Frank and Fearless

Clark Briggs knows construction, an industry he first joined at the tender age of 17. Almost two decades later Clark is the highly successful co-founder of CMC Group International, an industry leader in the provision of professional services to the engineering and construction sectors. Wait, how can construction and engineering be professional services? Join us for a though provoking conversation with Clark as we explore how strong positioning and understanding your ideal client ensures you are able to deliver value and run a highly profitable firm in a highly fragmented and contested market.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/9Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: S Strong - The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong

In this bite sized masterclass, Ceinwen takes listeners through First Follower's approach to networking with intent. A core component of business development is networking, however many people struggle with how to confidentially navigate the different settings this can take place in for example a client meet and greet, boardroom luncheon, industry event or conference. Ceinwen draws on her experience, and the Devil Wears Prada, to illustrate how preparation is key to ensure maximum return on investment both personally and professionally. Key learnings include the tools to prepare effectively and the value of a professional wing (wo)man as you increase your confidence in a range of new business settings.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/8Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: S Strong - The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong

Ceinwen explains the client hierarchy framework, a powerful methodology which segments clients into three distinct categories; Premium, Growth and Base. This analysis helps to reduce less profitable clients, nurture growth clients and invest in premium clients. Ceinwen also discusses how this framework helps to construct a successful growth strategy.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/6Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: S Strong - The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong

Ceinwen sits down to chat with Andrew Hoyne, the Principal of brand agency, Hoyne. As a leader in brand creation, Andrew has has worked on internationally renowned brands from Starbucks to Nike, including well-known Aussie brands; Triple J, Australia Post, Pure Blonde and Vegemite. In recent years Hoyne evolved their service offer, working closely with developers, government and councils with a core focus in place and property. In this episode, Andrew discusses how Blair Enns’ Win Without Pitching Manifesto completely reshaped the way he does business. Declaring that the value pricing principles prompted him to ask the right questions to his clients, which lead to higher purpose and increased profitability for his firm.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/6Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: S Strong - The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong

In a second conversation with Blair Enns, Ceinwen examines the concept of value pricing, a methodology brought to light in Blair’s superlative book, Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour. His valuable, profit driven advice circulates around ‘the value conversation’, how to handle risk and centralising your pricing with more meaningful measures. Originally developed for the creative services industry, Ceinwen and Blair discuss how this methodology can be successfully adopted into professional service organisations.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/5/Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: S Strong - The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong

Ceinwen meets with holistic business and legal consultant, Artemis Evangelidi, the Founder and Managing Director of Aipeia Consulting, an international firm focused on creating successful, sustainable and empowered businesses and leaders. Born and raised in Melbourne Australia, Artemis has over 20 years’ experience across 4 continents working with some of the world’s largest investment companies. Artemis has seen first-hand how successful businesses thrive. Now based in Cyprus, Artemis’ mission is to bring about global change by empowering people to be the best they can be, enabling a growth mindset.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/4 Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: S Strong - The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong

The legendary Blair Enns, author of The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond The Billable Hour, joins Ceinwen on the podcast. Through his sales training program for creative professionals, he started out on a mission to change the way creative services are bought and sold the world over. Having applied Blair’s principles to her business development strategy, Ceinwen highlights how the Win Without Pitching methodology has created a valuable and qualitative impact on her business and why the professional services industry should adopt these concepts.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/3Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: S Strong - The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong

Aaron Fitzgerald is the Chief Operating Officer of Grill’d Australia (Australia’s largest privately owned restaurant group) and CEO of Grill’d International. With a career spanning over twenty years, Aaron is best known for driving growth and profitability across Australia’s best known brands via strategy, structure, culture and people. In a holistic conversation with Ceinwen about business, Aaron discusses building capability in teams and nurturing the ‘culture keepers’ who enable growth by challenging leadership to achieve greater outcomes. Ceinwen asks Aaron how he manages to keep on top of it all. The answer? He dedicates 20 minutes a day to something we should all be doing a lot more of.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/2Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: S Strong - The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong

Ceinwen McNeil, Founder and Managing Director of First Follower, delves head first into Episode 1 of her new series, Frank and Fearless, for business leaders with a growth mindset.Best known for her direct approach, commercial acumen and, of course, her Frank and Fearless advice, Ceinwen builds on her 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors of professional services. In this episode, Ceinwen outlines why a highly sophisticated approach to business development in professional services is required to thrive in today’s heavily commoditised and commercial landscape. She also introduces us to her 'Collection’, an elite network of experts whom Ceinwen will interview over the course of the series.Visit the show notes at: https://www.firstfollower.com/podcasts/1Learn more about growth strategies at: https://www.firstfollower.com/Theme music: The Rover by S Strong https://soundcloud.com/s_strong