A Series of Events that led the WebMarketers’ Team to Phoenix, AZ
COVID19 and Connectivity
Evan Thompson and Steven Krouse met in the early spring of 2020, just as COVID19 had hit the nation and our individual worlds collapsed into liminal, pocket-sized universes within which we would soon live much smaller versions of lives once led.
Upon this arresting arrival of COVID19 and the ensuing global pandemic, our enforced domestic microcosms gave us cause and agency to explore in necessity the digital avenues of connectivity that were readily available to us.
With nothing to be done and a halting lull cast across our day-to-day lives, Evan filled his days, now empty, with digital entertainment. At this time, Evan had been filling his empty hours with videogames.
This is how they met.
Networking in Unusual Places…
Evan and Steve connected through the confined social conditions of pandemic living by way of virtual community.
S: “So, let’s start from the beginning. Tell me about the game that you and Steve were playing when you first met.”
Escape from Tarkov (EFT) was the game- a decision based massively multiplayer online first person shooter (MMOFPS), where players must tactically escape the war-torn city of Tarkov and stealthily find their way to freedom.
E: “It’s a very punishing game…the penalty for losing is extremely high. So, as a result, people get really invested. It’s like- when you play [other MMOFPS games] and you lose, you can come back and nothing really matters, but in this game if you lose, you lose everything.”
Evan explained the seriousness of the individuals who play EFT, and their earnest behaviour when playing this particularly intensive ‘grave stakes’ variety of MMOFPS.
E: “People get really invested. Really, really invested. There are people that you see that are serious and not necessarily having the most fun but that still want to play the game.”
In knowing this, it comes to no surprise that Evan and Steve connected with each other amongst the frustrated and irksome thrall of other players. Both Evan and Steve were interested in simply enjoying themselves and the activity.
Both Evan and Steve connected over their shared lighthearted dispositions and enthusiasm for the fun.
E: “Steve and I were always able to have a ton of fun- a total laugh riot all the time, which told me pretty early on that we were going to get along really, really well.”
Evan and Steve connected through an EFT Reddit forum.
E: “I had done everything- I had “beat the game”- so I was kind of bored. I was trying to find people because it’s so hard- there’s a very big barrier to getting into the game, so new people oftentimes need help to get over that initial hump really quick. It takes a very unique person to actually stick it out before they just get too mad [to continue playing]. So that’s how I met him. He was looking for help to try and figure the game out and I had already completed it, so I offered to help him.”
Processes of Lead Generation
Both with backgrounds in entrepreneurship and equally as passionate about their fields of work, the two instantly became fast friends. They spoke business in a particularly organic and fluid way, and connected in their shared interests in discussing business amongst businessmen.
E: “We were talking business all the time. I was running a company and he was running a company- it was hardcore business all the time. It was the very beginning of the pandemic and things were really quieting down. No one was really doing anything, yet. They were just figuring it out. So, we had a lot of time to play videogames together.”
Funny how the world shutting down could have led to such an amazing worldly experience…
Know Thy Client…
S: “So who was Steve, really? I’m interested to know what you thought of him, initially, before finally meeting him face-to-face in Arizona.”
E: “A genius…disguised in a blue collar package- not that these two things can’t coexist but, when everyone [the team] met him and spoke to him for the first time they were like: ‘holy f***, this is not the guy I expected.’ Which is honestly really cool.”
Steven Krouse is an experienced entrepreneur and the president of Krouse Aeronautical Services LLC. He was an Avionics Technician before he founded Krouse Aero, a position that requires a sharp intellect, precise attention to detail, and a keen ability to see the bigger picture.
This acute multifarious foresight and hard working mentality contributed directly to the contract struck with WebMarketers and what would then take place in Arizona.
S: “Did you think from the start that you were going to get into bed with him, business wise?”
E: “We never forced it [getting into business with each other]…it just really made a lot of sense because he genuinely needed the services we provide here at WebMarketers.”
“If we weren’t passionate about this project, about our client, and about his success, we never would have had this life changing experience”
The affiliation of WebMarketers and Krouse Aero was a no-brainer and, with both parties eager to work together as soon as possible, contracts were written up, signed, sealed, and delivered post haste.
The team was set to fly out to Phoenix, Arizona on December 13th, where they would all meet Steven Krouse officially, face-to-face, for the first time.
S: “So, in terms of the trip itself- from the moment you took him on as a client to when you guys actually flew out- was that a long window or was it quick, right away?”
E: “Yes, right away. We had to do this. Doing things so quickly was really a byproduct of the level of service we deliver. It happened really fast because we didn’t want to lose the time. We wanted to go down [to Phoenix], get all the photos and get all this content so that our guys could just start working right away.”
When the Passion Fuels the Project
The December 13th business trip was intended to gather video and photographic content at the Krouse Aeronautical location in Phoenix, but quickly flourished into much more than just a principal photography shoot.
Not only was it a business trip with the objective of shooting commercial content, but it was paramount a voyage of relationship building. This trip was an excellent opportunity for the team to officially meet Steve and get to know him as a person as well as a client.
E: “The trip went really well- it was fun! There was no- like when you get there, meet the person, and it’s awkward for the first bit- there was none of that. We just got there and jumped right in. He picked us up at the airport- we didn’t even know! We didn’t even get the chance to text him and say ‘hey, we’re here!’ He was just there…which is wild.”
Steve’s enthusiasm for the project was clear from the jump and unmistakable in his eagerness to meet the team. His enthusiasm to work together in collaboration with the WebMarketers’ crew, let alone his hospitality in hosting three snowbirds for an entire week in Arizona, made it very clear that this friendship between businesses and businessmen would endure.
E: “We’d be up between five [AM] and six [AM] and we’d be working until five [PM] or six [PM]. Really, the passion is what got us going out of bed first thing in the morning.”
The clear enthusiasm on behalf of all parties made the project what it was. Both parties were unabashedly thrilled to be working together and it showed through their high energy and commitment to the work.
At the End of the Day, what are we Really Selling?
In reflecting on this series of events, a through line stands out amongst the Krouse Aero project narrative.
Thinking back on his time in Arizona and on the actions that led up to this life-changing trip, Evan ruminated on his role within the Krouse Aero project.
S: “Out of this- what was clearly an impressive experience for you- what have you taken away? ”
E: “Yeah, honestly, it’s the true value of relationship selling…when you do things relationship first, this is what it yields- amazing opportunity and amazing experience.”
In leading ‘relationship first,’ Evan and the team prioritised relationship building over business, which yielded some truly amazing results.
It’s very clear from experiences like this that a relationship selling approach elevates WebMarketers as far more than just a digital marketing agency. We’re selling long term solutions for the health and wellbeing of our client’s businesses. In essence, we’re selling long-term success. Doing this to the best of our ability means bonding with you and your company.
In forming strong and genuine relationships with clients, WebMarketers’ services become exponentially easier to deliver and exponentially higher in quality.
The Power of The Network
If this series of events is evidence to anything, it is evidence to the power of the network.
The COVID19 pandemic was indelibly impactful to networking as a culturally significant phenomenon. It fostered an environment of extreme virtual connectivity, where the lengths in which individuals traversed to find community extended to the furthest ends of our contemporary digital landscape.
The Krouse Aero project and the circumstances of its inception are a direct reflection of this. Without these social conditions, it is likely that Evan and Steve would never have met.
This narrative, and the amazing experiences that transpired, speak to the value of networking within unique channels, if only in their potential to discover the amazingly diverse and unique clients that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
These conditions are what founded the Krouse Aero project.
Recognizing the value of using unique avenues for client discovery yields for amazing results within the processes of lead generation, and is exemplified in quality discoveries, such as Steven Krouse.
By isolating individuals from one another and disintegrating what previously defined our conventional social spheres, the pandemic emphasised the numerous avenues that empower us to connect and revealed that even the most unorthodox social spheres allow for interesting networking opportunities.
Steven Krouse was a rare find and the Krouse Aero project demonstrates this value.
“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”
S: “What do you think the successes of this whole experience have highlighted in your work? I guess, more importantly, what have we taken away from this experience?”
E: “I think what it highlights is the importance of your job aligning with your interests and passions because…it doesn’t feel like work to do when you love what you do. If we weren’t passionate about this project, about our client, and about his success, we never would have had this life changing experience…and it’s something that you just can’t fake. But it all begins with a company establishing and being true to its values and being transparent about these values and attracting the right people…and the magic takes care of itself.”
The actions taken that led the WebMarketers’ team to Arizona were an epochal series of events that did well to validate the ways in which Evan and the company as a whole navigate the rewarding intricacies of client relations.
The events that transpired and the experiences had by all stand as a clear endorsement for the supreme quality of work upheld at WebMarketers, and serve to validate the company’s approaches to client relations in a wonderfully impactful way.
Below is a list of the key services included in the Krouse Aeronautical project, which included:
- •Brand identity creation
- •3 day photo / video shoot
- •UI / UX (design of 2 websites)
- •Website development
- •Marketing strategy