Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcastMentioned in this episode:Check Out Our Youtube ChannelDon't miss any of our additional content over on our Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/@ConsultingSuccessTVFollow Consulting Success!Make sure you're following us on your podcast app! Already subscribed? Tell a friend about the show that you think could benefit as well!

How does a Big Four accountant and part-time Zumba instructor transform into the President and CEO of her own fractional CFO services organization? In this episode, Shannon Weinstein takes us through her unique career journey—from balancing corporate accounting by day and teaching fitness classes by night to launching her own consulting firm. Shannon shares the pivotal moments that led her to realize the financial struggles many small business owners face and how she turned her passion for teaching into a thriving business, helping entrepreneurs master their finances.In this episode, you will learn:The importance of separating personal and business finances early onHow cash flow management can make or break your business—even if you're profitablePractical tips for overcoming financial fears and taking control of your business's futureWhy building a solid financial foundation from the start is key to long-term successWelcome to the Consulting Success podcast. I'm your host Michael Zipursky, and in this podcast, we're going to dive deep into the world of elite consultants where you're going to learn the strategies, tactics and mindset to grow a highly profitable and successful consulting business.Before we dive into today's episode. Are you ready to grow and take your consulting business to the next level? Many of the clients that we work with started as podcast listeners just like you, and a consistent theme they have shared with us is that they wished they had reached out sooner about our Clarity Coaching Program rather than waiting for that perfect time. If you're interested in learning more about how we help consultants just like you, we're offering a free, no pressure growth session call. On this call, we're going to dive deep into your goals, challenges and situation and outline a plan that is tailor made just for you. We will also help you identify where you may be making costly and time consuming mistakes to ensure you're benefiting from the proven methods and strategies to grow your consulting business. So don't wait years to find clarity. If you're committed and serious about reaching a new level of success in your consulting business, go ahead and schedule your free growth session. Get in touch today. Just visit Consulting Success - Grow to book your free call today.Shannon Weinstein, CPA and President/CEO of Keep What You Earn Co., is a fractional CFO dedicated to empowering small business owners by making financial concepts simple and relatable. Starting her career early, she managed a McDonald's at 16 and later spent 15 years in Big 4 and corporate finance. Through her top 1% podcast, Keep What You Earn, Shannon combines real-life examples with financial expertise to help entrepreneurs understand their numbers and use them to scale their businesses. She's also a much sought-after speaker and advocate for financial literacy.Connect with Shannon WeinsteinDiscover more about Keep What You EarnMentioned in this episode:Follow Consulting Success!Make sure you're following us on your podcast app! Already subscribed? Tell a friend about the show that you think could benefit as well!Check Out Our Youtube ChannelDon't miss any of our additional content over on our Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/@ConsultingSuccessTV

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How exactly does a former Marine and professional magician eventually find himself leading a global hospitality consulting powerhouse? In this episode, John Fareed, Global Chairman of Horwath HTL, takes us on a journey through his unconventional career path—from his early days as a magician to becoming a respected leader in the hospitality industry. John shares the pivotal moments that shaped his career, from negotiating a life-changing deal with his Egyptian grandfather to founding and scaling a multimillion-dollar consulting business. He explains how he transitioned through various personal brands, built a successful consultancy, and eventually joined a global firm to compete with fellow industry giants.In this episode, you will learn:How to strategically build a consulting brand that stands out in competitive marketsThe power of professional networking and active involvement in industry associationsInsights on transitioning from a small consulting firm to a global leaderThe importance of niche expertise in winning major clientsPractical advice on balancing self-care with high-level business demandsWelcome to the Consulting Success podcast. I'm your host Michael Zipursky, and in this podcast, we're going to dive deep into the world of elite consultants where you're going to learn the strategies, tactics and mindset to grow a highly profitable and successful consulting business.Before we dive into today's episode. Are you ready to grow and take your consulting business to the next level? Many of the clients that we work with started as podcast listeners just like you, and a consistent theme they have shared with us is that they wished they had reached out sooner about our Clarity Coaching Program rather than waiting for that perfect time. If you're interested in learning more about how we help consultants just like you, we're offering a free, no pressure growth session call. On this call, we're going to dive deep into your goals, challenges and situation and outline a plan that is tailor made just for you. We will also help you identify where you may be making costly and time consuming mistakes to ensure you're benefiting from the proven methods and strategies to grow your consulting business. So don't wait years to find clarity. If you're committed and serious about reaching a new level of success in your consulting business, go ahead and schedule your free growth session. Get in touch today. Just visit Consulting Success - Grow to book your free call today.John Fareed, MSc CHME ISHC, is the Global Chairman of Horwath HTL, leading its US offices and global brand. With decades of consulting experience, his clients range from Fortune 500 companies to international investors. A recognized expert in the hotel, tourism, and leisure industries, he has spoken at events worldwide and appeared on major media outlets like ABC, CNN, and in the New York Times. Fareed holds advanced degrees from Dublin Institute of Technology and Cornell University, and has earned top industry honors, including HSMAI’s "Top 25 Extraordinary Minds."In today’s episode, you’ll discover how to strategically build a consulting brand that stands out in competitive markets and the key role professional networking and active involvement in industry associations play in success. You'll gain valuable insights on transitioning from a small consulting firm to a global leader, learn the importance of developing niche expertise to win major clients, and get practical advice on...

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Ready to learn what goes into scaling a tech-focused consulting firm from the ground up? In this episode, Tommy Ogden, co-founder of Activera Consulting, shares the fascinating journey of launching and growing a multimillion-dollar consultancy within just one year. Drawing on his extensive experience in both boutique firms and global giants like Accenture, Tommy delves into the strategic decisions that have propelled Activera's rapid success. He offers a candid look at the challenges of balancing talent acquisition with business development, the importance of defining and honing in on core service pillars, and the key lessons learned from his transition out of the corporate world. Tommy’s insights provide a blueprint for anyone looking to build a successful, agile consulting business that can adapt and thrive in a competitive market.In this episode, you will learn:How to strategically define and focus on core service offerings for business growthThe importance of balancing talent acquisition with securing big deals in a small firmInsights into transitioning from corporate roles to founding a new consulting businessThe role of relationship-building in business development and client retentionEffective strategies for managing project margins and maintaining profitability in consultingWelcome to the Consulting Success podcast. I'm your host Michael Zipursky, and in this podcast, we're going to dive deep into the world of elite consultants where you're going to learn the strategies, tactics and mindset to grow a highly profitable and successful consulting business.Before we dive into today's episode. Are you ready to grow and take your consulting business to the next level? Many of the clients that we work with started as podcast listeners just like you, and a consistent theme they have shared with us is that they wished they had reached out sooner about our Clarity Coaching Program rather than waiting for that perfect time. If you're interested in learning more about how we help consultants just like you, we're offering a free, no pressure growth session call. On this call, we're going to dive deep into your goals, challenges and situation and outline a plan that is tailor made just for you. We will also help you identify where you may be making costly and time consuming mistakes to ensure you're benefiting from the proven methods and strategies to grow your consulting business. So don't wait years to find clarity. If you're committed and serious about reaching a new level of success in your consulting business, go ahead and schedule your free growth session. Get in touch today. Just visit Consulting Success - Grow to book your free call today.Tommy Ogden is the Director and Delivery Excellence Lead at Activera Consulting, a Houston-based boutique firm specializing in the future of energy. With 22 years of experience in roles like financial analyst, strategy consultant, and project manager, Tommy leads teams in delivering impactful, tailored solutions. His expertise spans M&A, AI & Tech Readiness, and Change Innovation. Certified in PMP, PSM, and SAFe, Tommy is recognized for his innovative problem-solving and ability to drive measurable business outcomes.In this episode, you'll discover how to strategically define and focus on core service offerings to drive business growth, along with the critical balance between talent acquisition and securing big deals in a small firm. You'll gain insights into transitioning from corporate roles to founding a consulting business, and understand the vital role of relationship-building in business development and client retention. Additionally, you'll learn effective...

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Ever wondered just exactly what it takes to scale a consulting business while maintaining agility and delivering high-impact results? Keith Scott, today’s guest, has mastered this art and is here to share his journey. Keith is the CEO and co-founder of K.L. Scott and Associates, a consulting firm that has seen exponential growth, doubling and tripling revenue projections year over year. With a deep background in top-tier firms like Deloitte and Gartner, Keith has successfully transitioned from the structured environment of these corporate giants to running a fully remote, agile consulting firm that serves major federal and state government clients across the U.S. In this episode, Keith dives into the strategies that have propelled his firm to success, from leveraging data-driven insights for public policy impact to building a remote team that delivers top-tier results without the overhead of a traditional office.In this episode, you will learn:The benefits of running a fully remote consulting firmHow to transition from a corporate role to founding a consulting businessThe key differences between working at large firms like Deloitte and running your own consultancyStrategies for winning government contracts and scaling a consulting businessThe importance of agility and intimate client relationships in a small consulting firmLessons on partnership dynamics and structuring a consulting business for growthInsights into the role of social impact in shaping a consulting firm's mission and cultureWelcome to the Consulting Success podcast. I'm your host Michael Zipursky, and in this podcast, we're going to dive deep into the world of elite consultants where you're going to learn the strategies, tactics and mindset to grow a highly profitable and successful consulting business.Before we dive into today's episode. Are you ready to grow and take your consulting business to the next level? Many of the clients that we work with started as podcast listeners just like you, and a consistent theme they have shared with us is that they wished they had reached out sooner about our Clarity Coaching Program rather than waiting for that perfect time. If you're interested in learning more about how we help consultants just like you, we're offering a free, no pressure growth session call. On this call, we're going to dive deep into your goals, challenges and situation and outline a plan that is tailor made just for you. We will also help you identify where you may be making costly and time consuming mistakes to ensure you're benefiting from the proven methods and strategies to grow your consulting business. So don't wait years to find clarity. If you're committed and serious about reaching a new level of success in your consulting business, go ahead and schedule your free growth session. Get in touch today. Just visit Consulting Success - Grow to book your free call today.Keith Scott, founder and CEO of K.L. Scott & Associates, LLC, is a seasoned leader in IT and management consulting with over 29 years of experience supporting local, state, and federal government agencies. Renowned for delivering results, he excels in optimizing client performance through strategic planning, organizational transformation, and IT strategy. With a proven track record, he has successfully led complex projects for over 50 government clients. Keith holds a B.S. in Computer Science, an MBA, and certifications in Project Management (PMP) and Business Analytics.In this episode, you'll explore the benefits of running a fully remote consulting firm and gain valuable insights into transitioning from a corporate role to founding your own business. You’ll also discover the key differences between working at large...

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Curious about how to transform your industry expertise into a successful consulting business? Steve Hopper, today’s guest, made that leap, and he’s here today to tell the tale. After decades of experience in the logistics and warehousing space, Steve left a larger consulting firm in 2004 to start his own venture, Inviscid Consulting. Today, he shares the journey of building his firm, the challenges of transitioning from subcontracting to direct client work, and the innovative referral program that has become a cornerstone of his business growth. Tune in to learn how Steve navigates the complexities of consulting while maintaining a lean operation and delivering exceptional value to his clients.In this episode, you will learn:The motivation behind starting a consulting firmTransitioning from subcontracting to direct client workThe power of a simple referral programManaging client relationships and ethical considerationsStrategies for growing a consulting businessFraming business cases for clientsOvercoming the challenges of running a lean operationThe importance of networking in consulting successImportant Links:Steve Hopper LinkedInInviscid ConsultingLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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Ever wonder what it would be like to leave a prestigious corporate role and head off to start your own venture? Today’s guest, Boaz Ashkenazy, did just that. He left his executive position at Meta to co-found Simply Augmented, an AI consultancy specializing in solving complex problems using generative AI. In this episode, Boaz shares his inspiring journey and the innovative strategies that have fueled his success in the fast-evolving AI landscape. Tune in to learn from a leader who's made that momentous career transition and is now redefining what's possible with AI!In this episode, you're going to learn:The inside story of transitioning from corporate role to entrepreneurshipHow to build an AI consultancyThe importance of a customer-first approach in AI solutionsNetworking strategies for entrepreneursHow to leverage partnerships with major tech companiesIdeas for managing intellectual property in consulting partnershipsBoaz’s advice for aspiring consultants and entrepreneursConnect with Boaz AshkenazyDiscover more about Simply AugmentedBook your complimentary growth session call

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Do you ever feel stuck trading hours for dollars, dreaming of a business that runs without you constantly grinding? That was Deb Gabor, best selling author and branding expert before she created a business empire on her own terms. And in this episode, she reveals the exact framework she used. Deb's built a multi-million dollar consultancy by rejecting the traditional hourly billing trap, proving there's a better way for consultants to deliver lasting value. In this episode, you're going to learn: • How to transition from trading hours for dollars to building a profitable consultancy • The dangers of focusing on short-term revenue and its impact on brand identity • The concept of "irrational loyalty" to create a business clients love • A strategic branding methodology that emphasizes transformative value over hourly billing • Key questions to ensure your team consistently meets and exceeds client expectationsConnect with Deb GaborDiscover more about Sol MarketingBook your complimentary growth session call.

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Do you want to build a multi-million dollar marketing consultancy? Buckle up and learn from today’s guest, who spills the secrets to taking your business from zero to hero. Starting from scratch, Hugo E. Gomez, the founder of Abogados NOW, discovered the power of niche marketing by focusing on Hispanic digital marketing for law firms; he filled a critical gap and turned his passion into a thriving business. He reveals his highest ROI client acquisition channels, which made his company a go-to resource for legal marketing in the Hispanic community, attracting Spanish-speaking clients for law firms with bilingual staff. Plus, learn how to weather any economic storm with a plan that keeps your pipeline overflowing. As economic experts warn of a potential downturn, Hugo shares battle-tested strategies to recession-proof your business. Don’t miss this jam-packed episode with Hugo E. Gomez on how to thrive when the market takes a tumble. In this episode with Hugo, you’ll learn how to: ●       Find your niche in a saturated market. ●       Fire yourself within your company. ●       Prepare for an economic downfall. ●       Leverage paid ads to keep a full pipeline. ●       Avoid the #1 mistake consultants make when sending cold emails. ●       Use a newsletter to win new business.  Book your complimentary growth session call. Connect with Hugo on LinkedIn.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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Do you struggle to close deals or identify your ideal clients' real problems? Transform your sales approach and outsmart the competition! In today's episode, Michael Zipursky sits down with Maarten van Kroonenburg, the innovative mind behind BW Ventures, to talk about Maarten’s unique journey from challenging the unicorn startup craze to cultivating the "blue whale" approach—creating sustainable and profitable companies that thrive long-term. Maarten also unveils his strategic secrets for winning government contracts and the essential role of automated systems in managing growth. Plus, discover why niching your services can be your greatest asset. You won't want to miss this! In this episode with Maarten, you’ll learn how to: Identify your prospects' real issues to close more deals effectively.Build trust with customers to foster long-lasting relationships.Niche your value proposition to differentiate from competitors.Win government contracts through strategic insights and preparation.Set up automated systems to support and manage your growth efficiently.Book your complimentary growth session call https://www.consultingsuccess.com/coaching-for-consultants-b?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=grow Connect with Maarten on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/maartenvankroonenburgLearn more about BW Ventures https://www.bw.ventures/about-usLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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Join us for an insightful conversation with Eric Rich as he delves into the intricate world of business development, sharing his journey from PwC and Infosys to his current role at Elixirr. Discover Eric's unique perspectives on what defines effective business development, including his emphasis on aligning market opportunities with organizational capabilities and the importance of fostering genuine client relationships over simply selling services. In today’s episode with Eric, you’ll learn how to: ●       Craft a winning business development framework that sets you apart.●       Identify and dominate your niche to consistently secure new business.●       Build unshakeable trust with your customers, turning them into loyal advocates.●       Accelerate the sales process, transforming prospects into customers faster.●       Articulate your unique selling points clearly, captivating potential customers' interest.Book your complimentary growth session call HERE.Visit Elixirr. Connect with Eric on LinkedIn. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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Forget the endless hustle of chasing small clients. Join Andres Molina, a Cross-Cultural Trainer at Global Manager Consulting, in cracking the code to break into the big leagues and secure high-paying consulting gigs. Discover his winning strategy that leverages powerful workshops to showcase your expertise and convert attendees into high-value clients. Andres also explains how to position yourself as the go-to expert on LinkedIn and attract ideal clients effortlessly. Stop spinning your wheels on small projects. Tune in and learn how to use workshops to land the high-paying consulting projects you deserve! In this episode with Andres, you’ll learn how to: Connect with decision-makers inside large corporations. Create sticky customers that don’t leave. Use LinkedIn to position yourself as an expert. Build a team of freelance experts. Structure payments to win more business.  Book your complimentary growth session call!Connect with Andres on LinkedIn.Learn more about Andres’ business.

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In today's competitive landscape, mastering lead generation is the lifeblood of any thriving consulting firm. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky talks with Amy Anderson, co-founder of Wild Coffee Marketing, to uncover expert insights and actionable strategies for maximizing lead generation success in the consulting industry. Don’t miss out on a power-packed conversation and skyrocket your consulting firm’s success!In this episode with Amy, you’ll learn how to: Transform client satisfaction into long-term growth.Evaluate and implement new service offerings as market demands evolve, keeping your firm competitive and relevant.Enhance your team's effectiveness by carefully selecting the right talent and avoiding common hiring pitfalls.Secure future business by actively developing a robust and continuous pipeline of potential clients.Optimize your daily schedule as a CEO.Schedule a consultation with Wild Coffee Marketing. Connect with Amy on LinkedIn. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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Struggling to scale your service business? This episode unlocks the secrets to transforming your services into profitable packages that deliver consistent value. Eisha Armstrong, co-founder and executive chairman of Vecteris, dives deep into how to productize your services for growth. Learn how embracing a product mindset and specializing in a niche can boost your profits and turn your service business into a success story. Subscribe to our podcast today! In this episode with Eisha, you’ll learn how to: ●       Productize your services to make your company more valuable. ●       Shift your culture to embrace a product mindset. ●       Ensure there is a viable market for your product idea.●       Boost profits by specializing in a specific niche. Book your complimentary growth session call, Coaching for Consultants.Visit Vecteris.Connect with Eisha on LinkedIn.Read Eisha’s book.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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In consulting, there is bound to be times when you’re confronted with the difficult decision between telling the client hard truths or avoiding ruffling feathers. Today’s guest believes that there is power in radical honesty and that it can be the key differentiator that brings success to your consulting business. In this episode with Jeremiah, you’ll learn how to: ●    Transform decision-making with data-driven insights for your business.●    Simplify complex issues with effective problem-solving techniques.●    Boost your RFP success rate using Jeremiah's innovative strategy.●    Collaborate with fellow consultants on large-scale projects for maximum impact.●    Leverage LinkedIn to amplify your brand and messaging strategy.Book your complimentary growth session call {link:https://www.consultingsuccess.com/coaching-for-consultants?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=grow}Connect with Jeremiah on LinkedIn {Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiahshirk/}Visit Jeremiah’s Website {https://showpiecesolutions.com/about/}Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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In this episode with Cathy, you’ll learn how to: ·        Grow your firm while maintaining your small, agile, and resourceful essence.·        Utilize mentors to elevate and expand your consulting empire.·        Cultivate a thriving referral system from your existing customer base.·        Utilize an independent accreditation as your secret weapon for securing new clients.·        Strategically remove yourself as the crux of operations.·        Be bold enough to prioritize long-term triumphs over short-term gains, even when it's a tough pill to swallow. Book your complimentary growth session call {Link: https://www.consultingsuccess.com/coaching-for-consultants?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=grow}Like-Minded Learning {Link: https://likeminded.co.nz/}Connect with Cathy on LinkedIn {Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathygillespie/}Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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How do you go from zero to a million-dollar consulting business? This episode has the answers for you. Michael Zipursky sits down with Nancy MacKay, the founder and CEO of MacKay CEO Forums, to unpack her journey from an independent consultant to a CEO of her own company. Filled with inspiring anecdotes about rising to the top as well as lessons learned along the way, Nancy reminds us of what leadership really looks like and how they can harness their roles to drive growth and make significant change. Tune in to not miss out! In this episode with Nancy, you’ll learn how to: Master referrals to build your practice. Leverage other people's success to help you grow. Utilize assessment tools to help you make the biggest difference inside your company. Create recurring revenue for your business. Increase your passion to increase your revenue.Create an environment and routine to perform to the best of your ability. Visit Mackay CEO Forums Connect with Nancy on LinkedIn  Book your complimentary growth session call here. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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Building a consulting firm can be difficult. There are certain pitfalls to avoid when scaling or building your firm. In this episode, Francisco Gomez, the founder of Factum Global, gives us an inside look into building a consulting firm in 2024. He talks about a range of topics, like commanding the attention of high-ticket clients, strategic partnerships, fine-tuning your messaging and offering, and harnessing the power of R&D. These are some of his secrets to helping you build your consulting firm. Join us today in this impactful episode so you won’t miss Francisco's wealth of experience. In this episode featuring Francisco, uncover secrets to:•        Command the attention of high-ticket clients.•        Propel your pipeline growth through strategic partnerships.•        Fine-tune your messaging and offerings for an irresistible appeal to your target audience.•        Harness the power of R&D to gain profound insights into your clientele.•        Dodge common pitfalls in hiring while scaling your firm.•        Skyrocket your business with the strategic deployment of a COO. Book your HYPERLINK "https://www.consultingsuccess.com/coaching-for-consultants?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=grow"complimentary growth session call. Check out HYPERLINK "https://factumglobal.com/"Factum Global. Connect with Francisco on HYPERLINK "https://www.linkedin.com/in/francisco-gomezg/"LinkedIn.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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Your pricing structure may not be as profitable as it should be. And that is what we will address today! In this episode, Bill Wilson shares his insights to unlock the secrets of a business with profitable pricing that drives success. He also talks about the common pitfalls during sales calls and how you dodge them. Bill Wilson’s wealth of experience is essential to help fortify your pricing structure. So, join us today, and let’s grow our consulting business together. In this episode with Bill Wilson, you’ll learn how to:> Successfully navigate a rebrand without disrupting your business or unsettling your clients.> Develop an effective pricing strategy that drives success.> Steer clear of common pitfalls during sales calls.> Identify and filter out clients who may not have the budget for your offerings.> Craft your messaging to attract your target clients.> Introduce efficient systems and processes to facilitate the scaling of your business. Book your complimentary growth session call https://www.consultingsuccess.com/coaching-for-consultants?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=grow Connect with Bill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wdrwilson/?originalSubdomain=ca Check out PacePricing: https://www.pacepricing.com/Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

In this episode, Michael shares how focusing on profitability is the key to uncovering hidden business revenue and strategic business growth. Discover how to focus on the most profitable projects and clients, why profit trumps size, and how to optimize your consulting business for serious growth.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

In our industry, you can’t just market to sell. When the value add is high, you need to actually build trusting relationships with your clients. This episode’s guest is proof of this. Natalie Kaminski, the Co-founder and CEO of JetRockets, has not only started her company but also grew it over time. Now, she has a team of 63. She sits down with Michael Zipursky to talk about the importance of trust, especially when creating an effective marketing campaign. From generating qualified leads to making unpopular leadership decisions, Natalie gives us a masterclass in marketing as consultants to the next level. Tune in now! In this episode with Natalie, you’ll learn how to: ·        Find your niche within a crowded marketplace. ·        Avoid the biggest sales mistake consultants make when finding new clients. ·        Find new clients using Natalie’s three-pronged approach. ·        Create strategic relationships with other companies. ·        Break through limiting beliefs to grow your practice. ·        Implement a self-managing management structure within your business.  Book your complimentary growth session call  Connect with Natalie on LinkedIn Check out JetRockets  If you have any questions about these instructions, please email [email protected] and cc [email protected] the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

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You may find consulting success just by employing general marketing strategies and casting a wide net on your target audience. But if you want to build a high-growth consulting firm, you must make your tactics more laser-focused and well-targeted. Michael Zipursky sits down with Elizabeth Harr, Managing Partner at Hinge Marketing. Together, they discuss the importance of being a visible expert, building around your brand, and empowering your digital footprint to become a highly trusted firm. Elizabeth also explains how to keep your key talents by shaping yourself into an inspirational leader.

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Red Clover Advisors is a data privacy consulting firm that helps companies comply with the alphabet soup of privacy loss. Today, joining Michael Zipursky is its Founder and CEO, Jodi Daniels, to share her insights about the power of educational marketing for consultants. She takes us into what’s working in today’s company regarding marketing perspective and what she learned from her approach to selling that’s not sexy. Let’s dive into Jodi’s story and insights together. Tune in to this episode and discover the power of educational marketing today.In this episode with Jodi, you’ll learn how to:Use your connections to win new business.Create clear and unique content to attract your ideal clients.Prioritize your workload to ensure consistent growth within your company.Ensure you build a business, not a job.Build out your processes to onboard new employees successfully.Make your engagement simple for your clients.Outsource successfully using Jodi’s unique strategy.Book your complimentary growth session callRed Clover AdvisorsJodi’s Book, Data ReimaginedJodi’s PodcastConnect with Jodi on LinkedInLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Embrace the essence of boldness. In this episode, we have Melisa Vela-Williams to discuss the art of being BOLD. Get ready to unlock the secrets to standing out in your industry and fueling business growth.  In this episode with Melissa, you’ll learn how to: ● Elevate your brand to stand out in your industry.● Capitalize on your name recognition and relationships to fuel business growth.● Expand your client base by leveraging events and conferences.● Attract new clients through featured content in online publications.● Build trust and authority by participating in podcasting.● Make strategic decisions about your workforce, choosing between hiring contractors or employees. Book your complimentary growth session call MVW Communications Melissa’s Book, Smart TalkSmart Talk Series Podcast  If you have any questions about these instructions, please email [email protected] and cc [email protected]  Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Build not just a brand, but a magnetic force that attracts opportunities. Today, Joe Mechlinski, the founder of Gift of Work, shows us the way to speaking, recurring revenue, and personal brand converge to reshape the future of consulting. Hear about his early struggles and how he found a unique approach to consulting that changed his career. In this episode with Joe, you’ll learn how to: ●       Learn strategies for helping leaders excel in times of rapid and exponential change.●       Discover how writing and publishing a book can elevate your credibility and expand your business.●       Understand how to embrace and learn from rejection to foster personal and professional growth.●       Gain insights on identifying key decision-makers within any organization to enhance your consulting effectiveness.●       Uncover methods to identify a company's insecurities and leverage this knowledge to attract new clients.●       Explore ways to build your business so that it thrives independently, reducing reliance on your constant involvement.●       Learn to navigate your business successfully through economic downturns and challenging times.●       Find out how to implement sustainable recurring revenue models or memberships in your business.●       Learn the steps to building a strong, influential platform for your consulting practice. Book your complimentary growth session call  Visit:SHIFT Joe’s Website and Books  If you have any questions about these instructions, please email [email protected] and cc [email protected]. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

As consultants, we constantly think about growth and success. But sometimes, it can be challenging to know where to focus your efforts to attract new leads and scale your businesses effectively. That's why we've created the Scale Your Consulting Business Scorecard (https://www.consultingsuccess.com/scorecard) that will help you assess how ready you are to scale your consulting business, see if your current strategy is optimal, and identify areas for improvement.Get instant access and see how you score at https://www.consultingsuccess.com/scorecard. Within 2-3 minutes and by answering a series of questions, you'll gain insights into your strengths and uncover opportunities to optimize your operations. Are you confident in your target audience? Do you regularly create high-quality content that resonates with them? These are just a few of the critical factors we'll explore in the Scorecard.By the end of the Scale Your Consulting Business Scorecard, you'll have a clear understanding of where you stand and what steps you can take to elevate your consulting business. It will go into your pricing strategy, sales approach, and how well you communicate the value of your services. Get instant access and see how you score at https://www.consultingsuccess.com/scorecardLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

In this bonus podcast, Michael Zipursky speaks with Lizz Harr of Hinge Marketing on how independent consultants and small firms can become visible experts:✔️ The one thing successful consulting business owners all wish they could have done earlier✔️ How we built Consulting Success® by starting with a simple blog✔️ The best type of content that gets the most traffic leads, and clients✔️ The link between your content and ability to command premium fees✔️ How to leverage the insights of other experts in your content✔️ What's working best for LinkedIn content in Q4 of 2023✔️ The different kinds of visible experts (so you can find your ideal content style)✔️ Why every consultant should strive to present and speak in front of a live audience of ideal clientsLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

AI has become a trend that many businesses delve into. And to keep your business on top, you've got to learn how to leverage it to set yourself to success. In this episode, Christopher Penn, the co-founder of TrustInsights, talks about how to create an AI team and grow the business with it. Chris reveals that his business's revenue goes up while the headcount remains because as the AI space matured, they could do so much more. So, don't let your consulting business fall right behind others, and start leveraging AI to keep you on track toward success. Tune in to this episode and learn more about Christopher's take on creating an AI team.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Dean West's journey teaches us that even at 50, making strategic changes and staying committed to restructuring can turn challenges into opportunities. In this episode, we hear Dean’s story and secrets behind leveraging associations and specialty groups to securing high-value clients. Associations, often underrated, can be compared to valuable goldmines for fostering relationships. Dean discusses all about them, dispelling common misconceptions about associations and shedding light on the myriad opportunities they present. Dean also shares how to craft the right content, understand the power of restructuring, and his pivotal point at 50. Tune in now and unlock the doors to high-value clients.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Productization is a hot topic. Many consultants wish to productize their consulting business. But the question remains, how do you know when you are ready to take this next step? In this short yet very insightful episode, Michael Zipursky dives deep into the ways to identify when to productize and when not to. Remember, it’s a slippery slope to undertake productizing your business. You need to be equipped with the right data to know if you are making the right decision. Find out today whether you are on the right track or if you need to take a step back.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Putting the right people in the right seats is crucial to any business, but for a consulting practice, it is a matter of life or death. Michael Zipursky talks about strategic hiring in this episode with Adam Oliver, Founder and CEO of Crafted, a product development consultancy employing over 26 people. Michael and Adam discuss the challenges of balancing between having a robust sales pipeline and a hiring pipeline and why the two are essential for your growth. Among other things, you’ll learn the secret to hiring effective remote employees and how to ensure a warm and balanced sales and hiring pipeline, how to win new clients using Adam's personal sales approach, how to thrive even during a recession, how to free up your time as a founder to grow your practice and how to use case studies to back up your great growth. Tune in!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

In this special bonus episode from YouTube, Michael Zipursky talks about how consultants can use value-based pricing to maximize revenue. He discusses the two different forms of value, how to work around the perception of value, and the benefits of knowing the right questions to ask clients. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Are you looking to scale your consulting business? This episode will deliver that to you! Today, Kenny Goldman, the co-founder and CEO of Kicksaw, discusses how consulting businesses can elevate their practice through the Fractional Services Model. Kenny also brings insights on strategically determining optimal time and innovative technology and systems. He delves into building and sustaining meaningful partnerships with large enterprises. From implementing strategies to reduce customer churn to prioritizing crafting exceptional experiences for clients, Kenny brings so much value to this episode. Tune the volume up and join Kenny and Michael today. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What makes you stand out from any other consulting businesses? How can you increase the value of your business? In this episode, Tony Velasquez, the CEO of Angelus Advisors, brings his wisdom on what makes a true consulting business and how consultants can build one instead of simply creating a job for themselves. He delves into increasing your offering’s value, making your clients feel special and heard, winning new clients, and crafting impactful messages to attract ideal customers. Tony also shares his insights on how consultants can prioritize their families while building their businesses. If you are a startup or a seasoned in this industry, this episode is perfect for you! So, tune in to the Consulting Podcast with Michael Zipursky and Tony Velasquez today.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Michael Zipursky warns about the consequences of choosing money over love. He explains why it is wrong to justify pouring all your time and effort into your business just for the sake of your family. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Nobody wants to be just another consulting firm. So, how will you stand out among others? Today, Sarah Heal, the Director and Co-Founder of Information Leadership, brings you the power of specializing your consulting firm to be on top of the industry. Sarah delves into improving messaging, delegating effectively, valuing employees, niching down, leveraging your words and social proof, and avoiding falling into a common trap. This episode is stuffed with insights and will help you climb into the pinnacle of your business success. So tune in to this episode with Sarah Heal. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

How do you maximize your consulting firm’s profitability? In this episode of Consulting Success Podcast, Michael Zipursky is joined by Marcel Petitpas who is the Cofounder and CEO of Parakeeto, a company dedicated to enhancing the profitability of agencies and consultancies. His expertise has garnered attention from numerous platforms, including Ad World, DigitalMarketer, and Credo among many others.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:Utilize cold emails to expand your network while strengthening both professional relationships and outreach skills.Find holes in your business to service your customers more effectively.Leverage content to grow your pipeline.Comprehend your gross margin to facilitate the growth of your firm.Employ Marcel’s formula for pricing your products or services and improve your gross margin.Forecast the ideal time to add talent to your team.Resources Mentioned:Time Tracking Software for your businessMarcel’s CompanyIn this conversation, Marcel emphasizes the challenges surrounding scaling your consultancy and why so many consultants struggle to scale. You will also learn how to utilize cold emails to expand your network while strengthening both your professional relationships and outreach skills, how to find holes in your business to service your customers more effectively, how to leverage content to grow your pipeline, how to comprehend your gross margin to facilitate the growth of your firm, how to employ Marcel’s formula for pricing your products or services, and how to forecast the ideal time to add talent to your team, plus so much more. There is so much to learn from this wide-ranging discussion. Tune in!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” - Simon Sinek. Investing in your team and providing them with a great experience will drive them to perform better. In this episode, Kalyn Ponti, the CEO of Humankind, sprinkles her expertise on how consulting firm owners improve the employee experience for them to thrive in your firm. When leaders develop and nourish a positive company culture, it ripples into your firm and will grow your business. KP poured her heart into their purpose and became the catalyst for their expansion. Start investing in your employees today, and you’ll see the magic it will bring to your firm tomorrow. In this episode, you'll learn how to: -Integrate Enterprise-Level Strategies into Your Boutique Consulting Firm-Professionalize Your Operations to Pave the Way for Scalable Growth-Develop and Nourish a Positive Company Culture-Emphasize Purpose-Driven Goals as a Critical Catalyst for Business Expansion-Utilize Three Key Strategies KP Employs to Scale Her Consulting Business-Leverage Video Testimonials as an Effective Tool for Winning New Customers Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Elevate your consulting business through the lens of neuroscience: discover hidden opportunities, amplify growth, and lead with sharper insights for success. In this episode, we dive deep into business transformation and personal growth. Our guest is none other than Bill Troy, founder of Polaris, a pioneering company that leverages neuroscience to unlock human potential and elevate consulting businesses. He reveals how his business paradigm shifted from control-centered to growth-focused, which ultimately led him to launch the company. Bill unpacks how our brains often blind us to both opportunities and threats hiding in plain sight, and how we can break down the barriers with neuroscience. Bill also touches on navigating entrepreneurial challenges faced by small businesses and the allure of business dynamics. He emphasizes how success lies not in control, but in expanding your capacity. Join us in harnessing neuroscience to revolutionize the consulting landscape, and embracing discomfort as a catalyst for true growth. Tune in now!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Growing your business may not be easy but you can look at the successful people around you and learn from them. One of those that you’ll find invaluable is this episode’s guest, Jason Shafton, the Founder of Winston Francois. Drawing not only from his experience and expertise but also insights learned from the amazing people around him, Jason shares the simple method for growth in your consulting business. He dives deep into the value of getting referrals and how to get them without directly asking for them, the secret to winning new clients (and no, it’s not your typical marketing tool!), developing IP, and finding and keeping great talent. You don’t have to find success on your own; you can make the journey much better with people on your side. Follow Jason’s footsteps toward success and grow your consulting business today! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving. We get stronger and more resilient.” - Steve Maraboli, from Life, Truth, and Being Free. Today, Ryan Kutscher, the founder of Circus Maximus, shares his journey to inspire others to become resilient consulting business leaders. He shares the steps to help you navigate the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur and consultant. As Ryan dives deeper into the conversation, he also emphasizes the importance of the restaurant business model in his practice. You will learn more if you tune into this insightful episode with Ryan Kutscher.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Research is vital in many businesses because the gathered data will allow business owners to decide accordingly. That is one of the secrets today’s guest reveals. Cali Williams Yost, the CEO of Flex+Strategy Group, shares her expertise in building a remote consulting business. She provides tips on developing the skills of your managers to grow your business. Cali also reveals her secret in managing her work-life fit to grow your firm. Get a glimpse of how Cali grows her business and learn from her.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Many consultants struggle to grow their businesses because they’re busy working in their business rather than on their business. Because if you are looking to scale your firm, owners should understand the crucial role of margin. Today, Matt Hayter, the CEO and founder of Project Works, emphasizes how utilization and margin ensure sustainability and growth for your consulting business. He also delves into several topics and shares some tips to help your consulting business grow. Listen to this episode and hear more from Matt’s expertise today.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Nothing beats the power of preparation when it comes to overcoming the impacts of the unknown challenges of the future. Today’s guest learned this lesson the hard way. Not expecting the recession to happen, Gini Dietrich, the creator of the PESO Model, had to face a number of hurdles that crushed her business. Today, she shares the mistakes you need to avoid and the lessons she learned along the way. Gini offers her insights to prepare your consulting business for what’s coming. She also explains how the PESO Model works to help you master the art of building a thriving blog. She provides tips on implementing a winning PR Strategy, effectively communicating your unique value to potential customers, harnessing the power of an underutilized marketing tool, and making your business recession-proof. Gini brings so much wisdom in this episode, so don’t miss this opportunity today to add more to your toolbelt to prepare for the future.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

If you want to grow your consulting business and enhance your marketing, you're in luck! Today, we have a special guest who will share his secrets to success in driving business growth. Phil Alves, the CEO of DevSquad, has a unique strategy to grow his consulting business through inbound marketing to generate endless consulting clients. He provides tips on how you can avoid digital marketing mistakes that could cost you thousands. Phil also shares his strategy to attract the best employees and how you can create an optimal environment to fuel your creativity. Witness Phil’s expertise as he ventures through inbound marketing today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

In the uncertain landscape of business growth, reaching new heights requires transcending the limits of your own capacity. Welcome back to the Consulting Success Podcast! In this episode, Michael is joined by the exceptional Sean Sheppard, managing partner at U +, a renowned consulting firm with a track record of creating $2 billion in new value and successfully bringing over a hundred ideas to market. Today, Sean sheds light on a crucial challenge faced by many consulting firms and businesses that matter: reaching a growth plateau where the owner's capacity becomes a limiting factor. This episode dives deep into the strategies and insights necessary for scaling your consulting business. Sean also covers overcoming obstacles that arise when transitioning from six to seven figures. He discusses hiring, training, and expanding your operations, enabling you to optimize your consulting business even in uncertain times. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's leading experts. Tune in now and take your consulting business to new heights. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Are you pondering about managing yourself out of your consulting business? Then tune in to this episode today! David Denzel, a remarkable serial entrepreneur, sheds light on managing your consulting business with his blueprint to success. But you can only unlock the doors to success if you find someone who will hold you accountable, and David emphasizes the value of building your consulting team. His extraordinary talent allowed him to orchestrate success from behind the scenes, refusing the limelight on him. David also emphasizes the importance of running your business like your life. There are more insights you can unpack from this episode, so don’t miss this one!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

As a leader, it is important to adopt a mindset to allow your team to drive better results. In this episode, Liz Wiseman, the author of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, discusses the principles of effective consulting business leadership to empower your team and drive exceptional results. She introduces two contrasting leadership styles: Multipliers and Diminishers. She delves into the characteristics and behaviors of multipliers and provides practical insights on how leaders can develop and embody these traits. She emphasizes the importance of allowing room for mistakes without necessarily creating severe consequences for your business. Tune in to this episode as Liz explores the concept of leadership and presents a framework for understanding and developing effective leaders who amplify the intelligence and capabilities of their teams.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Jamie Douraghy uncovers the secret to expanding your consulting practice by navigating the delicate balance between work and life. His insights on expanding a consulting practice while maintaining a healthy work-life balance revolve around two key aspects: aligning with like-minded individuals and building a supportive network. The alignment of like-minded individuals helps foster a sense of belonging and provides opportunities for collaboration and partnership. This supportive network will empower you to overcome obstacles, maintain a healthy work-life balance, and achieve sustainable growth in your consulting practice. By leveraging these connections and resources, consultants can navigate the challenges of work and life, fuel their business growth, and cultivate a thriving consulting practice.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

It requires a great strategy to provide a great customer experience to generate leads for your consulting firm. Dave Norton, the visionary founder of Stone Mantel, reveals his insights on customer experience strategy to gain a competitive edge in your consulting business. He also sheds light on developing IP to contribute growth to your practice. Furthermore, Dave touches on driving new leads to your doorstep with his outreach strategy. Dave Norton has so much to unveil in this episode. So, don’t miss this one!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

There is an art to facilitating workshops, especially if you wish it to be impactful. Today's guest is Myriam Hadnes, who founded Workshops Work to support individuals and organizations to grow their facilitation skills. She shares her thoughts on helping clients create a smoother workshop, drawing from the best practices she has learned from navigating and growing as an expert in the field. What is more, Myriam adds some tips for facilitators to avoid mirroring negative effects in the workshops. Tune in to this exciting episode as Myriam joins Michael Zipursky to share more about designing a workshop that truly works.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

How can you get accredited for the psychometric tools? What challenges do you have to face in getting accreditation? In this episode, Skip Bowman, the founder of Safe2Great, provides insights on creating lucrative accreditation programs and explains the Safe to Great model. The concept of the model is useful for the business. It brings people to get interested in something. Skip provides tips to draw followers into you because the business will thrive if people follow your ideas and concepts. Tune in to this episode to keep your consulting business thriving. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

There is more to pricing than just numbers. It is also rooted in optimizing performance and nudging customer behaviors. Helping you figure out your pricing strategy, Michael Zipursky sits down with Jenny Millar, the Founder of Untapped Pricing. Jenny tells us more about the psychology of pricing and how to raise your fees as consultants. She also talks about her journey from working on eBay to freelancing to building a remote business and where networking helped in the process. What is the function of pricing inside an organization? How do you validate whether a price increase is the right move? What are the common mistakes around pricing? Why does behavior have to do with pricing and how do you benefit from that? Jenny answers these important questions and more. So tune in to not miss out on these helpful insights that will have you grow your practice.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Do you want to stay as a solo consultant, or do you want to bring others in? What are the risks in building your consulting firm? In this episode, Devon O'Rourke, the Founder and Managing Partner at Fluvio, provides some tips to build your consulting team by shifting from a solo to a firm model. Although hiring is challenging, consulting firms should learn to balance when to hire because you don't want to bring consultants into your firm without any clients to offer them. Devon shows how persistence can help build your firm no matter the risk, as long as you push through the challenges. Tune in for more!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Many businesses do not optimally perform. It can be frustrating, but you don’t need to suffer today. In this episode, Philip (Phil) Krichilsky, the CEO of Innovative Directions, dives into shifting from hourly billing to lucrative performance-based fees. In the consulting business, you are only as good as your billing hours. Phil wants every consultant to challenge that model. There are more insights Phil shares in this episode, so if you want to improve your profitability today, tune in now!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

We have so many brilliant minds working on producing great innovations, but we only hear from a few of them. Why? Because, often, these innovation experts struggle with their communication. Today’s guest, Susan Lindner, has observed this, leading her to create Innovation Storytellers—a consulting firm that helps companies to communicate more effectively with their ideas and get those ideas out there. In this episode, she joins Michael Zipursky to tell us more about the importance of storytelling, especially in driving innovation and growth to our consulting businesses. She takes us through the process of how to develop stories and effectively tell them. On other avenues of growth, Susan then talks about using speaking engagements to maximize business revenue. Tune in to hear more about growing your business as Susan dives deep into other important topics, from business models to mindset shifts and more!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

“When you sell success to someone and deliver success to problems, your past customers never run out of problems.” - Tom Searcy. Today, Michael Zipursky brings a guest who will unravel the Secret to Big Sales. In this episode, Tom Searcy, the Founder of Hunt Big Sales, discusses how consultants can hunt and win big clients with big budgets to grow their consulting business. Tom shares that the art and science of pricing his services allow him to charge full fees and have more freedom to navigate the industry. He emphasizes that he does not negotiate on price because the price is the price and will take away his margin. Instead, he negotiates on the scale. Find more value in this conversation with Tom Searcy and Michael Zipursky.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Unlocking your true pricing power is not just about charging more. It's about creating irresistible consulting offers that reflect the excellence you provide, and ultimately, unlocking the full potential of your business. In this episode, Casey Brown, President and Founder of Boost Pricing, talks about the art of pricing irresistible consulting offers. She discusses how to help companies discover their true pricing power and how to get paid well for the excellence they provide. Casey discusses her brand's pricing strategies, how pricing affects businesses, its benefits, and why it's often overlooked. Drawing from her experience, she offers valuable insights and advice for all small businesses on how to compete in the challenging pricing market. Tune in now.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Did you know it's difficult to create a long-term sustainable and successful business if you don't take care of yourself? Today's episode Michael Zipursky brings our guests to provide value on self-care to reach our full potential. Today's guest is Vanessa Bennett, CEO of Next Evolution Performance, who shares her wisdom on how consulting business owners maximize creative performance. You should know when your most productive time is so you can manage your energy well. Self-awareness is the essential key in today's discussion. Let's squeeze more of Vanessa's wisdom and learn more about how we can maximize our performance. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What would you give to discover the formula for growing a consulting business? Today’s episode features the powerhouse duo, Adele Cehrs and Chip Massey, the founders of Convincing Company. Adele and Chip started the company before COVID, utilizing the relationships they built with previous clients to help build the foundation they have now for their business. Tune in as they share some FBI tactics to grow your consulting business. The discussion also highlights the value of connecting with people to better position your business for success. Dive right in and learn the secrets to expanding your consulting business today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What does world-class consulting work look like? In this episode, Randy Shumway, the founder and chairman of Cicero Group, shares how Cicero Group delivers world-class consulting work to its clients. The company seeks to provide meaningful and durable solutions. The collaborative approach with their clients, the true partnership, and their focus on execution drive real impact within their organization. The high-quality work allows the consulting business to grow and market itself. Join Randy Shumway as he brings his passion for his work in this episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Most business owners would like to do everything in their business and still not grow. Have you wondered why? That’s because you become the bottleneck of your business. In this episode, Danielle Hayden, the founder of Kickstart Accounting, gives an insightful talk on why and how to remove yourself as the bottleneck of your consulting business. As a business owner, you don’t have to recreate the wheel. You don’t have to be the expert because you’re not a finance expert. Tune in to this insightful talk with Danielle Hayden today.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

In this day and age where things happen at the touch of a button, it can be so easy to overlook the value of human connections. For Eduardo Placer, the CEO and Founder of Fearless Communicators, there is power in face-to-face networking, especially at a time of screens dividing us. In this episode, he joins Michael Zipursky to share with us how he came to this realization along with the story of how he transitioned from actor to entrepreneur. Eduardo talks about how he leveraged his relationships, going out there and meeting real people who can help him. What is more, he imparts some great tips on how to build those relationships and network to grow your business. Join this conversation and learn key insights to put yourself at the top of your game.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Every consultant wants to attract clients. It is that element that keeps the consulting business going. In this episode, Mindy Weinstein, the Founder of Market Mindshift, shares how consultants can use The Power of Scarcity to influence customers’ decisions and attract better clients. She explains the psychology behind scarcity, which consultants should correctly and ethically use to influence potential clients. Drive customer’s into your business not just by playing hard-to-get but also giving value to yourself and your business. This episode is well-packed with Mindy’s wisdom on sales and marketing. Tune in now and apply some tactical ways to help grow your consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Referrals can be a great avenue in building your consulting business. But how can you achieve that? In this episode, Jaime Klein, Founder and CEO of Inspire Human Resources, discusses how thought leadership creates consulting referrals. She shares with Michael Zipursky how these have helped build her business by putting her networks and relationships to work. She explains that the more people you bring to help you in running your consulting business, the more it can flourish and grow. Find out more with Jaime Klein in this informative episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Are you considering a career shift? Keep in mind that you don’t have to go far from your industry just to find the right one. Consulting is a great choice, and it can elevate your career to a completely different level. Nabeel Mahmood, Founding Partner at Mahmood Ventures, joins Michael Zipursky to talk about his journey from the realm of corporate to the world of consulting. He shares his stories of business success, advising various companies on effective technology adoption. Tune in as Nabeel sheds light on how to make your mark in your industry through consulting.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Business is a war between problems and solutions. As a business owner, imagination is the best weapon to bring in this war. Imagination is the most crucial ingredient to success. In this episode, Martin Reeves, the co-author of The Imagination Machine: How to Spark New Ideas and Create Your Company’s Future, shares his insights on the principles of the consulting craft. Martin argues that the skill needed for improving problem-solving is the skill of abstraction or drilling down. This skill has been at the forefront of his mind since he started his career. Find the true value of imagination in this talk with Martin Reeves and Michael Zipursky by tuning in to this episode!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

In the consulting space, your world revolves around human interaction. So when growing your business, we must also look at human behavior, what motivates them, and how we can leverage that. In today’s episode, Melina Palmer, CEO of The Brainy Business, explains how behavioral economics for consultants helps grow the business. She explains how presenting information makes a difference in consulting because bad framing does not motivate anyone to take action. Melina also touches on some key concepts to help grow your business. Tune in to this episode now!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

If you know how to unlock scalability, you already have the key to building a successful consulting business. What is the right way to do this while managing market competition and dealing with challenges in brand building? That’s what we’re here to find out! In this episode, Michael Zipursky is joined by Chris Ronzio, Founder and CEO of Trainual. He shares how process unlocks scalability for consultants, allowing them to expand and grow exponentially. He shares the impact of having a strong, stable process and how to get started with establishing one. Chris also drops information bombs on network building, social media marketing, and more! Tune in now and learn how to get that key to success!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Consumers are an essential part of any consulting business. Ensuring they have the best customer journey will help you keep going and growing. How do you consistently deliver an excellent experience to them when they get your services? In this episode, Michael Zipursky welcomes George Bryant, the host of The Mind Of George Show. They discuss how to design the best customer journey and why marketing is a two-way value-based long-term relationship. Learn how to create an equal ground endowed on a relationship agnostic of the traction with George Bryant today! Tune in, take notes, and start driving your consulting business toward success.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Do you want to transition from employee to consultant? Do you want to know the best exit strategies for doing so? In this episode, Dr. Nika White shares her experiences building a successful consulting business and what it took her to make such a transition. She’s here to help many people who are just starting to figure out how to take control of their lives by leaving their corporate roles in favor of building their own business. Tune in now and learn the best from the best! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

In this episode, we’re going to show you how to build your consulting firm into the fastest-growing one! Special guest Monica Hernandez walks you through how she built her consulting firm from scratch into one of the fastest-growing in the world, giving you all the tools you need to do it too! Monica Hernandez, the CEO of MAS Global Consultant, helps other entrepreneurs find their voice and build their consulting businesses. Tune in to learn her secrets, from finding your niche and identifying your target customers to making sure you have the right team in place so that when you finally launch, everything goes off without a hitch!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Your client would want to thrive in the economy. As a consultant, we should help them cross the borders towards their success with the help of our expertise. In this episode, Mike Rowlands, the CEO of Junxion Strategy, lends his expertise to consulting clients’ to deliver their wants and needs. The two things that Junxion focuses on that are critical to the overall business: are quality control and Culture. As a social impact consultancy, they are tuned to the human experience. Scale your consulting business by considering your client’s wants and needs. Learn how by tuning in to this episode today! https://junxion.com/Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Choosing the right person to work with you is critical in business. It can be the factor that will drive your business into success or chaos. In this episode, Brian McComak, the CEO and Founder of Hummingbird Humanity, dives deep into employee hiring strategies for consulting business owners. He discusses the repositioning of Hummingbird to focus on organizational culture because that’s what you should do through the lens of DEI. Brian also gives insights on how to treat the structure in communication with a client and shares their thought leadership paper you can leverage. Tune in to this conversation to find out!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

The path to success may have several disruptions along the way. Although these disruptions may be an impasse, stepping back to slingshot forward can help you succeed. In today’s episode, Whitney Johnson, the founder of Disruption Advisors, takes a deep dive into how personal growth leads to growth in your consulting business. Whitney explains the cascading effect of how all that development from individuals to teams and into the business that needs to come together will lead to growth. By pulling together an amalgam of different ideas and drawing on best practices from people, and leverage those to set yourself as a successful consultant. For more tips on growing your consulting business, tune in to this episode now!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Keynote speaking requires a unique skill set. It’s not an easy job, but how can you find joy in speaking and consulting in sales? Here to share his story is Rene Rodriguez. Rony is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, leadership advisor, and transformational speaker coach. In this episode with host Michael Zipursky, he shares insights from his book, Amplify Your Influence: Transform How You Communicate and Lead. Rony shares his career story, and why he chose the path he’s on now. He also lets us in on what it’s like to work as a keynote speaker and offers advice for those pursuing this career. Rony talks about what you need to expect when working as a public speaker, what you can gain from it, and what you need to work on to succeed. There are a lot of nuggets in this episode that you won’t want to miss, so listen in to learn all about it.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

The workplace is never fixed, especially after the pandemic; it forces individuals to shift and adapt. Businesses that refuse to adapt are left behind. This episode with Gustavo Razzetti, the author of Remote Not Distant, enlightens us on how consultants build a fearless culture. He addresses the areas of culture to connect you with your team through remote collaboration. Gustavo also lays the roadmap to allow businesses to succeed in a hybrid workplace. Your options are to thrive in this new workplace or be left behind. If you want to scale your business forward, tune in to this episode now!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Did you know that there are a lot of ways for marketers and consultants to create massive impact and help make the world a better place? In this episode, Kindred Motes-Caso shares his journey in philanthropy and how he realized that individuals across different industries could use their skills and expertise to drive social change. He is the Founder and Managing Director of KM Strategies Group, working with global organizations like the United Nations, the White House, Netflix, and Google. Tune in to his conversation with Michael Zipursky and learn how you can provide high-quality services, design strategies, and lead inspiring advocacies that result in significant social change! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Every entrepreneur wants their business to be a huge success. But sometimes, even the best entrepreneurs get tired of the rat race in corporate. In this episode, Kim Crowder tells us how to avoid the pitfalls that most people fall into when they try to build a successful consulting business and get started on your path to freedom! Kim is a certified DEI and Six Sigma Leadership CEO, strategist, speaker, and consultant featured numerous times by Forbes. Join us and learn how she took a different approach to build her consulting business and how you can use it too!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Everybody strives hard to become successful. But what does a successful consulting look like? In today’s episode, Brian Oulton, a top consulting coach, reveals everything. He shares his path of business development through pivoting from the challenges he faced. As a consultant, Brian discusses that you must market some potential clients. Because marketing and sales are like an ocean, they are wide and deep, and you can fish many clients from them. To know more about becoming a successful consultant, tune in to this episode now!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

If you want to start up a meaningful consulting practice, you need to understand what drives people at a human level. Know your client's motivation and know why you are being of service to them. Show up as your whole self and really try to add value to your clients. Understanding your full potential is key to meaningful practice. Join Michael Zipursky as he talks to the co-founder and CEO of the Ad Lucem Group, Patrick Farran about how he set up his own meaningful consultant practice. Learn what strategic partnership models you can use for your practice. Discover the true meaning of meaningfulness. And just start prioritizing your time on your business. Have a meaningful practice today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Want to learn how to create winning consulting strategies? Then this episode is for you! Roger Martin, a trusted strategy advisor to CEOs worldwide, shares his journey and tips on navigating various scenarios and personalities to achieve a successful outcome for your consulting strategy. Join us in learning from his next-level experiences and what makes a winning consulting strategy!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Mindset is everything to succeed in life. The mindset either leads you to your goal or holds you back. In this episode of Consulting Success Podcast, Nina Cooke, a coach in Clarity Coaching Program, shares her insights on overcoming the self-limiting beliefs that hold you back from succeeding. Along with her wisdom, one of her approaches to personal development is building an agreement between the “meanings” we make up about everything in our lives. She also discusses how our fear of failure is the most significant factor that holds everyone back, and the flip side of that fear is the fear of success. So if you want to achieve your goals finally, it’s time to take action now and hit that play button to learn more from Nina to help you develop and grow.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

The single biggest determinant of how good your ideas are is the quantity of your ideas. Entrepreneurs get stuck so much on the quality of their ideas when they should just be doing more ideas. Have options and quantity in everything you do. You're not just going down one narrow straight path. It's okay to deviate from that and pave your own path. This is exactly what our guest today did. Join Michael Zipursky as he talks to the Director of Executive Education at Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, Jeremy Utley. Jeremy is also a keynote speaker and the author of Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters. Learn how he got rid of this "If I could, I should" mindset so he can do what he truly loves. Discover more about inspiration, innovation, and creativity, and start creating and pursuing more options today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Are you having trouble bringing clients to buy? How should you bring offers to your clients? In today’s episode, the CEO of LeanStack, Ash Maurya, sits with Michael Zipursky to share his insights on how you can create consulting offers clients will buy. Publishing valuable content helps move your business forward, but that’s not where the whole discussion ends. Through conversations, patterns begin to emerge, but when you can predict what your clients will say before they say it, you should shift to solution designing and pitching. Tune in to this episode and listen to this insightful conversation to put your business in a perfect position to succeed.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Leading an organization is a big responsibility. But it does not mean we have to drown and stretch ourselves too thin. Even better, we can actually lead without working (and being) neck-deep in the company. Sounds impossible? Let Mandi Ellefson of Hands-Off CEO share how you can run your business profitably without you! In this episode, she joins Michael Zipursky to tell us all about their company, what it means to be a hands-off CEO, and the steps that take you from being just one responsibility lighter to completely taking your time and space back as CEO. Whether you are a CEO or consultant, don't let yourself burn out by putting more and more on your plate. More work does not necessarily mean more profit. Learn the art of productivity and delegation as you join Mandi in this conversation on building a hands-off consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

As a consultant, why should you write a book? What does it do for you? In today’s episode, Stacy Ennis, the CEO and Founder of the Nonfiction Book School, shares the internal and external benefits of writing a book. Writing content incurs your expertise in the area, but the internal benefits are the driver beyond the writing process. Stacy talks about how you can write a book and explains why consistency and frequency are essential. We may encounter writer’s block along the writing process, but if you tune in to this conversation, you’ll learn how Stacy deals with it and even how you can structure your book. Hit that play button now to hear more of Stacy’s insightful wisdom!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

As a consultant, it can be very challenging to stand out in a world overloaded with content. Right now, people have the power to just Google you up and decide whether or not they want to work with you. So instead of trying to communicate with everyone, focus on your strengths. Share your story and be transparent because people want to work with people they can relate to.  Join Michael Zipursky as he talks to the author of The Iconist: The Art and Science of Standing Out, Jamie Mustard, about standing out in today's world. Learn more about Jamie’s book and why he decided to share his story with the world. Discover more about Blocks and how you can have people remember you. Start sharing your story today and build that credibility.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Can you close a sale quickly with your sales strategies right now? Listen to your host Michael Zipursky as he talks with Nikki Rausch about selling made simple for consultants through effective sales conversations to get more clients and generate more income! Nikki has unique skills and techniques in providing value to ideal clients. In this episode, she shares how you can be prepared to shift how you think about sales and transform your business into what you have always dreamed it. The sales process can be scary initially, but if you get educated, you’ll get it right! So, tune in to learn more about consulting training businesses, best practices in a sales conversation, and the most effective ways to provide solutions to clients' problems.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Building relationship is key to bringing clients to your door. This principle will help maximize those clients who are also interested in what you sell, so when you leverage your relationships, you also generate ongoing sales opportunities. In this episode, Bob Burg, author of Endless Referrals, shares his secrets to unlock endless consulting referrals. By following a process of predictably achieving a result based on a logical “how-to” principle, Bob works his way up as a sales manager. He also explains what his books are about and their relation to sales. When Bob says, “All you can control is your action,” wait no more and tune in to this episode now as Bob unlocks the door of his secrets to endless referrals! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Tap into more significant opportunities and watch yourself grow professionally. Join your host Michael Zipursky as he talks with Robert Chen about selling your expertise, winning deals, and becoming a rainmaker. Rainmaking skills contribute a lot in an organization because it drives huge revenue for a company through communication strategies in bringing on new clients. In this episode, Robert shares in-depth insights into the importance of deepening client relationships and dives deep into his book, Selling Your Expertise: The Mindset, Strategies, and Tactics of Successful Rainmakers, which is a clear roadmap to building a book of business and cultivate a growth mindset. He also explains his approach to overcoming challenges from a business perspective and the most effective strategies for generating qualified leads. Tune in to understand the concept of continuing skillset evolution for expansion and increasing abilities.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Starting up a consulting business is not the easiest thing to do. You need to find clients so that they can make those referrals. You need to market yourself online with legit testimonials to make yourself look professional. You also need a pricing strategy. Even more important is that you need to know what you're selling.  Find a framework that works for your consulting business. Join Michael Zipursky as he talks to Dr. Benjamin Ritter about his consulting business, Live for Yourself Consulting. Learn how Dr. Ritter found his calling by teaching leaders to take back control of their lives. Discover why you need a framework for everything you do in your business. Finally, get some tips on how to market yourself online on LinkedIn. Tune in and start getting your consulting business off the ground today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What kind of sales approach are you implementing? Are you sure you're building relationships with your buyers the right way? Join your host Michael Zipursky as he talks with Andy Paul about mastering the art of selling consulting services without selling out. Andy is the author of Sell Without Selling Out: A Guide to Success on Your Own Terms, where he shares a guide to success and a proven framework to increase win rates and shorten decision cycles. In this episode, he discusses how you can find a way to make sales work for you and address buyers’ challenges through a sales method that seeks to care for what the buyers want. Tune in to learn how you can progress toward making better decisions, make sales faster, and understand the buyer’s process.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

People fear the future because they think they can't control it. However, if you know how to anticipate, then perhaps you can take on the reins and continue to thrive. If you are a consultant struggling to see what is up ahead, you're in for a great episode! Join Michael Zipursky as he talks to futurist Jared Nichols about the future of entrepreneurial consulting. Jared is the owner of NU FUTURIST, a program that teaches innovators how they have the power to shape the future. Discover why you need to define success for yourself. Learn why it's important to have a big body of work and content to enforce your core ideas. And know how to be different from everybody else. All of this to help you stay ahead of the curve as the future of consulting continues to take shape.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Everyone in the business knows you can only go as far as your people take you. That is why the talent piece is often the most challenging in terms of growing your business. Here to impart her expertise around talent development is Chelsea C. Williams. She is the founder and CEO of Reimagine Talent Co., a firm focusing on workforce and talent development. In this episode, she sits down with Michael Zipursky to share the best hiring practices for solo consultants and small firms. Chelsea also talks about how they rebranded their company and how hiring more talent helped them expand the business. What is more, Chelsea offers advice on getting referrals and highly qualified prospective clients. Tune in to this conversation and learn more talent development advice to take your business to the next level.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Staying competitive in a globalized ecosystem of enterprises requires assistance from outsourced, external experts to help your business scale. In this episode, Bianca Robinson, the CEO of Cayden Cay Consulting, talks about her career shift from being a project manager for an engineering firm to diving into consulting service. She also discusses how and why she digitized her service for growing clients. Tune in to this inspiring episode and listen to how Bianca pushed through after encountering heavy resistance and challenges along her path as she started to build her consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

You have to develop the ability to collaborate with different people. Join your host Michael Zipursky as he interviews Laura Kriska on integrated cultural experience and expanding consulting business to a global marketplace. Laura is the author of The Business of We: The Proven Three-Step Process for Closing the Gap Between Us and Them in Your Workplace. In this episode, she explains how you can bridge culture gaps and build trust across different people of different beliefs and cultures. She also discusses how you can leverage and reactivate relationships in growing your business. Learn how to foster connections among people to drive a more effective leadership in your workplace, increase productivity, and thrive in global markets. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What is the winning rate in your firm? Are your strategies delivering excellent outcomes that lead to generating revenue? Listen to your host Michael Zipursky as he talks with Bob Wiesner about identifying ROI and profitability for business development and success. Bob is the Managing Partner at The Artemis Partnership in the America South-Western hemisphere. He is the author of Winning is Better: The Journey to New Business Success. In this episode, he emphasizes that if you know what’s happening in your organization, you can address any problem and make better leadership decisions. He shares the most effective new business pursuit practices for sales and business development. He also discusses the approach and positioning when it comes to attracting new clients and keeping them as well.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Did you know that you could build your business off of building relationships? This is achievable using the community building approach to getting clients. Having a community even before you launch so that once you do, you've already cultivated and fostered those relationships. Your bringing value without asking for anything. This is what Tess Sloane and her business partner, Alisha Adams did when they founded Eleven Eleven Talent. Join Michael Zipursky as he talks to Tess about her recruitment firm and how they are changing the game. Learn how they're bringing recruiters together to build connection. Recruiting and headhunting are very competitive business. Everyone has their own black book that they keep to themselves. However, Tess makes everyone share their secrets so that everyone can get better. Also, learn more about meditation and her other company, Chapter Two | Meditation. Learn how to run a purpose-led business today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Elevating your consulting business involves more than having the right strategy, leadership, client, or customer approach. The best tool you can have is someone’s help to coach you with the critical resources in your business and guide your processes. Join your host Michael Zipursky as he dives deep into a conversation with Cynthia Mills on mastering the solo consulting business model. Cynthia is the President and CEO of The Leaders’ Haven, which aims to help leaders and teams go beyond business as usual and continuously transform, so they can fulfill their true calling and exceed the expectations of the people they serve. Tune in as we analyze fundamental growth strategies and build relationships with your clients.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

One big part of starting a business that some tend to forget to consider is selling it off. While it may seem such a heartbreak to exit a business you've worked so hard to build, it is nevertheless an important aspect of success. In this episode, Michael Zipursky is joined by Alex Langshur. Alex is currently the EVP, Global Google Practice Lead at dentsu international. Prior to that, he was the founder and co-CEO of Cardinal Path. He shares with us the journey that led him to where he is now, from building his former company to deciding to sell it off. What was the mindset it took for him to build multiple businesses? How do you make businesses with partners work? How was his company ultimately acquired? Alex answers these questions and more!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Are you equipped with a good amount of knowledge and skills for your services? In today’s episode, Michael Shein, founder of MicroFame Media, shares his insights on how you can create undeniable hype around your consulting services. He had gone through different jobs in his career, and through these experiences, he was able to sort of analyze and reflect on things that are effective when marketing yourself or your business. He even discusses hype strategies to grow your influence and business, especially in today’s modern time, using different platforms and technologies. Stay tuned for more!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Building and growing a business is not easy. It requires a lot of work, time, and money. So how can you fast-track your consulting business’ growth? Today, MaryBeth Maskovas, the Founder, Lead Analytics, and Optimization Consultant for Insight Lime Analytics, shares her journey from finding her passion for analytics to building her consulting agency amidst the pandemic. Find out how a business coach gave her the perspective she needed to take her business to the next level. Learn how hiring the right people, building relationships, and being open to feedback helped their company get 80% repeat clients and referrals with a 100 NPS score. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Are you a solo entrepreneur who wishes to build your own team? Kay Formanek’s perspective on spending your time fruitfully, especially when it comes to your work, is exceptional. Kay is a global speaker on Diversity and Inclusion, visiting lecturer at leading business schools, and the Founder of Kay Diversity & Performance, a company committed to unleashing the power of Diversity Performance within profit and not-for-profit organizations around the world. In this episode, she talks about the process of leaving her previous company to start her own consulting business. She also dives into the marketing she found to be most effective in creating conversations with ideal clients, as well as the operating model she used to increase profitability and long-term success.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

The consulting business is a people business. Partnerships and relationships are vital to the growth of consulting firms. In today's episode, Michael Zipursky interviews Almira Bardai, Senior PR, Thought Leadership & Communications Consultant, about her experiences in the space and what she learned about creating lasting consulting partnerships and relationships. She shares some of the best practices with those considering partnering and her thoughts about referrals as keys to having more clients. On working with big clients, Almira gives the strategies that helped her get a seat at the table. Plus, she also touches on providing PR services as well as negotiating the pricing and increasing her fees.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

If everything's been done and everybody's doing everything right, how can you stand out and build a superstar consulting brand? Michael Zipursky welcomes Damon Holowchak, the CEO of Super Collider Consulting Inc. The key is to identify what you stand for. Why do you do what you do? Then, you need to apply that to your brand on a functional, operational level. If you’re not taking control of your message by building a brand with true meaning, people see right through it. Do you want more practical strategies for building a superstar consulting brand? This episode’s for you. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Do you want to scale your consulting business? Michael Zipursky welcomes Sarah McVanel, the President and founder of Greatness Magnified. Sarah shares that before you scale, you first need to discover if doing so will bring you joy. If you figure it will start by growing your team. Hire the best talent suited to your business, and never begrudge them a penny. Invest in your assistants to encourage them to deliver amazing work quality. If you want to learn more about scaling your consulting business, this episode’s for you. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

When you start your consulting business, you want to have clear-cut offerings for potential clients. This eliminates a lot of guesswork and makes things clear on both sides, making for a better business relationship. In this episode, Michael Zipursky talks about custom consultancy and clarity in your offerings with Jack Milroy. A veteran of the political and advocacy scene, Jack shifted to consulting while applying the lessons he learned along the way. Jack talks about pricing models, creating your offerings, and learning to say no. Tune in for more great tips from top consultants while you build your business for success.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What’s an important factor when growing from independent consultant to founder? Michael Zipursky welcomes Babita Devi, the Managing Director at bStrategic. Babita shares that building strong relationships is key. She never had to market her business because word of mouth was enough. But at the end of the day, it depends on your strength. The founder is the starting point of the business. If you’re best at creating content through social media platforms, go for it. Narrow your focus on your element, and give your best. Join the conversation to get more growth strategies. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

CEOs have the greatest impact on the business than anybody. This is why they need to be coached and consulted so that they can grow into something bigger. These CEOs need to build leaders within their companies for a brighter future. Stop being selfish, and start being selfless. Learn how executive consulting works with Michael Zipursky and his guest Jeff Mask. Jeff is the founder and CEO of MASK Principles. He helps CEOs grow without losing their soul. Discover how Jeff started his career by getting fired. After that, it was all uphill from there. Know how he gets leads by referrals, some pricing strategies, people's relationship with fear, and more. Get some insight into the consulting process today.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

How do you get your first client when pivoting from agency to consultancy? Michael Zipursky welcomes Conner Galway, the President at Junction Consulting. Conner shares how he and his friends started blogging about the Olympic Hockey coming to their town. That’s when they gained traction, and the exposure led them to become a digital marketing agency for the bridal industry. When pivoting to consultancy, they went to Twitter and hustled their networks until they landed their first client. The secret? Treat humans like human beings. Even the most prominent companies are made up of people who have thoughts, feelings, stress, and anxieties. Be authentic, and the rest will follow. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Data analysis and models are very important to understand your business better. When you have a clear mastery and vision of it, you will be better in marketing, resulting in more customers and bigger revenue. In today’s episode, Stephane Hamel discusses how you can leverage data into growing your business. Stephane is a digital marketing and analytics consultant, innovator, keynote speaker, pre-seed investor, and startup & agency advisor. Through this path, he was immersed in software, web development, and different aspects of technology, including data analytics. Join in as he shares his expertise on the show with Michael Zipursky.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Diversity and inclusion are two things that are becoming important in today's business world. Reaching these goals often means changing things for the better. Michael Zipursky talks to Michael Bach, the head of CCDI Consulting, to find out more. Michael dives into the waters of consulting services in the areas of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility and gives his insights on how you can create a better working environment for your employees as well as clients. Tune in for more great thoughts on consulting for equity in this episode. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Shannon Susko's book, Metronomics, explains what systems your company needs to grow. Balancing strategy, execution, cash, cultural, cohesive, human, and leadership is very important. Learn how to unite these systems into one regimen that works for you and your team. Join Michael Zipursky as he talks to Shannon Susko about growing and selling your business with systems. Shannon is a team leadership coach and CEO of Metronome Global. She is also the author of Metronomics and 3HAG WAY. Shannon believes that with the right systems, you'll be able to live your best life while scaling your business. Learn how to develop your team and create leaders in today's episode of Consulting Success Podcast.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Anxiety can strike any time someone goes on stage to speak to a crowd. How does one move past these and how can you overcome your fear of public speaking? Michael Zipursky teams up with speaking and communications expert Lauren Sergy to explore breaking down the fear of public speaking and presenting. Lauren discusses her own struggles with public speaking and shares methods of working past that fear. Hungry for great insights? Then tune in for more!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Making the transition from a 7-figure consulting business to software CEO seems like a difficult pivot. This is one pivot that Stuart Leo has made with great success. In this episode, Michael Zipursky and Stuart, the CEO of Waymaker.io, discuss business pivots and evolution. Stuart looks back at the roots of his consulting business, what he learned from it, and how these lessons help his current software business. Tune in for more great learnings from Michael and Stuart as they explore insights from a business consultant.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Consulting services are a dime a dozen in the business world. What does it take to stand out from the crowd? Michael Zipursky and Fullfunnel.io CEO Andrei Zinkevich take a look at what you can do to 10x the demand for your consulting business. From data to market research, building relationships and making use of communities, Andrei shares his valuable insights. Tune in and learn more from top business consultants as we explore success in consulting.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

How do you grow your consulting business using web analytics and digital marketing? Michael Zipursky welcomes Jim Sterne, the Founder of the Marketing Analytics Summit. He has over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing to share with us today. To maximize web analytics, narrow your focus on your target market. But data will be insufficient if there isn't enough traffic volume. So go out there and promote yourself. By spreading awareness, you’re building a community around your niche. Need more tips on using web analytics and digital marketing to grow your consulting business? Don’t miss out on this episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

How do you build a 7-figure consulting firm? Michael Zipursky presents Georges Chakar, the founder and CEO of LINK Advisory Group. The company implements strategies to foster commercial sustainability by transforming people and customers. Georges believes that rapid growth is not about strategy. Instead, it’s about the transformation that focuses on people. You need to have bold, honest, and deep-rooted conversations. Don’t be afraid to tell the truth when you talk to people. Make sure the responsibility remains with the client. If you want more tips on how to build a 7-figure consulting firm, don’t forget to listen to this episode. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

No one knows what the future brings. If uncertainty is a fact of life and business, then you should be ready to futureproof your business. Michael Zipursky discusses getting ready for the future with the CEO and founder of Potential Squared, Colin Hunter. Colin shares insights on the role of leadership and the importance of coaching and mentoring. We also hear why leaders need to learn fast and not be afraid of failure. Learn from these unique insights and be ready to face your business future.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

For complex projects that require subcontracting, a Request for Proposal is a great way to winnow out what companies to partner up with. An RFP, however, isn’t just a simple document that you send off and forget about. It requires a lot of groundwork, foresight, and mindset before you even start working. So how can a consultant ensure that they win more of these? Michael Zipursky looks into the nuts and bolts of consistently winning RFPs with author and consultant Lisa Rehurek. Lisa walks us through the mechanisms of a winning strategy and what you need to do to ensure success. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

How do you create a purpose-driven consulting business? By identifying your purpose and values. Michael Zipursky welcomes Jenn Lim, the CEO & Co-Founder of Delivering Happiness. Jenn talks with Michael that your long-term relationships grow when you stay true to who you are and are passionate about what you do. Creating an open dialogue environment is also vital because it creates healthier, transparent conversations that build resilience and growth. So tune in and discover how to create a purpose-driven consulting business!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people. To shed light on the premise of strength in numbers in forming powerful consulting peer groups, Michael Zipursky welcomes founder and managing partner at Peernovation, Leo Bottary. As a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, Leo focuses on peer advantage in building high performing teams. Leo unpacks the lessons he learned from a decade’s worth of academic research, including how consultants build better teams and become better leaders. Listen in as Leo shares how a group of people who share common values, yet offer different perspectives and skills, can bring remarkable ideas to life. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

How do you make better business decisions? By taking a look at the best information. Michael Zipursky’s guest in this episode is Eric Johnson, the director of the Center for Decision Sciences at Columbia Business School. Eric talks with Michael about how we often choose a decision and we don’t revisit it. For example, if the GPS tells us to go a certain route, we lock ourselves into that choice. What we need to do is go back and reassess the decision. If you were to do more research, will you make the same decision? If you want to know more about making better business decisions, you wouldn’t want to miss this episode. Tune in!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

If there is one thing the corporate world can learn from politics, it is data-driven marketing. By looking at actual audience behavior and relationship-building tactics, effective strategies that yield tangible results can be developed. Michael Zipursky sits down with Phillip Stutts, Founder/CEO of Win Big Media, to share how he came up with his undefeated systematic approach by utilizing his political marketing experiences. He explains how well some strategies used in political campaigns translate to corporate businesses aiming to achieve record-high sales. Phillip discusses the power of a good referral system, a consistent agenda presentation, effective recruitment techniques, and more.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

2021 has been a tough and challenging year. But despite it all, we have to give it to ourselves for making it here—almost greeting the new year ahead. It is time to learn from the past and look forward to a new and better future. Let us win the new year as host Michael Zipursky discusses the five growth levers we need to reach our goals as entrepreneurial consultants this coming 2022. Do you want to achieve something bigger and succeed in the new year? Tune in and find out how to make a significant difference!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Many people take their marketing strategies for granted, and thus continue using old, ineffective techniques. Setting aside tactics that do not work in favor of unconventional PR strategies is always recommended. However, most businesses are afraid to get out of their comfort zones. Michael Zipursky is joined by Darian Kovacs, who shares the incredible story of starting Jelly Digital Marketing & PR Agency. He looks back on how they grew from a small venture in his basement to a successful company by embracing unique and unexpected advertising stunts. From giving away actual jelly jars to going beyond social media networks, Darian breaks down everything that made their agency a marketing success.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

How do you build a sustainable consulting business? One effective way is to keep your carbon footprint low. Michael Zipursky’s guest in this episode is Kate Gaertner, the Founder and CEO of TripleWin Advisory. Kate talks with Michael about how the pandemic changed how the consulting business works. If before, business travels and face-to-face meetings were required, that’s no longer the case today. Virtual communication is here to stay. Might as well jump in to reduce your carbon footprint. Join in the conversation to get more practical tips on sustainability!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What is the mindset of successful consulting leaders? The key is to understand the reality in front of you. Michael Zipursky’s guest in this episode is Michelle Ray, the CEO and Founder of Lead Yourself First Enterprises. Michelle talks with Michael about how leadership is about knowing what you need to do in this current environment. To achieve this, self-awareness is critical. When you examine yourself, are you open-minded about how you lead others? Tune in and become a more successful consulting leader!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Growing the revenue of your consulting business is not an easy task. There are many ways to do this whether it be marketing yourself better or having a clear proposition. Launch your consulting business by pulling the right levers with your host Michael Zipursky and his guest Felix Velarde. Felix is the CEO of The 2Y3X Programme. He is also the author of Scale at Speed. Join Michael and Felix as they discuss why your core values need to be aligned with your team's values. Learn how teaching played a big role in Felix's scaling journey. Also, find out how to properly sell to your target audience. All of these things will accumulate to growing your consulting business. Join in and start learning!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

The only way to prevail as a small consulting firm is to do something different. In this episode, Christian Stadler talks with host Michael Zipursky about the winning business strategies you can use to grow, adapt, and beat your competition. Christian is the Professor of Strategic Management at Warwick Business School. One exercise is the nightmare competitor exercise, where members question business ideas to find holes and weaknesses. In doing so, you eventually come up with a winning, bulletproof strategy. Want to know more? Tune in!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Everyone will benefit from having long-term clients who will always return to you and even refer others to work with you. But garnering such individuals is not so easy to accomplish. For Larry Robertson, getting ideal customers boils down to the value you are delivering, not just the profits you are earning. Joining Michael Zipursky, the Founder of Lighthouse Consulting explains why patience is key in building lasting client relationships. Larry talks about his marketing principles that prioritize the customer's needs more than your own business goals. He also shares his secrets in starting meaningful conversations, leveraging your network, using social media to establish a good reputation, and taking advantage of every customer referral.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

While business success and happiness seem exclusive, it is possible to design a successful consulting business that you and your clients will be happy about. Best-selling author and founder of the Good Life Project Jonathan Fields sits down with host Michael Zipursky as they talk about the fundamental nature of work, transforming yourself, self-awareness, and self-discovery. Jonathan shares stories of his entrepreneurial ventures and insights on transforming your business using mindset and self-confidence. Listen as he also talks about confronting fear and anxiety. Tune in for valuable insights into the consulting business only here.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

If you are learning something beneficial for you, stick with it. If you have zero experience in sales and marketing while running a business, take time to learn it. Heather Couture is the owner and machine learning consultant of Pixel Scientia Labs, and she learned how to sell. Learn why and how she got into AI machine learning. Discover how she built her own newsletter with the help of LinkedIn. Join your host Michael Zipursky as he talks to Heather Couture on how she built her business and stuck with it. Also, learn about some of her offers today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Relationship-building is a fundamental aspect of running a business. So how does one go about it? In this episode, joining Michael Zipursky is Martin Stadelmeyer of AMBE Engineering, LLC. Having previous experience with companies like Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, Martin has the experience and the connection most people in the industry aspire to have. Today, he shares how he has managed to establish and maintain healthy business relationships throughout his career. Plus, he highlights the potential benefits of staying in touch with your network. Stay tuned!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Stories of executives who transition to consulting are not that uncommon. But how does one successfully venture out of corporate? Joining Michael Zipursky is Tom Tonkin. Tom is the co-founder of The Sales Conservatory and CEO of The Conservatory Group, a management consulting firm where you help businesses with their management, leadership, and sales. Today he shares how he went from a stable corporate job at Oracle to starting his consulting firm. In addition, he shares lessons he learned from his transition journey and advises fellow executives looking to do the same. Plus, Tom shares future plans for his business and what’s next for him. Stay tuned!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Many business owners and entrepreneurs often can’t be bothered to put in a system. This is a mistake, David Jenyns believes, and in this episode, he discusses why you need to start systematizing your business. David is a systems devotee who went on to found systemHUB.com and started a movement called SYSTEMology. Today, he joins Michael Zipursky to discuss the benefits of systematizing and what you need to do to start the process. We get a look at David’s insights on systemization and the need for a critical workflow. Listen in and learn to free yourself from your business by systemizing it.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Trust is the foundation of any relationship. This is exceptionally true when it comes to business. You need to establish trust within your team, clients, and customers to grow. So how do you build that trust? Sandra Sucher is a Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School and an internationally known researcher on trust. She recently co-authored The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It. In this episode, she joins host Michael Zipursky to share essential insights from her book on how businesses can build, lose, and recover trust. Join in on their discussion and get valuable business advice on leadership, relationships, and more! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

When starting a consulting business, you should always look to build systems. Where most small businesses think that systems only exist in big companies, Joshua Schultz believes otherwise. In fact, he encourages small businesses to have a system mindset. Joshua is the Director of Data Services at Pacific Air Industries. He is also a contracted Supply Chain SME and consultant to SourceDay. In this episode, he joins Michael Zipursky to discuss how to scale your consulting business by using systems. Discover Joshua’s journey and how he started working with his dad. Learn how to focus on one thing at a time so that you can grow. Find your system mindset today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What are strategic goals? How do they impact your business? What do you need to do to hit these goals? Our guest in this episode knows the answer to these questions and will gladly share it with everyone. Michael Zipursky sits down to interview the CEO of Outfield Leadership and author of The Self-Evolved Leader, Dave McKeown, about learning to set and achieve strategic goals as a consultant. Plus, Dave shares his insights on goal setting and leadership in large organizations. Tune in for more consulting secrets from the best in the industry.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

Starting your own consulting business isn’t easy. You need a couple of key mindsets if you want to succeed. Danilo “Dan” Burgos is the President and CEO of Alphanova Consulting. He started his business by being a good and effective leader—a leader that empowers and supports his people. He also never took no for an answer and stepped out of his comfort zone several times. These are some of the mindsets you need to have if you want to start a business. Join Dan as he sits down with your host Michael Zipursky to talk about his leadership journey. Learn how to coach, consult, and manage your own business today.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.consultingsuccess.com/podcast

What do you think is the most important job of a leader? It's to eliminate fear from the workplace and fill it with love. Michael Zipursky's guest today is Renée Smith, the Founder and CEO at A Human Workplace. Renée talks with Michael about how we are at our best as human beings when cared for. When we know we belong, we matter, and we contribute, that's when we embody our full humanity. If you are passionate about being a loving, human-centered consultant, this episode's for you. Tune in and practice what it is to be human at work! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Get FREE Consulting Resources and Training and join the Community today:ConsultingSuccess.com

A business owner's success is typically measured by their revenue growth, the number of followers, and overall reputation. However, one important element is usually ignored: a proper work-life balance. Michael Zipursky delves into this topic with Michele Benton, President of lime, LLC. She explains how rejecting the devoted worker mindset allows her to adjust her career according to the lifestyle, not the other way around. She talks about its impact on her team-building strategies, leading to a two-way support system. Michele also shares insights about streamlining processes surrounding life sciences, which for her is a pretty neglected industry.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Get FREE Consulting Resources and Training and join the Community today:ConsultingSuccess.com

Having the right consulting team is critical to establishing a strong and stable organization and, ultimately, a successful business. Today’s guest is Mike Zani, CEO of The Predictive Index, a talent optimization platform that helps businesses build high-performing teams and cultures. He joins host Michael Zipursky to share the aspects of an individual he focuses on when choosing to hire. Mike emphasizes that industry experience may not always be the right move depending on the role you need to fill. He taps into his own experiences in acquiring and creating high-functioning teams and cultivating a successful culture to give tips you can apply for your own business. Mike also shares insights from his book, The Science of Dream Teams: How Talent Optimization Can Drive Engagement, Productivity, and Happiness. Tune in and don’t miss out on eye-opening discussions that could help your business!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Get FREE Consulting Resources and Training and join the Community today:ConsultingSuccess.com

Most business owners tend not to see the importance of establishing values. However, business values are the compass that ensures your organization aligns with whatever vision you have for the company. Joining Michael Zipursky in this special episode is his cousin and co-founder of Consulting Success, Sam Zipursky. Together, they share the values behind Consulting Success and break down how they developed the values they live by today. They also explain why it’s important for any business, big or small, to have values in place and how it’s important not only within the organization but also for clients. Learn how to supercharge your business by crafting the right values in this episode!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Get FREE Consulting Resources and Training and join the Community today:ConsultingSuccess.com

With everything online, it's easy to be paranoid over privacy. It’s important to secure your business. You’ll never know if someone is watching you online. Maybe you opened a malicious email and you get hacked. Or a stranger who added you two weeks ago could just be using you for more information. Information and credentials are what they're really after. Hacking has become such an organized crime that cybersecurity is now a must for big companies. Learn how to protect yourself online with your host Michael Zipursky and his guest Gary Peace. Gary is the founder and Managing Director of ESID Consulting. He helps organizations manage online threats and defend against cyber-attacks. Join in the conversation to learn how to reduce the risk of getting hacked.  Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Get FREE Consulting Resources and Training and join the Community today:ConsultingSuccess.com

What is the first step to building a creative consulting business? Learn how to find motivation within yourself. Michael Zipursky’s guest in this episode is Bobby Gillespie, founder and President of The PROPR Design. Bobby shares with Michael how people were questioning his move when he left his last job. Even his parents were unsure, even when they were proud of him!  But he proceeded to build his own creative consulting business anyway. Through constant learning by exploring, doing, and making mistakes, his company earned multiple awards like best branding agency and best digital marketing agency. Join in the conversation and let Bobby’s experience inspire you to build your own consulting business. Tune in! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Selling a physical product cannot be too far off from selling a service. Michael Zipursky realized this firsthand, piecing together techniques that will allow consultants to sell their services like they’re an actual physical product. In this brief yet packed bonus episode, Michael teaches you how to sell consulting services like lemonade. He takes us to a lemonade event that made him realize a couple of important points when it comes selling—from getting yourself out there to providing a premium experience for your clients. Join him as he explores more.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Building predictable systems for your consulting business is a must. When you follow the right systems, you’ll be blown away by the results. Michael Zipursky’s guest today is David Allara, the Managing Director of konnectus. David talks with Michael about how the first step should always be listening. You need to listen to your customers, peel back the layers, and understand what’s important to them. Avoid talking about anything technical, or you will lose their attention! Tune in and build predictable systems!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Strategic consultants help the company thrive and achieve marketing goals through identifying and analyzing business processes. That’s why this expertise is in demand in every business. Join Michael Zipursky and the Founder of Trusted Advisor Associates, Charles Green, as they delve into creating real and authentic conversations with real decision-makers and buyers. Starting with educational workshops to keynote speeches and coaching to being a trusted advisor, he discusses his professional journey and the lessons he carried with him throughout. In this episode, he elaborates on how he built his brand around the trusted advisor approach. Tune in to learn more about how you can become one.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

People in business are turned off by storytelling because they think it takes too much work. But storytelling is a very important tool to have so that you can build your audience. You don't have to be super personal in your story; you just need to humanize it. To help in building your story, join your host, Michael Zipursky and his guest, Janine Kurnoff. Janine is the Co-Founder of The Presentation Company. She helps companies translate their ideas into authentic, audience-centric business narratives. Learn how to transform all your data and ideas into a story. Find your big idea today!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Solo consultants often strike out on their own because they want more freedom and flexibility. That’s why they shy away from the idea of building a team. In this bonus episode, Michael Zipursky talks about how you’ll come to a point where your business grows so much you can’t handle it by yourself anymore. Try as you might, you’ll burn out with complete exhaustion. The solution? Build the right team! Listen to this episode to discover how! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

The consulting business is all about helping and empowering people. That’s why consulting mastery lies in one important thing: the desire to serve instead to sell. Michael Zipursky sits down with Rob Malec, President of Businessworks Consulting, Inc., to discuss the roadmap he crafted and followed towards success. He talks about his journey from being a delivery man, to working for another company, to launching his very own business. Rob explains his concept of selling less and focusing on value that yielded him tangible, positive results. He also delves into his mixed marketing strategies, going back to student mode for constant growth, and the right way to set personal boundaries.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

An anthropologist is someone who studies the aspects of humans in past and present societies. How do you combine that into business? Corporate anthropologist, Andi Simon, has the answer. Andi is the Founder and CEO of Simon Associates Management Consultants. She is also the author of Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business. In this episode, she joins Michael Zipursky to share why she decided to go to the corporate world and how she bridged anthropology and business together. Also, Andi takes us into how she runs her business, with webinars, workshops, and speaking events being a primary focus. There is so much to business than meets the eye. All you need is to see things through a fresh lens. And Andi has got you covered with Anthropology.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Have you ever wanted to work and live in an RV? Imagine exploring the world, meeting different people, and experiencing different cultures. You can do all of that and still work on your business from your RV. This is what Mark Treichel does for a living. After 33 years of hard work, Mark retired from the National Credit Union Administration. He bought an RV and decided that he wanted to explore the world while starting a consulting business. He is now the Founder of Mark Treichel, LLC. Join Michael Zipursky and Mark in a conversation about how Mark started his business. Learn how the pandemic helped him build his business from an RV and how he is scaling it towards the future.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

When we say side hustle, the word “hustle” in it is real. This is a story of how a side hustle grew into a full-blown, sought-after consulting business. Michael Zipursky’s guest today is Heather Younger, a keynote speaker, two-time author, and the CEO and Founder of Employee Fanatix. Heather believes that you have to be realistic about how much you can take in and what you can do when side-hustling. And part of making your goals happen is managing your mental and physical health. Discover more tips on how to grow your side hustle into the company you’ve always wanted to have.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Look at your calendar and cross out the things that you don't enjoy doing. You could do ten other things that you enjoy over one thing that you hate. It's all about choosing the energy. In today's episode, Michael Zipursky and his guest, Cy Wakeman, talk all about what it’s like to be a consultant and why positive energy is so important. Cy is the President and Founder of Reality-Based Leadership. She is also the New York Times Best Selling Author of several books such as Reality-Based Leadership Workshop and No Ego. Learn when you are overcommitting to something so that you can find some positive energy and even use that energy to grow your business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Genuine communication will always spell success for any consulting business. However, real connection with potential clients can only be achieved using the best storytelling tactics. Michael Zipursky sits down with The Story Leader Mike Adams to discuss his well-guarded secrets that fuel Anecdote, the world's largest business storytelling company. He explains the right ingredients that make up a well-rounded story, ultimately building trust and closing deals. Mike also breaks down the most important pointers in sharing a success story, making it less about you and more of an inspiration for your target audience.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Through everyday transactions whether online or in-store, making sales and selling to people is a concept that is familiar to a lot of us. However, from a business standpoint, it is a practice that consulting businesses should be well aware of. Michael Zipursky is joined by Chris Filipiak, a sales consultant and coach who runs his own consulting business helping agencies with sales function. Chris shares his personal journey of truly understanding what sales is and highlights the importance of understanding how you think, how you feel and how your actions are related to making a sale. He also shares that the key to making a sale relies heavily on getting those stepping stones in place and knowing the system very well.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Software Pricing Partners help you figure out how to price your intellectual property and your services. We have one such partner onboard today to help you figure out how to charge what you’re worth. Chris Mele is a software pricing strategist and a co-founder of CompanionCabinet Software. In this episode, Chris discusses with Michael Zipursky how getting yourself off of the cost basis for your pricing is super crucial. You need to focus instead on the value you’re giving. Do you want to know how to determine your value? Find out by tuning in to this episode!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Every business owner or entrepreneur is looking to achieve business growth but doesn’t know where to start. Perry Marshall, one of the most expensive business strategists in the world and well-known for his book, 80/20 Sales and Marketing, has come to talk with Michael Zipursky on growing a business through elimination. Perry explains the principles and ideas used in his books that have helped immensely in discovering the right path to success. He also shares the concept behind elimination and the outcome one can definitely learn from and utilize in growing a business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Handling objections is one of the main areas one must face when delving into the world of consulting sales. Most of the time, this response is seen negatively, and many veer away from them as much as possible. Michael Zipursky disagrees. He explains the two essential steps in facing objections and how it must always be seen as a source of strength instead of a highlight of your weaknesses. He also emphasizes how these must be turned into an opportunity for growth and improvement, particularly when you least expect them.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced that disruptions will come again and again in business. You can only either learn to live in it or get left behind. Nadya Zhexembayeva has chosen the former. In fact, as the Founder and Chief Reinvention Officer of the Reinvention Academy, she has led her consulting firm to a growth of around 500% during this pandemic. What are her secrets? In this episode, she joins Michael Zipursky to share how she helped with the firm's reinvention as they look out for potential disruptions. Nadya lists down some of the trends that she has observed, and we could take note of for future growth, and then gives advice to consultants on keeping relationships with clients, big and not, and more. While the COVID-19 pandemic has bare open the many vulnerabilities we have in our business, it has also shown us the parts we can improve. Join Nadya as she shares the learning experience we can all get from this as she helps us propel our consulting firm to success.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Sometimes, even when you put so much effort into trying to get in front of your ideal clients, you're still not getting great results. It doesn't always mean, however, that it’s a sign for you to abandon ship. Most often, what you need to do is ensure that you're looking at who's your ideal client and what’s the message. In today’s bonus episode, join Michael Zipursky as he shares his insights on when you should shift your focus around your ideal client or your offerings.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Starting your own consulting business can be challenging, but the decision to leave your job and try to make it on your own is always a process. Aga Bajer is the Founder and CEO of a culture strategy firm called Aga Bajer & Associates. He worked with well-known brands like Toyota, Porsche, Citibank, PwC, and many other well-known brands. He is also an author, a keynote speaker, and the host of a podcast called the CultureLab Podcast. On today’s show, he sits down with Michael Zipursky to share what drove him to leave a famous brand like PwC to start his own consulting business. They also get down on how you can develop a network as a consultant and flourish in setting up your own business. Need the push to go start on your goal or get something done for your business or your future? This episode will help you take that next step.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In this bonus episode, Michael Zipursky explains why you shouldn’t focus on consulting proposals if you want to win. Rather, focus on having a meaningful consulting sales conversation with your ideal client. Dive deep into the conversation and really understand their situation, their problems, and their goals. Once you know your client’s needs in and out, you’ll know exactly what to include in your consulting proposal. Tune in to learn more! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Sometimes, one's love for music will give you more than entertainment. For Gerald J. Leonard of Principles of Execution, this put him on a path toward success in the realm of consulting. Sitting down with Michael Zipursky, he shares how he integrates the musical talents he honed from childhood into his career in consulting, helping scale businesses through programs that actually work. Gerald explains how this experience taught him the importance of getting proper mentorship to continuously improve his skills, particularly his innate marketing skills. He also shares how his constant desire to learn and grow allowed him to write a book, create his own course, and develop a seven-step process in creating the right workplace culture for you.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

With almost everything being done virtually, Zoom presentations are becoming commonplace. This is certainly an excellent chance for businesses to get out there and make their brands visible and recognizable. But one question is still up for debate: should you charge for such speaking stints? Michael Zipursky tries to answer this by looking at presentation opportunities from a marketing perspective, exploring how you can leverage this to benefit your business the most, not only in terms of making money.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

The greatest challenge of all companies is to figure out and properly implement profitable growth strategies to boost sales and enter the profit zone. Today’s guest is Thomas Michael Hogg, the author of Profitable Growth Strategy: 7 proven best practices from German companies. In this episode, Thomas discusses with Michael Zipursky the key factors that make Germany a leading market leader in the world, how to implement them in your own consulting company, and why it’s essential to have a business model design. At the end of the day, it’s about delivering the highest-quality value to your clients. But how do you communicate that to your company in a way that’s easily replicated? Join in the conversation to learn more!  Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Finding your ideal client is an essential skill of running a highly-successful consulting business. You have to identify your greatest passion and identify which type of client will benefit from it the most. Once you find the right kind of client, you’ll become more confident in your marketing and start developing content that speaks directly to them. This clarity comes from knowing who you want and don’t want to attract. In this bonus episode, Michael Zipursky gives quick tips on how you can attract more of your ideal client into your life. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Saying no to revenue is the hardest thing to do, but sometimes you have to do it in order to build a more sustainable business. This is one of the things that Shiv Narayanan learned on his way to generating $2 million in consulting revenue for his B2B SaaS startup. The founder and CEO of How To SaaS, Shiv developed high-performance marketing systems that drive revenue growth. These systems helped him lead his company in a staggering growth from zero gains to seven figures in a span of 18 months. If that’s not enough to make you wonder what these marketing systems are all about, you should know that Shiv did this without the benefit of having a sales team! Join in as he explains these systems further in this conversation with Michael Zipursky. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

If you are always struggling to fit all of your work within your limited time, then it’s a clear indication that you need your own consulting team at once. But many people are afraid to do that because of fear of additional work and responsibility. Michael Zipursky explains how to solve this single challenge of building a consulting team through a smooth delegation process. He discusses why appreciating other people's talent and skill is the first step in making your work responsibilities a bit lighter than usual.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Are you thinking of venturing into the unknown to pursue building your own business? Today's guest is Amanda Hill, CEO of Female Forward. Amanda left her position in P&G to pursue her calling in consulting. Amanda was driven by her servant leadership mentality, passion for learning new industries, and her personal desire to have more time for herself and her children to take the leap of faith outside of her comfort zone. What are the important things you need to know when starting your business? Hiring someone to do what you don't enjoy doing and consulting with mentors are valuable pieces of advice. Want to learn more? Join in the conversation and learn from Amanda's experiences in building her consulting business! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

What usually happens when you talk to a new client about a potential project is that they’ll buy time to get to know you more to minimize what they perceive as "risk" before moving forward. Did you know you can eliminate this “risk” by giving them a discovery offer? In this episode, Michael Zipursky explains what a discovery offer is. You can prove your trustworthiness and dedication to the potential project by delivering value right off the bat with your discovery offer. Do you want to know how to come up with a good discovery offer? Then this episode is for you.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

If you're a consulting firm and you want to know the hows of business development and expansion, then this episode is for you. Michael Zipursky’s guest today is Tom McMakin, the CEO and Partner of Profitable Ideas Exchange. There are generally two ways to grow your business: getting new clients and deepening your relationship with existing clients. Guess what? Most companies agree that 80% of their revenue comes from existing clients. How then do you deepen and expand your relationship with your existing clients and their referrals? Tune in and discover practical tips on business development for consultants like yourself!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

An efficient business is a profitable business. On today’s podcast, Michael Zipursky gives a much better understanding of how to create greater efficiency in your business, drawing out from his experience in leveraging systems to grow multiple consulting businesses. Don’t know where to focus your energy? Tune in. What Michael’s about to share is going to be really helpful.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Relationships lie at the heart of partner networks and business organizations. Michael Zipursky’s guest today is Dr. Sherri Malouf, who recently got her Ph.D. in Human Development focused on studying the relationship between leaders and followers. In this episode, Dr. Sherri explains a tool she developed to help you determine critical unconscious building blocks in your relationships within your organization. Called “Implicit Social Elements,” these building blocks include fairness, status, trust, empathy, reciprocity, mutual recognition, respect, and self-control. If you want to bring your organization and partner networks to a higher achievement level, this episode is for you. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

It is very important to share your values in order to attract the people that you want to work with the most. But in order to share your values, you need to be clear about what it is that you really value. In this bonus episode, Michael Zipursky explains how consultants can get clarity about their values, share them consistently, and work that message in their marketing content. Listen in as Michael models how this is done by sharing their values at Consulting Success. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Do you want to know how to build effective teams and benefit from conflict? Liane Davey, known as the "Teamwork Doctor," has worked with 26 Fortune Global 500 companies. She joins Michael Zipursky to share how you can be a valuable asset to your team. Don't be afraid to tell your clients or colleagues what they don't want to hear, especially when you know they're doing it wrong, so you can help them make it work! But that's only half of it! The other half? Be fun to work with! Care for the people around you and listen to them. Don’t miss this episode to learn more from Liane!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In the vast ocean that is the internet, making yourself seen is not that easy, not only because of the tight competition but also of the ever-changing and evolving algorithms. So what are the most practical and effective ways to leverage your content despite these complications? Michael Zipursky presents seven steps on how to make your content creation process actually reach your audience and make a real impact on their behavior and mindset. He shares the secrets on navigating social media, particularly LinkedIn and YouTube, in order for you to show up in the best way possible, start proper engagement, and yield actual results.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many consultants shy away from pricing their services at a certain amount, thinking they don’t deserve it. A. Nicole Campbell, the CEO of Build Up Advisory Group, tells you otherwise. In this episode, she joins Michael Zipursky to share with us her journey into starting her own consulting firm and explains how you can price your consulting services according to the value you provide to your clients. She then takes us through the learnings she has picked up along the way and the processes that helped her create a successful business professionally and personally. How do you teach excellence? What can help create a good outcome and growth in your business? How do you structure your day so you can be productive? What should you be looking for in new hires? Nicole answers these questions and more in this conversation. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Given what's happening globally, offering remote services has become the new approach for many industries. There's an opportunity here for every consultant, advisor, and any other professional offering their services. However, one noticeable trend is that many of these professionals are starting to discount their fees, including consultants. Michael Zipursky answers an important question on today's podcast: should you lower your consulting fee when you’re doing all your work through a video conference call? Find out his answer by tuning in.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

As a consulting firm, how can you differentiate yourself and stand out from the noise to attract your ideal clients? Charles Demontigny, the founder of Fluxion, has some great nuggets of wisdom for you in this episode. Sitting down with Michael Zipursky, he shares his career journey with us—from leaving a company that got acquired to starting his own—and what he did to position himself for success, especially at the beginning of building his business. Charles takes us through the importance of really dialing in and optimizing his offerings during client interactions, explaining why we need to ask the right questions and utilize video content. He then talks about scaling and growing his business and the changes he made to manage growth and build his team effectively.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many people leave their corporate jobs to go out on their own and start a consulting business. But what if it’s the other way around and you find yourself with a very lucrative job offer, should you take that offer and leave consulting? On today’s podcast Michael Zipursky tackles this question. Continue building your income without being pulled down. Learn when you should leave consulting or stay for good in this episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Consulting contract comprises the consultant's and client's commitment to be fulfilled, such as the deliverables and fees. Michael Zipursky brings a leader in consulting services, Karen Jenkins, the President and CEO of KRJ Consulting, to talk about how she entered the consulting world and how to win and deliver high-value consulting contracts. Karen shares how she carries her marketing skill set to the consulting business and the mindset she acquired from the lessons in her journey, leading to her finance and consulting success. She tells about the strategy and planning to start building her corporate clients and handling the clients' expectations effectively. Follow along to this conversation and learn some ideas about closing contracts, business development, and building relationships.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

For many business owners, their business is the culmination of their life's work and a primary source of wealth. Therefore, you will want to maximize the value through a combination of planning and timing when thinking about how to sell it later on. On today's show, Domenic Rinaldi is with Michael Zipursky to discuss how to build a solid exit plan and start for a sale before the company wishes to transition out. Domenic, the managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, shares his journey on how he came to enter this business and how, 15 years later, Sun Acquisitions became the largest firm in Chicago. Additionally, he poses important questions business owners should think about. How involved are you in the business? Do you have a self-managing business, or are you so involved in the business that the decisions and processes are reliant on you? Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

You can’t create more time in a day, and yet some people accomplish a lot more than others. Why? One of the most common reasons is that they delegate tasks. They don’t do everything themselves. On today’s show, Michael Zipursky presents an exercise that you can go through to identify opportunities to use systems to take your consulting business to the next level. This is a process he’s gone through multiple times and one you’d keep doing over and over as you look to make more strategic shifts and decisions to grow your business without feeling overwhelmed. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Leaving a corporate job and taking the leap of faith to be on your own can be both scary and exciting. Anne Sugar definitely went through all those emotions when she made the decision to leave the corporate world to start her own coaching and consulting firm, advising top leaders at companies including TripAdvisor, GM, Delta, and many others. To create positive action in the coaching process, Anne employs a two-pronged approach for a successful engagement – combining a goal-based process with evidence-based coaching. She sits down with Michael Zipursky on today’s show to explain this further. She also shares her transition journey, highlighting the importance of having mentors and coaches and revealing what gave her confidence to go out and take that leap. Seeking to make a career transition? This is one show you don’t want to miss.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

One of the greatest things that hold consultants back is the fear of taking imperfect action. Too often, we get obsessed about how everything should perfect before we even think about starting something even as simple as a webinar. We want to be sure enough people will attend and that every last detail is in order. Guess what? It will never be perfect. Not every person you reach out to will be attending that webinar of yours. But there is still so much you can get from just moving forward with that initiative and putting your message out to the remaining three people in the audience. It’s all about leverage. Michael Zipursky explains.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Why should branding matter to consultants? After all, it wouldn’t matter what specific messaging you’re putting out as long as you have that intent to help people, right? Dead wrong. In this episode, Michael Zipursky and his guest drum in the importance of honing down into a niche and becoming an expert in it to be able to expand your earning potential. Steve Morris is an advisor, author, and speaker who has worked with thousands of business leaders since 1994. Steve’s educational background had nothing to do with business, but he effectively leveraged his fascination for human behavior to build his own design marketing agency, which he later sold. Steve may have worked inside an agency, but his insights on growing a consulting brand resonate even with independent consultants and small agency owners. Make sure to listen in and gather some wonderful advice on how you can evolve the perfect brand for your consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Retaining clients is undoubtedly challenging for many businesses, and that’s why Michael Zipursky was shocked to learn that one of theirs has been with him for ten years! For him, this boils down to the influence of follow-ups. He explains how they could have the opportunity to lose connection with this client, but follow-ups allowed them to keep the curiosity and engagement burning. He, therefore, challenges everyone to check what kind of follow-ups they are currently doing and how this could spell success if done the right way.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

We all have the potential to change our lives better than it is now. But, admittedly, many of us need guidance on how to achieve that. In this episode, Nick Jankel shows you the power of transformational leadership. He joins Michael Zipursky to tell us all about it with his experiences and the wisdom gained through that as a leadership coach, speaker, and consultant. He also shares his own start building an innovation agency and how he was able to reach out to well-known organizations. Nick then talks about how a book is the 21st-century business card, taking us into his own writing process, story structure, and more. Join him in today’s show to see how you can enhance your and your client’s lives.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many successful companies look to support their growth through marketing. Yet, many consultants are still hesitant to invest in this important business aspect. In this episode, Michael Zipursky takes you deep into marketing, particularly of the importance of your customer’s lifetime value. This growth metric proves to be particularly helpful if you wish to not only get your clients' stay but also to identify what you need to do to market more. Are you investing well in this area? Join Michael in today’s solo conversation to learn more. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many for-profits and nonprofits are making a lot of impact in the world without getting the attention that they deserve. But getting attention is not just something to feel good about; you need to build it intentionally if you are to spread word about your good deeds, get more revenue and be able to help even more people. At The Boreland Group, CEO Jennefer Witter and her team help organizations capture more than their fair share of that attention using a variety of PR tactics that have worked beautifully for clients like Luckett & Farley, the US Naval Institute, Women’s Initiative Foundation and many more. As she chats with Michael Zipursky, we learn why Jennefer left a well-established executive role at Ketchum and dedicated the rest of her career to entrepreneurship in the field of PR. Listen in for some wonderful advice about building a successful consulting business, as well as some tips on PR and strategic marketing for solo consultants and small firm owners.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Reaching your audience is pretty impossible if you are bombarding them with bland sales messages. Michael Zipursky calls every entrepreneur to provide solutions to their target market instead of simply trying to close a sales deal, allowing them to gain that sought-after trust. If you can make yourself available to help at all times rather than being a salesperson, people gravitate towards you in a much rewarding manner.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

As people become more successful in their consulting business, marketing often becomes the first casualty. This mindset would have it that since you’re in a great place now where you’re getting clients and you’re busy delivering, why bother spending your time on marketing efforts? Understandably, marketing isn’t the most enjoyable of processes, but the more successful consultants recognize at some point that it is essential. Michael Zipursky takes a few minutes in this bonus episode to explain why keeping the foot on the marketing pedal makes sense, whether you’re just starting or you’re already successful and looking to scale.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

This year has certainly been one of the most challenging ones in living memory. Michael Zipursky sends a personal message to all consultants and does a 2020 review with eyes of gratitude and positivity. He underlines the resiliency developed by businesses in the time of pandemic and how they found growth despite the losses. Michael also shares how his own team grew, from the new additions to his group to the record number of people who joined the Momentum Program and Clarity Coaching Program.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Do you want to know how you can grow your business without feeling overwhelmed? The answer is so much closer than you think. Michael Zipursky explains why you must build a team. In this bonus episode, he talks about the tendency of many business leaders to do everything themselves. He emphasizes the need to create a system and bring on team members so you can do things at your highest and best use. Create more value and a bigger impact on your business. Join Michael in today’s show.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many people in the corporate world who are getting plump salaries and great benefits are comfortable enough to stay the course until they hang up their hats. But some who have put in the hours and paid their dues yearn for something more. Dan Pontefract was one of those, and for him, that something more was starting his own consulting business. Dan is a leadership strategist, keynote speaker, and best-selling author. Previously the Chief Envisioner and Chief Learning Officer at TELUS — a Canadian telecommunications company with revenues of $14 billion and 50,000 global employees – Dan shares with Michael Zipursky how he diversified himself through speaking and writing while at TELUS until he eventually left to build his own consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Determining your base rate usually involves considering the rates of your competitors and discovering potential costs for each client. But if you want to achieve better results, you must be aware of other important factors to include in your value-based pricing calculations. Michael Zipursky explains the two forms of value and how they can be used together: the tangible (sales and revenue) and the intangible (lowering risks and pinpointing the cost of inaction). Michael also stresses the importance of establishing authority and showing confidence in consultancy to be able to garner the trust of potential clients.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

It is a given that entrepreneurs already have their goals and motivation set even before jumping into the business stage. And for those who do not know how to apply these into their day-to-day life to actually get results, Jeff Standridge believes what they need is just one good consulting offer. Michael Zipursky sits down with the Managing Director of Innovation Junkie, talking about how their team helps businesses of all sizes create concrete plans that work and pinpoint areas that need improvement. Jeff also shares an effective way to realign goals and the right time to get mentorship and additional team members.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

With so many things to monitor and take care of in a consulting business, most people who work in this industry do not know where and how to start. Michael Zipursky shares the most effective business development activities every consultant must try to improve their processes. By having a well-designed strategy centered on outreach, consistent follow-up, and content creation, every consultant can pave a straight path to success and start better relationships with their clients.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Good business communication skills are essential for any leader in any organization. For the past 15 years, this has been the specialty of Deborah Riegel, a keynote speaker, author and leadership consultant who has worked with such organizations as Amazon, Kraft and the US Army. Aside from being a top-rated consultant, Deb also teaches leadership communication as an Instructor at the Wharton Business School. Joining Michael Zipursky for a chat, Deb shares how she manages to do consulting, writing and teaching work at the same time while being a mother and wife as well. She also talks about how she uses leverage and social proof to advance her career in consulting and how operating from a place of professional generosity has helped her stand out from the competition. Listen in and learn what a successful consultant like Deb is made of.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Nothing is fully perfect, but there is always the best. For consultants, what is the best consulting business model out there? Michael Zipursky introduces you to the Hybrid Model while breaking down the three types of consulting business models. Although everyone’s situation is different, the Hybrid Model is an optimal business model that speaks for many people. Tune in to find out why. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Even the best leaders need guidance in times of crisis or if they want to prevent one whenever the stakes are high. They need someone who is brutally honest whenever they’re about to do something stupid and lead them to make better, level-headed decisions. For a lot of leaders, that accountability partner is Constance Dierickx, the President of CD Consulting Group. Starting out in corporate America as a college dropout stockbroker, Constance observed firsthand how people would make irrational decisions when it comes to their money. Fascinated by the link between human emotion and decision-making, she went back to school to study psychology. Years later, she started her own successful consulting firm and is known in consulting circles as the Decision Doctor.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Why are some people able to continue moving forward while others are stuck frozen on their feet? The answer to this is what separates those who succeed from those who don’t. The good news is anyone can do it. In this episode, Michael Zipursky reveals the key to success, particularly in consulting. Focus on this brief yet meaningful episode and you’ll surely catch it.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

For consulting to be rewarding, it must always focus on what really needs to be done, even if it means facing your problems, going through various obstacles, or getting out of your comfort zone. Michael Zipursky sits down with the principal of The Glenbrook Group, Gisele Garcia Shelley, to discuss consultation from the eyes of someone with a history major, as well as how to deal with imposter syndrome and how to reach your potential in consulting. Gisele also shares useful tips on how to make interviews with clients more worthwhile. By connecting with someone in a much deeper way using the right words and questions, exceeding expectations is possible.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

How does a potential client know that you are great at what you do? You can tell them yourself or you can demonstrate through content, but none of those ways can beat the sheer power of a testimonial from somebody who has experienced the same problem as they did and found the solution in what you’re offering. As a consultant, getting testimonials and case studies and essentially documenting your work with clients, is really powerful because it allows you sell without selling. How do you go about getting these testimonials and case studies? Listen in as Michael Zipursky explains.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Company culture is at its most pronounced state in the cofounding pair. With nothing to serve as a buffer between the two different personalities, it is a culture that either works or doesn’t. Happily enough, it works out pretty well for Erin Mies and Kristen Ireland, HR consultants at People Spark Consulting. In fact, one could say it is as close to an ideal company culture, if there is such a thing. Ever since the company started in 2018, it has seen nothing but leaps and bounds of growth. A big part of this success is thanks to the interesting dynamic that this duo brings to the table. Michael Zipursky gets to the heart of the matter in this episode. If you’re working with a partner or cofounding something, this is one story you can take inspiration from.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

As far as personalized marketing goes, a lot of people are already sending LinkedIn messages, emails and the like. Video messages are not as commonly used, though their potential in improving marketing results is undeniable. If you can get to doing this this early, it might just give you a first mover advantage over your competitors. Listen in as Michael Zipursky shares some tips on how you can use these video messages to bring in more and better clients to your business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

When Jason Fearnow first entered the consulting business, taxes ate much of what could have been good money from his hard work. How did this mining consultant turn that situation around and eventually quadruple the revenues of his consulting firm, Prime Contract Solutions? In this episode, Jason speaks to Michael Zipursky about the biggest financial mistake he committed in his business and how he solved it. He also talks about his key takeaways from the Clarity Coaching Program, which eventually set him off to achieve his full potential as a consultant. Do you feel like you’re always after volume of work just to pay the bills? Listen to this episode to learn how you can focus on value instead and dramatically increase your earnings as a result.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

As much as 95% of consulting sales come from follow-ups, but too many people don’t do it. If you’re like most consultants, you’re just as averse to doing “salesy” follow-ups. However, if you don’t keep in touch with your prospects and provide value to them, you may no longer be the first person on their mind should they need services like yours. It does pay to put yourself out in front once in a while, but how do you do it without being too pushy? There is a way around this. Michael Zipursky takes a few minutes to show us how.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Rainmaking is an art. It is the art of getting business, getting the better business, and then eventually all of the business from your clients. It is the art of initiating and building the right relationships with the right people. It takes a lot of skill, creativity and persistence. A thought leader in the areas of rainmaking, recruiting and leadership, Scott Love joins Michael Zipurski to share some of his wisdom and experience in bringing in consistent clients for the consulting business. Scott is the founder of the Attorney Search Group and host of his own podcast, The Rainmaking Podcast. Tapping his immense experience in headhunting rainmakers for law firms, Scott talks about the qualities you need in a rainmaker and how you can build strategic relationships that will eventually bring the right people to your business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Working with a compliance consultant can save employers a lot of dollars in exposure. For over 15 years, Sarah Borders has been helping clients in this while working for other companies. In 2019, she burnt the bridges to corporate and built her own consulting business, Benefits Compliance Solutions, growing it to such a point that her husband was able to quit his own job to join her in business. She shares how this phenomenal growth came about in this conversation with Michael Zipursky. She also shares some insights and learning experiences on making the transition from corporate to independent consultant, handling rejection, her progress under momentum and clarity coaching, and the challenges of working with her spouse as business partner.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many people think vulnerability is a sign of weakness, and in the business space, you should always steer clear of it and project a professional image. The truth is, that is not what people want. People are drawn to you and your experiences. In today’s podcast, Michael Zipursky talks about the power of vulnerability and showing who we really are. Start leaning into your story and sharing more about yourself, not just your accomplishments but also the challenges you face, and watch how people start to resonate with you. After all, being vulnerable is not about weakness; it's about courage. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Even if you have the best product available, it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have an equivalent marketing strategy in place. The CEO of GrowthHit, Jim Huffman, takes this time to share his expertise and experience when it comes to growth marketing. Learn how you can look at marketing from the mindset perspective and be able to take into account everyone’s ideas to formulate your strategies. Understand the importance of being honest with your goals in dictating the strategies that you’ll be able to utilize. Jim also discusses the concept behind running pre ads and how it can boost your lead generation and conversion rates. In addition, he also teaches how you can invest in advertisements not with money, but with your time instead if you’re quite reluctant in spending your dollars.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Value is at the heart of everything that you do as a consultant. The more value that a buyer sees that you are able to provide to them, the more value that they perceive, and two things happen. Number one, they're more likely to invest at a higher level with you, and two, you become more valuable in their eyes. Increase your consulting sales as Michael Zipursky shares two big factors that will help you to communicate and establish greater value in the eyes of your ideal client for them to perceive greater value and associate that to you before you even start the engagement.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Being in the consulting business is not something to be taken lightly, especially if you’re just starting and wearing all hats in your business. You can easily get bogged down in the daily grind and the incessant call of duty from the back end can negatively affect your personal performance and business growth. Early on in her consulting career, Patty Carl, a former chief HR officer for Silicon Valley startups and Fortune 100 companies, figured out that she has to free herself from the minutiae and start delegating if she wants her budding business to grow. She also figured out a way to leverage the right connections from the start and build an extensive network of mentors and coaches that really helped her shine in her profession. In this interview with Michael Zipursky, she explains how these elements helped her improve her personal performance in consulting ten times than she would have under ordinary circumstances. If you’re just getting aboard the consulting ship, this episode is a great one for you!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In today’s economic landscape, people are getting bombarded with marketing messages, sales messages, and promotional messages, which, if you admit it, you probably don’t enjoy. On today’s show, Michael Zipursky shares one of the biggest mistakes that people are making in their marketing right now – automation – and how you can actually cut through all the clutter and the noise to have your message stand up, but more importantly, how to create real relationships with your ideal clients.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Leaving your corporate job to start your own business can be quite risky. Yet, Dan Cuprill did it and succeeded at that! From being in corporate America to running his own financial and personal finance firm, Dan has the experience and insights that will guide you to grow your businesses, even after you traded your 9 to 5 job for it. In this episode, he sits down with host, Michael Zipursky, to talk about his journey, the lessons he learned along the way, and the million-dollar financial strategies for consultants. He discusses how he set up his own financial advisory business, what marketing he utilized, and how he built his clientele. Plus, Dan then shares some advice on how you can build long-term wealth.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many people these days are focused on tactics rather than strategy. They are chasing tactics but are not even clear on their strategy. Going after the shiny object can be very exciting, but will it help you to make some significant leap in your business to accomplish a lot more? In this segment, Michael Zipursky discusses the difference between tactics and strategy. Don’t go down the wrong path. Get clear on what your strategy is before starting to find the right tactics to grow your business or build your practice. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

A lot of people think they need to be perfect before they put themselves out there. Marcia Reynolds realized mastering and trusting your emotions to allow yourself to just go and do something can be very powerful if you let it. Drawing on her corporate experience teaching communication skills and working with leaders, she built her coaching school and created a safe space for people to talk things through where they can show up as themselves. On today’s show, Marcia joins Michael Zipursky to talk about the self-transformation she made that empowered her to start her own business and become the person she is today.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

A lot of times, the best marketing isn’t what you say about yourself but what others say about you. Being on top of your relationship management skills is a definite must in order to keep your network solid. Frank Forte, the President of Forte Leadership Technology, joins Michael Zipursky to explain how relationships work in building your business. Frank shares how adding value and building your network and relationships at the right time can be the best marketing you can ever wish for. He also talks about his military experiences and how he incorporated what he learned into the business industry. Know how building your leaders and investing in your team can give you amazing results in the long run. Learn the processes that you can apply in any industry and understand what a consultant can bring to the table regarding the direction and growth of your business. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Business growth is a common goal for the majority of business owners. Cameron Herold, the Founder of COO Alliance, joins Michael Zipursky on today’s episode to share business growth strategies that he has been personally using. Sharing the story of how he built up 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and ultimately moved on to start on his own, Cameron highlights some of these important strategies such as culture, sticking to your core values, increasing your prices to a premium, and outsourcing anything else other than genius. Want to grow your business exponentially? Tune in to this episode to learn more!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Why is the visual side more compelling? In this episode, Simon Bowen, Creator of The Models Method, joins Michael Zipursky as they talk about improving sales and helping businesses communicate a winning strategy by using visual thinking and models. From a career in electronics to developing models, Simon shares his journey to becoming the Models guy who helps the primary buyer sell the solution to his organization. Learn how to win in the consulting sales games using visual thinking and models by taking complex ideas and concepts and articulating them in a powerful way that resonates instantly with your audience. Simon digs deeper into communicating profound thinking and ideas and the importance of correct choreography to elevate your influence.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many of us write but fail to get the traction we want for our business or brand to thrive. In this episode, Michael Zipursky talks with Dan Rockwell, the author and owner of Leadership Freak, to share with us his success story of building a world-class leadership consulting practice from writing. He talks about his writing process, how he consistently creates content, and how he drives people to view and consume his content. On the other side of it, Dan then shares his view on leadership, coaching, and training, letting us in on what he does to help others become successful.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Planning to scale and grow your consulting firm? You might as well prepare to undergo all the changes that go with it, especially when it comes to your role as a leader. In this conversation between Michael Zipursky and management consultant and strategic business coach, Bruce Eckfeldt, you will find that scaling your company means recognizing and addressing the limiting constraints to growth – even if that constraint is you. Educated as an architect, Bruce took his designer’s brain out of the blueprints and into the field of management consulting. With his own firm, Eckfeldt & Associates, he helps business owners and CEOs develop efficient growth strategies and eliminate limiting factors to growth. Grab this chance to learn about what is holding you back from taking your business to the next level.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Do you own a business, but finding it hard to break past revenue plateaus? A lot of business strategies claim to make your business grow and increase your profit margins. Unfortunately, most of them don't work, wasting your time and money. Josh Long joins Michael Zipursky on today’s show to share his Bottleneck Breakthrough Method. A self-labeled coachsultant, Josh helps businesses identify the bottlenecks in their businesses and cross that seven-figure mark. Tune in to this episode to learn how you can improve your systems a lot better so you can get a piece of the upside.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

The right words at the right places can win you the right clients for your business. This is what copywriting is all about, and Alex Cattoni, the Founder of The Copy Posse, is an expert in it. Through her unique skills in lead generation and writing high-converting sales copy, Alex has helped scale multimillion-dollar brands, including such names as Shopify, Mindvalley, and Numerologist.com. Ditching law school, Alex went to Malaysia in 2008 to accept a gig at Mindvalley, one of the world’s leading online personal growth publishers. Starting her way from the bottom, she became one of its top executives in no time. Apart from making lead-generating copies for high-level clients, Alex has also accepted the call of sharing her expertise with aspiring copywriters, which she does through her YouTube channel and her eight-week copywriter coaching program. Listen to her share all these, plus some cool YouTube marketing tips as she joins Michael Zipursky on the show.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

It is one thing to build a network; it is another to make it world-class. In this episode, Michael Zipursky sits down with keynote speaker and author, Kaihan Krippendorff, to share with us his journey from working at McKinsey & Company to founding his own growth strategy and innovation consulting firm, Outthinker. At the core of his story, Kaihan shares some strategies that helped him build his world-class network, Outthinker Strategy Network. He talks about the models they have in place to bring together the community of strategy executives and how he has been moving the needle by putting clients first. He further taps into generating leads and navigating your consulting business in the midst of this pandemic.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

With stiff online competition, one of the ways you could rise above is by showing up at the top of search engines. Nevertheless, this goal has been proven by many to be really tough to achieve. While that is the case, it does not mean it is impossible. In fact, in this episode, Michael Zipursky brings someone who can help you rank on the first page of Google. He interviews Stephan Spencer—a top SEO consultant and expert—to give an SEO 101 for consultants, sharing some great tips and tricks to build authority and establish credibility that will allow you to become visible on the number one search engine in the world. Here, he taps into creating remarkable content, link building, establishing social proof, and hiring and training team members. Follow along to this conversation to hear more of Stephan's best practices and wisdom about SEO and growing your consulting business in general.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Every business has a voice – a unique and complex message, a way that message is delivered, and the target receivers of that message. The way you communicate can make or break your relationship with your customers. Finding your business’s voice is a sure way towards consistent, effective communication. Business voice coaching is the forte of Ken Welsh, who has been working as a professional communicator for three decades and as a coach since 1999. His rich experience in this field has given him a unique approach to business language that propels his clients to communicative excellence. In the process of helping his clients find their voice, Ken has essentially found his own, unique consulting voice that is dedicated to giving the best quality service he possibly can to his clients. Take part in the unraveling of his story as he joins Michael Zipursky in this insightful conversation.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

As consultants, we want to not only achieve our potential but to exceed it. We want to create great results, success, wealth, and have a real impact and serve at the highest levels. However, there is often a disconnect between our thoughts and actions. We want greater wealth and higher levels of success, yet act from a place of scarcity, and that’s one of the things that really hold us back from achieving all that we want. In today’s episode, Michael Zipursky shares how you can become aware of this happening in your life so you can take steps to remedy it. He calls this the mirror effect – looking deep inside yourself and seeing if you’re exhibiting your ideal clients' characteristics. At the end of the day, if you’re creating value for your clients, then they’re going to bring great levels of value to you, too. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

People look at adversities as mere problems that hold us back from getting to where we want to be. But really, these obstacles and challenges are what build us as better people. Joining Michael Zipursky on the show today is Tony Hughes to talk about how adversities build resilience in people and lead them to be better businessmen. Tony is a leading professional selling educator and is highly recognized in sales leadership. Listen in as he talks more about achieving consulting sales success during these turbulent times.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

As an organization grows, so does the need for a whole army of leadership positions that need to be filled with capable individuals who can work with independence and initiative. Leadership consulting helps people develop their management and leadership skills and thrive in fast-paced environments. Award-winning coach, speaker, consultant, and author Melanie Parish has been in this business for many years, working with organizations ranging from a Fortune 50 company to IT startups. Joining Michael Zipursky on the show, Melanie walks us through her process of acquiring clients and building relationships with them. She also talks about her latest book, The Experimental Leader, the culmination of a seven-year project built upon her rich consulting experience.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Building a successful consulting business may seem tricky for many, but that shouldn't be the case. Most of the time, what lies behind achieving that goal can be as simple as having a good understanding of the fundamentals. With the right things in place and focusing on the right areas at the right time with the right people, success could never be far off. Sharing his wisdom and experience on business development, Jim Barnish Jr., managing partner at Morgan Hill Partners, joins Michael Zipursky in today's show. From working with growth-stage companies to help them grow exponentially, Jim takes us back to the fundamentals that drive the development process towards creating a better business. He tells us about his approach to structuring deals with clients, from the crawl stage and walk stage to the run stage, and marketing and lead generation. Though basic in theory, it helps to remember that the actual process of building a successful business may still be difficult. That is why you also need to have that drive to continue against it all. Don't miss out on Jim's insights and advice in this episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many of us tend to think of success as a far-off thing. We look at it like it is only confined within the future, with a bunch of short-term goals that we still have to get through first. But what if you could actually get to your long-term and future goals faster than that?  In this episode, Michael Zipursky goes solo to share with us how you can do that with great strides. He shares how you can optimize your business model to start seeing results significantly faster. Accelerate success by getting quick results for your consulting business. Follow along to learn more from Michael in this bonus discussion. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

When you have a successful consulting business, the first thing you learn is that you and your business always have to be top of mind. This is the importance of marketing methods in the way you do you work. Simon Cambiar is the Managing Partner at Cambiar LLC. He joins Michael Zipursky to talk about marketing methods that keep consulting businesses top of mind. Grow your business with these valuable methods and techniques that Simon discusses with Michael!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

A book can be your business card, your ultimate branding tool which can help you take off in your career or business. In today’s episode, Michael Zipursky and Martin Lindstrom talk about branding tips for consultants. Martin is a brand and culture transformation expert and the Founder of Lindstrom Company. He shares his fascinating story, starting from being a 12-year old kid from Denmark hired by Lego to becoming a world-class author and branding expert. Leveraging your personal brand to grow your business depends on the team that you have. Martin shares how he works with his team when distributing, marketing, and establishing partnerships when launching books. He also talks about one of his most significant books called The Ministry of Common Sense.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Business consultancy relies on your ability to have your audience believe that you can help them scale their businesses. An irresistible consulting sales presentation can be a powerful tool to deliver that impact. In this episode, Michael Zipursky interviews the persuasion expert and the CEO of Duarte, Inc., Nancy Duarte. Nancy, an author of five bestselling books, is also a communications expert who has been featured in Fortune, Times Magazine, and other notable publications. Hear her story about how and why she started her firm. With communication as her forte, she shares some communication advice for consultants who want to be able to convey their information in a more exciting way and in a way that gets them to take action. Listen as Nancy talks about the importance of digging data and transforming it into presentations that wows a client.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In order to have a successful consulting business, you need to be able to properly evaluate your sales pipeline. This sales pipeline is divided into different phases that you must examine one by one to see if there's anything causing a bottleneck and if so, you have to be able to determine what actions to take. Michael Zipursky teaches you how to evaluate your sales pipeline. From lead to win, Michael has it all handily outlined and ready so that you can do your own assessment. Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

What are the most common mistakes business owners are doing when selecting new employees? How do you match new hires to the right jobs? In this episode, Michael Zipursky has "The Turnover Terminator," Art Snarzyk III, on the show. Art is the President of InnerView Advisors, Inc. and is also an employee and management specialist. With his expertise, he shares some tips on job matching, hiring your first employee, and the core areas involved in bringing in the right talent. He also tackles marketing, generating leads and opportunities, and finding new clients for your business. Learn from Art as he dives deeper on how he wins referrals and gets the best hires. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

The idea of working with the government can sometimes be daunting. While that is the case, it is nevertheless not impossible. In this episode, Michael Zipursky interviews Abhijit Verekar, President and CEO of Avèro Advisors—an end-to-end information technology advisory firm that works with local governments all around the US to implement new IT infrastructures and systems. Abhijit shares with us the process and techniques that enabled him to get a seat at the table. He lays down some of the tools they use to look for opportunities to work with the government sector as well as some tips on how to market them, both in the short-term and long-term sales cycles. Furthermore, Abhijit then lets us in on his biggest challenge in running the consulting business and highlights the importance of having mentors in this industry. Follow along in this conversation to learn a couple of the best practices to win consulting jobs with the government.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Among the many types of consulting jobs out there, freelance jobs are among the most coveted because they offer you a certain measure of freedom and independence in the way you go about things. However, these spots, coveted as they are, can also be difficult to come by because many enterprises prefer to keep consultants around. Justin Nassiri is an entrepreneur and a consultant. Together with Michael Zipursky, Justin discusses the process of finding and winning freelance consulting jobs. For many people, this could be a great direction to pivot in, so don't miss this conversation!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Attracting new clients and customers is one thing; retaining them is another. Many successful entrepreneurs know this as a big separator between them and those who are struggling to grow their business. The name of the game is not how you attract people but how you keep them loyal to you. Known as The Loyalty Guy, today's guest, Adam Posner, has been an expert in this area for well over a decade. He joins host, Michael Zipursky, to discuss how consultants can build a customer loyalty program. Believing that existing customers will eventually bring the new customers in, he shares with us some ideas, principles, as well as strategies on how to care for and nurture them. He also shows diagnostics from his research reports that reveal what works best in lead generation for his business, in addition to letting us in on his research process, speaking and writing ventures, and more. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Extraordinarily turbulent times force people to take measures that they normally would not. Part of being a consultant is having the foresight and flexibility for getting ahead of problems, and finding a way to make things work as they are, whatever the situation. Michael Zipursky talks about taking action during fraught times in order to find yourself on the other side stronger than ever. It's all about the mindset you place yourself in. Let Michael show you how you can be your best by acting today. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

In identifying prospective buyers, you have to narrow down your choices in an efficient manner so as not to waste time, energy, and resources. In this episode, Michael Zipursky dives deep the importance of focusing on real buyers. He also addresses the question on why many people being reached out to do not convert into clients. With this, he stresses the importance of creating relationships through relaying impactful communication. Do not consider yourself as just another salesperson, someone who is trying to sell or promote, but someone looking for a partner to collaborate with and to add value. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

With almost everyone online, the digital world has undeniably become very competitive for businesses. That is why for you to stay afloat in this day and age, you need to be on people's radar. In this episode, Michael Zipursky introduces us to Sara Wilson, the founder of SW Projects, where they craft content strategies and unique creative ideas for brands and digital publishers. Sara shares her experience and expertise with us, leading the way towards her journey of starting her own consulting business and giving out the digital content strategy that helped her reach success. She talks about the importance of writing to connect with others and nurture those relationships as well as doing speaking engagements and creating content for external publications. Start to get yourself out there strategically. Learn some key pointers on how from Sara in this conversation.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Better leaders are those who adapt to change and use the right resources to promote success for their employees and organization. Here to talk about change management consulting with host Michael Zipursky is keynote speaker Paul Gibbons. An expert on the crossover of business science, ethics, and change, Paul has authored multiple books, including the Amazon bestseller, The Science Of Successful Organizational Change. He and his team aim at producing better leaders for better businesses and a better world. Here you will learn about how Paul draws the connection between better philosophy and their consulting business while capitalizing on the knowledge of science. He also shares how writing a business book can impact your leadership skills and shares his steps on creating the perfect content.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Most people want instant results which is almost impossible, and they usually give up too early when they don’t get the results they need. Do not give up! Do not abandon ship! In this episode, Michael Zipursky urges us to keep testing and pushing on when we are at the brink of giving up. When it comes to marketing and consultancy, it is all about mindset, persistence, and patience. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

A lot of consultants are hired for their expertise in a certain field and their familiarity with specific subject matters or jargon, but one of the more underrepresented aspects of consulting is building mastery over oneself. Developing self-mastery in consulting is important because self-mastery is the one secret you can hold on to when you're building up your business, whatever field you’re in. Joining Michael Zipursky is Mike Kitko, an executive self-mastery coach. Mike talks about helping his clients form a better idea of who they are over the time they get to spend with him, and how this makes a difference in the way they think and run their business. The phrase "Know thyself" is one that's been uttered repeatedly throughout history, but you never truly understand what it means and what results it can deliver until you do.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Consulting is a two-way transaction. While people know this, not many take it to heart. A consultant goes beyond merely telling their clients what to do; rather, they listen and build trust in one another. This episode’s guest is a leading authority on driving consistent revenue growth through client loyalty and business relationships for over 35 years. Host, Michael Zipursky, sits down with Andrew Sobel, author, speaker, and coach. Here, Andrew shares how we can master the art of consulting sales and client relationships. He dives deep in differentiating the expert mindset from the advisor mindset, leveraging the first meeting with a client to make the right impression, driving your marketing strategy as a consultant, scaling growth, and more. Tune into this conversation with Andrew to understand why starting with clients is a great way of creating a highly profitable consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Presentations are an essential part of any business. It is where ideas are brought to light, potential connections are established, and even customers are marketed. That is why it is crucial to deliver your presentations the best you can. In this episode, Michael Zipursky asks Leah Bonvissuto for her expertise in this matter. Leah began her career as a theater director and eventually found her coaching and consulting business called PresentVoices. Having been helping teams improve their presentation skills, Leah shares with us some tips on telling our story, speaking about our work, and showing up with control in situations at work and life. She talks about learning spontaneous speaking and why it is the best public speaking form. If you don't feel comfortable in speaking situations, fret not because Leah has you covered with some advice on how you can use your voice to land big consulting clients and more.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

We are in a time of great uncertainty right now. The markets are turbulent, and the Coronavirus pandemic is reaching every crevice of the world, impacting almost everyone on the planet. Yet, we must not lose hope. Host, Michael Zipursky, shows us the light at the end of the tunnel by sharing how we can thrive during these turbulent times. Learn in this episode the best practices, strategies, and mindsets you can take as a consultant that will have you build and maintain relationships with your ideal clients, and see other opportunities that you never know are there. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Are you running your business, or is it running you? Today, Michael Zipursky discusses the importance of getting very clear on your priorities—to work ‘on’ your business and not ‘in’ your business. Many entrepreneurs fall into this bad habit, causing them to become inefficient and less productive. Learn the value of finding where you can deliver the best. Set up systems that allow you to create more leverage and deliver more value to your clients. Tune into this short, yet very insightful episode, to reflect and find better ways to transform your business. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

No matter which career, business, or industry we are in, we become a salesperson. Whether we sell products, services, or ourselves, it is imperative to be able to grasp the best approach to selling to your ideal clients. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky guests mentor and sales growth advisor, Ari Galper. Ari is experienced in trust-based selling and shares with us some valuable tips about increasing and growing sales to your valued customers or clients, and also maintaining a level of trust between you as a seller and your client.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Success is very hard to come by for those who don't carry the right mindset for it. Creating a good mindset is all about setting yourself straight, and focusing on what you need to do. Eric Kapitulik is a former United State Marine Corps and the founder of The Program LLC, a consultancy group that focuses on experiential training. Joining Michael Zipursky, Eric discusses the need to develop a good mindset for the ultimate good of the work you're trying to achieve. Otherwise, without this good mindset, your endeavor won't be held together properly.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Do not be deceived with the appearance of success because there are always struggles associated with it. Michael Zipursky digs deeper into success and shares his realization of its other face or angle, showing what it really looks like. Don’t be intimidated by some successful personalities, rather keep your eyes on our own targets and focus on getting things right for your business while having a solid system in place. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Business branding is such an essential part of setting up a company because this is what'll set you apart from all the other firms running in the same industry as you are. Your branding is the public face of your company, so it has to present as strong enough to carry the weight of all the companies you want to be getting business from. Dave Ramos, author, speaker, and CEO of SHIFTPOINTS, Inc., talks to Michael Zipursky about the importance of business branding in establishing a strong company. Branding is just one of the many ways through which you can get the trust of your potential clients. Make sure you learn these essential strategies that Dave is imparting to maximize the branding of your business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Everyone is a leader. Whether it's implicit or explicit, you have a leadership responsibility in life. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky interviews talent retention expert Dr. Troy Hall about his expertise on attracting and retaining top talent and global leadership. Don’t miss today’s show as Dr. Hall takes a deep dive into talent retention, building a high-performing consulting team, and creating an environment to become the best places to work. He also shares some fundamental principles on team dynamics and cohesion from his book called Cohesion Culture.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Growing a consulting business means having the ability and knowledge to propel business operations and help the company get to the next level. As a consultant, you have to develop a level of trust to your clients that you will bring value and impact In this episode, host Michael Zipursky interviews podcast host and executive consultant Connie Steele. Connie talks about how she used her background in math and statistics to transition into marketing and consulting business and shares what it takes to be an effective consultant to your clients.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

When we want to sell something, we have to consider not just selling the product, but to also make ourselves or our company sellable. We have to make an impact to our potential customers if we want to fully sell our whole package, especially if we are to market ourselves as consultants. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky talks with The Pitch Whisperer John Livesay about his winning sales strategy - telling better stories. Don’t miss this episode to learn more about selling yourself effectively to your target audience.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Running a business or organization is always better when we have the right mentors, coaches, and trainers to improve our processes, sales, and workforce quality. That is why it’s crucial to remember and acknowledge the value a coach brings to a business. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky interviews author and the Chief Culture Officer of Forrest Performance Group, Jason Forrest about his career journey in consultancy and how his consultancy is improving company cultures, redefining trainings, and transforming lives within an organization. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

When we buy products, we normally assess the things we buy for their value and if it aligns with our necessities. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky interviews author and sales enablement consultant Anita Nielsen about her career in sales consultancy for big and small businesses. Improving sales in your business is very important to any business owner. Anita shares her experiences on how she is catering to customers' needs and improves sales in the process.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

The journey to scaling your business can be quite complex, but with the right guidance, you will eventually get to the top. Today, Michael Zipursky chats with Jennifer Brown of Jennifer Brown Consulting about running her multi-million-dollar consultancy and working with clients like Adobe, Samsung, and Coca-Cola, to name a few. She shares how she shifted from delivering her expertise to building and scaling her own business. Learn from Jennifer as she explains her best practices in building a team and booking conferences, and gives advice around content and thought leadership.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

If you into being a consultant and advisor, you need to know how to provide services to your clients. Our guest for today is business owner and consultant David Jenyns. David started his SEO business fourteen years ago providing done-for-you services to clients in the areas of video production, SEO services, and systems and processes. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky talks with David about his shift from a services business to a product-based business and why selling consultation work is a great place to get started to do an SEO business. Diving into how you can provide the right services for your clients, David highlights the value of content and shares what you can do to accelerate your success through content as well as what’s working right now with the changes in the SEO landscape.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

What does it take to attain consulting success? A lot of factors go into it, but at the end of the day, it's really about what you offer to your clients. Michael Zipursky joins Sam Schutte on the Unstoppable Talk podcast for the episode, "What I Learned About Successful Consulting After 4 Years With The Master - Michael Zipursky." Michael pulls on his years of consulting experience in order to break down the elements at the very core of consulting, and make it easy to understand. If you're looking to get started in consulting, this may be a good place to start.

Appointment setting still remains a complex step in client acquisition. In this episode, Michael Zipursky interviews Joe Pici of Pici & Pici, a sales trainer and speaker who has helped organizations book more appointments and close more deals. From a football coach to a business consultant, he shows us his and his wife Dawn’s road to becoming one of the most sought-after business consultants. Join Joe as he enlightens us on cold calling, outreaching through LinkedIn, material development for trainings, and so much more.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Finding leads can be time consuming and oftentimes costly. With the help of a software and the right people, you can actually do away with your worries about generating quality inbound consulting leads. Today, Michael Zipursky interviews Sam Schutte, the CEO and Chief Software Architect at Unstoppable Software, Inc about how he started his company and is leading billion-dollar companies to the right path through his consultancy business. Sam also shares how he leverages his experience in starting his consulting business as well as in developing a discovery offering.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Hiring key people for your business determines the height of its success. In this episode, Michael Zipursky interviews HR management, policy, and training expert Kim Silvers on the essence of hiring the right employees. The big boss of SilversHR, Kim narrates how she started her HR consultancy firm as well as speaking engagements. Through the help of a trusted marketer, she has delivered all the right topics to influence many business owners to focus more on earning and leave the hiring to them. Moreover, Kim also shares how acquisitions has helped her expand her offerings. Be passionate on hiring the right people, saving more time, and earning more as Kim shares what SilversHR can do for you.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In a growing consulting space, it can be very difficult to make a name for yourself and stand out from the crowd. Founder of Jono Bacon Consulting and Community and Collaboration Strategy Consultant, Jono Bacon shares wisdom from his vast experience on how you can become in-demand as a consultant. He spills some great advice on how you can present and establish yourself in the industry—from putting out content to building relationships. Letting us in on his new book, People Powered, Jono then discusses in detail the power communities can bring to a business and a team. He shares the outcome of the years he spent perfecting the craft of how to build productive communities and talks about combining strategies with execution to ensure success in community building.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In this episode, Oren Klaff, the author of the books Pitch Anything and Flip the Script, talks about the art of deal-making. Oren is known as the go-to guy to get deals done when someone needs $10 million or $25 million for their startup business idea. Today, he narrates how he got into deal-making and the importance of presenting your idea in a way that people think it is theirs. He also dives into the ideal script for consultants and the three W’s that people can start to use to overcome the guard that people put on.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

For anybody thinking of selling their business down the road, they want to see check deposits, copies of checks, copies of invoices, and make sure that everything matches up. HR expert Lori Kleiman joins host Michael Zipursky in this episode to talk about selling your consulting business and starting over. Lori walks us through her transition from running HR in a family company to becoming an HR consultant and starting her own HR business. Sharing her valuable insights on selling a business, she also gives some tips on how you can effectively start your next entrepreneurial pursuit.   Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Getting human leverage can be a time-consuming process. In this podcast episode, host Michael Zipursky talks with the Founder and CEO of Hire Education Consulting Group, Katie McConnell Olson, about how to get referrals for your business and the true meaning of talent optimization. Sharing her journey from being a tax auditor, a VP of assurance, doing financial audits, then recruiting, Katie walks us through how she started off and got to where she is now with consulting and starting her own business. Katie also touches on finding good quality people and evaluating them, hiring into your strengths, introducing a new team member into a project, and more.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Onboarding your clients is the first step in their journey with your product or service. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky talks with Kristen Gallagher about onboarding consulting clients and projects the right way. Having worked with companies like SurveyMonkey, AWS Elemental, Puppet, and many other technology companies and helping them with technical onboarding, Kristen gives the true definition of technical onboarding. She gets into how she got started in the industry, finding opportunities for her consulting business, the importance of follow-up, and adding a member to her team and the hiring process. She also shares her go-to systems and processes that she uses on a daily basis in her consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

If you want to succeed as a consultant, you have to decide to do something that you don’t exactly think is perfect. In this episode, the author of four bestselling sales books and speaker Jill Konrath talks about achieving success in business despite having products that aren’t exactly the best nor the cheapest. Sharing the story behind the scenes of her successful practice, she ties it with a messaging that actually works.  Narrating her amazing experiences at Xerox, she also shares the lessons she gained and discusses some helpful techniques and tips to use in the consulting industry. If you want to know more about strategies that actually work in today’s business environment, stay tuned with us!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

The more that you can think of new creative ways to do business, the less likely you are to be exposed to volatility. In this episode, host Michael Zipursky interviews Nigel Green, a sales strategy advisor for B2B companies and the CEO of StoryBrand, about how he got into the world of sales and strategy. Nigel started out as a sales rep out of college and worked his way into becoming an executive sales strategist, sales team architect, and sales leadership coach. Today, he talks about balancing client delivery with marketing and sales and shares some of his best practices to create more stability and move away from volatility.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Consulting is a significant and growing business in this day and age. Founder and CEO of Barnes Sales Institute, Cynthia Barnes shares her experience in sales and how her consulting firm specializes in the principal issues and enhances the success of women in sales. Helping you land and keep your consulting clients, she discusses the formulas in marketing and knowing your target markets. Join Cynthia in this episode to learn more about how to efficiently keep your consulting clients and also effectively land your ideal clients.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

These days, technology has offered so many opportunities for businesses to grow at a much cheaper way. In the midst of this is outsourcing and automation. Steve Glaveski, the CEO of Collective Campus, outlines some tips on how you can employ these new strategies for growth effectively. Working with big organizations like Microsoft and IBM, Steve shares the most effective marketing strategy and approach that will get you high caliber clients. As he lays out his sales process along with the best practice his sales team uses, he also discusses how he finds and builds people who will be key players in the business. Learn more about automation as well as finding opportunities for growth with Steve in this episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Independent strategy consultant Tom Critchlow was at the right place and the right time when he started working alongside his brother who founded a digital agency called Distilled. Doing SEO for national chains in the UK, Amazon UK, and big retailers, they quickly scaled and moved to New York, opening up his eyes to digital marketing and the broader digital landscape that was happening. With the increasingly changing digital landscape, Tom made the leap to go work at Google and eventually started doing digital strategy consulting. Today, Tom talks about his path to growing a solo consulting business, the challenges that come along with it, and the advantages of hiring a one-man consultant versus hiring an agency.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

When you’ve transitioned from corporate to consulting, you would have income highs and lows. You also face the challenge of pricing your services as a newcomer. Paul Klein, the host of Pricing is Positioning podcast and Cofounder of BlueDAG LLC, talks about the three pillars of revenue as a consultant. He also talks about the nitty-gritty details of running a consulting business, getting your first Fortune 500 client, and running your business on autopilot. Success doesn’t come overnight but with the right perspective, determination, and wit, you can develop, price and deliver your services in such a way that clients see you as gold.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In the consulting business, nothing gets people to connect with you more than telling your stories. Yuri Kruman of Master The Talk Consulting leveraged his talent for storytelling to do that. In this episode, Yuri shares how he got into building his consulting business, taking us into his transition from the startup world. He talks about doing his own PR work to get more clients by reaching out for publications to write, and later on becoming a contributor himself that has allowed him to understand how it works. Discussing more in-depth about pitching to publishing, Yuri guides us through the ins and outs of these publication platforms in relation to the benefits they provide to building your business. He also gets into podcasting when tapping your ideal audience, shares his approaches to building relationships, and advises on ways to identify your pricing.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Consulting is a job for the strong and organized, especially when it comes to dealing with multiple companies. Jeff Hahn, the founding partner of Apron Food PR, shares why he decided to go out on his own and start his own consulting business. He talks about how he was able to pull off leading and managing different companies without compromising their potential toward growth. Building a high-performance consulting team can also boost a company, and with this, Jeff promotes and explains the win-win tactic of profit sharing. Jeff’s method as a consultant thrives on the idea that his job is to support the managers, executive, or employees and not the other way around.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Advocating to create an image of trust is one of the key things any consultant must strongly do in the process of starting or continuing a consultations business. Harrison Monarth, one of the most sought-after leadership development and executive coaches, shares the contributing factors to his consulting success. He guides us through the key steps in building a personal brand that everyone can trust and leveraging it to land Fortune 50 consulting clients. Harrison offers some advice and steps on how consultants can leave zero doubt on the value that they are delivering to their clients. He also talks about the importance of presence in the real and virtual world, the different stories you can tell your client, and many other useful information about gaining success in the consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Prospecting, especially when you are still starting your consulting business, can be a nightmare. In this episode, Mark Hunter, the man behind The Sales Hunter, shares how he created his consulting business, how he got his notable clients, and how to do profitable prospecting for consultants. Just like any business, climbing to the top of this niche presents numerous difficulties, which is why Mark gladly outline the most common problems, including his own, that people make when prospecting for clients and gives the best practices for consultants who want to build a more thriving pipeline. Make your consulting business more promising and move towards influencing and impacting people with great insights from this episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Meetings are key towards every company’s success, which is why it is critical for leaders to facilitate it properly according to the company’s purpose and goal. Elise Keith, the CEO and Founder of Lucid Meetings, shares how she started her company, how she got her very first clients, and how they developed a software that helped chair and leaders run their meetings. She shares her strategies on how meetings should be done and what makes a meeting successful. She also tackles the best practices before, during, and after meetings, as well as the common mistakes people do and how you can avoid these mistakes. Learn more about leading meetings efficiently with Elise in this insightful episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Many consultants often get stuck when it comes to figuring out how to outbound. That is why prospecting has been a topic and a task that is avoided by most. Jason Bay, the Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Blissful Prospecting, is someone who has figured out prospecting from personally going through the pain points of building a sales pipeline and later on discovering great resources to share. Jason talks about how we can speak the language of potential customers or existing clients, reach out to them, and then apply it to our own marketing. As Jason gets into the details of this whole process, he shares the best practices when it comes to prospecting, providing a sample of an effective campaign. Learn more from Jason on how you can reach out with the messaging that will have the people on the other line engaged and put you on their radar.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

It is the 100thepisode of Consulting Success Podcast. To celebrate this milestone, host Michael Zipursky takes you through the top ten episodes’ key insights. Implement them in your business and apply them to your mindset to perform at even higher levels as consultants. Gathering golden nuggets brought by some of the great guests that graced the show, refresh your mind with critical marketing and sales techniques and wisdom from Perry Marshall, Dorie Clark, Suzanne Bates, Lew Jaffe, and more in this special episode.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Starting up is the hardest part of any business. Jacob Baadsgaard, the Founder and CEO of Disruptive Analytics, shares his business journey starting with working at Adobe and transitioning to other companies, and then finally managing his own organization. He talks about growing his consulting team and how his past work experiences have given him the lessons that he applies to make his company work better for his employees. Sharing sales and leveraging techniques, Jacob also tackles the importance of networking events, speaking at conferences, LinkedIn, and a particular software package and content marketing he uses to scale his business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Content marketing for consultants is necessary for anyone who wants to succeed in connecting with the clients from the initial stages of sales up to after sales. Ian James is a process consultant who shares his knowledge on how to effectively do content marketing by building relationships through simple but valuable content. He talks about asking questions and developing interest in the people you meet as critical approaches towards understanding the marketing and sales needs of a company. He believes that in getting the process, right leadership is crucial. Ian suggests that it is ideal to engage with a client and get them excited about the possibility that a consultant can actually fix something.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Being able to balance building a business with having a life full of freedom that allows you to travel, spend much time with your family, and take care of yourself is an ideal daily routine for most people. Today, we get inside Michael’s daily routine as a consultant. As a believer of health is wealth and motion is the key, he dives into the importance of going to the gym. Michael also tackles the value of structuring your day so that you're able to make significant progress, see the results, and feel good about what you accomplished. At the end of the day, it all boils down to performing tasks with the highest impact and family time.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Sales is one of the most important factors when doing consultancy because you need to be able to master the art of selling consulting services. No one enters the consultant field to give free advice to clients because it is a form of a disservice. Jeff Robbins, the co-founder and former CEO of Lullabot, reveals some hacks to getting, meeting, and keeping clients. A business coach, podcaster, and musician all wrapped up in one, he walks us through how he built a soul-based and mission-based company. As Jeff touches on how to run a remote business, discover the most challenging part of being a solo independent consultant and coach and how he mitigated it.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

A good consultant gathers all the information and evaluates it accurately. The more depth and understanding you have, the better results you can deliver. Subir Chowdhury, the CEO of ASI Consulting Group, believes in this concept. In this episode, he shares how he landed a $60-million deal without a proposal. Known as one of the world’s leading management consultants, Subir recounts his humble beginnings and success journey from launching his first book to closing deals with global Fortune 100 corporations and industrial leaders. He highlights the value of having conviction and self-confidence and reveals the most prominent mistake consultants make nowadays.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Every entrepreneur says that marketing is the heart and soul of the business. They’re always looking for the latest and best applications or tools that will allow them to see better results in a short period of time. However, the reality of consulting business in marketing, shortcuts rarely exist. Michael shares the importance of focusing on developing relationships with your ideal clients as he walks us through the three keys that stood the test of time to consistently get clients in your business. Discover how these principles can deliver results for consultants if applied on a constant basis.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Investing money, time, and strategy in a company are the fundamentals you can apply to any industry. Founder of War Room Mastermind, Roland Frasier, shares how combining these three to equity deals can help build wealth. Taking us back to his younger years, Roland shares the different approaches he saw on how people make money. Later on, he used what he has learned across different industries to make him good fortune. Roland shares those with us along through the equity deals he has made that helped companies scale and build his wealth in the process.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Our mindsets are the foundation of our thinking, learning, and behavior. Awakening our mindsets will empower us to improve and enhance our success. Ryan Gottfredson, a Professor at CSU-Fullerton and Mindset Consultant, dives deep and gather his wisdom on how mindset works and applies to everything. Ryan shares how he categorizes the types of organizations with different sets of mindsets and how these make him reach outlets and generate business through speaking and writing. Discover more the teachings of Ryan on applying the right mindset in winning more in business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a way to increase the visibility and the ranking of a website with keywords. Glen Allsopp, an entrepreneur and a consultant at Detailed, talks about how he fell in love doing SEO works, explaining why businesses would want to see their websites rank higher through link building on Google. Furthermore, Glen tells us why doing SEO consulting and other marketing activities are making a significant impact in generating leads in the business. Glen shares the truth behind SEO and how it will help you in your industry.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Consulting firms struggle in developing their personal brand, not knowing that it is the key ingredient in creating leverage and building authority in the consultancy field. As successful companies grow, they tend to forget this key ingredient which then leads to laxity. Tendayi Viki, Associate Partner at Strategyzer, holds a bird’s-eye view of this tight spot. Author of The Corporate Startup, Tendayi shares how his books paved the way to build his personal brand and reveals the three things that hinder people from writing. Giving nuggets that would help consultants to develop their personal brand, he touches on Dorie Clark’s three pillars of being a thought leader. In this episode, discover Tendayi’s pricing strategy and why most successful companies have to worry about the future.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Listening is the key to effective communication. To be in a consulting field entails you to be dominant in figuring out the pain points of your customers to provide the right solutions, and that involves deep listening. Author of Breakthroughs and Deep Listening, Oscar Trimboli lays out the five myths of listening and how you can leverage it in your business. Having one of Apple’s Best Australian Podcasts 2018, the Deep Listening podcast, Oscar outlines the three tactics to clear one’s mind, to be more present, and to make conversations more meaningful. With a purpose to create 100 million deep listeners in the world before he leaves the planet, Oscar highlights the cost of not listening in financial services and the key to creating awareness and getting the message out there.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

These days, consultants take their profession too seriously and customarily that they tend to forget to make room for innovation. To innovate is to add value with an incredible hint of creativity to whatever you produce. Jeff Gothelf is a pro in injecting valuable content to market his consulting business. A consultant, coach, keynote speaker, and author all wrapped up in one, Jeff shares his transition out of the corporate world and into starting his own business. Co-author of Sense and Respond, Lean UX, and Lean vs. Agile vs. Design Thinking, he shares how you can create your personal brand in the consulting field and attract opportunities towards you. Taking the leap from New York to Barcelona, he also reveals the extreme perks and challenges of working solo and remotely.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

One of the most prominent struggles consultants and independent entrepreneurs face is to sell themselves. Typically, the amount of experience is not enough if you don’t get the value of business development. Chris Spurvey possesses the perfect amount of knowledge and understanding from the big consulting firms, such as Plato and KPMG. Founder of Chris Spurvey Sales Growth Consulting Inc., he breaks down the differences of consulting firms now and then, from the traditional way of making sales to adding value and creating relationships. As Chris highlights the importance of consistency in doing business, he reveals the secret formula to reframing sales for business growth, setting up meetings, and overcoming ineffective business strategies.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

It is vital to build and maintain relationships as part of your continuous business development with your existing or potential clients. Talent development consultant Nancy Halpern's way of doing this is by spending four or five nights out of every week taking a client out for a drink, having dinner, and staying in touch. According to Nancy, these are ways of honing your message as people enjoy getting together and spend time with people they like. In reality, this may not have an impact on the business right away as it might take time, but it will eventually bring that lead flow and well of referrals or opportunities. Find out how you, too, can create possible business opportunities by leveraging relationships.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Office relocations can draw issues especially in the productivity and engagement of employees. When Jessica Lederer found the holes in the relocation process, she knew right then she can make a change by starting a workplace strategy firm and structuring consulting offers. Jessica is now the CEO of Ingage, Inc., a business focused on helping organizations that are moving or thinking about how they can leverage their physical space better to maximize employee engagement, productivity, and corporate culture. She shares how to leverage your network to create those early conversations that will lead to your first piece of business. An expert in generational issues found in the workplace, Jessica dives in the power of starting conversations, productizing consulting services, and crafting pricing models.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Having a third-party vision of your business can sometimes be helpful. Having somebody that would take a step back and take a look at your company to see if you have things figured can be a way to know the holes in your business plan. That is the beauty of consulting. Former CEO of Picture Tel, Lew Jaffe, shares how consulting helped his previous company to grow. A philanthropist, professor, and executive coach, Lew reveals the approach to take to get clients to consult, the ways to continue delivering value to your clients, and the best practices to implement to see better results.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Excellent customer service is vital for business growth as cliché as it may sound. Being one of the most important elements in sales and marketing, it needs deep focus and expertise, even in the consulting arena. Ron Kaufman, ranked as the number one customer service guru in the world by Global Gurus, knows the drill. As he dives into his journey from managing Frisbee festivals to exploring and winning in the consulting and speaking fields, Ron provides knowledge and insight for consultants on mastering sales conversations, building valuable relationships, understanding the concept of “service,” and learning to productize your product. On top of that, Ron discloses that the unique approach they use in Up! Your Service is now up for grabs.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a small business owner, or simply running a small team, having an entrepreneurial mindset is so important. Author, speaker, and consultant Rita McGrath says constantly looking at where your next opportunities are coming from and making sure you’re up to date and fresh is what the entrepreneurial mindset is all about, and it all begins with changing the nature of competitive advantage. Rita is one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth. In this episode, she joins us to talk about sustainable competitive advantage and what makes an entrepreneurial mindset, how we can create it within our organization, and how we can all benefit from it.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Accountability expert, keynote speaker, and author Samuel Silverstein aims to continually cultivate accountability in diverse organizational cultures. When he left the corporate world and sold his business, he started to hasten skills in writing, speaking, and consulting. His consultancy field was mainly driven by his expertise in speaking in front of a variety of people and various organizations. He is also a bestselling author of seven books. Today, he is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives and renovate the way they do business through effective ways of generating leads and building relationships. Samuel goes deep into the power of accountability, what it really means, and why it’s important for consultants, business owners, and leaders to understand it.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Sometimes, it is exactly the comfort that keeps us from pursuing what we really want. Bill Coletti, founder of the crisis communications and reputation management firm called Kith Consulting, has stepped out of the comfort offered in working for an established organization as a consultant to starting and running his own consulting business. When the stakes are high, he managed to push through and grow his business into a success. Bill shares his journey while imparting great insights to those who are starting a business of their own. He talks about the challenges he encountered as a sole owner and finding focus on the service offerings that worked best for him. He also offers advice on selling services, getting referrals, scaling your business, and more.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

We all want to elevate our brand and get to that next level of success. Anthony Iannarino, coach, consultant, and entrepreneur, believes that everyone has greater potential to make a difference. Over the last few years, Anthony's brand has grown significantly. He shares how you can sell more and also take your brand to the next level by identifying what you are capable of and having that abundance mindset to execute the greatness that you have within you.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Nothing connects people with brands like stories do. Master storyteller and media brand strategist, Robin Fisher Roffer takes us into the power of storytelling to dominate your industry. Going into the talk of being able to specialize, she shows the difference between being a go-to business and one who is in the midst of multiple competitions. She talks about storytelling and where brand building takes place in that, learning how to position yourself to rise above from the rest. Robin also shares the key to success for the entrepreneurial consultants out there, what they can apply even with budget constraints for advertising, and why hire freelancers. Learn how to connect to your own personal story and find out why sometimes, it is more important to listen first than to talk.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Procurement professionals struggle reputationally sometimes with a lot of folks in the business bypassing them, trying to avoid procurement. Philip Ideson helps procurement professionals become a little bit more impactful and think about how to go beyond the process so they can bring value to their organizations. Philip owns CatalystCo and hosts a podcast called The Art of Procurement where he helps procurement professionals elevate the role of their teams. He’s worked with Visteon, Pfizer, Chiquita, Ally Financial, and Accenture before going off and starting his own business. Philip talks us through the mindset of a procurement professional working in an established organization, and shares what a consultant should know about procurement.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

When you get a good client and it's a big engagement which is going to go on for a while, what happens is that your ability to deliver as well as run the business starts to eat away at you. At some point, you realize that you're going to have to include other people in the game. Otherwise, you're going to kill yourself. The interview process then starts and you have figure out who you're going hire and develop, realizing that it’s going to have a huge impact. Nick Craig’s area of specialization is leadership development. With that is a focus on authentic leadership and purpose. Nick highlights the importance of bringing in someone who understands the dynamics and is able to come and bring a set of skills that you don’t have. Nick is the President of the Authentic Leadership Institute. He works with the crews at Lego, Ben & Jerry's, West Point, and other interesting places and help them step into their gift as leaders.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

“My one job here is to create enough value. Hopefully, they’ll ask me to stick around and do some more work.” That was the statement conversation expert Rob Kendall made about during the early days of his career. Rob’s biggest challenge was the way he communicated with people. For his own self-development, he started to do some work that was focused on the whole area of communication. Soon after, he was already leading a lot of communication programs and was quite used to being in front of a room talking to 30 to 50 people every week. Rob shares his journey of learning the art and the skills of communication, and gives some tips and insights on how to win in the consulting business game through honest conversations. His clients include AT&T, Burberry, American Express, British Gas, Lloyd's, Shell, and Virgin.   Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to how you can master non-profit consulting is Douglas Nelson, managing director for the Discovery Group. Douglas shares the value of consistent action when it comes to getting organizations govern themselves better, to work together, and to have that alignment across. Taking us to his own personal journey, he talks about the challenges, obstacles, and the learning curve that he has faced from getting started to moving forward. Douglas also shares the importance of phone calls and how you can create more value to your consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In the consulting and coaching business, unless you're going to scale it by hiring hundreds of employees, there isn't this fear that the marketplace grabs this idea that you have and you start printing cash. That's what happened with the two businesses Tom Asacker was in. Tom is an educator, business advisor, and internationally published author. He says people started to lose their vision of why they were in business in the first place. Their focus was all on the numbers and metrics that they forget to continue honing their own craft and looking at ways that they can innovate and deliver more value to their clients. Tom wrote a book that he self-published about a business guy who's lost his way, his work, and his passion. Serendipitously, he meets this little girl and, through her eyes, rediscovers his creativity and passion. He shares how self-publishing led to his success in the consulting business. He also paints the picture of how he got his first few clients as he shares his experiences and great ideas.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Transitions and changes can be challenging at times. It may be a little bit rockier for a short period, but the sooner that you make that transition toward the better, the sooner that you will reap the rewards. Douglas Miller, business leadership development and change management consultant, shares his story about his journey upon transitioning from working through agencies and consulting firms to actually building his own business with clients. Douglas shares his best practices to show people how to make that leap to a flourishing success.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Any successful business has one thing and that is they stand out from the crowd. To put a better word, they are distinct. Diving in deep into why distinction is your next consulting advantage is Scott McKain. Scott is a keynote speaker and iconic authority known for helping organizations create distinction in every phase of business. He teaches the “Ultimate Customer Experience” and gives tangible examples that help organizations create and deliver distinction that greatly positions themselves in the marketplace. Scott lays down the steps you could take to implement and create your iconic brand. He also talks about using books, podcasts, and other media to leverage and grow your business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Brand attachment is a metric that speaks to the level of emotional buy-in. People don’t just like these brands or these people, they adore them. They have a higher than normal word of mouth or advocacy, and thus tend to spend lower than their competitive set on traditional media. Chris Kneeland’s work aims to understand how to get somebody to pay more and be more loyal while spending less on advertising and discounts. Chris is the co-founder and CEO of a marketing consultancy called Cult Collective. Chris shares the significance of building your brand and how to have to have more than customers or cult-like following in a positive way.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Mark Pierce, owner, operator, and founder of E5 Leadership Academy, has been teaching people how to fish rather than giving them a fish. For 35 years, Mark has been in the coaching and mentoring business teaching, training, educating and motivating people how to be successful in life through a platform of five pillars - spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically and financially. Mark shares the importance of knowing and putting forth the value that they're creating. He also discusses the importance of using those high-end values in selling consulting services.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Business doesn’t always have to be all about the technical processes. It’s also about the people running it. Professional speaker and corporate relationship expert Tony Chatman works with the people side of business to determine the kind of leadership that either makes the business succeed or fail. He points how, too often, people are trained for very specific technical expertise, failing to give them the proper skill set to navigate the relationships that help the organization to jump to the next level. Gathering his own personal experiences, he shares what led him to this realization and then taking it into speaking engagements that allowed him to reach out to many organizations. Tony shares some tips on how you can do it yourself, helping your business grow and helping others as well.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

First impression is really about human communication and how you can use your own behavior and body language to influence and persuade people. Mark Bowden is an expert in human behavior and body language and has helped people all over the world stand out with trust and gain credibility every time they communicate. Having four books on the subject under his belt, Mark give some tips on how consultants can make a great first impression and get good at communication, how to know when to raise your price, and how to tie and offer your speaking services with your training and consulting services. Speaking from his expertise on body language and human behavior, Mark also touches on the most common mistakes that consultants or other professionals are typically making when they meet with buyers.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Leaving your consulting business to spend time with your family or friends in some other part of the world seems an inconceivable idea, most especially if you are the type who worries about their business constantly. Learn how to be able to do just that. Michael shares how he managed to run his million-dollar consulting business while traveling the world for five months. He lays down his approach and shares how to generate a significant income, be a consultant, and realize your full and true potential while still having plenty of freedom and time to do anything you want.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

It’s a known fact that consulting firms tend to be small businesses with a small number of employees. Oftentimes, because of this, when a simple knock is at the door, we tend to burst it open, ever-willing to accept all the opportunities. However, this leads to finding your business drowning with all of these things that you start losing your purpose. Giving his insights on this dilemma is Dov Baron who is named one of the top leadership speakers in the world and someone who has been working with high-level individuals. Dov shares the difficulty for consultants to say “no” and learning the value of doing just that. Talking about opportunities and sharing his career journey, he gives great advice on how you can take your business to the next level and onto a bigger audience through speaking engagements.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Nick Westergaard, consulting strategist, speaker, educator, and author, talks about strategies for branding and digital marketing. With his background in theater arts and psychology, he shares how the skills he got from improvisation has helped him improved being a consultant and strategist where it gave him the ability to consider multiple perspectives. Nick discusses the importance of content creation when it comes to the business of selling your mind. He shares his writing experiences with big brands such as Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, and Inc. and how this can be a strategy to leverage and establish your credentials as a consultant. Learn other branding tips as Nick shares his story and insights within the consulting business.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

So often people are spending a lot of time thinking about marketing and what they can do to get the next client. They don’t recognize that the next client is most often around them. Success comes from creating great value and results for those that you're already serving. Corporate advisor Lance Secretan focuses on only three things to attract world-class clients - doing the best possible work he can, writing books, and giving keynote speeches. Lance specializes in leadership consulting and has been very successful at it by creating a differentiation and an advantage so that those in the marketplace want to work with him and his firm over others. He offers some specific advice for those describing themselves as leadership consultants or working in the leadership space.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

There are a lot of people who are working on building their consulting businesses. They may already have a process in place for their marketing or for their selling, yet they're not getting the results that they want. Oftentimes, it's because they're not working the plan even though they have the plan in front of them. Michael Norton, executive vice-president of corporate training for Sandler, says usually what's holding them back is their own head trash, their own attitude. Michael’s role within his organization is to support other people in the organization by helping them with proposals, contracts, and presentations. He discusses what the process looks like once he’s identified an ideal client, someone that he believes that his organization can help. He outlines the steps to qualify consulting clients to be able to sit down with them, have a meaningful conversation, and then get to the proposal stage.  Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Building your business is about building a group of people around you. You need employees and you need clients. From there, you can expand and grow your business to reach various markets. Mike Anthony of Engage Marketing Consultants is all too familiar with that process. He was one of those that left the corporate world to start his own global consultancy business. He shares what you need to learn about starting your own business and growing it globally. He is an expert at shopper marketing and retail for consumer goods. Mike details some tips and advises on how you can market your business from the ground up to spread around the world.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

For the ten years being in industry, Shannon Adkins was a buyer of consulting services and of multimillion dollar contracts of consulting services. Shannon is the president and CEO of Future State Inc., a management consulting firm that brings change management and operational transformation expertise to global enterprises in the life sciences, healthcare and technology industries. Shannon says to win businesses, you have to leverage the relationships and networks you have. She shares that selling $7 million in consulting services back in her first year took a lot of spending time meeting with clients, talking with them about their history, sharing their vision, understanding their concerns, their objectives, their issues, bringing those leads forward, and then passing them onto her team members so that they can collaborate with a client to develop solutions and execute on those programs together.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

In the consulting world, unfortunately, there are times where people are being put into projects or roles that aren’t necessarily their best fit. That bothered Donna Brighton, founder of Brighton Leadership Group. Donna believes in two things - understanding people and placing them in positions where they can be their absolute best and doing the right thing for clients. Her goal is to help high impact leaders to use their unique skills and perspective to lead in unexpected ways while achieving unprecedented results. They do that by helping leaders get their messages heard, their ideas adopted, and their teams following them to achieve their bold vision. Seeing the importance of leadership to consulting growth, Donna took that opportunity to launch the Brighton Leadership Group to help leaders become the best leaders they can possibly be. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Life presents itself for most of us if we're open to it. For Michael Brenner, going out on his own and become a consultant literally had people and mentors pushing him in that direction. Michael is the CEO of his own company called Marketing Insider Group where they do marketing consulting, leadership coaching, and keynote speaking for conferences and brands all over the world. Michael says shifting from executive positions to becoming a consultant was something he always wanted to do even early on in his career. His main objective is to help those that might be able to be helped by the things that he’s learned and the things that he’s done. Michael talks about the secret of happiness model and business strategies to help you fully function in your area of expertise.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

It's not about how much money you make. It's about how much you keep, what you do with that, and how it impacts your life, your freedom, your flexibility, your family, your community, and so forth. This is what profitability consulting is all about according to Thor Conklin, founder and CEO of Peak Performance Group. Sometimes it's as simple as shifting around the mindset from the tactical side to executive coaching and trying to figure out what’s going on in your business, what’s getting in the way, and going through the whole thing. It always comes back to the person. Thor says you need money to fulfill whatever purpose you have for your business or your life. Learn how you can create profit as Thor delves into the subject of profitability consulting and how to increase profits.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

When you’re selling yourself, a project, or a technology, at least from a technical perspective, firms want to find a technical implementer that can talk the tech talk but even more importantly be able to relate to those that write the checks. That's what Scott Eastin, owner of Eastin IT Security, would say is his big advantage. Scott can do the technical work, but more importantly, he can get up in front of people, tell some jokes, and try to make things fun when talking about technology or at least not put people to sleep. He says having those types of skills makes it a lot easier to close business. At the end of the day, Scott says if you put on your buyer's hat, that person wants to know if they can trust you to implement this particular technology or if you are someone that they trust and can do business with. Scott says that’s how he’s been able to scale a seven-figure consulting business and what helps him get lots of repeat customers.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

When people think of innovation, they're often looking externally at products and services, but there's so much innovation that can happen within companies. Oftentimes we create systems that we think have one outcome, but they can often have another or implications that we haven't seen. Workplace anthropologist and lead inventor Erin Hersey talks about her work as an innovation consultant. Erin goes into organizations and help companies understand their employees. She says the outcome of her work is often organizational insights, the same as what you would have with consumer insights, but these ones tend to be more focused on your people, your organizations, and the systems and structures that are in it. Erin shares some techniques on how to get top clients as an innovation consultant.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

To productize consulting services and build a sellable company, the ultimate challenge is to try to find something that you offer which is truly unique to what you do. It's very likely that if you canvas your customers, there is one or two things that you do better than anybody else. The raw material is going to be customer insight. Bestselling author and founder of five companies John Warrillow says they spend a lot of time talking to their customers and their salespeople as well to get a good intuition and a good sense of what is it that makes people buy from running the company. John says a fundamental decision consultants need to make answers two questions, “Do I want to have a lifestyle business where at the end of the day when I'm ready to retire, I close the doors and move on and there’s no value created?” or, “Do I want to create something of lasting value that is bigger than me personally that has an exit potential?”Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Recent buyer research proves that buyers respond much more to people who engage with them as leaders versus stereotypical sellers. Sales and leadership expert Deb Calvert thinks people should abandon those old stereotypical ways of selling that make them feel icky or pushy because that's not selling; that's manipulating and forcing. Manipulation not helpful to guide people to the place they want to go. Deb says effective selling is all about understanding the buyers’ needs and talking to them about it. It’s about helping them to envision it and to see the benefits of it. Learn from Deb Calvert as she shares some insights on how you and your buyer can both benefit from each other.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

If you're going to be successful in business, you have to be a salesperson. King of Sales Jeffrey Gitomer gives an account of his journey from selling Encyclopedia Britannica to consulting to writing and to creating a sales training empire. Jeffrey says consulting is a very easy way to begin to make money, but a very difficult way to continue to make money. He decided to stop and dabbled into writing because it’s been said that writing takes you from expert to authority. He developed written sales strategies based on personal experiences from his consulting practice and wrote a column for a business journal. Since then, Jeffrey has written one bestseller hit after another and even started a podcast. Discover some very helpful nuggets and best practices on what it takes to win.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Maybe it’s time to reconsider your marketing approach, particularly in your path to becoming a 7-figure consultant. While some people invest a lot of time into creating content or figuring out how to do advertising or speaking or going to a lot of trade shows, Barc Holmes of Coral Mountain Consulting has found an approach that works well for him. He is a master of not only building and nurturing, but strengthening relationships. Using his simple Agile user experience delivery framework, Barc says that he can guarantee an increase in your development team’s velocity by at least 25%. And if you value relationships, the potential results could be astounding. But here’s the thing: Advertising doesn't exist in a digital way. The difference between marketing and advertising and experience are all blurred together. You're providing information and value and if you want that value, you continue to have a relationship with that brand or those people. They're your friends more than they're your clients. With over 25 years of experience working with digital development executives in Fortune 500 companies like Disney, Intuit, Verizon, Citrix, American Honda, and many others, Barc has helped teams innovate, test, and deliver results faster. If you consider yourself a good manager or executive who needs just a few tips to move even a bit faster, then Coral Mountain Consulting is for you.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

The people that I see that struggle the most are those that say to themselves, “I want to see greater success. I want to see a greater result in my life and my business,” but yet, they're not prepared to change anything that they're currently doing. They're just trying to do more of the same stuff. If the same stuff isn't getting you to where you want to go, then doing more of it is not going to help. Isn't that the definition of insanity? You might be doing the same things over and over again, but still aren't working for you. Maybe it’s time to rebuild your consultant growth mindset. If you want a bigger result, you have to play bigger! That's why I'm sharing this with you because you've got it. You can be as successful as you want to be; whether that's making your first six figures, having a $500,000 a year, $1 million a year, and going beyond that. Whatever it is. It doesn't even have to be monetary. If you want to see greater success, you can achieve it; but you must be willing to take the actions required to get there. Don’t let fear of failure or a lack of confidence hold you back.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Growing portfolio companies must focus on their sales, messaging, and go-to-market. Craig Wortmann of Sales Engine consulting reveals the key to sell more: networking. People may roll their eyes, but it’s true! Networking is all about prepping beforehand, being crisp, articulate, compelling, and magnetic in the moment, with unbelievable follow-through. Try studying the follow-up that companies have from trade shows and events. When we're selling, it’s not about knowledge. It’s about skill and discipline, networking, and talking to 30 people in the room so you can find five that will materially impact your consulting pipeline’s next quarter. Craig Wortmann is also a venture partner with the Pritzker Group Venture Capital out of Chicago. As a consultant, Chris also runs a decade-old sales consulting firm called Sales Engine. Now he shares valuable tips on how he continues to slay in consulting – and you can, too!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Whether you’re an executive, a VP, a director, or whatever your level is within an organization, in most cases, it's not about you. Everything that you do is about the company. Even though much of the success the company is seeing is directly connected to you, you somehow feel uncomfortable talking about your accomplishments and contribution. When you leave the corporate world and decide to become a consultant, if you carry the same mindset that you had as an employee, that is going to hurt your business. This is why it's so important that you promote yourself, but you must do it the right way. As a real consultant, you're building your business based on relationships that you create with people based on meaningful conversations. Discover strategies on promoting yourself as a consultant the right way so you can enter into more meaningful conversations and take advantage of opportunities for greater growth.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

A lot of times, what we see for new product companies are you've got a couple of founders where one knows the product well because that started the idea, and then one knows how to market and sell the product. Once you have those two things together, the next piece is the ecommerce operations piece. Many times as companies grow quickly, the sales and marketing of those products quickly outpaces the operations. That's typically where Mike Gammarino and his team at Bluprint Partners come in to provide guidance and set a solid foundation for growth to help make sure that the ecommerce operations keep pace with sales. Mike talks about his transition from industrial engineering to the consulting space, and shares some tips on how you can help companies make sure that their product gets to their customers on time.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Anytime you're solving a business problem or anytime you're offering a service, one of the best ways to figure out what you should be offering is to find out what the market wants and figure out what problems the buyer is having and focusing on that. Open innovation catalyst Scott Wagers has been trying to address that question over the course of his career. Scott helps put together and deliver projects that are with multiple disciplines and multiple stakeholders in the life sciences, focusing and emphasizing on projects that will be disruptive in medicine or change the future of medicine. Scott talks about how he got into consulting and shares that he’s had to evolve and learn how to make that fit back to what was his main original mission in career and life which was trying to do something to improve the health of patients. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here’s How »Join the Consulting Success Community today:consultingsuccess.com

Lead generation webinars are a powerful tool for generating high-ticket sales appointments. In recent years, building high-converting sales webinars and sales presentations have become a top priority for coaches, consultants, and solo entrepreneurs looking to sell their courses through specialists. One such company is The Webinar Agency, run by Joel Erway. He’s been in the game for nearly four years, graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering technology in 2009 and lasting about eight months before he decided to make a pivot. Every time Joel’s manufacturer would give a presentation, Joel would look out in the audience and see people just falling asleep. Literally, they'd be falling asleep. You can't buy anything if you're not paying attention, if you can't stay awake. But get this: the first time he gave a presentation, Joel set off a spiral of new business which they had booked over the course of the next year, year and a half, which generated between $1 million and $3 million in revenue. Absolute madness! If that doesn’t convince you of Joel’s legitimacy, I don’t know what will. Aside from running The Webinar Agency, Joel also hosts the Sold with Webinars podcast, and a new podcast called Experts Unleashed, which focuses on coaches and consultants who sell their information for expertise. He interviews all sorts of different experts with the goal of teaching listeners how to spot, create, and seize opportunities to grow your solo expert-based business. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

What's the most productive time of your day? What would happen if you dedicated one hour of your most productive time to the most important person in the world every day? This is part of Bob Urichuk’s daily routine, and it has resulted in positive improvements to his business. He would visualize, doing anything to help him get where he wants to go at seven o'clock. Any behavior that gets recognized and rewarded gets repeated. Same goes for sales and marketing, where subtlety is highly appreciated. Bob Urichuk talks about the fine art of engaging buyers to buy. He has remained in the top ten sales gurus in the Global Gurus annual list, using his expertise in sales to help consultants and business owners. Bob teaches the opposite of selling, consulting in a way that allows people to engage buyers to buy as opposed to selling them or convincing them as it's traditionally known. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Sending hourly invoices to your client can get awkward really fast. Same thing for project-based consultants. But what if you can secure a contract that says, “The contract value is this much, but you pay me over the period of time”? And what if as a consultant, you can deploy the assets as you go? Well now you can do so by making the switch to subscription-based consulting. Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy, says that subscription is just a monthly revenue. He has had an incredible experience with this type of service model, and so has his clients. Nobody resented anyone because both sides knew exactly what they were getting – and everybody was winning. Jeb Blount is the founder and CEO of Sales Gravy, a training development and self-acceleration advisory company that operates globally. He is the author of nine books, including an upcoming one called Objections: The Ultimate Guide for Mastering The Art and Science of Getting Past No. Their practice focuses primarily on customer-facing activities, whether in training or optimizing a company’s sales organization. Sales Gravy focuses on how human beings grapple with other human beings for influence. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

If you aspire to make it as a Fortune 500 company, then you might want to consider corporate consulting to help you bridge that gap from strategy to execution. Luckily we have Suzanne Bates to guide potential leaders with her company, Bates Communications. Based in Boston, they work with leaders and teams become more effective in accomplishing their tasks – both as teams and as individuals. By investing first in your own learning with Bates Communications, hitting your company’s year-end goal is a piece of corporate cake. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

When stakes are high, people turn to RSM Consulting’s Joe Decilveo, Jr. His expertise is frequently tapped in areas around shareholder litigation, regulatory investigations, plea agreements, commercial disputes and other potentially difficult situations. Joe joined RSM in 2011 with a small team of professionals to complement RSM’s Chicago-based bankruptcy and insolvency practice. Under his leadership, the practice has grown from fewer than ten to more than 70 professionals, from one partner in one office to five partners in offices in nearly ten cities. Learn how Joe helped catapult the practice of litigation consulting to the next level. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

You might be focused on growing your business, but what do you have planned after that? Maybe it’s time for you to start an exit strategy the BraveHeart way with Randy and Ellen Long to teach you how. Randy is CEO of Long Business Advisors, LLC, creator of the BraveHeart Planning Process, and author of the book, The BraveHeart Exit: 7 Steps to Creating Your Family Business Legacy. Ellen is a mentor at TekMountain and continues the Long family’s commitment to excellence by providing business consulting services for clients and coordinating the BraveHeart Planning Process. Randy and Ellen are passionate about helping business owners prepare for a transition to the next generation or prepare for a third party sale. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Roadblocks. Every company wants them removed, but very few consultants can truly tell you how. Glenn Mattson is President of Mattson Enterprise Inc., a Sandler Training consulting firm specializing in sales and management productivity and effectiveness. Glenn’s work with Mattson Enterprise Inc. in conducting public and private workshops, corporate programs, and one-on-one strategic sessions for corporate executives, business owners and/or individuals who find themselves in a sales/management role. He follows a simple process of defining where his client wishes "to be" in comparison to his/her current "as is" status. They also provide on-going support, reinforcement, and networking through an alliance of business and sales professionals. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

When you put yourself in your client’s shoes, you’ll understand that the resistance to change comes from their fear of the unknown. They have attached themselves to practices that have been serving them well in the past but isn’t working for them in the present. She explains that this situation is very common that it has become the norm rather than the exception. As a consultant during these situations, you need to become an active listener and understand your clients on an emphatic level. Noelle Mykolenko’s best practice in consulting is being an active listener to her client’s culture and vision, taking notes, and letting the client talk through their emotions that are tied up with their business. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

As a consultant, your goal is to make connections and help clients realize that they can trust you to make the changes their company needs to make. This often means that you will be consulting through resistance. Kelly Roach came into the business of consulting by always hearing people around her saying “Who does this kid think she is, coming in here and telling us what we need to do?” Instead of forcing them into her team, she worked hard to earn their respect and trust. Her mindset of recognizing that she is not entitled to the trust of the company off the bat helped her build connections and showed the company that they can win when they link arms with her. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Looking into what we really think, how we make decisions, and what gets us to act keep us in check. This is very crucial to know because what drives us as individuals is indicative of what is important to us and the direction that we want to take our business. This could also help you really focus on the few things that matter instead of focusing on everything and anything that's out there, and working with a handful of people that you enjoy working with and know you can deliver results to. Check out and learn from the 10 Guiding Principles we’ve created and compiled on what drives us and what's really important to us inside our consulting business and life. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

One of the barriers in a consulting firm is having every form of competition and figuring out how to reinvent yourself to stand out from the crowd. Having the mindset of reinventing yourself plays an integral role when you are a solo consultant because it helps you provide different types of value to clients. President and Managing Director of North Highland, Alex Bombeck, has always believed that retooling and reskilling himself is an effective way to build relationships. He shares how he got into the media advertising space and how he operates his business from the perspective of his clients. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:  

When you deliver value to people and show them that you are there to help solve their problem, you create connections and build relationships that get you opportunities you may have otherwise missed. As an organizational psychologist, Richard Citrin follows this concept because he knows that consultancy is a business of relationships. Richard has always shared his values of contributing and giving back to the community. He was able to leverage those connections because people already know that he can do a good job, and so they are more than willing to help him along the way. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:  

Every business owner starting up has this mindset that they need to get everything done from day one. Startups spend a lot of time thinking, planning, and trying to get everything done before they even open. He went through this phase as well. He broke out of that and went to a level higher by taking action to find out what would work to get the results that he wanted, and then adjusted it to get to where he is right now as the Creative Director of Thirst Craft. He had a direction and moved towards it when he focused on specialize beers, wine, and spirits by learning the business of design as well as dealing with the mindset of losing opportunities. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

During the time when coaching and consulting wasn’t as easy as it is today, Carl Gould didn’t offer any excuses for the lack of progress. Instead he continued through and his experiences during those challenging days are now the biggest factors that set him apart from other coaches. Carl transitioned from construction to consulting and realized he was missing opportunities in areas he had no expertise in. His solution was to start consulting as a team. Carl shares that when you are building your bench of superstars, the key is to develop the right culture where everyone has the same vision and values. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

In the competitive business world, we all need to look inside and see what makes us stand out and relevant from the rest of the crowd. Oftentimes, it is our journey and how we tell it that connects us with people. Willard Barth learned that being authentic and transparent is the best way to connect with people because it shows them the steps to success you are sharing are not just theories. Willard has helped many companies grow with two processes he calls The Seven Stages Methodology and The Anatomy Of Transformation, both of which have led people to recognize him not just as the guy in a fancy suit, but as every other business owner who made mistakes, picked himself up, and came up on top and shares to the rest of the world how he did it. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:  

When working hard doesn't work, there has to be something else. A defining moment happened in John Mitchell’s life where he was afraid he was not getting the exceptional life of freedom, lifestyle, and sense of accomplishment that he had always wanted. His search for the top book on success and achievement ever written led him to Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich. From that, he developed the 12-Minute-A-Day Methodology. Applying this science will influence your actions and thoughts to help you operate on a higher level than you ever had before. He shares that what you envision in detail on a daily basis is what shows up in your life. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Have you ever felt like you needed to do something else but didn't know what that was? Jason Treu is the CEO’s secret weapon. His work as an executive coach revolves around helping entrepreneurs, executives and rising stars increase their leadership and performance. He helps them map out their business blueprint, either starting their business from scratch or taking them to the next level. Working with over a hundred high performing individuals, Jason learned that 75% of people's challenges are not external. He realizes that getting to know his clients on a deeper level helps him get that level of trust and transparency to start delving deep into their psyche and help them beat the business mind games to get to where they need to go and move the roadblocks standing in the way of their success. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Today I’m very excited to be joined by Perry Marshall. Perry is the author of several fantastic sales and marketing books and splits his time between higher-end client work and equity in companies as well as his science and technology project Evolution 2.0. Today we’re diving deep into the ways you can find your ideal clients, how to successfully manage your sales, marketing strategies, and business growth, and what to do next when you finally reach the level of consulting success that you’ve been working towards. Perry shares some really great insights into the ways you can reach those goals even sooner than you hoped and I know you’ll be inspired by his success. It’s all on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Perry Marshall.   30 Ways to Find Your Next New Client Most people know Perry as the author of sales and marketing books, but that is just the tip of his professional iceberg. Like Perry, successful consultants tend to have a wide variety of services they can offer the world. Consultants are thought leaders and thought leaders are naturally prolific with their ideas. Each one of those ideas just may be the one that will land your next new client. You can’t be afraid to act on any one of them. There is safety in casting your net wide, and Perry shares multiple ideas on how you can do just that. From writing books to hosting workshops and securing speaking engagements on podcasts and in seminars, every effort to gain greater exposure in the marketplace will bring greater security to your work. By utilizing different formats and materials, you are reaching all kinds of customers and adding diversity to your portfolio. But before you extend yourself too far, you’ll want to listen to the cautionary tale that Perry shares about securing this kind of diversity. It took several steps to gain legitimacy for his work, at which point he traded revenue for longevity. You’ll hear him explain why the trade-off was completely worth it and you just may be inspired to find ways that you can step out of your niche to become a more recognized expert in your field. Just like Perry, there will be times when you need to adjust your approach to your consulting business along the way. If none of your marketing strategies will provide you any return for another five years, you need to find a way to speed things up. On the other hand, if you’ve found an instantly successful strategy, examine it to see if there is a way you can make it a long-term sustainable facet of your business strategy. In both scenarios, the efforts you put in have the potential of producing great results.   The Evolution of Sales and Marketing If you can dedicate two years to your business, you can achieve consulting success. In the early stages of your consulting business, it is critical that you remain very focused on generating immediate revenue. Once you’ve got that pipeline of business in place, you can look forward to the next level of business. But how do you get there? Perry has four action points to help you get started. First, send out regular emails that are filled with high-quality content. Every email you send should make your readers want to read the next one, as well. And you never know which email will help you secure your next client. Second, dig a deep trench. Your business is your castle, and you have to protect it from destruction with a secure moat. If you can do this, you can immunize yourself from competition. You can start digging your trench by asking yourself this question — how hard would it be for someone else to do the same thing I’m doing? If your work is easily duplicated, your business is not going to last for long. You can prevent this duplication from happening by following Perry’s next point. Third, you have to build your network. You will hear this advice on every episode of The Consulting Success Podcast. Any time that you commit to your network increases the security of your business. Network growth can be as small and simple as gathering positive reviews on Google. But when you get to your customers first — before your competition does — you can start building your business first. And that advantage brings with it security and success. Finally, you need to ask yourself, “How can every client that I get create more value for every client that I already have?” You can make this happen by digging deeper into your niche. By specializing and identifying your ideal client, you are securing your position as the industry expert. And once you do this, the clients will come more easily than ever. Specializing is a critical step to building your consulting business. You can’t afford not to, even when considering the potential work that you might be leaving behind. If you’re hesitant to specialize, you need to listen to Perry’s explanation of the ‘disqualification process’ that comes with focusing your efforts. Instead of trying to convince people that they should work you with, you need to identify the kinds of people and businesses that you are not willing to work with. Taking every gig that comes along may be where you had to start in the early stages of developing your consultancy, but as your business grows you have to be selective. The consultant that is willing to dig deep and create stability for their company is the one that is going to rise to the top. For Perry, this meant focusing in on GoogleAds. For you, it might mean something else. Whatever it is, if you can gain the attention of your specialized marketplace, you will find success. By securing your position as the specialist, you will get where you want to be. People may not be able to remember five different things you can do, but if you can be remembered for one good thing, you can also make yourself available to help them with their other problems that you can solve.   Managing Business Growth In 2008, Perry decided it was time to expand his business. Companies around the world were retreating, but Perry saw an opportunity for growth. He took a chance, and his efforts were just about 50% successful. But the lessons he learned through the process were crucial ones. The biggest lesson Perry learned was this — at least half of the work that you do can be automated. Most likely, only 25% of the work of your business cannot be done by anyone else but you. Are you putting your effort where it needs to be? Learn from Perry’s experiences and start focusing on that 25%.   The Next Step After Achieving Consulting Success Picture it — you’ve finally arrived. Your business is successful, you’re turning away requests for work, and hand-selecting the clients you want to do business with. Maybe it’s even time to sell your business for a healthy profit. But is that the right step? Many successful consultants find that getting a big pile of money — while it sounds very nice — is not actually the answer to achieving true success in your life’s work. In the heart of so many consultants, success comes when we get to wake up in the morning, solve somebody else’s problems and feel truly useful in the world. That is what successful consultants want to do. If you feel like you’ve gotten lost along the way or like you’ve forgotten the true purpose of your work, you need to listen to my conversation with Perry. Your mindset about your work will affect your success more than anything else. No matter how big your company grows or how big your income is, your problems aren’t going to go away. But your approach to solving those problems will make all the difference in your success. I want to encourage you to enjoy the journey and embrace the lessons you’re learning along the way. When you do, true success will start to come easily. Join me and Perry Marshall today as he shares his story of finding consulting success on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   Key Takeaways: [:32] Introducing Perry Marshall, online marketing strategist, entrepreneur, and author. [5:39] The benefit of diversifying your portfolio and gaining exposure in the marketplace. [12:46] The evolution of Perry’s sales and marketing approach. [19:38] How important is specializing when growing your consulting business? [26:38] Lessons Perry has learned while managing business growth. [35:20] Your consulting business is finally successful — now what? [45:00] Connecting with Perry Marshall.   Mentioned in This Episode: Perry Marshall 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More, by Perry Marshall Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords: How to Access 100 Million People in 10 Minutes, by Perry Marshall Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising: How to Access 1 Billion Potential Customers in 10 Minutes, by Perry Marshall Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Today I’m sharing another chapter from my newest book The Elite Consulting Mind: 16 Proven Mindsets to Attract More Clients, Increase Your Income and Achieve Meaningful Success. This book is full of principles — all proven by elite consultants — that you can use to overcome challenges, remove obstacles, and grow your business significantly. I want to share with you one of the 16 mindsets from the book that is a vital step in achieving next-level consulting success and the opportunity to work with high value clients. Whether you’re just getting into the consulting business or you are a seasoned consulting veteran but aren’t experiencing the level of success and results you desire, this book offers you the advantage you need. Join me as we explore one of the 16 mindsets that elite consultants employ on this special episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   Outreach, Imperfected “What is the most important step you could take right now to get more business?” I posed this question to Bella, a successful consultant who has worked for many high-powered businesses and has clearly enjoyed a successful consulting career. But on this day, she didn’t seem to be enjoying herself at all. She didn’t have an immediate answer to my question, so I tried a different approach. “How do you win new business?” This time she answered quickly, and we dove into a conversation about the essential first step of  meeting with potential clients. The problem that led her to me soon became apparent as she listed off to me the number of reasons why she didn’t feel prepared to put herself in front of new clients at this time. Her message wasn’t polished, her website wasn’t updated. … In short, she was paralyzed by imperfection. I’m sure that you, like most consultants, recognize that getting in front of new clients and creating conversations is the key to growing your business. Despite knowing this, too many consultants find reasons to avoid it. There always seems to be some excuse, a reason to delay, or something else to work on first. We avoid putting ourselves out there because we crave certainty. In hopes of making conditions as perfect as possible, too many consultants work on other things, and keep making excuses. The need to constantly attend to the website, the blog, or the research are just distractions that are keeping you from actually taking the action needed to gain real certainty. Messaging and marketing are two of the biggest hang-ups for far too many consultants. As you prepare your value proposition, many other questions may arise, which can too quickly lead to paralyzing doubts. These doubts lead to a constant tweaking of these details are simply keeping you from taking that critical first step of putting your message into action.   Are You A Perfectionist? You want to know that everything is in order before you take action. You work hard to position every word and you wait for the starts to be perfectly aligned before proceeding. You just may be a perfectionist. The problem is that attaining perfection is extremely rare, and even when it does happen, it takes time. Let’s take a look at one of the most famous companies in the world that also happens to be filled with a history of errors and mistakes made in their 130 years in business. If you are a perfectionist, you need to hear the story of Coca-Cola. Despite their many blunders, Coca-Cola remains one of the most recognizable brands and in the world, in large part because they aren’t waiting for perfection to try new things. You shouldn't either. Anytime you start something new or do something you haven’t done before, you face uncertainty, but you can’t let that fear hold you back. When you fail to take action because you're not 100% confident that your message and marketing will hit the mark the first time, you are relying on a marketing of hope. If you’re relying solely on your network and referrals to help secure business, you will eventually run out of help. That’s when the trouble begins.   Get The Momentum Going If you’re not doing outreach you’ll have fewer opportunities to get in front of your clients, which leads only to fewer conversations, fewer proposals, and fewer projects won. On the other hand, once you start doing outreach, momentum starts building. More conversations lead to more clients, which leads to more opportunities to identify value and make proposals to buyers. All of that will lead to more business. Take action today. Your message and your marketing don’t have to be perfect to create the results you want. Success doesn’t demand complete accuracy right from the start. You can adjust and optimize things along the way. Even without perfection in place, the most successful people simply get started. They implement ideas and they take action. It is possible to build your business and perfect your message at the same time. By doing so, your outreach will become consistently more effective. Course corrections are often necessary, but that never means that you shouldn’t keep trying. And eventually, you will reach the point that it feels easy to attract high value clients. You have a choice — you can either harness the power of imperfect action to your advantage, or you can hide behind theoretical perfection and do nothing. In this chapter of The Elite Consulting Mind, you will learn all about this mindset and the action that is critical for you to achieve next-level consulting success. You can find more information about The Elite Consulting Mind on our website at www.consultingsuccess.com/mindsetbook.   Key Takeaways: [:33] The key to success is outreach, imperfected. [4:07] Perfectionism paralyzes opportunity and kills productivity. [8:30] How successful consultants share their imperfect message and marketing. [11:10] The magic that comes with attempted, although imperfect outreach.   Mentioned in This Episode: The Elite Consulting Mind: 16 Proven Mindsets to Attract More Clients, Increase Your Income and Achieve Meaningful Success, by Michael Zipursky   Tweetables: “Most consultants know that getting in front of new clients and creating conversations with them is the key to growing their business. Despite this, many of them find reasons to avoid it.” — Michael Zipursky “It’s only when you take steps toward the action that you want to achieve that you will start to find the certainty that you are looking for.” — Michael Zipursky “The only way to find out if your message works is to put it into action.” — Michael Zipursky “Success requires taking risks, and taking risks means stepping boldly into uncertainty.” — Michael Zipursky “Your message and your marketing don’t have to be perfect to create the results you want.” — Michael Zipursky Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

I’m very pleased to be joined today by Chester Elton, a recognized expert in business and leadership. Chester has worked together with his partner, Adrian Gostick, for over 20 years to create networks where people feel engaged, enabled, and energized. They are the authors of several leadership books, including the newly released The Best Team Wins: The New Science of High Performance. Known as “The Carrot Guys,” Chester and Adrian believe that as you motivate and recognize passionate people in the right positions and create a culture they connect with, business success will naturally follow. In our conversation, we dive into the importance of writing the best books, ways to successfully grow your consulting business, and how to increase your expertise so that you can increase your consulting fees, all on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Chester Elton.   Writing The Best Books Before becoming a world-renowned author and cultivator of successful business culture, Chester worked for his college newspaper at Brigham Young University in Utah. After graduation he worked in advertising in New York City, selling both ad space and ‘air space.’  Soon he started down the path of selling recognition programs, where he worked for 19 years to help businesses understand the importance of valuing and recognizing their employees. His first book was the genesis of his relationship with Adrian Gostick, as well as his positioning as a thought leader of recognition in the business world. 11 books, 1.5 million copies and 30 languages later, Chester and Adrian have clearly set themselves apart in exactly the ways they set out to. Any consultant who has ever considered writing a book recognizes the mountain before them.  It can seem entirely overwhelming to even know where to start. For Chester, there was little trepidation when faced with the daunting task of writing his first book, and he gives that credit to the support system that he surrounded himself with. Just as you’ve heard me say many times before, his network was the key to his success. His network became the critical link to his success. Between his partnership with Adrian, their editor, publisher, and the many mentors who supported them along the way, the partners were able to confidently conquer their first book, as well as the many other books that have followed. If you can surround yourself by people that will encourage you along the way, you will be able to conquer the mountain of expert writing as well, and you will enjoy the benefits that follow soon after. The quality writing that you produce, whether it be as monumental as your first book or as simple as a white paper or blog post, will be beneficial the success of your consulting business.  Writing helps to solidify your why — not just what you do and how you do it, but why you are doing it and why other people should listen to you as a thought leader in your industry.   Charging Fees Like An Expert Once you have established yourself as an expert, you can charge the fees that accompany expertise. Chester and Adrian started their speaking engagements at a mere $1,000 per event.  But their success quickly escalated as they became more accomplished writers. As they charged more for their speaking events, they found that more important people started attending their sessions. When they started charging upwards of $20,000 per session, the CEO started showing up. As a result of their successful writing and speaking engagements, people began inquiring about the training options they offered. So once again the team tapped into their network, surrounded themselves with smart people and created a very successful training practice. Along pathway to success, Chester and Adrian have always been sure to keep their focus front and center. By remembering their why they have been able to continuously enjoy success and help people wake up in the morning to a job that they love. Chester talks about the inspiration he’s gained from Marshall Goldsmith, and you may find similarities between him and the mentors that you have chosen to surround yourself with as you pursue your consulting success. Chester is another example of the successful consulting truth that I constantly share — your network is the greatest tool that you have in your possession.   The Intentional Evolution of a Successful Business Creating a successful consulting business requires intentionality. Chester shares his story of the natural evolution of his business and points out that the key to success was the intentional effort that he and Adrian put into it. Again, the main and recurring theme of Chester’s success — like so many other consultants — is the network that he leaned on. The people that he surrounded himself with helped him to realize the success that he enjoys today. Chester notes that one of the greatest things he’s learned from his mentors is the mistakes that they have made along the way. Like him, there is no reason for you to make every common consulting mistake yourself — you can connect yourself to the best people in your industry and let them teach you, based on their experiences. You should also not be afraid to grow slowly, or be afraid to have patience with your company as you figure out how to meet your financial and timeline goals. If you feel like you’re rushing, have the confidence to step back and patiently work through the problems in front of you so that you can get it right. You’ll want to hear his advice to understand how it can work for you, too. This advice he shares may seem obvious, but it has made all the difference in Chester’s success — intentionality shows through in everything you do. If you want to write a best-selling book, write a really great book! The intentionality that you put into any of your work will show through, and the transition from expert writer to expert speaker, and then to expert trainer will be a very natural one. In addition to writing, Chester shares a second critical part of success, which is being very public about the work you are doing. You have to be willing to put yourself out there and connect with as many people as you can. LinkedIn is an excellent resource for building your network in any industry, and I hope you are using it to your full advantage. If not, listen to the challenge that Chester has for you to optimize your publicity and network opportunities, and you just may realize that there is more you could be doing to maximize the intentional success of your consultancy.   The Purpose Behind The Carrot Guys Having a purpose is endearing to people. For Chester, the work of helping people motivate and appreciate their employees has become his purpose. He talks about his mascot, his motivation, and the voice that he has found from his work as one of the two very successful Carrot Guys. As you listen to this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast, ask yourself — as you enjoy the journey, what are you doing today to live the dream? When you know your answer, you will be able to hone your message and fine-tune your brand. If you can share the why of your work with your friends and your network, you will be able to stay focused and stay successful in your growing consulting business. As we wrap up our conversation, Chester shares some really great tips about the absolute importance of staying focused on your work, remembering your whys, and how you can find the consulting success you’ve been seeking as a result. You won’t want to miss out on the many ways that this advice has worked in his life, and you can hear all about it on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Chester Elton.   Key Takeaways: [:20] Meeting Chester Elton — leadership expert, cultivator of thriving business culture and accomplished author. [5:00] Finding the courage to author your first book starts with the strength of your network. [7:25] Key tips for positioning yourself as an expert consultant, speaker, and writer. [12:26] The intentional evolution of a successful consulting business. [18:44] Chester’s top business mistakes — learning experiences — that you can learn from. [22:13] Upcoming projects and excitement for Chester, starting with The Best Team Wins. [24:30] All about the whys behind The Carrot Guys. [27:09] Connecting with Chester.   Mentioned in This Episode: Chester Elton The Culture Works The Best Team Wins: The New Science of High Performance, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton All In: How the Best Managers a Create Culture of Belief and Drive Big Results, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton What Motivates Me: Put Your Passions to Work, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton Managing With Carrots: Using Recognition to Attract and Retain the Best People, by Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick Marshall Goldsmith’s MG100 I Am Third, by Gale Sayers   Tweetables: “Writing helps to galvanize your philosophy of not just what you do and how you do it, but why you do it.” — Chester Elton “When you charge $1,000 you get the staff; when you charge $20,000 the CEO will show up.” — Chester Elton “Surround yourself with good people and smart people and realize — there are a lot of things you don’t know.” — Chester Elton “Don’t be afraid to be patient, and don’t be afraid to grow your business slowly.”  — Chester Elton Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! 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In today’s episode, I’m joined by Jon DeWaal, a life transition specialist who helps people work through the personal side effects of making major life transitions. He describes his work as counseling, coaching, career counseling, and spiritual direction, all rolled into one. Jon has joined me today to discuss the questions you can ask yourself about your level of discipline, commitment, and ability to affect meaningful change in your growing consulting business. We examine the need to make changes in your business before you hit the bottom, the importance of discipline and conversations, and the difference between consultants who wish they could get things done and the ones who are willing to put in the work to make things happen, all on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Jon DeWaal.   Writing The Best Story For Your Life It took falling off a roof to make Jon realize that he wasn’t living the life he wanted. Fresh out of college, Jon had spent four years building up a business as an independent contractor when his life suddenly — and unexpectedly — started down a new path. After the fall, Jon found himself lying in a hospital bed examining his life situation. He reluctantly and painfully admitting that he no longer wanted to do the same work he had been doing, and a new chapter began. He started exploring different options with a close friend and mentor, and after realizing that he was part of a story that he no longer wanted to be in, Jon knew that change was on the horizon. Once he started contemplating the stories that he did want to see in his future, Jon realized that what he wanted more than anything was to make a meaningful impact on the world. More so than his potential house or salary size, Jon wondered what it would look like to leave a mark on a person. To use his gifts and strengths on their behalf, and to become a force that provoked with really good questions, a strong sense of presence, and a source of invitation — to help others see a different story for their personal and professional future. There is a good chance that you became a consultant because you have found yourself at a similar crossroads in your career. Taking the leap into consultancy might have meant a major shift in your life story, as well. If so, you’ll want to listen on to hear more about the success that Jon found once he began pursuing his new life dream.   Main Challenges of Business Owners Every business owner is faced with a barrage of challenges, questions, and problems. The first challenge that Jon admits to dealing with, even with his own work, is the feeling of never spending enough time working on your business. Instead, business owners often find themselves down in the trenches doing work for the business. Too often, business owners haven’t built boundaries for themselves. They don’t have a clear focus on the direction that they want their business to go, and that can cause major problems with the growth of a company. Jon shares an example of a small company in Seattle that quickly grew from $250,000 to over $1 million in revenue. Because they weren’t adequately prepared for this growth, too much of their time was spent in reactive mode — putting out fires — and they needed the guidance of someone like Jon to help them refocus and move forward with their work. He asks deep and meaningful questions while helping businesses through this significant growth transition, including, “Who are you now as a business?” “What does it mean to create space and time to lead this organization differently?” These are not questions that can be answered, or acted upon, easily, but they are questions that you need to ask yourself. Examining your company’s weaknesses and identifying areas of needed growth is essential to the health of your business. There has to be dedicated space within each week, month, and year in order to effectively lead an organization rather than just stay in it day after day. Some of these ideas may seem new and overwhelming as your business starts to grow up, but taking the time to answer these questions and effect meaningful change in your business will offer you tremendous rewards. Many of Jon’s clients feel bombarded with the daily work, projects, and emergencies that every consultant faces — delivering on client projects, handling personal and professional situations and balancing a busy work schedule. There never seems to be enough time to dedicate productive time to work on the business, rather than just working in it. Does this sound familiar to you?   The Number One Reason You Aren’t Focused So many clients that I talk to have the same problem — they aren’t spending enough time working on their business. Even though they know deep down that they need to spend more focused time growing and developing their business, they just can’t seem to find a way to make it happen. Jon has seen the same thing in his work, and he has an explanation for it. Jon shares what he believes is the number one reason for not getting the most important things done, and that is an overall lack of discipline. A lack of discipline creates so many problems in businesses, in particular with getting things done. Disciplines are essential to the success and health of your company, and they are so valuable because they help contain the creative places. Jon ask his clients some hard questions here as well — “What does it mean to actually own your schedule?” “Do you know where the value-adding activities are as you work to distinguish yourself in the marketplace?” “What do you need to become more of in your role as a business owner?” Asking yourself these kinds of questions can help you develop a core language and real sense of identity for your business as it grows. Once you understand the beliefs that are driving your behaviors, it becomes easier to form new habits that will help to drive your business forward and help you reach the milestones you’ve set for your consultancy.   The Key Role of Commitment I see a lot of consultants that will tell you that they want to grow their business — on the surface.  But there is a big difference between those who are truly committed and those who are simply interested in making growth changes. Too many consultants spend their time talking about their plans for change, but when it actually comes time for taking action, they find reasons and excuses to not put in the work that is required to get it done. You can wish for things to happen in your business, but it’s only when you really want to put in the work that things will really start to happen. It’s usually only when the pain has grown to a point that you decide you’re willing to do the hard work of creating new disciplines tied to the commitments that you want for your business that change starts to happen. But that doesn’t have to be the case for you! You don’t have to get to the point of pain to set goals and make change happen in your consultancy. You need to listen to my conversation with Jon to find out how you can avoid hitting that low point before taking your business to a higher level. There will have to be trade-offs in order to achieve the higher level of consulting success that you have been seeking, but it will be worth it. Change is a natural and essential part of growing your business, and you don’t need to fear it.  Change does not mean that things are going wrong. If you can embrace change and the uncertainty that can come with it, you may just find that even better things are about to happen for your business. You need to consider how you can apply the advice that Jon shares during our conversation in a very honest way and you may find that it will provide an even greater value for you.   Building A Network and Securing New Clients For the past eight years, Jon has made a dedicated effort to expand his network in every way possible. In addition to his work with clients, he also teaches at a local educational institution, has weekly meetings with his network in BNI (Business Network International), and is a member of his local Chamber of Commerce. Each of these steps to build his network requires a measure of discipline and builds awareness around the work that he does. When he was about four years into his work, Jon reached the point that he was able to choose the kinds of clients that he wanted to work with. This is a milestone that every consultant wants to reach, and for Jon, it took years of disciplined work to achieve. There were moments of disappointment and setbacks, but Jon surrounded himself with people that encouraged him to keep moving forward, and the payoff has made it all worth it. Jon shares two words of advice for any consultant that wants to meet the milestones of success as soon as possible. First, there is great value in writing — sharing your content through newsletters, blog posts, and articles has the power to increase your credibility substantially. Trust in yourself and don’t be afraid to put your content out there for the world to learn from. It does require discipline, but the benefits it brings to your company will quickly become apparent. The second piece of advice he shares is to have the discipline to maintain positive and encouraging relationships no matter how busy your work and life become. For some, that may come through personal friendships, others it will be with a mentor or coach. Whatever it is for you, make sure that you take time to maintain the relationships that will help support you on your road to success. If you’ve been listening to The Consulting Success Podcast for any amount of time, you will recognize some of these same themes popping up, posing the need to ask yourself some hard and honest questions about your commitment to the success of your consultancy — “Are you disciplined enough to have continual conversations within your network?” “Are you committed to making meaningful and necessary changes for your consulting business?” If you’re unsure of your answers to these questions, along with the questions Jon posed earlier, then you need to listen to this episode. I know you will gain great insight into ways that you can increase your discipline and commit to real change as you listen to my conversation with Jon DeWaal on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   Key Takeaways: [:17] Introducing Jon DeWaal — life transition specialist, fall survivor, and asker of hard questions. [8:37] The most common challenge that business owners face is their busy-ness. [10:23] The need for real discipline and a lasting commitment to growing your business. [16:14] The benefits of embracing change as it comes to your consultancy. [21:04] Jon’s advice for building a business and securing new clients. [24:29] The value of sharing your content and maintaining your relationships. [29:48] How you can connect with Jon.   Mentioned in This Episode: Liminal Space "Everything Is Waiting For You," by David Whyte BNI —  Business Network International   Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Elizabeth Woolfe, a passionate consultant with a focus on nonprofit organizations in the healthcare industry. There is a common misconception in the consulting world that working with nonprofit organizations means that there are no profits to be had for consultants. Many consultants avoid working with nonprofits for this very reason, and you may be one of them. Elizabeth has joined me today to explain how you can create a thriving, successful consulting business in the nonprofit market. We discuss the importance of using your network, trusting yourself, and overcoming business anxiety. She shares examples of how to effectively ask for referrals and how to grow your business to the point that you can choose the clients you are working for. It’s all in this episode of the The Consulting Success Podcast with Elizabeth Woolfe.   Does Non-Profit Equal No Profit For Consultants? We start out with Elizabeth sharing the story of how she got connected with nonprofit organizations. She has actually dedicated her career to working with nonprofit organizations once she recognized how greatly nonprofits would benefit from working with a consultant but are often the organizations that are the least able to afford to hire one. Elizabeth has always been interested in the healthcare industry. While her fear of chemistry did keep her from becoming a doctor, she stayed focused in the healthcare field and has had no regrets about her career path. After earning her Master’s in Public Health from UCLA, she began working with health education in New York. Once she was connected with those involved in the breast cancer movement, her work as a consultant began. She saw a need for more support in the movement and started linking organizations with companies that wanted to help with breast cancer awareness. Elizabeth, like so many other successful consultants, identified a gap in her industry and developed a way to fill it. There is a common misconception in the consulting world that working with non-profit organizations means that there are no profits to be had for consultants, and you may feel the same way. Perhaps you have seen an opportunity to fill a need in your industry but are hesitant because it doesn’t seem possible to get the value you are seeking. Too many consultants avoid working for this very reason, but I think my conversation with Elizabeth will change your mind. She shares four essential ideas on how you, too, can create a thriving, successful consulting business, either in the nonprofit or for-profit market, in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   Working Your Network The first essential step to finding success in any industry is to build a network that is filled with people that you can rely on. When Elizabeth decided to start her consulting business, she told everyone she knew about her plan. The trust that people already had in her character and her ability to deliver results brought in some of her first jobs. Even today, almost all of her clients come to her via word of mouth. Her reputation precedes her in all that she does, and the result has always meant more opportunities for work. By actively working her network, Elizabeth has been able to grow her business and continually entertain project requests. She maintains that by being generous with her time and helping other people find solutions to their problems, she is benefitting as well from the strengthened network. There is plenty of room in the consulting world for more than one person to approach a problem, so she doesn’t consider sharing ideas and working through problems with other consultants as competition. Instead, she has been given even more opportunities and referrals as a result of her willingness to work alongside others. There is definitely a benefit to taking advantage of tools such as LinkedIn to help with networking, but there is no real substitute for making personal and real connections with people you have actually met and done business with. Introducing your colleagues to other colleagues will extend your reach, and as Elizabeth says, you really never know where your connections will take you until you actually start making them.   Asking For Referrals If you’ve ever felt unsure of the best way to actually ask for referrals, you need to listen to my conversation with Elizabeth. Consultants generally don’t want to appear too pushy or “salesy” but asking for referrals is one of the best ways that you can secure more work for yourself. This is Elizabeth’s second critical step in finding success in your consulting business. Once you are deep in the work of your business and effectively connecting with others, asking for referrals should come as a natural part of the conversations that you are having with your clients. Be sure to listen for the specific examples that Elizabeth shares of dialogue that you can use to ask for referrals without putting anyone on the spot or pushing too far. An important distinction to make when asking for referrals is the reason why you are doing it. In Elizabeth’s case with working with nonprofits, the genuine care and concern that she has for helping these organizations succeed is the driving force behind her requests for referrals. When you truly care about making a difference in the success of your client’s work, your intentions will show through. Your clients will be happy to give you referrals because of the trust that they have in you, and the sincere efforts that you are making to serve others. Once you’ve pinpointed your motivation, whether or not you actually land the client doesn’t really matter. The genuine care that comes with your efforts will be apparent, and trust within in your network will continue to grow. You’ll want to listen to our conversation as Elizabeth shares the pivotal moment in which she realized that her success was determined by her motivation, and it started when she started feeling especially anxious about her work. Many consultants deal with anxiety when thinking about the future of their business, clients, and projects. When Elizabeth was faced with these questions, she was given some career-altering advice. She was told the same thing that you will hear me constant telling consultants — trust that what you do is important, use your network, and be confident in the things that your clients are learning from you. That is really the key to finding success in your consultancy. It is essential that you trust in the work that you are doing for the organizations you are working for, and that you believe in yourself. If you can master this step, you will be able to enjoy the confidence and success that comes as a result.   Finding Balance While Building Your Business Like many consultants, Elizabeth started her consultancy as a result of wanting to achieve a greater balance in her life. Her desire to spend more time with her family and on her interests instead of commuting and working for other people gave her the push she needed to get started. This desire to find more balance brought with it the need to maintain that balance.  Building your business can become an all-consuming endeavor, but it doesn’t have to be. Instead of allowing your business to take over you, you have to take control of how you approach it. This is Elizabeth’s third step to success. Marketing, networking, and business development should become a habit that you want to attend to daily. For Elizabeth, this includes participating in educational opportunities such as presentations or webinars that focus on skills development and strategic business planning. Forming the habit of putting yourself in front of prospective clients will support your position as an expert in your marketplace, and you will see greater success in your consultancy as a result. Any efforts that you make to consistently and proactively advance your business will play a great role in your success. The defining difference between consultants that struggle and consultants that succeed is this: thinking about your marketing and thinking about your business plan is not enough. Implementing your plan and working on it day in and day out on a consistent basis will bring you success. As you feed your business engine daily, it will start to gain momentum and you will take your consultancy to the level that you can select who you want to do business with.   Capitalizing On Your Strengths As we continue our conversation to explore some of the anxiety-inducing facets of consulting, Elizabeth shares some very wise counsel that is her fourth step to consulting success. It is critical that you truly know who you are, what you are good at, and what you enjoy doing. When you focus on these things, you will propel yourself toward success faster. If you overextend yourself or try to branch out beyond your skill set and focus on other things, you may be faced with unnecessary anxiety about your weaknesses and potential failures. Elizabeth shares some of the strategies that she uses to deliberately focus in on her strengths while also allowing herself opportunities for growth. You’ll want to hear her checklist for ideas of ways that you can expand your skill set, education, and expertise as well. Every consultant knows how tempting it can be to take any project that comes along, even if it’s not a great fit for your skillset. In my conversation with Elizabeth, you’ll remember why this is always a bad idea. If you really want to grow your business to the point that you can pick and chose the kinds of ideal clients that you want to work with, it is essential that you learn to say no to the ‘wrong fit’ projects. If you can’t do this you may end up doing work you don’t like with clients you don’t want to be working with. I can promise you that you will do your best work when you are able to charge the highest value for the best clients that you actually want to be working with. Intuition Consulting is the company that was born from Elizabeth’s ability to assess the best clients, the best projects, and the best value of work. By sticking with the standards she has set for herself, she can easily say no to the rest. Her success shows that this approach to business is always the best one, and you won’t want to miss out on the experiences and knowledge she shares that prove it, in this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast with Elizabeth Woolfe.   Key Takeaways: [:20] Meeting Elizabeth Wolf, passionate and successful nonprofit organization consultant. [5:05] How your relationships will positively affect your consulting success. [9:03] Effective ways to ask for business referrals. [14:03] Building your confidence, trusting your motivation, and believing in yourself. [17:52] The importance of forming productive business and networking habits. [22:23] How to capitalize on your strengths to secure your success. [25:32] The importance of working with coaches and mentors. [26:23] Connecting with Elizabeth Woolfe.   Mentioned in This Episode: Intuition Consulting Elizabeth Woolfe on LinkedIn Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

On this episode, I’m talking with Emma Sharley, an experienced and very successful brand and marketing consultant in Australia. She works with retail, technology, and lifestyle client companies on setting up market and brand strategies, brand positioning, transitioning markets, and marketing new products lines. She also has a complementary start-up in the retail technology sector called ShopYou, which she co-founded in 2016. Emma has worked with both large corporations and smaller operations, and she’s joined me today to talk about the keys to success that have taken her consulting business to the next level. She shares three major tips for building out your portfolio, finding the all-important work-life balance and — you’ll have to hear it to believe it — why 4 a.m. is the magic hour for her most effective work. It just may inspire you to start waking up early as well, and it’s all in this episode of the The Consulting Success Podcast with Emma Sharley.   Transitioning from Employee to Consultant Prior to beginning her successful consultancy, Emma worked in sports marketing, fashion retail marketing, and telecommunications with companies in England including Westfield, Diane Von Furstenberg, Westpac, and T-Mobile. After returning to Australia, she worked mainly with marketing with fashion retailers, where she identified a need from retailers for accessible consulting and marketing advice. Following her entrepreneurial drive, Emma started her own consulting business and now works independently with retail, technology and lifestyle companies. The transition from employee to consultant for Westfield was made easier in part by the relationships that Emma had made in her first seven years with the company. I always recommend to consultants that are just starting out to try and secure work with previous employers whenever possible, and Emma is proof of the validity of this advice. You have already proven yourself to them and you are probably already aware of the needs within the company. By positioning yourself in such a way that you can continue to serve the needs of the company without working as an employee, you have easily created your first consulting project. Emma’s first project as a consultant with her employer entailed launching a new product into market, which she worked on for five months. During that time she focused only on that one project. By scaling back on her overall involvement with the company, she was able to increase her value to the organization as a consultant. Emma describes a valuable consultant as someone who brings a single focus to the outcomes that you are delivering. By allowing yourself to focus on one project, there is less noise and fewer distractions to keep you from completing high-quality work. The success she achieved on this first project then gave her the confidence she needed to approach other companies, and ES Consulting was born.   Three Steps to Building Your Portfolio Emma shares the steps she took to successfully build her portfolio after securing her first client.  First, she set up her own channel on LinkedIn and Twitter and began confidently sharing content with the world. Anytime that you can begin to build a relationship of trust with potential clients, even before your first meeting, you are building your portfolio. If people know what they can expect from you based on the content you have shared through social media, they will be more likely to approach you to fulfill their business needs. Emma also started attending more events — a feat that was made easier by no longer being tied to her employer’s meeting schedule. Whenever possible, she took advantage of opportunities to build her network in the tech and fashion industries, and partnerships have emerged from her efforts. As Emma points out, your network looks completely different as a consultant than it does when you are someone else’s employee. There is great value that comes with building up a network of consultants and independents to help support each other and bounce ideas off of each other.  Attending events that connect you with other such consultants will be of great value to your network. The third step, like the others, is one that you have heard me recommend many times. Building a better portfolio means that you have to position yourself as an expert in as many ways as possible. For Emma, this meant teaching with General Assembly and hosting workshops around digital marketing and brand and marketing technology. In this setting, she is able to share her knowledge with a more intimate group, with just 15 to 20 businesses present, and it was here that she was able to develop and refine her positioning and the value that she has to offer. By meeting so many businesses in the first few months as a consultant, Emma was able to really understand where she wanted to position herself. The key expanding a successful portfolio is that she did the work and put in the time. She put herself out there and favorably position herself within her field of expertise. She clearly stated the kinds of industries she wanted to work with and how she would work with them, which set both parties up for success long term. By following these steps and making the same commitment to growing your business, you will create for yourself the opportunity to experience the same kind of success as Emma. Be sure to listen to her story for ways that she found these opportunities and used them to build a stand-out portfolio.   Overcoming Early Challenges Once her consultancy started taking off, one of the greatest challenges Emma faced in the early stages was accurate pricing. Her answer didn’t surprise me one bit — many new consultants deal with this same issue. Placing a monetary value on your time can be a difficult problem to solve, especially if there is no known pricing structure that you can model your pricing after. It is essential that you know what your weekly time and efforts really look like so that you can more effectively price your time for your clients. Emma encourages new consultants to not overlook this major aspect of successful consulting.  Yes, it can be difficult to know where exactly to place your pricing at first, but it is essential that you take the time to get it right. Another hurdle Emma faced early on was finding the right people to work with. There is a vast variety of work that consultants can offer businesses — but you can’t offer everything to everyone. It is critical that you set yourself up for success by connecting with the people that best fit with your skill set. This does take time, but like all of the legwork that you put into your consultancy, the rewards will come quickly if you do it right. Emma shares some of the ways that she has positioned herself for finding like-minded people and has secured new clients as a result. One of the most effective ways of doing this is by organizing events. By bringing people together to talk about the latest developments in the industry, connections are easily made and new clients often appear soon afterward. Tools like meetup.com can help you organize these kinds of events locally, and these collaborations can have a great impact on your network. You’ll want to listen to our conversation to hear how exactly she made this tool work for her.   Finding Balance and Maintaining Momentum When I asked Emma about the one thing that she had to figure out before she really started enjoying her consulting success, her answer came quickly. You have to set yourself apart. In any industry, your reputation is everything. People want to do business with you based on who you are. Cultivating your personal brand is essential to set yourself apart in your industry and your marketing and content will sell your expertise for you — if you do do it right. When potential clients can get a good feel for who you are and what you have to offer them, you are establishing a relationship of trust before the first contact is ever made. Additionally, as we discussed before, placing a high value on your time is vital to your success.  For Emma, that means starting the critical focus work at 4 a.m. every day. Blocking out half days or whole days on her calendar — rather than scheduling her work down to the hour — actually enables her to accomplish more work over the course of each project. For anyone who is selling their time, it is critical to determine how to make the most of it throughout the week. You’ll want to hear the details on how this works best for Emma. Just as important to this is finding ways to step away from the work so that you can exhale. If you are constantly in high-stress work mode, you won’t be able to perform to the best of your ability. Finding ways to balance your work with the other facets of your life is far more effective than constantly operating in deadline mode. I often observe consultants that think they are too busy to effectively balance their work with personal life, family, or their health. Guaranteed, the first thing that takes a hit when consultants aren’t maintaining a good balance between work and personal life is their marketing. Your marketing is the key to the forward momentum of your business. If you don’t take the time to step away from your business recharge yourself, your work will start to coast. It’s like a car — your business can coast for a period of time, but if you don’t step on the gas, the car will eventually stop moving forward. It’s critical that you find a way that works for you to keep the momentum going.   Prioritizing Your Day Emma shares the reasons why waking up at 4 AM has been a game changer for her success.  From fitting in exercise and feeling more energetic to maximizing her most creative hours so that she can consistently deliver her best effort work to her clients, Emma has found what works for her and is using it to her advantage. By ensuring that the high priority items are finished at the start of the day, she’s more readily available to handle whatever else the day may throw at her. My newest book The Elite Consulting Mind is a perfect example of the kind of work that can emerge as a result of harnessing your most creative hours. I rented a hotel room for a few days, removed myself from my family and from other external distractions and was able to make great headway in my book. For some, creative hours can be found in a new environment, whether it be in a coffee shop or in a new town, and for others, creativity comes in a different time of the day. If your days seem too long with not enough creative work getting done, you just may want to try Emma’s advice of utilizing the early hours of the morning. Whatever it may be, try something new, pinpoint what works and then make it work for you. I can promise you that the success that follows will make your efforts worth it. Building out your portfolio means expanding your network, positioning yourself as the authority, and then protecting yourself so that you can be the most successful consultant you can be. It’s worked for me, and you can hear how it’s worked for Emma, as well as how to connect with her in this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast with Emma Sharley.   Key Takeaways: [:14] Introducing Emma Sharley, Australian brand and marketing consultant. [5:27] Making the transition from employee to consultant. [7:21] Building your portfolio starts with tapping into your network. [11:35] Overcoming the early challenges of setting up a consultancy. [14:08] Ideas for securing additional clients through networking. [17:00] Finding the critical work-life balance. [22:04] Why waking up early means success for Emma. [28:34] Connecting with Emma Sharley.   Mentioned in This Episode: ES Consulting Shop You Emma Sharley on General Assembly Meetup.com The Elite Consulting Mind @emmasharley on Instagram @emsharley on Twitter Emma Sharley on LinkedIn Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Today’s guest is Mindy Millward, a veteran consultant with over 20 years of experience from Navalent. You may remember my guest Ron Carucci, from episode 21, who recommended Mindy as an outstanding and insightful consultant, and he was right. I’m delighted to have her join me today. In this episode, we are discussing the importance of maintaining a long-term strategy and vision for your marketing and networking. We talk about how to find clients that are really ready to make lasting change, how to most effectively market your services, and whether it’s worth your time to compete with larger consultancy firms, particularly for the business of Fortune 500 companies. Mindy shares insights into how to correctly size your firm, the importance of getting connected with the decision makers of the company and how to spot the red flags that prove it’s time to walk away from a project. I think you’ll learn just as much from her insights and experiences as I did in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Mindy Millward.   Marketing To The Ideal Client As you are shaping and building up your consulting business, a majority of your time has to be spent on marketing. It is a widely accepted best practice idea to stay narrowly focused on both the company size and industry of your ideal client. This focus tends to narrow in the playing field and help you more easily locate companies that will benefit from your expertise. At Navalent, however, the consultants aren’t worried about the size of client they take on or the industry they are in. From Fortune 500 companies down to small start-ups, their main focus has always been simply to connect with the leaders of the company that are willing to make actual change within their organization. The common denominator of every ideal client at Navalent is the presence of a decision maker.  Many companies tend to not have decision makers readily available. Even though they desperately need the services consultants can offer them, they don’t have the liberty to institute the changes recommended to them. This can create a host of problems for consultants like you that are trying to make change happen. So rather than focusing on a particular size or industry of business, Mindy and her colleagues at Navalent maintain their focus on the complexities of problems within any company and their subsequent willingness and ability to solve those problems. The question you may be asking yourself then is how can you effectively market to your ideal client? If the size of business or particular industry doesn’t have to matter as much as you once thought it did, marketing can become a complicated hurdle to overcome. Mindy shares several insights into effective marketing, starting with correcting your focus. From pharmaceutical companies to financial firms, government agencies to educational institutions, any company that you focus on needs to have a desire for change. Starting with the hearts of the individual and working up to the entire organization as a whole, your work will only be effective if you are connecting with people and businesses that are ready to make a change.   Your Network Is Your Greatest Marketing Tool Developing long-term relationships with collaborators or people that are connected to the CEO — and decision maker — of a company will be very beneficial. Any time that you make the effort to expand your network is time well invested in your consultancy. Companies will begin to come to you for help as they trust the relationship that you have formed with them. They will view your expertise as a beneficial business partner relationship rather than just as a consultant for hire. and as that trust in your work increases, clients will start to recommend you by word of mouth. Soon you will find yourself being passed from satisfied client to client with the requests for work coming directly to you. In addition to the networking side of marketing your consultancy, there is great value in writing. Providing high-quality and authority-based content that is readily available to clients and easily shared through social media is one of the best ways that you can build trust with potential clients. Both networking and writing work to create a long-term approach to marketing. These are not simple actions, but over time these efforts will be compounded to create greater opportunities for you to work with your ideal clients. Also, by identifying specific types of people that you want to work with, regardless of the company size, you will more easily be guided to your ideal clients. Mindy shares one experience in which these efforts worked for her, even though it took four years to complete the sale. That may seem like too long of a time to wait for your efforts to bring in revenue, but the long-term approach to marketing through networking is always going to offer you the greatest returns on your efforts. She explains the situation that Navalent is currently facing as both consultants and their networks are aging out. It is not possible to sustain solely a network-to-relationships ratio without creating major gaps for yourself that are not sustainable over the long run. Mindy explains why it is essential that you pursue both short-term and long-term opportunities in order to cover all aspects of your marketing. One easy way to do this is to ask yourself, “How am I adding value to this relationship or conversation?” regardless of whether it is paid work or not. Oftentimes a relationship may feel like it is not a good fit at first but can turn into something bigger as you’ve continued to add value to it. Another essential step is to market yourself in such a way that people can easily find you. Podcasts, blog posts, social media, and speaking engagements are all interactions that give people a chance to get familiar with your name and the work that you do. Look for ways to expand the value that you provide and the opportunities will more readily come to you. And once you are in a system, don’t limit yourself to being just the coaching people — position yourself as the organizational design or strategy expert as well. These steps will help secure more work for you in the future.   Should You Compete With Larger Firms? If you are a smaller sized firm and have ever felt unsure about whether a larger company would take you seriously when competing with larger firms, Mindy has some checkpoints and words of advice that you need to listen to. First, it’s critical that you be realistic about the capacity of work you are able to take on. You are not entirely limited by your firm’s size; you can lean on associated resources and networks to help you successfully accomplish a larger scope of work when needed. Don’t shy away from selling huge pieces of work — instead, you can rely on your network to help you get the bigger jobs done. Second, don’t waste your time trying to compete in ways that you know you’re not going to win. Mindy shares an experience she recently had in which she turned down an RFP but was still able to position her firm in a place of authority despite competing against much larger consulting firms. Third, find the qualities of your firm that are unique to you and play them to the client. You don’t have to waste your time — or theirs — trying to be something that you’re not. Be honest about what you have to offer. If clients are looking for something entirely different from what you have to offer them, they will just be disappointed by your efforts. Don’t waste your time or theirs! You will always find greater success as a consultant when you focus on what you have to offer and don’t worry about the rest. If there are a good fit and the potential for adding real value to your clients, you have to help the client see that. Regardless of what other sized firms may be going after the work, your confidence will prove that you are the right choice for the job.   How to Connect With The Ultimate Decision Maker There is nothing more frustrating as a consultant than discovering that the work you have been hired to do will never make a lasting impact on a company. If you aren’t connected with the people in a company that actually have the power to affect change, you are wasting your time as their consultant. Mindy shares some of the best practices that have worked for her and her partners at Navalent to make sure that they are working with the people that have the decision making power necessary to effect change. You’ll want to hear some of the strategies she uses to effectively connect with the decision makers. From asking the right questions to conducting diagnostic interviews with clients before getting paid, Mindy has several examples that prove that her methods work. She highlights some of the red flags that keep her from pitching work to a company that isn’t really ready to make changes and outlines the characteristics of the client employees that will work as a consultant’s champions to get them in touch with the decision makers of the organization.   Finding The Right Size Firm Now that you’ve learned how to reach your ideal clients, you have to grow your firm to just the right size to get the work done. The ideal company size is different for everyone, but as a firm that serves Fortune 500 companies, Navalent has grown to seven full-time consultants. Mindy shares the reasoning behind their current size as well as steps they have had to take to get the right fit consultants on their team. Not surprisingly, when you’re looking for partners, you will find that the best consultants for your firm will come from your network. As Mindy says, “know them before you need them.” It’s essential that you know the skills and capacity of other consultants before you sell the work that you need them to do. By doing this, you’re securing for yourself the capacity to conquer any size of a project that comes your way. Long-term thinking has the potential to pay off in so many ways in your consultancy firm, from developing your network to securing your ideal clients. As a successful consultant who has seen the benefits of long-term thinking in her work, Mindy Millward is full of great advice for anyone that is looking for the next step to securing work with a startup business or a Fortune 500 company. You’ll definitely want to hear her insights and learn from her experiences in this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast with Mindy Millward.   Key Takeaways: [:17] Introducing Navalent partner and consulting expert Mindy Millward. [4:40] Targeting your ideal client, regardless of company size. [10:16] How to generate revenue while embracing long-term marketing opportunities. [14:10] Competing with larger firms means doing these three things. [20:05] The mindset required to secure the work with Fortune 500 companies. [24:02] Connecting with the ultimate decision maker within an organization. [31:06] Enlarging your firm’s capacity and finding the best consultants. [37:10] Connecting with Mindy Millward.   Mentioned in This Episode: Mindy Millward Navalent Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

I’m joined today by the CEO of Signorelli Consulting Group, Tony Signorelli. His consulting group focuses mainly on sales enablement and marketing, and they have been in the business since 1995. In this episode, we talk about the path that led Tony to sales and consulting, and he shares insights into creating a successful consulting firm within the corporate world. We examine the importance of taking action when securing new clients, and he shares the mistakes he’s made — that you can learn from — and the incredible importance of using your network to your advantage. Tony shares several of his secrets of success, including the ways that you can generate more revenue without adding more work hours to your day. You won’t want to miss the stories he tells in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   A Creative and Curious Consultant Tony has never worked as an employee for anyone else — from freelance writer and bookstore owner to organic farmer and poetry editor, his background was not exactly a linear approach to consulting. His work as a technical writer for a medical company quickly evolved into his involvement with every major product launch for the company, and it was at that point that Tony started to understand the importance of positioning himself as someone that could help companies solve their problems. Rather than approaching consulting with an extensive background of experience, he started his business with a “learn as we go” approach, and that approach has led his company to the successful place that they are in now. For Tony, the driving factor behind his work was two-fold — curiosity and creativity. Once he figured a business out, he inevitably grew bored of it and wanted to move on to the next unknown. As he realized that the questions he was facing with sales and marketing consulting were growing, rather than being solved, he knew he had found a place that he wanted to fully dive into. Even today, the problems presented by companies continue to keep Tony’s attention. He shares one specific event — the turning point at which he realized that he was solving a company’s problems without getting paid for it. Once he made that realization, the decision to fully commit to growing his sales and marketing consultancy was an easy one. As the business has developed, there have been various points when he and his team have been presented with new challenges, and from there the work continues to grow.   Traversing The Value Pyramid Along his path to success, Tony realized that he needed to climb higher on the value pyramid in order to create greater value for his clients. The value hierarchy he refers to is a simple tool which demonstrates how you can charge your clients more money by systematically adding value in your business environment. The levels increase from providing your clients information and resources to giving them the tools and services they need to affect real and lasting change within their business. It can be difficult for consultants to understand how exactly to move upward from where their business is to where it needs to be in order to be more valuable. Tony shares specific steps that he took to improve his work, starting with educating himself. He read all that he could about new sales methodology and began differentiating what ideas were actually novel or distinct from all of those available. From that point, he increased his understanding of building value with businesses and he was easily able to apply the most effective knowledge in each specific situation. Bringing in new ideas such as Tony does is a key aspect of success for building trust, confidence, and loyalty with your clients. Even if those new ideas aren’t yours, you can still implement them with your clients and bring a higher level of value to their business. Businesses tend to hire consultants for just a handful of reasons — often it’s because they need an extra set of hands to help get things done or to increase the overall capacity of the company. Sometimes consultants are brought in to assess and validate ideas that the company already believes to be true. But the third, more valuable reason consultants are brought in is because a consultant can offer a level of expertise to a company that they aren’t getting internally. When you are able to position yourself as a consultant who has the expertise that companies are looking for, you have made your job easier. As a result. you’ll be able to move up the value pyramid that much quicker. Conversely, if you’re just working as another pair of hands, you will most likely find yourself moving down the value ladder instead. In the remainder of our conversation, Tony shares several ways that you can position yourself as an invaluable asset to any company.   Generating More Revenue Starts Here Every consultant wants to position themselves in a place that allows maximum value for their work. The key to actualizing this goal is to become an expert in your field. Tony started out as a technical writer, which he recognized were a dime a dozen. Revenue only started increasing when he realized that he could charge more by fixing sales processes — a shift that did not require that he spend more hours working. The change simply meant positioning himself in such a place that his work was worth more to his clients. By doing this he was able to truly effect change, and the same amount of work started producing far greater revenue results. You may have to start out charging on a rate basis, but it won’t be long before you will be able to switch over to a project basis instead. This pricing model provides higher returns for the same amount of work and this higher value proposition offers more to your customers as well as more return for you. It may seem that, as the consultant, you need to impart to your client all of the knowledge you have through presentations and such, but Tony has a better idea. Asking better questions is an essential part of creating greater value and clarity for both you as the consultant as well as for your clients. Far more than any stories you may have to tell or claims you make are the questions that you ask  — the questions will have the greatest impact on your clients.   Win Business Today By Taking Action Winning corporate business — or any business — is not easily done, but in this episode Tony shares some of the ways that he has successfully done so. The first step shouldn’t surprise you — it starts with working your network. Making connections in every way you possibly can is essential to every consultant’s success. Tony shares two stories that illustrate the importance of putting yourself out there however you can. After sending out a letter in the mail to over 100 people, one of Tony’s first connections eventually turned into a $2.5 million project with Medtronic. He also tells of a colleague that followed his networking advice and in turn, made an unlikely connection that led to a business deal with Hewlett-Packard. I often tell people that taking action — even if it’s imperfect action — is the only way that you can really get started on the road to consulting success. If you aren’t willing to put yourself out there, you will never know who is who in your network of connections. You have to be willing to reach out in every aspect of your network. By doing so you will absolutely set yourself up for greater success. You’ll be surprised to hear how it worked for Tony, but he is great proof — it really does work.   Tips for Generating More Business Once you’ve successfully started working with one company, the next step is to secure business with other companies in the same field. Tony shares two essential tips for making this happen. First, you have to leverage your success within a company to secure more business within that same company. There are strategies to help you move from business unit to business unit, to obtain more business from the unit you were working in as well as to travel up the chain within the company. The second crucial step is to maintain relationships with the people that you have worked with at each company. As layoffs happen people will start working for other companies, remember your work, and you find yourself with new work in another company. This is the most effective way that Tony has found for organically creating new consulting opportunities. If your business is in a place where you need to create brand new connections and generate new leads, Tony has advice for you, as well. Attending the right trade shows in your industry is key. A greater step is to take advantage of the resources that are readily available to you on LinkedIn. Tony shares the ways that he has used this tool to his advantage, and his approach has been tried-and-true over the years — identify the ideal client, invite a list of them to a local group, then create opportunities to meet in person and discuss relevant topics. You will definitely want to listen to how each of these steps has worked for him as he’s worked to create more business.   Avoid These Common Consulting Mistakes If your goal is to do business with large companies, it is critical that you understand what kind of environment you are in. From answering RFPs to cold calling, seeking out decision makers to trying to get yourself on a preferred vendor list, there are a number of errors that can easily be avoided if you take the time to understand the nature of the large company environment. Tony shares an example when he didn’t fully understand who he was dealing with and didn’t land a sale as the result. Let his mistakes be your lessons learned — and hear more about what works instead, in this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast with Tony Signorelli.   Key Takeaways: [:17] Meeting Tony Signorelli — Jack of all trades turned consulting expert. [4:45] Tony’s decision to dive into sales and marketing consulting. [7:13] Steps to successfully climbing the value pyramid. [10:00] The impact of dedicating yourself to greater education and expertise. [13:09] Successfully winning corporate business starts with working your network. [17:16] How to generate new business and develop your network relationships. [28:38] Mistakes consultants frequently make when growing their businesses. [34:30] Connecting with Tony Signorelli.   Mentioned in This Episode: Signorelli Consulting Group Cracking the Corporate Code on Facebook [email protected] Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Self-described “recovering consultant” Blair Enns is the CEO of Win Without Pitching, a sales training organization for creative professionals in the design, advertising, and public relations fields. When he wasn’t satisfied with his $400,000 business, he decided to expand it into an organization that now makes exponentially more money that he once thought possible. In this episode, we are talking about ways that you can effectively position yourself as an expert in your field, how to get your expertise recognized, and the danger of productizing your work, as well as what you should be doing instead. Blair has achieved a level of success that many consultants only dream of, and he’s here to share practical ideas on how you, too, can take your consulting business to the next level. Join us to hear solid advice for increasing your revenue from Blair Enns in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   Finding Consulting Success in the Wilderness After finding himself expelled from university, Blair’s lucky break came when he stumbled upon advertising. His boss recognized he had a knack for new business, and just six months into the work, at age 22, Blair was put in charge of business development. He began working with some of the largest ad agencies and some of the smallest design firms in the world. Well-experienced and thick in the work of account management and business development, Blair realized that he wanted something entirely different from the advertising world. In order to realize his dream of raising his family in the backwoods of British Columbia, something had to change. At that point Win Without Pitching was born, and Blair’s success has been realized in a wilderness town of just 900 people. He tells the story of how he decided to relocate to such a remote location, and how he was able to successfully turn his consulting dream into his new reality. Many people believe that success can’t be achieved in a remote location without direct access to clients, but Blair’s success proves them wrong. When he started out, Blair didn’t have access to any clients within hundreds of miles of his remote location. This unique situation forced him to expand his reach. Once he narrowed in on the markets that he was going to serve and strategically positioned himself in their path, the physical distance between them became less of an issue. For Blair, these moves have actually contributed to greater success than he would have experienced otherwise. With the groundwork for his career path laid, we dive into the details of Blair’s success, starting with his collaboration with fellow consultant David Baker.   Should You Share Your Knowledge With Your Competition? It may seem counterintuitive, but sharing your knowledge with other consultants can actually be one of the smartest career moves you can make. Blair and David Baker are both successful creative entrepreneurs who have joined forces to produce the 2Bobs Podcast, in which you can hear conversations on the art of creative entrepreneurship. Although Blair and David are competitors, their collaborations have actually brought them both greater success. Blair lays out the benefits and drawbacks of working with your competition. But before you can consider teaming up with another consultant, you need to examine your own work. If there appears to be very little difference from the work that you offer and the work that your competition offers, you have a significant business problem. Teaming up with another consultant is not going to be helpful for you at all. Positioning and strategy can both set you apart and keep you securely positioned within your area of expertise. While it isn’t a good idea to eliminate all competition, it is in your favor to strategically place yourself separate and above most of your competition. The number one key to deciding whether to collaborate with your competition is whether or not your philosophical ideas line up with them. Blair admits that he doesn’t play quite as nicely with all of his competitors as he does with David Baker, but he also recognizes that they both benefit from their working relationship. Sharing knowledge with each other and collaborating on projects has been mutually beneficial for both of them, as well as for their clients. However, there is a fine line to be drawn when it comes to collaborating with your competition. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s a good idea or one that will bring your business down, be sure to listen to Blair’s take on it. What’s worked for him will most likely work for you as well, so you won’t want to miss his ideas and checkpoints for the best approach to sharing your knowledge with your competition.   Finding Your Consulting Focus In the Win Without Pitching business model, clientele can be won without doing a “dog and pony” show to prove your worth. There are steps that you can take to differentiate yourself and position yourself in a place where a greater chance of winning business. First — you have to find your focus. Who do you want to be a consultant for? What area are you going to be a consultant on? What are the issues that you want to focus on? If you promise to do everything for everyone, there is no way that you can become an expert in any one given area. In order to become a subject matter expert, it is essential that you narrow your focus. Once your focus is narrowed, your expertise will grow as you are repeatedly faced with similar problems that can be solved with similar solutions. Patterns will emerge and become the basis for your expertise. As you force yourself to narrow your expertise, you will be able to dig deeper and truly set yourself apart from — and above — your competition. Blair shares the classic example of the client who will approach you with no idea of how they should solve a problem that they have never had before. Because of your focus, you will have seen similar problems many times over again and the solution they are seeking will be an easy one for you to identify. This is the essential key to becoming a focused expert in your field — it’s worked for Blair and he guarantees it will work for you, too.   The Challenges of Productizing Your Business If you’ve been in the consulting business for any amount of time, chances are that you have been faced with the challenges of accurately and competitively pricing your work. Blair spent 13 years of his career as a consultant, and more recently, the last five years as a training company, and there is one common mistake that he has seen over and over again. Every consultant struggles to find the best way to price their services. There are two basic approaches to pricing your work — you can either productize or customize the work that you do for each client, and he details both. By productizing your work, you have a fixed set of solutions that you can offer to clients, regardless of what their individual needs are, similar to ordering off of a menu. Customized consulting work offers greater value to your clients and allows you to remain more deeply involved in both the work and the solutions. Your pricing may have shifted in one direction or the other, and you need to ask yourself — are you productizing your services when you really should be customizing the work that you are doing for each client? Most consultants should be in the customized business service. If you find that you’re creeping toward offering your clients a one-size-fits-all product as the solution to their problems, it’s time to correct your business model. For Blair, the decision to switch over to productizing his work came when he realized he was value-pricing most of his highly customized offerings to his clients. He shares the impact that that switch has made on his business, and the success he now enjoys may make you want to consider altering your business model as well.   Secure New Clients Through Your Writing The last step Blair shares to gain greater success in your consulting field, after finding your focus and deciding whether to share your knowledge in collaboration with other consultants, is to become an expertise writer. The most successful consultants are also writers. In order to get your ideas heard, you need to write from a point of view that is beneficially polarizing in your market. Although it’s a harsh truth, there is simply no use for you in a field in which you can’t find a novel way to tackle the problems within it. By finding a point of view that is less common but more beneficial, you will position yourself as the expert that clients need to get their problems solved. The reactions that readers have to your work will increase their trust in you and your ability to help them find the solutions they are seeking. The content in your blog posts, emails, newsletters, and articles will draw potential clients to you. Even more important though, is the fact that the point of view that you share with them will convince them to hire you. Once your perspective separates you from your competition, you have the foundation of a business that will be successful. When you are just starting out, finding clients and getting your ideas out there can seem like a daunting task. In order to get your ideas and content out to new clients, Blair recommends starting with putting all of your marketing chips into one area. Whether it be podcasts, writing books, or social media, find one area that you can focus on, and soon you will be dominating it as the lead expert. For Blair, the area of greatest focus has been his writing. The Win Without Pitching Manifesto was written nearly eight years ago, but he is still seeing the rewards from producing the book today. He offers ideas on how to effectively promote a book and reflects on ways that a book written eight years ago is still benefitting his work today. Blair shares a glimpse into his forthcoming book, Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour. The book is available in several formats, including as an ebook and in manual format. You can learn more about the book on his website, as well as sign up for his free newsletter, and learn more about his business philosophies and approach. This episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Blair Enns is filled with practical ideas on how you can improve your status as an industry expert, starting today.   Key Takeaways: [:17] Welcoming Blair Enns, CEO of Win Without Pitching. [4:47] Growing a business from a remote location. [6:20] The benefits of sharing your knowledge with the competition. [10:50] How finding your focus will increase the demand for your expertise. [14:03] Customizing or productizing your business — which model is best for you? [24:10] You can get new clients by writing from a new point-of-view. [28:47] Ways to effectively share your content. [33:28] All about Blair’s new book, and how you can connect with him.   Mentioned in This Episode: Win Without Pitching 2Bobs Podcast with Blair Enns and David Baker The Win Without Pitching Manifesto, by Blair Enns Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour, by Blair Enns @BlairEnns on Twitter Blair Enns on LinkedIn Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Today I’m joined by seasoned consultant and passionate leader Ron Carucci. Ron and his partners at Navalent help companies that are in pursuit of a substantial transformational change, whether it be strategic formulation, organizational design, cultural shifts, or executive leadership behaviors. His work has taken him to over 20 countries in four different continents, and he is the author of several consulting and leadership books as well as a regular contributor to Forbes.com and the Harvard Business Review. In this episode, we talk about how Ron shifted from working in an organization to working for the best ones, the ideal size of a successful consulting firm, and the effective ways to implement changes in your work so that you are attracting only the most ideal clients. Ron has over 25 years of experience, and he has worked hard to position himself as a truly successful consultant. You won’t want to miss the insights and experiences that he shares in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   In Pursuit of His Passion For Organizations Originally a student of the arts, Ron was performing in Europe when he found himself at a crossroads in which he had a life-changing realization about the importance of helping other people tell their stories. At that point, Ron began following his passion for examining the science behind leaders and organizations work together. Today, as a consultant, Ron gets to enter into the stories of successful businesses to help leaders write the next chapter of their adventures. But today, we’re focusing on Ron’s story. He has learned plenty of lessons over the years, and the stories he shares on in our conversation are valuable for any consultant that wants to make positive changes to their work. Inside the world of organizational development, Ron quickly learned that being an agent of change is a real challenge. As companies grow larger and larger, the work is no longer about effecting change. It becomes more about revenues and profits, leading and managing all aspects of the growing business. When Ron and some of his close colleagues realized this was the work they were faced with, they decided to start their own business in order to preserve their dream. Navelen was born and 13 years later Ron declares that he is still living his dream. He tells about the lessons he learned from his first practice. Although exiting a larger corporation was liberating, and the work he was doing paid the bills, Ron had to be honest with himself. He knew that he didn’t have 30 more years of expertise that he could make money on. Those kinds of brutally honest moments are the pivotal ones — and they are essential for any consultant who wants to stay on the path toward success.   Building A Consulting Firm To The Perfect Size Many consultants are successful as a one-man show, but Navelent is a larger consulting company by intentional design. Rather than marketing himself as the independent expert in his domain, Ron has built up his business with a group of colleagues that share his passion for the work they do. This expertise has provided the power to make the kinds of impact that they most wanted to make. As Ron explains, when you show up to a large corporation, you need to have enough resources ready that the company will be confident in your ability to get the work done. At Navalent, they are deliberate and intentional about the partners they bring on and the training they have to complete. There are clearly defined levels of branding, standards of practice, and expectations from each consultant within the firm. Ron and the other two owners of Navalent also make sure that they are modeling the behaviors and practices that they expect from their consultants, starting with getting into the trenches with clients themselves. Compensation within the firm comes from great client work. Rather than modeling overly bureaucratic or individualistic behaviors, Navalent has a compensation metric that rewards an intense focus on the client. Ron explains that the compensation model allows their consultants to feel confident about focusing on the needs of their clients, rather than how large their next paycheck is going to be. If you’ve ever wondered how to make that switch, you’ll want to hear how it works at Navalent.   Standing Out In A Crowd of Leadership Experts As an author of several leadership books, Ron has worked hard to improve the perception of consultants and the importance of the work that they do. His first two books — The Value-Creating Consultant: How To Build and Sustain Lasting Client Relationships and Relationships that Enable Enterprise Change: Leveraging the Client-Consultant Connection — both focus solely on the importance of being a great consultant. From there he has shifted his focus to the importance of being a great leader and how consultants can effectively lead change within organizations. Ron shares the experience that led to his most recent book, Rising To Power: The Journey of Exceptional Executives. When the CEO of a company told Ron that a recently fired executive wasn’t well prepared for his responsibilities, Ron wanted to know why. What could have been done differently? That question led to a 10-year, longitudinal study of more than 2,700 leaders in which Ron examined what makes leaders excel. 50% of leaders fail in the first 18 months of their assignments, and that statistic is both staggering and unsettling for those that are trying to succeed. His book addresses these harsh facts and also shares the key difference between those that fail and those that rise to the top. While many consultants write about their methodology, Ron writes about the things that his clients care about, and that is why his work stands out. He also writes for Forbes.com and Harvard Business Review, both of which have had a tremendous impact on his business. Additionally, a few years ago Ron hired a coach for himself to greater refine his voice and set himself apart. Each of these steps has allowed Ron to rise above the cluttered market of consulting ‘experts’ and position himself as a leader who knows what his clients want and how to get the results they are seeking. Have you ever considered hiring a coach for yourself? If so, you’ll want to listen to Ron as he shares some of the lessons he has learned. By hiring his own coach, he has discovered how to land the kind of clients he wants to be working with. The first and most important step is making sure that your ideal clients can find you. They have to have access to your ideas in a way that will resonate with them. By positioning yourself along their pathway, they can more easily connect with you. The second major tip Ron shares comes from his writing.   How To Get Your Writing Published Many consultants dream of publishing their ideas into books or on world-renowned websites such as Forbes.com and Harvard Business Review. If you’ve got ideas that you want to share with the world but don’t know where to start, this conversation is for you. Ron shares several effective ideas for getting published. First, you need to have ideas that matter. You need to be able to organize your ideas into insightful packages that make for a good read. An easy way to start is to base your ideas from the client’s perspective. Write about the challenges they are facing, and you’ll be that much closer to writing successfully. Once you have your ideas organized in a meaningful way, there are several channels that you can use to try to get your writing published. However, Ron warns, it takes a great deal of discipline. You have to be committed to writing regularly. You have to be committed to writing about the things that your clients care about, and above all else, you have to be incredibly patient. If you really want to get your voice heard, you need to hear Ron’s experiences and the tips he shares for staying committed to your writing over the long haul.   Building Credibility Within Your Network As we examine the overall benefits of writing books and online articles, Ron’s opinion on the importance of the two may surprise you. They’re both essential, but in addition to writing, in today’s world, you have to have more. A strong social media presence and taking on speaking engagements, including podcasts, will also contribute to your overall credibility. Building your credibility and social proof is essential to your success as an expert in your field of consulting. Magazines, ebooks, and articles all work together to provide a conversation base for you to have with your ideal clients. Each of these methods alone will not be enough to build your credibility, but working together they all cast a very wide net that will bring in your ideal clients. Relationships that start online can progress into your opportunities to work with the kinds of clients that you are seeking. Many consultants make the mistake of believing that it is the problem-solving expertise and smart solutions that make them valuable, but that mentality is wrong. As Ron’s first book The Value-Creating Consultant: How To Build and Sustain Lasting Client Relationships proves, the primary delivery mechanism of value is the relationship that you have with your client. There is no other approach to your work that will be as effective as forming meaningful, trusting relationships with your clients. It is essential that you continue to work your network and place your expertise in the path of those that you want to work with. That consistency that you work to maintain in the right places is critical to your consulting success.   Developing A Mindset of Discipline According to Ron, desperation was the initial key to his commitment to consistently producing high-quality work. That may seem like a joke, but if you’ve ever found yourself in a similar situation, you will understand what he means. Once he realized that he didn’t want to work with crazy people anymore, the decision was an easy one. He knew that he needed to make changes in his approach to securing clients, and the next step was investing in himself. By investing in his own career and success and hiring a coach, Ron was able to affect the changes that he needed to make. If you’re truly committed to making positive changes in your consulting work, you need to hear Ron’s story. Creating meaningful success does not come by doing the easy things. It comes from making the decision to change, dedicating yourself to the change, and then doing a lot of hard work. You will see rewards in your success if you can stay consistently committed to making it happen, and Ron is proof of that. You can learn more about his work at navalent.com, where you can access his blog, books, and information about upcoming training events. You can also obtain a copy of his free ebook Leading Transformation. And you can find the inspiration you’ve been looking for to find your consultant’s voice of authority and leadership in this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Ron Carucci.   Key Takeaways: [:17] Introducing Ron Carucci, artist turned successful global consultant and author. [6:01] How starting out small in the business led Ron to greater success. [7:57] Shaping Navalent into a successful company. [11:12] A look at a more rewarding compensation model. [11:58] All about Ron’s writing and the importance of his consulting and leadership books. [16:21] The impact of writing articles for Forbes.com. [17:46] Key tips for getting your writing published. [19:59] Building your credibility through writing, speaking, and social media. [22:40] Networking your way to success. [27:20] Steps to developing a mindset of discipline. [32:52] Connecting with Ron Carucci.   Mentioned in This Episode: Navalent The Value-Creating Consultant: How To Build and Sustain Lasting Client Relationships, by Ron A. Carucci and Toby J. Tetenbaum Relationships that Enable Enterprise Change: Leveraging the Client-Consultant Connection, by Ron A. Carucci and William A. Pasmore Rising To Power: The Journey of Exceptional Executives, by Ron A. Carucci  and Eric C. Hansen Ron Carucci on Forbes.com Ron Carucci on Harvard Business Review Leading Transformation Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

On this episode we’re switching gears to talk about my newest book. The Elite Consulting Mind: 16 Proven Mindsets to Attract More Clients, Increase Your Income and Achieve Meaningful Success was recently released and today I want to share with you a glimpse of what’s inside.  This book is full of principles — all proven by elite consultants — that you can use to overcome challenges, remove obstacles, and grow your business significantly.   In this book you’ll learn how to build confidence by confronting self-doubt, consistently attract ideal clients by following three specific steps, use worry to your advantage, develop the best business model, and much more. On this episode I want to share with you one of the 16 mindsets from the book, that I call mirroring success. This tool is the first step in achieving next-level consulting success and the potential $100,000 rate of return that comes with it.   Whether you’re just getting into the consulting business or you are a seasoned consulting veteran but aren’t experiencing the level of success and results you desire, this book offers you the advantage you need. Join me as we explore one of the 16 mindsets that elite consultants employ on this special episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   Chasing A Wild Dream When I first started my consulting business with my partner and cousin Sam, we had the wild and seemingly unattainable dream of making $5,000 a month and enjoying the freedom of working anywhere in the world. In the first few months it seemed like we would never get there.  We suffered major setbacks and overcame many challenges, but finally we reached our goal.  And then, with hard work, we doubled our dream to $6,000 a month. And then we doubled it again. We were working hard and enjoying success, and then a strange thing happened.   Our business growth completely stopped.   Maybe you’ve found yourself in the same place — stuck in the current state of your consulting business and wondering how to achieve the next level of success. That is what this chapter of The Elite Consulting Mind is all about. We’re digging deep into one of the 16 mindsets that have helped me and hundreds of other successful consultants keep the business moving and the  success coming.   The Key To Achieving a Higher Level of Success When business growth stagnates, a transformation is necessary. Our transformation happened when we signed up for a coaching program. Instead of remaining stuck with no idea what to do next, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by successful business men and women who could help us understand the ‘how’ to achieving the next level of success.   Once Sam and I changed our business model, we were back to achieving success. We multiplied our wild dream of making $5,000-per-month into a $150,000-per-month reality, but we still didn’t stop there. Our business continues to grow because, even today, we surround ourselves with mentors and coaches that support and teach us. The key to success is that we have never stopped developing our mindset.   Increasing the Rate of Return On Your Business Investments In this chapter of The Elite Consulting Mind we examine the best place you can place your money to gain the highest rate of return. It isn’t a high interest savings account, or even the stock market. The investments that we’ve made in our business have produced a $30,000 rate of return, and higher, and the reason behind it is simple.   We have learned that the actions you take mirror your success to potential buyers.   From implementing recommendations consistently to responding to communications quickly or committing to working with clients on an ongoing basis, your clients see the level of success that you are mirroring. They sense your confidence level, your hesitation, or indecisiveness. If you don’t develop a mindset of success, you will become the biggest hindrance to your business and you will never be able to reach your true potential.   On the other hand, consultants who are willing to invest in their business know the actions they need to take to get them where they dream of being. They have the mindset that will lead them to success. Elite consultants consistently hone their mindset. They invest in themselves and improve the way they think and approach their business. They have the confidence needed to take the right actions.   In The Elite Consulting Mind, you will learn all about this mindset that is necessary for you to achieve next-level consulting success. You’ll gain access to the tools and gain the confidence that will allow you to experiences meaningful consulting success, starting with mirroring success.   I know you will benefit highly from the 16 mindsets and many tools in this book. You can find more information about The Elite Consulting Mind on our website and gain early bird access to the book at www.consultingsuccess.com/mindsetbook.   Key Takeaways: [:35] Mirroring success — a look inside my new book. [3:32] The key to reaching a higher level of consulting success. [4:16] Rates of return on business investments in concrete figures. [5:24] Mirroring success starts here. [8:19] Where to find The Elite Consulting Mind.   Mentioned in This Episode:   The Elite Consulting Mind: 16 Proven Mindsets to Attract More Clients, Increase Your Income and Achieve Meaningful Success, by Michael Zipursky   Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Today I’m excited to be joined by Stuart Friedman from Global Context. This Silicon Valley-based previous electrical engineer with a passion for theater studied at Carnegie Mellon, then started his career in product marketing and sales before becoming a VP General Manager. He had climbed his way to the top of the corporate ladder when a piece of luggage knocked a profound truth into him — literally. After months of stuttering and having speech and cognitive therapy, Stuart realized that the ability to communicate and the ability to process information and his talent for both was not to be taken for granted. Global Context was born, and 12 years later he has been working in all aspects of cultural communications — from the challenges within one organization to the cultural differences that are always apparent, and often the killer, of any acquisition or merger.   On this episode, Stuart shares the number one consulting success truth — your network is your biggest marketing tool. We explore how you can make your network work for you so that you don’t have to spend your time chasing after your next client. By using Stuart’s advice, your next client will come to you. He shares lessons he has learned, mistakes he commonly sees consultants make, and some of the ways that he has scaled his business for growth without hiring unnecessarily. If you’ve been looking for ways to spend less time marketing and more time consulting, you won’t want to miss this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Stuart Friedman.   Building A Business on Cross-Cultural Communications A background of engineering, marketing sales, and theater may not seem like one that would logically add up to forming a cross-cultural communications consultancy, but that was the perfect recipe for Stuart. It all came together during a conversation with a previous competitor. Stuart was approached to do some consulting work, and the former competitor specifically wanted to know how Stuart had managed to take away all of their business in Asia. It was obvious that Stuart knew something that his competitor didn’t, and at that point, he realized that the work he had been doing in studying different cultures and business practices could benefit more than just him. This former competitor became his first client, and the rest is history.   Stuart has consulted many high-profile companies, but he prefers to maintain a mix of large and small clients in his business. Bigger clients mean more time and higher client acquisition costs, and as someone who has worked with big-name companies including Apple, Sony, Oracle, Microsoft, and Nissan, Stuart has discovered something else. He has found that the bigger the company and the more accomplished people he works with, there also tends to be a greater amount of blind spots that can limit the executive's willingness to learn and change. Higher up people are often convinced that they’re in their role because they already understand how everything works, and Stuart calls working with larger companies with people such as that a laborious effort. Changing an executive’s mind can be a difficult task to take on, but Stuart knows exactly how it can be done.   Winning Business Within Your Network By taking on projects with smaller companies, Stuart has been given the opportunity for greater success with larger companies. Much of the work that he has procured in his business has come from smaller companies that have since moved onto larger companies, and those people have remembered his work and reached out to him again and again. Referrals in his network haven’t entirely eliminated the need for marketing, but by maintaining and expanding his network, he has been able to shift his focus from chasing clients to getting consulting work done. Over the last 12 years, Stuart says that the majority of his work has come from personal contacts and referrals and that is significant proof that your network can give you more business than your marketing efforts might.   Rather than focusing on marketing and business development, Stuart shares the efforts that have given him the greatest success in acquiring new clients. His success has been accelerated with writing and speaking opportunities. As has been the case for many of my guests here on The Consulting Success Podcast, Stuart has found that by taking advantage of these opportunities, he has increased his credibility and that companies are more trusting of his ability to deliver the kind of change they are seeking.   Additionally, Stuart has maintained a good bandwidth of communication with the clients he has worked with and is currently working with. By following the news he stays informed on how business moves are impacting cultures, and he can stay connected with those in his network. Just like Stuart, you will find that your network is invaluable in accelerating client acquisition. Never neglect your network! The payback for the time that you put into maintaining your contacts will be worth more than any amount of money that you could possibly put into marketing.   Convincing Clients That They Need Your Help Your job as a consultant is to convey the value in your work to buyers so that you can help them become a better company than ever. Unfortunately, many clients don’t recognize their problems or even care about getting those problems fixed, especially when choosing between making such changes or focusing their efforts on the “hard skills” of growing sales and revenue or decreasing costs. Although the “soft skill” of improving the culture of a business may not be as high on the priority list for an executive, it is just as essential for the success and health of a business. As a consultant who works in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stuart has had plenty of experience with this same problem.   It’s the great paradox of successful companies. In the same conversation, Stuart has heard executives boast about their advanced technology, experienced and talented employees, and operational excellence, and then go on to share the less-impressive facts that they have missed revenue goals, have too-high expenses and are facing disappointing and surprising forecasts coming in again.   If these companies have such excellent resources, why are they still struggling? Simply put, the human issues are the ones that will bog down any company. Once Stuart is able to help executives recognize this overarching flaw, his work becomes easier. You’ll want to listen to the approach he uses and the tips he shares for helping stubborn executives recognize that they do have big problems and that those problems can be solved with the help of a successful consultant.   One of the greatest points that Stuart shares in our conversation is this — your job as a consultant is not to persuade the market into thinking that you have a good opportunity to share with them. Instead, your job is to figure out where you can add value. Stuart says, “You can wake up every day and try to convince somebody that they need something that they don’t think they need, but wouldn’t it be a lot more fun to figure out what keeps them up at night and talk to them about how you can help solve that problem?”   Simply put, you have to focus on your area of expertise and help your clients see where and how you can add value to their company. If you can do that successfully, you can then position yourself in such a way that you can have deeper and more meaningful conversations with potential clients. And, just like Stuart, the insurmountable task of helping executives recognize that they actually do have a problem that you can solve will get much easier.   Turning Mistakes Into Learning Experiences Every consultant has made mistakes. It’s part of the process on the road to success, but there are always lessons to be learned from our mistakes. Stuart shares three major mistakes in our conversations, and the lessons he’s learned from each one are invaluable. You’ll want to hear him explain each of them himself, but here is a glimpse into the stories he tells.   First, Stuart learned the hard way that the companies he has worked for didn’t necessarily have his best interest at heart. Secretly, he says, he may have been hoping that someone would take him under their wing and point him in the direction of entrepreneurial consulting, but that advice never came. Rather, he had to forge his path on his own and find his own place in the systems he was working through.   Second, Stuart regrets not taking better advantage of the time and training he had while he was still working as “a cog in the corporate system.” He reflects on the number of business trips he took and the time that he wasted just by watching the in-flight movies. Instead, he could have spent that time in more valuable ways by researching the insights that would have given him stronger and quicker legs when he finally did begin to pursue consulting. Of course, we all know hindsight is 20/20, but the lesson Stuart learned should be taken to heart by anyone that is considering moving away from the safety net of the corporate world — take advantage of any time you have to learn more about the field in which you see yourself as a successful consultant.   Third, Stuart reflects on the most common mistakes that he sees repeated all too often in the consulting world. Earlier in our conversation, Stuart shared his perspective on marketing and client acquisition costs. Now, he gives more insight into the consulting secrets that really work for him, and it’s not spending big bucks on marketing. Listen to him tell the facts and you’ll understand exactly what he means when he says that his higher fees and business growth have come more surely by not pursuing an account than ever before.   Business Growth Starts Here Global Context was formed back in 2008, just prior to the stock market crash. It was a disappointing day for Stuart when he had to let go some of the long-time colleagues turned employees that had joined him in his new business venture, but it also gave him some perspective on how he really wanted to grow and scale his business. The second time around, Stuart decided to create a network of affiliates who were also consultants in other specialized areas that were synergistic with his work. From Brazil to Finland, he was able to join forces with other consultants and create a network of people that he can now use to help him complete various projects.   Additionally, because Stuart is fully booked, he has had to figure out ways to scale his business if he’s not willing to hire on employees. He shares a number of ways that he has made this work for him, including aggressively building product. He has developed his own e-seminars and blog posts, developed seminars for other people, and even developed an app for people to practice a presentation in front of an audience and receive real-time feedback. Each of these efforts has allowed Stuart to maintain control over his business size and scale it right to where he feels most comfortable.   As someone who has enjoyed a dozen years as a successful consultant, someone who can now turn work away, and someone who has found the key to smarter marketing and business sizing, Stuart is a guest that you are sure to gain valuable insights from, all on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Stuart Friedman.   Key Takeaways: [:10] From the theater to Silicon Valley — meeting Stuart Friedman. [4:05] Building a consultancy around cross-cultural communications. [7:12] Working with big brands starts with small projects. [9:15] Maintaining your network is worth more than marketing. [12:34] Helping clients recognize that they really do have a problem that you can fix. [17:55] Challenges and mistakes on Stuart’s path to consulting success. [24:03] Follow-up with potential clients is an essential part of the process. [26:12] Scaling business growth means working smarter. [30:30] Connecting with Stuart Friedman.   Mentioned in This Episode: Global Context Stuart Friedman at Business Insider Stuart Friedman at Fortune.com   Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

If your consulting business has more than one employee, chances are you have run into conflict with your partners or coworkers. On this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast, I’m joined by Liz Kislik, the owner of Liz Kislik Associates, with nearly 30 years of nationally acclaimed consulting management experience. Liz is an expert on conflict management, handling everything from operating issues to communication problems and inter-departmental conflicts.   Liz started out as a college student looking for a summer job. She landed her first job as a salesperson for TV Guide, where she learned the entire business and eventually was promoted to executive vice president before leaving the company. Within a week of quitting, Liz was being contacted by companies looking for a consultant, and she has been working hard at her successful consulting business ever since.   On this episode, we dive into the difference between luck and hard work. Every consultant hopes to get lucky, but there are many ways that you can actually affect your luck. Liz shares several tactics that have resulted in her luck improving, and it is all because of the hard work she has been willing to put into her business. From expanding her referral pool to fine-tuning her branding, she shares solid tips for the hard work that will increase your luck, and your consulting success. You won’t want to miss out on her wisdom and expertise on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Liz Kislik.   Luck or Hard Work — Which One Equals Success? Too many consultants are looking for luck — whether it be some new technology or a big breakthrough that will catapult their business into an unbelievable success. Liz starts out by explaining that that kind of luck, while possible, is unlikely to be sustainable for an extended period of time. She calls it “lottery luck,” and warns that it can lead to trouble. Finding yourself lucky in your business without the preparation that needs to take place to sustain long-term success is not really lucky at all. Real success comes with 20 years of preparation. There is no quick and easy substitute for real preparation and hard work, and Liz explains why.   It is essential that you know what you are talking about in your consulting business. There is no substitute for really knowing the ins and outs of the work you are hired to do. Lucky breaks will never make that happen. Understanding the work and doing what it takes to make it successful, not only gives you increased knowledge, it also gives you more credibility in your field. Hard work will give you the edge you need when potential clients are considering hiring you to get their jobs done, and that’s when you will see your luck start to grow.   The Relationships that Lead to Success When Liz started out in her consulting business, she didn’t have a business plan in place, although she wishes she would have had one. In its place, she had to work to find other ways to find clients and projects. I talk often on The Consulting Success Podcast about the importance of a solid network, and Liz’s story is further proof that your network is the number one key to gaining the success that you are seeking.   When building out your network, you need to foster and maintain referral relationships. These relationships include the people who think highly of you and the work that you are capable of doing. When they hear of an opportunity, they think of you and are willing to recommend your name as someone who can get the job done. Liz calls these relationships the lucky ones. For her, these relationships have created many quality opportunities for her to expand both her business and her credibility. She recognizes that it takes hard work to make and keep these types of relationships, but that the work produces exceptional rewards.   There are several ways that you can establish referral relationships, and Liz shares the details of one highly effective method. By actively serving in volunteer positions on nonprofit boards, you can spend a lot of time with a lot of different types of people who see you at work without your demanding anything from them. In this light, people can see your abilities to work, collaborate, and act as a good colleague. In a volunteer position, you can build a sense of trust and confidence in your abilities, as well as a confidence that you will bring value to any project that you are involved in.   It is definitely a long sales cycle, but it’s one that yields high returns in the long run. You’ll want to listen to the opportunities that have presented themselves for Liz because she was willing to put in the hard work of nurturing referral relationships — some of them 20 years in the making.   Keep the Referrals Coming by Doing These Two Things In addition to volunteering, Liz worked hard to increase her luck in two other areas early in her consulting career. By dedicating time to becoming a writer and a speaker, she increased both her visibility and her credibility. When they are presented to you, take advantage of writing or speaking engagements. These opportunities will help you to gain a reputation as an expert in your field.   To help in her efforts, Liz continues to maintain her lengthy list of contacts. A weekly blog post and a monthly emailed newsletter allow Liz to reach out to her readers and to connect with them regularly. She also has started writing for Harvard Business Review. She proves that by regularly putting yourself out there as an expert in your field, you are increasing your credibility for people who don’t know much about you or the work you do.   However, you have to recognize that the impact of writing and speaking may not be instantaneous. The effect that these efforts can have on your business is a long-term one. In her experience, Liz found that it was often years later that she was approached by a client that was finally ready to make the kind of changes and improvements that she implements in companies. Consulting work, and especially conflict management, can be long and hard work with a major commitment to change required on the part of the business. A company may not be ready to make changes as soon as you meet them, but by maintaining consistent and helpful contact with them, they will remember you and come to you when they are ready.   Speeding Up The Sales Cycle Won’t Increase Your Luck If you’re looking for ways to quickly speed up the sales cycle, you may not be able to take advice from Liz. She shares the story of a recent encounter she had with a company in which she quickly realized that she would not be able to help them because their beliefs and morals were inherently different. She doesn't believe in quick fixes to solve company problems, she believes in doing the work necessary to effect change over the long view. You’ll want to listen to our conversation to hear her explain why the hard work of real change is worth more than the lucky break of a quick fix.   However, if you are insistent on finding ways to speed up your sales pipeline, Liz’s number one tip is to read Stand Out, by Dorie Clark. Dorie was a previous guest of mine on The Consulting Success Podcast and you can hear more about her story and success on Episode 11. In Dorie’s book, she shares a three-pronged approach to setting yourself apart in your field. Liz has found success by following two of Dorie’s ideas. First, create a public presence and demonstrate social proof. This is done by proving you have good content to share and by exhibiting your expertise. And second, building your network so that there are people who are willing to refer you more frequently.   Finding the Confidence to Be Selective About Your Clients Every successful consultant wants to grow their business to the point that they can turn away potential clients. But if you are trying to generate more business, you may be tempted to compromise who you are willing to work with. Don’t do it! Early in her career, Liz was not as discerning as she could have been and found herself occasionally taking on clients that weren’t the best fit. She tells of an experience in which she resigned from a project as early as legitimately possible, simply because the project was not a good fit for her. That kind of project is the kind that you probably shouldn’t take on in the first place.   It does require a level of confidence to be selective about the work you take on, but it’s worth it to make sure that you are only taking on the work that will best suit you and your area of greatest expertise. Every client may not be the ideal one, but your business success and revenue will benefit more greatly in the long run if you are willing to hold out for the best fit for you. You will be happier and you will be more creative when you are working on a project that fits with your morals. Chances are you became an independent consultant so that you can call the shots and enjoy the freedom of making your own choices. Don’t settle for working with people who don’t respect you or that you don’t have respect for. As you draw the lines of what kind of work you are willing to take on, you will gain the confidence that is necessary for turning work away.   High-Quality Branding And Just-Right Sizing Will Increase Your Luck Liz has made a very conscious decision to focus on her branding. When you visit her website you immediately get a sense of the kind and quality of work that she does. She has deliberately designed her website to show that she has concepts about how things ought to be and a track record to show that she knows how to get those concepts realized. She also recognizes that being a “coach” is a dime-a-dozen position in today’s marketplace, and has made a concerted effort to show that her focus is on building and serving the business of each client she takes on. Too many coaches that are brought in to serve an individual fail to recognize the overall importance of affecting long-lasting change within an organization. By honing in on her high-quality branding, Liz has proven that she’s out to accomplish something bigger and better than simply coaching, from the start.   Scaling back or growing the business to just the right size, for Liz, has always been secondary to ensuring that she is doing the right kind of work. The perfect business size is a struggle that every consultant faces, and Liz has continued to work to find the right size business for her so that she is not overwhelmed but is also able to affect the best change she possibly can with the companies she consults.   With nearly 30 years of experience, Liz has seen plenty of mistakes that consultants over the years, and it all leads back to luck. As we discussed at the beginning of our conversation, Liz truly doesn’t believe that lucky breaks will create the lasting success that you are seeking with your consulting business. Instead, you have to commit to finding the best fit, ideal clients that share the same ideals as you, and from there, hard work and helping to affect long-term change are the only way that you can get the results that you want, and that your clients need. You’ll want to hear the experiences she shares of various mistakes that other consultants made that she had to clean up, and the lessons she learned from it. You may also be interested in the resources available on her website, including a field guide and checklist about dealing with conflict at work. You can learn all about it, as well as all the details on how to change your consulting luck for good, on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Liz Kislik.   Key Takeaways: [:10] Liz Kislik on the path that led to 30 years of consulting success. [4:20] Should you aim for good luck or hard work? [5:43] Referral relationships help increase business opportunities. [8:19] The benefits of writing and speaking regularly. [12:12] A quick fix project isn’t really a fix at all. [16:18] Have the confidence to choose the best-fit projects. [21:02] The role branding plays in Liz’s success. [26:25] Finding the right-size business for you. [29:20] Common mistakes in the consulting world. [33:28] Connecting with Liz Kislik.   Mentioned in This Episode: Liz Kislik Stand Out — How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It, by Dorie Clark Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

On this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast, I’m joined by Dauwn Parker. She founded Precision Partners in 2013 with a focus on helping healthcare and higher education organizations take their fundraising to the next level by streamlining, optimizing, and using the right technology for their operations. Prior to her work at Precision Partners, Dauwn worked for various consulting firms in customer relationship management software. From her work with the financial industry and high tech companies, Dauwn saw that non-profit companies were missing out on some of the benefits of building relationships and using information to strengthen relationships with constituents. At the turn of the century, she made the transition from the private sector to UCLA, where she began to implement the structure and methods into the university space. After her successful time at UCLA, she made an impact with City of Hope, a cancer research center. From there, she realized that she had tools for success that many companies and organizations could benefit from, and Precision Partners was born.   On this episode, we talk about ways to find an underserved market, the benefits of a healthy work-life balance, and the question everyone wants answered — how to land a six-figure deal with your dream client. You’ll hear the answers to it all in my conversation with Dauwn Parker.   Identify an Underserved Market in Need An underserved market is undoubtedly the best market to direct your expertise toward. Dauwn recognized that there was an underserved market in the healthcare and higher education sector, and she wasn’t afraid to take on the challenge of fulfilling that need in a way that others hadn’t done before. She shares how she first recognized the gap and then capitalized on the true catalyst, which was the pull from the industry to share her expertise.   Dauwn had already put herself out into the industry and in early 2013 she was contacted by what would become her first client. Having recognized the work she had already done with UCLA and City of Hope, they were requesting her help to best utilize a hard-earned budget. That phone call confirmed what she already suspected — that there was a gap in the industry and that an ideal client would benefit from the skills she had to offer.   Taking the Leap into the Consulting World I’ve heard it too many times to count — taking the leap into the unknown of the consulting world is a very scary idea. It can be paralyzing to even think about leaving the security of your position with a successful corporate business to venture out and start your own consulting firm. Dauwn describes herself as a conservative person by nature. She’s willing to take risks, but the risks are always calculated ones. The decision to venture out away from the corporate world to start her own business was a very difficult one for her to make. Although it wasn’t an easy decision, Dauwn did her research and found materials that helped her gain confidence in her choice and overcome her fears.   Like many consultants, Dauwn found that pricing was one of the most difficult aspects of business to pin down. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The materials you will find at Consulting Success such as the Accelerator Coaching Program and the Consulting Success System 2.0 are available to consultants like Dauwn — and you — to help you learn all about better pricing, what can be charged in the market, and how you can increase your fees.   By taking advantage of the programs and materials at Consulting Success, Dauwn also found herself surrounded by a network of people who could teach her lessons they had already learned. In those conversations, Dauwn recognized that there were consultants who were successfully running consulting businesses. When she combined that fact with her skills and market expertise, she found the courage to take the leap.   Staying Focused on Success Precision Partners has now enjoyed nearly five years of success. In our conversation, Dauwn shares ways that she remains focused on success. First, she is staying committed to having conversations with existing clients about the value that they are receiving from the work that they are doing. By doing this, she continues to understand the value that they are bringing to businesses, their story continues to build out, and they have more opportunities to connect with their ideal clients.   In addition to having conversations with existing clients, they are taking the time to connect with new clients whenever possible. By picking up the phone and contacting businesses that have never heard of Precision Partners, their network grows even more. Partner organizations and other consulting firms in the industry are ideal connections to make for growth, brainstorming and sharing best practices. Your name and your expertise will continue to become more well known within your industry when you make these connections. The Secret to Your Consulting Success You’ve seen it all over the Internet — promises of the one single secret that will guarantee your company’s success. Some ideas are helpful, and some are unbelieveable but there is just one secret that will truly help your business grow —  and we talk about it on this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast.   It’s all about conversations.   Whatever else you may be focused on, all of your effort and all of your success come back to the conversations that you are having with your clients, with your peers, and with your competition. The conversations you have with other people in every aspect of your network are the single most important key to growing your business. I’ve said it before and I said it again on this podcast — as long as you are taking the time to have those conversations, your business will continue to be a successful one.   Dauwn’s Lessons Learned When I asked Dauwn to share some of the lessons she has learned along the way, she was quick to answer, “I wish I would have started sooner!” That’s not the first time I’ve heard that response. Successful consulting brings with it a level of freedom that can’t be experienced when you are working for someone else. Dauwn explains that the level of freedom and creativity that she now enjoys as a successful consultant is so much greater than what she had in the corporate world, and she didn’t even realize how much she missed it before.   In addition to wishing she had started sooner, Dauwn has learned to let go of things in order to let her business continue to grow. In the beginning of the company, she called herself a one-person show with an attachment to the services she delivered. That process worked for a little while, but as the company continued to grow, she had to be more diligent about strategically bringing others into the company’s processes. By letting go of some of the aspects of business and bringing other employees in, she has been able to remain focused on the most important work that only she can do.   Six Figure Consulting Projects Can Be Yours What goes into landing a six-figure project? From both a mindset perspective and a tactical approach, Dauwn shares the key factors that go into securing a dream project.   The key tip to landing high-value projects is patience.   Her first project was $250,000 and the second one was nearly double that amount, but it didn’t happen overnight. It required persistence in continuing to have valuable conversations with her clients. Truly listening to the challenges each client was facing and offering immediate and valuable advice helped her to gain trust and secure future business. She put herself in a valuable position as a resource to potential clients. By connecting them with other companies that were having similar struggles, Dauwn became a trusted advisor even before any contracts were laid out.   That single point validates the point that I have said over and over again — consulting is not about transactions, it’s about relationships. Successful consultants have a patience, focus, and commitment to serving their clients. As you maintain those three key components, you provide more value. This places you in a position of trust. Everyone prefers to do business with someone that they trust, and your clients are no exception. By proving your value to your clients, you are securing future success for your consulting business.   You Don’t Have to Face Consulting Challenges Alone Every consultant faces challenging days. You may lose a project, or be dealing with a difficult project. It’s important to remember that you’re not alone. In our conversation, Dauwn shares her coping mechanisms for overcoming the challenges of difficult days. She shares the benefits she has gained by expanding her business to include her husband, Mario Houston, both with business operations and as a sounding board to help her through the difficulties the company is facing.   Dauwn has also found support through her challenges as a member of the Consulting Success community and by attending and connecting with people at Mastermind events. Even though people rarely want to share their failures, Dauwn says she has benefitted by sharing her difficulties with other successful consultants in her network. She shares a recent example in which she reached out to gain perspective and support from her network, and you’ll want to listen to the specific ways that her network helped her get through a trying time in her business.  Any consultant may feel lonely when challenges arise, but just as Dauwn’s experience proves, you don’t have to face it alone. By relying on your network, you can work through challenges and find greater success along the way.   The Benefits of a Healthy Work-Life Balance Chances are you became a consultant so that you could enjoy a greater work-life balance than the corporate world ever offered you. As your business grows, it can be a real challenge to keep your priorities straight and not commit too much time to your company. Dauwn shares the ways that she and her husband and business partner Mario have achieved a work-life balance that works for them. In addition to their non-negotiable commitment to tennis, they have also decided to share their business challenges and triumphs with their two teenage daughters. By integrating their work with their family, they have both taught their children about the non-traditional career paths that entrepreneurs enjoy, as well as shared the pride that comes with being part of a successful consulting firm.   The lessons that Dauwn shares in our conversation can be applied to anyone. If you want to get more done, you simply have to prioritize what is most important to you. The non-negotiables in your life will take priority and help you achieve the work-life balance that is necessary for real consulting success. I know you’ll be inspired by her message, and you can hear all of the details of the keys to success that really work on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast.   Key Takeaways: [:28] Introducing Dauwn of Precision Partners. [3:55] How to identify an underserved market. [6:53] Surround yourself with a network that will give you the courage to take the leap. [9:07] What is the secret to successfully growing your business? [11:33] Lessons Dauwn has learned, including regrets. [13:58] Landing a six-figure project starts with patience and trust. [17:28] Facing challenges with a support system. [21:58] Work life balance for Dauwn and Mario. [27:32] Staying committed to non-negotiables will protect your priorities. [30:07] Connecting with Dauwn.   Mentioned in This Episode: Precision Partners Accelerator Coaching Program Consulting Success System 2.0 Mastermind Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Bob Burg is a sought-after speaker at company leadership and sales conferences around the world. He has shared the platform with everyone from seasoned business leaders and broadcast personalities to a former U.S. president. He is the author of numerous books, and the best-seller that he is best known for is The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea, which he co-authored with John David Mann. Their book has sold over half a million copies, has recently been re-released and translated into 21 languages. On this session of the Consulting Success Podcast, we dive into the story of this unsuccessful journalist who transformed into a powerful author and speaker. We examine powerful sales systems and how to make them will work for you, why you have to embrace the ‘nos,’ and the advantage that having people skills will give you over the competition. Whether you’re an introvert who resists sales and marketing or an extrovert who needs to learn how to be a better listener, you won’t want to miss the time-tested tips and systems from the author who speaks, Bob Burg.   From Failing Journalist to Successful Speaker Before becoming a world-renowned author and speaker, Bob Burg worked in broadcasting. He started out as a sports broadcaster for a local radio station, then landed a spot as a TV news broadcaster. He enjoyed the job but wasn’t very good at it simply because he wasn’t interested in journalism. Without a passion for journalism, he knew he needed to make a career change and graduated into sales. The challenge he then faced was a lack of knowledge about sales.  Despite his willingness to put himself out there and make connections with people, he wasn’t finding much success. On a serendipitous day 35 years ago, he wandered into a bookstore and found himself in the sales teaching department, surrounded by the works of Tom Hopkins and Zig Ziglar. After just a few weeks of studying and implementing their ideas, Bob’s sales went through the roof. After years of failure, it seemed improbable that Bob could find success in such a short time.  But by simply applying the information he learned from these sales masters, Bob had discovered a successful system that worked. By implementing this new system, he was prepared for success. He shares the simple and essential role that systems can have on the success of any work you do. He defines a system as the process of predictably achieving a goal based on a logical and specific set-up. Predictability is the key — it’s been proven that by doing “A” you will get the desired results of “B.”  As long as you are willing to continue to do “A,” you will continue to see the results you want in “B.” After discovering this methodology, Bob immersed himself in the study of sales and personal development and the applied that information to his approach to sales. He worked his way up to sales manager and began teaching people his methods, but that was just the launching point of his success.   Miserable Salesman To Successful Speaker I was a bit dubious about Bob’s ability to turn around his sales work in just a matter of weeks, but you have to hear how it worked for him. While telling his story, he explains how simply having a system in place was the key to his transformation from failure to success. An entrepreneur at heart, Bob recognized and capitalized on the opportunity to become an independent speaker. It was at this point that he discovered (again) that having a system in place would offer him greater success. Bob joined the National Speakers Association and by expanding his network and surrounding himself with experienced mentors, Bob learned how to market himself, grow his business, and sell his speaking services. He appears to be a natural speaker, but Bob likens his work to that of a “decent athlete.” Just as truly successful athletes work very, very hard at becoming the best, Bob has put countless hours into learning from others in order to become the best speaker he can be. In the early stages of his speaking career, Bob offered hundreds of free speaking engagements, each one helping him to hone his craft and perfect his skills. Still today, he continues to watch other successful speakers and learn as much as he can from them. The work he has put into becoming the best hasn’t been easy, but Bob has proven that it does pay off.   How People Skills Play Into Success Just as the masterminds Zig Ziglar and Tom Hopkins explained before him, sales is all about asking questions — discovering what a person really needs and what they want. As a successful consultant, you have to focus on the needs of your client and highlight the ways you can create value for them. The first and great mistake that too many consultants make is asking clients to listen to you talk about yourself, your products or your methodology. It may be interesting information, but that is not what clients are interested in. They want to answer the engaging questions that you are asking about them. This is a mistake that Bob says he sees consultants make far too often, simply because it is natural to want to talk about ourselves. But no matter how much you believe in your products and service, and no matter how exceptional the value you may be able to bring to your clients, talking about yourself is very ineffective. Clients who know that you understand their needs and problems will become the clients that are seeking your expertise. The ability to show genuine interest in others is the differentiating factor between people who enjoy a moderate and an enormous amount of success. Technical understanding and skills are absolutely essential, but they are just the entry fee for getting into the game. People skills make up the real difference. Bob believes that the absolute best skill that you can have is a well-developed and authentic interest in other people. As you’ve most likely seen in your work, people know when someone is genuinely interested in them and when they are simply interested in what’s in their wallet. By developing genuine people skills you can gain the advantage and win the trust of potential clients.   Do introverts make better salespeople? Even though he regularly places himself in front of large audiences, Bob considers himself an introvert. He believes that introverts make better salespeople because they are more willing to listen — they exhibit greater people skills. Unless an extrovert is willing to stop talking, they won’t be able to show the same genuine interest in their clients that an introvert does. I often hear consultants say that they are uncomfortable with sales and marketing, but that doesn’t have to be a defeating characteristic. You don’t have to hide behind your introverted tendencies —  you can use your unwillingness to talk about yourself to your advantage when gaining the trust and confidence of your clients.   Becoming a Writer As a writer of many successful business books, Bob is somewhat of an expert on the importance of becoming a published author. Authoring a book puts you in a better position — it gives you the authority in your marketplace that allows you to charge higher fees for your speaking engagements. That may seem like common knowledge today, but in the 90s when Bob decided to give it a try, writing a book was a less common approach to success. At the time, he simply considered himself a speaker who wrote books, but the Go-Giver series changed that approach as he began to share his stories. Over time Bob began viewing himself as a writer who speaks. He used his earlier books as simple and effective outbound marketing tools, but when he started telling stories in the Go-Giver series, he began being approached by companies that had read his books and wanted to bring him in for a speaking engagement. In our conversation, he shares how he used his earlier books, including Endless Referrals, as marketing tools, how his books helped him connect with companies, and why all of that changed after he wrote the Go-Giver series. If you’ve ever considered writing a book to help increase your authority and credibility in your field, you will be inspired as you listen to Bob’s story.   Understanding the Value of the Nos Amidst the work that Bob was doing to promote his work and his book, he was faced with a lot of rejections. Like most consultants, he needed to find a way to get through the rejections to move on to the successes. Bob recommends reading Go For No — Yes is the Destination, No Is How You Get There to better understand the value of all the “nos” that you are undoubtedly going to hear while seeking new clients and projects. Of course, no one really likes hearing “no,” but Bob explains that by understanding that “no” is part of the process, and that by accepting the “nos,” you are essentially preparing yourself for tomorrow’s highly anticipated “yes.” Once you recognize that the “nos” are going to keep coming, you need to have a game plan — another system — in place. You need to decide what you’re going to do when you hear another no — how are you going to follow up with the person that has rejected you? How will you know when it’s no longer worth following up with that person? By having a system in place for handling and moving on from each no, you are positioning yourself for greater success and more “yeses” in your future.   Value Comes Before Money If you’re in the thick of growing your business, you’re probably looking for ways to grow your revenue and sales. In the middle of this, you have to focus on creating real value for your customers, rather than just completing another transaction. That may be hard to understand, and if so, you need to listen to Bob’s reasoning of why the mind-shift from more money to better value is an essential one.  We know that money received is a direct result of value provided, but focusing on the value doesn’t mean give away yourself away for free. Instead, it is critical to communicate the value that people will receive by doing business with you. Until your potential clients can understand the value they will receive from you, they won’t be giving you their money. You can change that by explaining your value to them in a way that will make them want to do business with you. Once they understand your value, clients will understand how they will be better off by doing business with you. In my experience, I have seen that many consultants find it easy to provide value but difficult to make a clear offer. Bob offers several solutions for this problem. Rather than waiting for clients to reach out to you, find ways to put yourself out into the marketplace. Put content into the marketplace by way of online articles or regular blog posts. That makes it easier for clients to understand who you are and what you have to offer. You can also bring clients to you by directing them to your website for additional content. Some people may claim that outbound connections such as phone calls or newsletters are no longer necessary, but Bob disagrees. He explains why and how those connections can create greater success for you, regardless of the size of your business. You won’t want to miss these tips as well as the new and upcoming opportunities that Bob is working on, including the Go-Giver Sales Academy online course, where successful consultants like you can learn more about creating the business you’ve been dreaming of. You can hear more about it as well as how to connect with Bob on this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast.   Key Takeaways: [:19] Meeting Bob Burg, the writer who speaks. [3:56] The secret behind Bob’s transformation from misery to success. [5:04] How to avoid the mistake of talking about yourself. [8:14] The work that turned Bob into a successful speaker. [9:59] Why people skills make the difference in real success. [12:00] The introvert advantage in sales. [14:11] Why and how Bob became a writer who speaks. [20:34] Dealing with the seemingly endless nos. [22:55] Providing value makes the money part come easily. [28:51] How Bob scales his business for success. [31:00] Connecting with Bob Burg.   Mentioned in This Episode: Bob Burg The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea, by Bob Burg and John David Mann Tom Hopkins Zig Ziglar National Speakers Association Endless Referrals, by Bob Burg The Go-Giver Leader: A Little Story About What Matters Most in Business, by Bob Burg and John David Mann Go-Givers Sell More, by Bob Burg and John David Mann Go For No — Yes is the Destination, No Is How You Get There, by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz Go-Giver Sales Academy Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

John Murphy is the man behind John Murphy International, a France-based business that is focused on helping global companies create winning teams. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, John started his business in Ireland 13 years ago and moved to the south of France after realizing that one of the great perks of consulting was that he could base his business anywhere. Prior to starting his business, John was climbing the ladder in the corporate world.  He began as a door-to-door salesman, and progressed to sales manager, sales director, and eventually marketing director before becoming a CEO for a finance company. During this time he recognized that, while the corporate world had been very good to him, the view from the top wasn’t exactly what he thought it was going to be. Although the leap from the corporate world to independent consulting seems like a daunting one, John says it was made easier because he felt compelled to take the leap. We talk about making the leap, the best place to find clients, and the greatest key to business development growth on the episode of the Consulting Success Podcast with John Murphy.   Taking the Leap The corporate world is a secure place to enjoy a career, but for CEOs like John, taking the leap away from the corporate world and into the unknown may be a move that you simply have to make. After working your way to the top, you, like John, may find that there is more you can accomplish with your skills and talents. Two years before he started his own company, John felt that he needed to step away from his secure place in the corporate world and try something new.   Even if there is nothing fundamentally wrong with your current company or organization, many consultants feel at some point that they simply don’t want to remain someone else’s employee indefinitely. John felt that desire to ‘create something for himself.’ He wanted something beyond what the corporate world has to offer, and after a period of time, John Murphy International was born. If you’ve ever felt compelled to leave your successful corporate job and create something new, you’ll want to hear John’s story. Although it seems counterintuitive, he was even willing to leave his job even before his new company was in place and in our conversation he shares why.   Finding Clients in Surprising Places Once John Murphy International was established, John needed to find clients. It was at this point when he received a very relevant piece of advice from a friend, who said, “You won’t get business in the places you think you will, and you will get business in very surprising places.” He found out that that was exactly true, and after placing a huge number of sales calls, he secured some of his first work with Johnson & Johnson. His approach was not exactly a scientific one — by simply placing as many calls as he could and asking people if they could recommend him to anyone else, he landed the client that he was looking for.   It may sound too good to be true, but we dug deep into the ways that John found his first clients — 50% of the people that he worked with in the first year were people that he’d never worked with before, and I really wanted to hear John explanation of how that was possible. Many consultants are uncomfortable making the calls, reaching out to potential clients, and doing the follow-up that is necessary for acquiring new work, but, as I’ve said many times before, that is the most essential step to getting more work. John’s story proves what I’ve said to be true — you have to be willing to get out there and make the connections in order to get the work you’ve been dreaming of. By simply increasing the volume of calls, emails, or connections you make, you will be able to secure the work you’ve been seeking.   Don’t Take Your Foot Off the Accelerator Simply reaching out to a prospective client once just isn’t good enough. Too many consultants slow their efforts down when they start to feel comfortable with where their company is at, but the minute that you take your foot off the accelerator, you are going to lose the momentum that you’ve worked so hard to build up in your company. On the other hand, if you are willing to make phone call after phone call, email after email, or connection after connection, then you are going to achieve consulting success. John started out 13 years ago, but he says that the methods for securing clients haven’t really changed that much over the years. A consultant who is willing to do the work is going to be a successful consultant.   Earning Your Referrals Referrals come easily when you’re doing good work for your clients. That is the first and key step to getting more referrals for more work. If you maintain the mindset that you are always going to add value to the client that you’re working with, and always do your best work, then you will create a business that clients want to do more business with. The better work you do, and the better you know the company that you’re working for, the easier the referrals will come. John has many insights into the ways that your contributions can add value to any company that you’re working for, starting with looking for opportunities to refer yourself over to various departments within the company. That’s his first suggestion, but be sure to listen for the other ways that you can find and earn referrals with every client you work with.   The Key to Business Development Growth Often we think of obtaining new clients as the best and only way to grow a business, but in my conversation with John, we unearth the reasons why that mentality is wrong. You won’t want to miss the great discussion we have about the importance of business development growth within the companies that you are already doing business with. These are the companies that you’ve already invested your time and skills in, and by deepening your understanding and relationship with these companies, you’re creating greater value for the company and for yourself.   Before you think about going after new clients, ask yourself what opportunities are available within current or previous clients that you should consider first. Find out where the company is growing and shrinking, opening and closing, reorganizing, restructuring and investing, then use that information to become a more informed advisor to the company and to create more consulting work for yourself. There are undoubtedly already needs within the company that you’re currently working with — taking advantage of the work where you’ve already established a relationship means working smarter and finding more success for yourself.   Grow Your Consulting Business from Anywhere One of the greatest benefits of being a consultant is the ability to base your business from anywhere in the world. When John realized that he was getting into a bit of a consulting rut in Ireland, he moved his business to the south of France to shake things up. By making a physical change he was inspired to shift his business focus and grow his business the ways he needed to. There were definitely trade-offs that had to be made by moving to another country, but his determination to making this virtual business model work drove him to succeed. The risk was worth the reward as not only did he not lose any clients, he was able to strengthen the working relationship that he had in place with his existing clients. To hear more about how this shift enabled John to grow his business in the ways he wanted, you’ll have to listen to our conversation.   Don’t Be Afraid to Challenge Your Clients Too often clients resist the suggestions made to them by brilliant and effective consultants like you because they are used to the way things have always been. If you’ve faced rejection from a client — whether it’s your pricing model, how you approach work, or where you are working from — don’t be afraid to push back and remind them why they should put their trust in your new ideas. You can never forget — there is a reason you are the consultant. If you can convince your clients to try new things, you will add value to their business and to the work that you’re doing for them. This approach has worked for John, it’s worked for me, and it can work for you — if you are willing to take the risk.   Stay On Top of Your Game — Two Ways Staying at the top of your game is essential when perfecting your consulting business. In our conversation, John shares two key ways that he has been able to stay focused on his work.  First, remember that a business is a dynamic thing — it’s always changing and growing. If you constantly examine how you are growing and changing with your business, you will be motivated to tweak and change your business to be its best as it grows. Trying new things means that you’re giving the best business possible to your current clients as well as the clients that you will get in the future.   Second, find a mentor. Working by yourself may lull you into a comfortable state while working with a mentor who will challenge you to become more than you currently are is key to staying on top of your game. I’ve worked with John for a number of years, and he shares how the mastermind group that we’ve created has improved his approach to work. He says being challenged has kept him fresh, and he explains why. You’ll want to hear what has worked for him and more, all on this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast with John Murphy.   Key Takeaways: [:15] Introducing John Murphy, former CEO who felt compelled to leave the corporate world. [5:58] You may find clients in unexpected places. [10:35] Discomfort comes with reaching out. [13:05] Factors that play into getting a good stream of referrals. [17:13] The smarter approach to business development growth. [18:15] Working remotely may force you to improve business. [23:32] Push back when your ideas are rejected. [25:10] Stay at the top of your game by doing these two things.   Mentioned in This Episode: John Murphy International Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! 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David Baker is a consultant who has been working with marketing firms and advertising agencies since the late 1980s. He is an author, a speaker, and an adviser who helps companies make high-quality business decisions. David focuses on finances, benchmarking, performance, and positioning of firms, as well as PR, advertising, and more. Having spent the majority of his childhood living in a Mayan Indian tribe, David didn’t attend formal school until he was nearly 18 years old. It was during graduate school where he was studying theology and language that he (somewhat naively) decided that he could produce better ads than the ones he was seeing in newspapers. He began consulting peers on the side and realized that he wanted to pursue consulting as a full-time career. Once he discovered that he had the skills he needed for success, his career took off and hasn’t stopped since. In our conversation, David shares the mistakes he made in the early days of his career, how he has achieved the perfect work-life balance, and the number one error that he wishes consultants would stop making. With over three decades of experience under his belt, he is definitely a consulting and business expert, and you won’t want to miss the insights he shares on this on this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast.   Don’t Compromise Just to Keep Feeding the Machine For many of today’s successful consultants, taking the leap from a secure paycheck to an independent consulting business can be a very scary one. David knew all about that reality — and the potential unreliability of consulting gigs — when he first started out. He decided to take on a second full-time job to help buffer his potential risk while getting his consulting business up and running. By doing this he was guaranteed a way to still feed his family without having to deal with potential pressure from the economy to lower his consulting work. It only took him a few months, but the security that the second job offered him was priceless as he was starting out. By having an extra stream of income, David was able to only take on consulting clients that he really wanted to work with, and he didn’t have to compromise his pricing, either.   You may find yourself in a similar situation where you are considering negotiating on your pricing so that you can secure more work, but David says, don’t! There are endless opportunities for growth within the consulting field, and that growth can be used to your advantage. When business slows, you may be tempted to lower your prices or take on work from a less-than-ideal client, but that will undoubtedly lead to a constant stream of compromises.   In our conversation, David shares several tips to help you avoid making these kinds of detrimental compromises. First, you have to decide how big you want your firm to be. Don’t let the marketplace decide that for you, and don’t grow or shrink based on the marketplace either.  Second, you have to size your firm in proportion to how many opportunities you regularly encounter. You should position yourself in such a way that you can routinely turn down work, and be more selective about the kind of work that you are willing to take on. This will put you in a position to make the best choices for your firm. You’ll want to listen as David explains why this approach will give you greater success over the long run.   A Successful Business Isn’t Just a Hobby Too many entrepreneurs approach their business as a side job. While it’s true that some people are simply more success-minded than others, if you possess the number one qualities that David outlines in our conversation, you will be more successful than your peers and competitors. But first, you can determine if your business is headed toward success by truthfully examining your income levels. A successful entrepreneurial enterprise yields profit consistently, while those who find that they are constantly having cash flow problems are, in reality, the ones that are having legitimate business problems.   Taking Risks Means Securing Success In David’s fifth and newest book The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Conver Insight to Impact + Wealth, David conducted a series of surveys with over 1,000 entrepreneurs and found that they all had only one major characteristic in common — their willingness to take risks. In our conversation, we discuss the payoff that comes with taking risks as your consulting business grows.   Many consultants are afraid to make decisions, but you can’t let this happen to you. By looking at the negatives before the positives in the risks that you may encounter, you are only going to paralyze your progress. David recognizes that the only safe way to never make any mistakes is to never make any decisions, but that will hardly create a thriving consulting business. Although the potential for taking risks may compound as your company grows, so will the rewards. Your employees will surely be forgiving of the bad decisions you make, but they won’t be forgiving if you never make any decisions at all. Anytime you are faced with a decision to make — whether it be to add a partner or take on a new client — weigh your options quickly, pull the trigger, and don’t look back.   Making Mistakes Means Becoming a Better Consultant If you’re like David, you may not remember the good choices that you’ve made nearly as well as you remember the mistakes you’ve made along the way. But don’t worry — that is a good thing. The lessons you learn from your poor choices are the ones that are going to teach you how to be a better consultant. David shares several of the mistakes that he made — some of which prompted the writing of his fourth book Managing (Right) for the First Time — and those that have allowed him to achieve the level of consulting success that he enjoys today.   Finding the Right Size Business for You Every entrepreneur and consultant dream of achieving the right size business that also allows for perfect work-life balance. Despite years of pressure to grow larger, David resisted this pressure and instead found ways to make his one-person company work harder for him. He details the formula that he uses to grow his business, starting with his weekly content-filled email, which reaches an audience of 30,000 readers and potential clients. His decision to produce content consistently has been the biggest contributor to his company’s success. He admits that he’s not much of an extrovert or a networker, but he has still managed to find a very successful way to reach his clients that fits his personality perfectly.   Avoid These Common Mistakes to Find Greater Success David has been in the marketing and consulting industry since the late ’80s, and he has seen consultants make plenty of mistakes along the way. The biggest mistake is watching consultants consistently solve clients problems on an individual basis. When a client approaches you with what seems to be a unique problem, you have to take a step back and recognize that this is a problem that many consultants have experienced before and that many more will face in the future. If you can find a way to solve a client’s problem on a greater scale, you can increase the demand for your expertise and also reduce your future workload. David also shares the easy fix to the second biggest problem he has seen in the consulting world, and it starts with increasing your confidence level and perfecting your positioning in your marketplace. A successful consultant doesn’t spin his wheels — he learns from his mistakes and propels himself from there to success. You can hear all about David’s tips and advice for starting out right and achieving greater success on this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast.   Key Takeaways: [:19] Introduction of David Baker — current consultant, former Mayan Indian tribe dweller. [6:45] Why you can’t afford to compromise your standard of work. [10:07] Successful entrepreneurs have these key qualities in common. [12:31] Taking risks will compound your consulting success. [16:37] The lessons learned that allow David now to serve his clients so well. [20:27] Finding the right sized business means resisting pressure and producing content. [24:27] David’s earliest steps to consulting success. [26:20] Avoid these common consulting mistakes, starting with increasing your confidence level. [31:14] How you can connect with David Baker.   Mentioned in This Episode: Expertise.is The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth, by David Baker Managing (Right) for the First Time, by David Baker   Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Nicholas started out as a pastor who was committed to not relying on his congregation for his salary. That commitment required a side hustle of some sort, which is when Nicholas turned to the internet marketing world. When he started using Facebook as a major advertising platform for his work, he quickly became one of the most recognized agencies/consulting businesses in the market. But that was just the beginning. You won’t want to miss the story of the million-dollar road that this side hustle has taken Nicholas down, on this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast.   Don’t Be Just Another Generic Consultant — It’s Time to Specialize One of the greatest keys to consulting success that I constantly emphasize is the absolute importance of specializing. It isn’t enough to simply tell people that are you are a consultant for any industry — you have to find your niche and make it work for you. Nicholas learned early in his career that “everyone and their mother” was a generic digital marketing consultant. It just wasn’t enough for him to follow that same overly worn path — and it won’t be enough for you, either. You have to pinpoint what exactly you are going to specialize in and confidently move forward from there.   This can seem like a daunting task, and you may assume that everyone has the same skills as you. But you can’t let those thoughts overwhelm you. With a bit of research and perhaps some luck, you may discover that you already have in your possession a specialized skill that is just waiting to be exposed. Discovering this skill set and exploiting it in your favor is what will set you apart as an expert in your industry.   For Nicholas that opportunity came at a convention in 2014, where he discovered that he already had a skill that could lend itself well in the marketplace. He knew exactly how to make a profit from Facebook ads, while everyone around him was struggling to figure out what he already knew. By recognizing this, Nicholas carved out a niche for himself, which set him apart from his competition and dramatically increased the demand for his skills. By focusing solely on his niche, Nicholas elevated through the ranks and brought his company to where it is today. As you listen to the story he shares of how he found success, you’ll see how the same approach to specializing can work for you too.   Discover Your Niche by Doing Two Simple Things At times it may seem that you are one of dozens of consultants offering the same skills to an oversaturated market. Nicholas has two tips to help pinpoint your area of specialization.   First, recognize an underserved segment of your marketplace. If you are a consultant that is often “scratching an itch,” meaning that you’ve already figured out what needs are present, chances are you are also already looking for a solution. Once you know who you need to target, the next step will come easily.   Second, target an affluent segment of your target market. You will find greater success if you can identify the thriving companies that are in need of your specialty. By seeking out these companies you will create for yourself a greater opportunity for success within the underserved segment of your marketplace.   Your Network Will Always Work for You The greatest way to find this kind of success is to keep your finger on the pulse of your industry. By tapping into your already existing network, you’ll be able to easily recognize an underserved market. Within your network, there are needs that are waiting to be filled, and you can discover what these needs are in a variety of ways. Compile a list of the best and worst consultants your clients have ever worked with. Poll people within your network to gather opinions on their experiences, good or bad, to figure out what needs they still have that are waiting to be met. Look for commonalities between favorite clients, whether it be the particular business, size of a client’s business, or the products they offer. Look at clients that have been the worst to work with and take note of what common characteristics they have. Each of these steps will help you to zero in on your new niche.   Even after you have taken these steps, you may still find that your market is saturated with overgeneralized specialists. But there is still a way that you can position yourself so that it sets you apart from your competitors. Just as Nicholas shifted his expertise from general marketing consultant to Facebook strategist, you can find a way to stand out in your crowd. Be sure to listen to the additional tips that Nicholas shares to find a way to position yourself so that people see you as the only person who does what you do.   Separate Yourself From the Pack Your business will thrive if you can find a way to set yourself apart from the crowd. You know that there is no replacement for the quality of your work. As you create value for your clients, your work will speak for itself. Once you have those results, you have to position yourself so that what you do appears to be very different from what everyone else is doing.   Nicholas shares the angle that he took to position himself as the Facebook ads expert. Rather than focusing on tactics like everyone else around him, he set his focus on strategy. He shares the three steps that successful companies take to set themselves apart in their marketplace — the positioning, the promise, and the big idea. He shares the inspiring story of P90X — the way they have used this approach to become the leader in the fitness industry is the same technique you can use to set yourself apart as well.   As a successful consultant, it is essential that you know what your promise is in the marketplace, that you know what your position is in the marketplace, and what your big idea is in the marketplace that has set you apart as the true expert. It worked for Nicholas, and it will work for you, too. All of the details on how to make it happen for you are in this inspiring episode of the Consulting Success Podcast.   Success Isn’t Just a Dollar Sign When you are first starting out, the highest possible dollar amount may be the milestone of success that you are working toward. However, as your business continues to grow, if you keep working toward dollar signs only, you are going to find yourself working for your business, instead of making your business to work for your lifestyle. Chances are that isn’t why you decided to become a consultant in the first place. At some point, whether it be by reaching a salary goal, obtaining expensive possessions, or even the birth of a child, your measure of true success will shift. Then you will have to protect your success by the choices that you make.   Nicholas shares the measures he has taken to protect his success and optimize his business so that it best aligned with his personal values — and he calls this process “netting up.” For Nicholas, this means a few things. First, it means clearly identifying and only working with clients that he truly enjoys working with. Earning a big paycheck isn’t the only criteria for working with a client anymore — now you can ask yourself if you actually want to spend time with each client that comes along.   Second, increasing your prices is a well-earned mark of success. As you achieve higher levels of success, you will have the luxury of tailoring your prices to ensure that you’re working only with the quality of clients you want to work with. You may reduce your number of clients but as a reward, you are also increasing the quality of each business transaction.   Third, netting up means keeping your staff at a manageable size. This may mean letting people go, but it also means identifying key responsibilities and roles in your business. Rather than supporting full-time employees, you can utilize contractors to fill those gaps and reduce the number of staff that you are responsible for managing.   Fourth, protect your success by putting standard operating procedures in place and making them work for you. If there are ways that you can automate, optimize, or delegate the work that your business requires, take the time to make it happen.   Fifth, make intentional and clear decisions about your boundaries. When are you willing to do extra work? Or answer the phone on a Friday afternoon at 4:30? Or come in over the weekend? By setting boundaries, you can lift the burden of your work and protect your success.   Enjoying this kind of success may sound too good to be true, but if you implement the ideas that Nicholas has shared here, you will soon be enjoying this same level of consulting success as he is.   What are the Pricing Models that Work? Every consultant struggles to correctly price work. For Nicholas, pricing models have evolved over time for both agency pricing and consulting pricing. In our conversation he shares specific dollar amounts that he currently charges, and why the numbers are all at least five digits.  You’ll definitely want to listen to this segment of the episode to hear the details on dollar amounts, where he started, and how he decided to switch to a percentage-of-revenue pricing model.   One key point that Nicholas shares in our money talk is that you don’t have to spend more time on projects in order to charge more money. By strategically optimizing your company’s approach to fees and providing your clients with valuable results, you will be able to significantly increase your company’s revenue. “We’re not raising fees arbitrarily,” Nicholas says of their pricing model. “We’re creating a win-win scenario that makes sense for everyone involved.” Both you and your client will benefit when you charge higher fees, and Nicholas explains multiple reasons why that is, starting with accountability. Be sure to listen to this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast to hear even more reasons why you can feel about confident charging your clients higher fees than you currently are.   Finding Clients that Fit As you achieve greater consulting success, you will have the option of selecting which clients you want to work with. But how? Performing a marketing audit is the first critical step to determining whether or not a company will make a good fit as your next client. When considering each potential project, it is essential to examine the following — what kind of processes are already in place? What are the company numbers behind the work? Is the company in a place where they can implement your ideas to make changes for their business? If you get the answers you are looking for, then you’ve found your next client. If not, it’s time to move on to the next opportunity, no matter how big the paycheck you’re leaving behind. In the long run, your company will benefit more by only securing the kind of work that is a perfect fit for you.   Every Credible Person is the Author of a Book Nicholas wrote Give: The Ultimate Guide to Using Facebook Advertising to Generate More Leads, More Clients, and Massive ROI after someone told him that every credible person is the author of a book. He took that advice to heart, and the impact of that decision on his business has been incredible — even though he likens writing a book to passing a kidney stone. You can get a free copy of his book at giveinfo.com. If you’re considering writing a book, you’ll want to hear what the process was like for him, and how it has benefitted his company so far.   Key Takeaways: [:24] From pastor side hustle to full time consultant, Nicholas shares his path to consulting success. [4:57] Why focus solely on Facebook ads? [7:17] Finding your niche starts with pinpointing an underserved market. [13:10] Separate yourself from the pack by focusing on this. [20:53] What does success mean to Nicholas Kusmich? [24:34] Steps for protecting your success. [29:39] Pricing models that work. [33:20] Screening companies for the best fit. [35:52] The impact of authoring Give. [39:10] How you can connect with NIcholas Kusmich.   Mentioned in This Episode: Nicholas Kusmich Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant, by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne Give: The Ultimate Guide to Using Facebook Advertising to Generate More Leads, More Clients, and Massive ROI by Nicholas Kusmich givebook.info   Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Adam started out as an electrical apprentice while in college pursuing an electrical engineering degree. After 20 years in construction management, he decided to make the leap to consulting, as a way to give back to the construction and contracting community. He attributes his decision to make this transition into consulting, in part, to The Consulting Success System — How to Become a Successful Consultant. Adam has now been growing Ascent Consulting for three years. He calls these years a time of accelerated growth, a greater depth of understanding and a time to hone his skills of understanding as a consultant deliver and sell value and deliver top-quality projects to his clients. On this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast you’ll learn how to effectively grow your business in your area of expertise, how to transition from fee-based to a value-based pricing, and how to recognize when it’s time to start sharing your workload with employees so that you can continue focusing on the work that you do best.   Don’t Know What You’re Doing? Start Here. Successful consultants like Adam Cooper have been able to successfully navigate the path to consulting success by taking advantage of The Consulting Success System — How to Become a Successful Consultant, which you can learn more about here on the Consulting Success website. Adam is one of over 5,000 consultants around the world that have used our products to land more clients, earn a greater income, and streamline their consulting businesses to enjoy more time-off. Adam claims that when he started out, he didn’t know exactly what he was supposed to be doing or how he was going to do it. By taking advantage of our system and coaching program he was able to establish his path, improve his proposals, and get an advantageous head start to his consulting business. You can find the link to The Consulting Success System below, and learn more about how this system can help you take your consulting business to the next level.   Selling Yourself as a Consultant Prior to starting Ascent Consulting, Adam worked as a project manager for several large national construction companies throughout the United States. He was responsible for managing materials, labor, subcontractors, budgets, and more, but after 20 years in the construction business, he decided that it was time to make a change. Two of the greatest challenges that he initially faced as a new consultant were learning how to sell himself to clients, and how to price his work. Pricing is often one of the greatest hurdles that consultants have to overcome. Initially you may find yourself, like Adam, pricing out your time, rather than the value that your work is bringing to your clients. You’ll want to listen to Adam’s story as he explains how he figured out the best way to make the shift from time-based to value-based pricing.   One of the first things he did to help overcome this hurdle and correctly price his work was to take advantage of the Accelerator Coaching course that is available here on the Consulting Success website. He also read books including The Consulting Bible, that helped him learn how to sell value instead of time, and how to have sales and value-based conversations with clients upfront. Early on, Adam would have conversations with his clients based on the budget that they had, and then create an appropriately sized project from there. Now he knows that the first conversation he needs to have with his clients is what kind of value they will gain by taking on a project, and then to proceed from there to structure a deal that will deliver the value that they are seeking. Listen to our conversation to hear more about how you can make this approach work for you, too.   Trial and Error will Lead You to Six-Figure Projects When Adam wanted to start the value-based pricing model, he didn’t know exactly how to make it work best for him. He was reading consulting books and taking consulting courses, but he still had a lot to learn. He was getting used to hearing “no,” a lot. Adam realized he had to learn how to price his work in a way that was fair to his clients, and made sense for him as the consultant.   It is also essential to develop a working relationship with your clients. Assessment projects and limited-scope projects are a great way to build their trust and confidence in the work that you can do for them. You can start out with assessment projects, which might be worth $4,000 to $6,000. Next you can offer limited-scope projects, which can be worth up to $30,000 or $40,000.  These smaller projects are the ones that build a foundation of trust and greater confidence with your clients. They will see the value that your work is bringing to their company through increased sales opportunities, better employee morale, increased profitability, or well-designed marketing. The value of your contributions to their organization will be apparent in these smaller projects, and those small projects will lead to the bigger six-figure projects.   Don’t Give Up on Value Pricing It can be extremely discouraging for any consultant to hear the word “no,” but getting rejected once, twice, or even a dozen times, is not a valid excuse for giving up. Adam shares how he turns those rejections into learning opportunities, starting with going back to the businesses and asking them what he can do differently next time. An initial rejection from a company does not always mean that they have no interest in doing any business with you ever again. Often it simply means that something needs to be reworked so that things makes better sense for your client. You’ll want to hear how exactly he forms his questions so that he can improve his proposal and approach, to turn a rejection into another successful project.   Another essential tip to helping yourself through hearing the ‘nos,’ is to surround yourself with people who want to see you be successful. If you are truly committed to switching over to value-based pricing, you have to take the time to figure out exactly how it will work for you. Adam explains that he wasn’t willing to give up, but that he needed a support system to help him get over this steep learning curve. You’ll probably recognize at least one of the names that he mentions in the network of colleagues and friends that helped him get the success he was looking for.   Expand Your Staff to Maintain Your Free Time As your business grows, you will have to decide how much time you want to commit yourself to getting the work done. Chances are you didn’t leave a 40-hour workload behind to take on a 60-hour workload in your consulting business. As your projects and clients increase, it may be worth it to bring on employees to help lighten your task list, and help your business grow. Just nine months into getting his business up and running, Adam decided to bring additional help on to help him with the ever-increasing work that he was facing. Ascent Consulting is now a business of three, and Adam explains the various ways that his staff help him get his work done and his clients satisfied. He also shares two ways that he knew it was time to bring in help.   First, maintain a sense of scale-ability. You have to be realistic about the vision that you have for your consulting business, and your ability to get it there yourself. Adam knew that his company would only be able to grow so big if he kept working at it alone. For him, that was when it was time to bring in additional help. If you want to take on bigger and better projects than you can handle independently, then it will be worth it to increase your staff size so that your business dreams can be realized.   Second, Adam refers to an exercise that he and I worked on together, to help him identify the most valuable activities that he could be focusing on. He refers to it as the ‘10s’ activity. If you break down all of the tasks that must be completed in your business into their dollar value, you will see that some tasks are more valuable than others. Tasks that are worth $10 or $100 are the ones that can be delegated to someone else, so that you can focus on the tasks that are worth $1,000, $10,000, or more. By freeing up your schedule to dedicate more time to the most valuable tasks, you are taking a great step toward securing your company’s greatest success. If you are trying to convince yourself that you can do everything in your business by yourself but are constantly drowning in menial tasks, you will want to be sure to listen to Adam as he details how this exercise has worked for him in finding greater success at Ascent Consulting.   Schedule Down Time for Yourself and Your Clients Every consultant wants to get their business to the point that they can enjoy some down time, and on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast, you’ll hear a variety of ways that Adam has made sure to take care of himself. From running and golfing to updating his website just for fun, Adam seems to have found the way to maximize his work-life balance. But he also shares great tips for turning work into pleasure by incorporating networking and relationship building into fun, starting with a monthly poker night with his clients. If that sounds like the kind of relationships that you are aiming to build with your clients, then you won’t want to miss out on his tips for scheduling time for fun. You’ll hear all about this and more on this episode of The Consulting Success Podcast with Adam Cooper.   Key Takeaways: [:23] An introduction of Adam and how he transitioned from project manager to consulting. [3:45] Adam’s greatest challenge, starting out, began with pricing his work. [6:34] A breakdown of time vs. value pricing structures. [8:02] Before you land a six-figure project, expect to hear a lot of ‘nos.’ [12:38] At what point should you bring additional help into your business? [17:14] Betting on a work-life balance. [19:20] How you can learn more about Ascent Consulting.   Mentioned in This Episode: Ascent Consulting The Consulting Success System 2.0 — How to Become a Successful Consultant Accelerator Coaching The Consulting Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Expand a Seven-Figure Consulting Firm, by Alan Weiss Hubspot Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Dorie Clark has transformed herself from a grad school reject to an expert in her field. She is a marketing strategy consultant, professional speaker, and frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review. The New York Times described her as an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.” Dorie is the author of several popular business books — Entrepreneurial You, a guidebook about how you can make money doing what you love, Reinventing You, a book on professional reinvention, and Stand Out, how to become a recognized expert in your field. She is also a part-time professor at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Dorie is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and talented professionals get their true talents noticed, appreciated, and recognized, in today’s noisy marketplace. Dorie currently splits her time between teaching, consulting, and writing. On this episode of Consulting Success Podcast, you’ll learn how that diversification has both preserved and enhanced her career, and ways that you can use her examples to find success as you are growing your consulting business.   Diversify Your Career for Greater Success 11 years ago, Dorie Clark was focused on one job — helping companies with their marketing strategies and social media presence. Although that was a good job, over time she realized that by not being more diversified with her work, she was exposing herself to a lot of market risk.  Situations may changes, budgets can be cut, and even if, as an entrepreneur, you are doing the same thing for all of your clients, it can become somewhat perilous. Dorie currently has seven different income streams — consulting, executive coaching, teaching, writing, professional speaking, online classes, and affiliate marketing. Having these multiple income streams can both leverage the work that you do, and also de-risk the work that you do.   From Theologian to Entrepreneur Dorie has never worked in the corporate world, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know her way around some of the country’s top businesses. As a philosophy major in college, she simply learned by doing. After earning a Master’s of Theology, and subsequently getting turned down by all of the doctoral programs she applied to, Dorie had no choice but to reinvented herself. That was when her first book, Reinventing Yourself, was born. Working as a political journalist led to working on political campaigns, which failed when her candidates lost their elections. From there, Dorie worked for a nonprofit in Boston for two years, where she learned how to run a business resourcefully. That opportunity gave her the training on the job that she needed to successfully go out and start her own business, where she is thriving today. As you listen to Dorie’s story, you’ll realize that even if the road to success has several detours along the way, it can still take you right to where you are supposed to be.   The Mindset that Overcomes Challenges From getting rejected from graduate school to losing elections, Dorie has encountered plenty of detours on her road toward success. You’ll want to listen as she shares the mindset that helped her overcome these multiple setbacks — starting with her basic need to support herself. One of the critical steps that she took on this path was obtaining freelance journaling work. This work taught her how to quickly hone in on what services and skills create valuable for your customers. Dorie was able to apply this skill to her consulting work — she understands that entrepreneurs are always trying to get inside the head of their customers to figure out what it takes to get them to part with their money in a way that creates value for them. This pitstop on her road to success proved that the skills she was learning in the early years of her career would have a direct impact on her ability to win clients later on. Utilizing this mindset to turn your failures into learning opportunities can have the same impact on your career as it had on hers.   Develop Your Marketing Approach as Your Business Grows As you are growing your business, the most important thing you have to focus on, is securing clients. At this time, your business may be over weighted with sales activity, but this effort is essential to later success. The early work that you put into sales will buy you more time later to focus on marketing. On the other hand, the time you spend on marketing may not buy you a dividend today, but the dividends will come in the next week, month or year. This is the position you want to put your business in. The more dividends you can obtain, the higher plateau your business can reach. Shifting your ratios toward marketing, and away from sales, will help you achieve a greater long-term benefit. You’ll want to be sure to hear how Dorie spends her time today. She is no longer required to chase after work, but has positioned herself toward marketing, which now brings clients knocking on her door.   High-Pressure Sales Never Pays Off Every consultant and entrepreneur knows that focusing on sales can be somewhat — or very — uncomfortable. You have to get yourself in the right mindset to be successful at sales, but that does not mean defaulting to high-pressure sales tactics. Any business relationship that is founded on high-pressure sales is not going to last very long. Although your clients may submit to these tactics, they are going to resent them and eventually look for a way to escape their commitment to working with you. A greater way that you will find success in your sales approaches is to give your clients several options. When you are asking for business or for referrals, keep your approach low key and give your clients choices. Dorie shares some of the phrases and approaches that she uses to keep her sales tactics low key. Listen to find out how her clients respond, and you’ll be convinced that this approach will work for you too.   Launch Your Business with Cash in Hand As someone who has successfully started her own business, Dorie recommends that you start with a minimum six month’s cash reserve. Although she was able to secure her first client after only two months, it can take time to get contracts signed and to get the work going strong. By having up to a year’s cash supply, you can buy yourself some time to get your first clients lined up, and over time you will be able to select the clients that you are willing to do business with.   Your Timeline to Success Starts with Your Network Your network will always be one of your greatest keys to success, no matter what stage your business is in. People who know you are going to be the ones that are willing to do business with you. Even if they haven’t done a particular kind of work with you before, you will find that those that are willing to take a chance on you are the ones that have a prior connection to you. Your network will always be working for you, so it is essential that you continue to reach out to those in your network. That is always going to be a crucial element to your success.   Writing Books will Expand Your Expertise Becoming a published author can contribute immensely to your credibility and success. Prior to writing books, Dorie’s speaking arrangements were not a viable source of income. By publishing books, she found greater credibility and proved herself as more of an expert in her field. Although having a reputable publisher did increase the legitimacy of her work, the bulk of the work required to market her books was her responsibility. Publishers will never create the success of a book for you. You have to be willing to get out there and market your book for yourself. To promote her book Reinventing You, in 2015, Dorie gave 160 podcast interviews and traveled around the country to deliver 74 speeches. That kind of dedication to marketing your book is going to guarantee an increase in its success.   Taking Care of Yourself while Taking Care of Business Don’t compromise on the things that matter most — for Dorie that means never giving up sleep. seven or eight hours a night is essential to writing well, speaking well, and simply being in a good mood. However, there will be times when you have to double down and focus on your work. There will only be a limited amount of time when people want to hear about your newly released book, and you have to capitalize on that window of time. That may mean shifting your priorities temporarily, but when that time comes to a close, you will have to again reexamine your efforts and rededicate yourself to maintaining a healthy personal life. This kind of work-life balance has been a critical component to Dorie’s success, and you will find that implementing her advice in your life will add to your success, too.   Staying Focused and Productive You may be feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of simply going out and getting new clients. When comparing yourself to the multi-faceted workload of someone like Dorie, who is teaching, writing, speaking, and more, you may be wondering if there might be more that you can be doing to gain success in your consulting business. Dorie shares several tips on how she stays focused, organized, and committed to her high levels of performance.   One of her secrets for success is Paul Graham’s essay entitled “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule.” You’ll definitely want to read it, as it highlights the differences between a typical day of a manager and a maker. A manager’s main job is simply to check tasks off a to-do list in order to keep work moving forward. A maker, or creator of business, on the other hand is faced with the task of creating and accomplishing bigger, longer term projects. Makers need to utilize the time they spend as managers in order to get into the productive state. Maker tasks require more time and substance, and Dorie shares how dedicating certain days of her calendar to these “deeper dives” has increased her productivity and success. It may seem counterintuitive to take time away from the daily business of work, but you’ll be convinced to commit to these creative days once you hear how well it works for Dorie.   Resources from Dorie Clark On dorieclark.com you can find a host of resources to help you with growing and developing your businesses. She has made available more than 400 free articles for entrepreneurs and professionals that are looking for ways to stand out and get noticed in this busy business world. There is also a free 42-page ‘Stand Out’ self assessment to help hone in on your breakthrough ideas, and to best spread that idea into a successful one. Be sure to take advantage of these resources on her website to help you find the greatest consulting success.   Key Takeaways: [:12] Introduction of Dorie and why she diversifies her work. [3:02] Dorie’s path to entrepreneurship started with rejection. [5:33] How to keep going when you want to give up. [8:30] Why your marketing approach needs to change as your business develops. [11:46] Low pressure sales won’t make you uncomfortable, but they will give you success. [13:59] Dorie’s timeline to success was sped up by tapping into her network. [15:45] The role that authoring books has had in Dorie’s success. [19:10] Work life balance starts with a good night’s sleep. [22:04] Tips for staying focused and productive. [26:42] How you can connect with Dorie Clark.   Mentioned in This Episode: Dorie Clark Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future, by Dorie Clark Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It, by Dorie Clark Entrepreneurial You: Monetize Your Expertise, Create Multiple Income Streams, and Thrive, by Dorie Clark “Manager’s Schedule vs. Maker’s Schedule,” an essay by Paul Graham Schedule Once Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

JT Badiani is the founder of Focused Improvement Consulting, and his business has been built on the failures that he turned into his success. He started out as a MBA/chemical engineer with years of experience in the design field and great success in operations, but decided that his talents and passions could truly be put to use when he pursued his dream of helping companies achieve success. He has been in the consulting business for over four years, and has learned a few things along the way. You won’t want to miss JT’s take on the power of failure on this episode of the Consulting Success Podcast.   The Road to Consulting JT Badiani works to help companies improve their bottom line through the execution of their strategy, and implementing strategies with the help of Six Sigma. He knows how to critically evaluate a program to make it more efficient and streamlined. Over the years, JT has found ways to bring his clients up to a 15X return on their investment in him as their consultant. But his road to consulting success was not a short one. He experienced tremendous growth in six years working with his sector knowledge in aerospace, engineering, and more, and even worked as the VP of a company in Toronto. He was seeking a senior leadership role with leadership, but things didn’t work out. He spent nearly 12 months looking for a company to buy, but nothing was the right fit. During this time, JT discovered small and medium sized companies that were in need of operational or execution support. Although he’s not a consultant by trade, consulting was starting to feel like the right fit.   The decision to transition into consulting is not always an easy one. JT quickly found out that taking the leap from working for an existing company to working for yourself can be a difficult decision to make. This can be a hard decision to make for several reasons. Many consultants come into the workplace and find that, while they’re great on the theoretical side, they lack skills for implementation. JT came into consulting with the mindset of helping companies execute their strategies better, but found that people often want to take away your great ideas and implement them themselves, which means that you never get to see the fruits of your labors.   JT decided that he wanted to have a different approach to his consulting business, and now he works to be involved as much as he can from start to finish to help his clients be successful.   Overcoming the challenges of starting up a business. Every consultant, and every entrepreneur, knows that starting up a business comes with a host of challenges. A few of these challenges can include learning all about the consulting side of sales, figuring out how to lead a service-based organization, and understanding how to sell to companies by gaining their trust quickly. In my conversation with JT, we discuss two surefire ways that you can begin to overcome the challenges that come with starting up your own consulting business.   First, get yourself known. Networking is the key to your consulting success. As JT ventured out with his business, he reached out to his core network. He shares the ways that he was able to break into the industry, including what it takes to get up in front of people, and being willing to take risks as you are establishing yourself as an expert.   Second, surround yourself with support. Family support can be a huge factor in the success of your consulting business. JT shared what works for him — family support meant talking through the challenges the business was facing, examining options, then making a decision and going with it.   In JT’s case, he and his wife found a rhythm to the regular conversations that was established in the startup phase of his consulting business. His wife came from an entrepreneurial background, he has an MBA, and they brought their skills and knowledge together to create a plan that worked. Surrounding yourself with people that will support your work efforts is an essential piece of the puzzle, and you’ll want to hear some of the tips that JT shares on the types of conversations that he and his wife have to make sure that they are on the same page with the business efforts.   Keeping your mindset strong when it gets hard. Business may be good, and you might be growing quickly, but the reality of most growing consulting businesses is that there are hard days, setbacks, and proposals that you want but don’t win. How do you keep your mindset strong so you can keep growing your business?   Recognize that it’s tough, but keep looking forward. JT shares a powerful story of four high-value proposals that he lost. Over the course of an especially difficult week, he didn’t win one proposal after another. By the time the fourth proposal came back — which he didn’t really even want — JT was feeling pretty discouraged about what he was doing, and why he was doing it. He and I had a conversation not long afterward, and he followed my advice — it is tough, you are going to have losses, but keep looking forward and reflect back on why you didn’t win your proposals.   Connect with clients for feedback. Ask why you didn’t win the proposal, listen to their advice and then apply it. Be insightful, and restructure presentations so people can gain the insights of your value. Leverage your network so that you have the right references, trust is established with potential clients, and they feel more comfortable with what you do and how you do it.   Every entrepreneur encounters this kind of failure — today may be a bad day, but there is always a better day to come. “Rather than calling it a failure, just call it a lesson.” You will become stronger as you face these failures and turn them into lessons learned. Successful people keep taking steps forward, and continue reaping rewards from that lesson learned. That is another key to your consulting success.   Set realistic goals. You can have success and you can plan to have 100%, but there will be weeks and months that you just won’t get to 100%. If you hit 80%, you’re doing great. If you hit 50%, then it’s time to find a way to get to 80%.   Always continue learning. It’s essential that you self-reflect and always look both at what you’re doing right and what you can improve on.   JT calls himself a horrible golfer. He decided that he wanted to improve, so he would play a round of golf, then go home and reflect on what went right and wrong. He read up on ways to improve his game, and his scores dropped significantly. Suddenly he was doing really well.   JT has taken that mentality into his business and career — if things are getting him down, he has found ways to ground himself. Finding a piece of literature or an online video or ebook that can help remind you of the things that are most important and how you can improve. He shares several books that are listed below, and also references some of the articles from the Consulting Success website that have helped him stay focused, including how to write a proposal, and how to talk to your clients. Success will come as you continue to sharpen the craft. Don’t stay stagnant, and don’t get complacent with your work.   Growing Your Business, Even without a Network Having a network in place brings great value to your business, but you can still make connections and land clients even without the help of a network. JT has three solid ideas to help you get started.   Understand the value that you have to offer clients. You need to know exactly what it is that you have to offer your clients, and then you have to deliver it. If you don’t deliver, you will not get more business. The client that you’re serving right now is your number one client, so your focus needs to remain on them. If you’re chasing after more business, you are not helping your client be successful. Stay dedicated to each client as you are working with them, and the value of your work, as well as your value to your client, will both increase.   Second, you have to get yourself out there. There are multiple ways that you can develop your network while your business is growing. If you are willing to attend conferences, participate in small groups, and deliver good content, you will get leads and and you will be successful.   Don’t worry about giving away your content. Many consultants have been advised to develop their content and then keep it secret until a client is paying for it. You should not worry about giving it away. Clients that want to improve their businesses themselves will figure out a way to get it done themselves, and you don’t need to spend anymore time with them. By sharing a good picture of your content, you are building trust with your clients, and this will win you projects.   It’s okay to be selective about your work. Don’t rush to accept every project that comes along. Instead, as business opportunities come, ask yourself if each client is the type of company that you want to be working with. Examine their values and see if they lineup with yours — are they trustworthy? Do they provide the opportunity for you to grow? Will they actually listen to what you have to say because they are seeking advice? Are they looking for help? And most importantly, can you deliver value?   That is the single most important question you need to ask yourself — can you deliver value to this company by taking on their project? If the answer is no, then you need to ask yourself why you are doing this.   Do a litmus test with each opportunity that comes your way — see how your values line up, and then move forward from there. After you’ve had a series of conversations and opportunities to determine if the work is a good fit, you can make your decision and move forward accordingly, and with no regrets about your decision.   JT has found that these tips are key to finding satisfaction in seeing companies be successful.  He has helped his clients realize $30 to $40 million savings through projects, coaching, and events. It’s what drives him toward success, and today he’s enjoying the benefits of finding consulting success. Be sure to listen to the many insights that JT shares on how to turn today’s failures into tomorrow’s success on this episode of Consulting Success Podcast.   Key Takeaways: [:15] Introduction [4:10] Why the decision to transition into consulting isn’t always an easy one. [5:09] Challenges will come when starting up your consulting business, but here’s why that’s okay. [8:35] How can you keep your success-oriented mindset strong when things get tough. [12:50] Two solid lessons you can learn from failure. [15:30] How you can grow your business, even without a network. [19:30] What drives JT toward success? [22:13] How you can connect with JT Badiani.   Mentioned in This Episode: Focused Improvement Consulting Success Blog The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses, by Eric Ries Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Elliot Begoun is the principal of The Intertwine Group, a consulting group which works to help food and beverage brands grow. Elliot spent over 25 years working in the food industry before his wife challenged him to pursue his dream of becoming a consultant. On this episode of Consulting Success Podcast, Elliot shares how he made the leap from the safety of a big company and experienced the incredible satisfaction that comes with working for yourself. He shares his ideas on retainer fees, how expert writing can keep you in demand, and the number one mistake he made that has taught him the importance of consulting mentors.   Bet on yourself. You may feel a sense of security working for a big company, but working for someone else means you are betting on someone else. Taking the leap to become an independent consultant means betting on yourself. This is a path that Elliot has gone down, and he shares what it means to him to be able to ‘fish for his own food.’ The success he has enjoyed since starting his own consulting business proves that there is something to his theory, so be sure to listen to find out more about the incredible benefits of betting on yourself.   First things first — find clarity. Instant gratification is just not something you can expect to achieve when growing your own business. The amount of work and effort, specialization, and focus that has to go into your business when you start out can absolutely be discouraging at times. According to Elliot, confidence is the number one thing that helped him stay the course when times have gotten especially tough. He shares more insights on what else has worked for him, and you won’t want to miss the tips he shares on how you can find the greatest success as you are growing your consulting business.   Moving away from retainer fees. Retainer fees are often considered the ideal payment structure — they provide consistency and can be a sure-fire way to monetize your efforts with each client. But Elliot shares a strong argument that maintaining these fees will make your consulting work feel just like your regular old job. He has found a better way to capture greater value in his work, and it has produced a higher level of satisfaction both in him and from his clients. It may sound risky, but you’ll definitely want to hear the approach he takes when determining appropriate fees and how happy his clients have been with it.   Make your network work for you. Even if you happen to have a background in marketing, you may find marketing yourself and your business to be a great challenge. Your visions for success in your work is undoubtedly on your mind all the time, and that is why it’s essential to connect with other consultants, masterminds, and mentors. Utilizing this network will help you work through your tunnel vision and maintain a healthy — and slightly removed — perspective of your efforts. Without these proper outlets, you may actually be putting your business at risk. Don’t let this happen to you — listen to and learn from Elliot’s mistakes on this episode of Consulting Success Podcast.   Key Takeaways: [1:00] Elliot’s leap from the food industry to independent consulting was 20 years in the making. [5:06] Growing your own business doesn’t come without challenges. [7:55] Clarity in consulting success comes first from confidence. [10:05] The evolution from retainer fees to something that really works. [15:59] How you can leverage writing to increase your credibility and keep you in demand. [21:02] The single biggest mistake Elliot made in his business was also the most isolating.   Mentioned in This Episode: Elliot Begoun The Intertwine Group Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Mitch Russo is a certification business model expert who specializes in working with companies that are looking to quickly grow substantially in size. He understands that making small, calculated shifts in your thinking can change everything for your business and your success. This is a lesson Mitch learned when his career took a sudden turn toward success — even though he was faced with what initially looked like a major setback. He shares the story of his success and the mindset that created it, on this episode of Consulting Success Podcast. You’ll also hear what it takes to identify your greatest strengths, and how you can use them to secure the high value clients that you’ve been seeking.   Setbacks don’t have to set you back. When faced with setbacks, many people get stuck in their problems and waste too much time trying to get over them. If you’ve ever found yourself in this situation, you need to listen to Mitch’s perfect analogy to understand why it’s not worth spending any more time looking at what has been lost, but instead dedicating your efforts to moving forward with the resources you still have. When Mitch discovered that an IRS ruling rendered his newly developed technology obsolete, he didn’t give up. He shares how he turned this disaster into one of the greatest opportunities of his career, but more importantly, how he was able to do so quickly.   Successful consultants aren’t selling, they’re helping their clients. Many consultants feel like “sales” is a derogatory term. You can listen to Episode 1 of Consulting Success Podcast to learn more about why it absolutely isn’t, but first you need to listen to this episode to hear Mitch’s approach to sales. A successful sales mindset can empower you with the moral obligation to help your clients get the business they need for major success. Approaching your clients with a helpful mindset rather than a selling mindset is going to ensure your success. It also means that you’re going to be offering something of extreme value to your prospective clients. This is one major key to consulting success, and you’ll want to hear this episode to find out more about how it has worked for Mitch.   Your greatest strengths can become your greatest business ideas. It can take time to figure out which of your most powerful skills can be marketed to be useful to other people. Once you land on the idea that will give you the greatest success, the information that you have in your area of expertise will be key to landing new clients. This information is essential, but what clients will be willing to pay for is the implementation of these ideas. Find out how to land clients that need your expertise, and more, on this episode of Consulting Success Podcast.   Key Takeaways: [:26] Mobilize your existing client base with certification — Mitch details how. [5:00] The inspiration for Mitch’s success hit while he was working as a programmer in a basement. [7:45] How can you narrow on your specialization ideas to create a winning business? [10:15] Opportunities can be disguised as problems. [14:10] Why desperation can be the greatest inspiration for success. [16:00] How Mitch grew his business on a shoestring budget. [18:08] Proof that persistence in sales can have major payoffs. [22:26] Embracing this mindset is a major secret to sales success. [26:38] How to land clients without giving away too much value. [29:43] Work life balance means taking care of yourself first.   Mentioned in This Episode: Mitch Russo Ultimate Business Mastery System Mastermind   Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

My guest on this episode is UK-based consultant Stefan Drew, who is also known as the Marketing Magician. He works mainly in the education sector, but he has a wide breadth of experience — from international environmental organizations and national membership organizations to web design for local companies. He is known for producing great ideas “out of thin air,” and his clients rave about the ROI that they receive after working with him. He has many years of experience and wisdom, and on this episode of Consulting Success you’ll hear several inspiring stories that will ignite your desire to take your business to the next level. If you’re trying to create greater visibility, wondering whether or not you should specialize your business, or hoping to discover the one secret to quick consulting success, you need to listen to this episode of Consulting Success with Stefan Drew.   Specialize or offer it all — what do today’s successful consultants do?   When first developing your consulting business, you may be wrestling with one major question — do I spread myself among several efforts, or simply focus on one target audience? I always encourage consultants to specialize, but I had to ask Stefan about his experience. His success came from one of these approaches, but his advice leans heavily toward the other. His answer may surprise you, but you won’t want to miss the reasoning behind it.   Have a lot of expertise to offer? You should still specialize.   Even if you can offer expertise in several areas, maintaining a focus in one specific area will still increase your business. Stefan shares his experience with shifting his focus from environment and education, “and everything else,” to simply the first two. The point of view that comes with your expertise can still be applied to your focus, and that increased specialization will create the greatest value for your clients. You can find out more about the benefits of specialization on this episode.   Your email list may not be working as well as you think it is.   Email lists are one of the most popular ways that many consultants try to reach a wide audience, but Stefan argues that they are not the most effective. He has an extensive list of ways that you can contact potential clients and generate business. You won’t want to miss the many success stories he shares, that prove that a little work can go a long way in securing the best clients.   Building momentum creates the results you are seeking.   If you are just starting out at building your consulting business, you may be feeling overwhelmed at all of the steps ahead of you. Some of the steps can seem like a lot of work, but the momentum that comes with each effort will help project you toward the payoff. As a successful marketing consultant who is now in the position to turn clients away, Stefan has plenty to say about how to make your first steps your most effective ones. Be sure to listen to this episode to find out exactly where you should start.   Key Takeaways: [:17] I welcome Stefan to the show and he shares the highlights of his career path. [4:30] Do you have what it takes to make it as a consultant? Stefan’s advice can help you decide. [7:10] Generating business means doing as many of these things as possible. [12:00] Why it is so important to have one clear focus. [13:32] Stefan’s number one tip to drive you forward in your career. [18:20] A dry spell in business can be discouraging, but it can also propel you forward to achieve even greater success. [21:58] Discover a variety of ways to position yourself to reach your ideal clients. [27:30] The power that comes with increasing your visibility can start with something as simple as a new nickname. [30:00] Building your business from scratch? Stefan says you should start here. [32:40] The secret strategy to success starts with cultivating relationships. [38:48] Stefan’s delectable source of inspiration.   Mentioned in This Episode: Stefan Drew FE News UK Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

On this episode of Consulting Success, I’m joined by Jonathan Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management. Jonathan is the author of “The Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management,” a great book that provides the basic skills and knowledge to deal with the crises that inevitably occur in any business, no matter the size. At first I wasn’t sure if crisis management really applied to consultants, but Jonathan quickly proved otherwise. He describes crisis management as the “art of avoiding trouble when you can, and reacting appropriately when you can’t.” This wisdom doesn’t only apply to big businesses — crisis mode can hit anyone at anytime. On this episode you’ll learn more about the benefits that come with preparing ahead of time for any crisis that may come — and how to handle it smartly. Consultants can benefit from a crisis management plan. Jonathan works with companies both to preventing crises from happening, and also to maintain business continuity and functionality when a crisis does hit. A single major crisis can knock a small business entirely out of the running, but a creative and effective crisis management plan can help consultants and small businesses minimize damage from a crisis. Jonathan refers to this as the “art of crisis management,” and in this conversation he proves that having a plan in place is essential to every business, regardless of size. Challenge yourself to connect with mentors that can help you achieve your goals. I have always been a major advocate of reaching out to the people that inspire you, and I really identified with the story that Jonathan shares about the bold moves that he made when changing his career path. From his first career in the intelligence department of the Army, he learned how to assess vulnerability. He made the leap from Army to consulting because of one bold move. His example proves that taking the time to study your mentors and increasing the size of your network will always pay off, and you’ll want to be sure to take the time to listen to how important that move was to his incredible success. In crisis mode? Here’s what not to do. Shooting from the hip and burying your head in the sand are two of the things you absolutely do not want to do while in crisis mode. It can be hard to tackle head-on, but taking control can help you turn crisis into triumph for your consulting business. You definitely won’t want to miss his advice for how to handle negative online criticism. Listen for that and more strategic advice, including Jonathan’s five keys to communication when handling a crisis, on this insightful episode of Consulting Success. Key Takeaways: [:40] Consultants and small businesses can benefit from a crisis management plan. [7:24] The art of crisis management requires creativity, intuition and more. [9:15] Jonathan’s decision to leave a lucrative job at a large PR consulting firm to become a crisis management consultant. [12:20] Taking the time to learn about and reach out to your mentors can create major payoffs in your career. [16:21] Jonathan’s decision to leave a major company to start his own business, and the greatest challenges he faced. [20:21] How he lands clients and what has been the most effective in his marketing. [24:12] A challenging year can provide some of the greatest lessons. [29:41] Jonathan’s approach to pricing his services. [31:56] What are the direct impacts to business when writing and sharing books? [33:44] When you encounter a crisis (which you will) here is what NOT to do. [38:53] Jonathan’s five keys to communication when handling crisis. Mentioned in This Episode: Bernstein Crisis Management The Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management, by Jonathan Bernstein Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Jacob Morgan is the principal and co-founder of Chess Media Group, a management consulting and strategic advisory firm focusing on the future of work and collaboration. Jacob works with organizations that are looking to understand how changes in technology and behavior are impacting the way we work. From the wide variety of new technologies available to companies, to the the millennials that are entering today’s workforce, the future of business and technology are shifting dramatically. Consultants who are consistent with their work and willing to work harder to gain clients’ trust are the consultants that are going to achieve the greatest success in this constantly changing business environment. On this episode of Consulting Success, Jacob shares the path that took him from Craigslist to clients seeking his expertise. Be sure to listen to this episode as we examine the key strategic moves you will want to make to secure your position as a sought-after and highly successful consultant.   Advisory access or consulting projects — what do clients want?   One of the biggest challenges many consultants face is the ability to establish retainer fees with clients right from the beginning. As an on-demand consultant, companies will pay monthly retainer fees to have unlimited access to the your expertise, ideas, feedback, and insights. By collecting retainer fees you can provide coaching and advisory to companies in whatever ways they may need it as various situations arise. Compared to one-time consulting projects, which focus on strategy through workshops, training sessions, and presentations, retainer fees can generate more business for you, and establish a long-lasting relationship with clients. However, Jacob agrees that both create great value, and you may be surprised to hear which approach companies tend to commit to first. No experience, no contacts, and no credibility? You can still build your business by doing this.   It is essential that you begin building your business before, during, and after you begin working for high-value clients. Until you can find a way to prove yourself, companies are not going to be interested in your work, or be willing to commit to retainer fees. You can overcome this by establishing the value of your knowledge, skill set, and experience. Newsletters, websites, online articles, blog posts, speaking engagements, webinars and best-selling books will all work to build your business and create trust with potential clients. Listen to the work that Jacob has put into building his business that has made him such a highly sought-after consultant.   Building your business means being everywhere.   Every consultant is aiming for the day when all work comes from inbound requests from clients. Jacob has made this a reality by growing his business in a variety of very effective ways. He shares the importance of following technology trends, meeting with technology leaders, and attending as many events as possible. Every effort you make will help you build your business. Blogging can be one of the most effective ways to reach a wide audience, and sharing your opinion means that everyone is not always going to agree with you. Writing about your true opinion, even if it’s more polarizing, will be more effective than writing to please everyone. That’s one tactic that Jacob uses, and you’ll want to listen to learn more about the other approaches Jacob and I discuss for successfully building your business.   There is absolute power in consistency for consultants.   Consistency for consultants means choosing your domain, and centering everything that you want to do around that domain. Everything that you do, everything that you write about, and every way that you project yourself needs to focus on your area of expertise. By creating a brand for yourself, people will start to recognize your work and the value of what you have to offer them. Find out more about the many ways that the power of consistency creates success for high-value consultants like Jacob Morgan on this episode of Consulting Success.   Key Takeaways: [:35] What does the the future of technology-driven work mean for consultants? [3:07] Compare advisory access with one-time consulting projects. [6:20] How can consultants secure retainer fees from the beginning? [10:05] The road to success will be paved with failures, and that’s okay with Jacob. [13:32] Jacob got his first consulting client from Craigslist, and he hasn’t stopped consulting since. [14:41] Building your business means being everywhere — and it all pays off. [19:08] Following technology and trends is essential in today’s business. [21:20] Sharing your opinion as a writer means you’re not going to please everyone. [22:37] Jacob gives proof of the power of consistency for consulting success. [26:16] What does consistency look like for consultants?   Mentioned in This Episode: Chess Media Group The Future Organization Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

There are few people that can consider themselves as great an expert on white papers as Gordon Graham. Gordon is a white paper writer and consultant who has has worked with Google, Oracle, Intuit, and many other Fortune 500 companies. He’s interviewed over 200 C-level executives and written over 170 white papers. He considers himself a B-to-B copywriter. His career path took him from software company technical writing and journalism to a marketing executive in a software company before becoming an independent copywriter who specializes in white papers and case studies. Gordon has spent the last 20 years dominating his field as the expert of white papers. In this episode, Gordon and I discuss the value of white papers as content-filled marketing tools that you can use to set yourself apart as the expert consultant companies want to hire.   How can you make customer success stories work for you?   The countless hours of work that you have put into developing your consulting business has undoubtedly come with powerful success stories that you want to share. These stories build confidence with potential clients and provide insight into the work that you do best. There are a variety of ways to share these stories, from blog posts to audio testimonials, articles on your website or presentations at a conference. You’ll be inspired as you hear the list of ways that you can make customer stories work for you.   Why do white papers work so well?   In today’s industry, up to 96% of customers serve themselves by Googling and then contacting businesses themselves. Customers can make their own decisions about which consultant will work best for them, and white papers can help make their choice an easy one. Gordon recognizes that although you might want to focus your efforts on tweaking your website and all the branding, logos, company name and graphics that go with it, the number one thing that your clients care about is how you can solve their problems. White papers that are filled with marketing content provide clear illustrations of ways that that you can begin to solve your client’s problems.   One common misconception is that videos are capable of producing the same kind of results as a well thought out and prepared white paper.  However, videos are incredibly expensive to produce, and they do not have the lasting value or shelf life as white papers. A white paper is a simple product that sums up a your best thinking — it can be your best shot at outshining your competitors. You won’t want to miss the stories Gordon shares that illustrate the power of a well-written white paper.   Regardless of your company size, a white paper will work for you.   Whether you work independently or are building a power team, you can use white papers as an incredibly effective tool to set yourself apart from other consultants. You’ll be able to gain attention and earn trust of the kinds of clients that you want to work with. White papers can help level the playing field between you and a bigger competitor. Listen for Gordon’s take on the single most important “trust factor,” and how to secure that trust with potential clients.   What should you consider when creating a white paper?   The first thing you need to do is put yourself in the shoes of your prospective clients. Forget about your company and your problems, and figure out how to help your clients solve their problems. Next, listen to and consider the two dimensions of specialization that have increased Gordon’s business dramatically. Case studies and numbered lists are two of the powerful tools that white papers must contain. You can hear the rest of Gordon’s tips for successfully leveraging this powerful marketing tool on this episode of Consulting Success with Gordon Graham.   Key Takeaways: [1:20] Gordon outlines the career path that led him to the top of his field. [4:30] Customer stories are incredibly powerful — Gordon shares a variety of ways to use them. [6:53] A look inside the $25,000 booklet that led to multimillion dollar sales. [10:38] Why do white papers work so well? [13:30] How can you use social media to increase your business? [14:35] Gordon compares white papers to business videos — and the winner is clear. [18:24] How can a white paper work to create the most value for consultants? [23:20] Sharing useful and relevant information builds trust with potential clients. [26:05] Gordon’s top tip for standing out in your niche. [27:52] Can a clear specialization generate more business for you? [32:52] Horizontal vs. vertical dimensions of specialization. [36:37] Gordon’s top tips for creating a valuable white paper. Mentioned in This Episode:   Gordon Graham White Paper For Dummies, by Gordon Graham Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Consulting Success Community today: consultingsuccess.com

Steve Shu is a management consultant who has worked and consulted for Vodafone, Allianz, Nortel, Lucent and Wolters Kluwer, as well as taught courses in the business school at Irvine University. He helps incubate technology-oriented startup initiatives within other companies, including new business units, innovative areas, and new product development. In this episode, Steve shares key tactics for securing high-figure consulting projects, the value of workshops and networking, and the benefits of making regular investments of increased knowledge within your area of consulting expertise.   Key Takeaways: [1:15] Steve details the process of a recent start-up project, beginning with the business definition, and leading up to the acquisition of new clients and staffing the organization. [2:30] What does a $100,000 project look like to Steve? Several phases can contribute to the total project, including funding, organization, and prospecting. [4:50] To win a $200,000 project, Steve suggests starting small — a $40,000 workshop can sell the end vision of a high value project. [9:50] Rather than viewing workshops as a one-time engagement, approach them as the first step to a long-term investment with each company. [11:15] The process of setting fees can be made easier by looking at the trajectory of each business, then aiming for value-size projects and retainer fees, rather than hourly rates. [14:20] An appetite for variety within his area of expertise was the driving reason that Steve began focusing on start-ups within larger companies. [17:17] Steve’s background in working with startups as both a consultant and an operating manager has been advantageous in attracting larger companies, while his knowledge of how to get things done appeals to startup companies. [19:10] Networking and creating strategic relationships are a key strategy in finding referrals and new partnerships. [22:00] Independent consulting has allowed Steve to control the companies he works with, as well as the frequency of change in his geographic location. [23:50] Successful consultants need to make knowledge investments; investing in intellectual capital provides market stability. [26:22] Consultants need to make regular investments in their expertise to keep themselves relevant in an ever-changing market. [28:30] Knowlege investments are meant to create a new kind of thinking within the existing  space of each consultant’s expertise.     Mentioned in This Episode: Steve Shu Blue Ocean Strategy Michael Porter Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Betsy Jordyn is the founder of Accelera Consulting Group. She is an organizational development and strategy consultant who previously worked with Walt Disney World. Her clients also include JCPenney, United Airlines, Hilton Vacations, and many others. In this discussion, Betsy shares the benefits of identifying and narrowing in on a specialized area of expertise, her advice on how to efficiently take control of client requests in order to deliver a more valuable assessment, and how to determine if organizational development consulting is the right fit for you. Key Takeaways: [1:05] Betsy shares the kinds of challenges that come with increasing leadership and organizational capacities. [2:35] Even Walt Disney World needs consultants to take their concepts for improvement in the future to the next level. [4:45] Betsy’s Masters program gave her the start in OD that eventually led to her starting her own business. [7:20] The transition from consulting within an organization to working on her own was easier for Betsy because of her toolbox and her mentors. [8:35] Consultants need to narrow in on an area of expertise in order to keep their business growing. [11:00] Don’t ever hesitate to turn down work that isn’t the right fit, or to ask for more money for work in your areas of greatest strength. [14:05] Compliments are the key to identifying first tier gifts and strengths. [15:15] Specializing allows clients to easily see how you will fit into their team. [17:10] Betsy’s key tip for extracting more value from their client projects is to NOT say yes to the initial assignment that they ask of you — take control of the conversation so that you can help identify and fill their business performance gaps. [21:35] Consultants need to ensure that their expertise is relevant, timely, and has fit with each particular client system, before determining the best way to move forward. [25:10] You can add more value than 99% of consultants by first helping the client articulate their business performance gaps through your initial assessment. [28:50] Consultants that are interested in organizational development need to make sure that they are wired to think like an OD consultant, and get a mentor who can help with delivering practical techniques to their clients. Mentioned in This Episode: Accelera Consulting Group Betsy Jordyn Marcus Buckingham Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today:

Anthony Iannarino is an international speaker, author, and sales leader of the top ½% of all businesses in America. Between consulting, writing, sales, and running a staffing firm,  Anthony has proven that he is on a mission to serve and to help people achieve better business results than they could otherwise. He shares transformation that his career took, as he learned to embrace the necessary balance between consulting and sales, which he defines simply as the ability to create opportunity and bring value to other people. This episode is filled with valuable insight for consultants who are trying to leave the stigma of sales behind, why Anthony believes that is a mistake, and how exactly to embrace the value of sales instead.   Key Takeaways: [:40] Is sales a dirty word? Anthony explains the shift of power that has taken the dirt out of previously used sales tactics. [4:50] Anthony is on a mission to serve and help other people achieve the results they’re looking for. [6:54] From rock band to multi-million dollar leader, this “golden boy” details his career path. [10:40] Anthony’s first deal was worth $10 million, but the bullying tactics he used back then are not the same ones that he uses today. [12:26] Books by Neil Rackham became his playbook, and self-discipline, his secret weapon. [15:05] Anthony’s three-faceted approach to solving consultants’ greatest challenges includes examining their mindset, skill set, and tool kit. [17:15] Embracing the mindset that sales will deliver value to companies, will always be part of the work that the most effective consultants do. [19:50] A recipe for success that starts at 5 AM has been the start of Anthony’s day since 2009. [24:00] Anthony shares his approach to writing blog posts. His commitment to daily blog posts has landed him many of the clients that he has today. [24:50] Despite peer criticism, Anthony isn’t afraid to share his intellectual property with anyone. [26:30] What kind of timeline to success can new writers expect to see? [28:40] Frequent, consistent, blog posts filled with good content, are the key to connecting to potential clients. [30:20] Anthony’s typical initial interactions with potential clients last no less than an hour, and start with both qualifiers and disqualifiers to find the perfect fit. [33:00] To become a better writer, continue to read and continue to write. The more you write, the better you will get.   Mentioned in This Episode: Anthony Iannarino Solutions Staffing TheSalesBlog.com Neil Rackham Seth Godin Chris Brogan On Writing, by Stephen King On Writing Well, by William Zinsser Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Join the Consulting Success Community today: