It used to be when a senior executive left the corporate world but wasn't ready to retire, they'd hang out a shingle as an independent consultant. Today, it's much more likely that they would call themselves a fractional executive. In this podcast, Jay Kingley, CEO of Maven, lays out the differences between a fractional executive and consultant and discuss which pathway suits a second act executive. The big mistake that too many 2nd act executives make is positioning themselves as being able...

Jay Kingley, CEO of Maven, is trumpeting a clarion call to all fractional executives in the bottom 80% in terms of impact on clients, "Generative AI is commoditizing mediocrity". You’ve heard the classic aphorism of garbage in garbage out. Well these large language models that our generative AI applications run on represent the thinking of the masses in, average if not mediocre content out. Generative AI should be your go-to source for understanding how most people look at any issue or what...

Jay Kingley, CEO of Maven, discuss that your business focus is driven by your marketing not service delivery. In today’s world, no one wants to hire the “jack of all trades and master of none". When you’re paying top dollar to bring in a fractional executive or consultant, you want someone who understands your specific issue and has the expertise, insight, and wisdom to deliver the outcomes you want. You want someone laser focused on what it is you need, not a broad generalist who isn’t...

Jay Kingley, CEO of Maven, reminiscences of the best employee he ever had. This staff member had a high level of consistent performance, enviable work ethic, great attitude and fun to be around, good team player who inspired and elevated those around her, and was accountable, responsible, reliable. Her name is Heisenberg and she’s one of my cats. Her sister is Schrodinger and she’s no one’s idea of the perfect employee. Heisenberg and I both share a philosophy that the reason we exist on...

Jay Kingley, CEO of Maven, has the surprising take that what you say when selling better be different than what you do during delivery … or you won’t get any clients and if you do you won’t retain them. During the buying process, empathize with your prospect on where they think they are and show them how to get to where they want to be. During delivery, enlighten your client on where they really are and inspire them to get to where they need to be. So many consultants, fractional leaders, and...

The secret to getting more clients isn't knowing how to close or being a super salesperson. As a consultant, coach, or fractional leader, you have to own a process that leads your prospects to you and then allow the right ones buy. Key to this process is establishing empathy (80% of the battle) and being able to communicate your expertise, insight, and wisdom plus giving them a taste of what it would be like to work together. Do this, and you'll have prospective clients lining up to work...

Jay Kingley of Maven says lead generation tactics will kill your consulting business. The implicit assumption behind lead gen is the more clients you need the more marketing you must do. But when you are the product and what you're selling is your expertise, insight, and wisdom, it takes time to convert a lead to a client and time is what you are short of. Focus on prospect generation and run, and run fast, from anyone who’s peddling you the latest and greatest lead gen system no matter what...

Consultants and fractional leaders work so hard to add extraordinary value to their clients ... and then they blow it by having a conversation with their prospects that significantly undervalues their ability to make a difference. Your prospects don’t have preconceived notions of your value prior to engaging with you. You set those expectations by choosing to talk about your experience, expertise, insight, or wisdom.  Connect with Jay Email Jay at [email protected] Sign up...

Jay Kingley, CEO of Maven, says there is one huge mistake that so many consultants make when trying to turn prospects to clients and it's costing them so much money! In this video Jay talks about how meeting your prospects where they are is the key to turning them into clients. Once they are clients, inspiring them to achieve their full potential is how you retain them as clients for a long, long time. Connect with Jay Email Jay at [email protected] Sign up for a free one hour...

Tea Kingley taught me a valuable lesson the other day on how essential it is to meet your prospects where they are and to embrace where they want to go. Once they become your client, you can do your best to lead them to where they need to be. But you won't get the opportunity if you don't start by meeting them where they are. Connect with Jay Email Jay at [email protected] Sign up for a free one hour workshop called How You Can Eliminate Your Income Uncertainty! 5 Things You...

Jay Kingley, CEO of Maven, talks about the mistake many consultants and advisors make by focusing on improving their skills and capabilities to better serve clients. But the gap you really need to focus on is the one between how your target market perceives you and the impact you know you can make for them. You can understand how you are perceived by paying attention to what your prospects focus on during your sales conversation. Jay provides 4 scenarios, the implications of each, and how...

David McClaskey, President and Founder of the McClaskey Excellence Institute observes that a frequent complaint of quick service restaurant executives is their struggle with employees who don’t meet expectations and as a result experience ongoing customer dissatisfaction. When this happens, significant damage to reputation, revenues, and profits results.   David explains that you got here because your employees were trained to do the job, but not to the level necessary to provide the products...

If you’re a consultant who is average at delivering value for your clients, Artificial Intelligence applications will commoditize you and make you irrelevant. But if you’re in the top 20% who think critically and have insight into the issues that are important and urgent for your clients, the adoption of AI chatbots and the like will boost demand for your services and provide opportunities for you to get higher fees. Connect with Jay Email Jay at [email protected] Sign up for...

Wendy Marx with Thriving At 50+ is consistently amazed when she see profiles on LinkedIn that simply say Vice President or Business Coach. They’re as differentiated as cardboard with no reason to linger.  Small business owners typically hang out their shingle before they’re branded and differentiated. This gives you no reason to connect with them. They’re not offering something distinctive or engaging so they fail to attract new customers.   Wendy counsels that a small business can’t be...

Will Dukes with SalesPartners observes that law schools teach attorneys how to help clients solve legal problems but not how to get the clients in the first place.  Will’s seen attorneys become insanely frustrated as the PERFECT clients for whom you would be the PERFECT attorney for, just walk out of their office because they were just looking for free legal advice.  Why isn’t it enough to be a great lawyer? Will points out that less than 5% of independent attorneys have grown to and beyond...

Zac Stucki of Homeric Consulting shares that many 7-figure marketing agencies enjoy surging sales but suffer from sagging profitability. Growth and scaling aren’t the same thing.  Growth is about increasing the size of your business. Scaling is about increasing your profitability as you grow.  Zac explains the problem as most 7-figure agencies have a project-focused worldview. They think about each client as independent of one another, and they focus on how to meet the demands of that client...

Pardees Safizadeh of Alboo observes that product-led startup founders need to create messaging that resonates with their prospective customers if they want to scale.  Without the right messaging, there's no foundation to support profitable marketing and sales campaigns.  Paradees laments that most decision-makers target a broad audience which dilutes their messaging. They may be getting in front of the right people, but without a message that speaks directly to the prospect, the prospect...

Lee Barnathan of LB Communications informs us that 97% of people who start writing a book never finish it. The vast majority of people who have experienced what life has to offer have a story to tell that's worthwhile, unique and compelling, but they never get to do it for a wider audience. Lee cautions that there is a world of difference between having the story in your head and getting it down on paper. What most people don't realize is that having the story and writing the story require...

George Mayfield CEO of Frameworks Consortium says too many companies hit a wall in growing their business is because they’re relying on hard work and luck. George strongly recommends carving time out to work on your business by borrowing time from others. As your business becomes more successful, it becomes more complex and harder to run without help. Most business owners continue to try and manage their business by themselves and it's the biggest reason why so many of them fail.  Successful...

Steve Rucinski of Dreamriver Group states that there has probably never been a more challenging time to be an entrepreneur, founder or owner of a business. The range of elements  to be managed has grown exponentially over the last few years due to among other reasons the pandemic, supply chain disruption, inflation, and employee abandonment. The problem is that business owners are trying to do it all themselves. Priority setting and delegation need attention and improvement. These are the...

Sabrina Greenwood-Briggs of Sabrina Louisa Consulting observes that the current trend of Quiet Quitting where employees doing the bare minimum of what they have been hired to do is becoming a pervasive problem for employers. Often staff are not vocal about the disconnect, but internally they are weighing whether or not their values, specifically those addressing their personal needs, align with the company's values. Many companies have never had to consider whether or not they are...

Anna Henry of Shift Sustainability Consulting tells us that consumers are anxious about climate change and are beginning to demand that the businesses that they patronize are supporting this cause. Many consumers believe that brands have just as much responsibility for – and ability to take – climate action as governmental bodies. Anna points out that survey data from The Economist shows a 71% rise in online searches for sustainable goods in the past 5 years. KPMG reveals 80% of the world's...

Jeff Krukin of Earth-Space Commerce Advisors points out the tremendous potential that companies have to do business in the commercial space industry.  While you’ve heard of space industry companies like Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, and even the space force military branch, you may not appreciate how much these and other companies in the sector may need what you offer.  Jeff informs us that space isn’t a far future market that's "out there". ...

Chia-Chun Chung of Cadence Process Consulting observes that hard tech company founders have much uncertainty on how to go from “breakthrough performance” in the lab to “the new normal” for their product.  Scaling up uncovers unexpected problems that lengthen the time to market putting the company trajectory in jeopardy.  There are 3 big challenges to overcome when you go from the lab to full-scale production: unit economics, process behaviors, and quality standards. Chia-Chun cautions that...

Alex Burkhart of Zooky observes that while many enterprise executives desire to make a mark as innovators in their business, they fail to properly understand what it is they are trying to solve, who they are selecting to help solve the problem, and how they are going about solving the problem. Alex points out that innovation inside a corporation requires very different types of thinking and talent.  Alex recommends that executives develop a system that allows their team and company to create...