 | Episode Cheat Sheet |
26 OCT 2026
49 MIN LISTEN
| Brought to you by |   |
| From Bushy |
Every year around now, there is a huge pressure to spend more on ads at Black Friday. Often this comes internally from agencies or the ad platforms themselves. I'll err on the side of optimism and say it's because they see it as an ideal time to try and hit your goals. But what if they aren't clear on what your goals actually are?
Dorry Kordahi from Swanky Socks got that exact pitch to double his Google spend. He pulled his own numbers instead and found that the alignment was all out of whack. It's some of the most timely advice I've heard heading into Black Friday.
CHEERS, BUSHY
| 01 Skip To The Good Bits |
Tap any time code anywhere in this cheat sheet and the episode opens on YouTube at that exact moment.
| Learn every part of the business, not just your job | 5:32 |
| Hire for the stage your business is at | 7:14 |
| Use a retail price to sell B2B | 11:10 |
| Let quality do the repeat-purchase work | 16:13 |
| Sell value to B2B buyers not a unit price | 20:24 |
| Hold your price when everyone else is on sale | 23:53 |
| Check your own numbers before you double ad spend | 26:01 |
| Picture what could go wrong before you scale | 30:25 |
“Why would I pay full price for something if it's always on sale?”
DORRY KORDAHI | Swanky Socks
| 02 The Big Lesson |
CHECK THE NUMBERS BEFORE YOU DOUBLE THE BUDGET
Swanky Socks spends a lot on Google. When Google and the agency told Dorry to double it, he went to his own numbers first. With Black Friday weeks away and every rep pushing for more budget, his three checks work for any brand.
RULE 01
Put the platform's conversions next to your own
Google's numbers said the ads were bringing in plenty of sales. Swanky's own numbers in HubSpot showed far fewer. Side by side, they were spending more on Google than it was making them.
We're spending more than we're selling.
RULE 02
Know what a customer costs you now - not three years ago
Dorry says a customer from Google now costs Swanky far more than it did three years ago. AI search and chat are changing where people find products. We're all (including the agencies) learning as we go. A channel that worked in 2023 needs to earn its budget again in 2026.
I think Google's not the only solution anymore, and it used to be and it used to work.
RULE 03
Bring in experts but you make the call
Dorry is happy to hire people who know more than him about ads, AI and new channels. But the decision to spend still sits with whoever reads the P&L. Swanky now spends less on Google and gets a better return.
Get people on board that are smarter than you in certain areas, but then you've got to be smart enough and wise enough to read your business.
BUSHY'S TAKE
There's a good chance the ad platform claim a lot more than they're actually delivering. Only you will know the true impact for what you're trying to achieve. At the end of the day, ad spend is your decision! Not the platform or the agency.
| 03 Key Number |
~4 million
PAIRS SOLD WORLDWIDE, IN 30+ COUNTRIES
How Swanky opened doors overseas
Swanky didn't reinvent the brand for every market. It leads with one story that travels: Australian merino.
Swanky has an office in the UK and sells a lot there. Most UK buyers aren’t Australian merino experts but they know that it keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer. The material is a built-in sales pitch. In the US, Australian merino already reads as quality.
Distributors and big brands get the products into new customers’ hands. Through one of Swanky's distributors, a European dairy brand ordered 85,000 pairs as a gift with purchase at McDonald's. Each pair carried a €17 retail value, and the socks ended up all over TikTok.
If you're looking at a new market, find the one thing about your product that doesn't need translating and lead with that.
| 04 Test Yourself |
Swanky Socks spends a lot on Google. Dorry has watched the cost of winning a new customer there climb over the last three years.
Dorry says a new customer from Google now costs Swanky Socks how much more than it did three years ago?
Submit your answer and get the correct answer at the bottom of this email.
| 05 Steal These Tactics |
1
Ask AI what could go wrong, not how to fix it, and use it as a thinking partner before a big decision. 38:36
2
Count every customer wearing your logo as free advertising when you weigh what a B2B order is worth. 23:29
3
Reward volume with bundles and free shipping instead of running a discount every week. 24:39
4
Hold off on senior hires until the business can carry them so they don't burn through your cash flow. 8:05
5
Pick one quality story that travels, like Australian merino, because it sells in the UK and US without too much explanation. 19:56
| 06 The Stack |
Swanky's biggest paid channel, and the one Dorry pulled back on when the conversions didn't add up.
The other half of Swanky's paid acquisition alongside Google.
The CRM Dorry used to check Google's conversion numbers against what actually came through.
Dorry found it's one of the biggest selling tools in Saudi Arabia, a reminder that channels change by market.
| 07 If This One Landed |
EP378
Simplifying Ecommerce with Iain Calvert
If the Google conversions don't match your CRM, start here. Iain's simple test shows how far the platforms overclaim and what to measure instead.
EP669
Lonely Kids Club Had Its Entire Store Copied on Temu. Warwick Levy on Getting It Back
Holding your price takes nerve when a cheaper copy shows up. Warwick explains why they raised prices and still won't compete on price.
EP545
Flat Bottles, Big Business: How memobottle Disrupted Hydration Design
B2B orders can build your brand if your name stays on the product. memobottle puts both brands on every bottle and turns down deals that don't fit.
| Pass It On |
Episode Cheat Sheets are built to be forwarded. If you know someone about to sign off a bigger Black Friday budget, send them this one.
| Continue the Conversation |
Would you double your Google spend this Black Friday, or check the numbers first? And is holding full price still realistic when everyone else is on sale? Jump in and tell us, whether you're a regular in the community or brand new.
Free to join. 800+ Australian ecommerce operators talking shop every week.
| Quiz Answer |
5x. Dorry says a new customer from Google now costs Swanky five times what it did three years ago. That's why he checked his own numbers before agreeing to double the budget. 26:55
| 2027 Partnerships Are Open |
Want your brand in front of Australia's ecommerce operators next year? Our 2027 partnerships are open now. There are 25 categories, including 2 Gold and 6 Silver spots. First in, best dressed.
