Socially Focused, LLC was founded in 2016 as a digital marketing agency that offers result oriented digital marketing solutions exclusively for Local Businesses. Gidget Pugh’s talented team has has over 20 years of experience working for companies in and around Silicon Valley, such as Oracle, JP Morgan Chase, Facebook, and countless other startups.
FWM: Your innate ability to build and foster relationships has led you to success. Share your background.
Yes, so, three months into my first sales job, I attended a Dale Carnegie sales training that, for me, reinforced the power of TRUST. “People buy from people they know-like-trust.” Earning someone’s trust came easy for me because my parents drilled this quality into me at a very early age. So, not only did I understand this logic, it was a part of the fabric of what makes me, me. Building trust paired with my gift of persuasion. Growing up with a strict mother that was something I had to do frequently. I remember, being in the seventh grade, successfully negotiating a sweet deal with my mother. The deal was if she let me transfer from private school to public school for my eighth and ninth school year, I would find a way to get into Oakland High School, her alma mater, for high school. I still claim that as the biggest deal ever.
That said, building trust and the art of persuasion are two traits of a good sales professional, and fortunately for me, these traits are part of the fabric of who I am.
FWM: You are known as “The Real California Gidget.” Tell us more.
During my sales career, I covered the east coast territory while living on the west coast. Whenever I plan trips to visit existing clients, I would always try to get meetings with a few prospects. While planning one of my travels, I called the SVP of IT Timberland, asking for 30 minutes with him. After a little persuading, he agreed to meet with me. When I walked into his office, he immediately said, “I loved the TV show GIDGET and that’s the ONLY reason I agreed to meet with you. Now I can say, I’ve met the real California Gidget. He and I talked for nearly 30 minutes about my name and the other 15 minutes was spent talking business. Two weeks later he signed a nice sized deal with me. This was the first of many times I heard people say, “Is this the real California Gidget?” Growing up with the name Gidget was torture however as an adult Gidget was the silver bullet that got me in many doors.
FWM: How are you a trailblazer?
When I landed in Silicon Valley, I knew no one, and I knew very little about technology. I went to school to become a mortician, but life happened. I got pregnant with my daughter, and I wanted to give her a wonderful life. Unfortunately, being a mortician wasn’t going to provide me with the financial freedom I needed to raise a kid. It was going to take time to build, the time I didn’t have. So, after thinking through my options, I chose Software Sales. Although I knew nothing about software, I knew me, and I knew I had this child. So, I researched my option, and I decided on sales because if I could get good at it, I could make a lot of money. I landed an inside sales position at QRS, Corp., and less than six months, I found my stride; I became the first inside sales representative to sell a seven hundred and fifty thousand dollar deal over the phone. That deal got me quickly recognized in the company, and I was quickly promoted to an Account Manager; I became the first Account Manager to go to President’s Club. Within 18 months of my first promotion came yet another promotion, this time, I was promoted to an Outside Sales Executive, with a significant relocation budget that moved me to New York. There I became the first Outside Sales Executive to close a deal that required my client’s east coast retailer Boscov’s, to outsource their entire Electric Data Interchange department to QRS. During a performance review, my VP of Sales called me a pit bull in a skirt. In her words, Gidget will focus on an opportunity, and like a pitbull, she will lockdown on it, overcoming any and all objections that may be thrown at her.
I didn’t stop there; I went on the close a deal with Major League baseball that generated over one million in first-year billings. These are just a few examples that deem me a trailblazer.
FWM: What made you realize that a strong personal brand was critical to your success?
It did not take me long. Silicon Valley has the best sales professionals from elite schools, and if I wanted to survive, I had to differentiate myself. An African American woman showing up to a customer meeting with just a Oracle business card with my name on it wasn’t going to cut it. From day one, I knew setting myself apart was key to my success. It’s funny because back then, personal branding wasn’t a thing. I just knew I had to connect with my customers so that they didn’t see color or gender, and that’s what I did. I showed up on time for the meetings. I came overly prepared; I listened. I had an in-depth knowledge of the industry. If I didn’t know something, I wasn’t afraid to say so, but more importantly, I allowed my customers to see the authentic side of me, which could not be duplicated, and I found people valued what I brought to the table.
FWM: Tell us about your company, Socially Focused.
Socially Focused, LLC is birthed out of my love for Oakland, CA, and my passion for helping people win. As a native of Oakland, California, I saw tech companies infiltrating my city, pushing longtime local business owners out due to rising rents. I knew I had to do something. So, I said farewell to Corporate America, and I founded Socially Focused, LLC.
Socially Focused, LLC, is a digital marketing agency focused on helping local business owners leverage the sales and marketing methodologies used by fortune 500 companies, information technology, and the internet to aggressively compete with the bigger brands at an affordable cost.
FWM: What have you learned as a result of the pandemic?
This pandemic taught me, you can turn tragedy into opportunity. It’s no secret that COVID has changed the way people do business.
As we all are witnessing, Covid-19 has dramatically changed how people interact with one another. Worldwide lockdowns and social distancing require individuals and businesses to communicate virtually more than ever. This means more online competition for small business owners.
That said, my business needed a solution to help small business owners maintain or gain a competitive advantage. After a few assessments, it became crystal clear adding personal branding would be the silver bullet for small business owners.
Having a personal brand will allow them to build more trust between their business, and consumers. It also boosts their reputation and motivates others to want to do business with them over the competition. In the words of Dale Carnegie, ” People like to do business with those they know, like and trust.”
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