Marketing Consultants

“What do marketers who focus on strategy do all day?”

-Reddit User

Truth is, we do a lot. So, in classic strategist style, I wrote up a little manifesto to help explain WHO we are to help shed light on some of WHAT we do.

This manifesto lives here and will likely be revisited over time. But for now, here’s what I wrote.

As strategists, we are:

Learners
We are voracious learners in our field, always seeking to improve our strategic and technical expertise. We can’t succeed without this habit.

Researchers
We spend time researching the best ways to do things, finding customer insights, and building strategies around what we discover.

Visionaries
Our job is to create multi-faceted yet cohesive visions that get business results. We’re always dreaming and sharing our visions.

Allocators
Our job is largely about allocating resources (people, time, money) to the areas most likely to produce the greatest return on investment.

Planners
Meaningful outcomes require thoughtful planning. We lay out the steps needed, in a priority sequence, to ensure successful outcomes.

Tinkerers
We don’t just live in the clouds. We spend our free time playing in the dirt, getting our hands dirty, experimenting, and finding joy in the technical parts of our craft.

Outliners
A good outline is half the thinking. We uncover what ingredients are needed for a project to succeed and create briefs and outlines to inform the process.

Leaders
People depend on our ideas to get real business results. And our ideas depend on people to get implemented. We create alignment and guide projects to success.

Listeners
The truth often lies between the words that are spoken. We listen closely, ask questions, and repeat our understanding to ensure we’re hearing what’s important.

Collaborators
Most things need to be figured out together. When the creative vision meets the realities of implementation, we collaborate to help iron out the details.

Educators
Our job is to help people see what we see. We spend time sharing our knowledge to make sure everyone is aligned and on board with our vision.

Thinkers
We are thinkers. Always imagining new ideas and ways to implement them within the inherent constraints of all projects.

Analysts
We seek and analyze data—qualitative and quantitative—and interpret meaning behind seemingly disparate pieces of information.

We strive to read the invisible forces impacting success.

Intuitionists
Our intuition often knows a lot more than our conscious mind. We pay attention to our gut instincts and how we feel. We combine logic with feeling to create some of our best work.

Communicators
Our work requires us to communicate clearly and effectively with all stakeholders. We aim to think clearly so we can communicate clearly.

Peers
We operate neither below nor above anyone else. We are peers with the CEO and the front-line workers. We have a job to do like everyone else—and play only one small part in the success of our work.

Rebels
By nature, we are unconventional. We do things our own way. Always have. But that’s also what makes us good at what we do, so we embrace our rebellious tendencies.

Professionals
We behave professionally and ethically. We deliver on promises. We manage expectations. We tell the truth. We are courteous yet direct. We act in the best interest of our clients.

Beginners
Every situation is unique. What worked yesterday may not work today. We treat every situation with a beginner’s mindset and avoid blindness and dogmatic thinking.

 

I’m curious, what resonated with you the most? Reply and let me know.

—kw

When you’re just getting started in a new niche or business, the best thing you can do is build a body of work as quickly as possible.

Start by getting your website online and then begin publishing. Relentlessly.

Write on your blog and distribute it via a regular newsletter. Create videos and post them to your blog, email, and on YouTube. Record a solo podcast if that’s your thing. Post on social media.

Doesn’t matter what you do, but you want to think in terms of creating cornerstone content that you can reference in your future material. These will be your big ideas that inform future content.

And you don’t want to produce just a few big pieces. Think volume. 

That’s because you want people to notice you. You want to show them you’re committed to this business, you have things to say, and you’re going to go hard at it until people notice.

In a way, it’s showing you have skin in the game. It also shows people you have genuine expertise to offer.

At first, people will ignore you. Then, they will notice you but skim past your content. Eventually, people will start consuming your ideas. Your ideas will get better articulated, too.

Sooner or later, people will refer you. Or they’ll consider hiring you. Or, when you reach out to people, you’ll look credible on paper because you’ve been showing up with gusto.

Yes, it will be difficult. Yes, there will be days you don’t feel like publishing. You will be tempted to slow down or stop.

But if you stick with it for 6-12 months, you will see results. And eventually, won’t have to paddle so hard. You will have reached escape velocity.

If you’re just getting started, aim to be prolific.

—kevin

P.S. If you were interested in joining Mindshare but missed the last open window, the best thing you can do is get on the waiting list. I occasionally open doors for waiting list members only, so that’s the best spot to be in.

Get on the list here: https://howtoselladvice.com/membership/

I’ve been writing recently about using content to build relationships with your ideal buyer at the peer level.

I want to underscore that it’s not really about producing either strategic or tactical content. It’s not even about teaching vs. relationship building.

The reality is, a mix of all of it can work extremely well.

The real test is whether you can join the conversation already happening in the minds of your buyers.

If your buyers are mostly concerned with identifying and hiring people to fix business problems (vs. say learning marketing tactics), then that’s what you talk about most.

If they get involved in the technical weeds and want to learn about solving technical problems, then that’s what you talk about.

If they’re the CEO concerned about the future direction of their business and might want to pivot strategically, then that’s what you talk about.

The content you publish can’t be over-generally simplified into one method or another. All that matters is you create content that connects at the current level of your buyer’s thinking.

It needs to speak their language, articulate their problems better than they can, and help them see that you’re the obvious person to help solve their current challenges.

That’s because people are only interested in the things they care about today. The hard part is figuring out what people care about now so you can join that conversation, hold their attention, and eventually, sell something they value.

The better you know the inner workings of your clients’ thinking, the better your content will resonate.

I’ll share some tactical ways you can do that in the next email.

Stay tuned,

—k

When it comes to creative decisions, your instincts are your best friend.

Nobody will know whether the name of your next project will be objectively good or bad.

Nobody knows whether you should use the serif or sans-serif font. Or whether your site should be in dark mode or light.

Nobody knows whether you should start a membership, course, or community.

There’s something magical about your hunches. They are more like a compass than a destination.

Your hunches guide you in the direction of the right thing to do—even if it means a little zig-zagging along the way.

Luckily, even if you get it wrong, you can always change direction.

Your creative instincts—the ones for which there are no true answers—are almost impossible to outsource.

You wouldn’t want to if you could. They are made up of all your inspirations, experiences, and unique points of view.

Whether it’s a new project, product, or direction, the more you can follow your own creative instincts, the better the work will be in the long run.

Even if it falls flat at first, you will have more feedback and material to make your next decision that much more informed.

That feedback and insight will further develop your intuition for the next project or iteration.

So sure, gather information. Talk to your ideal customers. Ask for advice where you need it. Do your research. Analyze the data. Do more of what works.

Those things matter.

But most importantly, don’t forget to trust your quiet intuition. 

Sometimes, your gut knows things your logical mind cannot comprehend.

We are not purely logical creatures… and neither is the market.

Trust your gut.

—kevin

If you’ve been on the internet longer than a minute, you know that social media platforms rise and fall in their popularity.

Algorithms change, attention shifts—heck even the owners can change hands!

And while social media is a great way to build your top of funnel and build awareness for you and your business, it’s not the best place to sell. 

That’s where your website—and as importantly—your email comes into play.

Email is your ticket through the algorithm gatekeepers.

Assuming you build and maintain trust, you get to have direct and permanent contact with the people most interested in what you have to offer.

When you spend most of your time educating (read: helping) people on how they can grow their business, people will naturally build trust and familiarity for you and the expertise you have to offer.

The question then is how should you sell via email?

If you push too hard, you’ll turn people off. Nobody hires a desperate consultant, after all.

But if you never sell, nobody will know what you’re offering that can help them further!

So – to answer this dilemma, I reached out to Dylan Bridger. Dylan is a chemical engineer-turned-email marketer who practices what he preaches.

He has generously agreed to do a training on How to Generate More Sales from ANY Email List tomorrow at 11am.

Normally, these trainings are for Mindshare members only. They go deep on a topic and then get stored in the library along with trainings from me and past guest experts like Tsavo Neal and Billy Broas.

But this time, Dylan and I decided to make it public… and free!

I’ve seen the slides and Dylan has a lot prepared for tomorrow. You’ll want to bring your pen and paper because he doesn’t talk at a high level—he gets right into the tactical good stuff.

If you want to attend, register now so it’s in your calendar for tomorrow: https://lu.ma/generate/

Hope to see you there!

—k

P.S. Almost 200 people have registered already, so you’ll be among good company. Bring your questions so Dylan can help YOU generate more sales via your list, too. Last call to register before it kicks off tomorrow morning: https://lu.ma/generate/

When I first left my corporate marketing job to pursue independence full-time, I had no idea what I was doing.

I spent years learning things the hard way. I bought expensive courses and made a lot of mistakes as I put in the reps.

Luckily, I made good friends along the way than I could share wins and losses with, as well as get feedback and advice from.

Over time, my business began to become healthy and more sustainable. I could finally afford to hire a business coach. 

The first coach I hired helped me secure my first two consulting clients. The value since has been unquantifiable.

I later hired a second business coach when I was beginning to niche my consulting practice. That’s when things went from stable to booming.

I’ve always been a big fan of buying courses to suit my needs. They’re expensive, but they’re valuable when chosen well.

Hiring coaches, however, is a much bigger risk than courses. And a much bigger investment.

What I’m trying to do with Mindshare is create the best of all worlds: price-accessible learning, a supportive community of peers, and optional private coaching for pricing that can be sustained.

It’s not because I want to be the cheap option. I don’t. It’s because I want to help my clients get to the results they want—and that takes time.

I don’t want to just help you build the boat, I want to help you sail to your destination as well. And that means keeping the investment to a level that can be sustained until you arrive.

What I’m trying to do with Mindshare is create the best of all worlds: a place to learn, a supportive community, and optional private coaching for pricing that can be sustained.

It’s not a $2,000 course or a $10,000 mastermind. Those are often great but this isn’t that.

It’s a place where you can learn and contribute at the pace that works best for you—for a price you can sustain.

Today at midnight, the doors close again until the new year.

If you’re interested in joining Mindshare, now’s the time to lock in your membership.

We’ve had several new members join in the past week or two and it’s been wonderful meeting so many new people.

I hope you will join us in our pursuit of a more leveraged, profitable, and enjoyable marketing practice.

Learn more and join here: https://howtoselladvice.com/membership

—k

P.S. In case you missed it, I invited Dylan Bridger to host a webinar next Wednesday at 11am EST on How to Generate More Sales from ANY Email List. These guest workshops are usually for members only, but we’ve opened the doors to anyone who wishes to attend live. Register here: https://lu.ma/generate/

One of the most common ways to sell marketing services is by levels of access or number of deliverables you provide.

Do you want one blog post per month or five? Do you want to weekly or bi-weekly calls? Do you want strategy work included or not?

The reality is, buyers often don’t know what they really need to get the results they want.

Do they really need the deluxe SEO plan or will the fundamentals do the job?

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong will selling tiers of service.

People are smart enough to land where they feel comfortable. And I recommend it in cases where you don’t have a clearly-defined target market.

But what if there was a better way? What if you sold based on who was buying instead?

Let’s say your niche was SaaS companies. You could have a service for bootstrapped founders, another for series A startups seeking product/market fit, another for scaling product-market fit, and one more for enterprise solutions.

If a buyer in one of those groups came along, it would obvious how to buy from you. They would simply navigate to the appropriate page and have your entire pitch presented in language tailored to their specific situation.

Your copy would include buyer-specific pains, benefits, and outcomes packaged with a unique mix of features at a price that aligns with the value you create for them.

It would feel tailor-made.

You could still have two levels of service within that segment-specific service, such as interim CMO or advisory services, based mostly on whether they wanted to manage the execution or let you handle it.

But you wouldn’t have to. You could have one core offer for each segment and it would sell.

So if you have a clear niche, try offering your services based on the segments within that niche.

The segments may be their size, sub-vertical, or customer they sell to, to name a few examples.

It will make the buying process a lot easier for your prospects to buy because everything will feel custom-made for your prospects.

And if you are ready to re-shape how your package, market, and deliver your marketing expertise, I cover ideas like this and tons more in the membership.

But doors close for new members until the new year. Join for as little as $29/month (annual plan): https://howtoselladvice.com/membership/ 

—k

P.S. In case you missed it, I’ve invited Dylan Bridger to host a webinar next Wednesday December 6th at 11am on How to Generate More Sales from ANY Email List. Normally, these guest workshops are for members only, but we’ve opened the doors to anyone who wishes to attend live.
Register here: https://lu.ma/generate/ 

Every so often, I invite a guest marketer to teach their core skills to Mindshare members.

This upcoming months is one of those times.

On December 6th at 11am EST, chemical engineer-turned-email marketer, Dylan Bridger, will be presenting a deep-dive training on how to methodically generate more sales from ANY email list—without adding new subscribers or writing any new emails from scratch.

Dylan knows his stuff about email marketing. From what I’ve seen from his slides, he’s not planning on holding anything back.

Normally, guest expert presentations are for members only and are part of the growing training library. But we’ve decided to open this one up to the public.

Below is an overview of what Dylan will cover in his presentation:

• A 1-sentence direct marketing principle that transcends email, has withstood the test of time, and will *always* guide marketing consultants in the right direction for their clients.
• A proven email writing framework that allows you to sell in any email—without coming across as salesy.
• 3 actionable techniques for monetizing email lists fast—even if you know little about your client’s company, their industry, and their products.
• How to use a “Format, Copy, and Appeal Tracker” to deliver almost-guaranteed quick wins to your client—even if you’re tasked with building their email program from scratch.
• An eye-popping case study on how an esteemed copywriter (who has founded numerous 7- and 8-figure companies) extracted an extra 36% in profits from an email marketing campaign… by doing what few operators and marketers have the courage to do.
• A breakthrough email formatting technique inspired by a Leonardo DiCaprio film (that lets you maximize and amplify your best emails in a way that’s fresh and exciting).
• A secret, must-test variable that few email marketers—or marketers in general—seem to be giving enough credit for sparking remarkable performance breakthroughs with little effort.
• What to do if you take on a client with little, no, or messy historical email marketing data—and how to still come out looking like a hero in their eyes!
• How to eradicate uncertainty from your email marketing efforts once and for all. (And why doing so is key to creating delighted clients.)
• The ONE type of email you MUST send for any client who hasn’t tested it yet. (Ignore this tip and risk leaving meaningful sums of profit on the table.)
• A refreshing take on what the REAL priority is when it comes to running email marketing for clients (and for yourself).
• The #1 response mechanism to test if your client sells a product or service priced at over $1,000—especially if they have a relatively small list.

I’ve seen the slides and needless to say, they’re comprehensive. Recording will be available to Mindshare members and registered attendees only.

If you want to improve your ability to generate sales via email—for you and your clients—you’ll want to register for this event.

Click here to register → 

Hope to see you there!

—Kevin

P.S. In case you were interested, the Business Model Design Bundle goes away tomorrow at midnight and Mindshare doors close again this Friday for the rest of this year.

Yesterday, I launched 5 core trainings on Business Model Design.

It’s pulled from the Mindshare membership and is only available until Tuesday at midnight (or 15 purchases).

It has over seven hours of training with supplementary templates and examples. For $197. It’s a steal.

People who bought this get access for life, which is good for those who prefer to return to their course content content months or years later.

They also get all future versions of the content as it gets upgraded over time. A good deal if you ask me.

Since then, I heard from a few people asking if they could sign up for the membership instead.

The membership has been closed for a couple months and I figured now is as good a time as any to sign up.

But I don’t think people realize how much is actually in the membership.

Let me tell you… there’s a LOT of content in the membership.

In fact, let me show you…

What’s inside Mindshare:

1. Deep-Dive Workshops 

MODEL
How you package and sell your expertise

• How to Package, Price, and Sell Custom Consulting
• How to Design Productized Advisory Services
• How to Sell and Deliver Single Strategy Calls
• The Right Way to Sell Fractional CMO Services
• How to Create Your First Education Product (Coaching Call)

MARKET
Positioning, sales, and marketing

• Marketing Fundamentals for Consultants
• How to Use Writing to Attract More Clients
• How to Choose a Niche for Your Marketing Practice
• How to Gain Traction in a New Niche
• Camera, Lighting, and Audio Setup for Your Home Office Studio
• How to Leverage Other Audiences to Attract Clients
• The 10 Laws of a High-Performing Consultant Website
• Copywriting Frameworks 101
• How to Rank Your Website in Google with Tsavo Neal

METHOD
Turning your expertise into intellectual property

• The Advisor Operating System—Organizing Everything You Do
• How to Structure Your Proprietary Methodology
• How to Negotiate Advisor Equity Compensation with Rod Burkert
• Google Analytics 4 Workshop with Jordan Choo
• The 5 Lightbulbs Copywriting Framework with Billy Broas

2. Advisor Operating System (Templates)

Get the essential templates, systems, and workflows you need to run your consulting engagements:

I. BUSINESS ADMIN & STAYING ORGANIZED

1. Organization & Workflow
2. Consulting Revenue Tracker
3. Proposal Template

II. CLIENT ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES AND TEMPLATES

1. Client Kick-Off Email
2. Client Discovery Questionnaire – 100+ Questions
3. Call Notes
4. Marketing Strategy & Channel Summary
5. Buyer Personas
6. Channel Summary
7. KPI Spreadsheet
8. Standard Operating Procedures

III. METHODOLOGY

1. Marketing Playbook (Trello Template)
2. Client Operating System (Trello Template)
3. Market Research (Airtable Template)
4. Swipe File (Airtable Template) + Example

BONUS:

• ConvertKit HTML Template + RSS to Email Automation Tutorial

And more are being added each month!

3. Audiolog: Private Podcast

Quick tips, ideas, answers to your questions, and real-world-tested strategies to help you grow your business.

4. Partner Rolodex

Struggling to find good people to implement your advice? Get access to a database of vetted marketing freelancers to help get the job done. From web and graphic designers to developers, ad managers, copywriters, SEOs, and more.

5. Mindshare Swipe File

Get access to a swipe file filled with examples of sales pages, newsletter tactics, service pages, websites, marketing tactics, and a whole lot more.

6. Mindshare Community

Talk shop with other marketing advisors and strategists with lifetime access to the paid Slack Pro community—inclusive of all features.

7. 50% off Calls

The only people in the world I discount my time for are members of Mindshare. You get 50% off 1:1 calls with me as long as you’re a paying member of the community (savings of $375 ea.).

8. Call Recordings

Plus, people in Mindshare Engage—the membership tier that grants you access to 1:1 Slack coaching from me and twice-monthly small group coaching calls—will also unlock 30+ 90-minute call recordings on ALL the topics related to building a more profitable marketing practice.

The actual value here is off the charts.

And while sadly, I don’t have a Black Friday offer for you here, I am opening the doors again for the last time this year.

If you want to join, get in before next Friday when the doors close again.

Join now for as low as $49!

Hope to see you there!

—k

P.S. This is the last time Mindshare will be open in 2023. And it’s only open until Friday. Join now for as low as $49!

If you’re selling execution, you’ll need to have a pretty good idea of what you’ll do and how you’ll do it before you get started.

After all, people are looking for specific deliverables from you. Your proposal depends on it.

But when you’re selling consulting or advisory services, it can be a different story.

Sure, you’ll know roughly what you will work on. You will have a suite of options to choose from that make up your methodology.

You’ll have a process you’ll follow.

But somewhere along the line, there’s going to need to be a little magic that occurs.

It’s the difference between going through the motions of delivering a project vs. figuring out what specifically needs to be done to get an actual business result.

Delivering work product and actually getting results are not always correlated.

Sure, you might include some tactical projects you’ll work on together in your proposal. You will definitely include a clear scope of work to manage expectations.

But what you can’t know—because every marketing challenge is unique—is precisely what you will need to do to get them to the real business outcome they want.

As a consultant—i.e. someone who gives advice instead of execution—you learn what needs to be done on the job, not always before you start.

If it were easy, they wouldn’t be hiring you.

That may make you and the buyer a little uncomfortable, but welcome to the real world.

You need to get in to figure out the problem, work on it for a while, iterate, and then see the novel way to solve the problem while doing the work.

Ask yourself (and the buyer if necessary): do they want a specific deliverable from you or a business result?

Personally, I scope, price, and sell based on the latter. What we do together gets done if and only if it helps achieve and maintain the latter.

It requires you to get clear on the business outcomes you’re improving, not so much every specific channel or tactic you’ll be consulting on.

If you’re new to consulting, this is an important distinction to learn.

—kw

P.S. I did a quick video on this topic for my new YouTube channel while driving to the gym this morning. Check it out here and be sure to subscribe or whatever.