Every consultant wants to form solid business partnerships with their clients, but many things can get in the way. Andrew Sobel, author of All for One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships, explains how to address some common challenges consultants face when trying to partner with their clients.

Questions he addresses include:

(Time: 11:26)

Many professional services firms see their competition winning new business by blogging, connecting on social networks, and launching podcasts and online videos. And they want to know, "How can I do the same?"

Dana VanDen Heuvel, founder of the Marketing Savant Group, explains how firms can create a social media marketing strategy. Topics he addresses include what questions firms need to ask themselves and how firms should integrate a CRM system into their plans.

(Time: 10:54)

Interested in hearing more? Watch the full presentation with Dana.

Millions of business professionals have a LinkedIn profile. So how does a marketer tactfully and effectively use this resource?

Jason Alba, author of I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What, explains the finer points of netiquette (Internet etiquette), the best way to build a list from your connections, and what your personal profile should look like

(Time 08:32)

Interested in hearing more? Watch Jason Alba's on-demand webinar.

The strategies for marketing and selling for professional services firms aren't that complicated. But getting the leaders together and choosing a strategy often is.

In this podcast we look at what leaders can do to make change happen at their firms with Dr. John Kotter, professor of leadership at Harvard Business School and author of New York Times bestsellers A Sense of Urgency and My Iceberg Is Melting, as well as the world's most influential book on organization change, Leading Change.

He says people fail to successfully make change not because they lack capability and intelligence, but because they simply haven't been through a lot of big changes. The good news is you can learn it. You can do it. You can make some remarkable things happen. You just have to think in a different way.

(Time: 11:58)

In this episode, Andrew Sobel, author of the book All For One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships, reveals approaches to building long-term trusted partnerships with flagship clients—those key clients that provide a disproportionate share of revenue and profits.

Andrew provides research-based strategies for individuals and institutions to develop these trusted partnerships and shares examples from his book.

(Time: 14:29)

Interest in Hearing More?: Reserve a seat a Andrew's upcoming RainToday.com webinar, From Vendor to Trusted Partner: Breakthrough Strategies for Developing Clients for Life.

In this episode, we talk about how your firm can transition from basing its fees on hourly rates to basing its fees on the value your firm delivers. Alan Weiss, author of the seminar book, "Value-Based Fees: How to Charge and Get What You're Worth," explains why firms should use value-based fees, how firms can start adopting them, and how to respond to client objections.

(Time: 09:30)

Interested in hearing more? Sign up for Alan's upcoming teleseminar, Getting Paid What You're Worth: How to Use Value-Based Fees at Your Firm, on Thursday, May 21.

Most people automatically say, "So, what do you do?" at networking events, but don't care what the answer is. Scott Ginsberg, "the authority on approachability," explains how to create a "soundbite" that will have people actually take interest in what you do. Listen as he offers tips to opening a whole new world of business opportunities, in this excerpt from Scott's recent webinar with Raintoday.com.

(Time: 8:07 )

Hear the rest of Scott's advice by visiting the RainToday store and watching Scotts webinar Networking for New Business: 7 Ways for Becoming More Referable.

Everyone needs two or three people who will tell them the truth, who will push and encourage them, and who will hold them accountable. Everyone needs two or three people who are committed to their success. Yet, most people, when ask, "Who's got your back," aren't sure that anyone does, particularly in a professional context.

Listen to this podcast with Keith Ferrazzi, bestselling author of Never Eat Alone and the forthcoming book Who's Got Your Back?, as he explains the keys to forming these vital relationships.

(Time: 14:21)

Interested in hearing more? Reserve your online seat for Keith Ferrazzi's May 7 webinar, Through Thick and Thin: How to Build Relationships with People Committed to Your Success.

In this podcast interview with Scott Ginsberg, the authority on approachability, Scott discusses how to become more approachable, how to connect with people about their passion, and how to break through the barriers which stop us from initiating conversations.

Becoming a more personable professional is vital. Clients choose service providers they like, and rarely those who only serve their needs.

(Time: 13:31)

Interested in hearing more? Register for Scott's upcoming webinar, Networking for New Business: 7 Ways to Become More Referable.

Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, and Facebook have marketers abuzz. The tools can generate exposure for their firms, increase website traffic, and result in new business partnerships, but marketers still don't know how to best use them.

Michael Stelzner, who just published the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, discusses how marketers can tell if social media is paying off, what they should think about before diving in, how much time they should invest in it, and much more.

(Time: 11:09)