Episodes

Brand initiatives in a professional services firm can be a bit complicated. Often times it’s because questions further upstream haven’t been answered. In this episode we’ll talk about what those questions are and what firms should be thinking about when it comes to developing and articulating a brand for their firm. The post Brands, Frameworks & Models: Oh My! appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

A compelling point-of-view. It’s your firm’s central philosophy that can attract clients, and repel others. While the thought of repelling clients doesn’t sound ideal, you can actually drive away business by not having a point-of-view at all. Find out why having a compelling point-of-view so important and how can you go about articulating one for […] The post POV – It’s Time to Get One appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

This episode continues the conversation on classing storytelling frameworks that can be used in firm marketing. Jason and Jeff pick up where they left off last episode and discuss the last four story types, including The Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. The post Comedy & Tragedy: Leveraging 4 More Story Plots in Your Marketing Activities appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

A great story, well told, has the power to leave a lasting impression and even inspire action. And when done right, storytelling can do powerful things for firm marketing. Learn about three classic storytelling frameworks and how to use them to market your firm. The post Battling the Monster: Applying 3 Classic Storytelling Frameworks to Firm Marketing appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

The second episode in a two-part series on exceptional thought leadership marketers. Learn about the other four (out of seven) capabilities of the best thought leadership marketers based on Rattleback’s recent research study with Bloom Group. The post Shaping, Building, Enlightening and Driving: All the Rest We Learned From the Best appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Part 1 of a two-part series on exceptional thought leadership marketers. In this episode, Jason shares three of the seven capabilities of the best thought leadership marketers based on Rattleback’s recent research study with Bloom Group. The post Patience, Discipline and Truth-Seeking: Critical Capabilities of the Best Thought Leadership Marketers appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Two different consulting firms, two different views on sales training. So what sales methodology does each firm believe in and is one better than the other? A winner will be declared. Take a listen to find out who. The post The Battle for Mindshare in Sales Training: CEB (Gartner) vs. RAIN Group appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

There are a lot of firms who have a sales support function masquerading as marketing. So what are the things marketing should be doing in professional services firm to enable sales, rather than just support it? The post Are You Enabling Sales or Just Supporting It? appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

David Ryan, founder of Gray Matters Group, joins Jason and Jeff to share his unique approach to growing the business development function of a professional services firm by empowering billable professionals. The post You’re Already Serving Me. Now Sell To Me. A Conversation with David Ryan. appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Feel like you’re stuck doing stupid stuff and wondering how to move to the smart list? This episode wraps up the series on stupid and smart things for marketing to do. Jason and Jeff offer advice for becoming a smarter professional services firm marketer. The post Moving from Stupid to Smart appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Last week we talked about the stupid things marketing shouldn’t be doing in professional services firms. So what are the smart things marketing should be doing to help their firm grow? Let’s take a look. The post Smart Sh*t Marketing Should Do appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Pardon our language, but we’ve come across a lot of things that get thrown on marketing’s plate in professional services firms that simply shouldn’t be there. They’re either a waste of resources, they don’t align with a strategy, or they should be owned by partners instead. So what’s on the list? The post Stupid Sh*t Marketing Should Not Do appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Gil Hantzsch, CEO of MSA Professional Services, joins Jason Mlicki to talk about the key speech he delivered to his employees to share his vision for the firm while in the midst of a rebrand. The post Coining the Key Speech: A Conversation with CEO Gil Hantzsch of MSA appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

When you’re trying to build a legacy you’re focused farther out than meeting this year’s numbers. You’re focused on shaping how the marketplace views what it is you do. In this episode, Jason and Jeff discuss what building a legacy looks like inside a professional services firm. The post Are You Managing a Brand? Or Minding a Legacy? appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

In this episode, Jason and Jeff discuss different types of agency-client relationships and offer perspective from both sides on how both agencies and the companies who hire them can have a better experience working together and ultimately, reach the desired results of a project. The post How to Hire Agencies for Results NOT Deliverables appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Your firm may have brand awareness, but does it have brand relevance? And what’s the difference? In this episode, Jason and Jeff dive into the role of brand awareness versus brand relevance and how they fit together in a firm. The post Do You Really Need Brand Awareness? appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

In the previous episode, Unleashing the Young Turks In Your Firm, Jason and Jeff talked about how to identify high potential employees. But once you find them—or they make themselves known—how should you go about managing them? The post Managing Your HighPos appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

What does it mean to be a Young Turk and how can leaders identify and empower these people in their own firm? The post Unleashing the Young Turks in Your Firm appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Jason and Jeff discuss a list of things marketing has ruined, and on the flip side, what marketing has made better. And they leave marketers with a positive message on how they can differentiate themselves and be better marketers. The post Marketing Ruins Everything appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Jeff McKay talks with Grant Thornton CEO Mike McGuire about the firm’s unique structure and culture that embraces disruption and facilitates innovation, creativity and growth. The post How Grant Thornton Punches Above Its Weight: Interview w/ Grant Thornton CEO Mike McGuire appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Jeff McKay talks with Andy Bosman, Chief Marketing Officer at RSM, about the intersection of strategy, leadership and culture—and how when an organization gets those right, growth is the result. The post Aligning Strategy, Leadership, and Culture to Serve the Mid-Market with Andy Bosman of RSM appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

In Part 2 of our two-part episode, Jeff dives into what professional service firm leaders can to do overcome or avoid dysfunction and help their firm reach its full growth potential. The post Fixing What’s Broke — Guiding a Firm to Its Full Growth Potential appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Culture is at the heart of whether a company is going to succeed or fail. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, we explore the cultural problems that exist inside the unique environments of professional services firms that keep them from reaching their full growth potential. The post The BS of PS — The Inherent Dysfunctionalities of Professional Services Firms appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.

Rattleback’s recent research, conducted with Bloom Group, on thought leadership marketing shows that the best firms have likely been at it for 4-10 years. In this episode, we talk about approaches firms could take to accelerate that journey. The post Collapsing 7 Years to 2—Accelerating Your Journey to Expert Thought Leadership Marketer appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.