About Us
► You've spent the last 25+ years working your way up the corporate ladder achieving success and reward along the way. Whether Corporate kicked you to the curb or you walked out the door of your own volition, there is no going back. At your age, the door is closed.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
You're thinking about building your own fractional executives business to secure your post corporate income for the next 10 years to fund your lifestyle. You need to focus on 3 critical areas:
1. Pricing, Positioning & Packaging: who should you serve, how should you serve them, what does your service look like, and what differentiates you from everyone else
2. Pipeline: how do you constantly have a flow of prospects that you pick and choose from
3. Process: repeatable systems that make marketing and sales easy and quick
✅ Here are 4 trends fractional executives need to account for:
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
➊ Without communicating your insights and value proposition, you won't break through the noise.
➋ Successful fractionals start with targeted direct outreach and transition to using a small but powerful network secure their income within a year.
➌ Fractional executives that talk about themselves rather than the client’s problems lose every time.
➍ The “Business-In-A-Box” solutions you're thinking about buying cater to the average and will underdeliver to those who are top 20% performers.
Based on our working exclusively with the top 20% of Fractional Executives, I'm guessing that:
🚫 You're unsure of how to sell yourself because you’ve never had to
🚫 You're dreading having to market yourself - it's drudgery and not fun
🚫 You fear that you’ll trade one grind for another
🚫 You need to feel professionally relevant
🚫 You want your business to fund your lifestyle but not at the expense of freedom, flexibility, and control
► Weekly Insights
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Get our weekly email on Sundays at 7am that will give you insights on how you should think about your fractional executive business. DM me "Insights"
► Ready to Fast Track Your Post Corporate Success?
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
If you're interested in joining the ranks of elite fractional executives who choose to transform their seasoned expertise into a thriving, independent business let's have a conversation. Whether or not we decide to work together, I am confident that your call will be full of insights and actionable steps that can help you grow your business.
https://go.oncehub.com/IntroMeetingToMaven
#LFG!
How We Got Started
We have experienced first hand how difficult it is for fractional executives and leaders, consultants, and coaches who are top 20% in their ability to move the needle for their clients create a business that gives them the independence, control, and flexibility they crave. We solved the problem for us and decided to help others.
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Received (62)
"I have been a client of Jay's for a couple of years. He was the best coach and mentor that I've..."
Read more
"I have been a client of Jay's for a couple of years. He was the best coach and mentor that I've ever worked with. He takes the time to get to know you and your business. He challenges your thinking and helps you frame your business proposition into something that helps convert to sales. He has a great team and model. I would highly recommend."
"I highly recommend Maven as an outstanding Consulting organization."
Products & Services
You want to 5X the corporate income you left behind. You want to get there by getting more clients by doing less marketing!
Successful consultant...
When you need to count on expertise, we're here to help. Maven offers free consultation calls to clients in and around North Miami Beach. Let us be...
Recommendations Given (68)
"Michelle has a unique know-how that covers HR and the impact that AI can and should have on..."
Read more
"Michelle has a unique know-how that covers HR and the impact that AI can and should have on people management. She is easy to talk to but insightful and penetrating in what she has to say. She is the right person for any organization that believes that HR and people management is essential to their organization's success and well-being."
"Passion and excellence"
Recent Activity
I don't think you can build an effective local referral network on Alignable. Alignable, IMHO, is about making connections. Connections are the precursor or raw material for a great local referral network but connections, in and of themselves don't lead to high quality referrals. There are...
(more)
I don't think you can build an effective local referral network on Alignable. Alignable, IMHO, is about making connections. Connections are the precursor or raw material for a great local referral network but connections, in and of themselves don't lead to high quality referrals. There are basically 3 levels of referrals that come once you've at least met or talked with the person.:
I met someone who does what you are looking for. Translation - you don't know how good they are at what they do, don't really know if their personality matches, and certainly haven't developed any level of trust. This stage comes after you connected with them on a platform like Alignable or LinkedIn and have actually talked to them. Net - this is not much better than doing a Google search for providers. Close rate on these referrals is very, very low and not worth the chase in pursuing them.
I know somebody who does what you need. Translation - you know not just what they do but how good they are doing it, you know their personality, but haven't spent enough time with them to develop trust. These referrals are OK and are generally worth while. Close rates are maybe +/- 33%. What you are basically saying to the person you are referring is you should put them on your shortlist and interview them but if you hire them it's on you not me.
I trust someone who does what you need. Translation - you know how good they are, you know their personality, and you trust them. Trust means you are willing to put your reputation on the line for the person you are referring to. As Warren Buffet famously said, "It takes 20 years to build your reputation and only 5 minutes to destroy it". Referrals based on trust have an 80% close rate in our Network groups. In this case you are telling the person who trusts you that they should trust the person you are referring them to because they trust you.
It takes the a person on average 50 hours of one to one interaction to get from I've met someone to I know someone. It takes an additional 90 hours of one to one interaction to get from I know someone to I trust someone.
Centricity helps people like yourself grow their professional network and get the right value from it by taking connections and turning them into relationships. Using our process based on the science of relationship building and trust, we do this 10X faster than the average person can do on their own. We are happy to offer anyone on Alignable a complimentary assessment of their Network and give them a Plan of Action to go from where they are to where they want to be. Just let me know.
1 Reply
Neither of the above. It's about how much I spend on advertising divided by the revenues (and really the profits) it generates. What is my ROI and how does that compare to my cost of capital?
(more)
Neither of the above. It's about how much I spend on advertising divided by the revenues (and really the profits) it generates. What is my ROI and how does that compare to my cost of capital?
2 Replies
Do you sell on value or price? Is your customer/prospect a price buyer or value buyer? If you sell on value for money and your prospect buys on price and they have a better price than yours, let them go and stop wasting your time.
If you sell on price and someone has a better price than you,...
(more)
Do you sell on value or price? Is your customer/prospect a price buyer or value buyer? If you sell on value for money and your prospect buys on price and they have a better price than yours, let them go and stop wasting your time.
If you sell on price and someone has a better price than you, then you are in a world of hurt as someone is beating you at your own game. You need to take a good look at your cost structure and find a way to get back to being the price leader.
If you sell on value, then you need to come back and explain to the customer/prospect your superior value/money offer compared to a competitor who might have a lower price but offers much less value in return.
Answer over - you can click here to see how we help businesses and professionals obtain customer referrals that close but it's designed for those who sell on value not just price.
I'm a big fan of Buffer for social media posting. There is a free tier if you have no more than 4 accounts and the paid upgrades are very reasonable. I couldn't manage our social media accounts without it.
(more)
I'm a big fan of Buffer for social media posting. There is a free tier if you have no more than 4 accounts and the paid upgrades are very reasonable. I couldn't manage our social media accounts without it.
Cliff - my business is working with business owners and professionals to build networks as a source of referrals and new clients. Here are 3 key points:
1. Relevance. Invite people to your event who are relevant to each other (and to you of course). Remember, I'm assuming this is a business...
(more)
Cliff - my business is working with business owners and professionals to build networks as a source of referrals and new clients. Here are 3 key points:
1. Relevance. Invite people to your event who are relevant to each other (and to you of course). Remember, I'm assuming this is a business event so it's not about a great social happening for your personal life. Bringing together an intellectual property attorney and a landscaper is of not much use to either.
2. Connection. Of course, referrals and business comes from relationships not connections. But relevant connections are the top of the relationship funnel. So how do you easily connect the right people to each other at your event? Remember 70% of people are introverted or shy. Most all of us have a fear of rejection. What are you doing to alleviate this?
3. Purpose. Are you bringing people together to just mill about or have you designed your event to achieve a purpose? Is there a speaker? Are you facilitating content that attendees will find valuable? Of course, people don't do well when they are hungry and thirsty but that's not a reason for people to come to an event to meet and mingle with strangers.
Feel free to reach out if you want more help.
Good luck,
Jay
I've gone to over 1,700 networking events and meetings in my career and it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that networking has a surprisingly low success rate. This realization caused us to started a new business, Centricity, to address this very problem. I would argue that...
(more)
I've gone to over 1,700 networking events and meetings in my career and it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that networking has a surprisingly low success rate. This realization caused us to started a new business, Centricity, to address this very problem. I would argue that networking is fundamentally and structurally flawed along 3 major dimensions:
1. Networking creates connections but customers come from relationships. Particularly if you have a service business, you have to develop a level of trust with referral partners before you will get leads and then you have to develop more trust with those leads to turn them into customers. The activity of networking only gets you connections that you have to invest time and effort with to turn them into relationships.
2. Most networking functions and groups (think BNI, where I was a member for 9 years) are based on the principle of serendipity. You don't know who knows who so get out there and meet people. As we like to say, serendipity happens (on occasion), but it's not a strategy. Serendipity is why there is such a low ROI from networking events and groups. You need to build relationships with others who are relevant to your business; otherwise you are going to build relationships with nice people but not those that can really help you.
3. When it comes to networking events, everybody's selling and nobody's buying. When is the last time you decided to go to a networking event because you needed to buy goods and services from others?You don't need to network to build your business; you need to join a network and build trusted relationships with referral partners.
5 Replies
Networking events are filled with everybody selling and nobody buying. When is the last time someone went to a networking event to buy?!
There are two ways to sell today - digital marketing and relationships. Digital marketing requires qualified staff, a big budget, and expertise in order to...
(more)
Networking events are filled with everybody selling and nobody buying. When is the last time someone went to a networking event to buy?!
There are two ways to sell today - digital marketing and relationships. Digital marketing requires qualified staff, a big budget, and expertise in order to build relationships that leads to customers -- particularly for service based businesses. Companies with large resources are increasingly dominating that channel. So for smaller business and professionals, relationship selling is key. And you need a network to drive relationship marketing. But - and here is the key point - you don't build your network by networking!
Networking builds shallow connections that take a lot of time to developing into deep relationships to grow your network. For those interested in a structured approach to doing this, please contact me or check out Centricity (Website, our YouTube channel, or our Facebook page).
2 Replies
I want to echo what Taz said in her answer. You can certainly do this digitally as others have commented. But to do that effectively, you're going to need 3 things: a nice sized budget, the staff with the knowledge on how to do digital marketing, and the expertise to oversee it. We have found...
(more)
I want to echo what Taz said in her answer. You can certainly do this digitally as others have commented. But to do that effectively, you're going to need 3 things: a nice sized budget, the staff with the knowledge on how to do digital marketing, and the expertise to oversee it. We have found that most small businesses struggle to generate the results they expect from only doing digital marketing as it's no longer simple to do. While digital marketing should be a part of your activities - particularly for creating brand awareness - you should focus on building deep relationships with other businesses and professionals that share your target market. A small business can generate new clients through trusted recommendations and referrals in a way that the large companies, who increasingly dominate the digital marketing space, cannot do.
1 Reply
My company provides the infrastructure, process and structure, training, and content for business owners and executives to run dynamic weekly business networking meetings. They are focused on generating word of mouth referrals to help each member grow their business by tapping into the other...
(more)
My company provides the infrastructure, process and structure, training, and content for business owners and executives to run dynamic weekly business networking meetings. They are focused on generating word of mouth referrals to help each member grow their business by tapping into the other member's sphere of influence. To help accomplish this, we provide structure and education to help each member create, refine, and communicate their brands to their target markets. We also encourage each group to sponsor a local charity or community service organization to give back to their community.At the very least, I would be more than happy to have a conversation to share our knowledge and experience on what makes networking groups thrive and succeed.Our website is LionshareNetworking. Let me know how we can help!
I'm a big proponent of letting people buy and stopping the selling. We teach this in our education for our business networking groups (Lionshare Networking). The key thing if you are a service provider is to only recommend to your clients what they really need and to recommend someone else if you...
(more)
I'm a big proponent of letting people buy and stopping the selling. We teach this in our education for our business networking groups (Lionshare Networking). The key thing if you are a service provider is to only recommend to your clients what they really need and to recommend someone else if you aren't the best option. By doing the right thing for your clients you build credibility and trust. Then when you are the right choice to provide a service that they really need your client will buy because they trust you.
