How to Sell Advice

As I wrote about the other day, one of the most critical aspects of scaling a consulting business without hiring a team is to generate assets from your ideas and expertise. In this episode, I break down how and why you should aim to document all your ideas and processes in your business to help you create leverage and grow without working harder. —k P.S. Know someone who would like to join this gr...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. A while back, I wrote a post arguing how specialization is simplification . The article spawned a series of questions around how to find a niche, so I thought I'd do an episode covering just this topic. In this episode, I talk about: Why you should niche (or not) Things to look for when picking a niche How limitin...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. In this episode, I break down the how and how long it took me to build an advisory practice out of my former marketing agency, including:] Revenue growth and timelines from 2017 to today Transitions from freelancer to employee to agency owner to consultant Bring a specialist and a generalist consultant Managed adv...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. Sometimes, people will not be able to afford the sticker price for your consulting services. Instead of folding and offering an immediate discount, there are lots of ways to work with them collaboratively to create a win-win (read: mutually profitable ) situation for both of you. The first way is by removing scope...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. In this episode, I talk about: Why you want to develop systems in your clients' business—not just implement projects Why you want to start slowly before adding on more layers Why you want to watch for signs of overwhelm closely And why you want to create momentum and confidence instead …all of this so that you can...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. Working with bad clients: Distracts you from doing your best work for your best clients Ties you up from working with new and better-fit clients Creates stress which you bring home to your loved ones Eliminates the chances of you getting a referral in the end Reduces the chance of you being able to do a case study...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. Do you get clear on business outcomes during your initial sales discussions? Do they make it into your proposal? Do they get referenced during and after the engagement? If not, chances are you're not winning as many deals as you could, and you may run into challenges down the road even if you do. In this episode,...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. Last week, I had a sales conversation for a $4,500/mo. advisory engagement that I almost lost because I didn't explain what I do well enough. Luckily, I was able to save the conversation and left the call feeling good about future next steps. What saved it was being able to show my documented methodology, includin...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. I saw a tweet the other day by Andrew Warner, host of the Mixergy podcast. He reaches out to potential guests asking if they would like to appear on his shows. Only 25% of the people he reached out to replied... which is wild because he has a huge platform. But when he started doing follow-ups, he doubled his resp...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. There's a common concern that working with multiple companies in a niche might create competition among your clients—especially when they operate in similar geographic areas. Usually, it's not an issue—especially if you don't work with companies who are going after the same market in the same locations at the same...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. I was asked recently by community member Alex Nech why I chose to run an advisory business instead going the agency route. In this episode, I break down most of the reasons I chose to go this route instead of growing my agency.  The main reasons include: Higher take-home profit at the end of the year (at my size)...

I talk a lot about having a methodology for your consulting work. It's core to the way you organize, package, and deliver your expertise. But the thing is, prospects don't really care about your methodology. At least, not at first. What they care most about are solving their pains and achieving their desired outcomes. Your marketing should focus on those things first and foremost. And yet, having...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. I've heard a few people lately talking about using day rates as a marketing advisor or fractional CMO. Things like one, two, or three days a week for X price per month. I've even heard of people charging around $10k+/month on a couple days per week with the client. Seems decent, right? There's no hard and fast rul...

Have you ever considered sponsoring a conference? It never dawned on me to do it before, but I recently did. In this episode, I talk about why I recently sponsored a conference for $1k in exchange for a logo on the conference website and a 30-second podcast ad.  Sound crazy? Maybe.  While this isn't something I normally do, I explain why this was on-strategy for me this time and why I wouldn't sta...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. The Travelling Roadshow is an approach I’ve picked up over the years that has gotten me several new clients while building my audience at the same time. In this episode, I break down my core approach to using webinars in a way that leaves people with tremendous value they can implement themselves while also subtly...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. A client recently asked me to downgrade or potentially pause our engagement. They were nervous about the future of their business as we continue experiencing COVID impacts and wanted to conserve cash/play defence. I suggested we have a call to discuss the financials and make a decision about what's best. When we d...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. There's a lot of power in consolidating your focus on one goal. In this episode, I tell a story about how a client I'm working with lacked a cohesive focus among the team. We were doing a lot of things very well, but the team of about 8-10 people were all thinking in silos. We were marching in different directions...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. As consultants, we worry about two things to various degrees at different times: 1. Are we delivering enough value? 2. Where will my next client come from/will it all dry it up one day? In this episode, I address both of these head-on. —k P.S. I announced the new membership tier, Mindshare Pro, today. Be sure to c...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. Are you hesitating to hit publish? It might be time to re-think your approach. Chances are, you're talking yourself out of publishing your good ideas because you think they're not unique, or interesting, or that nobody would pay attention anyway. In this episode, I talk about how to think about your content publis...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. Is being a marketing consultant a risky business model? Would you be better off being an employee? In this episode, I talk all about risk, including:   1. How companies flee to expertise during hard times 2. How COVID was riskier to many employees than to consultants 3. How the marketing industry is going more fle...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. If you're selling advisory services and feel stressed, burned out, or exhausted in the process, this episode is for you. Your job as an advisor is to sell access to your brain.  Sure, you may also bring a Rolodex of people, some systems and templates, training, and other supplementary resources, but that's not the...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. One of the ways I get clients in the coworking industry is with a travelling roadshow. It ultimately comprises of: Your big idea/way of achieving a desired result A lesson with free resources on how to DIY An offer to those who need (paid) support It's usually a webinar but it could also be a podcast appearance, c...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. When you approach your client work, do you follow a Methodology or standard process? Or do you make it up as you go along? I have a Methodology, and it makes every engagement streamlined and less stressful. It's like a checklist. Something to capture and document your ideas. But also to use as a reference in your...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. To succeed as an advisor, you need to get a lot of details right. But above all else, there are two core areas you need to get right when it comes to delivering your advisory services. Over-delivering for your clients Maintaining high ethical standards and integrity When you over-deliver, you're not only more like...

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community. Every so often, a prospect comes along who's not an ideal fit. And with that, the sales conversation usually doesn't go super well. In this episode, I talk about a recent sales conversation I had with someone who was not in my ideal target market. And there were two lessons: Niching and credibility are at the top...