How to Sell Advice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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