The Recognized Authority

The world of journalism and PR can feel nebulous to experts and consultants who don't interface with that world. But it can be a fantastic way to reach new clients and build relationships. In this episode Kate Warwick and Alastair McDermott discuss how to develop your messaging and positioning to take advantage of PR.  They also discussed the importance of well-structured executive summaries, and...

Most consultants love their work - but they don't love selling their work.  In this episode, Brendan McAdams and Alastair McDermott discuss how to qualify your prospective clients so that you can sell more effectively. We discussed the fundamental principles of sales that are often overlooked, and get into the psychology of why someone might not buy from you. They also discussed what Brendan learn...

Many consultants consider writing a book. It can be an invaluable marketing tool that can generate new business, demonstrate your expertise, and position you as the authority in your field. But from a business perspective, most books are a failure. In this episode Rob Fitzpatrick and Alastair McDermott discuss how to ensure your book is actually useful to readers, which will result in better sales...

Behind The Scenes: The Rebrand This one is a little bit different - it's a behind the scenes look at the rebrand that we did recently for the podcast where we rebranded from Marketing for Consultants to The Recognized Authority.  This episode is a conversation with my friend - and former business partner - Alistair McBride. We wanted to dig into the logic behind the rebrand, the choices, decisions...

Growing a consulting business is not easy, turning it into a business empire is a formidable challenge. In this episode, Peep Laja and Alastair McDermott discuss how Peep grew his SEO consulting firm by niching down and creating high value content. They also discuss how every company is becoming a media company for their niche. Show Notes Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show...

The Final Episode with Alastair McDermott Marketing for Consultants will soon be no more. In this short episode you'll learn why it's going away, and what's going to happen next! We hope you'll stick around for the next stage of the journey! Alastair & Aiko. The Recognized Authority: Episode No. 20 therecognizedauthority.com/20  

As a consultant, bespoke projects can sometimes get overwhelming as you have to customize the project specification and the delivery for every new project and client. In this episode Alzay Calhoun and Alastair McDermott discuss how to productize your consulting services to leverage your time and maximise profits. They also discuss how Alzay has used YouTube as a major channel in growing his busine...

There's a thousand different articles and voices telling us how to create buyer personas, or ideal customer avatars, or ICAs, or one of a dozen other names. Often the recommendations of how to use these personas are contradictory. In this episode, Adrienne Barnes and Alastair McDermott discuss how to create a buyer persona that's actually useful, and what to look out for along the way. They also d...

When you're trying to grow your consulting firm, there are a couple of inflection points you can hit that are difficult to push past. In this episode, Brad Farris and Alastair McDermott discuss how Brad now uses his extensive experience of buying agencies and creative firms to help owners to scale up without wanting to quit the business! They also discussed specialization, raising prices and sayin...

It's not always obvious what intellectual property assets you have, or their value to you as a business. It could be a signature methodology, an audit process, or something as simple as document templates. In this episode, Erin Austin and Alastair McDermott discuss how intellectual property can play a vital role in your business.  They also discussed what it takes to go from being General Counsel...

Bonus Episode! Transparency Report: Behind the Scenes Numbers Normally I do interviews, but today I'm doing a solo recording sharing what I call a transparency update.  If you're open to it, think that it's good idea to share some numbers from your business. It can be good for accountability, it can be good to be authentic, and it can help with trust. I think there's a lot of positives to doing it...

It can be difficult to reach out and connect wth new people on LinkedIn without coming across like a spammer. In this episode, Dana Lindahl and Alastair McDermott discuss how to use LinkedIn to win more clients through outbound and inbound lead generation. They also discuss how working with your competitors can be a positive, and how podcasts can play a useful role in increasing trust with your pr...

Winning large projects as a solo consultant can be difficult . Partnering up with trusted peers allows you to pitch for bigger projects , smooth out the “feast or famine” rollercoaster , and allows you to brainstorm ideas with a knowledgeable colleague . In this episode, Frank Hannigan and Alastair McDermott discuss how to get clients, do successful inbound marketing and have fun in business. Show...

Marketing isn't often thought of as a joyful activity - in fact, it's usually quite the opposite, being thought of as stressful, ineffective, or even worse in the minds of some consultants. In this episode, M. Shannon Hernandez and Alastair McDermott discuss how to approach marketing in a joyful way that makes it less of a chore. They also discuss why consultants don't love their business, and wha...

The world of financial advice is dominated by large financial institutions in Ireland. Yet one independent financial advisor stands out as a trusted source of information. In this episode of Marketing for Consultants you’ll hear Paddy Delaney tell me how he used his podcast to grow his financial advisory business to six figures in 2 years.. Show Notes Access all the links mentioned in this episode...

[Explicit Language Warning] How can you stand out from the crowd when you are offering the same services as a thousand other consultants? Radical differentiation is the answer. In this episode of Marketing for Consultants you’ll hear Louis Grenier describe the steps you need to follow to Stand The F*ck Out. Show Notes Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here . Connect...

Building your authority as an independent consultant is key to your success , getting inbound clients, and being able to charge higher fees. In this episode of Marketing for Consultants you’ll hear Rochelle Moulton share a framework to build your authority. Show Notes Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here . Connect with Alastair and Marketing for Consultants On Link...

People use the word "remarkable" quite often in conversation, but I think we don’t give much thought to the literal meaning. Douglas Squirrel has done just that, and made it a deliberate part of growing his solo consulting business to over $1MM in revenue. In this episode we talk about how he built a reputation in a small community by delivering big results. Show Notes Access all the links mention...

Deciding how to specialize your business, and then actually implementing that decision are the two phases of specialization. In this episode, Philip Morgan and Alastair McDermott discuss the transition from generalist to specialized, and when specialization is less important. They also discuss when to use brand marketing rather than direct response marketing techniques. Explicit Language Warning :...

You sometimes hear David vs Goliath stories in business, so when Wolfram Moritz told me how his 6-person firm beat a competitor with over 200,000 employees I wasn’t shocked but I had to know more about how they differentiated their firm. In this episode, Wolfram and Alastair discuss vertical specialization and how to become the authority in a billion dollar industry.  Show Notes Access all the lin...

Sometimes it takes a kick in the teeth to realize you need to change something about your business. In this episode, Sara Dunn tells us about experiencing that frustration and how it motivated her to find her niche. She speaks with Alastair about the importance of specialization. Show Notes Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here . Connect with Alastair and Marketing...

It can be difficult to figure out how to find your first clients and sell to them at the right price. In this episode of Marketing for Consultants you’ll hear Richard Newton share his insights on how to run a successful consulting business, how to find clients, and why he has published 13 books and counting. Show Notes Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here . Connect...

As a business owner, simply getting things done can be difficult, but getting things done successfully while also care-giving is remarkable. In this episode, you'll hear from Heather and Alastair as they discuss how “superheroes” manage their time. Show Notes Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here . Connect with Alastair and Marketing for Consultants On LinkedIn   On...

Becoming an expert in your field takes a lot of work and effort. But if you want to be recognized as an authority, you need to do more. In this episode, you'll hear from Jonathan and Alastair as they discuss how to become that recognized authority. Show Notes Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here . Connect with Alastair and Marketing for Consultants On LinkedIn   On...

This is episode 1 of The Recognized Authority podcast where Alistair McBride came on to kick off the podcast by interviewing me about lead generation in the world of expert consulting services. If you're an expert, the vast majority of marketing advice you see online is simply not relevant for your business. It's aimed at businesses that sell to consumers, tech companies that have budgets to burn,...