There are lots of tools for sales and marketing automation, some quite powerful and effective, in the appropriate situation. But all of these tools will fail if you need to have real relationships and you try to “outsource” your side … Read More
marketing
If you rely on referrals, what’s your referral strategy?
For years, I relied on referrals, but I wasn’t intentional about it– I didn’t have a referral strategy. I just hoped I’d get a good referral. And even if I didn’t get a good referral, I felt obliged to pursue … Read More
Your Consulting Website Has 1 Job
To get you leads. That’s it. Everything else is just for fun. (A polite way of saying “vanity metrics” or “waste of time”.) Even if you don’t get any leads directly from your consulting website (often a self-fulfilling prophecy), people … Read More
The 2 Words You Don’t Want in Your Positioning Statement
Your positioning statement, elevator pitch, brand story, whatever you want to call it, should be doing a lot of heavy lifting for you. But there are 2 very short words that always weaken your positioning. (And I know some folks … Read More
The biggest lie on most indie consulting websites
Naturally, Jonathan Stark has summed it up better than I ever could. Check out more consulting comics (and lots of other consulting wisdom) on Jonathan’s site. Also make sure you listen to his interview on Sales for Nerds about ditching … Read More
Positioning is a lever for consultants to make sales and marketing easier
Levers are one of the basic machines you may have learned about way back in high school physics. Or, if you go back even further, the see-saw on the playground provides a visceral appreciation of leverage. If you sit further … Read More
The secret 2 step sales process to get consulting clients: it’s not quantum mechanics!
Some consultants, especially when they are uncomfortable with the sales and marketing side of running their own practice, have a tendency to make sales more complicated than necessary. They buy lots of books, take classes, implement enterprise-level CRMs, etc. (So … Read More
What’s the best CRM for an independent consultant?
People constantly ask me, “what’s the best CRM for independent consultants?” Actually, they usually don’t even qualify the question that much. They just ask, “what’s the best CRM?” (“CRM” stands for Customer Relationship Management, but most folks use it more … Read More
Generate Compelling Consulting Content from Conversations
A lot of consultants are very on board with the theory of creating compelling content for their ideal consulting clients to attract those folks online (and turn them into leads and conversations with lead magnets). But sometimes it’s hard to … Read More
Use AI to make you more human, not less
A lot of excitement about AI for consultants is about creating content and trying to automate relationships. But speaking (out loud or in written form) is not the same as communicating. And communicating is not the same as connecting. If … Read More