http://www.whillsgroup.com Wellesley Hills Group - RSS Article Feed en-us 2008 - WHillsGroup.com, All Rights Reserved http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tue, 13 May 2008 19:33:50 EST Tue, 13 May 2008 23:33:50 GMT http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30771_marketing_firms_brand_thyself.cfm Marketing, advertising and PR firms all work to brand their clients. But how important is brand to these firms themselves? We sought to answer this question in the Wellesley Hills Group and RainToday. Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30771_marketing_firms_brand_thyself.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30746_consulting_firm_pricing_challenges_focus_on_value.cfm In the recently released Wellesley Hills Group and RainToday.com research Fees and Pricing Benchmark Report: Consulting Industry, 2008, we researched the top challenges facing consulting firms regardi Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30746_consulting_firm_pricing_challenges_focus_on_value.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30731_do_well_branded_firms_realize_higher_fees_.cfm The recently released Wellesley Hills Group and RainToday.com research Fees and Pricing Benchmark Report: Consulting Industry, 2008, focused on the consulting industry, will be the first of five indus Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30731_do_well_branded_firms_realize_higher_fees_.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30667_taking_advantage_of_marketing_and_web_technologies.cfm This week's BtoB Magazine, The Magazine for Marketing Strategists, features a story on 5 trends worth watching regarding marketing technology. The "big five Web/tech trends worth watching" include: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30667_taking_advantage_of_marketing_and_web_technologies.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30634_workopolis_tv_interview_on_cold_calling.cfm The media likes cold calling. I got a call from Bruce Sellery of Workopolis TV a few months back and he asked me to give an interview on cold calling for his show. It aired last week on BNN, the Can Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30634_workopolis_tv_interview_on_cold_calling.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30622_the_differentiation_myth.cfm Last Wednesday the first part of my article The Differentiation Myth ran in RainToday.com. Although only the first half of the article was published so far, it received quite a number of responses (ev Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30622_the_differentiation_myth.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30606_marketing_and_selling_make_nice.cfm Marketing and selling should work together. I don't think you'll find too many people who would disagree. Still, marketing and selling departments at companies far too infrequently play nice with each Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30606_marketing_and_selling_make_nice.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30592_to_discount_or_not_to_discount_your_service_fees.cfm You never see this one on a consulting or professional services firm website: "We offer excellent services and deliver superior value, but our prices are negotiable. What you'll pay really depends on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30592_to_discount_or_not_to_discount_your_service_fees.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30591_inside_sales_with_outside_sales.cfm A recent webinar attendee asked the following question: We just started an inside sales position within the last year. Do you have any recommendations on how to best utilize that position with our out Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30591_inside_sales_with_outside_sales.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30579_what_brands_do_for_business.cfm Walk around any marketing conference and you can hear folks talking about brand. Typically much of the discussion centers around brand tactics: how to create a brand identity, how to build brand messa Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30579_what_brands_do_for_business.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30556_marketing_plans_before_business_plans.cfm A RainToday.com recent webinar attendee asked via email: Many mid-sized professional services firm have no business plan and I've had to use the marketing plan to "back into" a business plan or gener Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30556_marketing_plans_before_business_plans.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30551_strategy_and_the_fat_smoker.cfm I've now read quite a bit of David Maister's new book Strategy and the Fat Smoker. As usual with David's work, I'm enjoying it and finding myself nodding often in agreement. (Which is better than nodd Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30551_strategy_and_the_fat_smoker.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30537_creating_a_stong_brand_identity.cfm Last week I delivered a webinar on the topic of Marketing Strategy, Planning, and Budgeting through RainToday.com. (Repeat performance on December 13.) We had quite a number of questions that came in Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30537_creating_a_stong_brand_identity.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30531_back_to_basics.cfm Last week I delivered the first of two webinars on the topic of Marketing Strategy, Planning, and Budgeting through RainToday.com. We had quite a number of questions that came in during the webinar an Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30531_back_to_basics.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30507_marketing_strategy_for_next_year.cfm Most of the time, I take notes during conversations. Assuming I can read my own writing, my notes help me to remember salient points from conversations, and specific actions that I or other folks comm Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30507_marketing_strategy_for_next_year.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30481_giving_the_store_away.cfm I received the following question from a listener of our recent teleseminar Selling To Big Companies: How To Secure Your First Meeting (download available). I have a question on free services as a ho Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30481_giving_the_store_away.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30466_next_research_fees_and_pricing.cfm A few weeks ago I was playing golf with some old friends. Now that my old friends are, well, old, conversations tend to include family, kids, hobbies (what little time we have for them), and work. One Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30466_next_research_fees_and_pricing.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30461_direct_mail_and_email_lead_generation.cfm Erica Stritch, the General Manager at RainToday, had the following comments in today's Rainmaker Report. I couldn't have said it better myself, so I won't. Here's what she wrote: Direct Mail and E-M Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30461_direct_mail_and_email_lead_generation.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30423_the_self_publishing_fascination.cfm More and more around town and around the web, I've seen consultants and professionals fascinated with the prospect of self-publishing their books, and disgruntled with the prospect of working with tra Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30423_the_self_publishing_fascination.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30422_why_more_service_leaders_don_t_blog.cfm The virtues of business blogging are well established. (Google the topic. You should find plenty.) So why wont more service business leaders blog? Blog posts take sustained energy to write. Blog Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30422_why_more_service_leaders_don_t_blog.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30420_customize_your_pr_pitches.cfm I admit it. I'm on a PR kick these days. PR can do so much for service firms in the form of lead generation and brand enhancement. Over the next while, I'll be releasing brief service firm PR thoughts Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30420_customize_your_pr_pitches.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30386_tiger_woods_and_service_firm_advertising.cfm In the Chasers section of this week's issue of B-to-B - The Magazine for Marketing Strategists (one of my favorite marketing magazines), we are presented an article titled "Selling services all in the Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30386_tiger_woods_and_service_firm_advertising.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30384_what_to_expect_from_pr.cfm Few leaders in consulting and professional services would dispute the general merits of generating strong publicity through traditional and online media, and utilizing said publicity and press coverag Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30384_what_to_expect_from_pr.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30745_writingwise_these_are_trying_times.cfm As the publisher or RainToday.com I get both the honor and the chore of reading emails that go something like this: Mike, I've been reading RainToday.com for quite some time. I'm a really good write Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30745_writingwise_these_are_trying_times.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30353_service_leadership_referrals_are_you_a_josh_.cfm Its 3:02am, and Im on the redeye from Alaska back to Massachusetts, via Atlanta, of course. Sitting next to me is a partner of a CPA firm in Miami whos flying back from the Kenai Peninsula. He just Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30353_service_leadership_referrals_are_you_a_josh_.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30308_how_many_impressions_does_it_take.cfm How many marketing touches does it take to affect buying preferences and to increase your brand preference? I was going through some of my old files and ran across one of my all-time favorite pieces o Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30308_how_many_impressions_does_it_take.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30305_in_defense_of_capabilities_marketing.cfm Professional services firms seem to fall into two camps when it comes to the nature of their marketing communications. Camp 1 focuses on marketing their capabilities; telling world what they do (e.g Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30305_in_defense_of_capabilities_marketing.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30285_tell_me_a_story.cfm On my first day at a new job at a new company years ago, a number of folks took me out to lunch, as was the tradition. My schedule up until lunch was the usual fare: going over benefits with the benef Wed, 23 May 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30285_tell_me_a_story.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30279_the_big_picture.cfm It's often been said that management is seeing the forest through the trees, and that leadership is picking the right forests. Why is it that good often-said things are not often-heeded? Day-after-d Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30279_the_big_picture.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30276_to_be_perfectly_honest_with_you.cfm Diogenes should have gone errand running with me yesterday after work. First, I went to the Verizon store to get something for my phone. I overheard one of the sales associates say, "to be perfectly h Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30276_to_be_perfectly_honest_with_you.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30275_service_businesses_turn_to_web_2_0_not.cfm Ask service business leaders what Web 2.0 is, and you're likely to get answers ranging from the next generation of Internet technologies to the sequel to E.B. White's classic Charlotte's Web. Except Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30275_service_businesses_turn_to_web_2_0_not.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30247_how_to_avoid_the_everyday_distraction_blues.cfm Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Jake: Hit it. Many professionals and leaders at services firms appe Thu, 12 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30247_how_to_avoid_the_everyday_distraction_blues.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30241_3_keys_to_higher_sales_at_lower_costs.cfm It's not hard to find a professional services expert who will say, "Repeat business is your most profitable business. To generate more repeat business, focus more people, energy, and effort on satisfy Tue, 03 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30241_3_keys_to_higher_sales_at_lower_costs.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30235_what_s_working_in_lead_generation_podcast.cfm Paul Dunay, Global Director of Field Marketing at BearingPoint, recently interviewed me for his Buzz Marketing for Technology Blog. We talked mostly about the results from our What's Working in Lead G Mon, 02 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30235_what_s_working_in_lead_generation_podcast.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30236_making_that_one_big_sale.cfm Hi: Wherever I go, my standards for work quality and quantity seem too HIGH. I've mostly worked on the client side, but have some entrepreneurial and agency experience, in which my clients and mana Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30236_making_that_one_big_sale.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30222_hello_i_m_lame.cfm I'm a big fan of selling, and I truly enjoy speaking with sales people when they call me. The enjoyment isn't always long-lived, though. Perhaps because I study selling somewhat academically, I'm cons Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30222_hello_i_m_lame.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30214_branding_matters.cfm How does brand affect a professional service business' ability to grow? Indeed, does brand have any affect at all? In the just released research What's Working In Lead Generation, we asked more than Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30214_branding_matters.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30201_does_cold_calling_work_for_professional_services_.cfm A number of folks read Business Week's interview with me about our What's Working in Lead Generation for Professional Services Benchmark Report. One question I've been asked since the interview was pu Wed, 07 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30201_does_cold_calling_work_for_professional_services_.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30195_how_swell_lookers_build_rapport.cfm Ma Kelly needed to clear her son's name. Johnny didn't do it, but the cops thought he did so it didn't matter. Ma put on her detective shoes and went to work. Turns out that the guy that did it wasn' Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30195_how_swell_lookers_build_rapport.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30156_how_important_is_targeting.cfm var newwindow; function poptastic(url) { newwindow=window.open(url,'name','height=600,width=800, scrollbars=yes, left=100, resizable=yes, toolbar=yes, location=yes, menubar=yes, status=yes '); Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30156_how_important_is_targeting.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30153_short_term_and_long_term_leads.cfm In our upcoming Future of Lead Generation for Professional Services benchmark research report (to be released in early February, 2007), we asked 726 leaders in professional service businesses a number Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30153_short_term_and_long_term_leads.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30152_trust_based_selling.cfm I spent some time this weekend with Trust-Based Selling, a book written by Charlie Green from Trusted Advisor Associates. I actually found something new and worthwhile! As the publisher of RainToday.c Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30152_trust_based_selling.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30124_boring_post_big_opportunity.cfm Imagine if this were possible: You have all the relevant data and details about your clients and top prospects in your database, and the data is constantly updated and clean so you can trust it. Wed, 24 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30124_boring_post_big_opportunity.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30139_who_was_the_ad_wizard_.cfm John Wanamaker famously said, "I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half." I found both halves. They're in the Boston Business Journal. Nothing again Fri, 19 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30139_who_was_the_ad_wizard_.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30135_lead_generation_git_r_done.cfm Last week I started a blog post exploring the question of why, year after year, service businesses set lead generation plans and actions in place and then seem to have so much trouble implementing. N Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30135_lead_generation_git_r_done.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30126_it_s_getting_hot_in_here.cfm By Mike Schultz I've spoken with a particular partner of a successful professional services firm at least once in each of the last three years about her frustrations with her partners: they won't get Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30126_it_s_getting_hot_in_here.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30125_15_ways_to_kill_your_lead_generation_effectiveness.cfm By Mike Schultz "We're often brought in to clean up after the mistakes that other people have made." I hear this all the time from consultants and professionals, regardless of their service special Mon, 08 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30125_15_ways_to_kill_your_lead_generation_effectiveness.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30123_don_t_ask_me_why_i_m_different.cfm A leader of a company who was considering using my services asked me, "So tell me how you are different?" I can't stand that question. Don't get me wrong, I understand it. It's been beaten into ever Fri, 05 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30123_don_t_ask_me_why_i_m_different.cfm http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30105_combination_to_lead_generation_success.cfm This article from DM News tells the story of a 74% response direct marketing campaign using dimensional mail. From the article: In an attempt to open the U.S. catalog market, Canadian printer Transc Wed, 03 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.whillsgroup.com/pages/30105_combination_to_lead_generation_success.cfm