About Sean
Currently I am the Internet Marketing Manager for a start-up that offers cutting-edge software for K-12 school districts that allows them to extend their classrooms to the web.
In much of our marketing effort, we educate influencers (often who are teachers who have always used textbooks and are now faced with students who prefer to learn from of a computer monitor).
Our typical customer is a committee who considers adopting our system to be a major purchasing decision involving transitioning an entire school district with hundreds of teachers and 30,000 to more than 100,000 students. To our buyers, using course delivery software is a big decision. We show that implementing our system is seamless and easy.
Our sales cycle can last as long as nine months from initial sales lead to training of new users after installation.
Challenges in the Market
Since having the chance to design an online marketing plan from scratch, we have faced some exciting challenges in our market.
We face competitors who offer open-source software. Our buyers are tempted to select a tool that is "free." But there are hidden costs.
We educate our customers about the hidden costs of open-source software and the value and reliability our product offers. In some cases, a school system can adopt open-source software, but spend more in cost of implementation and maintenance. In some cases, the open-source software is never usable and only serves as job security for expensive IT staff who spend their time trying to "make it work."
What We Did
We publish informative articles to spread this message to educational bloggers, who spread the word about this hidden cost to their readers. We also key our ad campaigns to address these "hidden costs" of competitors.
How I Began in Search Engine Marketing
I transitioned into search engine marketing after acting as a webmaster for various sites. I saw trends that showed a few web pages produced the bulk of the advertising revenue and response from customers. Since then, I have applied my talents in pursuing marketing goals. I now concentrate on online marketing efforts, maximizing revenue an finding overlooked niches in the market.
My First Innovative Project
In college at The Ohio State University, I met several campus business owners who told me, "What I really need..." is to reach the students in the dorms. (Ohio State had 9,000 dorm students, but would not release address data on these rooms. However, they published a paper phone directory) Seeing a need, I hired a programmer to create a system that simplified data entry and organized my friends to enter the entire phone book into a database. After 3 weeks of typing, I sold "access" to the list to local businesses (including Coca-Cola) by offering them a service that included a flier in mailings that used my list. Results? The project paid for my tuition for two years.
Work Best
I work best in a group setting that encourages innovative ideas. I enjoy generating ideas, finding solutions, and giving recommendations. Then I expect my ideas to be evaluated by the group, rejecting what will not work, improving the most promising ideas ...resulting in the best refined plan.
Hobbies
- Weightlifting
- Buying & re-selling on Ebay for a profit
- Fitness Photography
- Editing (Working with writers)
Contacting Me
You can contact me in two ways:
Via LinkedIN
Via Email
Email me at 
