consulting

Word of Mouth Marketing Michael Katz Blue Penguin Development

Are you maximizing word of mouth and referrals?

Referrals are awesome, right? Just because I’m a big fan of “growing beyond word of mouth”, doesn’t mean I hate referrals. On the contrary, I love referral business. When I did consulting, all my business was word of mouth. (And … Read More

Create Video Testimonials in Less than 2 Hours

Wouldn’t it be great to have a client video testimonial or three on your website? Video testimonials are great, but who has time to create them, or money (and time) to have someone else create one? I don’t know what … Read More

How to Use Lead Magnets that Convert on Your Consulting Web Site

Ahmed Munawar, host of the Forecast podcast for consultants, invited me on to discuss how to use Lead Magnets to convert visitors into clients.     How to Create a Lead Magnet that Converts with Reuben Swartz

Don't sell the operating room

Don’t Sell the Operating Room

You’re all ready for your big surgery. A nurse takes you into the operating room. All the surgical tools are laid out, but there’s no one else there. The nurse says, “knock yourself out, and good luck.” That would be … Read More

Mimiran Referring Contact Sales Referral

Referrals in the Internet Age… Let Me Introduce You

Referrals are the best leads. That’s why some of our favorite words to hear as business owners are, “let me introduce you to someone who might need your help.” Depending on who you ask, they are 2x, 5x, or infinitely … Read More

Language Traps

I’ve spent a lot of time on this blog talking about how storytelling is important for sales (and marketing), and particularly the way language helps construct our reality, which means it can also lead us into traps. For example, how … Read More

ROI Calculators

Now you can embed ROI calculators in your lead magnets (or proposals). ROI Calculators are popular online because they promise to help your prospects discover just how valuable your offerings are. However, this promise is often unrealized because: Online calculators … Read More

Every Company Is a Media Company

Congratulations! In addition to your regular job, you also run a media company because every company is a media company. “That’s ridiculous!” We’re a consulting company, or a software company, or a law firm. Or we manufacture widgets. “We’re the … Read More

Technical pain, business pain, life pain

The 3 Levels of Pain for a Compelling Proposal

Writing a strong proposal requires a good understanding of the prospect’s pain point(s). However, the way many people have these discussions only scratches the surface of the pain, which leaves you without a complete picture of the problem, and therefore … Read More

multiply the value of your content

How to Multiply the Value of Your Content

Great content is great. It’s also really hard to produce and who has time for that, anyway? You can take a page from Oprah’s book and multiply the value of your content creation efforts by spreading their impact, or repurposing. … Read More