Jeff McKay

Growth strategist for firms that refuse to coast. Co-host Rattle & Pedal podcast. Creator of Prudent Pedal Growth Framework. Dad. Cyclist. Wannabe monk.

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

https://t.co/YhmpNV8hN3 https://t.co/t308PgNTnD

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

“I’m worried about where you’re going here!” It had taken the CFO a day and a half to finally burst. He had been watching our planning session proceed, only commenting when his financial expertise seemed relevant.

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[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

In 2002 Rajat Gupta, then managing director of McKinsey, pushed the firm’s head of marketing and public affairs, Javier Perez, out of the firm. The reason: multiple partners had shared their dissatisfaction with the firm to writer John Byrne in a

https://t.co/vCgADG7wiB

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

Ted Harro

Contributed by Ted Harro

One of my first assignments in my new job was to fly out to see one of our firm’s clients who was well-known for being a bit of a pickle.  He was a middle manager at a very large telecommunications firm and was an

https://t.co/o45lqnNX3k

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

Professional services firm leaders often have ambitions to create “innovative” or “client-centric” cultures. Unfortunately, many act in ways that shock the soul out of their firms and prevent them from ever realizing their visions. #Accountingmarketin

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[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

Why are viewers loyal to CNN, NPR, or Fox News? Why do our Facebook and YouTube feeds provide us with a consistent and reinforcing string of posts related to the ones we’ve watched before? Why are we affiliated with the political party we are?

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[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

In The Marketing Trend Devouring Your Core Business, I described how SaaS companies are using content marketing to aggressively commoditize traditional professional services firms. This week I offer some suggestions firms can put in place to immunize

https://t.co/6HrvhCET3p

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

If you were to ask me what is the one common marketing error most professional services firms make, I would not hesitate to say, “They fall in love with their ‘solutions’.” By that I mean they make their internal P&L structure their market face and

https://t.co/T7eWWMqTJL

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

Why do your clients buy services you offer from other firms?
It happens time and time again. You learn through the grapevine or through a loyal client that another client has just chosen a competitor for a service that you provide.

https://t.co/xUImF0X87S

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

You're hiring a Fractional CMO. Now what?
Congratulations on your bold decision to add the insightful strategy and marketing leadership of a Fractional CMO to your team of trusted advisors!

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[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

Aligning Sales and Marketing in professional services–in any industry for that matter–is a perpetual challenge. 
If you spend time in either function, you know what I’m talking about.  Marketing blames Sales for not following up on the leads they share.

https://t.co/IZ2rl96Fvd

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

This post is the first in a series to share how professional services can develop and execute marketing strategy. Unfortunately, this series will not give you a template that you can simply fill in. Instead, it will give you a strategic framework to

https://t.co/G5me6pNgDo

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) “marketing” is the season’s latest trend.  If you haven’t noticed, it might be a good time to start paying strategic attention because it will be impacting your firm in a significant way shortly.

https://t.co/HsT9Lo7PUZ

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

This past week on a long bike ride I ran out of episodes of my favorite podcasts (Freakonomics, The Patrick Coffin Show, and 2 Bobs). My iPhone rolled over to the next available podcast; it happened to be the Rattle & Pedal episode on "Becoming the

https://t.co/c7jzFuKvd2

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

Next to cross-selling, “productization” (or the act of turning a successful engagement into a commercial product) is the holy grail of professional services firms.  Productization allows firms to package repetitive processes, achieve scale, increase

https://t.co/i9vyZtNi3q

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

I offer 6 simple marketing guidelines for professional services firms during the COVID-19 pandemic that will build your reputation—or at least protect it until it’s over.

In the past two weeks, I have digested more “content” than is healthy.

https://t.co/EZ6lrVPv1p

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

Yesterday my 17-year-old, over-achieving daughter shared her Spring break, social-distancing To-Do list. She put the list together on her own (no parental mandate) because her Spring break plans were canceled and social media just was getting old (there

https://t.co/DjIBYpHSIC

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

What is the "optimal" marketing organization? is a question that I get asked very often. It is a great question, but it misses a bigger issue.
Marketing in professional service firms can be MESSY. Marketing departments are tossed hither and yon as

https://t.co/c8uHCXAi7s

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

In my last post, How to Evaluate Your Marketing Leader, I laid out a rubric for managing partners to assess the performance of their marketing leaders. My approach delineated between my two schools ofmarketing thought in the professional services

https://t.co/4N48wW9VPj

[Jeff McKay @JeffMcKay]

I often hear partners and practice leaders complain: “Marketing doesn’t understand our business!”
The first time I heard this, I thought it quite a remarkable comment. I wondered how people charged with identifying new markets, reaching new clients,

https://t.co/Oui5OtZuH2