Consulting with Authority

David Saltzman is a 20-year nationally-published monthly columnist, an accomplished stage and keynote speaker, and a seasoned marketer. David runs his own podcast, where he has interviewed more than 350 entrepreneurs and learned how they use stories effectively to achieve their success.

For the past 15 years, David has focused on helping others create story-based marketing that cuts through the noise in their marketplaces and creates the first step toward enduring relationships.

As a Certified StoryBrand Guide, David and his team employ the StoryBrand framework to structure and focus the story their clients use to win business and attract customers. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• How David transitioned to working in insurance and became a Chief Marketing Officer.
• Story theory and how every story follows the same plot.
• The importance for marketing advisors to create strong relationships.
• The difference between selling a service and selling a product. 
• The distinction between consulting and coaching. 
• How business consultants can improve their prospect conversion rate. 
• How to help your clients craft a solution that they’ll embrace.
• How to apply and utilize your StoryBrand effectively.

Resources:

• The Saltzman Group
• StoryBrand Guide
• Building a StoryBrand

Connecting with David Saltzman:

• LinkedIn
• Email
• Podcast

Connecting with the host:

• Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

Rick McCulloch is a strategic marketing consultant, advisor, and thought leader, with an extensive acquisition marketing, automation, and advertising background.

Rick has a passion for developing systems and helping businesses to simplify their processes. At the beginning of his career, he served as a team lead, developing reservoir modeling software for a small private consulting firm. In 2010, Rick had been in the oil & gas industry for over 25 years, directing complex drilling operations.

After a long time, and with the help of great mentors, Rick shifted to helping others get results by showing them what he's learned. Rick is currently the Director of Lightbulb Moments and Chief Executive Officer of wiiFM Sales and Marketing. As Director of Lightbulb Moments, he provides full-service marketing and direct response copywriting services, helping established businesses get more clients. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• The type of clients Rick works with and how he helps them become more visible in their space.
• Problems Rick’s clients tend to have as a result of them not being visible enough.
• Common solutions companies implement to improve their visibility that are ineffective.
• Strategies companies should be utilizing to deliver their message more compellingly.
• The Kardashian Effect and how they’ve used the media to improve their SEO.
• The benefits of YouTube and why it’s favored in Google’s algorithm.
• The strategy of borrowing other people's credibility or brand.
• How to get your content shared by well-known media sources.
• How to craft a compelling offer for the marketplace.

Resources:

• wiiFM Sales and Marketing
• What Your Business Can Learn From The Kardashians Masterclass

Connecting with Rick McCulloch:

• LinkedIn
• Book a chat
• Register for an executive meeting

Connecting with the host:

• Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

Nancy Giere works with organizations and consultants to help them develop virtual learning systems to generate leads, build customer loyalty and generate new sources of revenue.

Specializing in leveraging storytelling and Instructional Design to create innovative and engaging training solutions, Nancy has proven success with a wide range of organizations from Global Fortune 500 to start-ups and consultants. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• How Nancy became an online course creator and expert.
• The value of licensing your content and bringing your program into an organization.
• Why organizations build some of their programs and outsource others.
• How to decide which platform to build your program on.
• How Nancy helps consultants create their own online courses to expand their revenue generation.
• The reasons why an online course can be so valuable for a consultant.
• How long a mini-course should be and the type of content it should have.
• How the consumption of courses has changed over the last few years.
• The investment range for a B2B consultant’s course.

Resources:

• Mentimeter
• Kahoot!
• Articulate
• NewZenler
• Kajabi
• Clickfunnels
• 
  

Connecting with Nancy Giere:

• LinkedIn
• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter

Connecting with the host:

Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

Scott Cantrell is the Founder of Smart Solutions Media, where he provides simple marketing solutions to help consultants fill their pipeline with high-quality prospects. He is also the VP of Business Development at Quality Consistent Leads where they help business professionals maximize their growth. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• How to accelerate your business and transform prospects into lifelong clients without resistance.
• How to build authority in the marketplace and be seen as an expert in your field.
• The importance of building a structured process to cultivate new prospects.
• How to accelerate the sales process by simplifying complex sales.
• Four strategies you can use to improve your sales process.
• How to build belief with new prospects and why clarity is key.
• Converting high-value clients and what advisory selling is.
• How to diagnose what your prospect really needs help with.
• How to set up a zero-risk offer.
• How to identify, access, and engage new opportunities.

Resources:

• Smart Solutions Media
• Accelerated Growth Card

Connecting with the host:

• Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

Sean Boyce has run his own consultancy firm NxtStep Consulting for over 10 years and has founded multiple other companies at the same time. He’s extremely experienced in working with B2B SaaS product businesses and is well-known for having a big impact on the businesses he’s worked with. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of The Consulting Trap:

• How I found my passion for marketing and sales.
• Strategies consultants can use to help maintain a steady stream of work.
• How to turn your marketing process into part of your routine.
• The importance of having consistency in your marketing.
• How to make yourself seen as an authority in your space.
• The benefits of running a podcast and what you need to do in order for it to be successful.

Resources:

• Smart Solutions Media
• Growing Your Business!
• Rainmaking Made Easy
• Jonathon Stark
• Accelerated Growth Scorecard
• Podcast Chef 

Connecting with Sean Boyce:

• LinkedIn

Connecting with the host:

• Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

John Blumberg is a national keynote speaker and author and spent 14 years in human resources, including worldwide recruiting responsibilities at Arthur Andersen.

As a professional speaker, John has been featured in keynotes and workshops in 10 countries. He has received the designation of Certified Speaking Professional from the National Speakers Association, a designation held by less than 10% of the members of the International Federation of Professional Speakers, and is a past president of the National Speaker Association’s Illinois Chapter. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• How John found his passion for values and became an expert on integrity.
• The different channels John uses to connect with people.
• How to define integrity in a comprehensive way.
• How John helps leaders view integrity in a new way.
• How ‘drift’ relates to integrity and how to notice your drifting away from integrity.
• How people can get back to the core of who they are if they’ve drifted away from that.
• The ways people change when they become clear on their view of integrity.
• The power of writing and how it helps you understand your thinking further.

Resources:

• Circle of Integrity
• Return on Integrity: The Individual’s Journey to the One Essential Thing
• Return on Integrity: The New Definition of ROI and Why Leaders Need to Know It

Connecting with John Blumberg:

• LinkedIn
• Website

Connecting with the host:

• Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

Devin DeVries is the VP of Production and Promotion at Indie Books International, specializing in working with consultants who want to attract high-paying clients by marketing with a book or seminar. Devin has helped organize and market over 100 events across the nation ranging from 1-hour webinars to 3-day conferences. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• How Devin got involved with Indie Books International.
• Why marketing with a book and speech is so effective.
• How to leverage a book or seminar to connect with new prospects.
• The power of hosting your own event or seminars.
• How to create the outline of a book from materials you already have.
• How the pandemic affected Indie Books International business development practices.
• The key components to hosting a successful virtual live event.
• Attendance rates you can expect from virtual presentations.
• How Devin promotes her virtual presentations.

Resources:

• Indie Books International
• Storytelling Made Easy

Connecting with Devin DeVries:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Email

Connecting with the host:

• Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

Henry DeVries is a professional speaker and CEO of Indie Books International. He works with independent consultants who want to attract high-paying clients by marketing with a book or a speech. Over the last 10 years, Henry has helped create over 300 business books, 8 of which are published under his name. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• How Henry became a business book ghostwriter to over 300 non-fiction business books.
• The power of storytelling and how consultants can leverage their storytelling to attract new business opportunities.
• What a story bank is and how to make a story powerful.
• How to build out your story bank and make your stories memorable.
• How to build relationships with big business CEOs through the ‘Trojan Horse Strategy’.
• How Indie Books International helps consultants prepare their book, get it published, and effectively promote it.

Resources:

• Indie Books International
• How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett
• Rainmaker Confidential

Connecting with Henry DeVries:

• Twitter
• Email
• LinkedIn

Connecting with the host:

• Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

Reneé La Tour worked for 10 years in local government and climbed up the ladder from a secretary into leadership roles managing large projects, improving systems and procedures, hiring staff, and leading teams and initiatives. 

In 2016 Reneé decided she was done climbing and wanted to create her dream life on her own terms. She plunged into entrepreneurship and started applying her expertise to helping small business owners. 

Now Reneé strategizes with solopreneurs that make at least $100K/year, looking to scale to the next level by optimizing their business systems, strategies, and building out a team so they can work from anywhere, in any timezone, for only a few hours per day while their business runs on autopilot. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• How Reneé started her entrepreneurial journey and developed her business to allow her to travel indefinitely.
• How to increase your work efficiency so you can free up more time.
• The extent of the gig economy and how to leverage it most effectively.
• Tips and tricks for crafting a job description on freelancer websites.
• The best ways to filter through gig workers and find the right worker for you.
• How to start offloading parts of your business.
• When and how to set up SOPs.
• How to manage multiple businesses simultaneously.
• What a standard day working abroad looks like.

Resources:

• The 4-Hour Workweek
• Entrepreneurial Operating System
• Fiverr
• Upwork
• Vimeo
• Ticket to Freedom Programme

Connecting with Reneé La Tour:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Connecting with the host:

• Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn

John’s entire career has been devoted to the world of sales and expansion. From selling advanced hardware products to complex enterprise software solutions, from being a regional account manager to serving as Vice President of Sales for a multinational firm, John knows first-hand the challenges and opportunities that lie within every role across the entire sales organization.

Now, John leverages his years of leadership expertise and award-winning sales management at a Fortune 100 corporation to help small- to medium-size businesses to grow and thrive. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Consulting with Authority:

• How John went from working at Xerox to starting his own consulting firm.
• The type of companies John works with and how he helps their sales teams.
• How to perform well in a complex sale cycle.
• Different business development techniques and John’s prospecting process.
• How to build and grow a strong referral network.
• Common challenges consultants face in the sales cycle.
• How long your sales cycle should be.
• When a company should onboard its first salesperson.
• The importance of measuring the right KPIs.

Resources:

• Mountain State Sales Solutions
• Sales Xceleration

Connecting with John Alden:

• LinkedIn
• Email

Connecting with the host:

Scott Cantrell on LinkedIn