How to Sell Advice

I recently interviewed Reza Saeedi—a marketing strategist and former Director of Marketing at On Deck—about his transition from employee to marketing advisor to employee again with advising as a side venture. In this episode, we chatted about things like:How Reza got into marketing and eventually, as a mentor/advisor to entrepreneurs How he was able to get one fractional CMO and two advisory clients quickly after leaving his job at On DeckThe role of casual networking and how it led to unexpected opportunities down the lineThe difference between being specific and niching down in business based on your strengths and interestsThe role of risk-reversing guarantees and discussing prices against value during sales conversations Why turning away poor-fit clients helped with his overall confidence and contributed to his early successHow to internally handle the fact we can't guarantee successful outcomes The value of factoring in word of mouth and referrals into your marketing planThe intersection and overlap between teaching and advisory work How Reza plans to do part-time advising in a low-labour, sustainable way How Reza stays productize and organized in his workThe importance of exercise, habits, and mental health optimizationPlus many fun tangents along the way!Whether you currently have a job and are thinking about advising full or part-time, or you're already independent but looking to get into advisory work, this episode will have a ton of insights to offer you.Key links and mentioned resources:Reza on LinkedInReza's personal siteReza on X.comPassage.comEpisode 200: Kevan Lee on part-time advisory work, mentorship, equity compensation, and moreThe Win Without Pitching Manifesto (Book)Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 4,000 Weeks by Robert BosmanReadwise App

So, you want to publish content to attract clients.Do you start a blog? Hammer out posts on LinkedIn every day? Start a YouTube channel? A podcast?Good question. I get asked it a lot. In fact, someone in Mindshare asked me about it again today, so I thought I'd break out my mental model for how I think about publishing and distributing content.Here is a visual breakdown to look at while you listen to the latest How to Sell Advice podcast episode: 

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Brad Hussey—a former web designer turned creator, educator, and community builder.In this episode, we talk about things like:How he made the leap from employee to full-time web designerHow he successfully sells web design courses on platforms like Udemy, Awwwards, Teachable, and other placesHow these courses lead to people hiring him for web design services, training, coaching and even requesting more courses—creating a flywheel for his businessHow he leveraged his expertise into a partnership with Wix, where he hosts and maintains the Creative Crew CommunityHow his partnership with Wix is structured and run in terms of compensation and accountabilitiesA breakdown of his revenue streams, including services, community, courses, sponsorships, ad revenue, and affiliatesHis thoughts on publishing his courses on his own website and on learning platforms for a double benefitHow he built and monetized two YouTube channels with tens of thousands of followers across both channelsHis advice on how to grow a YouTube channel—and how it benefits his businessAnd a lot more!Resources & Links MentionedBrad's WebsiteCreative Crew CommunityBrad's audio/video equipmentKevin's audio/video equipmentBeCreatives - Unlimited Video Subscription AgencyVideo Huskey$100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau The Almanac of Raval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson Listen here or subscribe via your podcast player.—kevinP.S. Like this episode? Share it with another marketer and help them build a more leveraged and profitable marketing practice, too!

The other week, I chatted with former software consultant turned CRM SaaS owner, Reuben Swartz about how to do sales in a way that doesn't feel like selling and instead sets up your relationships for success.In this episode, we chat about things like:Why traditional sales processes don't workHow he helps people win clients without being sales-yHow having a clear target market helps your sales successReframing "sales" as "educating" and "networking" as "connecting"Why having a strong marketing engine allows you to be better at salesA mental model for generating more referralsShould you give gifts and thank-you notes to people who refer business to you?Easy ways to maintain contact with people in your networkAnd a lot more!If selling isn't your jam—or even if it is—you'll get a ton of value out of this episode. The mindsets and mental models he shares make it easy to navigate sales conversations without getting mired in tactical "steps" which can often confuse you and put a barrier between you and your prospects.Resources mentioned:The Go-Giver by Bob BergAlchemy by Rory Sutherland Mimiran: The fun, antiCRMReuben on LinkedInThanks for listening, and if you enjoy the show, please share it with a friend!—kw

Do you have a proprietary framework or methodology you can build an entire business around?I recently recorded a podcast with Billy Broas, a copywriter, advisor, and educator who has built a business around his proprietary messaging framework, The Five Lightbulbs. In this episode, Billy and I unpack the Five Lightbulbs and then go deep into how his business works, how he gets clients, and a lot more.We discuss things like:Why having a proprietary framework like the Five Lightbulbs is key to selling adviceHow he leveraged his IP into courses, books, and other more leveraged ways How he evolved his business from doing to advising and now teaching Selling custom services with some productization on the back endWhy he focuses on the evergreen fundamentals of marketing and not just the “new thing”How products get better by empathizing with and better understanding the customerWhy we should systemize and codify our expertise that outlives youHow teaching other audiences—i.e. industry software companies—leads to more business (Golden Goose Strategy)How teaching courses and programs can lead to consulting engagements with studentsHow writing simple emails on a single topic under your own name works well as a format for email newslettersHow to fold the Five Lightbulbs framework into your emails and other marketing materialsFind Billy Online:Billy's WebsiteBilly's TwitterBooks Mentioned:Selling the Invisible by Harry BeckwithBreakthrough Advertising by Eugene SchwartzAuthors like:Gary HalbertVictor SchwabbJoe SugarmanClaude Hopkins

I recently decided to rebrand the Mindshare franchise (can I call it that?).Listen in for all the details!—kw

Do you focus much on optimizing your website for search engines? Personally, I don't really do much beyond the basic best practices. My strategy has been more focused on email, social media, and Golden Goose tactics to build awareness for what I do.But a part of me feels like I'm missing out—especially as I begin to sell knowledge products to a large potential audience.That's why I wanted to talk to Tsavo Neal about how he approaches his marketing and business model. Tsavo gets almost all of his clients and customers through search engine optimization. It just so happens, he teaches other consultants how to do the same. Which made this episode packed with value.In this episode of Mindshare Radio, Tsavo and I unpack:How he decided to niche down on helping consultants attract clients through their websiteA breakdown of his business model comprised of do-it-yourself and done-with-you offeringsHow raised the price of his course from $197 to $497 without losing deterring new customersHis thoughts on evergreen vs. launch-based (open vs. closed-cart) access to his courseHow he sells $5-6k in digital products each month relying almost exclusively on SEOA walkthrough of his done-with-you SEO service and how he designed the programA deep-dive walkthrough of his SEO process, including research, outlining, writing, editing, publishing, and distributionHow he chooses keywords to write articles for based on competitiveness and difficultyHow he's applying these same skills and techniques to rank and monetize a website in the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu niche And a lot more!If you've ever thought you might want to get your website ranking better for search engines, get your pencil ready because this episode will show you how.Mentioned links and resources:Phillip MorganConsulting SuccessAhrefs.comTsavoNeal.comBJJEquipment.com—kP.S. Want a deeper-dive training on how to do exactly this process? Tsavo shared an over-the-shoulder view for Mindshare members last month on how he does it. Sign up to get access to that plus a library of other training, group coaching, a private Slack community and more. Learn more about Mindshare → 

A few weeks ago, I invited Mindshare member and long-time marketing consultant, Mark Evans, to talk shop with me about the business of marketing consulting and fractional CMO work.This was a really fun episode. We went deep into the nerdy nuances of fractional/interim CMO and advisory work.Some topics we explored include:Mark's transition from reporter to marketing consultantHow he uses his training as a reporter to do positioning and messaging workThe challenges and frustrations of fractional CMO workWhy a strategic advisory work is his preferred way to engage with clientsHis thoughts on coaching, mentoring, and training in-house marketersThe value proposition of interim CMO vs. fractional CMOPricing and value calculations for advisors vs. fCMOsRefund policies and minimum commitment periodsSetting expectations and getting clear on goals before starting engagementsHow and when to turn down clients who aren't a fitThe importance of continually marketing yourselfUsing video, podcasts, and showing up in person to build trust Books mentioned:The Inside Advantage by Robert Bloom and Dave ContiDon't Make Me Think by Steve KrugRocket Surgery Made Easy by Steve KrugConnect with Mark:Marketing Spark (consulting website)Twitter

The other day, I replied to a Twitter friend's (@RodBurkert) open question:My question: What is the 'right next best thing' you should do to create the biggest leverage and productivity boost for your practice?I replied with the following:Taking the expertise in your head and putting it into writing/audio/video, then organizing it into a system or framework so others can learn from you without having to repeat yourself forever.But then I wanted to expand on this idea further since it's core to everything I teach.That's what this episode is about: how to take your expertise out of your head so you can deploy it without having to repeat yourself forever.Listen in and let me know what you think.—k

It's easy to believe that as advisors, we get paid to have all the answers.We feel like to add value, we need to be able to tell people what to do.What if instead, our value came from things like:Asking good questionsHaving good tasteRunning ideas through your filtersPattern matching against your experienceCreating visions to considerClarifying ideas that aren't well-consideredBeing an encourager of good ideasWrestling with optionsLooking at things from different perspectivesPlaying devil's advocatePushing people out of their comfort zoneAs technicians, we like knowing the best tool or tactic to use for any situation. As creatives, we like envisioning new ideas and potential futures.But as advisors, what if we didn't feel like we needed to have all answers, and instead helped our clients explore options until the answers became a little more obvious?Your value isn't having all the answers. Your value comes from helping your clients make good decisions.There are a lot of ways to get a result. The key is helping your clients choose the right way for them.Listen to this episode or subscribe via your podcast player.—kwP.S. REGISTER FOR THE UPCOMING WORKSHOPNext week (January 25 at 11:00 am EST) I'm hosting a live 90-minute workshop (with the recording made available) on how to package, price, and sell custom consulting services. We'll go deep on creating custom proposals that convert, so don't miss this one.REGISTER NOW

I recently interviewed Kevan Lee, the former VP of Marketing at Buffer and currently Senior VP of Marketing at Oyster.Kevan is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to leading tech startups to significant growth. To give you an example, he helped Buffer go from $5m to $20m in annual revenue and 100,000 new customers acquisitions per month. In his first year at Oyster, he helped the company 20x its revenue and build a marketing team comprising over 50 people. He's also involved as an educator and advisor with Reforge, On Deck, as well as a past contributor to ProductLed, and more.In this interview, Kevan and I explore the realm of advisory work. We cover topics like:How he approaches advisory work while having a full-time gigHow he views mentorship and why it's important to himHow he prices his advice—and what he's learning in the processHis experience on the buyer side of equity for advice compensation discussionsHow he packages his ideas into a playbook that he shares with paying Substack subscribersAnd a lot more...This conversation was a fun exploration of the world of advisory work. And like all of us, Kevan is still figuring out what works best for him.You can follow Kevan on Twitter at @kevanlee and subscribe to his Substack at kevanlee.substack.com.Give this a listen and subscribe to get more interviews like this in the future.—k 

You may be a rock star when it comes to marketing your clients' business. But when it comes to your own, it might be an entirely different story. And you know what? That doesn't make you a bad marketer. It's incredibly hard to market yourself—especially if you don't have a system to follow.In this episode, I break down the three core pillars to attracting more clients:Looking good "on paper" to your ideal clientsHaving somewhere to invite people back toOpening conversations and fostering relationshipsThis might seem simple, and it is. But it's not easy. It takes time, energy, and commitment to build it out and for it to start working for you.But with any luck, this framework (and the details I talk about in the episode) will make attracting clients a lot easier. When you have clarity, you can really lean into your efforts and start seeing traction faster than simply winging it.Listen to this episode for all the nuances and details.—k

What if the way to get your emails read and subscribers to stay subscribed was to lower the bar a little?Not in terms of quality, necessarily. But in terms of format or type.Instead of trying to write a grand theory of mathematics every time you publish, what if we treated email more like social media?What if we aimed for a simple, concise, interesting, and/or fun piece of content?Something light and consumable. Not overthought. Not pre-judged. Just something you found interesting or valuable.Would you be able to be consistent with your publishing habits? Would your readers prefer it? Would it keep you interested?I think yes. But there's nuance, as with all things.So give this a listen. See if it resonates with your headspace.See if it helps you overcome that mental block stopping you from sharing your ideas with your subscribers.And while you're at it, subscribe to Mindshare Radio via your podcast player to get more ideas like this (and interviews coming soon).—k

The most successful businesses have a high degree of customer-centricity. Think Amazon or Google—they're absolutely relentless about the customer experience.And in the consulting world, the most successful advisors are the ones who have a high customer-centricity and low self-orientation.Not sure what this all means? In this episode, I break down how to put your client at the epicentre of your business, how to reduce your self-orientation, and the trade-offs needed to do all of this well.

The odds of you succeeding with new ventures or ideas out of the gate is low. It's not fun but it's true.Even if your idea is good, it might be adjacent to the one the market wants. A small set of tweaks and iterations to the format, offer, or audience might just be what it needs to take off.And that's empowering! It means you're not alone. Nobody figures everything out right away.It's easy to get frustrated when things aren't clicking for you—especially when you're trying something new that you feel really passionate about.It can feel like two steps forward and one step back. We look around for answers but get frustrated when nobody offers the magic pill.There is no magic pill, only iteration and innovation.We have to hold our vision strong while simultaneously being loose about our best ideas. It's a fine line between a steadfast vision and being oblivious to what the market wants.If you are willing to iterate and innovate continually, it's only a matter of time before your vision and what your audience wants are in complete alignment.Listen in for more on this topic if you're in this mode or subscribe via your podcast player.

Do you ever stop to wonder what it is we are really selling as consultants? Are we selling a website, strategy, or brand identity? Yes... and no. Those are features of our work. And people don't really buy features.Maybe we are selling new customer growth? Better retention? Ease of use? Those are all great benefits of our work. But let's dig a little deeper. What is the emotion behind those benefits? What feeling are we really creating with our work?People buy based on how they feel about the purchase. It aligns with logic, yes. But it's driven by emotion. So it makes sense to explore that emotion people are really seeking inside of what we sell. I believe most consultants are selling confidence. Give this a listen to see what I mean. Get this right and it will be a lot easier to create and sell the true benefits of your work.—k

It's incredibly easy to get sucked into being an employee-like figure when you do fractional leadership work.When I first got started as a fractional CMO, I basically had two part-time jobs. The money was good but I worked HARD. I knew I needed to create better parameters.In this episode of Mindshare Radio, I'll break down the five main ways to avoid turning into a set of employee-like hands when you sell fractional CXO services.We'll talk about things like:Setting expectations during salesDefining what you will or won't doBuilding your RolodexSetting a limit on your time if neededDown-selling yourself to pure advisory workAnd a ton of nuance in between.Listen in and let me know what you think—did I miss anything important?Hit reply and let me know.—kP.S. Need help transitioning into advisory/fractional CXO work? Check out my Paid to Think program or join Mindtrust, the no-brainer group coaching and training program for as little as $63/mo. when you pay annually.

This post originally appeared at https://kevin.me/waysYou can think about niching in a lot of ways.In many cases, the tighter you go, the easier it can be to sell what you offer. People are swimming in options, they want specific when they can get it.So there are two angles to consider when deciding on how specific you should go with your business.1. You can get specific about who you serveThe more specific your target market, the broader your focus can be in terms of what you help people with—while still being credible.If I help multi-location coworking spaces do better marketing, that's a specific target market and a fairly broad way of helping them. It can be reasoned that you can have rare knowledge about marketing in a way that is uniquely applied to multi-location coworking spaces.If I said I help anyone do better marketing at scale, you can begin to see where the skepticism may come in.2. You can get specific about the problem you solveWhen you're highly specific about the problem you solve, it makes sense that you could solve it credibly for a wide range of industries.For example, I could say I help people sell their expertise through membership programs. And that could be a reasonably credible positioning given the specificity of the problem being solved.I don't need to say "I help faith-based dog groomers sell membership programs." The market would be too small. And the same skills or lessons could be applied to far greater contexts.And this is what strategy is all about.There's no perfect way to position your consulting business. Specificity helps—but how you apply specificity is where the hard choices are made.So what trade-offs are you making? How are you being specific about either what you do or who you do it for?As they say, hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.

I don't position myself as a fractional CMO.I might have a fractional CMO service. Or in a sales conversation, I may say that I'm like having a part-time CMO on your team. But I don't call myself a fractional CMO as my top-level positioning.I'm a consultant. I'm an advisor. I help companies with their marketing strategy.But I'm not a part-time employee. I don't want to be seen as one. Nor do I want their actual marketing team to be threatened by what may seem like a new boss breathing down their neck.In this episode, I go into:Why I believe it's best to position yourself as a consultant—not an employee-like personWhen to use terms like "fractional CMO" in your sales conversations and marketing copyHow to avoid threatening the in-house marketing managers when you're hired to help their organization.The topic is nuanced, but I think it's important if you are selling strategic advisory services.

What is your quiet inner voice telling you?The one that whispers. You barely notice it at first. But when you do hear it, you're inspired. Should you explore it? Maybe you don't take it seriously at first. Maybe it feels like a pipe dream. It's not always rational. Sometimes it's idealistic. Regardless, when you pay attention to it, it feels directionally interesting. Where does it come from?I've noticed that it shows up when I take time away from my business. It shows up on vacations, bike rides, long walks, or while reading a good book. I'm not sure if it's the truth or just a passing random idea, but it feels worth exploring.So what do you do when that voice says something? Do you jump to action or think about it until it no longer inspires you? Is it valuable or random? That's what I cover today.It may just be the very thing that helps you create unique, valuable, and lasting work.Or maybe not. Who knows.—k

In this episode, I break down where my advisory clients came from.I also compare my niche (Everspaces) vs. general consulting clients came from to see if there was a difference.And let me tell you, it was enlightening.Do you analyze where your clients come from?Give this a listen and let me know what you find about your own business.—k

Are you having trouble selling your productized service?In this new episode of Mindshare Radio, I break down the four main things to consider when trying to fix the problem.Give it a listen.

Companies are hiring in-house and outsourced marketers differently than they did before.I'm seeing less reliance on using a single in-house marketer or even one full-service agency to "do everything" for them.Marketing has gotten too broad with too many specialties to work like that. But there's still a long way to go.In this episode, I share a prediction on how marketing teams will continue to evolve toward a hybrid in-house/outsourced way.I'll get into how I see things evolving and why this presents an opportunity for you.Agree? Got another view? Hit reply and let me know.

When a client requests your services, it can really help to have multiple options at different prices.You can do this with a product or service ladder at different prices and scope, or you can create multiple options in your custom proposals.In this episode, I break down the reasons why you may want to have multiple options and how to price them based on the value you're delivering.This seemingly simple idea can have a major impact on your average deal value—often increasing your revenue by 30%+.Listen in to learn more.

What do you do when clients give you advice but then do their own thing anyway?In this episode, I talk about why this happens, how to prevent it from happening, and how to both give and get the best possible advice.—kw

I interviewed Dagobert Renouf of Logology last week on how he's been so successful on Twitter.Dagobert is extremely active and publishes a meme every day of the week, which is a big hit for his 30k+ audience.But like any successful story, there's an underlying mindset and strategy that makes the tactics more successful.So I wanted to dig into those. And he delivered.​We'll get into the specifics of:​His overarching Twitter strategy​Why he believes memes as a marketing tactic works so well​How he comes up with his meme ideas each day​How he actually creates and publishes his memes​His approach to engaging with accounts—small and big—at scale​The tools he uses to manage Twitter as a power user​How he's grown his logo design business with this strategy​And a range of other topics!Listen in to hear this episode, it already changed my thinking and approach to Twitter.Mentioned linksLogologyDagobert on Twitter (@dagorenouf)Black Magic (Twitter CRM/Analytics)Rocket (emojis for Mac)Imgflip (meme inspiration)—k

It can be nerve-wracking to propose a project that is more expensive or takes longer than a client is asking for.Our first instinct might be to charge the bare minimum to get the job done. Or to promise the most ideal timelines—assuming nothing will go wrong—to win the deal and avoid pushback and rejection.But we know that's not realistic. Something always comes up.The problem is, while you think you're giving the client what they want, you're actually undercutting both you and them. You're reducing the likelihood of achieving the very thing they're hiring you to do, which is to get a business result. In this episode, I talk about one magical phrase that gives you and your clients more confidence to do work that may be more expensive or take longer than they hoped for.And why it's the best thing for them—and you—to take this approach more often than not.—k

I recently decided to switch from daily publishing to a more flexible format.In this episode of Mindshare Radio, I break down the reasons why I started publishing daily in the first place (549 days ago) as well as the reasons for giving myself permission to publish whenever I want.I'm still bullish on daily content. It's an extremely powerful tactic if it aligns with your strategy. But for now, I'm choosing flexibility. Listen to find out more.—kP.S. I'd love your thoughts. Hit reply and tell me what you're doing/thinking related to publishing.

When you price your services, there's something called customer surplus to consider.Customer surplus, in this case, means the amount of profit your customers gain after deducting your costs.Not all profit is financial, but it's easier to think about it in financial terms.On the one hand, you want to price your services high enough to attract people who need and value the outcome of your services.People with the highest needs want to buy expensive solutions because they need them to work. Higher prices are both a signal of quality and they allow you to invest the resources to do great work.On the other, you don't want to price too high or you risk capturing too much of the customer surplus, making your products and services less compelling.It also makes you less likely to be referred because the price to value ratio after an engagement wasn't high enough to have people rave about you.You also can't drop your prices too low or your ideal customers also won't buy it because, profit aside, they want and need something of quality that will actually solve their problems.So should you price your work? Give this a listen.

Mindshare member, Sean, had an interesting objection while selling his advisory services.This is a common question when selling advisory work, so it's worth unpacking this and other follow-up questions Sean had."What if my marketing budget doesn't allow me to implement your advice?"In this episode, I talk about:How to answer this question succinctly in your FAQs or sales conversationsThe difference between cash flow/budget adherence and long-term ROIBreaking out a spreadsheet to show potential cash flow scenariosComparing their other options, like agency, in-house employee, and DIYBusiness model and pricing questions around advisory vs. managed advisory servicesAt the end of the day, your job is to get an ROI for your clients in a cash-sustainable manner.If budgets are strict, your job is to work within their constraints.But it's also worth noting that sometimes, the ROI pays dividends over a longer time horizon.The better you can prove a business case, the easier it will be to sell.Listen to this episode for a more in-depth response.

Mindshare community member, Jack, had a great question about how narrow to go with your niche when just starting out as a new consultant.Here's the gist of his question:I'm currently in-house at what would probably be classed as a B2B manufacturer. The plan is to step into strategy/advisory within the next 6 months.So with my current experience, I see it as an easy step to niche further into B2B - helping B2B manufacturers grow by transforming their marketing. However, the company I work for is actually a manufacturer/service provider in the fire safety space. As a result a lot of my experience is how to target, position, market etc to a pretty specific ICP. So my options would/could be:1) General B2B2) Manufacturers3) Fire Safety & Security companies (B2B focussed but not all will be manufacturers)Some of my thoughts on 3 come of the back of going to a big fire safety expo recently—there are a lot of companies with bad websites/branding spending a lot of money on their marketing!I'm just concerned I could narrow myself too much.As always, any thoughts are greatly received. This is a great question that I answered in the community but wanted to give greater nuance to with a long-form audio recording.The question really is: how niche do you go when leaving a job and starting a consulting practice?In this episode, I talk about factors like:The amount of runway you haveThe size of the marketAccess to the target market in your networkWhat things you're credible atThe benefits of staying broader at firstAlignment of your niche with your genuine interests And general strategies for transitioning out of a job and into consulting with less riskIf you're thinking of making the leap from employment to consulting and aren't sure how niche to go, this episode is for you.—k

Mindshare Pro used to be a premium upgrade to the free Mindshare Community membership.But in my opinion, that was a mistake. It should have been positioned as Group Coaching.And the templates/resources should be categorized separately as knowledge products. In this episode, I talk about categorizing your own products and services, how to break them down, why it matters, and also how to apply it to an industry like web design.Give this a listen and let me know if your products and services have had similar categorization issues.—k

On a long drive today, I re-listened to some of the book, The Passion Economy, by Adam Davidson.It spoke to me the first time I read it. It's about craftsmanship in your business and working on something you're passionate about.It's about the power of building small-scale, high-quality work instead of mass-produced commodity work that can be scaled infinitely.The book has a lot of great rules, quotes, and stories. I'll share one quote that came up because it fits so well into how we price our work.Here's the quote:“I recently hired a lawyer who told me that he would not charge me by the hour but would, instead, agree to a fixed fee for the work we were going to do together. He explained that charging by the hour contradicted his core values of serving his clients; it would create an incentive for him to spend more time even if it wasn't strictly necessary. Or, on the other hand, he might choose to rush some work to save me some money. He preferred not to think about time at all but, instead, to focus on providing me with the greatest service. I found this comforting.”— The Passion Economy: Nine Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century by Adam DavidsonSelling by the hour often doesn't feel good for either party, nor is it always aligned with the best interests of your clients.The incentive structure is broken.I've noticed hourly is most often the best option when you're doing commodity work, like website support or odd design tasks, for example.I'm not bashing hourly work or these kinds of support roles. They may be necessary to grow and/or sustain your business. They can be profitable.But I am pointing to the fact that hourly work—when it is required—is closest to commodity work and therefore should come with an orange flag.The longer you do commodity work, the harder it will be to do great work.

How much work should you take on?When does the quality of your work suffer?What are the ethical implications?I talk about this and more in today's episode.—kw

A while back, I had my car detailed at a new shop around the corner. When I called to book, the new business owner asked how dirty it was. I said it was decent but it had some dog fur in parts of the back seat.He grumbled and told me (reluctantly) to come in. They were closed a few months later.In this episode, I get into a few lessons we can all learn, including the importance of:Doing work that you're intrinsically motivated byFor people you enjoy working withAt prices that excite you to bring your bestSo you can build a sustainable businessWhich allows you to become great at what you doWhich becomes a continued flywheel for your businessGive this a listen if it feels timely for you.—k

There are a lot of problems with having purely generalist positioning.The main one, though, is that potential clients don't know what you're actually good at.So they're left to figure that out for themselves—and there's no way to tell what you're actually good at until they work with you.And by then it's too late.The best clients will go to someone who looks the most qualified on paper.  They will spend top dollar with them to do things right.And that means you'll be left with the less-than-ideal clients. The ones who don't understand just how nuanced the work is to do right—which means they won't value your work enough to pay you well.They'll be price shopping and have unrealistic expectations based on naive perceptions that things are easy.Yes, I think you can be a generalist and specialist at the same time. You can build around your best skills and ideal niche until you don't need to take on other clients.But having purely generalist positioning is a recipe for having a business you don't want to run.

I cleaned my office today and I felt a lot better. More clear-thinking.Strange how your environment can affect your mental state.And to me, this is analogous to all areas of your business. For example, cleaning out expenses you no longer use.Or services that are not profitable enough. Or clients who are not the right fit for you.Or emails that are left unanswered for too long.Or tasks that you have neglected and need to be either dealt with or deleted.Or decisions you have been putting off until today.I'm a big believer in creating space to think. I took today off calls to give myself time to clean things up and work on the things that mattered.Without space, there's no time to clean up. And if you don't clean things up, your mind and your business will eventually be overrun.This is your reminder to reserve time, clean up, and work on the things that excite you most in your business. Or, just take a nap. Either way.

I had a window installer come by recently to quote new windows on my house.When I asked how the process works, he told me he'd educate me on the products, size the windows, give me a quote, then I'd "beat him up" on price, and then we'd make a deal when we figured out the details.The throwaway line about haggling over price had me feeling uneasy. I don't know anything about windows let alone how to haggle over their prices.There are lots of lessons here to unpack. Should you negotiate? If so, when and how? What do you do when price is a factor?We'll get into that and more.—kevin

One of the things I've noticed about myself is that when I don't have a fixed publishing schedule, it's easy to push it off for long periods without publishing anything.Just like exercising, the longer you don't publish content, the harder it is to get going again.I noticed this recently with Mindshare Radio, too. I used to publish episodes 3 times per week—every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.Then, I decided to record something once per week. But, I didn't set a strict publishing date or really commit to anything publicly. And that resulted in inconsistent publishing—and worse, some over-thinking and even occasional anxiety about what to create.In this episode, I talk about why committing publicly to your publishing schedule can not only make you more consistent, it can reduce the anxiety you face each time you stare at a blank page. Give this a listen and let me know if you can relate.

Could you take one day off client work per week to work on your business (and yourself)?I've been doing that for the past five weeks and it's been incredible.In this Mindshare Radio episode, I talk about how and why it might just be the best thing for you, too.Listen on the web or subscribe on your favourite podcast player.Have a great weekend!

Super-consumers are the 10% of your customers who account for upwards of 50% of your profit.All industries have them. All of us are super-consumers of at least something. It's true. And for very logical reasons.In this episode, I break down the concept as coined by Eddie Yoon in his book, Superconsumers—and why it matters to your both business and the clients you serve at a strategic level.Give it a listen and let me know what you think.—kevin

There's a common misconception that marketing advisors don't execute.The reality is, we do execute. We just don't use our hands nor manage the minutia.In this episode, I talk about how to think like an agency (even if you're doing advisory work).At the end of the day, you're responsible for execution. You just do it differently than a typical agency.Listen in and use this way of thinking in your own business—and during sales conversations when delivering this idea matters most.—kevin

What do you do when a client comes along looking for your help, but until now, they haven't been doing much (or any) of their own marketing?Do you take on the work, turn it away, or do you use this as a chance to educate them on what to expect?Personally, I prefer the latter. And if it seems like they are bought-in to reality, I'll consider working with them.In this episode, I talk about how to be fully conscious when clients like this come along, how to educate them about how long things should take, and ultimately to manage expectations.Slow results are the cost of marketing from a standstill. Like an engine, it takes time to rev up.They either get it or they don't. Better to know up front before you start working together.—kw

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community.Your thinking will get updated.You will try things that don't work.You will pivot your advice based on what works.In this episode, I give you permission to change your mind and update your thinking—regardless of any sunk costs.Listen in to hear more.—k

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community.One of the biggest challenges I hear from marketing consultants is getting stuck doing execution work. Managed advisory services/fractional CMO is a great way to ease into advisory work. In the short-term, it can be an exciting and profitable line of work. But if you don't manage to shift into pure advisory work, it will create a lot of unnecessary stress and it will hold you back from growing your business. In this episode, I break down the five biggest problems (and the sub-variations thereof) with doing execution work as a marketing consultant.These include:Lack of time to work on your businessBecoming an order-taker vs. being seen as an advisorBeing non-aligned with your clients' interestsFeeling stressed, overwhelmed, and scatter-brainedNo ability to scale your offerings and grow your businessThis was a longer episode, so I'll talk about how to break free from execution in a future episode—plus the significant upside that creates for both you and your clients.Execution is by far the most time and energy intensive thing you do, but is much lower value than you may think.I'll get into all that and more in future episodes.—kP.S. Are you experiencing any or all of these pains? Hit reply and let me know!

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community.Are you a freelancer or agency owner looking to sell advisory services in addition to or instead of execution services?If so, are you willing to stop earning money on execution so you can become a "trusted advisor" to a fiduciary standard?  Do you need to?Should you create a new website/business or add advisory services to your list of existing execution services?While there's no right answer, I have some thoughts on all this and more.—k

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community.If you've done any fractional CMO/freelance head of growth/managed advisory work (as I like to call it), you'll quickly notice how much it limits your time to work with multiple clients and do your own marketing.In this episode, I unpack a few topics, questions, and constraints brought up by member Rob Denton-Ross in a private discussion (with his permission to respond via podcast). Rob currently does some execution work and is getting opportunities to do more involved fractional CMO work. As a result, it's difficult to find time (and justify spending it) to market himself. I talk about things like: My thoughts on selling days per week/monthHiring marketing managers instead of being the one to manageFocusing on selling advisory level as soon as you canWhat to do to market yourself when your time is limitedAnd a lot of other limits, constraints, and ways of dealing with fractional CMO work in your businessGive this a listen and let me know what you think!—k

In order to be successful as an advisor, you need to be able to:Prove you're worth hiring for your knowledge in the first placeReinforce why you're worth listening to after they hire youIf you have difficulty selling advisory services, or if clients stop listening to your advice during your engagements, it might be due to one of the three things I talk about in this episode.Give it a listen and share with a friend who might benefit!—k

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community.It can be tempting to ignore all or parts of your core process with a new client.You might find yourself jumping into an engagement head first, reacting to demands and/or responding to tactical projects already in motion.Things may be under tight timelines and the client feels like they know what they need to do, they just need a little guidance.But the problem is, when you skip some or all of your core process, things quickly begin to fall apart.Instead of deciding what to do, you're reacting to things the client wants you to do. Instead of diagnosing the real problems and developing a strategic plan, you're working within the parameters of their thinking, not yours.But you're hired to be the expert and you've been doing this a long time. Which means you need to be true to the process that has gotten results time and time again.In this episode, I talk about the three big reasons why you should have a formal process and stick to it during all of your client engagements.Every time I skip some or all of it, I always regret it. At very least, I prefer to check the boxes so I know no stone is unturned.Listen in for more.—k

As I wrote about the other day, one of the most critical aspects of scaling a consulting business without hiring a team is to generate assets from your ideas and expertise.In this episode, I break down how and why you should aim to document all your ideas and processes in your business to help you create leverage and grow without working harder.—kP.S. Know someone who would like to join this group? Have them visit https://mindshare.fm and click the button to join the free (or Pro) tier. Your referrals are all I ask if you enjoy the community and content.

> Click here to join the conversation on this episode in the Mindshare community.A while back, I wrote a post arguing how specialization is simplification.The article spawned a series of questions around how to find a niche, so I thought I'd do an episode covering just this topic.In this episode, I talk about:Why you should niche (or not)Things to look for when picking a nicheHow limiting your focus increases your opportunitiesHow and whether you should specialize in multiple nichesExamples of horizontal and vertical specializationWhy excluding industries is actually good for businessWhy the target is not always the marketAnd a lot more!If you're considering niching, I go deep on the topic in this episode so give it a listen.—k