The real challenge with follow up for solo consultants isn’t lack of leads or time (although those can be issues, too). After all, if you had exactly one person to follow up with this week, you could easily make that … Read More
sales
Automation and Organization
Almost 2 years ago, I wrote a post on organization vs automation for sales and marketing, and if I may say so, I think it stands up pretty well. Since then, AI-slop has only proliferated, making more noise, more attention … Read More
Using a CRM for effective networking
Traditionally, CRMs are for a VP of sales tracking the sales team’s efforts to push deals through a pipeline by the end of the quarter. They don’t have much to say about networking and referrals. But if you get most … Read More
Pivots vs Tweaks
Solo consultants often suffer from feast-or-famine cycles, and even if you manage to smooth things out, there’s always some up and down that makes you consider adjusting. But when you’re really busy, it’s hard to make the tweaks to incorporate … Read More
What do you do?
“What do you do?”, is one of the most common questions people ask Americans, especially entrepreneurs. What do you say when someone asks? I attend a lot of networking events where seasoned entrepreneurs act like they have never heard this … Read More
Turn “Zoom Networking” into a Useful Referral Network
If you’ve ever been in a Zoom networking meeting where attendees post contact info in the chat, and the host reminds everyone to save the chat, and you actually remember to do that, but the then file disappears somewhere in … Read More
Why “Sales” Sucks for Solo Consultants, and Trying to Fix It Just Makes It Worse
We’ve all experienced the attack of the aggressive salesman, chasing us across the car lot, shoving a business card at us while we’re just trying to grab a drink, calling and emailing incessantly, trying to wear down our resistance until … Read More
AI for Solo Consultants: Your Intern, not Your Replacement
There’s a lot of talk about AI replacing and transforming jobs, which has some kernels of truth alongside a whole lot of AI-hype. It’s hard to throw an AI-generated rock without hitting a newly minted “AI Expert” or “AI Strategist”. … Read More
Selling a Porsche to a Honda Buyer
“It’s even smaller than I pictured, but I guess I can make it work. How much is it?” “$195,000.” “What? But the Honda I’m looking at is $30,000.” “Well, that’s a very different vehicle.” “I know. It has more room, … Read More
Who should I talk to next?
It’s one of the big dilemmas– we know we need to do a better job of following-up, but with limited time and limited energy, how do we know who to follow up with? I know I’ve spent hours staring at … Read More