Interview with Maria Jose Gomez Martinez

Listen to our next fascinating woman’s career story straight from Colombia! Please welcome Maria Jose Gomez Martinez from SMDigital Partners!

 

 

Share the story of how you first got into PPC?

I graduated as a Fashion Designer, and as soon as I finished university, I wanted to start working right away, (and needed). I don’t like to wait or lose time. But I wasn’t finding anything related to fashion, so I started looking into other possibilities, and someone I knew told me about a job opening in a digital marketing agency in Colombia (Where I live) they worked for the US market, the main requirement was to speak English, everything else “could be learned”, (Junior position), so that is how it all started! This was a job in which you had to just figure it out, not a lot of training or guidance. I learned through lots of Youtube video tutorials, reading, and practice, practice, practice, with small clients. I love that things happened this way, I love what I do, I enjoy it so much, I really feel this was my path.

What was the proudest moment of your PPC career?

I manage the biggest client account at the company I work for (6 figure monthly budget) seeing the big improvement in results, when we did a comparison between the previous year (managed by another agency) to the current year (managed by me), and earning the best employee of the year award!

Do you struggle with maintaining a healthy work-life balance?

A bit… My schedule in Colombia was very extensive, also traffic there is hectic, I arranged with the company I work for, that I could do 3 days at home and 2 days at the office, which made things much better, and then Covid19 hit, we all went to work from home all-time, my life has changed 100% for good, (the positive on all of this), I think now is pretty healthy, there are always some hectic busy days but from time to time it is ok!

Have you ever experienced any problems or challenges as a PPC because you’re a woman?

Not so far! Yay!

Have you ever had any advantages or benefits as a PPC because you’re a woman?

Yes, I feel male clients are “softer” when you are a woman. From my experience, they have more patience than when they deal with a male. Don’t get me wrong, is not like they don’t push, demand, or ask tricky questions, but I do feel their tone is much better than what it would be with a male

Are there any differences in how you’re treated as a female by clients?

Nothing that is negative!

Has a client ever underestimated you because you’re a woman?

Not a client actually, but I think other people…sometimes I feel they can get a bit surprised when they see I’m actually smart! lol

If you could wave a magic wand and change something in the PPC world, what would it be?

I wish Google was more result-oriented, not only for them but also for their clients, (a better double handshake kind of deal!) Even though I have gotten good results with the accounts I have managed, I do feel that a lot of times they just take a big chunk of money on things that don’t end up working.

What about being a PPC do you enjoy the most?

I get a kick out of generating new business and opportunities for my clients, I am one more salesperson, but I do it with my paid ads knowledge!