Our ‘Profile: A Day in the Life of’ feature takes a look at some of the global professionals working across performance marketing. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the flourishing industry. This week it’s over to Austin, Texas to meet the VP client services at Schaaf-PartnerCentric.
Name:
Julie Ávila.
Job title and company:
Vice president of client services, Schaaf-PartnerCentric.
In one sentence, how would you describe what the company does?
Schaaf-PartnerCentric provides premium affiliate management services to retail and lead advertisers looking for top line growth, bottom line profit, or optimal technical implementation.
What are the company’s unique selling points?
Schaaf-PartnerCentric works diligently to understand the marketplace, gather data from our 75+ managed programs, set benchmarks, and provide program recommendations to our clients based on these insights. We feel with have a unique view of the marketplace and seek to give our clients a competitive edge based on this data and experience.
Within the last six months/year, what stands out as the company’s major milestones?
We’ve had several exciting developments in the last six months! At the end of 2014, we were proud to acquire one of our competitors, Paulson Management Group. The acquisition expanded our data insights and we have been able to leverage that to become a better agency.
In January of 2015, we officially launched coreOPM, a sister company that provides low-cost, high-value affiliate program management for small businesses. We are excited to be able to offer two separate service levels of affiliate program management, based on the clients’ needs. Our most recent milestone is a shift in the leadership here. Our long-time CEO and affiliate industry champ, Brook Schaaf, moved into a company Chairman role. In his place, current COO Stephanie Harris will serve as Interim CEO. These huge changes have positioned Schaaf-PartnerCentric for large-scale growth in 2015. I’m excited to see what develops for us over the next 12 months!
Duration in current role:
One month and counting! My previous position was director of affiliate management here at Schaaf-PartnerCentric so it was a natural move.
Where are you based?
The company is headquartered in Austin, TX at Fourth St. and Congress Ave. Our account management, business development and technology teams work remotely across the United States and internationally.
Previous performance marketing-related companies you have worked at:
I worked at CJ Affiliate by Conversant from 2008 through 2013. This role gave me a unique view into the development of a tracking platform and agency services. I started as an advertising account manager and was in an advertising account director position when I moved to Schaaf-PartnerCentric.
What are your main job responsibilities?
I manage company profitability, client contract renegotiations, provide sales support, and serve as the account management team lead. I directly manage a team of 15 affiliate managers and work closely with them to develop strategic, measurable campaigns to increase client satisfaction.
Take us through what you get up to on a typical working Monday:
For me, Mondays are all about department updates. All of our key departments such as sales, marketing, operations, business development, and affiliate management, meet in the morning and go over successes, needs and strategies. It sets my immediate priorities while allowing me to connect with each department head.
What top three websites can you be found browsing during your lunch hour?
Lunch hour? What’s that? I would much rather get my blood flowing during any down time – I try to walk my dogs or hit the gym during that ever-elusive hour. I do tend to browse LinkedIn for networking updates, Bloomberg.com for my business news, and Pinterest for crafty ideas for my kids in the evenings.
What are your top three tips for someone looking to get their hands on a job like yours?
- Hire right and surround yourself with smart people who support each other and support the company culture. I wouldn’t be able to do my job without the support and hard work of my amazing team. Always be looking at opportunities to extend to your teams and employees and give them the tools to be successful in their jobs. If they have your help and support in this regard, you will build a stronger, more motivated team by empowering them.
- Learn what makes a client profitable for your company and, most importantly, do not be afraid to walk away from unprofitable clients.
- Be confident!
Career-wise, where do you see yourself in three years’ time?
I hope to continue to serve an even-larger client base here at Schaaf-PartnerCentric.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I think everyone has figured out by now that I am a jokester but what they may not know is that I was married on April 1st. Yes, I was married on April Fool’s Day. I take my clowning ways very seriously.