The Sales and Marketing Conundrum for Professional Services Firms

The Sales and Marketing Conundrum for Professional Services Firms

There is a danger in conflating sales with marketing, or considering them the same function, when really they are distinct activities and requisite skill sets. But there is an equal danger in keeping the functions entirely separate, which is often where both programs (sales and marketing) come up short, with departments at large companies pointing figures and making excuses. There is both an art and science to achieving sales-and-marketing success, if only you can properly identify the obstacles and create manageable workarounds to address them.

Which brings us back to professional services firms

The Time for 2021 Planning Has Arrived: Some Advice

The Time for 2021 Planning Has Arrived: Some Advice

As we approach Q4 2020, there is no better time to reassess where this past year has taken us, and to be more purposeful about how we finish the year—and perhaps look ahead to 2021 with a clearer picture of what we want the future to look like.

Consider this, if we can muster the optimism to do so, the moment at which you regained a degree of control over events, rather than being a victim to circumstances unforeseen and out of one’s control. The time to take charge of your fortunes is now, but it will require not only a shift in mindset, but also an admission of what has changed...some things permanently, and most indefinitely.

11 Things a Failed Music Career Taught Me About Marketing

11 Things a Failed Music Career Taught Me About Marketing

It might be hard to believe looking at me now, but a full-time music career and pursuit of rock-and-roll stardom preceded my foray into marketing and public relations. That’s me in the center down there…looking too cool for school.

But what I learned as a starving artist back in the early 90s taught me the basics of nearly everything I do today as a marcom professional. In order for us to survive, it was all about promotion…and I mean, literally, “survive.” Here, then, are the 11 lessons I look back on and draw upon even today (musicians always “go to 11”):

How to Launch a Professional Podcast in Six Steps

How to Launch a Professional Podcast in Six Steps

Everywhere you look, research and data keep pointing to the same new reality: Decision makers are increasingly turning to audio formats to consume content and mine expertise. If your firm and its attorneys are not claiming their seats at the table, there is a good chance your competitors are.

In all likelihood, you’ve considered embarking on a podcasting initiative for your firm, but for whatever reason — be it strategic, tactical or logistical — you haven’t completed the journey. Consider this, then, your roadmap to get from positing to podcasting ... from production to promotion.