Alan See, the CMO at CMO Temps, LLC, is an experienced executive who consistently achieves his objectives. He has obtained both BBA and MBA degrees from Abilene Christian University.
In addition to serving as the CMO, Mr. See is also the owner and founder of the organization. He takes pride in his role and is not afraid to stop jobs or assignments that no longer align with his strengths or background. Mr. See believes that it’s essential to be passionate about the strategies he develops and supports. As such, he does not invest himself in strategies that he doesn’t believe in or would find challenging to endorse.
Mr. See has been acknowledged by Forbes as one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Chief Marketing Officers on Social Media”. Moreover, he has been recognized as the American Marketing Association’s “Marketer of the Year” for both content marketing and social media marketing. Additionally, Mr. See has served as an Associate Professor of Marketing and is an active blogger and frequent presenter, providing valuable insights to organizations looking to develop marketing strategies and sales initiatives for profitable growth. Recently, he was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who.
Marketing with a Sales Background
Mr. See began his business career in sales, where he worked both as an individual sales representative and as a sales manager responsible for a specific territory and quota. This first-hand experience of the sales process enables him to appreciate the challenges and pressures that salespeople face in meeting their targets. As a management consultant and CMO, Mr. See has provided services to and collaborated with numerous renowned brands, such as IBM, Cap Gemini, Teradata, SAS Institute, NCR Corporation, and AT&T. Additionally, he has worked with startups and SMBs that may not have an international presence.
Focusing on Client Requirements
Mr. See understands the importance of listening to clients to understand their needs. Some organizations may not be ready to hire a permanent, full-time Chief Marketing Officer, and he recognized the need to create a solution to address this gap. That is how CMO Temps (http://www.cmotemps.biz/ ) (https://youtu.be/WQ65hckwHEk ) was born: to provide a solution for organizations that require the expertise of a Chief Marketing Officer but may not be ready to commit to a full-time hire. He believes in agility and recognizes that running an organization as a committee can be counterproductive. He operates as both the product and the service in his organization, and he leverages the expertise of skilled freelancers across various disciplines to fill gaps as needed. This approach enables him to maintain low costs and move quickly and purposefully towards his goals.
Building Trust is Key
In a B2B environment individuals and brands engage with people they know, like and trust. And trust is crucial since most transactions are impossible without it. To build an organization’s trustworthiness, Mr. See leverages his trust equation that states:
Trust = (Rapport x Credibility) / Risk
Mr. See works, to cultivate rapport and credibility while simultaneously reducing risk, through content marketing that is delivered through engaging social media channels. When an organization consistently practices these three elements trust and brand awareness are sure to grow.
Company Culture and Change
The importance of a company’s culture cannot be overstated. It plays a crucial role in determining how effectively any proposed changes will be implemented within the organization. However, an employee who seeks to introduce change may find the existing culture to be a significant obstacle. Even the most innovative plan to enhance a company’s online presence may fail to gain traction if the prevailing culture is resistant to change. On a personal level, Mr. See’s background attending both the United States Naval Academy and Abilene Christian University has instilled in him values focused on faith and honor.
Key to Innovation
According to Mr. See, there are three crucial factors when it comes to the importance of introducing new and innovative ideas within a company:
- Resources are essential, and while it may seem obvious, it’s more common to fail due to underspending than overspending. However, resources such as people, time, and money are often limited, so it’s important to focus on the most promising ideas and invest in them.
- Persistence is crucial because not all good ideas work right away. Resistance from colleagues and partners may need to be overcome before the idea gains traction. In extreme cases, a separate unit or contractors may need to be brought in to help.
- Cultivating a learning culture is essential to fostering innovation. This means taking risks and learning from mistakes, which enables continuous transformation and encourages critical thinking and employee growth. Learning organizations embrace and support new ideas and allow room for experimentation.
Teamwork with Accountability
It’s true that teamwork can often lead to greater success, as the acronym TEAM suggests: Together Everyone Achieves More. Mr. See has studied the benefits, drawbacks, and dynamics of teams for years, including the commonly recognized stages of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. He also reviews the “Abilene Paradox,” a story brought to life by Professor Jerry B. Harvey about how decisions can go wrong. In the corporate world, teams, and committees are prevalent, but usually, an individual is singled out for success or failure.
Advice for Emerging Visionaries
Mr. See remembers when formal business attire was mandatory for meetings and there was no Zoom, PowerPoint, smartphones, or interactive social conversations with the audience. However, the business world has evolved, and Mr. See embraces the changes. He was an early adopter of LinkedIn, joining the platform in 2002, and he is proficient in the online digital world. Mr. See recognizes that social media and content marketing have transformed the business environment, and he is committed to contributing to this transformation.
Mr. See states, “Accelerate your learning. Most organizations operate with short-term plans, so it’s crucial to quickly understand the market, products, systems, and culture. To achieve this, you need to accelerate your learning curve. As a marketer, it’s essential to be a lifelong learner. Additionally, never stop growing your personal brand, because it’s crucial to building a successful career.”
Written by Steve Sanchez.
