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What Makes a Consulting Firm Distinct When Everyone Is Smart
What does good marketing actually look like inside a firm that prides itself on results over recommendations?
In this episode, Austin sits down with Barney O'Kelly, Head of Solutions & Product Marketing at AlixPartners, a global management consulting firm known for getting things done when the stakes are highest.
Barney shares why he replaced the term "personal brand" with something far more human: be seen and make friends. He explains why the same processes behind building a romantic relationship are what drive successful business development, and why dissonance is the single biggest enemy of trust.
The conversation covers AlixPartners' unique identity, built on three pillars its people, its work, and its history, and why those three things are what truly differentiate a firm in professional services. Barney also opens up about the evolution of his own marketing philosophy, how AlixPartners handled the Thomas Cook insolvency repatriation of 150,000 British holidaymakers, and why AI multiplies human expertise rather than replacing it.
If you work in B2B marketing, consulting, or professional services, this episode is packed with grounded, practical thinking from someone who has seen firsthand what works and what does not.
Get Your Exclusive AIO Growth Plan - We’ll kick off with a Live AIO Audit to see how shoppers find you, followed by Competitor Research to steal their spotlight: https://lunacal.ai/team/dws/dws-meetings
In this episode, we discuss:
00:00 - 01:00: Introduction
01:00 - 04:00: What Good Marketing Actually Looks Like
04:00 - 06:00: Inside AlixPartners — What the Firm Actually Does
06:00 - 08:30: The Thomas Cook Repatriation Story
08:30 - 11:00: Be Seen and Make Friends
11:00 - 13:00: Dale Carnegie, Relationships, and Business Development
13:00 - 15:30: What Makes AlixPartners Truly Distinctive
15:30 - 18:30: Why Their Best People Resist Personal Branding
18:30 - 21:00: Availability, Trust, and Showing Up Consistently
21:00 - 23:30: Barney's Role — Head of Solutions Explained
23:30 - 26:00: How Barney Found His Marketing Philosophy
26:00 - 28:30: Unique POV vs. AI-Aggregated Content
28:30 - 31:30: AI as a Multiplier for Experienced Consultants
31:30 - 34:30: Why Implementation Is Still the Hard Part
34:30 - 37:00: The Future of Business Leadership and Technology
37:00 - 38:35: Where to Find Barney + Outro
Connect with Barney O'Kelly
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barneyokelly/
https://www.alixpartners.com/
FOLLOW US
Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./
View all episodes
By Digital Web SolutionsWhat does good marketing actually look like inside a firm that prides itself on results over recommendations?
In this episode, Austin sits down with Barney O'Kelly, Head of Solutions & Product Marketing at AlixPartners, a global management consulting firm known for getting things done when the stakes are highest.
Barney shares why he replaced the term "personal brand" with something far more human: be seen and make friends. He explains why the same processes behind building a romantic relationship are what drive successful business development, and why dissonance is the single biggest enemy of trust.
The conversation covers AlixPartners' unique identity, built on three pillars its people, its work, and its history, and why those three things are what truly differentiate a firm in professional services. Barney also opens up about the evolution of his own marketing philosophy, how AlixPartners handled the Thomas Cook insolvency repatriation of 150,000 British holidaymakers, and why AI multiplies human expertise rather than replacing it.
If you work in B2B marketing, consulting, or professional services, this episode is packed with grounded, practical thinking from someone who has seen firsthand what works and what does not.
Get Your Exclusive AIO Growth Plan - We’ll kick off with a Live AIO Audit to see how shoppers find you, followed by Competitor Research to steal their spotlight: https://lunacal.ai/team/dws/dws-meetings
In this episode, we discuss:
00:00 - 01:00: Introduction
01:00 - 04:00: What Good Marketing Actually Looks Like
04:00 - 06:00: Inside AlixPartners — What the Firm Actually Does
06:00 - 08:30: The Thomas Cook Repatriation Story
08:30 - 11:00: Be Seen and Make Friends
11:00 - 13:00: Dale Carnegie, Relationships, and Business Development
13:00 - 15:30: What Makes AlixPartners Truly Distinctive
15:30 - 18:30: Why Their Best People Resist Personal Branding
18:30 - 21:00: Availability, Trust, and Showing Up Consistently
21:00 - 23:30: Barney's Role — Head of Solutions Explained
23:30 - 26:00: How Barney Found His Marketing Philosophy
26:00 - 28:30: Unique POV vs. AI-Aggregated Content
28:30 - 31:30: AI as a Multiplier for Experienced Consultants
31:30 - 34:30: Why Implementation Is Still the Hard Part
34:30 - 37:00: The Future of Business Leadership and Technology
37:00 - 38:35: Where to Find Barney + Outro
Connect with Barney O'Kelly
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barneyokelly/
https://www.alixpartners.com/
FOLLOW US
Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./