot license so if you need a drone video feel free to reach out to me.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
There was a group I worked with and hundreds of people would be left without food if their truck broke down. And trust me, their truck was “dying”.
This was a pro bono work I did for a food bank called the Chicken Church (fun name, right?). I met them at a Bacon Festival and they were selling food to raise money for their organization. Then, I noticed their truck – it was on its last leg. The tires were balder than Mr. Clean and parts of the engine were held together by duct tape.
They used that truck to pick up food for the homeless. If it were to break down, a lot of people would be left hungry. So I offered to help spread the word about them.
But, I had a huge problem: I didn’t have the budget for Facebook or TV ads and neither did they.
So we decided to reach out to news stations. Unfortunately, even that idea was an uphill battle. Our messages would’ve been another text in a cacophony of emails in their inbox. So I thought, What if we flood them with the same message to a point where they can’t ignore us?
So we went to work.
I first created a heart-warming video. I interviewed some people in the group, and man, they’ve had a rough life. Some were addicts, suicidal, you name it. But their lives were changed because of the organization.
I made a Facebook group afterwards. I then posted the video in it and invited about 10 of the leaders of the organization.
We were supposed to send the video to producers at the same time on a given date but I kid you not, it got leaked. So I had to take it down.
But, something surprising happened – the group members grew from about 10 to 60 strong! I guess when the video got out prematurely, people wanted to join in.
We launched two days later. Imagine tv producers receiving the same video from 60 individuals. It worked. Not only did the organization get tv coverage for free, they were all over the news for days.
I’ve run a lot of campaigns ever since, but that guerilla marketing story I just shared is still my favorite.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
These books are on my Mount Rushmore:
- Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
- Leadership Tactics and Strategies by Jocko Willink
Contact Info:
- Website: https://parabellumathlete.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klintciriaco/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/klintciriaco/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5aZ38HVo1eCO5_3XRkW2A
- Other: https://www.crossfitendemic.com/