A Chat With Senior Account Executive Mary Anne Deras Soltis

Mary Anne Deras Soltis was the first employee hired at ChoiceLocal. Her story tells much about the evolution of ChoiceLocal from its humble, eager beginning into a comprehensive digital marketing firm with employees spread across the nation.

We visited with Mary Anne to learn more about her role as the seniormost Account Executive and how the company has changed over the years.

Describe your duties as Senior Account Executive.

As a Senior Account Executive at ChoiceLocal, my primary mission is to serve and advocate for my partners in developing digital marketing strategies to support them in sustaining and growing their business. My partners are all home care franchisees who provide in-home care services to seniors and other vulnerable adults needing care, so I develop strategies to attract new private-pay clients to their businesses. I also assist some of my partners with recruiting qualified caregivers to provide care to their clients. Given the vulnerable populations my partners serve, the need for high-quality care and highly qualified caregivers is extremely important.

What were you doing before ChoiceLocal, and how does your work differ from other industries?

Immediately prior to coming to coming to ChoiceLocal, I had spent 13+ years working for a private law firm providing assistance to immigrants navigating the U.S. immigration legal process, particularly those coming from other countries to work as teachers in public schools in shortage areas, those applying for political asylum, and those facing any type of court litigation of their cases. Prior to that I had also spent nearly a decade working in various capacities in the non-profit sector. Digital marketing was in some ways a significant shift from my prior work, but I find myself using many of the skills I developed in previous positions in my work as an account executive. In particular, spending time really listening to and understanding my partners’ needs and developing strategies to best address their goals and pain points is not only similar, but it is my favorite part of my job. I am always happiest when at the end of a partner meeting, the business owner will say that they feel better for having had the conversation we just had (particularly if they were having a rough day before we met.)

You’ve been with ChoiceLocal longer than most. How has the industry and company changed in that time?

Both the industry and the company have changed a lot! When I started at ChoiceLocal I was the first and only full-time operations employee and the second full-time employee! While Joe Soltis had already developed an impressive and comprehensive structure for providing digital marketing services particularly in the areas of SEO and pay-per-click marketing, we were providing only limited services in the social media arena and not much beyond those three areas. Today we are a company of over 100 employees providing comprehensive digital services with vastly expanded social media services, in addition to marketing automations services including Email Marketing, Lead Capture and AI chat, programmatic/geo-fencing, web development services, video production and editing and – most recently, we developed our own AI software, CLAI™ which is already making a huge impact on SEO and which we are currently rolling out to other services. Additionally, all of our initial partners were home care franchisees, and 10 years later we provide our services to business owners and franchise systems across many varied industries. Another significant change in our company since we started is that in the early years most employees came into our office in greater Cleveland and most employees were based in the local area, but since the pandemic, ChoiceLocal employees are working from locations in at least 10 states. Since Google and other search engines are constantly changing their algorithms, different social media platforms are coming in and out of prominence and constantly evolving, and things like geofencing and AI are now at the forefront, there is never a dull moment and always something new to learn and new challenges to face in order to keep our partners competitive in their markets.

What is the go-to app you use every day?

Facebook (which shows my age!) and GroupMe (which shows I have children!)

What’s your favorite story at ChoiceLocal?

I think my favorite story at ChoiceLocal is the story of ChoiceLocal, that the tragic loss of our CEO’s son inspired him to start ChoiceLocal which in the course of a decade grew from a dream into a reality where over 100 employees currently work. The ChoiceLocal values impact not only the businesses and lives of our partners as well as their clients and employees, but also the ChoiceLocal employees’ lives and the lives of their families. It is inspirational how one death can lead to so much goodness and life for so many people.

What’s your biggest challenge as an AE?

Addressing seasonality and the ups and downs of interest in the services my partners provide is probably the biggest challenge. In addition, identifying and attracting clients looking to private pay or use long-term care insurance for services is a challenge, as most of my partners do not accept Medicare, Medicaid or regular health insurance which many people hope will cover these types of services. There are also geographical differences in the number and type of people looking for in-home care services, so a strategy that works in one market may be far less effective in a different market. Depending on market conditions, some partners really struggle to find qualified caregivers at times, so it can also be challenging to balance attracting new clients with attracting qualified caregivers.

Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you.

I am proficient in Spanish.

Mary Anne Deras Soltis has worked at ChoiceLocal for over 10 years as an Account Executive. Prior to working in digital marketing, she worked at a private law firm and in in various capacities at different non-profits and was extensively involved in volunteer recruitment and support. In her free time, she enjoys travelling and volunteering helping provide rent and utility assistance to her neighbors in need through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, where she serves as president of her local conference. Mary Anne, who was widowed in 2024, lives in Houston, TX with her 17-year-old son Santiago. She also provides support and encouragement to her late-husband’s older children Sinddy, Sandra, Tanya and Alex, as well as his two grandchildren, Adriana and Heidi.

About ChoiceLocal

ChoiceLocal is a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in serving franchises. Our digital marketing agency delivers amazing results, backed by The ChoiceLocal Guarantee. With a team of over 100 digital marketing experts, we utilize CLAI™, ChoiceLocal’s revolutionary sales and digital marketing AI super-intelligence, to accelerate digital marketing growth. We provide comprehensive digital marketing services for franchises with a special focus on home care marketing, moving and storage marketing, law firm marketing, plumber marketing, home improvement marketing, painter marketing, electrician marketing, pest control marketing, HVAC marketing, and more. Take advantage of a complimentary digital marketing growth strategy, complete with lead, revenue, and ROI projections, from ChoiceLocal today.