Latest posts
Does Your Marketing Team Have Too Many Strategists?
I often get email questions from my confident readers (i.e. those willing to take the risk of asking) about issues they are facing. The most recent was a great inquiry from Shari, a talented a six-sigma process designer who was asked to get involved in assessing a...
This Blog is NOT Working for Me
After 6 ½ years of writing the Prudent Thinking blog, I’ve reached a point that the blog no longer works for me. I need a change and because I’m the boss changes are coming. That may sound selfish. After all, I write to you, my reader. You’ve faithfully stuck around...
How to Write a Brochure, If You Must
I lament the overuse of marketing brochures as crutches in lieu of purposeful discussions and meaningful client interactions. I simply try to avoid spending marketing time and resources on perfunctory, haughty, worthless marketing collateral.
HOWEVER, if Marketing is going to produce a “brochure,” here is how to write a brochure correctly.
What is Marketing?
My wife says that I tilt at windmills when I try to convince the professional services world that Marketing is strategic and more than making things pretty. Alliance partners and business leaders say they have the “strategic stuff” covered. My marketing peers wonder why I expend so much energy and political capital fighting an undefeatable foe. After all, it’s easier to just ride a horse in the direction it is going.
In the immortal words of John McClane in the movie Die Hard, “Yipee ki yay,…!”
12 Steps to Transform Professional Services Marketing
Professional services marketing is like no other.
Professionals services firms market complex, intangible solutions to what are big, public, and potentially embarrassing problems. The solutions are bought by the most sophisticated c-level buyers at top companies around the globe. And, professionals must operate from Byzantine, matrixed systems in one of the most political and contentious ownerships structures, a partnership.
4 Steps to Buying Martech in Professional Services
Adobe’s recent acquisition of Marketo had the blogosphere abuzz on what the acquisition means to the martech industry (read here, here, here). Marketo is another in a long list of marketing automation platforms devoured by larger players (e.g. Eloqua, Aprimo,...
Aligning and Exploiting Your Team’s Strengths
Have you ever found yourself stuck in a role, stuck with a boss, and stuck in a life that just feels like all the universe’s karma is aligned against you and your dreams? If you’re not the Chosen One, I suspect you know what I am talking about. It’s not a fun place to...
3. What Do Our Goals Say About Us? 10 Questions Prudent Firms Ask Themselves
In my last post on the 10 Questions Prudent Firms Ask Themselves, I addressed Question 2 What are our goals? I outlined a continuum of 3 types of organizations and how a firm’s worldview shapes whom it serves, why, and how. Does the firm serve Shareholders, a broader...
Don’t Beg, Don’t Babysit
By the end of my first decade in professional services, I had reached a point where I was able to delineate between serious business people and time wasters. As a result, I had developed a mantra when working with practice leaders, partners, and peers, “I don’t beg; I...
Buyer Persona Shortcomings
Has your firm’s marketing team developed buyer “personas” yet? If you haven’t, please don’t. If you have, please throw them out. I have always had a distaste for the “persona” craze that has gripped marketing during the “content marketing” fad. Sure, I get that...
8 Prudent Questions to Ask Your Intern
Emily’s summer internship at Prudent Pedal ended last week. Before she left she wrote two blog posts, In her first, she shared her learning about Marketing and offered a little advice to future interns. In this post, she answers 8 prudent questions about being a part...
Marketing Internship Advice From a First-time Intern
Hi, it’s Jeff. It’s hard to believe it, but sadly Emily’s summer internship has come to an end. She has been an INCREDIBLE addition to Prudent Pedal. She has all the qualities that top employers look for. She is intelligent, personable, articulate, confident, curious,...
LISTEN to the Only Podcast Addressing “The BS of PS”
Rattle and Pedal, hosted by Jeff McKay and Jason Mlicki, offers divergent thinking on growing professional services firms. Be prepared for an unorthodox exchange on life in professional services.
Your Co-hosts
Jeff McKay
Founder and CEO
Prudent Pedal
Jason Mlicki
Principal
Rattleback
Latest episodes
- Building a Leaner, Smarter Marketing Organization for the AI Era with Bri Jones
How do you build a marketing team for the AI era? Stitch VP of Marketing Bri Jones shares how a lean team, business context, generalists, and smart AI investments are reshaping marketing. The post Building a Leaner, Smarter Marketing Organization for the AI Era with Bri Jones appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.
- The Future of the Marketing Organization: What Should Firms Build Now?
What should the marketing organization of 2030 look like? Jeff and Jason launch a research series exploring how AI, talent, client experience, and strategy will reshape marketing. The post The Future of the Marketing Organization: What Should Firms Build Now? appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.
- Why Every Professional Services Firm Needs a Better Story with Stephen Steers
Why do some firms stand out while others blend into the crowd? Stephen Steers joins us to explore how storytelling builds trust, differentiates firms, and drives business growth. The post Why Every Professional Services Firm Needs a Better Story with Stephen Steers appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.
- Selling Belief with Mat Zucker from Prophet
In an AI-driven world, expertise alone isn’t enough. Jeff, Jason, and Mat Zucker explore why professional services firms must move beyond trust to build buyer belief and win more business. The post Selling Belief with Mat Zucker from Prophet appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.
- Demystifying Case Studies: Why Most Firms Get Them Wrong
Most professional services case studies fail to influence buyers. Jeff and Jason explore the biggest myths and explain how to create stories that build trust, reinforce positioning, and win business. The post Demystifying Case Studies: Why Most Firms Get Them Wrong appeared first on Rattle and Pedal.