Dave McCall is a commercial director at Yatter, a paid advertising agency headquartered in Edinburgh.
Named as one of Prolific North’s Independent Agencies to Watch for 2024, Yatter has a team of nine serving some of Scotland’s leading brands and a wide range of national and international clients.
McCall joined the agency in 2021 and is also the owner of DPM Consulting, working with digital marketing professionals, tech companies, startups and freelance web and app developers.
From lucky breaks to failures, he shares all the lessons he’s learnt across his life and career so far…
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
In my role, building strong client relationships is paramount, so I dedicate time each day to practising deep listening.
Speaking to business owners every day about their paid advertising, I need to understand their challenges, their aspirations and also the nuances of their business in order to know if we can help them or not.
By making sure I’m fully in the zone with them, I can give them the attention they deserve which ultimately means I can hopefully leave them with some value from our interactions too.
What’s been your luckiest break?
I’ve had a few lucky breaks in my life, but one that really stands out for me is meeting Gavin Bell, my now business partner randomly at a conference in Nashville of all places.
We both have a desire to build something great and our complementary skillsets have definitely been a strong contributing factor for some of the success we have had so far.
What’s your best failure?
My best failure would have to be taking a management job that my gut was telling me not to take, that I was ultimately made redundant from after a few years.
That redundancy forced me into self employment and even though I never realised it at the time, it was the right time for me. I sometimes question whether or not I’d have made the leap if I hadn’t gone through the redundancy process.
The key lesson in there is that sometimes setbacks can be opportunities in disguise.
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
The best investment I’ve ever made has been taking the time to deeply learn and understand the psychology behind selling and also taking the time to learn as much as I could about the world of digital marketing, and sales in the digital era.
This knowledge has been instrumental in my career, helping me to build strong relationships with clients, get to understand their needs on a deeper level and ultimately closing more deals which is in itself a very valuable skillset to have as there will always be a demand for businesses to sell more products or services.
By understanding buyer psychology, I’ve been able to approach sales with both empathy and authenticity, leading to greater satisfaction and success in my career so far.
Which podcast or book would you recommend others to read and why?
“Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini.
For anyone interested in the power of persuasion and influence, this book is a masterclass in human behaviour and sales psychology. It definitely helped me to become a more effective communicator, negotiator and leader.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Stop worrying about the future. Everything will be okay and take care of itself if you work hard, and always act in good faith. I recently heard a quote which stood out to me “A life lived in fear, is a life half-lived” and I wish I’d heard that at 21.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
My parents. Their work ethic and the sacrifices they made for my siblings and I will always drive me forward. Their belief in my abilities and their guidance on overcoming challenges have been instrumental in the decisions I have made to get to where I am today, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
As an adult, I build Lego sets to relax. The Lego car collection is currently sitting at 11. This number will increase…
If there was one thing you could change about your career, what would it be and why?
I would have accepted earlier that a career in sales was indeed the right path for me. For many years I told myself that sales was a stop gap until I found my actual career path, not realising that the journey in sales would lead me to where I am today.
Other than that, I don’t believe in dwelling on past decisions. There have been many questionable ones, but none of them are worthy of my current focus or attention.
What does success look like to you?
Success to me is a combination of achieving personal fulfilment and making a tangible impact. It’s about achieving goals that both challenge and inspire me in equal measure, having the ability to balance my ambitions with integrity and leveraging my talents to create lasting value. Ultimately, I believe that success is measured by the positive difference I can make both professionally and personally.
