by Shaun Nestor | Aug 15, 2016 | Agencies & Brands
Regardless of your business size, it can be difficult to know which tasks to keep in-house and which to outsource. The answer is different for virtually everyone. For example, if you are an accountant, outsourcing your bookkeeping does not make a lot of sense....
by Emily Esposito | May 13, 2016 | Agencies & Brands, Leadership
There comes a time in your freelancing career when you realize that the money just isn’t worth it. The money isn’t worth putting up with a bad client. Sometimes, it’s better to just walk away. As a freelancer, it took me a long time to realize I don’t have to accept...
by Shaun Nestor | Apr 25, 2016 | Agencies & Brands
It may seem counterintuitive to have a plan to turn down work – but as many experienced freelancers and consultants can attest, not all clients are good fits for your services. An associate recently discovered this after spending a considerable amount of time...
![How to Fire a Client [3 Scripts!]](https://www.shaunnestor.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Fire-a-Client-script-1080x675.jpg)
by Emily Esposito | Mar 1, 2016 | Agencies & Brands
We spend so much of our professional lives fearing that we’ll get fired from our jobs that when the tables turn, we have no idea what to do or say. Becoming a freelancer, consultant, or owning your agency means that you have the power and flexibility to take on...
by Shaun Nestor | Dec 14, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Social Selling
According to a recent study by Ascend2, 70% of B2B marketers cite improving the quality of their leads as the most important objective of a lead generation strategy. Spending time on less-qualified, or even not-qualified leads, is a costly initiative for any B2B...
by Emily Esposito | Dec 9, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Social Selling
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could automate all your emails? And never have to type out another introduction email or thank you email again? Well, now you can. Sort of. Marketing automation can be intricate, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Click To Tweet With...
by Emily Esposito | Dec 2, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
We’ve all been there. Your client emails you three weeks into a project and requests a major change. This isn’t the kind of change that requires some minor copy edits or design tweaks. No. This is the kind of change the necessitates a complete redesign or a total...
by Shaun Nestor | Nov 23, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Leadership, Pursuing Your Passion
In real estate investing, there are a few key strategies successful investors use to mitigate their risk: Never over-extend yourself Buy in a single market that you can monitor, study, and understand Never buy based on emotion Look for an angle to add value to an...
by Shaun Nestor | Nov 2, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Social Selling
Imagine showing up to run a race and learning that there is no formal course. Or that your cross-country road trip partner has not planned a single detail between point A and B. Such is the same for marketers using social media without a clear goal. Creating an ideal...
by Shaun Nestor | Oct 27, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Resources, Social Selling
I talk a lot about content marketing and personal branding. Moving forward, nearly every person will be their own “brand” regardless of their current employer. This is even more relevant for consultants, industry experts, coaches, authors, advisors —...
by Emily Esposito | Oct 22, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
Zero commute, working in your PJs, doing your laundry during the workday — freelancing sure sounds appealing, doesn’t it? But then you think about happy hour with colleagues, learning from incredibly smart, experienced colleagues, and working with big, national...
by Shaun Nestor | Oct 19, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Leadership, Social Selling
Once a year or so — usually around this time — I feel internally challenged to step up my writing, better my consulting, and improve my marketing strategy. Last year I launched Daily Marketing Minute, a 90-day personal challenge that was opened to the...
by Shaun Nestor | Aug 10, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Social Selling
Eight out of ten agency owners I speak with are making the same fatal mistake when pitching their services to prospects. That’s a full eighty-percent! Even more concerning is the misstep is so easily correctible. Once freelancers, consultants, and agencies...
by Emily Esposito | May 14, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
“Our bookkeeper is on vacation!” “It must have gotten lost in the mail!” “I never saw that invoice…” Here they come. The never-ending stream of excuses for late checks. Getting your clients to pay you on time is one of the...
by Shaun Nestor | May 11, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Social Selling
Client outreach is a huge part of business development. Yet most sales folks are stuck using methods that are outdated or just ineffective. Should you continue cold calls? Mass emails? The best way to approach a new client is to look for ways to genuinely build a...
by Emily Esposito | May 7, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
You can find anything online. From stalking former high school friends to ordering your groceries, we have grown accustomed to accomplishing any task we want on the Internet. With millions of search queries right at our fingertips, we expect to find the information we...
by Emily Esposito | Apr 30, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
It’s hard enough asking your boss for a raise. But, it’s a whole new ballgame when you’re the boss and you decide to increase your rates. First, it can be hard to tell if you are really justified in charging more for your services (you don’t have someone like a boss...
by Emily Esposito | Apr 21, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
Pricing is one of the trickiest things about starting a business. Why? Because we all get scared about setting prices. If you charge too much, you’ll lose clients. If you charge too little, you’re leaving money on the table. If you’re charging the...
by Shaun Nestor | Mar 26, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Social Selling
“Respond within 10 minutes for best results.” That is the helpful tip found on the bottom of every email notification real estate giant Zillow sends to agents. It is no surprise that a quick response to a prospective client, regardless of the industry,...
by Shaun Nestor | Mar 19, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
Confidence is extremely sexy. Just ask anyone in the dating scene, a mate with confidence is attractive. In fact, a recent survey from Men’s Fitness Magazine found that nearly 80% of women identified self-confidence as the sexiest trait a man can possess. (Men,...
by Emily Esposito | Feb 16, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
Isn’t it funny how much of a difference pricing can make? A t-shirt that costs $12.00 may seem overpriced, but $9.99 seems so much more affordable, even though the actual difference is only two dollars. Pricing is so much more than numbers and monetary value. It can...
by Shaun Nestor | Feb 13, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Social Selling
The key to using a blog to attract new customers is to identify the burning questions your customers are asking — and answer them. “But what about giving away all of my trade secrets?” “What if my competitors read what I’m writing?” You will never...
by Emily Esposito | Feb 5, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing
To say agency life is busy may be an understatement. Work isn’t confined to the normal 9-5 schedule, and it can feel like there are never enough hours in the day to find new business, make sure existing clients are happy, contribute to projects, and lead a team of...
by Shaun Nestor | Jan 29, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Pursuing Your Passion
I believe each day is a blank canvas of opportunity or disappointment. Sure, there are days when nothing seems to “go right”, but there is an overarching joy found when you actively pursue your passion. When things get hard, it is important to maintain...
by Emily Esposito | Jan 22, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
As Don Draper of Mad Men once said, “You are the product. You feeling something. That’s what sells.” When you pitch potential clients, you embody your agency and the services provided. Your confidence, manner of speaking, body language, and personality can build...
by Emily Esposito | Jan 15, 2015 | Agencies & Brands, Leadership
Would you like your agency to be seen as the ultimate expert in your space? Do you want to improve brand awareness and visibility to new audiences? Do you want to uncover exciting data and trends? All of that can start with a blog post. Well, it’s not as simple as...
by Shaun Nestor | Jan 5, 2015 | Agencies & Brands
As we kick off 2015, I am excited to introduce a series revolving around the success of your agency. Over the next 6 weeks, I will be delivering real advice for agency owners and independent consultants. My true passion is helping others unlock their passion. I...
by Shaun Nestor | Dec 31, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
Around this time of year, it is easy to make “New Years Resolutions”, but what about resolutions in general? Here is a list of 10 marketing resolutions agencies should consider regardless of the time of year. 1. Make your agency website the authority for...
by Shaun Nestor | Dec 30, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
How are you doing? No, really. How are you doing? How is your agency doing? Here are 27 metrics for measuring the health of your agency going into the new year: Sales revenue Referrals Pageviews Time on page Bounce rate Page load time Conversion rate Ranking...
by Shaun Nestor | Dec 18, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
What does your agency call the document you send to clients before starting work? According to a survey of agencies by the team over at Podio, the actual terminology varies greatly, but “Proposal” took the lead with 73% of the votes. Does it matter if the...
by Shaun Nestor | Dec 17, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
When creating a sales pitch or slide deck, it is easy to start with information about your company. It is natural, since we want to convince the prospect that they are in good hands and can trust us. Scratch that. You must understand the client’s hierarchy of...
by Shaun Nestor | Dec 10, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Pursuing Your Passion
Twice I have made the same mistake. The third time, I am learning. 🙂 In two different businesses, in two different places, in two different markets, I made the same mistake. That is, not talking about the project soon enough, loud enough, or often enough. There is a...
by Shaun Nestor | Dec 5, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
Most agencies have likely performed a SWOT analysis; it seems almost like Business 101, by now. But what about answering the question, “What will kill us?” What does your business truly depend on? What is the root source of your success? While reading Arun...
by Shaun Nestor | Dec 3, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Leadership, Pursuing Your Passion
“It used to be, you would take an ad out in the Yellow Pages, get a few signs, and hope for the best.” Except times have changed; and ‘hoping for the best’ is not a strategy. Any marketing strategy, regardless of your marketing budget, product,...
by Shaun Nestor | Nov 28, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Social Selling
Likely, in the course of your daily business, you answer the same questions over and over. Perhaps you have answered them on the phone or via email to customer inquiries. Take a few moments to format these responses into blog posts and publish them on your website....
by Shaun Nestor | Nov 18, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
Onboarding, the “getting started” process of bringing on a new client, user, or member, is perhaps the most critical element to the long-term success of that user. As agencies, we spend a considerable amount of time focused on acquiring leads, nurturing them to...
by Shaun Nestor | Nov 17, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Leadership
Online, it is easy to chase the latest platform. For brands, it is especially easy to drop everything to explore uncharted territory to be the first to market. This exploration, however, often causes brands to abandon their previous outposts in search of a new...
by Shaun Nestor | Nov 13, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing
“I wanna talk about me.” More than just a song by Toby Keith, “I wanna talk about me”-mentality is the number one mistake brands make on their blog. Take a step back, read your last 5 blog entires. Are they brand-focused or buyer-focused? When...
by Shaun Nestor | Nov 12, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing
LinkedIn is the social hub for B2B networking. In fact, it is the number one source for referral traffic to the Never Mind Marketing site. So how can you use your LinkedIn profile to attract new visitors, close more sales, and build deeper professional relationships?...
by Shaun Nestor | Nov 7, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
Of course, shipping is just a placeholder for: Publishing your work Calling that client Requesting the referral Writing the blog post Sharing your expertise Booking that speech Asking for the promotion Enrolling in continued education Creating your own learning series...
by Shaun Nestor | Oct 22, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Social Selling
Attention, Chief Marketing Officers, There are changes in your industry that you need to be aware of. These are transitional moments that will define the next generation of marketers and separate the prosperous from the lacking. Your buyers are mobile: They access...
by Shaun Nestor | Oct 20, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
Notice I didn’t say new customers. Or prospects. Closed business – people that actually pay you money for your products or services – should have the biggest impact on your go-forward marketing. Those who have opened their checkbook, signed the dotted line, and...
by Shaun Nestor | Oct 17, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Social Selling
The line between traditional advertising and digital advertising is beyond blurred — it no longer exists. And you don’t have to choose between traditional and digital. They should support and promote one another for greater impact. Regardless of platform, your...
by Shaun Nestor | Sep 22, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Leadership, Pursuing Your Passion
Next week marks the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2014. Wow! It is hard to believe that 2014 flew by with barely a wink and a nod! For the final quarter of the year, I am focusing my efforts on delivering daily, bite-sized nuggets of inbound sales and marketing...
by Shaun Nestor | Sep 1, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Leadership
Here in the US, this day serves as the unofficial end of summer. Where school buses and shorter days wait just around the corner. Labor Day was first introduced to recognize the hard work – the actual labor – of the industrial revolution. Days were long....
by Shaun Nestor | Jun 20, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Leadership
Business isn’t easy, here are 11 business survival tips for young start-ups or old pros. They serve as good reminders to keep the plain things the main things. Happy Friday 1. Be Willing To Learn Everyday 2. Have the Desire to Make A Real Difference 3....
by Shaun Nestor | Feb 19, 2014 | Agencies & Brands, Content & Inbound Marketing, Social Selling
Here it goes, advice I charge companies $10,000 to receive – available to you for free. How do I rank #1 in search engines like Google or Bing? How do I attract more website visitors? How do I convert more visitors to leads? How to I show up for more than just...
by Shaun Nestor | Jan 21, 2014 | Agencies & Brands
As a small business owner — and a nerd — I am always seeking out new technologies that will improve the efficiency of the Never Mind Marketing process, both internally and for our customers. When it comes to drafting proposals and estimates for clients, many agencies...
