Authority Builder Podcast | Client-Winning Strategies for Coaches, Consultants, and Creatives Who Want to Lead With Authority.

My golf career ended abruptly this morning, when after applying sun protection oil, the club slipped out of my hands, hurtling like a demented boomerang about 50 yards behind me. Thankfully no one was stood there 😬

Now I’m sat in the clubhouse trying to hide my face. Ruminating on it: how it wouldn’t have happened if they teacher was there. Everything would have been calmer, more considered. Expertly guided. He’d have spotted it before it happened.

It made me think of how so many creative agency new business and marketing drives end shortly after they start, mainly due to embarrassment.And it struck me that often I’m confused when clients want to spend significantly more to work one to one with me, rather than use my much cheaper, off the peg direction, to get the very same result. 

But I think my experience of golf shows what it boils down to: with someone walking alongside me, the accountability, support, know how,  made me feel like I had a right to be there.  And likely I'd have been a lot more successful, or at least less dangerous.

If you've made it to the end of my golf/new business metaphor, be advised that places for 1-1 agency new business coaching with me are opening soon. Apply here:
https://www.kaffeen.club/Kick-Start-Coaching

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

Today's email is a little different: I'm giving you a new business task for this week.

I want you to do is listen to through this very short episode once and then listen again, with LinkedIn open and keep hitting pause as you do these tasks that I'm going to walk you through. 

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

ROI is the key to the best project wins. I see it time and time again: proof of the effectiveness of your work is the most powerful thing you have control over when you communicate to your prospective clients.

The good news is you don't need to win a DEA to get started. 

In this mini-podcast you'll learn how to start putting this to use for your business.

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

Sandra Booker talks with Charlotte about how to strategise for growth when you're feeling overworked, overwhelmed and multi-hatted. Sound familiar?

Listen into this episode for topics like:

• Foundations to scaling your business. Why sometimes you have to take a step back in order to move forward.
• Forget the Unicorn. How to find and hire the right person for the right role.
• Delegation secrets. How to delegate like a pro so your business can thrive.

Show notes:

>> Find Any Old Task at https://anyoldtask.ca/

>> Get your VA task list freebie here https://www.anyoldtask.ca/vatasklist/

>> Connect with Sandra via email at  [email protected] or on social at https://www.instagram.com/anyoldtask/ or https://www.facebook.com/anyoldtaskca

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

Love it or hate it, a big part of getting your agency known and remembered when the dream client is picking their next agency is being featured in the media. Here are five fundamentals that’ll lead you to consistent press coverage.

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Howard Schultz 

https://amzn.to/34TaPvn

There is no denying the buisness and marketing genius of former Starbucks CEO and now chairman emeritus, Howard Schultz. This book is an honest look back at the principles that have shaped the Starbucks phenomenon. Schultz shares the wisdom he has gained from his quest to make great coffee part of the American experience in a frank way that feels approachable as well as awe-striking, regardless of how you feel about the coffee.

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin

https://amzn.to/2Fyx8hi

An FMCG brand marketing client that I really respect and love working with recommended this as a must read for anyone in the world of brand and beyond. Purple Cow is another one that I’ve heard a lot of excerpts from, but not read cover to cover yet, so is eagerly anticipated on the book list.

Inspiring Leadership: Staying Afloat in Turbulent Times by Jane Cranwell-Ward, Andrea Bacon, Rosie Mackie

https://amzn.to/3428ijj

Combining the latest thinking on human performance at the turn of the 21st century with findings from the BT Global Challenge race, this book, recommended by a coaching client and podcast guest, demonstrates how to inspire others, sustain high performance and competitive advantage and keep a healthy work-life balance.

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz

https://amzn.to/2H5cZjL

This book has been a fundamental re-read for me, at any life or business juncture since 2010. It's a powerful reminder that whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, or choosing a doctor everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. This book offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decision by Dan Ariely

https://amzn.to/2T3Gdlk

In a similar vein to The Paradox of Choice, this book addresses why smart people make irrational decisions every day: Why can a 50p aspirin do what a 5p aspirin can't? If an item is "free" it must be a bargain, right? It's an intriguing, witty and utterly original look at why we all make illogical decisions that'll help you reconsider your work 'influencing' consumer behaviour, to the decisions you yourself make as a consumer.

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

"I'm struggling to get clients... maybe I should hire a new business agency"

I kid you not:

I hear some version of this from 50% of the people who want my help with lead generation.

"I'm having a hard time getting people to say yes to my branding project proposal."

The hope is that spending some money to get in front of more people will result in a flood of prospective clients banging at their virtual door.

Alas, that is rarely the case.

If you can't get people who find you organically to say yes, that won't change when you have hire an external agency to hit the phones.

Meanwhile, I've talked to hundreds of agency owners who can convert like nobody's business but who STILL haven't tried outbound lead generation!

It hurts when I think about how much money they've left on the table over the years. 😩

But for all kinds of (often valid) reasons, they're hesitant to spend money to increase their visibility.

So in this week's podcast episode I answer the question:

"Who should launch a lead generation campaign ASAP, and who should save their money?"

Download the episode to your phone now! >>

If you're ready to get going with lead generation for your agency, check out this free resource >> https://www.kaffeen.club/wcc-bootcamp <<

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

Melissa Harstine talks with Charlotte about how customer insights have sharpened Kaffeen's marketing, and how they could do the same for you.

Listen into this episode for topics like:

• What is customer research and how can it help creative businesses get more clients? 
• How do you identify the people you should be speaking to? 
• How do you make the request in a compelling way so those people agree to chat with you? 
• What are some questions you recommend asking to get valuable feedback? 

Show notes:

>>www.melissaharstine.com

>> https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaharstine/

>> Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn, send a DM to say hello, and she'll share a video of a real customer interview with some additional tips (like what to do if your question comes out of your mouth all jumbly.)

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

January resolutions don't begin and end at the (home) gym. But all too often agency ambitions for a shiny new year also fail to make it past the gatepost of February 1st.

Here are the five new business mistakes I see most ambitious but smaller agencies make, and how to turn them round to a success.

They go hell for leather in January, and then fade out.

Consistency is key, slow and steady wins the race, tortoise vs hare. All analogies apply here.

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call

For many design firms, the first marketing/ new business person's hire represents an exciting marker of growth. A kind of milestone that says you've made it, and a signifier of your ambition to scale.

It also represents a resignation that you can't do it all, and that you're willing to relinquish the outward message of your agency to another, more specialist person.

Only most agencies can't afford for their first marketing hire to be a specialist. More often than not, they hire someone junior who has enthusiasm but needs direction. The direction that the business owner can't give. After all, that's the reason they hired someone in the first place.

I know, because I was that young hire, and here is what I would recommend, having been in that position.

If you prefer to read this rather than listen, hop to our blog: https://www.kaffeen.club/blog/how-to-hire-your-first-marketing-employee

Entering the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards? I’ve written DEA entries for 16 years, with a 95%+ win rate.

Not sure your project is a contender? Tell me about it and get a free verdict

Got a serious contender, or re-entering? Book a call