Episode 56 · January 8, 2023
A 90-Day Turnaround, with Brittanie Price & Julie Parrotta
With Brittanie Price, Julie Parrotta
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In this episode
Brittanie Price came to me six or seven months pregnant, with her biggest client folding and not much behind it. She was asking herself whether to shut her PR agency down. Ninety days later she and Julie Parrotta had signed five new clients and were talking about hiring instead of layoffs. This is the two of them on what changed, and most of what changed is that they talk less.
What you'll take away
- Their biggest client was winding down right as she was about to go on maternity leave. Nothing they'd done, the business just wasn't there. She was looking at six months of projections and asking herself whether to shut the agency.
- Does it need to be said, does it need to be said by me, does it need to be said by me right now? Brittanie's three questions. Nine times out of ten the answer is no. A client told them recently that a call was a great presentation. They hadn't presented anything.
- They stopped presenting and started listening. The slide deck went, the conversation came in. Julie says it grew her confidence as a communicator, and Brittanie says she could see her client calls change within 90 days.
- Three options, and no discounting. Proposals used to run pages and take three or four hours. Now it's three tiers priced on value, and they went from signing about a quarter of them to signing nearly all of them.
- She used to take business just to take business. Once there was enough coming in, she could say this isn't a fit and point them somewhere better. She calls that a luxury.
In this conversation
The full transcript, in sections. Open any one to read it.
A holiday party, and two clients in real life
0:02
Because so much can change in a few months, and you have no idea, like, one decision really can change everything. And that's, that's pretty cool, going into the season like, you know, bringing new life into the world. You know, the business is going to be, you're going to be okay.
Welcome to the smart gets paid podcast with me. Leah Neaderthal, I help women land higher paying clients in their independent consulting businesses, but I've never been a salesperson. My background is in corporate marketing, and when I started my first consulting business, I learned pretty quickly that it's about 1000 times harder to sell your own stuff than it is to sell someone else's. So I taught myself how to do it, and I created the sales approach that I now share with my clients so they can feel more comfortable in the sales process, get more of the right clients and get paid way more for every client contract. So whether your client contracts are $5,000 $100,000 or more, if you want to work with more of the clients you love, do more of the work you love, and get paid more than you ever thought you could then you're in the right place. Let's do it together. Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to rate, review and share.
Hey there. Thanks for joining me in this episode, the first episode of the year. I hope that wherever you are, wherever you are listening to this, I hope you're having a good week, making some good progress in your business, feeling some good energy, and also taking some time for yourself. So you guys happy new year. This is the first episode of the new year, and it's a good one. I'm really excited for you to hear this. I'm talking with my client, Brittany price and her team member Julie perota, about the way they absolutely turned around Britney's company be seen PR as they were coming up on. What you're going to hear is a pretty big, what I'll call a hard deadline. Let's just call it that. But first, oh my god, you guys, there is so much I need to fill you in on from the last few weeks. So first, okay, let me see, we had our third annual virtual holiday party for women consultants a few weeks ago, and it was awesome. This is definitely one of my favorite events of the year, because it's just a time for all the women consultants in our community. And when I say our community, I mean the broader community of women who run consulting businesses and their teams, so it's just a time for us to all get together and meet each other and connect and just chat, not even chat about business, really, because the way we host this is we use, actually, a different platform than zoom and the platform we use, it's called toucan, and it's probably as close to a real life party get together ish thing, as you can get online. It's like the opposite of awkward zoom happy hours that we've all been to, right, which are terrible. The way it's set up is in little bubbles. And you go into little bubbles, kind of like rooms where people are hanging out and chatting, and the bubbles have different themes and thought starter questions, you know, just to get people talking. And it's really, really relaxed. And trust me, I am not like an online joiner at all. And this time, our third year we've done this, we had over 100 people there, and it was just it was so nice to see everyone, including some people who, you know, I've talked to over the years, people who have emailed with there were definitely some women where, like, I love their stuff online. And I was like, Oh my God, I feel like you're like, my internet friend, and just to chat live, you know, and hang out was, was really awesome. So that's one thing over the past few weeks. And I guess the other things are also about meeting people, getting out, maybe re emerging a little bit. I met two clients in person, which was just seriously, so much fun. I had dinner with my one on one client, Catherine, who was in town to see one of her clients. We've been working together one on one for almost a year, and never met in person. So it was awesome to finally just meet and hang out. And then I had a half day sales work session with a new client, Bruce, who helps nonprofit organizations create legacy giving programs. And because Bruce is local, he came actually, to my office for a half day session. I have to tell you, it was so great working together in person, like I kind of forgot how good it is and how fun it is. You know, we were whiteboarding. We were mapping out his whole process and fixing some things that weren't working the way he wanted them to. It was just amazing with the energy to be in the same space, working together. And you might be saying, Hold on one second. Did you say, Bruce, I thought you only work with women, and it's true in my program the academy, it's all women and only women. But I do work with a handful of men each year in one on one coaching. Because if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you know, we talk a lot about niching down, and how a lot of people worry that if you niche down, you'll cut off all the other people who aren't you know, in your specific niche. And then you've heard me say that the primary benefit of niching down is that the right clients. Will know that you're for them, and they'll want to work with you. And that's played out in my business. 99% of the clients I work with are women, and it's playing out in my clients businesses too. But the other thing that you've probably heard me mention is that even though you establish a niche, the clients who aren't exactly your exact exact client will still come your way, because they'll know that you're an expert for someone else, and they'll want that same benefit for themselves. And then when they do come to you, you get to decide what you want to do and if you want to work with them and how you want to work with them. So that's played out here, too. Men know me as a sales expert for women, but they also know me as a sales expert. And so when they inquire about working with me, I get to decide when and how. So I got to work with Bruce in a half day one on one coaching session. So anyway, back to the update. Meeting those two clients in person was just, I gotta say, it really just gave me life. And then, okay, I have to tell you the last thing that happened recently, which was just, it was just so cool. My wife and my sister in law and I went to an Ingrid Michaelson concert where she was backed by the New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. It was like just the confluence of so many awesome things in this one concert. So you guys know, Ingrid Michelson, she's a singer who was, you know, sort of got popular, I think, in like, the late 2000s and if you follow her, you know that in the past few years, she's had this major glow up, like she went from being this quirky girl with a ukulele to being a super polished, like super famous star. It's really cool to watch, and actually, it's special for my wife and me, because our third date was an Ingrid Michaelson concert. We went to see her at this outdoor venue outside DC. So, you know, something sort of special and meaningful for us. But anyway, so back to this concert. It was Ingrid Michelson and the New York Pops Orchestra doing Christmas music, which, for being a Jewish girl, I love Christmas music, I just have to tell you. And in our house, we do both Hanukkah and Christmas. So I thought it would just be Ingrid singing Christmas songs, but it turns out that it was like half Christmas music and then half Ingrid singing her own songs. It was like two concerts in one, and then she had these special guests come up, because we're in New York, and she has singer friends, and they live in New York. So she had Jason Mraz come up as a special guest, and they sang a song together. She had the guys who make up a band called great big world come up and sing a song together, which I had never heard of them, but they were really good. You guys might know, like my, my musical taste is very much like stuck in like the 90s, 2000s anyway. And then she had her boyfriend come up, and he's like this Broadway singer guy, and they sang a song together. So it was just really, really cool. And then on top of it, it was at Carnegie Hall. So, you know, very New York, because this year, my wife and I are really trying to do more like New York stuff, to really get out and experience the city that we live in. So for choosing something that was very New York, I think we picked a good one. So okay, I think that's everything I wanted to fill you in on. I hope that over the past few weeks, you've done some things to bring you joy and fill you up and connect you to the people who give you life also. All right, so let's dive into the episode, shall we? So here's the scenario. Have you ever had a big client, which we call a whale client, that's responsible for most or all of your income, it pays for your expenses and your team members, and takes up all or most of your time. If you're nodding, then, trust me, a lot of you out there are nodding. You're not alone. So then imagine that this client tells you that in a few months, they're not renewing their contract. And then imagine that you have team members whose salaries you pay, and imagine that you have to scramble to replace that income so that you can pay yourself and keep your team. Sounds a little harrowing, right? Okay, so now imagine that all this is going on and you're six months pregnant, and you have to make all this happen before the baby comes in about 90 days so that you can take maternity leave, like, holy shit, right? I mean, talk about a hard deadline. That's the situation that Academy member, Brittany price, founder of BC and public relations, found herself in. Oh, and I should add, this is her second child, so it's not like she can just spend every waking hour working on the business. So that was her mission, and that was her deadline. And over the next 90 days, she did a complete turnaround of her business. So she's going into maternity leave with the business flourishing, flush with cash, and with complete confidence that she can take time off enjoy her new baby and spend time with her growing family, and so I invited her to join me and talk about how she did it, so that she can share what she learned with you and how she's doing things differently. And she joined me with her team member, Julie perotta. I cannot wait for you to hear this conversation. So even if you're not facing dire straits, even. If you're not on a crazy timeline, even if it's just you doing the work like there's not a second in command, there are so many good nuggets that you can pick up here and apply to your business. So take a listen to my conversation with Brittanie Price and Julie Parrotta of BC and public relations, and at the end, I'll come back and share a lesson that you can apply to your business. And then hopefully someday soon, you'll partner with us to help you build your consulting business, and you'll come back on the podcast and share your story. Enjoy.
Do you have an actual sales process? I'm talking about not a general sense of what you should be doing, but a real process where you know exactly what step comes next, who to follow up with and when. And you can see at a glance where every potential client stands, if the answer is no, or if yours feels clunky, or you're reinventing the wheel every single time I made something for you, it's called roadmap to clients. It's a free 20 minute video course, and in it you'll map out your customized sales process, step by step, from the very first contact with a potential client all the way to a signed proposal. It's the same foundational process we use with every Academy member, and it's completely free. Go to smart gets paid.com/roadmap to get started. Brittanie and Julie, I am so excited to talk to you today. Thanks so much for being here.
Oh, thanks for having us. We're so pumped. We're so excited to
be here. Well, let's just dive in. Why don't you tell tell the good people who you are and what you do?
Who they are and what they do
11:30
Yeah, for sure. I'm Brittany price. I'm the founder of the scene public relations. We take brands and we transform them into media darlings with the power of public relations. And I'm joined here by Julie perotta. She has been our account supervisor, so she's really in the day to day, and has a long standing history in working on media relations accounts.
Awesome. And is there a particular type of client that you work with or brand that you love to work with?
Yeah. So we've actually, fortunately niched down into two industries, really. One is lifestyle. That's like our consumer division, that's everything from personal care to beauty to wellness products. And then, Julie, you oversee our real estate
division, yes. So we handle a lot of real estate clients, anything from residential to commercial to apartment buildings. So we really run the gamut there, with real estate, PR and media relations?
Yeah. And how long have you guys been in business? So I
started with just me back in 2017 so it's been five years in business, and we brought in Julie, that's probably like two years into business, and was like growing rapidly. So Julie's been with us for for the longest. This time
awesome, and just to set the scene as it relates to getting clients, business development, all of that, how do you two work together?
Yeah, before it was just me, I would get an inquiry in. I would field the inquiry, I would send them like a templated email, and then we get on the phone and we do our song and dance and hope for the best. Now, Julia is very much involved in the day to day work, so I've actually, like brought her into the fold more on the business development side, really, because she is in the day to day work, she can actually give her experience when clients are asking questions about, you know, our approach to public relations, our approach to working with reporters, or our approach to actually, like framing messaging and going out and actually getting stories. I mean, there's not a business development call that we get on where Julie is not chiming in with her actual experience of working with reporters or seeing opportunities. Or, hey, actually, in this particular setting, we saw this really worked nicely, and it lights the client up when they hear about previous experience that we've had, and, like, in real time, I feel like that's really like the win of having, you know, me, working on the business, but then Julie in the business,
yeah, well, and I think also, especially with accounts and clients that you work with long term. I mean, if you're working in an account, or you're working on a piece of business or with a client, you have to be adept, not only, especially in a size company, size like yours, right? It's not like one person can do all the biz dev and one person could do none of the biz dev. That's, you know, and but also, once you start to work together, you know, being adept at like, seeing opportunities, hearing opportunities, seeing, you know, seeing what the client needs, etc, and if you're so, I think that, like that, ongoing business development is so important, you know, as you as you continue the relationship. So let's rewind for a second what was going on in the business before we started working together. Take me back to those first conversations and what, I don't know what, what prompted you to be like. All right, we need to do something about where we are.
The biggest client folding, and a due date
14:54
Yeah. So we were chugging along nicely. We had scaled quite a bit, probably 50 to six. Percent over the last two years in terms of team size and revenue growth, we actually exploded, really, during covid. We had represented a massive hand sanitizer brand, actually, during covid. So as you can imagine, there was a lot of need for public relations. A lot of brands were going through crisis, and so, I mean, the work was just flooding in. Now get to the end of summer, you know, this last year, and things are starting to wind down. One of our biggest clients was really folding up their brand, not because of anything we had done. It just like the business wasn't there. And so I'm looking at projections for the next six months, and I'm starting to sweat, right? Like, oh my gosh. How are we going to support we've got a full team now. How are we going to support the team and ensuring we're still meeting client needs, and we have our biggest account walking away that really pays the payroll. So I'm getting scared.
And I remember those. I remember those first conversations. I mean, if it's if it's all right for me to say, like, there was something like impending that was coming up that you really, that you really had to think about, oh my gosh, how can
I forget? I think, like, six or seven months pregnant by the time I got to you, Leah. And was just like, Okay, I'm getting ready to go on matryona Eve. I have no business in the pipeline. Like, what am, what am I going to do? And I had heard about Leah through, like another a business coach, and I'd never done sales before. I've always been a marketer, and sales felt yucky. It felt like, you know, the traditional like you get on a call, you try and sell them in on something like me, it's like dating, right? It's like first date. You're uncomfortable, you're like sweating a little bit, like hoping they like you. And just like, the whole sales process felt pretty gross. So to be quite honest, I honestly, I was like, I don't, I don't know about this. I don't know if this is for me. I'm really great at marketing. I'm not super great at sales. And thankfully, I think you just said something like, let's just give this like, let's just give us a shot for the next, like, 90 days. And like, let's see what
shakes out. But like, when you say, you know, sales was yucky. Like, what did that actually look like for you guys, like, what was, what was the process for you?
The tap dance
17:05
Yeah, before we started working with Leah and really got you know, into what our approach was to business development, it looked a lot like tap dancing. We would get an inquiry. We did no advertising or any marketing ourselves. We really believed in word of mouth. A lot of mouth. A lot of our business came from word of mouth, which was fantastic. However, we had no like process or operation support, or really any flow of how to do business development and inquiry came in. We got on our phone call, we did our tap dance, and we got off the phone, and really had no like way forward after that, I would
say that we did a lot of presenting versus having those conversations. So we would come to those sales or those sales calls with a whole slide deck of our services and what we do. Instead of making it really about the client, it felt like it was more about trying to convince them to work with us.
Looking back on like, how, how did we stay in business for five years? I have no idea at this point, but here we are and and really, I think what Julie mentioned is like, as marketers and as communicators, we we understand how important it is to actively listen to a client, but we weren't doing that on our sales call, which is mind boggling to me, because that's 90% of communicating well, is listening, right? And so really, that shift in perspective, I think that was like, the number one game changer for us. Moving into one is to like, change our mindset on what it was like to go into a sales call. But then to like, become a listener. Don't like the more I keep my mouth shut, like, the better a sales call goes. Is what I find. Yeah, totally.
Why am I talking?
18:47
You said something, actually, when I was on a call with you guys where, what was it? You said something, like, I need to practice asking myself, why am I talking? I asked
my I told my clients that as well. Is that?
Tell me what you said. Because I was like, Oh, that's so good.
Yeah. So I think for us, it's like, I always go back to this is like, does it need to be said, does it need to be said by me? Does it need to be said by me right now? And like, nine times out of 10 it doesn't. And I can solve a client challenge if I'm just listening, right and so I think Julie and I have, like, the feedback we got recently on a call was like, wow, that was just such a great, great presentation. And we were like, We didn't present anything. Just listened.
Isn't that wild? I mean, we talk about, you know, in some of the stuff you learned about sales conversations, like, when people are in a conversation talking about themselves. It like activates the same centers of their brain as food and sex and chocolate and like, you know, studies show like when you if you do more of the talking, you you leave the conversation feeling like it was so much better when you know, as in your example, you're like, we didn't, we didn't do anything.
Do you have a problem I can solve?
19:58
You. Yeah. And I think for us too, it was really important to get down to when we're talking to clients, we're thinking like, Do you have a business problem that we can solve for right? Because we get often, a lot of clients that are like, we need sales right now. And I'm like, Okay, then I'm going to point you to digital marketing. I'm going to point you to email marketing. PR is more of a marathon that a sprint. And so I even got to a sense of, like, is this lead qualified? Can I fix a business problem that they have right now? Yeah, well,
and I think it's such an important insight, because so many people are spend a lot of time just reacting, right? We a lot of time in calls, but also reacting in the business to if somebody comes into your orbit, you know, they want to work with you. Maybe they've heard about you. They've been referred to you. They saw something that you were, you know, just something about you on the internet. And we feel like just because they come our way, we it's sort of up to us to solve whatever problem they have, right? Sometimes, because we want to, and we sort of have the capability, or we have something that looks like that, and sometimes, because we need to, because, you know, it's business and it's money, right? Think your this approach of like, what's the actual business problem? Like, when you can really look at a client and be like, not just, oh, you know, how can we serve them, but do they actually have a business problem you solve? How does that change things for you guys in the rest of the sales process?
What having enough work buys you
21:24
Oh, absolutely, yeah. Two things. First is because we are, we now have an active business development approach, and we have really a framework for that. I used to just take business, just to take business, because it was like, I need to get the bills paid. I need to ensure that we, you know, can keep staff on. So I was just taking business for the for the hell of it right now that I have an approach, I it is a luxury to be able to say, You know what, this is not a good fit for us right now. Okay, so that's the first thing. Second is that I can actually look at things objectively. I can look at clients objectively, because I have this freedom from actually having a full pipeline and say, You know what? I don't think you need this. You know, maybe you don't need public relations right now, but it sounds like you need some messaging, right? I can offer them a different solution that will actually fit what they are really hungry for and what their business actually needs, rather than, I think, operating from a place of scarcity, really, that that mind mindset shift has has really done wonders for us. And like you also mentioned another question, like, what does that look like in the is in the business conversations? Yeah, I have found I'm I am way more authentic in my sales conversations. Now I can actually be direct with a client of like, what it is they need, rather than, like, selling in and tap dancing, what I think they want to hear. And that is that has been a game changer, I think for me personally, yeah,
and Brit, and to your point, I think that goes back to we're okay now with letting prospects go. We don't need to sell every prospect, or we don't need to sign up every prospect, because they might not be a better fit, a good fit for the agency. So we really have clients now who truly align with what we do, what we can help them solve for and it's just an all around better fit for us and for them.
I love that. I love that, and it really does boil down to like, for any way, you said, like operating not from a place of scarcity, like, how can I get this in so I can, you know, get the money that we want or need. It's, How can we actually serve people in the in what they really need for their business and is, and are we the right fit and that abundance? So let's just going back to set the scene here, you've, you've lost your biggest or you're in the process of losing your biggest client. You You're staring down a pipeline that you know wasn't great. And you are six months pregnant, right? And we should say now that you're now, you're like, very, very pregnant. I'm, I'm amazed that that, like, I was able to get on your calendar and get this interview. I was like, God forbid you go to go into labor early or something. So, so that's the scenario. What are the what are the things that have made the biggest difference for you, you know, since that time in the last, say, 90 days?
Yeah, I would say the biggest shift, I think, for both Julie and I, and we talked about this the other day, is our mindset, right? Like we came in feeling yucky about sales, feeling like I had so much anxiety even getting on a phone conversation, mind you, like I pitch reporters every single day, I'm talking to basically strangers every single day, but the thought of getting on a sales call and talking to people that I know and who want my services made me so uncomfortable I'd rather crawl up on my skin. And so now fast forward, 90 days later, I enjoy getting on sales calls. I actually enjoy the process, because I feel like I'm offering value to these folks. I can make a difference and a real impact in what they're doing and how they're communicating with their audience. And at the end of the day, everybody wants a sale, and I can help make
Offering, and not asking
25:02
that happen. Yeah? I mean that that shift, the offering, not asking. You know, we spend a lot of time on that, because I think that's the dynamic that that sets people up to feel really uncomfortable, not just in the sales process, but even further down in the working relationship, like when they actually say Yes, right? Like, if you feel like you're asking for the business, if you feel like you're, you know, what we call one down in the in the relationship, if you feel lucky that they picked you, right? It just has so many downstream effects and that, you know, I'm a big believer that that dynamic starts in the sales process, right? So approaching it like you are offering, not asking, is I'm so glad that that, you know, change things, because it's such a fundamental shift.
Oh, absolutely. We talk about this all the time. In account management, we talk about you teach people how to like, how to treat you and like. Why are we not doing that from the jump in the sales process right leveling that playing field, because it is
absolutely I also think it
goes back to that active listening that we were talking about earlier, like before we used to go into these sales conversations with presentations and slide decks, and once we changed that mindset to Really having conversations like this is just an open conversation. See if we can align on things. See how we can offer value. That really opened up the door to just having these great conversations with prospective clients, and even if they weren't ready for PR at that moment, those doors are now always open like they'll come back to us now, a few months down the line, we've already seen this, and they're like, now we want to pull the trigger. Thank you for that recommendation. And so really, just that, that mindset of we are equals, we're offering value. It's not a sales presentation, it's just a conversation.
Yeah, absolutely. I would
What happened to their proposals
27:00
also say how we approach proposal making has been huge. Brit and I were laughing earlier. We're like, what would Leah do? Like, every time we create a proposal now, we're like, what would Leah do? Because prior to the Academy, we would kind of price things out similarly, but we might offer a discount if they were to sign up longer or retainer work versus project work, and now it's strictly based on our value, where we don't discount. We're not we don't step down from the price we have. It's like, no, here are the options. This is what we're worth, you know? And if those clients can see the value and afford that, great they're great fit for the agency, and if not, we're okay with stepping away for the time being, again, not acting from that place of desperation. But really, do we align on both sides?
Yeah, totally. And then I think for me, I lead with a lot of intuition and emotion. And so I felt like, when I was discounting things, or, like, just trying to get the business in the door, I ended up being very resentful later on that I, like, offered so much, I'm doing so much, and for only this amount of money, and like that doesn't feel good in business. It doesn't probably doesn't feel good for the client, because I'm sure they can pick up on that. But it also doesn't feel good for me. So when I was like, you know, holding true to the offerings that we provide and we do, we've totally, totally overhauled our proposals. I mean, they used to be pages and pages long. Now it's like, here's the three options. This is what we offer. Here are, like, our results that we've gotten from previous clients in you know, your industry, and this is why we're kick ass. And then I've had clients come to me and be like, Wow, that was so clear. Like, thank you so much. I would like to go with option three. I'm like, great. Here we go.
Oh my god, I love it. I love it. I love hearing that. Yeah. I mean, you guys, I have seen so many awful proposals. And also women tell me they spend hours, like eight hours, several days, on proposals. So I love all of this. I mean, of course, first of all, it feels super uncomfortable to sit there trying to write a proposal and just negotiate against yourself, right, being like, I there's no way they'll ever pay that. And then it just sets up, like you said, like a terrible dynamic where you know, you're a little resentful, but also, you know, the time that it takes to write a proposal. Like, if you can write a really clear proposal that positions things in terms of the benefits of the client, and helps the client. You know, you guys have heard me talk about this, fall in love with their own future, then that's that does a better service for the client, helps them say yes, helps them, you know, want to say yes or bring it to their you know, CMO, or what have you, and it works for you because you're not trying to convince them, like a lot of people try to. You mentioned trying to convince people earlier, unless, like the tap dance, like a lot of people feel the. The proposals job is to convince somebody to say yes, and that's actually not the proposal's job, right? The job of a proposal is to summarize what you've already talked about and say, this is the way, these are the ways we could work together and so but that point, you know, if you pair that like you guys are, with really great conversations where you're talking about, you know, what you can do, and the price and all of that, then you don't have to convince
anybody, yeah, they're already sold in by the time they've gotten off the phone with us. It's just a beautiful recap with pricing on a nice slide deck for us. And yeah, to your point. I mean, I was spending three and four hours drafting new copy and rearranging graphics, and it's just like the thought of doing that today, just, I mean, I can't, I can't believe how much time I spent on that. But to your point is like, I use the discovery call as I'm going to diagnose this person or this client or this brand, and then I offer a prescription right with my proposal, and like, pick A, B or c1, of these three options, you're going to get value with all three. But here's your prescription on how to solve that business
Three options, and three ways to say yes
31:05
problem that you have. I love it. And you said it's options, not a menu, right? Because I think some people might hear this and be like, well, here are all the ways I can solve your problem. It's not that. It's three different recommendations that will provide
value Exactly, exactly.
And they have been loving those three tiered packages because it really shows the value we can offer for those three different budget types. So if, especially if they're new to PR, they tend to skew, obviously, on the lower to middle tier side. Or if they've done PR and they're ready to like be all in, they'll tend to do the middle to larger tier side. So those three options have been a blessing
for us. That's awesome. That's awesome. And I think even if you So, if you're listening to this and you're like, Well, I don't have packages, or I don't, you know, all of my stuff is custom, there's a way that you can take custom work that you do and put it into a coherent program that's still totally custom, but provides value, and you can build on that with options. And here's the thing, I mean, you guys are probably seeing this too most proposals after all the hours that you've spent, right? And you put your scope together, or whatever, and you put it in front of somebody, the best you can hope for is 50% success rate, right? Because the only options are yes or no, right? But when you have three options, it's an immediate 75% chance that they'll say yes to something, right? So because the options are yes to option one, yes to option two, yes to option three or No, right? So there's three yeses and one no. And so you're, you're giving people agency. You're, you're essentially giving your clients agency so that they can make a decision, a decision that will work for them absolutely.
And I will say to that point, I mean, our close rate, I think before was, I mean maybe 25 to maybe 25% and now I think we've only had Julie correct me if I'm wrong. We've had probably 20 to 2530 and we've only had one no and not right now, like we love this. This is amazing. Just, can you talk to us early, early next year, when we have our, you know, our ducks in a row? So, I mean, that's when, immediately for us, right there.
Yeah, absolutely okay. So you've had these big shifts. You've approached the sales process differently, from sort of this tap dancing to, you know, the way you're approaching sales conversations, to the proposals and everything. Bring us up to speed. How does the business look? Right now,
I laugh because we are insanely busy now, to the point where we're like, oh my gosh, there's so much new business in the pipeline. We actually also signed on five new clients between retainer clients and project work, and that was just right after we started working with you. So a few months and we already have five new clients. So we've been crazy busy, but all in a good way. But I just have to giggle, because we never had that problem before with new business.
From wondering about layoffs to hiring
34:11
Yeah. I mean, I, like, when I came here, I was just, I was in such dark and desperate place. I mean, I've shared that with Julie. Julie is like, my like, everything is awesome. It's gonna be fine. I was like, I don't know this time around, but just I feel empowered. I feel like I feel like I have, like, a toolkit that I can pick up. I can turn it on and off. We're gonna keep it on. But I went from a place of like, full disclosure, should I be shutting this agency down? Do I need to, like, take a step back and like, I know I just wasn't. I was so unsure and just really doubting myself. And, like, Why did I start, you know? And now I'm like, Oh, I have this toolkit. This would have been amazing had I had this prior. But now I'm like, we're looking at hiring next year, and I. Like, how do I grow the team? Like, how do, you know, Julie and I were talking about, like, how can we get you more support? Because we went from like, oh my gosh, do we need to do layoffs? To oh my gosh, we need to hire now. Because, like, we're out of our minds, which is, like, a good problem to have. And so I'm, I'm just incredibly grateful for that.
I'm so happy to hear that, not only because, you know, the business is sort of turned around and on a really good path, but I mean, having, you know, had two children like i You don't want to be feeling any of that going into a, you know, welcoming a new child into the world. So I'm just glad that you're feeling optimistic, positive, you know, empowered, absolutely.
So we'll be here. We'll keep going.
So so that's sort of how the business has changed, right? Change for the better. But I love it. I'd actually love to know from you guys, like, how have you changed?
I would say I definitely have more confidence now going into these sales conversations again, they don't even feel like sales conversations at this point. Whereas, similar to Brittany, I would always have like, a little bit of anxiety going in there, like, Oh, I really have to drive this home and sell, sell us into this. Whereas now I'm just like, Hey, what's up? What's going on in the business. So it's really, for me personally, has grown my confidence in not only marketing and PR, but also just as a communicator overall. So that's been a big, big game changer for me.
Yeah, as Julie's manager, I mean, literally, in the last 90 days, it's like her client calls are better as a result of the sales just kind of going through this, this process. It's like, I just she shows up to calls differently, and it's a palpable presence where it's like, you can't even teach that into somebody, or you can mentor it, but really growing somebody's confidence. I mean, there's 1,000,001 like management mentorship handbooks, but it's like to watch that change and that light come on is is so rad to see as a manager, yeah, and then myself, gosh, what have I seen? I think it goes back. It For Me. It all comes down to mindset for me, right? Like I am somebody like I mentioned earlier, I really often operate from a place of emotion or intuition, and that's really served me well, but it does get me into hot water where I tend to like, I become reactive rather than responsive. And so now feeling like I have this toolkit, and I have, I have this skill set, I I just feel I feel hopeful, hopeful, I think, is the right word. Where I was feeling just like, I, if I'm really, quite frank, I was feeling anxious and scared and like, I think that like, I felt like it was like rubbing off on my clients and my work and and my family. And now I'm like, I feel like, I don't know. I feel just really grateful, really, really grateful, because so much can change in a few months, and you have no idea, like, one decision really can change everything. And that's, that's pretty cool, going into the season, like, you know, bringing new life into the world, you know, the businesses is going to be, you're going to be okay. So, I don't know, that's pretty cool.
Oh, that's so cool. That's so cool. What I'd love to know so there are people listening, there are women listening to this, who may be in a similar position, facing something in their business. What would you say to a woman who's in the position that you were in back then, like, what advice would you give her?
Would tell her, it is never too late to learn something new. It is never too late to, like, as dark as it may seem like I mentioned you, you're only, like, you're one decision away from, like, really turning around everything. And what I think is so important has been community for me. And I just, I'll just be frankly about the academy is like, I've, I've joined many, many business groups, many, many mentorships. I mean, I've done it all right, masterminds, you name it. I can tell you right now that the community that we had with the academy, or we have at the academy, like, I throw stuff into Slack all the time, and I'm like, holy moly. Like the amount of like, response and feedback and great like advice that I get is just like, I'm like, I should be paying a lot more for this. There's attorneys on there, there's copywriters. I'm like, it's a whole collective of women that are, like, in your corner, and that's so rare to find. You get on so many business groups, and it's like, you put a question out there in the universe, and it's crickets. And where you get like, kind of, like weird advice, but I don't know that's that's been a game changer for us. I think, really, in the last like 90 days,
oh my gosh, I I love here. That's that makes me, oh my gosh. That makes me so happy. I mean, it really is. I mean, even I am in awe of our community and how, how. How just incredible the women are, and how giving they are. And, you know, just running like real businesses with real experience, and they're, everybody's a grown up. And, you know, it's really, it's a great place to be. It's my favorite place on the internet.
Yeah, it's the best corner of the internet.
Well, so And thank you for sharing all this. Any like, last words, final, final thoughts,
I would just say, thank you so much for helping us out, for changing the way we do business.
Yeah, awesome. Well, and so you guys might not know this, because, you know, we're just sort of releasing this. But um, this is, this is really true when you and I started having conversations, you know, more recently about your pregnancy and your due date and all of that, it got the team and me talking. And thanks to you and another Academy member who's also pregnant, we are starting a maternity leave for the program. Yay. That's awesome. Yeah. So we it's going to be, you know, a four month paternity leave where, you know, we pause your payments, take time with your baby. You don't have to worry about notifications for us. We just, we want to see pictures of babies, just because we all love babies and and then we will be there when you're ready. And we don't want it to be any pressure.
So that is so rad. Thank you so
much so and thank you, thank you for inspiring that so you guys, thank you so much for being here. I always love talking to you, and thank you so much for sharing your journey and your story with everybody. And I'm so excited to see what you do from here on out.
My take: a maternity leave, and the whale client
41:42
All right, I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did, and I got to say what I said at the end is totally true. Thanks to Brittany and another Academy member who is also pregnant, we created what I believe is the first maternity leave in the coaching industry. In a coaching program, it's a four month leave where we pause your payments for four months so that you can recover, spend time with your new baby and not feel like you're falling behind in any way. And when you come back, we have a reentry plan where together, we choose the right next strategy to implement on your individualized plan, and then we have a two week checkup to see how you're doing, because it's really not about trying to catch up on everything you missed in the academy, you're actually working on a completely individualized roadmap that lets you build your business and grow your revenue by implementing the right strategies in the right order, specific to you, your clients and the business you want to build. And that's different for everyone. So it's not about catching up on everything. It's about picking up on your roadmap where we left off and choosing the next right strategy for you. I got to say, as a mom of two, I'm really proud that we can offer this program to our students. And then, actually, a few weeks later, after this was recorded, we took it a step further and created a family leave program where if you're dealing with an aging parent or a sick child, or any personal diagnosis, illness, setback. I mean, think about it, even just aging parents alone, right? Like I work with women, and you know that caring for aging parents always falls to women. So we created the family leave program where you can pause your payments and take a break for two months without falling behind, so that you can, you know, attend to yourself and the people in your life. I watch my mom take care of her parents, and I know how just all encompassing it is, so I'm glad we can offer this to our students too. All right, so let's talk about a lesson from this conversation that you can apply to your business. I mean, there are several, but there's one thing I want you to walk away from, from this episode. A lot of women I talk to have a whale client, that one big client that accounts for most or all of your work and most or all of your revenue. And that's okay. There's nothing inherently wrong with having a whale client until something changes, you know, maybe the client decreases their spending with you, or cancels altogether. Maybe they get a new leader of the company or head of the department you work with, and that person wants to bring in their preferred partners. Maybe the person you work with gets a new job, or maybe there's a change in how the company evaluates and pays partners. It's just kind of the way it is that there are risks outside of you that you can't control, that can affect your business. But there are also risks inside your business. When you have a whale client, it's really easy to get into a dynamic with the client, where they're treating you less like an expert consultant and more like an employee. It's really easy to find yourself over delivering and to literally not have any time to take on any additional clients. It also means you're less likely to have anything in your client pipeline, because, you know, on some level, you know you don't need it, because you're sort of covered with this one client, or one or two clients, and in any case, you don't have time to do business development. So as a result, you can be in the position that a lot of women find themselves in, which is when some. Changes with their whale client. They're pretty much behind the eight ball. And I know how easy it is to get into this situation, because I was in it too. When I first started the business, it became smart. Gets paid. I was a consultant to my clients, and I had one client, one, and I was really embedded in the business. You know, I was basically her managing director. That was my whale client, and I get paid well, I always said that, you know, if I was living in a tiny town, that it could have been a great salary for me. I mean, I was living in DC, which is not cheap, but I was doing okay, and I wasn't really looking for additional clients for just a whole host of personal reasons. But suffice it to say, I knew I was dependent on this one client, but I felt okay cruising for a while, and then towards the end of my second year working with her, I think it was around November, we were set to meet and talk about, you know, the upcoming year, you know, my role, my retainer, etc. And so it kind of came as a big surprise when she said that not only could she not increase my role and retain her payment, but she'd actually had to decrease it by about 25% in the new year. And so then all of a sudden, my situation where I was doing okay became a situation where I was pretty strapped and I had to figure out what to do. That's how I know the risks of having only a whale client and being so dependent on that client. And that's also how I know that the goal for a consulting business that's protected against all of that is having a diversified client base. It's having some bigger clients and bigger engagements and some smaller clients with smaller engagements, so that your business and your income and really your future doesn't just hinge on one client. So as you start to think about this for your business, I would ask yourself three questions. First, what would I need to change about my engagement with my biggest client to be able to take on an additional client or two? Second, what could a lower engagement look like, and how would I price it? And then third, who can I sell it to? And as you think about the answers to these questions, of course, if you'd like my help to do this in your business, and the tools and the coaching to help you be successful, this is what we do in the academy every day. So a business that's profitable and protected, that's what I want for you. Of course, I want that every year for you, but also especially this coming year, which may be a little unpredictable financially, just to know that you're protected and that you continue to grow and run a profitable business.
Hey, everything we're talking about in this episode is part of the system women like you are learning in the academy. In the Academy, we help women consultants install the two systems every B to B consultant needs a marketing system to consistently attract the right clients and a sales system to lead a sales process to a yes and get paid more for every contract. So even if you've only gotten clients through referrals or word of mouth, in the academy, you'll learn how to attract and sign clients outside your network, how to lead a sales process with confidence, and how to get paid for your value, not your time, and there's no cold calling or cold emailing involved, no changing your services or making a course, and you won't use any pushy sales tactics. That's just not our vibe. So if you like what you've heard here, the academy may be your right next step to learn how you can get these two systems in your consulting business and make progress faster and with fewer roadblocks. Head to smart gets paid.com/academy and apply and we can chat about next steps. All right. See you over there. You. Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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