Playing the long game: 20 Questions with Sonya Aboudargham

Plugged In, Switched On.

In this episode of Plugged In, Switched On, we invite you into the conversations that matter in B2B tech marketing when our host, Barrie Seppings fires 20 Questions at Sonya Aboudargham from Dicker Data. Sonya is one of Australia’s most experienced marketers: working for the likes of Microsoft and IBM, then pioneering the ‘fractional CMO’ role as a consultant for many years before joining Dicker Data. in this interview, she explains why the most dangerous idea in tech marketing is quarter-to-quarter planning.
The interview format at Plugged In, Switched On is very simple: we ask every guest the same 20 Questions and invariably we get 20 wildly different answers.
Here are some of our favourites from our interview with Sonya Aboudargham:

• What's the one career move you wish you could go back and undo?
• Who have you learned the most from in your career?
• What’s the one thing in this industry that has gone on for too long and needs fixing?
• What’s the most overhyped buzzword in tech marketing right now?
• How different are you in ‘work mode’ compared to when you’re off the leash?

Sonya Aboudargham has almost 25 years experience in the B2B tech marketing industry, and in her current role as Senior Marketing Manager for the Microsoft Business at Dicker Data, she’s helping this Australian tech powerhouse make the most of its relationship with one of the global giants of the industry.

Barrie Seppings is the Executive Creative Director of The Splendid Group and the host of Plugged In, Switched On. Connect with Barrie on LinkedIn.
Thanks for listening!
If you want to learn more about Splendid Group , see some of our work or meet any of our people, visit splendidgroup.com

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1. Playing the long game: 20 Questions with Sonya Aboudargham (00:00:00)

2. Question 1: Your very first Plugged In, Switched On question as always is the elevator pitch. If you could tell us about Dicker Data, who they are, what they do, and why would anybody pay good money to do business with them? (00:01:53)

3. Question 2: Sonya, did you grow up dreaming of being in technology and marketing? What was the thing that you thought you were going to be in? (00:03:42)

4. Question 3: Which part of your job do you just naturally enjoy, Sonya? Which part do you find probably spending more time than is warranted just because you get lost in it, you enjoy it? (00:04:38)

5. Question 4: What's the one career move or moment that you wish you could go back in time and undo? (00:06:31)

6. Question 5: Who have you learned the most from in your career, and perhaps even if it was learning what not to do? (00:07:56)

7. Question 6: How do you convince yourself, Sonya, to get up every morning and lean into change when it's not the thing we want to do? (00:09:20)

8. Question 7: We've got really kind of desk jobs, brain jobs, thinking jobs. Do you have a routine? Do you do things to keep yourself active and healthy and to keep that work-life balance? (00:11:08)

9. Question 8: Who's the one that you came up against that went, "Okay, this group or this niche is a little bit different, needs to be treated differently?" (00:12:43)

10. Question 9: As a marketer, you're working in the creative field. What's the campaign or event or idea? What's that launch or something you've seen that you really wish that you'd done? (00:14:27)

11. Question 10: What's the one thing in this industry that's gone on for too long and, according to Sonya, just needs to be fixed? (00:15:57)

12. Question 11: What's the one question you'd ask an agency if you knew you'd get the truth? (00:17:04)

13. Question 12, How do you make the call between collaborating with someone or wanting someone to collaborate with you or just deciding, "I'm going to let them go do their thing?" (00:20:52)

14. Question 13: And are you able to tell them to back off a bit when they want to stick their beacon and you're just like, "No, no, this is my part where I do my thing"? (00:22:05)

15. Question 14: Which tactics or approaches are working for you and what do you decide that that's not worth put money into anymore? Where are you placing your bets right now? (00:22:38)

16. Question 15:What buzzword or concept right now do you think gets too much airplay you're just sick of hearing it? (00:24:25)

17. Question 16: What do you get out of bed for, Sonya? Where do you find your motivation, as you say, you've been doing this for a lot of years? (00:26:06)

18. Question 17: What's the most unexpected or unusual situation you found yourself in, thanks to work? (00:27:34)

19. Question 18:What was the pandemic or the lockdown experience like for you, Sonya? You mentioned you were an introvert, you kind of enjoyed it. (00:29:02)

20. Question 19: Do you feel like the Sonya that we see at work, is that similar to the Sonya at home when you're off the leash or have you got two different modes? (00:30:36)

21. Question 20: Sonya, do you have a secret weapon? (00:31:50)