Do you really need to hire a full-time role for sales, marketing, HR, finance, or other internal business functions?

In this episode, John and Mark break down the benefits of working with fractional consultants in professional services. They discuss the different scenarios in which it makes sense to work with a fractional consultant, and examples of fractional consulting engagements.

- Scenario 1: Diversifying into a new area without a full-time hire
- Scenario 2: Filling a skills/expertise gap temporarily
- Scenario 3: Accessing consultant networks for additional expertise
- Scenario 4: Fast-tracking training without long-term commitment
- Scenario 5: More efficient use of capital vs. full-time salaries/benefits
- Defining fractional consultants vs. freelancers vs. contractors
- Examples of fractional consultant engagements

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In this episode, John & Mark explore the variety of roles and skills needed for professional services firms to develop new business today. Having strengths across both marketing and sales is essential for driving business growth. This conversation covers:

• Key marketing roles like digital marketing specialist, web developer, graphic designer, and marketing director
• Examination of sales roles like closers,  sales managers, and doer-sellers
• "Messy middle" roles like proposal managers and researchers that straddle marketing and sales
• Review of necessary sales skills like curiosity, process leadership, emotional intelligence
• Marketing skills like analytics, networking, emotional intelligence

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John and Mark provide an in-depth look at effective prospecting targets, tools, and techniques for doer-sellers in professional services firms—a critical part of the lead generation toolkit. Here are the key points covered in this conversation:

• Prospecting involves proactive outreach to uncover new opportunities and lies on the sales side of marketing.
• Mark uses an iceberg analogy to explain market segments: actively buying,  passively buying, and satisfied with their status quo.
• Prospecting objectives are to schedule follow-ups, gather information, or increase familiarity.
• Prospecting outcomes include determining fit, wrong timing, or qualifying an opportunity.
• Mark walks through an example 14-day sequence for busy doer-sellers

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On this episode, John and Mark share 10 ways to suck at conferences and events for professional services firms: 

1. Just show up
2. Write a big check for a sponsorship and then send a couple people to “network”
3. Don’t set goals
4. Never try to speak or present at a conference
5. Do zero pre-event outreach or post-event follow-up
6. Never, ever research the event audience
7. Don’t build anticipation with your network
8. Don’t look up social posts from the event and engage
9. Don’t leverage your marketing team at the office
10. Don’t create any content from the event

From there, Mark dives into a framework for how to make the most out of conferences and events. 

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Pricing is a major lever for revenue and growth, but most business development professionals are not involved in setting price. In most firms, there are a three main approaches to pricing  services:

1. Cost-plus
2. Market-based
3. Value-based 

In this episode, John and Mark beat up pricing and offer a new perspective to help you guide buyers to making the right decision. You'll hear them discuss:

• Why it's important to have pricing discussions early in sales process
• How value pricing presents relieves downward price pressure
• Elements of good pricing strategy: positioning, sequencing presentations, understanding needs, negotiating win-win
• How to guide customers through options with choice architecture
• An overview of common cognitive biases impact pricing

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Delve into the importance of *showing* that you understand your buyer in the sales process. Craft a standalone "Statement of Understanding" as a foundation upon which to develop a solution.

In this episode, John and Mark break down the importance of understanding. Listen to hear perspective on:

• The importance of true understanding
•  The power of listening
• Critical elements of the statement of understanding
• Implementing a statement of understanding

Here are some additional links on understanding:

• https://www.wainwrightinsight.com/the-importance-of-understanding/
• https://www.wainwrightinsight.com/the-statement-of-understanding/

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On this episode, John and Mark beat up a few metrics like "leads" and "win rate" and share 5 marketing and 5 sales numbers professional services firms should be paying attention to if they want to grow their firm.

Top 5 Marketing Metrics:

• Qualified Opportunities by Source
• Client Lifetime Value
• Client Acquisition Cost
• Revenue by Source
• Return on Marketing Investment

Top 5 Sales Metrics:

• Total Potential Revenue
• Outreach activities
• Pipeline - Creating new Opportunities
• Pipeline - Closed Won Revenue to Date
• Proposals - Ratio of Proposed to Contract Value ($)

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In professional services, people are your biggest asset. Especially when it comes to developing new business. Unfortunately, many firms set people up to fail before they're even hired, which could translate to stagnant growth as a result. It all starts with the job description.

In this episode, we beat up disastrous job descriptions for the following roles in professional services firms:

• BD Managers
• Marketing Managers
• Senior Doer-Sellers

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The client success story can go by many names; case story, case study, use-case, past performance, the list goes on...  But how should it be structured? When can it be used? How can it be used for marketing? For sales? In this episode, John and Mark break down the client success story in professional services—what it is, how it’s used, and mistakes to avoid.

The Client Success Story Framework:

1. The client's situation
2. The client's problem or need
3. The solution you provided
4. The client's results

Read more from Mark on the client success story here:
https://www.wainwrightinsight.com/client-success-story/

Using the PASTOR framework for the client success story in marketing:

P - label the client's problem
A - amplify the problem
S - show the solution
T - bring in a client testimonial
O - offer a way to connect (contact us, book a demo, request an audit)
R - promptly respond to offer requests

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LinkedIn is the primary social media platform for most professional services firms. But oftentimes, it's not used as effectively as it could be to build visibility, generate leads, and move prospects along a buying journey. 

In this episode, John and Mark break down how to use LinkedIn for business development (marketing + sales). You'll be sure to pick up actionable strategies and tactics you can put into practice today. 

Share your feedback in our listener survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8V9T6Z7