Time to Listen: 22 min. 19 sec.

David Lecours and Josh Miles discuss why you should develop an ‘About Our Firm’ story.

Subscribe to PMS Show on iTunes

Mentioned in This Episode 120: The About Our Firm Story

• Why make the About Our Firm description a story?
• Where else besides the ‘About’ section of your website would you use this story?
• Is story just another marketing trend?
• Who should tell this story? From what point of view?
• Where do firms go wrong with this story?
• Possible plot types: challenge, founding, purpose, vision
• How long should this story be?

Resources Mentioned, Books on Story

• What Great Sales­peo­ple Do: The Sci­ence of Sell­ing Through Emo­tion­al Con­nec­tion and the Pow­er of Sto­ry by Mike Bosworth, Ben Zoldan
• Win­ning the Sto­ry Wars: Why Those Who Tell the Best Sto­ries Will Rule the Future by Jon­ah Sachs
• The Sto­ry Fac­tor by Annette Sim­mons
• Tell to Win: Con­nect, Per­suade, and Tri­umph with the Hid­den Pow­er of Sto­ry by Peter Guber
• res­onate: Present Visu­al Sto­ries that Trans­form Audi­ences by Nan­cy Duarte
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Sur­vive and Oth­ers Die by Dan and Chip Heath
• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brain­ers Will Rule the Future by Dan Pink

We Want to Hear From You

Let us know what you think about this episode. Should we do more interviews? Or, would you prefer just Josh and David (no guests)? Or should we get rid of Josh and David altogether? Use the form on our homepage to let us know.

Subscribe to our Podcast

To subscribe to the PSM podcast in iTunes – click here

Time to Listen: 34 min.

David Lecours interviews Chris Parsons of Knowledge Architecture about the relationship between knowledge management and marketing.

PSM Show likes a good positioning statement. Her is Knowledge Architecture’s:
Knowledge Architecture builds software, community, and best practices to help architecture and engineering firms find, share, and manage knowledge.

Subscribe to PMS Show on iTunes

Mentioned in This Episode 119: Knowledge Management and Marketing

• Why should marketers care about knowledge management (KM)?
• Are marketers good candidates to lead KM in their firms?
• Examples of firms effectively integrating KM with marketing
• Tips to persuade the C-Suite to adopt KM
• What is Synthesis and how does it help facilitate KM
• Why are you a fan of event marketing?
• Which marketing initiatives have been effective for your firm?

Resources Mentioned

• Books on Knowledge Management
• KA Connect, the A/E/C conference for Knowledge Management produced by Knowledge Architecture

We Want to Hear From You

Let us know what you think about this episode. Should we do more interviews? Or, would you prefer just Josh and David (no guests)? Or should we get rid of Josh and David altogether? Use the form on our homepage to let us know.

Subscribe to our Podcast

To subscribe to the PSM podcast in iTunes – click here

Time to Listen: 32 min. 57 sec.
As marketers, we have to present new ideas. David Lecours and Josh Miles offer 10 tips for sharing new initiatives and getting them approved.

Subscribe on iTunes

Mentioned in This Episode 118: 10 Tips for Presenting New Ideas

1. How to control the environment
2. Present internally first
3. Present to the decision maker
4. Show your empathy because change is scary
5. Be the bridge between now and your desired future
6. Present options, but with a recommendation
7. Pitch so the idea “catcher” thinks it’s their idea
8. Success in a parallel universe with social proof
9. The power of story
10. Avoid the big reveal

Resources Mentioned

• Massimo Vignelli
• Pentagram
• When by Dan Pink
• Resonate by Nancy Duarte
• Influence by Robert Cialdini
• Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath
• Little Bets by Peter Sims

We Want to Hear From You

Let us know what you think about this episode. What has worked for you in presenting new ideas? Any successes of failures that have changed the way you present? What did we forget to mention? Use the form on our homepage to let us know.

Subscribe to our Podcast

To subscribe to the PSM podcast in iTunes – click here

SaveSave

Time to Listen: 27 min. 25 sec.

Note: There was a small audio glitch that makes it sound like Cal occasionally “talks over me.” In reality, he didn’t do this. Pardon the stereotype, but Cal is a gracious and friendly Canadian. He doesn’t talk while others are talking 😉 –David Lecours

Full Disclosure: My motivation to have Cal Harrison of Beyond Referrals as a guest is purely selfish. My clients (A/E/C firms) complain about the inefficiencies of the RFP process. Yet when they solicit a branding or digital marketing agency like ours, they send out an RFP. I want to help them stop this cycle of abuse. Is there a better alternative to the price-based RFP? Cal answers this, and much more, in this episode. –David Lecours

Subscribe to PMS Show on iTunes

Mentioned in This Episode 117: Beyond the RFP

• What’s wrong with price-based Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
• Should we wage a holy war against the RFP and be morally right, but financially bankrupt?
• How can we encourage Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) over price-based RPPs?
• What are some Go / No-Go questions to ask when considering an RFP?
• Red flags to look out for in RFPs
• Elements of a well-considered and well-written RFP
• Don’t highlight levels of service, people, and process in your proposal
• What’s wrong with referrals?

Resources Mentioned

• Cal Harrison’s TEDx Talk, Five Billion Reasons to Change the RFP
• Cal Harrison’s book, Buying Professional Services: replacing the price-based RFP with QBS

We Want to Hear From You

Let us know what you think about this episode. Should we do more interviews? Or, would you prefer just Josh and David (no guests)? Or should we get rid of Josh and David altogether? Use the form on our homepage to let us know.

Subscribe to our Podcast

To subscribe to the PSM podcast in iTunes – click here

Time to Listen: 33 min. 32 sec.
David and Josh demystify the latest techniques for SEO: Search Engine Optimization.

Subscribe on iTunes

Mentioned in This Episode 116: Demystifying SEO

• Scammy SEO consultants…can they be trusted?
• What terms do you want to rank highly for?
• Why do you want to rank highly?
• Do all professional services firms need SEO?
• Which pages on your site should you optimize?
• Page Title, H1, URL, Meta Description and Keywords
• Writing for humans vs. writing for computers
• Can you outsmart Google?

We Want to Hear From You

Let us know what you think about this episode. How have you optimized your website for search engines? Any success or failure stories you’d like to share? Use the form on our homepage to let us know.

Subscribe to our Podcast

To subscribe to the PSM podcast in iTunes – click here

SaveSave

Time to Listen: 40 min.

Josh Miles interviews Kelly & Robby Riggs, authors of Counter Mentor Leadership, a father and son approach to multi-generational conflict.

Subscribe on iTunes

Mentioned in This Episode 114: Counter Mentor Leadership

• What is a counter mentor leader?
• What is the BOSS vs. KIDS?
• Words of advice for Boomers / X-ers / Millenials.
• How does multi-generational conflict play out in professional services firms?
• Coaching vs. criticism
• How should a counter mentor leader motivate their team?
• How do you write?
• Any technology tools or platforms to help you write?

Resources Mentioned

• Kelly Riggs’ website Business LockerRoom
• CounterMentors website

We Want to Hear From You

Let us know what you think about this episode. Should we do more interviews? Sould you prefer just Josh and David? Or should we get rid of Josh and David altogether? Use the form on our homepage to let us know.

Subscribe to our Podcast

To subscribe to the PSM podcast in iTunes – click here