Linda's Marketing Leverage Blog

Just a Moment for Marketing: The Best Kept Secret

Linda Popky advises: No matter how good you are, you won't meet your full business potential if you don't tell people what you are offering and how you can help them. That's where marketing comes in. Don't let yourself be the best kept secret. Shout out your value from the hilltops. Let us know you are there.

Just a Moment for Marketing: Go Slow to Go Fast

Linda Popky observes: It's only by starting slow that we really get to go fast in the future. Today's world offers us instant access to people and to technology. We know what we want and we want it now. But sometimes you need to go slow to build a foundation and to get things right. Start slowly, establish rapport, be sure we are in synch with our customers.

Just a Moment for Marketing: I Got Rhythm

Linda Advises: Be consistent. Once you establish a pattern that your customers recognize, you need to stick with it.

Just a Moment for Marketing: Failing Quickly

Linda advises: Learn to fail quickly to leave more time for success.
You want to introduce new products and services, target new markets, new geographies....The key is to know what constitutes success and how to recognize the signs of impending failure. If a new strategy doesn't work, stop, reevaluate and possibly pull the plug.

Just a Moment for Marketing: A Marathon, Not a Sprint

Linda discusses how success in business is like a marathon - you have to go the distance! In our marketing efforts we need to consider how to build presence, to develop enduring brand equity, and to ensure we get in front of our target audience on a regular basis. We need to prepare to go the distance and not be winded after the first turn.

How Does Your Consulting Practice Compare to Others?

Women in Consulting (WIC)  is conducting its 9th annual consultant compensation survey now.

The survey takes only 10-15 minutes to complete and results will be made available to all participants. You need not be a member of WIC to participate--this is open to everyone for whom consulting is the majority of their income on an annual basis, regardless of gender.

Take the survey.

The Company You Keep...

I've always thought you can learn a lot about people by the company they keep--who they "hang around" with, who they're associated with, how those people think and act.

That's why it's so important to NOT associate with people who tend to be negative or aren't operating at the right level of professionalism, ethics, or etiquette, and why it's important to find the right role models and exemplars to follow.

A colleague of mine recently decided to no longer be associated with a business publication that took a tone she found to be inappropriate and unprofessional. Good for her! It was absolutely the right decision, even if she takes a short-term hit in audience reached. Over the long term, it's more important for her brand, and for her own integrity, to be associated with people who project the right image.

On the other side of the coin, I have the great privilege to be associated with a consummate team of consulting professionals through Alan Weiss's Master Mentor Community. Seth Kahan, an expert on change management and leadership in his own right, has interviewed many of these individuals for his Freelance Fortune Blog. Check out these fascinating conversations, including one with me.

Why Mentoring Matters for Consultants and Entrepreneurs

Linda Popky Brings Alan Weiss Mentor Program To Silicon Valley Consultants and Small Businesses

I am very pleased to announce that I have been certified to deliver mentoring services to consultants and entrepreneurs as part of noted consultant Alan Weiss’s Private RosterTM Mentor Program. Only 20 senior consulting professionals have been certified worldwide, and I am the only consultant with a focus on marketing.

Alan Weiss and Linda Popky

Over the last 15 years, Alan Weiss, the Million Dollar Consultant, has created one of the most comprehensive mentoring communities available. The program has over one thousand graduates globally, with scores of individuals renewing for multiple terms. A conservative estimate, according to Weiss, is that graduates have generated over $660 million dollars in incremental revenue as a result of their program participation.

"I'm expanding our ability to help people in professional services globally through these expert mentors, all of whom have worked with me,” said Alan Weiss. “Linda is among the best of the best."

Learn more about the program.

Read the news release.

Reflections on Two Wonderful Years of WIC

As my term as president of Women in Consulting comes to an end this week, I find myself reflecting on all the incredible experiences I’ve had throughout the last two years.

Through the worst recession in nearly a century, we grew our community to be nearly 500 strong–with our ranks of full members swelling by nearly 40% this year.

And we did all this as an entirely volunteer run organization, with over 100 consultants taking on pro bono consulting roles for WIC.

Read more.

In Good Company: Master Mentor Training in Newport, RI

This week I had the pleasure to join 8 other top notch consultants for certification training in Alan Weiss's Mentory Mastery program in Newport, RI.

As a special pre-holiday treat, Alan arranged for a private tour of the Breakers Mansion for the group. What a privilege to be in such good company (and such great surroundings).

View the pictures.

How are Consultants Weathering the Recession?

Women in Consulting (WIC) recently conducted its 8th annual compensation survey, with nearly 300 respondents completing the questionnaire.

To learn more about how consultants are weathering the recession, their outlook for the coming year, and best practices of top grossing consultants, join us for a webinar on Wed. July 22nd at 11am PDT.

Jennifer Berkley of the Insight Advantage and I will be sharing the highlights of the survey as well as discussing the trends we see from this year's responses.

Register now.

Linda Popky joins the Million Dollar Consultant® Hall of Fame

Right on the heels of this week's San Jose/Silicon Valley Business Journal's Top Women of Influence in Silicon Valley award,  I learned on Friday that I have been inducted into Alan Weiss's Million Dollar Consultant Hall of Fame.

According to Alan, the criteria for induction include:

• Serving as an exemplar to others in the profession.
• The highest levels of integrity, ethics, and accountability.
• Revenue and profit achievement and growth.
• Contributions of intellectual capital to the profession.
• Continual, challenging, personal and professional development.
• Risk taking and resilience.

This award is shared with only the top leaders in consulting worldwide. This year's seven inductees, Suzanne Bates, Seth Kahan, Pat Lynch, Katherine Radeka, Scott Simmonds, Phil Symchych and me, join 13 other existing members of the Hall of Fame. I am the only member with a focus on strategic marketing consulting.

It really is a privilege to be  recognized by Alan Weiss, the man who has written more books on consulting than anyone in the world and who has been called "one of the most highly regarded independent consultants in America." Furthermore, it is an honor to be associated with the 19 other top professionals who share this distinction.

Thanks to my family, friends, colleagues and clients who have helped me get to this level.

Linda

We're Honored: Silicon Valley Top 100 Women of Influence Award

The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal has named Linda Popky one of Silicon Valley's "Top 100 Women of Influence" for 2009.

This year's winners, nominated by their peers, were chosen by a panel of judges that included Shellye Archambeau, CEO of MetricStream; Connie Martinez, CEO of 1stAct Silicon Valley; Ysabel Duron, Latinas Contra Cancer Founder and Executive Director; and Wendy Beecham, CEO of Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives.

According to Business Journal Publisher James MacGregor, “The women listed exemplify many of the attributes that makes Silicon Valley a global leader in business, philanthropy and public policy. The experience and skills these women demonstrate have helped to innovate and shepherd the valley to success."

In addition to being the founder and president of L2M Associates, Linda is also the president of Women in Consulting, a San Francisco Bay Area-based community of over 400 consultants and small business owners working to build strong businesses. A consultant, speaker, author and educator, she is the program advisor for San Francisco State University's Integrated Marketing Program and on the advisory board for UC Santa Cruz Extension's Marketing Management Program.

Women of Influence award winners will be honored at an awards ceremony and dinner to be held at the San Jose Fairmont on March 18th. More information about the event.

Where to go for all things consulting

Women in Consulting (WIC)  just celebrated its tenth anniversary with a big event last week at the Microsoft Event Center in Mountain View, CA. We honored the women who founded WIC and talked about how far we've come and where consulting is going in the future. In conjunction with this celebration, we also relaunched our new website and launched a new blog about all things consulting. Check them out.

WIC is a Bay Area-based community of over 400 consultants in more than 30 specialties. More information on membership.