Now that we’re all stuck inside thanks to the coronavirus, video calls are the next best option, but most of us hate how we look on video (or so I’m told) and don’t know how to make the most of … Read More
consulting
LinkedIn Automation Gone Wrong Stories?
LinkedIn is a great place to curate a your professional network, keep track of people changing jobs, launching new venture, and sharing interesting content, but LinkedIn automation has filled our inboxes with spam. Some recent connection requests in my “inbox” … Read More
The professional services sales trap
Professional services people can be great at sales (and marketing), but we often struggle. Why is that? I think it has to do with the “professional services sales trap”, which actually sets your own expertise against you. In the last … Read More
Shhh… here’s a secret
Every great company is built on a secret. At least that’s what Peter Thiel writes in his book Zero to One: Notes on Startups or How to Build the Future. So here’s the secret at the heart of what I do … Read More
Who is the competition and what are the rules of the game?
How often have you been in the end stages of a sales cycle, you think you’ve laid out a great case against the competition, only to find the prospect goes dark? The first step to beating the competition is to … Read More
Sales for Nerds Signed Bookshelf winners
Congrats to the winners. (See if you won.) Put the books in boxes and shipped via UPS this afternoon. And many, many thanks to the authors who generously donated the books and some time (and for sharing their wisdom on … Read More
Reasons you don’t have a Lead Magnet on your site
After I published a 3,000 word article on using a Lead Magnet to generate leads for your professional services business, responses ranged from “hey, this is exactly what I needed”, to “this would never work for me.” Within the “never … Read More
How to Generate More Leads from Your Professional Services Website
When Bob Davis started his sales consulting business, Simple Sales Strategy, his business came from word-of-mouth. That’s great, but it’s not predictable. Naturally, Bob looked to his website to generate leads. He even invested in SEO to get better rankings … Read More
Don’t “Market”, “Teach” — marketing for consultants
Last week, I discussed how to “help” instead of “sell”. This is a powerful paradigm shift, especially if you find “selling” uncomfortable, unnatural, and/or unethical. But what about marketing? What about lead generation and business development? Another paradigm shift can … Read More
“Help”, Don’t “Sell”
Yesterday I met with a very smart, conscientious guy who takes great pride in helping his clients. He said, “I know I have to get better at sales, but I hate it!” So I recalled my journey. “Selling” is not … Read More