Ash and Flo discuss a recent think piece from Source Global Research, pointing to interesting changes in professional services buyers' spending patterns and service buying preferences. Is it time to tweak your firm's messaging?    Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota   Please find the shownotes to this eposide at unbillable-hrs.com.

Sure, your firm has frameworks - but does it have a "signature methodology," i.e., a proprietary process designed to help educate prospects and structure engagements? If not, you should design one ASAP - and listen to this to learn how you might do it:   Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota

Have your value prop, signature method, and offerings defined (as per our earlier episodes)? Great, congrats! Then you're ready to keep improving everything by using client feedback in some of the ways Ash and Flo describe here. Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota

Does your consultancy have a point of view on its clients' industry, business, and challenges yet? No? Well, then, this is the episode for you because in it, Ash and Flo share their framework for distilling one (or several, should you need them). Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Please find the shownotes to this episode on unbillable-hrs.com.

Ever wonder how we're producing this humble podcast? Well, Flo spilled the beans when speaking to John Tyreman over at "Podcasting in Professional Services," and John was kind enough to permit us to re-release the episode here, in this feed, so here you go!   Episode guest: Flo Heinrichs, founder, client friendly. Voices, production, etc. by John Tyreman and crew at Red Cedar Marketing. Check out John's podcast over at https://www.redcedarmarketing.com/podcasting-in-professional-services (or wherever you get your podcasts)

"Market segmentation" remains the most under-utilized source of differentiation in all of consulting... So how can you segment properly, and create an edge for your firm? Ash and Flo discuss: Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota

Is digital marketing really the end-all, be-all of consultancy business development? Our guest for this episode, Interview Valet's Tom Schwab, disagrees (and so do Ash and Flo) - and explains why, right now, the greater opportunity might be exploring everything besides digital ads, SEO, and social selling: Episode guest: Tom Schwab, Chief Evangelist Officer & Founder, Interview Valet. Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Pls. find the shownotes for this episode at unbillable-hrs.com.

Ah, yes... creativity! It is so important in marketing, yet so rare in most marketing materials consulting firms tend to put out (not yours, of course, you're good!). Why is that? Why does it matter? And - how could firm marketers ramp up the creativity of their messaging, collateral, and ads? Ash and Flo discuss: Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota

Ever heard of "effectuation?" No? Well, it's one of these management frameworks or something. And it contains a bunch of principles you might find helpful when preparing your marketing programs for execution. Here goes: Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Pls. find the shownotes for this episode at unbillable-hrs.com.

Are you thinking about your services in the same ways your clients do? And do you use the same words they use to describe them? Well, chances are, you're not—or not anymore. Prospects' categories for thinking about and searching for consultancy services are ever-changing, and Source Global Research's CEO Fiona Czerniawska explained in some detail why it pays to pay attention. Episode guest: Fiona Czerniawska, CEO, Source Global Research. Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Pls. find shownotes to this episode at unbillable-hrs.com.

How can consultancy marketers make firm-wide change? We asked someone who should know because “making change” is part of their marketing executive day job: Marc Appel, head of content and editorial strategy at Accenture. Episode guest: Marc Appel, head of content and editorial strategy, Accenture. Voices, production, etc., by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Pls. find the shownotes to this episode at unbillable-hrs.com.

Seems like a lot of you liked our "Professionalizing Bizdev" episode - and some of you even sent us some questions. So... we double down on the theme, and explore how firms can push beyond "unfocused" business development and into a much more focused way of pursuing clients and new business:  Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota

Ever considered LinkedIn ads for your firm or service? We certainly have... and we've learned enough about them to understand we'd need to have an expert explain them to us ... which is why we invited Hannibal, who was kind enough to share his insights. So, here you go: A full episode on "buying ads"! Episode guest: Hannibal Herforth, consultant, Kvadrant Consulting. Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Pls. find shownotes to this episode at unbillable-hrs.com

Flo recently hopped onto Alastair McDermott's "Recognized Authority" podcast to discuss some fresh ideas for consultancy content creation - here's the replay for you: Check out the Recognized Authority Podcast here! Voices, production, etc., by Alastair McDermott Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Pls. find the shownotes to this episode at unbillable-hrs.com

Improving, i.e., focusing, strategizing, and scaling a firm's business development efforts, can be a somewhat lengthy journey. Soo... how could you fast-track it? Listen to Ash and Flo discuss the journey, its usual stages, and what to do during which to get to where you'd like to be much quicker. Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota

A lot gets said about "BizDev," but much of it comes in the form of tactical tips. Surely, there must be a comprehensive strategy and method for it, too? We asked Costas Papaikonomou, who recently wrote a book about both. His central hypothesis: Talk to lots of people over decaf, and often! Episode guest: Costas Papaikonomou, co-founder, Happen, and author of - among other things - "The Magic Ingredient: Business Development for Creative Professionals." Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Pls. find the shownotes to this episode at unbillable-hrs.com!

Unhappy with the business results you got from your firm's content marketing efforts in 2023? Well, then, this is the episode for you! Listen in to hear Ash and Flo discuss where firms tend to go wrong with their content and what they could do to fix it. Includes examples! Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota

Does your firm market all its greatest thinking? Or does it keep some stuff not just in the back of the shop? If it's the latter - consider bringing some of it not just into the store but right up in front and into the "shopping window," i.e., your marketing, where everybody can see it right away... Uh, we'll explain: Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota

Let's close the books for '23, shall we? (Ash and Flo discuss the year and share some podcast metrics to prove how kind y'all have been to us. Thanks for listening!). Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota Pls. get the shownotes for this episode at unbillable-hrs.com

Here you go, friends: A Christmas Episode (so to speak)! Well, ok - we're not talking about Santa, but about Marketing as a "BizDev multiplier"... and explain why the discipline works in this way. But hey - maybe you can listen to it in a festive spirit? While saving the last PowerPoint decks before signing off? We sure hope you get to sign off... eventually. Happy Holidays, and thanks for sticking with us for another year. You're great! Voices, production, etc. by Ash and Flo. Creative and design advice by @calmar.creativ Into, outro voiceover by @iamthedakota Music also by @iamthedakota