I’m back! Last week I was on vacation in Glacier National Park, which if you have not been is absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous (if you’re into…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
As an agency owner, consultant, or freelancer you’ve likely worked with account managers at some point in your career. Maybe you even started as one….
If you’re an agency owner or consultant, you probably have challenges with client retention. Retaining clients is the holy grail of consulting, but it’s hard….
I hate wasting time. I do everything in my power to optimize my time so that I can maximize it, which means that I can…
I’m not going to bury the lede. Your greatest lead source of qualified business is already in your possession. No, I’m not talking about raising…
When I do the occasional consulting project, I often get asked if I’ll do work for cheaper than what I quote. I’m not cheap to…
Do you ever have prospective clients telling you that you are too expensive for them? If this happens super early in the sales cycle, that’s…
I get asked often by consultants and agencies for feedback about how they sell business. I see a lot of the sales discussions happening via…
A note from John: this post comes to you from Everett Sizemore at Inflow, who also wrote the monster Prioritizing Your Marketing Channels post. I…