Show Notes | April 26, 2021 | Episode 101

This episode is sponsored by our military spouse employment partner Stay at Home Profit. 

What is the career certification that can make a one-man team feel like a robust department of 100 people firing on all cylinders? CRMs! That's Customer Relationship Management systems, a resource that tracks where a person or business is in the buying cycle.

CRMs give companies a road map to know where the customer is and forecasts what their next move may be. They also take a lot of the manual labor out of the process by collecting information about customers and automatically sending them ways to interact with a company or brand. 

Our guest Francisco Oller Garcia has built a career out of learning tech certifications, like CRMs and social media, that support the digital marketing industry. He currently designs innovative group health strategies that transform the idea and culture of health care.

He is an MBA with a marketing concentration who has been recognized as a 2020 “Rising Star” by Employee Benefit Adviser, named a “Top 10 Marketing Operations Leader” by Chatfunnels and recognized as a LinkedIn Sales Star.

Francisco is always on a roll – literally – because he is in a wheelchair. Francisco does not shy away from the fact that he is a person with a physical disability. He is proud to share his story and his success.

If you are trying to break into remote work now, digital marketing is a great way to go. Some digital marketing certifications can be achieved in less than 24 hours and give you the unique edge you need to land a remote role.   

Up until the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest challenge over the past five years has been trying to get companies to realize the opportunity and value of remote work. Since there are now so many people out there looking for remote work, you must find new ways to differentiate yourself. That is where certifications come in. 

CRM certs are great for people who:

Are intentionally curious.Enjoy testing, experimenting, and repeating.Are good at simplifying processes.

A lot of entry-level digital marketing positions will require candidates to be certified in a CRM tool.

There are so many different CRMs out there, but the important thing is to master at least one of them really well because most companies offer training on their specific system.

Here are a few of Francisco’s favorites:

HubSpot: One of the most popular, it not only allows you to send email, maintain your database and lists, but also connects to your website so you can see customer patterns.  HubSpot Sales Enablement: If you understand total alignment from marketing to sales it makes you a rock star! Salespeople love marketers who understand how they need the data and how they act upon it.Hootsuite: It gives you a great idea of how social media aligns with your overall marketing strategy.Drift Conversational Marketing: It teaches you how to be more conversational when crafting playbooks and strategies such as influencing the person by asking questions and making them the driver of interactions.

Here is Francisco’s advice for those who are interested in earning a CRM or social media cert:

If you take 10 to 15 minutes a day to watch a few videos and go through a few exercises before you know it, you will have a CRM or social media certification.Many of these certifications can be achieved in one day but if you space the learning out they may stick with you longer.Reach out to a CRM or social media company if you want to obtain a certification that is out of your price range. They understand that people need to level up and if your interests are aligned with theirs, they may give you a discount.Be hungry to learn. There is no hack in life. Learning is the only hack. It is the way we feed our innovation and creativity.

Francisco says the secret to maintaining his status as in-demand talent is always finding a way to connect deeper and never forget...