Wiredrive
I joined IOWA Interactive as their first Sales Rep in 2005 to sell web design services. They found a niche building websites for commercial production companies and wanted me to help them expand their business by selling a new SaaS platform called Wiredrive, a software for online production and promotion.
Since I’d already established relationships with commercial and music video production companies as a Below-the-Line Agent at Montana Artists Agency, it was an easy transition. Instead of selling talent, I sold web design and technology; but the audience was the same. In my first year, I contributed to increasing new business by 72%.
I built a strong administrative backbone and infrastructure to support long-term growth for their target audience of advertising agencies, production & post production companies. I developed and documented the sales pipeline and on-boarding process. I built, managed and audited the database, customized our CRM system, and handled the mailing list management and email marketing. In addition, I recruited, hired and trained all sales reps and account managers. By 2010, I managed 9 of the 21 employees.
In 2007, after ranking the highest performing sales rep for two years in a row, contributing to increasing new business by 161%, I was promoted to VP of Sales and Marketing. I led dozens of group demos and training sessions, like the Wiredrive 2.0 Upgrade and New Feature Launch.
By 2008, Wiredrive became so profitable that we stopped offering web design to focus solely on software development, and the company officially changed its name to Wiredrive.
Between 2009 - 2010, I earned certifications in agile development from the Scrum Alliance. First, I became a ScrumMaster and then a Scrum Product Owner.
I adapted Scrum principals to sales and marketing in terms of planning, forecasting, and reporting. I created roadmaps, backlogs and sprints and held “post mortems” after every event, sponsorship or sales trip. I learned how to manage expectations with the three male partners of Wiredrive, sales reps and development. In fact, I had a great relationship with the Head of Development and we’re still friends to this day. I excelled at being a liaison between development and support.
Not only was I responsible for bringing in the big accounts, I also managed and advised them. I worked with producers, sales reps and editors to translate their traditional “offline” processes into “online” workflows. I became an expert at organizing, managing and presenting digital assets to improve productivity and efficiency.
As the company grew, we branched out into working with brands directly, such as Nike and Sprint.
“Erika brought the Wiredrive concept to me while I was at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners and her expertise, willing to work within our budget and her creative insight on how the Wiredrive product would make us work more efficiently and bring into the digital world was superlative. We used it as a Beta on the Sprint Telecommunications account and then it was adopted by the entire agency a year later, to rave reviews, both internally and by our clients.
I am sure she would bring the same results in any endeavor she undertakes, as her knowledge and results coupled with her creative ideas sold me on the idea immediately.”
Additionally, I managed public relations, sponsorships and partnerships. I produced dozens of parties and dinners, collaborations with clients and unique events all over the world from “scooting” around Cannes, to after parties in New York (The Box and AICP After Party).
Moreover, I built community around the Wiredrive brand by hosting events that created content for social media and made a positive impact, like “greening” production, supporting women in digital, and “Framing the Future” of creativity and technology.
I also expanded Wiredrive into new markets like Broadcast Marketing and Design through the Sponsorship for the Promax / BDA Awards which included an integrated campaign that consisted of interviewing high profile speakers, video production, website production, online advertising and PR.
Furthermore, my strategy at SXSW Interactive in 2010 led to digital companies signing up for Wiredrive. It also increased brand awareness, social media engagement and interaction, and drove thousands of views to the Wiredrive-powered microsite that showcased behind-the-scenes content.
In 2017, SHIFT Media bought Wiredrive and MediaSilo, combining the companies. SHIFT is the world's largest SaaS platform for video-driven creative workflows with more than 2,000 enterprise customers worldwide.