We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michele Eichstead. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michele below.
Alright, Michele thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
My hope is at the end of my time on earth the legacy I will leave behind for my family and children is that I always put in my best effort. Helped others reached their fullest potential, took risks, set goals and crushed them, and took all the photos because there isn’t a memory that I have that can’t be found in a photo!
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.
Hi, I’m Michele. I am from Hell, Michigan. Yes, it’s a real town outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. I somewhat fell into the world of professional bass fishing. I was networking to work in NASCAR and ended up meeting a professional angler Aaron Martens who told me the fishing industry needed someone like me. Social media was just taking off and I had just graduated college with experience in social media marketing. In a marketing position there is many segments, like social media marketing, print media, web media, in person activations as well as sponsorships and athletic sponsorships. The professional bass fishing world is unlike any other sport, so it is unique to be in this industry not only in a marketing professional but because the anglers do not have a team, they are on their own when it comes to running their business. This means a lot of assistance is needed to make sure every aspect of their sponsorship is hit. We are most proud of the anglers that have come out with raises in their sponsorships, unique campaigns around themselves, their sponsors and sales, because we know marketing and sales work together closely and sales keeps the businesses moving!
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
One of my all-time favorite marketing campaigns I did with an angler was James ‘Worldwide’ Watson. We did a lot of cool things together, but our Shriners Hospital for Children campaign was somewhat risky and while it did not result in sponsorship it was fulfilling and even won James an award. We centered our campaign around James being a Shriner and raising money for the children’s hospital. Now they like St. Judes do events all year round to raise funds for the families they take care of however in professional bass fishing we travel so at every stop we had that year we did hospital visits with the kids. Each location was so welcoming and open to it. We got a group of anglers together and colored with the kids, told jokes, and helped where the nurses and parents needed it. Those days were truly cup filling not only for myself but the anglers. We raised over $10,000 each year doing the campaign for 2 years.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Networking is a Contact Sport by Joe Sweeney. This book helped me get out of my comfort zone and learn how to properly network without being the annoying person who is ‘just following up’ for the third time in a week because we all know one. And not only to network professionally but to maintain connections so when you need to call someone for help it doesn’t seem random or that you only reach out to that person when you need something. My favorite line from the book I have read several time and gifted several times is ‘networking is like cultivating a garden: nothing will ever bloom if you don’t take time to water and weed, to give plants the proper amount of attention.’
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blondegirlpromotions/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-eichstead-54530012/
Image Credits
Credits: Major League Fishing Bass 365 Bassmaster Mike Lingerfelt