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Happy Thursday! This video is a bit later in the day than usual (I bet many of you are seeing it on Friday) for a number of reasons, not least because I was busy trying to be wise, not smart. Watch the video and that will make sense. During a conversation with a Credo pro yesterday, I heard a story about leaving their job to go full time freelance and subsequently losing 3 of their 4 clients in the same…
Looking for a new digital agency that can accelerate the growth of your Podcast? Schedule a free marketing evaluation with our team to meet the right agencies fast. It’s fast, free, and we get it right. Interest in podcasts and starting a podcast has gone THROUGH THE ROOF in the last few years: Like any new or quickly rising tactic or strategy, you need to ask yourself if starting a podcast is right for you and your business. We all have our strengths and…
Today I received an email that said this: “Trying to sift through the rift raft. Any personal referrals?” This person was looking for help and when I sent him to the /inquire/ page on Credo, he came back with that answer. So I dug a bit deeper and learned that he’s been burned before and didn’t trust that page. So I reworked it, adding my face and a trust signal at the bottom, also letting him know that his information would be…
Running a business is hard. I’ve been working really hard lately, doing things like: the real estate guide a lot of outreach and guest posts podcasts new feature development I also haven’t had a real vacation in almost a year. I’ve had a few three days weekends (ish, because I still answer emails) and I try to take an afternoon a week off, but I’ve not had more than 3 consecutive days off in almost a year, even around the…
Thanks to the interest in this post, Credo has created the Credo Porter service to give you personalized consulting on what channels are best for your business and what type of marketer you should hire. Check it out! In my day to day of speaking with businesses and consultants, I’m confronted with the fact that a lot of businesses have no idea whether they actually need a marketing consultant or a marketing agency to fulfill their needs. Here’s the deal – I…
When you are working with your clients, do they view you as an outsourced vendor and “solution” to their problems, or do they view you as part of their team? Over the years I’ve seen both sides of the equation. Each has their own special advantages and challenges, so which one is right for you and your agency? It depends on your goals. In this week’s view, I talk about how I advise people to go about it. You’ll learn:…
One of the most interesting things about running my business Credo has been watching the pros on the platform sell their services to businesses interested in hiring a digital marketing professional. I have experience working in sales so as I have watched agencies and consultants try to sell their services, I’ve been able to guide many of them to much better close rates and therefore a lot more revenue for their business. One agency told me recently: The quantity and quality…
As a consultant myself and former agency marketer, I have had clients want to take their digital marketing inhouse after working with me for a while. This used to frustrate me because I thought that it meant that I would lose them as a client. What I’ve found, however, is that this doesn’t have to be the case. You can turn this situation into a win for your business. In this week’s view, I talk about how I advise people…
Note from John: this is a guest post from Garrett Mehrguth of Directive Consulting. Garrett started Directive in Southern California and has a wealth of knowledge around how to make a consulting project successful. Take it away, Garrett! There’s a general distrust of marketing agencies amongst in-house marketers and business owners alike. As a marketer, you can sense this distrust from the moment you get on the phone with a prospective client. As an in-house marketer or business owner, you are…
In my time running Credo and working both inhouse and agencies, I’ve seen a lot of companies pitch work. Some are super effective, others not so much. One of the most amazing things I’ve learned is how varied consultants/agencies are in their pitches. Some go to amazingly great lengths and put together in-depth Powerpoints with custom graphics. Others go much lighter and run a crawl and look at OpenSiteExplorer. Still others just package it up and sell the same thing…
Imagine you own a BMW. You love driving this car, with its sweet V8 engine and fantastic handling. You feel like you’re riding a bullet train on rails around sharp turns, and it’s fun. Boy is it fun. (Can you tell I’m a cars guy?) One day your car starts to smell funny. There’s no smoke or engine knocking or anything, but something’s not right. What do you do? Do you take it to the Honda dealership and ask them?…
There I was, sitting at a table outside under an umbrella in Mexico, looking over the infinity pool to the Pacific Ocean. I was drinking a cold Pacifico beer and eating some delicious tacos. At that moment though, my mind was far away from Mexico. I missed my wife and dog. Part of the lure of being a freelancer is the ability to work from wherever there is an available Internet connection. I’ll be honest that I love this about…
When you’re pitching new business, do you really understand who holds the budget purse strings and ultimately decides if your project starts, continues, and ultimately is successful? One thing I really learned working inhouse was the importance of knowing who the Highest Paid Person In The Room (the HiPPO) is and what they care about. I faced dynamics of founders and execs both wanting only their way (bad) and working well with others (good). If you’re talking with a marketing…
Looking for a new digital agency that can accelerate your marketing results? Schedule a free marketing evaluation with our team to meet the right agencies fast. It’s fast, free, and we get it right. HubSpot and Marketo are two of the more well-known marketing automation tools available. Both are publicly traded companies, both have their pros and cons. So which is better for your business, HubSpot or Marketo? We divided the information based on pricing, required commitment, features, the onboarding process, and common shortcoming according…
As a freelancer, consultant, or agency owner how do you know that your client is happy with the results they are getting? One area that many agencies and freelance pros need to improve upon is asking their clients for feedback so that the client can be better served and get a better return on their investment with you, which in turn grows your business faster. In this week’s view, I talk about the feedback loops that I have built (and…
When you get in a new lead and have your first sales call with them, do you have a process and set of questions you always make sure to ask? You should. And I’d like to make a suggestion for a question to add to your arsenal of information you need: What resources do you have allocated to implement our recommendations?
Looking for a new digital agency to help grow your business? Schedule a free marketing evaluation with our team to meet the right agencies fast. It’s fast, free, and we get it right. Today I have an exciting announcement both for pros and businesses looking for marketing help – availability! Now when you go to a pro’s profile (here’s mine) on desktop or laptop (anything bigger than a phone, really) you’ll see the pro’s availability for taking on work:
I once subscribed to the school of thought that marketing automation was lazy marketing. I thought it was depersonalized, spammy, and not the right way to do things. I’ve since changed my mind while running my own small business (and helping to scale a different business with a small yet mighty team) because when you have few hands on deck to make everything happen, you have to increase production beyond what you are physically or mentally capable of doing. Dilbert’s creator Scott Adams once said:…
In your work with clients, do you ever try to upsell them to more work after the initial engagement? Selling ongoing work is hard as an agency and even harder as a consultant since businesses often want to “try out” a provider before they are willing to commit. How many times have you heard this: “Let’s do an initial engagement and if that goes well then we’ll see about freeing up budget for more work” Don’t you hate hearing that?…
I’ve worked inside of and with quite a number of agencies. One of the common gripes I hear from consultants is: “Our freaking sales team sold this project and it’s not what the client needs.” Don’t you hate it when that happens? You may have sold a project and gotten that revenue, but I can almost guarantee you that this client will not stick around after the initial engagement simply because they aren’t getting the right project for them. To…
One of the hardest parts for both sides about a consulting arrangement between a business and an agency is communication. Communication is hard because it takes time, what’s said can be misunderstood, and many people who work digitally would rather not talk on the phone. When I worked at Distilled, we used to say this all the time: Communication solves all problems So as a business working with an agency (or looking to work with one), how do you communicate…
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