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Kayla Hamilton
Foreign.
Ty Degrange
Hello. Welcome to another episode of the Always Be Testing podcast. I'm your host, Ty degrange and I'm really excited to talk to Kayla Hamilton today. Kayla, how you doing?
Kayla Hamilton
Hi. I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me. Super excited to be on the podcast and discuss all things Sage. So thanks again.
Ty Degrange
Of course. So happy to have you. We've had some great conversations and Sage and you are doing some very compelling, exciting things. So I think it's going to be a good episode for folks to. To tune into and learn something. Yeah. Maybe to just kick us off, tell us a little bit about the company you work for. Sage.
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah. So Sage is a global software company that supports businesses that are growing. So we started originally in Newcastle and have expanded across the pond now. So my role is primarily focused in North America, really helping and generating new eyeballs to Sage. Right. Helping businesses understand that Sage is here to help you, whether it's P, payroll, hr, accounting, all the things on a software cloud base. So that's really what we have in store right now at Sage and who we are really helping businesses grow.
Ty Degrange
That's amazing. And then targeting kind of finance professionals.
Kayla Hamilton
Primarily for the most part. Yes. Our number one product right now is Sage Intact and that is an accounting solution that's really targeted to those accounting professionals, controllers, CFOs really for those growing businesses that has a current solution but they need a little more boost. Whether that's an AI, an account payable account receivables, really taking their business to the next level with that solution.
Ty Degrange
That's amazing. Yeah. I think the AI application on that finance vertical is obviously fascinating. I think for a lot of people who are interested in B2B SaaS interested in this vertical understand that the power there potentially. So it's exciting to hear you guys are adopting that in a very changing, fast paced time, which is really fun.
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, for sure. Definitely have to hone in right where the times are. I feel like now business professionals need that AI in their day to day life in terms of forecasting, testing, projections, etc and having a tool that encompasses AI with it is what's really taking us to the next level.
Ty Degrange
That's awesome. And you're leading their affiliate charge at Sage, is that right?
Kayla Hamilton
Yes, definitely. For North America, the program is about a year old now, but we've done some great work and now expanding globally with our affiliate program. So definitely something that I'm proud of. My little affiliate baby started from nothing and now we are really ramping up and promoting Sage and All different mediums through the affiliate channel, which has been super exciting to see and grow.
Ty Degrange
I love that. That's so great to hear. It's fun to see starting something out and have it just continue to build and gain success globally as well. Which is, which is super exciting. What are some of those kind of core objectives would you say you're trying to achieve with. With the. Through partner marketing through your program?
Kayla Hamilton
Yes. So since I manage our North American program, my number one objective right now is education. Sage is a household name in the based off where the head headquarters and started right here in the US is a bit different brand Persona and brand recognition is really different and really educating my partners on who Sage is, what we offer. Debunking some myths about Sage in terms of our legacy products and also showing them what we have to offer. So that has been a core objective really partner education in terms of also partner relations. I think they both go hand in hand really showing our partners that we are that strategic partner that they can rely on, that we, we're not looking for just short term easy launch campaigns. We really want a long term strategic partnership. We kind of have to prove that to partners that are historically those top performing partners in the space, which is something we're glad to do and that's been our objectives these last few months.
Ty Degrange
That's awesome. Yeah, I was kind of joking with you earlier that a lover of baseball and rugby, the SAGE has shown up a lot for me through that. But understandably I think the US isn't as familiar as perhaps that UK market. So it's great to see that increased visibility, at least from my limited perspective.
Kayla Hamilton
Nice. I'm always glad to hear that.
Ty Degrange
Sure.
Kayla Hamilton
Sage, our corporate team is glad to hear that as well. We've been putting in the work with that sponsorship as well.
Ty Degrange
No, it's super exciting and maybe for folks that are not as Familiar with the FinTech vertical, the B2B SaaS vertical, it's super exciting to me and there's just so much growth there. Would you describe it for people maybe in the affiliate or partner marketing industry or performance marketing space? And how is it different than maybe fintech generally or just affiliate programs at large? Perhaps in consumer. Are there certain characteristics that you can maybe share with us?
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, definitely. I will say just to disclaimer, B2B affiliate marketing is super new. So as like the podcast name, we're always testing, always be testing when it comes to B2B affiliate marketing. But really what makes Sage unique in terms of that whole financial sphere is that we're an accounting solution. So typically when you think about financial marketing, 9 times out of 10 it's either like insurance or some loans and that's great for everyone. But Sage, just given that we're targeting those finance professionals, so we're encompassing that finance aspect of it, but also the SaaS aspect. So that's that intersectionality that we really have to target and hone in on. We're really not focused on loans, we're not focused on those really other parts of finance. But Also on the SaaS side, we're not a subscription based. Excuse me, that's not our priority in terms of subscription based models. We are really focused in on those executive leaders and providing them solutions to help their business overall grow. We're not kind of like a plug and play solution that's in your Mars tag that you want to use. We really want to be that long term product and we also have those products to help you along those ways. So if you're just starting out in the finance sector, we have products that fit more that small sector sector, medium and ERP solutions as well. So Sage is here for those businesses that grow. And that's primarily the main difference just given that we are in that intersectionality between SaaS and finance.
Ty Degrange
Well, just just being a small business, growing, having finance be such a critical part to success. I think the page and the education and the emphasis that Sage is educating folks on is once you get to the site is very compelling in my view. And thinking through having kind of product, AI and humans like helping you I think is very powerful and very compelling for anyone running a business. And so I think moving up that food chain is. It makes a lot of sense. You're not, you're not a dispensable, a onesie twosie software tool that you can just cancel or pause. It's. You're more integrated with the business and so strategically that's. That's a beautiful thing.
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, I love that. And that also goes with Sage's core values. Right. We try to be human, we try to be simple, innovate. So that's really what we encompass when we do offer our products too. And I think with the affiliate channel, it's really us just showing what we have to offer.
Ty Degrange
That's awesome. Throwing out a question we didn't talk a lot about, but it comes to mind. This came to me recently from a. I don't know if it was a prospect or an existing client, but I kind of have my thoughts on it. I'm sure you do too. But the you talked about those like high quality executive target audience. Right? It's not exactly easy to necessarily go out and get them through performance marketing channels or acquire them through lead generation. But how do you think about the question of can you acquire them through affiliate marketing for those that are not as familiar with the quality and quantity available through affiliate marketing, for lack of a better term.
Kayla Hamilton
That's a great point. Definitely something I had to ask myself too when I first got into this role. Like how am I going to get in front of these executive eyes? They're not on social media, they're not on TikTok, how can I actually get to them? And not only is it a unique term of strategy in terms of perhaps utilizing LinkedIn compared to TikTok or Meta, but also who else is in their ecosystem, their group that helps them make a decision? So think of your controller. Think of kind of going down the food chain a bit. Who are those influential counterparts that they work with and where are they looking at too? So definitely honing in on some niche publications that might be tailored to those type of audience versus a vp because it's really hard just to dictate. Oh, vice presidents are here or CFOs are here. Right? There's a ton of publications nowadays that are hyper focused towards CFO. And nine times out of 10 when you look at the audience breakdown, it's not all CFOs in their list. Right? It's those controllers, those junior level finance individuals that really can, hey, hey, look, this is sage intact. Have you considered them to help the actual decision maker go to decision? So that's a way that we found really success. Because two, when you think of pipeline in the back end, there's multiple individuals in one business. There's multiple individuals that might engage in content that might actually be a potential lead, but there's one business at the end of the day. So that's how I've been really navigating that. Just looking at the overall, I don't want to say food chain, but the overall flow of chain of command to the CFO who can influence them.
Ty Degrange
That's great. No, I think that makes a lot of sense. It almost sounds like you're describing a little bit of like an account based marketing strategy. Is that accurate?
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, just a little bit. I feel like with the affiliate channel we do have a lot of these channels within specifically my team, paid media. It's a matter of what can I take and learn and how can we make it into an affiliate model that's trackable and scalable.
Ty Degrange
That's amazing. I love that. Tons to talk about there. It's a lot, a lot in it. But when you think about what Sage and your team are trying to do, when you think about what you're aspiring for in the partner marketing world, do you have a sense of what maybe best, best in class brands are doing that maybe others are not? Just for folks that are out there thinking about the B2B financial world, that it's very unique. What are some of those things that you kind of trying to tackle, if you will?
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah. What I'm noticing across the market is the best brands that really honing in on partner marketing are really collaborative with their other channels. So I can see a lot of synergy between their search activations, between their social activations, between their third party partners that promote them. Right. There's so much synergy there that their brand identity is really cohesive wherever I'm looking at the brand. And I noticed that a lot of brands aren't doing that. You can just kind of see brands are doing whatever in other mediums. So it's really that synergy like think of the customer journey, put yourself in the customer's shoes. If you see a company one place, you kind of want it to mirror how you see them in another place. You don't want anything too drastically to change. So I think those brands that do have that synergy is really honing the game and we can see that just from a consumer's point of view. And I think that's lies into the strategy aspect of too. Like are your paid channels, do they have the same objectives, do they have the same core and making sure that marketing aspect is reflective with your overall communications and brand and pr. Like all those need to be in sync to really have that partner marketing. Because if you're not in sync internally, how are you going to have a partner be in sync with you? Right. So that's really important. I think the brands that have the best partner marketing have that cohesiveness all around.
Ty Degrange
I really like that point. I think for some people it might sound really obvious, but I think when you're dealing with external human operators and partners that really relying on clarity through a lot of what can sometimes be noise, if you're not singing that same tune internally, it can absolutely have a negative consequence. They're just not as able to be as strong in partners, be as clear with your core audience in the marketing, in the content. And I think that's a really valuable point. Love that we talked about this a little bit, but kind of like the SMB marketing strategy and kind of. It's a different world. Obviously I'm curious, curious because my year's program, when I look at your landing page, I'm like, oh man, I need this. But in terms of obviously the core customers you're looking at, how do you, you think about increasing the M and the SMB, right? Is there, are there levers that you tap to kind of do that?
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, it kind of goes back to understanding one, what product based on what partner do I see a fit for? So in the my affiliate shoes, I'm looking at their audience, right? Who is this partner's audience talking to the most? So them I can either recommend SAF stage as the brand and let the consumer decide, hey, I'm going to look to see what sage product works for me or just promote a product that I know really would resonate with that brand just on a performance marketing aspect. But when I think of the M and pulling that lever, that's really kind of the gray area of B2B affiliate marketing. It's super unknown. So I really put on my creative hat and just test and learn to see what works for medium. Because what works for small is not what works for medium. And also what I found is small is definitely an easy lever to pull the medium in terms of reaching those type of audience. There's small businesses growing all the time, which is amazing. But how can we hyper target those growing small businesses? How can I hyper target those in medium businesses that might have more annual revenue, that might have more employee size, that might need a bit more tools in their resources? So I definitely utilize a lot of my channel's insights. So paid search, organic search, even social at times. Hey, like what's working or like what keywords or what triggers are we seeing within these channels? So not only can I communicate that to my partners, but I can kind of mirror that in the affiliate model as well. Because we just have to get really untraditional when it comes to the M and medium marketing for affiliate because it's not that it hasn't been done before, but when you want to grow and scale, you can't just keep doing the same thing. But also you have to see what is actually transferable to a medium company. Because what we don't want is we think we're targeting all these medium companies and by the time our sales teams talk to them, this is a small business. So you want to make sure that we're getting that quality in the M. So Sometimes volumes might look low when we're looking at our medium solutions compared to small, but that conversion rate is just as high and that's what really matters the most. So that's how we've been scaling and I think that's the most important part of it is making sure that audience alignment with the partner is there, whether you're going a traditional route or even untraditional as well.
Ty Degrange
That's awesome. Well said. And just you defining M and also quality, I'd love to learn a little bit more about those because they're such.
Kayla Hamilton
Big factors for you and it's ever flowing here internally. But I will say too, we have gotten a bit more vertical with our strategic approach in terms of content, but how we position ourselves. So an M for let's say a not for profit company will look different for in a finance company. So we've been really just understanding each of those ICPs a bit better so we know which levels to pull. So for example, a financial service company might have over a billion dollars in revenue. Right. But they only can have six employees. Is that considered? The revenue is telling us it might be an M, but employee size might not be compared to not for profit. They have 10 employees, annual revenue is about 50 million. Right. So it's being able to determine, okay, these are totally two different verticals. We have to look at kind of those ICPs to determine what is M versus what is considered small based off of that vertical. And that really has allowed us to scale and identify our ideal customer profile while just looking at those metrics versus if we just see, oh, it's a business with 1 million 3 employees, that's small like that, that's not really a medium sized businesses. We're kind of cannibalizing each efforts when we're not looking at the bigger picture where it's like industry but also those micro icps that might not be considered M or B. So having that historical knowledge and working with my industry teams internally has allowed me to identify that. And even like if I'm questioning if it's small or medium, I can not only look internally, but just pass them through our sales team and let our sales teams find the accurate fit. It's not really in my marketing wheelhouse to tell them what product as long as we can get them through the door. Interested in sage? Really letting our sales team do their job and guide them to the best product that will meet their needs.
Ty Degrange
That's awesome. Especially as it relates to sales team. You're trying to kind of make sure you're getting them the best quality possible. How are you kind of trying to define that or trying to work through that with sales and with marketing?
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah. So as of recently our sales team has moved under our performance marketing team. So it's been a holistic overall like goal for Sage is to really have those two teams be married in a way. So these syncs with my sales team, letting them know, hey, we can expect this, hey, we might see a fall off here and really letting them know too. The journey the lead, excuse me, is taking to actually get on the phone with them so they can have that historical context of hey, I saw you were interacting with this or hey, do you have Sage in mind so they can really personalize their conversations to the T without being too salesy. Right. So that's really how we've been leveraging our sales team. Shout out to my SDR team.
Ty Degrange
Love that. That's huge. I think we've had a lot of enjoyable experiences in terms of our marketing efforts even as a third party to be willing and able to have conversations with sales. And I think that's something that's really powerful as you kind of, as you said, kind of remove some of those, any kind of communication blocker and give them empower each other to kind of be teed up with information. It's super helpful. So I love that you are investing in that. What is the biggest pitfall in partner marketing from your perspective?
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, I would say the biggest pitfall is not having that cross collaboration internally, not only with other marketings but like to our points, with your sales team, with your PR team, with your organic team, like if you don't have the information they have to enable your partners, what are you doing? Like that's really just an easy way to not have your program grow. I know me, I don't know if it's my marketing hat, but when I see a brand that is not cohesive when how they market to me, I notice it, I don't trust it. You want to be able to have that authoritative trust within your partner so they can promote to your ideal customers. And if you're not able to do that on a third party level, it's just something is missing and we really want to be cohesive. So I think that's a big pitfall. And also to not attributing the more top of funnel efforts too, I'd say even though it's really hard to track kind of, hey, this sponsored article, how like how much revenue did it generate or how much volume is it generating those questions might be hard to answer short term, but on the long term soon you will be able to measure and see wow, we did that a year ago and since we did that we've been able to see X. So being able to trust kind of that full funnel marketing effect and really investing a bit more in top of funnel is really a pitfall if brands aren't doing so I'd say those are my two biggest ones.
Ty Degrange
Those are huge. Yeah, great call outs and I think you're not alone but I think that adds a really great perspective to the conversation that I think is really needed. So spot on. In the spirit of always be testing, what are some of your favorite experiments that you run either at Sage or in your career?
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, I will say at Sage, one of my favorite test we did was incentivizing our partners to help us reach more M in the SMB and we've really seen growth there. So really just altering our offering to toward our ICPs, whether that's vertical, employee size, etc really incentivizing there versus on the overall acquisition. Because it's one thing just to pay for an acquisition, but it's another thing to pay for our ideal type type of customer. I will give you whatever you need if you can give me an ideal for me. So that has been a really successful test. It's something that it's continuously optimizing. You have key learnings from it and you just kind of have to pivot when need to. But that specifically with partners that are willing to test too. There's some partners that doesn't excite them. There's some partners that it might not be worth their while too, but that allows us to see who is our strategic partner in this, who is willing to test and learn with us. Because I think that's key in a program. If you don't have a partner that's willing to test and learn with you, it can be kind of detrimental to your overall program and you have to really get a bit more creative versus you being creative with your partner. So that has been an awesome test for Sage.
Ty Degrange
That's super helpful. I love that. Speaking of partner, are there kind of macro trends that you're observing in partner marketing or maybe perhaps a partner type that you think is worth calling out that maybe deserves maybe more appreciation than you see? Curious to see what you think there.
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, I'd say right now some trends I'm seeing in terms of micro is more of those not your traditional sub affiliates but those partners that are publishing housing. So since we are very verticalized, those affiliates that are able to hyper verticalize with us has been a huge trend for us because internally we have the content and we have everything available for these micro industries on our site. So having partners that can reach them is such a huge win for us. So shout out to those industry focused partners. We've really been able to leverage them just based off of our industry needs. Sage has a great portfolio of industries they support in terms of not only on a marketing level, but on our community level as well. So not for profit construction, just to name a few, are key industries that SAGE really hones in on. And we're able to do that too on a partner level which has been so awesome. So that has been a great way for us to kind of continue to grow there.
Ty Degrange
I love it. Very cool. Like a lot of businesses, as AI is exploded, the adoption and investment there is significant scenario we spent a lot of time relative to our business. Where do you see AI? Where do you see Sage investment in AI? How do you think it could perhaps improve the business? Maybe customer outcomes, maybe even some of the areas of partner marketing that you're working on?
Kayla Hamilton
Yeah, great question. AI has taken I think all industries by storm and it's either get on the boat or you're missing the boat at this point. Just given where we are in the landscape in terms of overall business. Sage has a huge commitment to AI. With Copilot recently being adopted in all of our solutions, either now or upcoming. Really being able to empower businesses with AI. So not only do we have AI in our solutions, but we also offer a lot of content, ebooks, webinars that show these leaders, hey, AI is here. Here's how you can use and leverage it. So that has been amazing to see Sage's commitment, but also with our new headquarters here in Atlanta too, we can see all that live. We have customer discovery center, right? And that really allows customers, partners, anyone in the community being able to come in and see all these features live, learn about these features live. So that's kind of been our commitment to AI in the future at Sage on a partner level in terms of me and my role with AI, AI is my bestie. I use it for all the micro things you could think of, but also interpreting data, data is a key, key part of my role. Interpreting the data and presenting it and having AI help me digest data, but help me visualize data to my leadership team, but also just summarize it in whole has been really, really game changers. So AI is definitely Something that is here and it's here to stay and it's definitely something that we all should be leveraging. But also how you leverage it I think is kind of be the answer of how well one knows AI because there's kind of different levels to one's AI's journey at this point. So it's exciting to see individuals how well and also like how to keep learning with AI. I thoroughly love to learn and like learn industry trends. And having AI digest a quick trend for me or pick up on trends that I'm not able to scout for has been game changer as well.
Ty Degrange
That's amazing. I love that. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Well said. And then kind of similarly, data is obviously near and dear for us. What does data and analytics play in your, in your approach to partner marketing? How are you kind of interacting with it? You alluded to it a little bit. I'd love to hear more there.
Kayla Hamilton
It's in everything I do. I feel like at this point I kind of gamified it for my partners. So really allowing them to understand, hey, this is the benchmark, can we get there? If we can get there, we can give you this. So that's the way I've been gamifying it, creating benchmarks since we are a year old, but also letting the data speak to itself. When for example, do negotiations. Right. Everybody wants a piece of the pie, but do the numbers speak to if you can get a piece of the pie. Right. So that really has allowed me to make critical decisions on behalf of my channel and for partner scalability overall. So. And it's definitely more and more data as you look throughout the pipeline versus looking at what's actually in platform as well. So having different versions of performance and data, how can I consolidate that all and really see the overall attribution of the affiliate channel compared to the rest of my paid media that is ultimately contributing the same amount of results. How can I be able to identify the incrementality with a specific partner? So looking at the data has been, I mean it's something I do probably a good four hours of my eight hour day daily. So something I'm always in the weeds for and it allows me to keep challenging myself, which I love. So definitely data savvy and in the weeds day to day. And that's where AI comes to place to help me be more efficient in that as well.
Ty Degrange
That's awesome. Yeah, I love that there's, there's so much there and I think it's, it's it's, it's good to hear that you're, you're thinking about that entire ecosystem. It's not easy and I feel like it's. You're looking at downstream data, you're looking at what feedback do you have on quality, you're looking at platform data. That's, that's kind of how many need to and often don't think about it. So happy to hear that. So interesting. There's so much here and you've already dropped so much. Such great knowledge. Love to do. Get down to the quick fire round and learn a little bit more about you. What you got any good book recommendations for us?
Kayla Hamilton
Some good book. I have a podcast too so I've been listening to is Mallory. She has been total game changer for me in terms of how I look. I'm a big self help type person. So that and also book wise digital Darwinism is something I've been reading on. It's definitely why I continue to be data savvy because the world is just getting more and more digitalized. So how are big brands like Sage and kind of these Fortune 500 companies, how are they getting into the weeds and adjusting their overall strategy as we get more digitalized? So those are my two recommendations.
Ty Degrange
My wife's obsessed with Mel Robbins and those are epic, epic call outs. Very cool. What's something that the audience may not know about you?
Kayla Hamilton
Something the audience may not know about me. I am a cat mom. I don't know if you can tell from the cat trees in the back.
Ty Degrange
Adorable.
Kayla Hamilton
But I'm a cat mom of one about 3 years old and I got her when I was in school in Louisiana.
Ty Degrange
So cool. Is it a type of cat or.
Kayla Hamilton
She's a short haired domestic tabby. Just a sassy, moody girl. Can't say too much about her there. She's brown but yeah, I love it.
Ty Degrange
Adorable. It's so cool. Cats are rad. Any guilty pleasure or show that you recommend to the audience?
Kayla Hamilton
So I am one of those traditional medical shows. So yes, I've watched Grey's Anatomy one or three times. But right now I'm currently watching the Pit on HBO and I've heard it's good. Yeah, it's really, really good. And honestly I was like this is probably more realistic than Grey's Anatomy for sure. Like there's no like cute scenes, there's no couple scenes, there's no like heavy music. It's just straight to the real, real stuff. So I've been enjoying it.
Ty Degrange
Awesome. Very cool. Maybe you have a Medical career in your next. Your next life or just find it interesting?
Kayla Hamilton
Maybe I find it interesting until like there's blood and throw it. I just. But maybe another life.
Ty Degrange
Amazing. Amazing. Any. Any recent purchases that you're obsessed with that you want to share with the audience?
Kayla Hamilton
Recent purchases that I'm obsessed with. I'm a big like stationary type of person, so I recently got some notebooks and pens. This is really like, yeah, this is me for real. I got. What is this brand? I forgot. This is like 1917. It's like a notebook brand and they have pens and stuff.
Ty Degrange
Okay.
Kayla Hamilton
It's got some new stationery for the new office. Like to me, like that's my go to pleasure. Invested in some new like headphones for the office. So all those either tech or like actual stationary stuff is my cup of tea. So that's my pleasure.
Ty Degrange
I took way too much pleasure in getting a Moleskine notebook updated purchased yesterday. So I'm excited to see when that comes. So I am a fan as well of the written word, writing it and reading it. So kudos to you for keeping that going even though everything has gotten really digital for us.
Kayla Hamilton
Oh yeah, I need the pen to paper. Let me know how that notebook works for you.
Ty Degrange
I will. And I'll check out that brand you mentioned. Well, Kayla, it's been awesome. I really enjoyed this chat. I feel like we could and go deeper on the fun, exciting, nerdy data stuff and all the ways you optimize partners and the great work you're doing with Sage. But thank you so much for coming on. It was a good one.
Kayla Hamilton
Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed this conversation and to your point, I feel like we can go on all day about how and when you're doing with the data stuff. So yeah, definitely excited to see. Always be testing and watching more episodes. It's been a really good interactive moment for me. So thank you. Thanks so much for having me again.
Ty Degrange
Thanks, Kayla. Appreciate it.
Kayla Hamilton
All right, bye.
Guest: Kayla Hamilton, Affiliate Marketing Manager at Sage
Release Date: May 13, 2025
In this episode of the Always Be Testing podcast, host Ty DeGrange engages in an insightful conversation with Kayla Hamilton, the Affiliate Marketing Manager at Sage, a global software company specializing in supporting growing businesses. The discussion delves deep into scaling partner programs, leveraging data-driven strategies, and navigating the unique challenges of B2B affiliate marketing in the fintech vertical.
Kayla begins by introducing Sage as a global software company that provides cloud-based solutions for businesses aiming to grow. Originating in Newcastle, Sage has expanded internationally, with Kayla focusing on the North American market. She emphasizes Sage's primary product, Sage Intact, an accounting solution tailored for financial professionals such as accountants, controllers, and CFOs. This product integrates AI capabilities to enhance functions like accounts payable and receivable, helping businesses elevate their financial operations.
Kayla Hamilton [01:14]: "Our number one product right now is Sage Intact and that is an accounting solution that's really targeted to those accounting professionals, controllers, CFOs..."
Moving into her role, Kayla discusses her responsibility in leading Sage's affiliate program in North America, which has now expanded globally after a year of successful growth.
Kayla Hamilton [02:19]: "My little affiliate baby started from nothing and now we are really ramping up and promoting Sage through the affiliate channel, which has been super exciting to see and grow."
Her core objectives revolve around partner education and building strong partner relationships. She highlights the importance of educating partners about Sage's offerings and dispelling misconceptions about their legacy products. Moreover, Kayla emphasizes fostering long-term strategic partnerships rather than pursuing short-term gains.
Kayla Hamilton [03:52]: "We really want a long term strategic partnership. We kind of have to prove that to partners that are historically those top performing partners in the space."
The conversation shifts to the nuances of B2B affiliate marketing, particularly within the fintech sector. Kayla notes that B2B affiliate marketing is relatively new and requires constant testing and adaptation.
Kayla Hamilton [04:46]: "B2B affiliate marketing is super new. So as like the podcast name, we're always testing, always be testing when it comes to B2B affiliate marketing."
She explains that Sage stands out by targeting finance professionals with SaaS solutions, differentiating themselves from traditional financial products like insurance or loans. This intersection of SaaS and finance demands a tailored approach in marketing and affiliate strategies.
A significant challenge Kayla addresses is reaching executive-level professionals such as CFOs who are typically less accessible through conventional performance marketing channels.
Kayla Hamilton [07:44]: "They're not on social media, they're not on TikTok, how can I actually get to them?"
Her strategy involves targeting niche publications and influencing individuals within the decision-making hierarchy, such as controllers and junior finance personnel, who can advocate for Sage to executives. This approach mirrors aspects of account-based marketing, focusing on the broader organizational ecosystem rather than individual roles.
Kayla identifies that the best-in-class brands excel in cross-channel collaboration, ensuring that their brand identity remains consistent across various marketing channels. This cohesion enhances trust and reliability, making it easier for partners to promote Sage effectively.
Kayla Hamilton [10:11]: "The best brands that really hone in on partner marketing are really collaborative with their other channels... their brand identity is really cohesive wherever I'm looking at the brand."
She stresses the importance of internal alignment between marketing, sales, PR, and other departments to ensure that partners have the necessary information and resources to succeed.
Addressing potential challenges, Kayla points out two primary pitfalls:
Lack of Cross-Functional Collaboration: Without proper collaboration between marketing, sales, PR, and other teams, partner programs can falter due to inconsistent messaging and insufficient support.
Kayla Hamilton [18:17]: "The biggest pitfall is not having that cross collaboration internally... you don't have the information they have to enable your partners."
Underestimating Top-of-Funnel Efforts: Neglecting the long-term impact of top-of-funnel activities, such as sponsored articles and brand awareness campaigns, can hinder the growth and sustainability of partner programs.
Kayla Hamilton [19:39]: "Investing a bit more in top of funnel is really a pitfall if brands aren't doing so."
AI plays a crucial role in Sage's strategy, with Kayla highlighting its integration into their solutions and marketing efforts. Sage has adopted Copilot across its platforms to assist businesses in forecasting, testing, and projections.
Kayla Hamilton [22:47]: "With Copilot recently being adopted in all of our solutions... AI is my bestie. I use it for all the micro things you could think of, but also interpreting data..."
Data and analytics are central to Kayla's approach, enabling her to gamify performance benchmarks for partners and make informed decisions based on comprehensive data analysis. She emphasizes the importance of understanding both pipeline data and platform-specific metrics to assess the effectiveness and incrementality of affiliate channels.
Kayla Hamilton [25:02]: "It's in everything I do. I feel like at this point I kind of gamified it for my partners."
AI aids in data interpretation and visualization, enhancing efficiency and enabling deeper insights into marketing performance and trends.
Kayla shares one of her favorite experiments: incentivizing partners to target medium-sized businesses (M) within the small and medium business (SMB) segment. By tailoring incentives towards specific ideal customer profiles (ICPs), Sage has successfully grown its medium business clientele.
Kayla Hamilton [19:55]: "Incentivizing our partners to help us reach more M in the SMB and we've really seen growth there."
This experiment underscores the importance of audience alignment and creative testing to discover effective strategies for different business segments.
Kayla observes a trend towards hyper-verticalized partners who specialize in specific industries. These micro-affiliates can effectively reach niche audiences, aligning perfectly with Sage's diverse industry support.
Kayla Hamilton [21:30]: "Those affiliates that are able to hyper verticalize with us has been a huge trend for us..."
She commends industry-focused partners for their ability to target Sage's key verticals, such as non-profits and construction, which significantly contributes to Sage's growth and community engagement.
In the lighter segment of the podcast, Kayla shares her personal interests and recommendations:
Book Recommendations:
Digital Darwinism: Explores how businesses adapt to the digital age, essential for understanding Sage's digital strategies.
Kayla Hamilton [27:38]: "It's definitely why I continue to be data savvy because the world is just getting more and more digitalized."
Personal Tidbits:
Cat Lover: Kayla is a proud cat mom to a sassy, short-haired domestic tabby.
Kayla Hamilton [27:47]: "I am a cat mom of one about 3 years old..."
TV Shows: Enjoys medical dramas like Grey's Anatomy and currently watching The Pit on HBO.
Kayla Hamilton [28:24]: "I've been enjoying The Pit... it's just straight to the real, real stuff."
Recent Purchases:
Stationery Enthusiast: Recently invested in high-quality notebooks and pens from the brand 1917.
Kayla Hamilton [29:16]: "I'm a big like stationery type of person... got some new stationery for the new office."
The episode wraps up with Kayla expressing her enthusiasm for continued collaboration and learning within the data-driven marketing landscape. Her insights provide valuable lessons for anyone involved in affiliate or partner marketing, particularly within the B2B fintech sector. Kayla's emphasis on data analytics, AI integration, and cross-functional collaboration serves as a blueprint for scalable and effective partner programs.
Kayla Hamilton [30:49]: "I really enjoyed this conversation and to your point, I feel like we can go on all day about... Always be testing and watching more episodes. It's been a really good interactive moment for me."
This episode offers a comprehensive look into the strategic scaling of partner programs through data-driven methods, highlighting the essential balance between technology, collaboration, and creative experimentation in achieving sustainable growth.