Offline: Online Business for Consultants, Coders, and Freelancers artwork

Offline: Online Business for Consultants, Coders, and Freelancers

127 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratings

Build a 100% remote, online, and expertise-driven business. Hosted by Philip Morgan and Liston Witherill, we'll share what's working, what's not, and what scared the sh** out of us, every single Friday. If you're a consultant, software developer, professional services provider, coach, accountant, lawyer, or any other service provider, and you want to build your business online, this podcast is for you.

Entrepreneurship Business Careers freelancing freelancers business advice marketing management consulting consultants sales digital marketing online marketing
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Episodes

Mechanical Lead Gen

February 19, 2021 03:00 - 25 minutes - 20.2 MB

Short term versus long term Mechanical versus organic Philip's Message Tomorrow I want to hear about your lead gen model and in particular the mechincal method. i think that's potentially a sticky, powerful term for you to use. it's evocative, but invites questions/conversation, which is great POV material --- Notes on Mechanical Lead Gen Requires something you have direct control over Paid ads, regular ol' prospecting, Podcast Pipeline, intentional referral strategy Backgroun...

If you were to start building your authority today, how would you do it?

February 05, 2021 01:00 - 33 minutes - 27.1 MB

L - What I did then, What I'd do today Then: aligned with another entrepreneur, website, email newsletter, LinkedIn, specialized Today: Specialize, Outbound (LinkedIn + email), Content, SEO, paid traffic, event marketing

What happens when trust declines?

January 29, 2021 00:00 - 39 minutes - 31.6 MB

(Philip here) This was a fun one! It's music to my ears to hear Liston say "I think you're right about that", and he said this a lot in this episode. I'm kidding a little bit, but it really was an interesting episode. We started out by acknowledging the decline in trust in institutions, but quickly started to explore the implications for us: Are content marketers partially to blame for this decline? After all, implicit in the publishing we do is the claim: "Trust us -- the little ...

Email Newsletters Are Dead

January 22, 2021 05:00 - 37 minutes - 29.9 MB

Continuing our flagrant clickbait-ifying of show titles, we talk about how email newsletters are dead. Over. Cooked. Kaput. We are really talking about one manifestation of a larger issue, which is the oversupply of information on the Internet, and how moving to a new format that you may have just started hearing about is not going to save you from having to deal with the fundamentals of figuring out how to create subscriber value. That was a fun episode for us!

Should Philip buy ads to promote his workshop?

January 15, 2021 02:00 - 31 minutes - 25.5 MB

Liston likes to tilt at windmills. One of his favorites is trying to get +Philip to seriously consider using paid advertising to gain visibility for his workshop offerings. Today, Liston tries again, this time tempting Philip with a 30-minute walkthrough of how Philip might use paid Facebook advertising to connect with buyers for his Specialization workshop. Links: https://philipmorganconsulting.com/workshops/specialization-workshop/

Content is Dead

January 08, 2021 08:32 - 29 minutes - 23.6 MB

Liston and I are wading into the shark-infested waters of speculating. Of bloviating about trends. The first trend we have something to say about today is content. 

Authority or Training

December 11, 2020 03:00 - 22 minutes - 18.3 MB

Should You Start a Podcast in 2020

November 20, 2020 01:00 - 35 minutes - 28.2 MB

Philip's Live Streaming Experiment

November 17, 2020 13:00 - 36 minutes - 28.9 MB

Philip has been... livestreaming. Does that mean he is surrounded by pulsating purple LED lights, grinding away at a first-person shooter? No. No it does not. It does raise some questions, though, as to why he has been livestreaming and what he hopes to accomplish by doing so.  Answers in today's episode. Links: https://philipmorganconsulting.com/the-expertise-incubator/tei-curriculum/

Why you shouldn't sell to your audience the way you want to buy

November 06, 2020 13:00 - 41 minutes - 33.2 MB

The curse of knowledge is a very versatile curse! It interferes with our ability to explain things to those who are less experienced than we are, and... as we become more sophisticated marketers, we develop a sort of hypersensitivity to certain commonly-used marketing methods. This, in a way, is a manifestation of the curse of knowledge, and it can interfere with our ability to sell stuff. Liston and I discuss this topic in today's episode.

Learnings From a Productized Service

November 02, 2020 20:58 - 35 minutes - 28.8 MB

Recently, Liston concieved, designed, implemented, and shut down a productized service in about 2 months time. During that time, he sold 2 clients on the service, and created+shipped a website, outbound email sequence, and sales deck for the service. The biggest asset he built might have been what he learned about designing and implementing a productized services. He shares the main takeaways in today's episode. Links: The sales deck for Liston's productized services: https://docs...

Selling Pain vs Aspiration

October 23, 2020 16:40 - 28 minutes - 22.9 MB

In today's episode, Liston and I tackle the question: is pain or gain the greater motivator? I (Philip) somewhat reluctantly arrive at a conclusion I don't want to after examining my own experience with change and motivation. Is pain the greater motivator?  How do you frame gain as the greater motivator? Why do you have to motivate people at all? Can you motivate? Does it matter if the marketer/salesperson motivates? Luxury brands seem to be selling status, aspiration, etc, n...

Approaches to Email Marketing

October 02, 2020 14:48 - 41 minutes - 33.1 MB

This episode is a fast-and-loose overrview of various approaches to email marketing. Liston and I start with describing the 3 forms of value creation that email marketing can be based on, and then move on to defining 5 sub-genres and the tradeoffs they each make among those 3 forms of value creation. Our notes from this episode, including links to the email lists we discuss: 3 forms of value creation reader/subscriber value traditional newsletter curation articles / blog / po...

Designing and Running an Online Event

September 25, 2020 16:53 - 32 minutes - 26.3 MB

Liston is in the middle of running an online event called ClientCon. What better time to find out what it's like to envision, plan, and execute a sizeable (30 speakers) online event? Of course, Philip starts with the question "what makes ClientCon different from the terrible 'online summits' littering the Internet?" Check out this inside look into what it takes to pull off an event like this. Links: https://clientcon.servedontsell.com/

Offline featuring Tom Critchlow (Part 2)

September 11, 2020 13:43 - 29 minutes - 23.6 MB

Tom Chritchlow is an independent strategy consultant, and a wealth of knowledge about how to open up new opportunity with questioning. Read Tom's in-progress book: https://tomcritchlow.com/strategy/ Helsinki Lab's Recipes for Systemic Change: http://www.helsinkidesignlab.org/peoplepods/themes/hdl/downloads/In_Studio-Recipes_for_Systemic_Change.pdf Dark Matter and Trojan Horses: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BXZIMCY/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 The Art of the Gig: ...

Offline featuring Tom Critchlow

September 04, 2020 07:40 - 29 minutes - 23.7 MB

Tom Chritchlow is an indepedent strategy consultant, and a weath of knowledge about how to open up new opportunity with questioning. Read Tom's in-progress book: https://tomcritchlow.com/strategy/ Helsinki Lab's Recipes for Systemic Change: http://www.helsinkidesignlab.org/peoplepods/themes/hdl/downloads/In_Studio-Recipes_for_Systemic_Change.pdf Dark Matter and Trojan Horses: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BXZIMCY/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 The Art of the Gig: ht...

Lessons learned from launching the workshop

August 28, 2020 00:00 - 31 minutes - 25 MB

Liston has twice launched a workshop (https://servedontsell.com/workshop/) and it's sold reasonably well both times. In today's episode we discuss what Liston learrned. We cover the different sales approaches he considered, the marketing experiments he tried, and lots else.

Structuring expertise into IP (#1 in what might become a series)

August 07, 2020 14:58 - 30 minutes - 24.4 MB

Intellectual property. Two serious-sounding words that make it seem like you need lawyers and contracts and DRM and who knows what else. Liston and I think, nope!, you don't need any of that. What you do need is: A specialization A few years of relevant experience under your belt And a desire to create new efficiency in delivery or profitability in pricing We see intellectual property (IP) as a much more flexible thing; a way that lots of folks can make their expertise-driven ...

Philip's recent awakening to the fact that he's not as empathetic as he likes to think he is...

July 31, 2020 01:00 - 31 minutes - 25.6 MB

Philip is not actually as empathetic as he thinks. Or is he?!?! That's the starting point for this episode of Offline. The ending point is: Maybe it's the curse of knowledge; not empathy. We all have to deal with one or both of these issues as we cultivate deeper expertise. Maybe it's a question about the work it takes to package expertise to make it consumable by a non-expert audience! Either way, this episode is a good overview of the important questions that we experts face a...

All Sales is Becoming Marketing

July 24, 2020 15:33 - 27 minutes - 22.4 MB

At some point, Liston said "something something ALL SALES IS BECOMING MARKETING." Philip wanted to know more. In today's episode, Liston obliges. Main points from the episode: People are doing more research independently Salespeople don't act as gatekeepers information any longer More people involved in selling, and more consensus-driven decision making Generally speaking, younger generation seems to prefer asynchronous communication  You have to write and publish OR you can...

Jeb Blount: How to be a great podcast guest

July 17, 2020 11:20 - 27 minutes - 21.9 MB

Philip has gone on record saying you shouldn't try to emulate superstar performers. HOWEVER, you can learn a lot from way-above-average performers. Liston recently interviewed Jeb Blount, and this brush with greatness led to some interesting lessons we discussed in today's episode. Links: https://servedontsell.com/blog/get-interviewed-podcast/ https://salesgravy.com

Jeb Blunt: How to be a great podcast guest

July 17, 2020 11:20 - 27 minutes - 21.9 MB

Philip has gone on record saying you shouldn't try to emulate superstar performers. HOWEVER, you can learn a lot from way-above-average performers.

Coffee is for Closers: Why Closing is Overrated

June 30, 2020 13:00 - 26 minutes - 21.2 MB

Closing is overrated. But that doesn't mean you can skip it. You do need to understand some context. It might be best to think of closing as a diagnostic. If you find that closing represents more than about 1% of the importance of your sales process, it actually indicates that you have problems at a prior point in the sale. The solution is not a better closing process; it is a better sales process. Listen to this episode to learn more. Links: A free 30-minute training in sales ...

The dark side of sponsorship revenue (what Liston has learned from getting almost $10k/mo in sponsorship revenue)

June 26, 2020 00:00 - 33 minutes - 26.6 MB

Sponsorship revenue is a panacea of easy money, as we all know. The passive-ist of passive income. Better than being born with a trust fund! OK, nothing thus far in these show notes is true. At all. :) Sponsorship revenue, as it turns out, is a fair bit of work. Easier, perhaps, than digging the 50' french drain Philip dug by hand when he lived at the Oregon coast, but definitely NOT passive income. Because.... well, both unicorns and passive income don't actually exist.  Sponsor...

Is Technology a Distraction for a Professional Services Business?

June 12, 2020 00:00 - 32 minutes - 26.2 MB

Is technology a distraction for a professional services business? Of course not. But... we have to wonder how to be smart about it so it doesn't become a distraction. The SaaS and monthly subscription model has made it so easy to throw new digital tools into our business that it can start to feel like we have a "SaaS lint roller" picking up new software all the time. What's the right balance? Liston and Philip talk through this tension in today's episode. Links: https://servedo...

Sales Models for Professional Services Firms

June 05, 2020 00:00 - 34 minutes - 27.3 MB

Can a well-functioning professional services firm take the principal out of sales completely by adding a salesperson? Probably not. Why? Because there are there are actually 5 models for how sales can work in a services firm. Some of these models are better suited than others for your firm. Only one of these models takes the principal completely out of the sales process. Find out which model might fit your firm best, and how to evolve from one model to another in this episode of ...

Metrics to Track In Your Consulting Business

May 22, 2020 00:00 - 39 minutes - 31.7 MB

What business metrics should you track in your consulting business? In this episode, we cover some of the metrics we track. Some are hard metrics tied to revenue, some happen before revenue, and some have more to do with personal profit.  We'll cover why we both feel so strongly about: Email subscribers Total revenue v. profit Website traffic Email replies Vacation days And more...

May '20 Business Update

May 15, 2020 00:00 - 36 minutes - 29.1 MB

What’s up with us? Well if you’re wondering, here you go… Book progress for both of us Why Liston did a major makeover on his website, funnel, and the pathways to his sales Should Liston create an online summit??? What's next for Philip and Liston Philip Workshop!  Philip's outreach update, why he doesn't want to talk to anyone The book!

Does your area of expertise require certainty?

May 08, 2020 00:00 - 32 minutes - 45.1 MB

There's a tension between your expertise and how certain you are about it. To be an expert, you have to understand the limitations of your knowledge. But to be listened to, you have to bring some certainty to the equation. How do you balance the two? We'll explore that very question in this episode. 

[Interview] - SEO for Consultants with Jim Thornton

May 01, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 34.3 MB

There's a certain type of person who does high-quality work, and there's a "nice guys finish last" thing happening online. What can work for experts that want to do digital marketing, without compromising their integrity? In this episode of Offline, Jim Thornton joins Philip and Liston talk about the pros and cons of SEO for experts.  For full show notes and transcription, visit the show page at https://offlinepodcast.rocks/all-podcast-episodes/seo-for-consultants

How Important is SEO For Your Business?

April 24, 2020 00:00 - 35 minutes - 28.6 MB

SEO can bring in a lot of traffic - but how important is SEO for your business? In this episode of Offline, Philip and Liston talk about the pros and cons of SEO for experts.  For full show notes and transcription, visit the show page at offlinepodcast.rocks/all-podcast-episodes/how-important-is-seo

Specializing and Digital Marketing

April 17, 2020 00:00 - 29 minutes - 23.8 MB

Building an Audience

April 10, 2020 00:00 - 38 minutes - 30.9 MB

Should I keep selling?

April 03, 2020 00:00 - 28 minutes - 23.2 MB

Should you turn your services into products?

March 26, 2020 00:00 - 31 minutes - 25.2 MB

In today's episode, we'll talk about how productizing your services can help you so that you can now create packaged services that you can price at a fixed rate. Like what you heard here and want our help? Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston 

Dealing with Coronavirus in your firm

March 20, 2020 00:00 - 30 minutes - 24.6 MB

How to Write a Book Differently - Lessons From Writing a Book the Wrong Way

March 13, 2020 00:00 - 37 minutes - 30.1 MB

Like what you heard here and want our help? Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston 

Book Update

March 06, 2020 00:00 - 38 minutes - 31.2 MB

Like what you heard here and want our help? Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston 

LinkedIn and the Arc of Social Media

February 28, 2020 00:00 - 33 minutes - 27.2 MB

Like what you heard here and want our help? Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston 

LinkedIn Prospecting and Podcast Research

February 21, 2020 00:00 - 36 minutes - 29 MB

Market Research: Insight and Intellectual Property

February 14, 2020 00:00 - 34 minutes - 27.6 MB

Like what you heard here and want our help? Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston 

Point of View

February 07, 2020 00:00 - 38 minutes - 30.7 MB

Today we talk about Point of View! Like what you heard here and want our help? Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston 

The Outsourced Lead Gen Experiment

January 31, 2020 00:00 - 35 minutes - 28.2 MB

It’s tempting: outsourcing your lead gen and having ready, willing, and able buyers just show up to meetings. But does it work? Liston discusses what happened when he hired an outsourced lead gen company, and whether it worked. Like what you heard here and want our help? Check out Philip’s Consulting Insight Check out Liston 

Cold Email: Getting Podcast Sponsorship Using Cold Outreach

January 24, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 34.3 MB

Liston recently monetized his podcast, and will you walk you through the entire process, start to finish. Oh...and did we mention that it was a 100% cold email campaign? Listen in to find out exactly what he did, and the adjustments he made along the way that had a big payoff. 

December ‘19 Business Update

January 17, 2020 00:00 - 40 minutes - 32.7 MB

What’s up with us? Well if you’re wondering, here you go...

How Trust Works In a Consulting Sale

January 10, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 34.2 MB

You might want to get better at selling. But how are you at building and preserving trust? Philip and Liston discuss the necessity of trust, how to build it, and offer some steps you can take to build it more effectively. 

Setting Goals (For a Change)

January 03, 2020 00:00 - 35 minutes - 28.8 MB

Setting goals is nothing new for us here at Offline. But is goal-setting enough to actually create change? In this episode we discuss how we’re setting goals in our businesses to actually make the change we want. 

Troubleshooting Crappy Sales Calls

December 27, 2019 00:00 - 29 minutes - 23.9 MB

What happens when a sales call just goes crappy? Your prospect is distracted, your pitch falls flat...what can you do? Philip shares his experience with a recent call, and Liston puts on his sales call technician troubleshooting hat. 

Why Limit Your Productivity ON PURPOSE

December 20, 2019 00:00 - 33 minutes - 26.7 MB

All these gadgets and productivity may not be helping. Philip switched to an iPad as his daily work device a long time ago, now Liston’s thinking about it too because he’s not productive enough. 

Strong Point of View Required In Your Content Marketing?

December 13, 2019 00:00 - 46 minutes - 37.3 MB

Execution is the key to most things in business, but execution alone may not be enough in marketing. In this episode, we explore whether you’re doomed if you don’t have a strong point of view.