I recently interviewed one of Performance Driven Marketing (PDM)’s owners, Dave Wade, to get to know him better and hear a little more of his life and background. He shared how he got into the marketing industry, how family has impacted his work, and how care for his clients has shaped his beliefs and project involvement.
Early Life
I began by asking if he had always lived in Utah, to which he replied that he was actually born in Germany and has lived in almost 12 states. Dave explained how his father was an airborne ranger, which brought Dave’s family all over the world. When his dad got his first commission, they all moved to Fort Polk – now known as Fort Johnson – Louisiana.
However, after an unfortunate incident while playing basketball in a church court, Dave’s father injured both knees. At that time, they were unable to give him the repairs he needed, so his father was discharged. Because at the time he was in med school and had five kids, their family had to live on government support and in section eight housing.
After living near an old hospital in Utah for a year and a half, Dave’s family then moved to Iowa for his father’s med school and then Arizona for med school residency. While traveling to Press, Idaho for his father’s practice, they made one more stop in Bountiful, Utah. His father quickly changed his mind, as he liked the area much better, and he ended up establishing his practice and retiring in Bountiful.
Though his family had settled in Utah, Dave continued to move around before putting down roots. Right out of high school, he joined the Army, which brought him all over the U.S. including Missouri, Texas, and Colorado. I made the assumption that Utah must have been his favorite place to live if he finally settled down here. Dave responded by saying, “It’s my favorite place to live, but not my favorite to visit.”
I asked where his favorite place to visit is and he proceeded to share his love for Louisiana. While raving about the food and the culture, though, he made a comment about the size of the cockroaches and laughed saying, “It’s fun there, but I’d never live there.”
Family Life
I then asked Dave to share about his family. He and his wife, Heidi, together have three sons: Hudson, Ryder, and Hayes. He described how different they all are from each other, from athletic to “brainiac”. He proudly showed me emails from colleges offering football opportunities for his ninth grader and told me how another son wants to be an engineer.
Dave also explained how wrestling is a big part of his family’s life. His ninth grader, Ryder, is currently a varsity wrestler and his nine year old son has started the sport as well. Dave has been serving as a high school and youth wrestling coach for many years. With University of Utah paraphernalia decorating his office, he emphasized how “sports, fishing, and outdoors: pretty much our life.”
Getting Into Marketing
When asked how he got into marketing, Dave thought briefly and said, “Weird.” He proceeded to explain how he had initially gone to school for athletic training. While in college, he got a job working for Yellow Book to sell ads. He admitted that even though he often worked only three hours a day, he flourished as one of the top representatives.
Dave then shared how marketing began to make a difference in his personal life. He loved seeing people getting excited about the growth of their businesses. Marketing even led him to help his father’s business succeed. His dad began his medical practice by delivering babies, but had to switch to plastic surgery when he found out that he was losing money from deliveries. He asked Dave to market for him and within a year, he had gained two more full time estheticians for his business.
From there, Dave started helping numerous other clients as word spread and Dave’s love for the business grew. As he described it, “It’s like physical fitness, right? If you’re doing everything you’re supposed to do and you’re doing a regiment – whether it’s nutrition, exercise, or it’s doing stuff for your business – you see growth, if you do it properly. And the clients that grow with us are my favorite clients.”
Then he couldn’t help but share some of the success stories of a few of his clients becoming so big that they got bought out by other companies, as well as some personal relationships that he and fellow colleagues have been able to build with clients. As he put it, “You make good friends and they respect and like what you do because you’re kind of teaming up with them.”
Life at PDM
I then asked what his favorite part of working for PDM has been and he responded by calling himself “the weirdo who likes constant change”. Social media, search engines, and the marketing world continues to change and develop, but Dave shared that he likes always having to move, adjust, and learn.
When I asked him what he’d want all clients to know, he responded by saying, “There are no experts and there are no gurus; nobody has a secret sauce.” He explained how some clients hand jobs off to him, reasoning, “I don’t know how to word that, that’s not my kind of thing.” But he shares how easy it is to follow simple procedures that Google tells you and make your business grow.
Another mistake he sees clients making is trying to cut corners and “chase the next shiny object”. For instance, he saw a company only use AI writing for their website, which boosted their site for about two months. After that, the company’s visibility dropped significantly. Dave concluded that he doesn’t claim to be an expert, but wants to help teach clients how to do things for themselves.
Current Project
Dave then shared some details about a current project he’s been working on. As the European Union has pushed for privacy, they have seen a 70% decrease in small businesses’ visibility. This is because privacy eliminates the ability for companies to track visitors and users, which otherwise enables them to identify areas of growth for their business and where to improve their digital marketing.
Dave shared how “nine out of ten small businesses depend on digital advertising. But if we comply with the restrictions they [the European Union] are talking about, we’re killing small businesses that require digital advertising.” His passion for advocating for small businesses led Dave to join a consortium called Internet for Growth. This group is currently working with congressmen, like Blake Moore, to bring the issue all the way to DC. After explaining his involvement, Dave pointed out that doing this for him means he’s “going to bat for our clients.”
Care for Clients
Though Dave Wade’s closing remark was, “I like everything spicy and salty and I hate sweets”, I was left with clear evidence of his love for his work. Whether it’s coaching wrestling, marketing for small businesses, or selling Yellow Book pages, Dave puts his full heart into the role he plays and people he’s with.
If you want Dave Wade and other skilled marketers to help you boost your business, reach out to Performance Driven Marketing today!
