Stephanie Riel is the founder and CEO for RielDeal Marketing. For her work, she displays a strong passion about helping other entrepreneurs and small business owners develop their brand to “align sales and marketing efforts that convert.”
For her work at RielDeal Marketing, Stephanie Riel brings her more than 10 years of experience in working with brands “across many industries, including e-commerce, health and wellness, technology, real estate, fitness, beauty and retail,” among many others.
Stephanie Riel and RielDeal Marketing have helped several brands representing a variety of industries in “developing data-driven marketing campaigns and email marketing strategies,” as well as “sales CRM automation, brand positioning, paid advertising,” so they can “meet and exceed their marketing and business goals.”
Believe it or not, Stephanie Riel began RielDeal Marketing as a side hustle. From a side gig, the company grew into a “boutique branding and digital marketing firm that works with businesses to develop a Brand Plan ™ that boosts the bottom line.”
At RielDeal Marketing, Stephanie Riel leads the team in taking a “strategic look at all aspects of a business’ marketing and sales process.” They flag “opportunities for optimization and automation along the customer journey to enhance results.” Following an audit of a company’s internal sales and marketing processes, the RielDeal team develops a custom plan.
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One of the top stand-out traits for our company is we treat our client’s businesses the way I’d hope someone would treat my own business, keeping it real at every step of the way. Stephanie Riel, RielDeal Marketing
Jerome Knyszewski: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Stephanie Riel: One of the top stand-out traits for our company is we treat our client’s businesses the way I’d hope someone would treat my own business, keeping it real at every step of the way. First, during onboarding we prioritize our client’s individual business data to guide strategy. Then we blend that with relevant brand messaging that will best resonate with their customer. The result is a customer-driven marketing and brand strategy approach that is aligned with client goals. No frills or fluff, just what’s going to work best.
It’s not entirely uncommon during a potential new business call for me to talk the potential client out of hiring us, especially when I hear any red flag items that could interfere with marketing results. Recently, a potential client reached out to us about paid advertising and email marketing automation. On the call, I discovered they had no true sales funnel in place to capitalize on leads generated from paid advertising campaigns. So, instead of selling the client on paid advertising, the priority quickly shifted to discussing their sales funnel and the various areas they should focus on first before allocating budget to paid advertising and email marketing automation consulting services.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Stephanie Riel: While mistakes are not usually funny in the moment — I do have a unique take on them. To me, mistakes or “failures” are our greatest way to learn. I’m sure I made many mistakes early in my career and I know that my team and I still make mistakes today, but what’s most important to me is the reflection process following that mistake. No matter the scenario, what I’ve learned is we can let our mistakes define us, or we can rise above and figuring out how to fix the mishap or learn from it and move forward is the most valuable lesson of all.
Jerome Knyszewski: Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. Can you share a story about advice you’ve received that you now wish you never followed?
Stephanie Riel: I can honestly say that I don’t live with regrets. I believe each decision we make leads us to where we are in present day. So without previous decisions, I cannot say that my business would be experiencing the same success it is today. However, at some point along my entrepreneurial journey, I received the advice to wait and gather more experience before focusing full-time on my business. In the years since quitting my “day job” to focus on my business, I’ve felt more and more that I wish I would have made the leap to full-time entrepreneurship sooner, though I am so grateful for the experience and lessons I learned from navigating both for that time.
I believe my ambition, curiosity and my intuition are most instrumental in my success.
Jerome Knyszewski: You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Stephanie Riel: I believe my ambition, curiosity and my intuition are most instrumental in my success. Ambition being first and foremost, as my drive to succeed and to success for our clients is at the root of all my decisions. That ambition keeps my “Energizer Bunny” energy going.
Curiosity is also a key as I am always eager and ready to learn. This trait also helps me recognize patterns for success across various client types and industries.
My intuition is often an unseen trait for my clients. I truly rely on my inner knowing to make many decisions behind the scenes, both in leading and building my business and in crafting strategy that will get our clients the best results possible.
Jerome Knyszewski: Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Stephanie Riel: As someone who’s fallen into bouts of “burn out” before, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is the importance of filling my own cup first. In the last few years, I block off calendar time each day for my morning routine. I also block off time weekly for working on the business. By keeping the commitment to myself to ensure I have time for my morning routine including stretching, meditation and physical exercise, I am able to show up as my best self for my clients, my partner and my friends. I believe this self-care is a crucial step to longevity and success.
Our client’s target audience is at the heart of every marketing recommendation or strategy we create. Stephanie Riel
Jerome Knyszewski: What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?
Stephanie Riel: A common mistake I see CEOs and founders make when they start a business is they think their product or service is for everyone and they do not take the effort to understand who their target audience truly is. Our client’s target audience is at the heart of every marketing recommendation or strategy we create. By putting the customer first, we are able to help ensure the brand messaging will resonate with the ideal target for the client’s product or service. Another common mistake I see CEOs and founders make when they start a business is they try to multi-task too much. This could be by attempting to offer a variety of products or services with mixed messages, or by wearing too many hats within the business. There is a fine line between efficiency and setting yourself up for failure by trying to do too much. My best advice in either of those scenarios is, let’s look at how we can simplify. Sometimes that’s developing a clear roadmap with steps and timeline to focus and prioritize business ideas. Other times that involves outsourcing certain tasks to free up time for more pressing tasks. No matter the scenario, taking a strategic approach to business can set that business up for success long-term.
Jerome Knyszewski: You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Stephanie Riel: I would love to inspire a movement that helps normalize mental health and encourages fellow humans to take care of their brains as much — or more than their bodies. In the last few years, I’ve incorporated wellness practices including meditation into my daily routine and the benefit to my brain and my mental health has been incredible. There is such a stigma around mental health in the United States, I truly believe that if we could help lift that stigma and normalize the need for brain training like meditation and therapy or counseling — we could really help so many who silently struggle.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Stephanie Riel: Follow me and RielDeal Marketing on our Instagram
You can also find me on LinkedIn, and link up with us on our Facebook.
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
