Madison | We Market Professional Services Firms

The One-Page Marketing Plan for professional services firms: It's planning season, and many firms are thinking about how to set up marketing for success in 2025. It's easy to overcomplicate things. I tend to think that (especially for boutiques) a plan should be no more than 1 page. Easy to understand and digest, easy to execute. The common elements I like to use: - Vision: what are we trying to accomplish? - Client: who are they, and what do they care about? How do we fit into their world? - USP: how are we different than everyone else trying to talk to them? - Pillars: what are the 3-4 things we want to communicate over and over again? - Voice: how do we want to show up in the world? - Channels: where do our clients hang out and how will we reach them? - Success: how will we know it's working? Link to an example in the comments. What would you add/remove/change?

A personal brand is critical for any Partner or Managing Director looking to grow their book of business. Join us on December 4th to learn how to create "trusted advisor" relationships at scale. Hope to see you there!

On December 4th, Madison CEO Sean Johnson ?? will walk you through a process to turn any Partner or Managing Director into a "trusted advisor" by defining your unique point of view and communicating it through Authority Marketing. We hope you can join us.

Things I don't think professional services firms should worry (much) about when they start doing Authority Marketing: ?? ??????????/????????????????/????????????. It feels good, and it increases reach. But don't obsess over it. Most new business won't be from these people. ?? ???????????? ???? ??????????????????????.?Over time you want this to go up, but don't worry about "going viral". You'll do just fine without it. ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????????????????.?It's much more like brand than direct response. And most of your buyers aren't in market right now. ?? ?????????????? ???????? "??????????????????????".?There are lots of tricks that can increase reach (incendiary hooks, constant CTAs to repost at the end, etc.) But for many people some of it feels ick. My personal bar is "would the CEO of a major consulting firm be comfortable writing something like this?" That's just me. Take what's helpful - the point of the first sentence is to get you to read the second, etc. - but be authentic to yourself. -- Things they should care about instead: ? ??????????????.?Making it immediately obvious what you do and for whom. ? ????????????????????. Having a differentiated, articulated Point of View. ? ?????????? ???? ?????????????? ???? ????????????????. Even if something doesn't land, if you know it's valuable you should be happy. You're serving. ? ?????????? ????????????????????.?Even if they don't read the whole thing they still see your face with your headline. Mere exposure effect is real. ? ???????????????? ??????????????????????. If you only have 100 people consuming your content, if they're the right people you're still in great shape. Being specific to your ICP helps. Shaping your follower composition (through targeted connection requests, etc.) can as well. ? ???????????? ???? ???????????? ?????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????? ????????. They won't be able to tell you which piece of content did it. It's the aggregate. But if you keep showing up and adding value, I promise they'll reach out eventually.

Communities are one of the most underrated business development tools for professional services firms. Why they're so great, and how to create one that thrives:

You cut through the noise in professional services with a strong Point of View. People want to know your Why way before the tactical stuff. A POV is more than just an opinion or perspective. It's your stand, beliefs, core values, guiding star. It’s Simon Sinek-pleasing clarity on your Why. It defines your brand. Builds authentic relationships. Inspires trust. The framework we use at Madison | We Market Professional Services Firms has four elements: ?????? ?????? ?????????? | ?????????? ???????????? ?????????????? Get very specific about decision-makers at organizations you want to serve and ensure your messages resonate. ???????? ?????? ?????????????? | ???????? ?????????????? Given your tenure and expertise, you hold deep truths about your domain and industry. They’re unique, hard-earned, and a bit counterintuitive. (But have you ever written them down?) ?????? ?????? ?????????? | ???????????? What you hope your company represents to the world. A wildly compelling tool in the toolkit, but very rarely done well. ?????? ?????? ?????????? | ???????? ???????? ???? ?????????? “People buy from people” and your personality matters. Your words, stories, and messages directly affect how your ICP perceives your offer. Often, these culminate in a Manifesto. A single document crystalizing your POV in the most powerful language possible. It galvanizes the team and creates differentiation in customers’ minds. So how do you do it? 1?? Reflect on Your Origins: Why did you start your firm? What gaps did you aim to fill? Your beginnings often hold the essence of your point of view. 2?? Understand Your Clientele: Dive deep into the aspirations, challenges, and needs of your Ideal Client Profile. This will help shape a point of view that resonates with them. 3?? Evaluate Your Values: List your core values and principles that guide your firm. Are you driven by innovation, tradition, sustainability,?local empowerment? These values are the pillars of your point of view. 4?? Seek Feedback: Engage with clients and team members. Their insights can offer a fresh perspective and help refine your point of view. 5?? Communicate Consistently: Once you've defined your point of view, it's crucial to communicate it consistently across all platforms. Excellence, care, and hard work are baseline for you. A strong POV might be exactly what your next chapter needs.

So many people want to tell you how to get the client. Not how to delight the client. But ?????? ?????????? ?????????? of getting the client is to have an opportunity to serve. To blow their minds. We do marketing. It matters. But it’s not what matters.

Most of our clients aren't starting from zero. Our job is to fill gaps. But if I were standing up a marketing apparatus for a professional services firm from scratch, it might look ?????????????????? like this: ?????????????????????? ?? Get clarity on Point of View ?? Define Ideal Client Profile ?? Create a manifesto ?? Refine elevator pitch ?? Design tight 8-12 slide intro deck ?? Update LinkedIn bio and relevant assets ?? Define content pillars ?? Start posting 2-3x weekly (from the partners, not the firm) ?????????????????? ?? Identify the "menu" ?? Create one pagers for each ?? Example deliverables for each solution ?? Design solution-specific workshops ?? Webinar every 2-3 months ?????????????? ?? Strategic planning ?? Content audit ?? Design refresh (maybe) ?? Update copy - emphasis on clarity with what you do and for whom ?? Landing pages for each solution ?? Primary and secondary CTAs ?? Initial catch-all lead magnet ?? Solution-specific lead magnets, with flow driving to webinars ?? Resources section, ideally organized around "unified theory" ?? 2x longform posts on site monthly ?? Begin repurposing content on other platforms ?? Mailing list setup & warmup ?? Newsletter 1x monthly ???????????????? ?????????????? ?? Start podcast ?? Pursue guest interviews on other podcasts ?? Repurpose for video (long form and clips) ?? Turn transcript into more content (long and short form) ?? Combine existing content from unified theory into book, self published ?? Speaking kit ?? Identify events, submit speaking proposals ?????????????????? ?? Client interviews ?? Solicit reviews ?? Case study creation ?? Social media asset creation ?? Website and deck updates ?? Partnership strategy and enablement toolkit ?????????? ???????????????????? ?? Discovery roadmap ?? Business case template ?? Proposal design ?? Follow-up cadence ?? Relationship nurturing toolkit ?? CRM ?? Lead list building (not for cold outreach, for connecting on LinkedIn) ?? New client onboarding -- What's missing? What would you change? (We're helping a couple clients implement some version of this in the new year. It's going to be pretty fun.)

When I tell professional services firms that LinkedIn is currently the fastest, cheapest way for them to reach their audience, this is what I mean: ?? I wrote 13 posts this month. Probably about 3 hours of my time. ?? Those posts have reached 30,000 unique LinkedIn users, around 75,000 total impressions. ?? Reach only matters if you're reaching your ICP. The top 5 most common titles: Founder, Partner, Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, Board Member. ?? They led to 13 strategy calls and 2 new clients. You don't need an enormous audience – LOTS of people have more followers than I do. All you need is to a) get clear on who you serve, b) show up regularly with the most useful stuff you can, c) create respectful ways for people to raise their hands when they're ready, and d) be patient. I promise you it will work if you stick with it. (And if you need help, we're around ?? .)

Had my first 1:1 with my new team member last week. I'm rusty ??. So this is a reminder for myself as much as you. ?????? ???? ???????? ????????-???????????????? ??:?? ???????????????? (plus my 42 favorite questions): 1:1s are are not just a source of leverage for your firm and a chance to level up your team. They can be a deep source of fulfillment for you as the manager. Here's how: First, if you aren't doing them already: - They are not status meetings. - They are opportunities to connect and coach your team. - The direct drives the agenda. Re: scheduling: - Every week or two weeks. - On the calendar. - If you try to schedule them ad hoc it won't work. You'll fill your schedule up and they won't happen. Better to have them on the calendar and reschedule ad hoc. I use a ???????? model: ?????????????????? (5 min): what's going well? Can be personal or professional. When you start meetings with gratitude you start from a place of abundance vs. fear or anger. There's nothing we do in anger that we can't do better without. ???????????????????????????? (10 min): What did we agree would get done since last time? Did it happen? If not, why not? How can we make it happen next time? ???????????? (30 min): The meat of the meeting. Your job is NOT to solve the problem. Your job is to get really good at asking questions to help them arrive at solutions themselves. You are making them more capable team members, not putting out fires. Example questions: - What does "done" look like? - What does "amazing" look like? - What's the next physical action that would move this forward? - If I wasn't here, what would you do? ???????? ???????????(10 min): Summarize next actions. Get specific. Set a deadline for when it will be done. Done means completed AND you've been notified as the manager. Don't make the deadline the next 1:1. Get in the habit of asking for sooner. Teach urgency. Tips to make them better: - Ask for Accountability and Issues 24 hours beforehand so you have time to think and prepare. - For Issues, have them state the problem, attempt some version of 5 why's, and have some ideas ready for how to fix them. Writing clarifies thinking. - Take notes during the meeting. Let them see. Don't have Slack or email open. If it's over Zoom, hide self view. Take paper notes so they know you aren't typing in another window. Give them your undivided attention. - 5 minutes prior, set an intention. Ask yourself how you can best serve them during your time together. How best to love them and support them. Visualize yourself listening more than you talk. - Be comfortable with silence. Ask the question, and let them sit with it. Don't rush to save them. Let them think - otherwise you rob them of the chance to grow. 1:1s are one of my favorite ways to find meaning in work. -- P.S. You can grab my 1:1 meeting SOP with 42 of my favorite questions in the link in the comments. If you find it helpful, repost so others can benefit as well ?? .