New President of Sales Shares Career Insights and Opportunities for Sales Team

Marc Siegel, President, Sales recently was promoted to run the Simulmedia advertising team. With many challenges and opportunities in the current marketplace, we sat down with him to learn more about his career and vision for the sales team as they navigate the many marketplace challenges and opportunities in the TV and CTV advertising landscape.

What do you do in your current role within the Advertising team at Simulmedia?

I lead the sales team that is responsible for generating revenue for the company. I collaborate with Adam Quinn, SVP, Sales to design our go-to-market strategy and align our people to execute our plan. In addition, I am in the market developing opportunities and identifying partnerships with marketers and agencies to scale our business. I partner with our CEO to effectively communicate with our Board our go-to-market strategy and meet with Board members individually to garner insights on how to do my job better. Lastly, I’m a mentor and coach to my team and lead by example.

Can you share insights into your journey to leading the Simulmedia Advertising team? 

I began my professional career playing minor league hockey where I learned to focus on what I can control, and that personal discipline is vital to success. After 3 years, I hung up the gear and decided that advertising was what interested me, so I joined an agency and worked there for 7 years. I worked on Coca-Cola, Pfizer and 3M business, and handled media planning duties with a focus on strategy and TV planning. From there, I moved to ad sales at U.S. News and World Report where I was part of the digital transformation of the business. At US News, I learned how to be a challenger brand in a competitive market and focus on my clients needs. When I had the opportunity to join Simulmedia, I knew that this was my chance to use my professional experience to accelerate my career and work with the smartest people in the industry.

What are the most significant experiences and lessons you've learned as you ascended to your current leadership position, and how do you intend to apply them in your role?

Number one is learning by doing - this allows me to coach my team and be an effective leader. Second, is that grit and perseverance are the traits I look for when building my team. Number 3, is that our industry is complex, so making sure we have attention to detail on all aspects of our day to day is extremely important. Lastly, I’ve learned that relationships matter more than ever, so empowering my team to always be empathetic to our clients and teammates is important to help the business thrive.

What were the biggest challenges you faced when climbing the ladder in advertising sales, and how did you overcome them?

I've always been in a challenger sales role where my offering wasn't on the “must buy list.” Because of this, I've had to identify where I spend my time and learn how to design our offering to ensure my customers see the value. Challenging the status quo is not easy but extremely rewarding. Overcoming objections has empowered me to truly enjoy what I do and has allowed me to overcome obstacles.

Can you describe your leadership style and how it has evolved throughout your career in advertising sales? 

“Leading by example” and "Show Don’t Tell” are 1 and 1A. I’ve learned how to listen more and be more open to feedback and how I can get better. I continually emphasize individual accountability but understand that teamwork wins. The most important evolution I’ve made is bringing more empathy to my role and being able to communicate better with my co-workers.

Can you outline specific long-term goals you aim to achieve in your role, and how these goals align with the company's overall objectives?

I want to bring more sustainable, predictable growth for the business by leading large scale enterprise partnerships in the market. Key verticals like pharma and DTC brand-performance advertisers will be key initiatives for sustainable growth. In addition, integrating our platform into independent agencies will transform our business from IO based deals to enterprise deals with recurring revenue. In this way, the company will be able to achieve its overall objectives. Lastly, I want to mentor and groom young talent to be the next leaders in our industry and have fruitful experience at Simulmedia and share in our wins.

Which are the top opportunities you see for Simulmedia and how do you envision scaling your advertising team to meet the evolving needs of our clients and the industry?

Helping brands and agencies become smarter with their premium video investment. Showcasing how our technology can plan and allocate budgets to minimize over frequency and ensure ads are reaching the right people. I’m a TV fan and I see how ads run indiscriminately across the landscape. I want to encourage my team to be passionate about this problem as many industries rely on advertising to drive business growth. I want to position Simulmedia as the brain that powers allocation decisions across television, and soon, video games.

What strategies have you/or plan to implement to keep your Advertising Sales team competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace?

We have re-organized our sales team to align their strengths to the role we need to be successful. We have instituted on-going, weekly training to ensure all sellers have the tools to successfully execute our strategy. We’ve created team meetings with more positivity that empowers the team to communicate more effectively. In this way, we have created peer-to-peer training and greater collaboration. In addition, we encourage all team members to be in the market at industry and networking events to foster personal development and market intelligence.

What key market opportunities do you foresee for Simulmedia in the next 3-5 years?

I see Simulmedia being able to forge key partnerships across the industry. Being an independent technology platform will allow us to create diverse revenue streams for linear, CTV, cross-channel, and gaming revenue. Our audience-first approach will allow our partners to use our tech and services to align to their business objectives. As Simulmedia continues to innovate, we will unlock new opportunities to build scale.