The Marketing Minute: Marketing With Layers
The Right Approach: Electro-Tek—A Williams Family Legacy, Part 1
It’s Only Common Sense: If You’re Not Differentiated, You’re Dead
Catching Up With SDM’s Holland Jackson
October 15, 2024 | Dan Beaulieu, D.B. Management GroupEstimated reading time: 4 minutes
A few months ago, I received a call from Holland Jackson, founder and president of Sales Driven Marketing (SDM). To say it’s a whole new kind of sales company would be an understatement. This is a complete plug-and-play sales company that handles all aspects of the sale from SEO to lead generation to sales. I think you will be intrigued by this interview.
Dan Beaulieu: Holland, tell me about you and your company.
Holland Jackson: I love sales. I feel that I have a real connection with people. I Iove the idea that when it comes to sales there is no cap; there are no limitations. The room for growth is gigantic. If you have enough ambition and passion, you can earn as much as you want.
Beaulieu: When I first met you, I thought you were a normal, everyday rep firm, but you have convinced me it’s much more than that.
Jackson: These days, there are a lot of sales companies, but many don’t appeal directly to a niche. SDM combines marketing skills with strong sales skills. We not only know how to bring in leads, but we know what to do with them as well. We do everything a good sales organization does: We find the leads and nurture them. We establish relationships, and we successfully service our clients. We have the right disciplines in place that allow us to create account plans and forecasts for our clients. Being able to do all of these things allows us to have an exceedingly high conversion rate. I have to say we win most of the business we go after.
Beaulieu: Okay, let’s start with lead generation. Is that part of the package when a client hires you?
Jackson: In the simplest terms, if you're a manufacturing company and, for example, sell commodities, I make sure that your only job is to manufacture. You don't have to worry about your website design, SEO, advertising, etc. There’s a lot of software out there to help.
Beaulieu: Can you apply this to any kind of technology company or any kind of company?
Jackson: Yes, but right now, we're focused on manufacturers. I love the beauty of working with startup companies, which often go to manufacturers for their needs in prototyping and production. Those products consist of several different commodities, such as injection molding, PCBs, software, and programming. Sometimes, they even need DFX support. We sell all those services that manufacturers offer, from startups to multimillion-dollar companies that need a solid supplier with really good support.
Beaulieu: How do you learn the product so you can talk about it in the most technical sense?
Jackson: We are not engineers by any means. We are sales and marketing experts. We don't answer any question a client has that we don't know, so it's particularly important that we have a direct line of very good communication with whoever we're representing because we will ask qualifying questions and set up meetings with the right people. Engineers have many years of experience, and nobody can beat that, but engineers are expensive. What matters at the end of the day is that we know the product, and we know the target audience. With that knowledge, we can bring customers through the door and set them up to convert.
Beaulieu: How does this work? Let’s say I own a $10 million injection molding company, and I hire you. What happens next?
Jackson: We start withan in-person visit, and I do that myself, if possible. I want any business I work with to see the ROI they can have with us, so we start by setting goals. If you have a goal of $5 million in revenue, then you need five salespeople, and we can consistently hit that. You can reach our sales team at any time and count on us to delegate accounts.
Beaulieu: Holland, let’s wrap this up. Any closing thoughts?
Jackson: The whole point of Sales Driven Marketing is we are about marketing that drives sales. We're not just a marketing company that will say, “Hey, I got you a couple of leads.” We take those leads and convert them all the way from new customers to orders. We nurture that account to get more orders in the future. We ask all the right questions. I can confidently say, there is not a lot of competition in this industry. There's nobody as hungry as we are. Many in our age group don’t even know about this industry. We're coming in and competing against people who have been doing this for decades. We bring new energy, knowledge, and excitement, and we’re already making a powerful impact in the industry.
Beaulieu: Holland, thanks for spending time with me, and good luck to SDM and your team. I am sure you are going to be successful.
Jackson: Thank you, Dan. I appreciate you.
Share on:
Testimonial
"In a year when every marketing dollar mattered, I chose to keep I-Connect007 in our 2025 plan. Their commitment to high-quality, insightful content aligns with Koh Young’s values and helps readers navigate a changing industry. "
Brent Fischthal - Koh YoungSuggested Items
The Chemical Connection: The Practice of Doing Business in Foreign Lands
10/01/2025 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionForeign sales can be difficult and complicated, but like many U.S. companies, we deal with foreign customers through a series of authorized sales reps. We have one that covers Europe and several covering various Asian countries. We have two technical coordinators in the U.S., one who oversees Asian activities and one who covers Europe and the rest of the world.
It’s Only Common Sense: Storytelling That Sells—Stop Pitching, Start Painting Pictures
09/15/2025 | Dan Beaulieu -- Column: It's Only Common SenseLet me tell you something that most salespeople — even the ones flashing Rolexes and bragging about crushing their quotas—still haven’t figured out: Facts don’t close deals, stories do. People file away facts while they feel stories. Facts tickle the brain, but stories punch the heart, and it’s the heart that signs the check every time.
It's Only Common Sense: Leveraging AI in Your Sales Strategy
09/01/2025 | Dan Beaulieu -- Column: It's Only Common SenseLet’s get one thing straight: AI isn’t here to replace you; it’s here to make you smarter and faster. Every time a new tool shows up, half the sales floor panics: “They’re going to automate us out of a job!” This is shouted while doomscrolling LinkedIn. Relax. Sales is still, and will always be, about human connection, trust, and delivering value. However, if you’re not using AI to your advantage, you’re handing your competitors a loaded gun and asking them to shoot first.
Lessons From a Thousand Columns: Dan Beaulieu on Writing, Selling, and Staying the Course
08/21/2025 | Michelle Te, I-Connect007For 20 years, Dan Beaulieu has been a steady voice in sales and marketing, offering weekly columns that challenge, inspire, and guide professionals in the electronics industry and beyond. Soon, he will reach a remarkable milestone—his 1,000th It’s Only Common Sense weekly column. In this Q&A, we look behind the scenes of Dan’s writing journey, exploring what has kept him motivated, the lessons he’s learned along the way, and how two decades of weekly columns have shaped his career and the industry conversation.
COVID, Tough Sales, and What Made Me a Better Salesperson
08/12/2025 | Daniel Beauvois, The Component StoreBefore 2020, we approached sales differently. A persistent, gritty salesperson could approach businesses daily without an appointment. They would often be turned away, but sometimes, they would be given a shot. Then, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic became official, and things started to shut down. When we finally came back, everything had changed, creating an impenetrable barrier for outside salespeople.