PICA Member Spotlights
Q&A with independent consultants who successfully “made the leap” and created the consulting career of their dreams
Q: Why did you decide to go independent?
A: I had been working in account management for ad agencies and in corporate marketing. I realized that in that world once you hit a certain milestone, you were likely to be aged out or hit a glass-ceiling. Both of those things were happening to me. I saw my future included the same job, earning the same amount of money, and working the same 60 to 70 hours a week. Since I was deeply passionate about account management and creating impactful advertising, I thought if I did it for myself the ultimate rewards and flexibility would be greater. That was the beginning of Stage2 Marketing.
Q: Why did you call it Stage2?
A: There were two reasons. Having gone from an employee to consultant, I was beginning the second phase of my career. Second, my goal had always been to take companies to their next level, and I knew that’s what I wanted to focus on. When I started the company, my target audience was companies that were too small to have a full time CMO, ad agency, or strong marketing infrastructure, yet they realized they needed to get beyond having a relative doing marketing out of a shoe box. So it was that middle tier, the second stage. Now, in addition to creating beautiful and effective advertising for clients, I’ve added a training program to Stage2’s services to teach their marketing teams the skills they need to be exceptional.
Q: How did you go about getting your first clients?
A: Someone gave me an excellent piece of advice when I started Stage2. They said, “You need to send out ‘a wedding invitation’, which means you send a notice to everyone on your mailing list. Tell them you’ve started this firm and you’re looking for referrals. Make it a specific ask, tell them what you're planning to do, who you're planning to do it for, and how they can help you. Because your universe wants to support you. If you give them those tools, they have the opportunity to jump in.” People want to help, they just need to know how. Think about any human situation or when a disaster strikes. If somebody just says, "I need help," you have no idea what to do. But if someone were to say, "I need food. I need shelter. I need to replace the furniture in my house.” Suddenly, your brain thinks, “I can help, I can do that.” You can make an impact. It's the same thing with your network when it comes to the success of your consulting practice. We’re going to assume your network is already fond of you: they know what you do, who you are, they've worked with you. They're fans. The wedding invitation gives your fans a way to help you be successful. That’s how I started Stage2 and it has continued to grow through referrals.
Q: What's been one of the challenges you've faced once you were established? Once you’ve got your feet under you and things are humming along, there's always some sort of a challenge. What was yours?
A: The cobbler didn't have shoes. As a marketer, I have been my own worst marketer. I wasn't leveraging tools that I very clearly would tell other clients to take advantage of. I wasn't as visible on LinkedIn as I could have been, I hadn't created a newsletter, I wasn't building a formal network. It took me 10 years to redo my website because I “didn't have time.” My biggest challenge was overcoming my own reluctance to embrace my visibility. It’s challenging when you're a solo practitioner because you're essentially marketing yourself. That’s kinda weird. It’s hard and it’s vulnerable. Yet, when you know who you serve, and what big problems you solve for them, it becomes much easier to treat the business as an independent entity rather than, “Oh my God, I'm marketing Deb Doyle.”
Q: 15 years is really an achievement, Deb, congratulations. Looking back, what's the one thing that you know now that you wish you had known then?
A:, It's counterintuitive to say this because this is what I do for a living. I underestimated how important it is to treat the company as a client, really, the most important client. To be visible, marketing it, positioning it, networking, all those things. You can't forget that. Even though it is easy to do when you are 100% focused on client-work. However, if you know it takes four to six months to land a big project that means you need to start the prospecting four to six months before you need it. The only way you're going to make sure you create a consistent pipeline is if you're constantly marketing. So, the one thing I wish I had done better, I treated Stage2 as its own client from the beginning and marketed it effectively.
Q: If people want to know more about Stage2 marketing or how they can help you what would be the best way to do that?
A: The best way to find me is through email: deb@stage2mktg.com. I am also on LinkedIn and my website is Stage2Mktg.com. I'm focused on growing the training part of my practice. I am looking for marketing teams who spend too much time and too much money getting mediocre work out the door. My workshops teach them skills to save time, save money and improve their results. If that sounds like a company or marketing team people know of, I would appreciate the introduction.
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