About.​

Smarti stands for Sales. Marketing. Advisory. Resources. Talent. Integration. The name is about what we do for businesses, and that's helping them prosper with marketing strategy, business development and agency selection.
Our smarts don't go to our heads - they go to your business. 

Established in 2001.

For 20 years, Smarti has managed and sourced marketing services for everyone from fast growing entrepreneurs to established global companies across industries spanning fashion to financial, restaurants to real estate, legal to luxury, farming to pharmaceuticals, travel to technology and more - to the raves of clients. 

​The "Agency Authority", Smarti provides a time-saving and cost-effective way for clients looking to partner with qualified marketing agencies in the areas of creative, advertising, digital, public relations and more. ​We know what makes for successful client-agency relationships.  ​

Leveraging the experience and insights that come from reviewing hundreds of pitches, Smarti helps business improve their sales presentations and new business pitches through pitch coaching and sales training. 

Michele Harris
Chief Matchmaker & Business Development Consultant
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Smarti Solutions is led by Michele Harris, a seasoned marketing and business development expert with over 25 years' experience developing revenue-rich programs for global business, emerging startups and marketing agencies.

Michele is the founder of Smarti Solutions, a leading agency selection firm for the mid-size marketplace. Michele has managed hundreds of reviews for advertising agencies, public relations firms, branding, digital, media and marketing companies, across a broad range of industries saving time and turmoil for both clients and agencies.

With the benefit of reviewing hundreds of pitches, she has the unique buyer perspective of seeing first-hand how clients make decisions and winners are selected. Michele provides valuable perspective, insights, business development strategy, presentation coaching and sales training to help agencies and businesses of all types communicate more effectively and win more business.  

Prior to Smarti, Michele was Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at agency Lowe Lintas, where she managed channel alliances and led mega million new business pitches and marketing strategy for clients including HSBC and various Unilever brands. Earlier, as Director of Business Development at digital marketing agency, Blue Marble ACG, Michele co-formed the agency's marketing consulting group and landed multi-million-dollar clients like Cadillac, Medscape & Nabisco, in addition to leading all business development initiatives with sister agencies N.W. Ayer and D'Arcy. Other agencies where Michele has managed client services include K2 Digital and Dentsu Advertising. Michele has developed national advertising and digital marketing programs for major brands ranging Procter & Gamble, Cadillac/GM, Hewlett Packard, Bayer, CIBC Oppenheimer, TDWaterhouse, Audio Book Club, Standard and Poor's, Canon USA and Japan Airlines.

​Michele started her career in sales training, as an Account Director and Eastern Regional Manager for field marketing agency, K&L Partners. Michele has recruited, hired and trained hundreds of brand ambassadors and field marketing representatives for clients including Hill's Science Diet/Colgate Palmolive, Castrol, Western Union and Perrier.

She has been covered by Media Post; PR Week; Crain's BtoB Magazine, CNN Money Magazine, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Post and Inc. Magazine and received a Small Business Award from Mayor Bloomberg.  ​Michele received her B.A. in Communications from George Washington University. 

Experience

Articles & Inspiration on Social Media

Media Coverage

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7/27/18 - Why More PR Agencies are Swiping Left on the RFP Process
​​​If the client-agency relationship is like a marriage, then RFPs might be the worst dating app ever. That’s why PR firms are saying they’re swiping left on more RFPs without even considering a first date.​
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​2/12/16 - How to Find an Agency You'll Love.  An RFP (Request for Proposal) may often be referred to as a "Recipe for Pain". They make a search for a marketing agency a "commodity" exercise at the best, and a complete waste of time at the worst - for both client and agency. ​
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9/10/15 - Tricks Advertisers Use to Make You Spend Money
​Can your heart and wallet resist these tactics?
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1/26/15 - How to Pitch VC Funders ​Opinion Commentary:
​If you ever get the opportunity to help a client pitch venture capital funders, go for it. The experience and feedback are priceless. 
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10/4/09 - Small clients (ac)count on CPAs as counselors Michele Harris' first phone call when she had good news or needed advice about running her eight-year-old marketing business used to be her father. Recently, she's noticed that another man in her life comes first: her accountant. "When I decided to get my own office space, I told my accountant before I told my family."​
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7/01/09 - What Clients Want in RFPs: Firms Can Win More New Business by Tapping Nine Hot Buttons in Proposals, Consultants and Clients Say RFPs are crucial to agency growth, but they can lead to much hair pulling and gnashing of teeth. Many are poorly written and vague. And according to a "State of Public Relations" survey, 87 percent of all public relations practitioners said they believe there is a need to provide more guidance to those who develop and issue RFPs.​
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 1/19/09 - Selecting an Agency: Weighing Your Options
​Marketers are being more selective about the agencies they work with and how they work with them.
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12/19/08 - Better Entrepreneur: Who was the better entrepreneur, Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark? Which company was better, Wayne Enterprises or Stark Industries?
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10/17/2008 - Firms' proposals must adjust to the times
In the current economic climate, RFP responses are more important than ever.  ​
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1/10/08 - The Smile Boutique in the Dentist's Office
​"Teeth-whitening woke everyone up and set the platform for new products and innovation.
Along with that comes the need to differentiate and brand yourself."
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1/07 - How I Did it - To save my business - and my sanity - I needed a system to budget my time. 
Be prepared for all the juggling you have to do and find a way to make sure you're not falling behind.
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3/9/06 - Award-Winner Smarti Solutions Honored by NYC Mayor's Office - Only marketing firm recognized. Smarti Solutions has been selected to receive a Small Business Award as one of 16 small businesses in New York City that "shape, serve and improve the lives of women".
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3/9/06 City gives $140,000 to women-owned firms  The city awarded 16 women-owned small businesses cash grants and announced a public awareness campaign aimed at promoting opportunities and services available to women in the city. The winners of the "NYC Small Business Awards" which were announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, received a total of $140,000
in grant money.