We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristina Martinez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristina below.

Kristina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

Sometimes you have amazing experiences at jobs and sometimes you have… learning experiences!

I have two examples of past bosses that taught me what NOT to be as a leader and business owner.

First, I had a boss many years ago that-to put it frankly-was a compulsive liar. It was the most bizarre experience having to work for someone who was constantly building her tall tales higher and higher for no reason at all. Slowly it became clear to everyone that we couldn’t trust her to do anything she said and would throw others under the bus to save herself. It created a toxic environment in which no one respected our own superior, and it felt like we were having to work against her to get anything done.
It taught me everything I never want to be as a leader, and an environment I’m very aware to never create in my business.

Next, I worked for an owner that just didn’t have a consistent vision for their business. They would pivot year to year and didn’t practice what they preached about transparency and communication. It felt like we were never able to make a dent on our goals for any given year because we were always told to switch directions. You could ask anyone at the company and get 10 different answers regarding what we’re supposed to be working toward.
This taught me to have a very clear and simple vision to work toward. Don’t overcomplicate or try to do too much at once. You can’t sell your team on a goal if they don’t know what it is. And be realistic about timelines, you can’t pivot every time you see something else that’s new and shiny. Building a strong brand takes time!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a marketing nerd point-blank. From the psychology of buying to what color palette to use. My 10+ years of work in the industry speaks to my never-ending want to keep learning and growing.

So after I was laid off from my marketing agency gig (whomp-whomp) It was now or never to take the leap and start my own company to focus on the parts of marketing I love most-Strategy and Social Media Marketing.

I specialize in ad management for established businesses that want to up their sales game with social media ads and want a marketing partner that looks at their efforts from a strategic approach and handles the execution from beginning to end. All you need to do is let me know what we’re promoting and where it falls in your sales funnel.

I create, test, optimize, and manage ads on an ongoing basis for my clients for a stress-free experience. My goal is to get you as hands off as possible so you can focus on the areas of business that need you!

While I offer various one-time marketing services to help clients that want to handle their own marketing, the core of what I offer is 30 day lead generation services and on-going ads management.

I’m proud of the level of service I am able to provide as I am a small agency and only take on a limited number of clients at a time. It’s very personalized to each client and their needs. I love that I am able to combine that with my 10 years of marketing experience. It’s like you get the knowledge of a big agency but on a personal level. I get to work closely with clients and build my knowledge on their business to better help them- it’s a win-win!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to-and still am-unlearning being a people pleaser to a fault.
I always wanted to make clients happy, even if it wasn’t in their best interest. I told myself they’re paying me so who am I to tell them no? But I realized telling them no when my expertise knows better, is exactly what they’re paying me for! Sometimes explaining why I advise against it, and giving a better alternative or proposing an opportunity to brainstorm for a more successful option is the right answer.
It’s also ok to set boundaries for myself. Again, wanting to please everyone I put myself in positions I didn’t have to and was taken advantage of. Having clear boundaries just as my clients have theirs is not wrong, mean, or unprofessional. In fact I would say it’s the opposite! I set clear expectations for my clients to set us up for success and it works out great! No guessing what’s going on or when to expect communication.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

I think of a time that I was training a colleague and she came on a marketing meeting with me to meet a new prospect. It was the first time she’d see me in action.

We met with a gentleman who wasn’t sure about working with us, and didn’t know where to start with his marketing efforts or if this was just a waste of time. The energy was low and honestly, he was kind of rude. We talked about his goals and came up with some big ideas getting excited about what we could do together! I’m someone who matches energy and as he got more excited, I got excited, and we were just ready to party as the meeting continued! Haha! I gave him his next steps and to call me when he was done! He walked out jazzed and ready to go!

My colleague and I got in my car and she said she was so intimidated! I’m the least intimidating person in the world so I laughed! She couldn’t believe I got someone who didn’t even want to work with us SO EXCITED and couldn’t wait to call me. That the energy I got out of that meeting was something she didn’t know if she could do! (Spoiler she’s amazing!)

It was a big compliment that stuck with me years later, especially since in the moment I was just doing my job- I didn’t know I was doing anything special at all.

I realized being good at working with people isn’t about being salesy and pushing someone to work with you. That feels yucky for everyone. It’s about getting people excited about what you can do for them! When you feel confident in what you offer, and you’re excited about it, people vibe off that! They can feel it and they get excited too! It’s your biggest secret weapon, so if you don’t LOVE what you do just know clients can tell.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://neonsandia.com
• Instagram: neon_sandia
• Other: Email: [email protected]