With football season in full swing and people everywhere fretting about their fantasy line ups, it got me thinking about what my Inbound Marketing Fantasy Team might look like. Honestly, I'm not much of football guy, but if you could assemble some of the best operators and marketers in the world, here's my wish list of who those people would be:
- CEO Sheryl Sandberg- If you are looking for a person to lead a company that is focused on creating appealing and targeted content, Sheryl Sandberg is the person to do it. As COO of Facebook, whose user generated content supports it's rich advertising platform, Ms. Sandberg has championed smart growth and has built a very efficient company of a little over 3,500 employees that can support billions of users. Follow Sheryl @sherylsandberg
- CTO Dharmesh Shah- Alright, full disclosure here. I am a big fan of Dharmesh's. Like me, Dharmesh is a technologist at heart. But his blend of technical, leadership and marketing skills truly make him remarkable (and someone I strive to emulate). Plus, he doesn't sleep much - another trait I have, unfortunately. Follow Dharmesh @dharmesh
- CMO Rand Fishkin- Unlike me, Rand does like football. And content. And analytics. Rand, in my opinion, is sort of the embodiment of inbound marketing in human form. A speaker, student of analytics, and content aficionado, all wrapped into one. Rand is an evangelist. Follow Rand @randfish
- CCO (Chief Content Officer) Ted Sarandos - As head of content for Netflix, Mr. Sarandos is seeking to double Netflix's spending on original shows. If you are looking to create valuable original content with a $2 billion programming budget, you're a friend of mine. Content is the fuel of the inbound marketing bus and the more of it you have, the further it will take you.
- CSO (Chief Sales Officer) Frank Belzer- Another personal favorite of mine, Frank knows a little something about the sales shift that inbound marketing has created. He's a great sales coach that can help you deconstruct opportunities and figure out the best approach to closing the deal. Follow Frank @fbelzer
So that's my list. Not exhaustive and not exclusive, but hopefully it offers some food for thought. Who else would you include? Who might you exclude - and why? I'd be interested in finding out.