How to Sell Advice Kevin C. Whelan

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Brad Hussey—a former web designer turned creator, educator, and community builder.
In this episode, we talk about things like:

How he made the leap from employee to full-time web designer
How he successfully sells web design courses on platforms like Udemy, Awwwards, Teachable, and other places
How these courses lead to people hiring him for web design services, training, coaching and even requesting more courses—creating a flywheel for his business
How he leveraged his expertise into a partnership with Wix, where he hosts and maintains the Creative Crew Community

How his partnership with Wix is structured and run in terms of compensation and accountabilities
A breakdown of his revenue streams, including services, community, courses, sponsorships, ad revenue, and affiliates
His thoughts on publishing his courses on his own website and on learning platforms for a double benefit
How he built and monetized two YouTube channels with tens of thousands of followers across both channels
His advice on how to grow a YouTube channel—and how it benefits his business
And a lot more!
Resources & Links Mentioned

Brad's Website
Creative Crew Community
Brad's audio/video equipment
Kevin's audio/video equipment

BeCreatives - Unlimited Video Subscription Agency
Video Huskey
$100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau 
The Almanac of Raval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson 
Listen here or subscribe via your podcast player.
—kevin
P.S. Like this episode? Share it with another marketer and help them build a more leveraged and profitable marketing practice, too!

The other week, I chatted with former software consultant turned CRM SaaS owner, Reuben Swartz about how to do sales in a way that doesn't feel like selling and instead sets up your relationships for success.

In this episode, we chat about things like:

Why traditional sales processes don't work
How he helps people win clients without being sales-y
How having a clear target market helps your sales success
Reframing "sales" as "educating" and "networking" as "connecting"
Why having a strong marketing engine allows you to be better at sales
A mental model for generating more referrals
Should you give gifts and thank-you notes to people who refer business to you?
Easy ways to maintain contact with people in your network
And a lot more!

If selling isn't your jam—or even if it is—you'll get a ton of value out of this episode. 
The mindsets and mental models he shares make it easy to navigate sales conversations without getting mired in tactical "steps" which can often confuse you and put a barrier between you and your prospects.

Resources mentioned:

The Go-Giver by Bob Berg
Alchemy by Rory Sutherland 
Mimiran: The fun, antiCRM
Reuben on LinkedIn
Thanks for listening, and if you enjoy the show, please share it with a friend!
—kw

Do you have a proprietary framework or methodology you can build an entire business around?
I recently recorded a podcast with Billy Broas, a copywriter, advisor, and educator who has built a business around his proprietary messaging framework, The Five Lightbulbs. 
In this episode, Billy and I unpack the Five Lightbulbs and then go deep into how his business works, how he gets clients, and a lot more.
We discuss things like:

Why having a proprietary framework like the Five Lightbulbs is key to selling advice
How he leveraged his IP into courses, books, and other more leveraged ways 
How he evolved his business from doing to advising and now teaching 
Selling custom services with some productization on the back end
Why he focuses on the evergreen fundamentals of marketing and not just the “new thing”
How products get better by empathizing with and better understanding the customer
Why we should systemize and codify our expertise that outlives you
How teaching other audiences—i.e. industry software companies—leads to more business (Golden Goose Strategy)
How teaching courses and programs can lead to consulting engagements with students
How writing simple emails on a single topic under your own name works well as a format for email newsletters
How to fold the Five Lightbulbs framework into your emails and other marketing materials
Find Billy Online:

Billy’s Website
Billy’s Twitter
Books Mentioned:

Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith
Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz
Authors like:
Gary Halbert
Victor Schwabb
Joe Sugarman
Claude Hopkins

I recently decided to rebrand the Mindshare franchise (can I call it that?).
Listen in for all the details!
—kw

Do you focus much on optimizing your website for search engines? 
Personally, I don’t really do much beyond the basic best practices. My strategy has been more focused on email, social media, and Golden Goose tactics to build awareness for what I do.
But a part of me feels like I’m missing out—especially as I begin to sell knowledge products to a large potential audience.
That’s why I wanted to talk to Tsavo Neal about how he approaches his marketing and business model. Tsavo gets almost all of his clients and customers through search engine optimization. 
It just so happens, he teaches other consultants how to do the same. Which made this episode packed with value.
In this episode of Mindshare Radio, Tsavo and I unpack:

How he decided to niche down on helping consultants attract clients through their website
A breakdown of his business model comprised of do-it-yourself and done-with-you offerings
How raised the price of his course from $197 to $497 without losing deterring new customers
His thoughts on evergreen vs. launch-based (open vs. closed-cart) access to his course
How he sells $5-6k in digital products each month relying almost exclusively on SEO
A walkthrough of his done-with-you SEO service and how he designed the program
A deep-dive walkthrough of his SEO process, including research, outlining, writing, editing, publishing, and distribution
How he chooses keywords to write articles for based on competitiveness and difficulty
How he’s applying these same skills and techniques to rank and monetize a website in the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu niche 
And a lot more!
If you've ever thought you might want to get your website ranking better for search engines, get your pencil ready because this episode will show you how.Mentioned links and resources:

Phillip Morgan
Consulting Success
Ahrefs.com
TsavoNeal.com
BJJEquipment.com
—k
P.S. Want a deeper-dive training on how to do exactly this process? Tsavo shared an over-the-shoulder view for Mindshare members last month on how he does it. Sign up to get access to that plus a library of other training, group coaching, a private Slack community and more. Learn more about Mindshare → 

A few weeks ago, I invited Mindshare member and long-time marketing consultant, Mark Evans, to talk shop with me about the business of marketing consulting and fractional CMO work.
This was a really fun episode. We went deep into the nerdy nuances of fractional/interim CMO and advisory work.
Some topics we explored include:

Mark’s transition from reporter to marketing consultant
How he uses his training as a reporter to do positioning and messaging work
The challenges and frustrations of fractional CMO work
Why a strategic advisory work is his preferred way to engage with clients
His thoughts on coaching, mentoring, and training in-house marketers
The value proposition of interim CMO vs. fractional CMO
Pricing and value calculations for advisors vs. fCMOs
Refund policies and minimum commitment periods
Setting expectations and getting clear on goals before starting engagements
How and when to turn down clients who aren’t a fit
The importance of continually marketing yourself
Using video, podcasts, and showing up in person to build trust 
Books mentioned:

The Inside Advantage by Robert Bloom and Dave Conti
Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
Rocket Surgery Made Easy by Steve Krug
Connect with Mark:


Marketing Spark (consulting website)
Twitter