What kind of businesses do I work with?
Professional services and B2B. Not consumer.
That sounds like a limitation and it’s the opposite. Marketing a law firm has almost nothing in common with marketing a retail brand. The sale is relationship-led, the buying decision takes months, the people who bring in the work are fee earners rather than a sales team, and there are codes of conduct to work within. Knowing that from the inside is most of the value I bring.
The firms I work with
I work with law firms, accountancy practices, consultancies, professional membership bodies and B2B businesses, from magic circle and silver circle firms to boutiques of ten people. Since 2016 I’ve worked with clients across the UK, Europe and the USA. What they have in common isn’t size or sector, it’s that their growth depends on relationships and reputation rather than volume.
Law firms and solicitors
What brings them to me: partners who are expected to bring in work and have never been shown how, a marketing team of one, a sector strategy that exists as a slide, or a rebrand nobody in-house has run before.
I’ve worked with magic circle and silver circle firms, national practices and boutiques. That includes writing firm-wide and sector marketing plans, building business development plans for partners, running rebrands, launching offices and acting as marketing director on a fractional basis.
Professional conduct rules, partnership politics and the reality that your best marketers are also fee earning are not obstacles I have to have explained to me.
Accountancy practices
What brings them to me: cross-selling that gets discussed at every partner meeting and never moves, a compliance-led firm trying to sell advisory, or a marketing function that grew faster than its processes.
I’ve worked with top ten practices and independent firms on marketing plans, service line growth, business development programmes and marketing reviews.
Consultancies and professional bodies
What brings them to me: a proposition everyone in the firm describes differently, growth that’s outpaced the marketing function, or a leadership team that knows it needs senior marketing input and doesn’t need it full-time.
Work here has included corporate marketing plans, business development programmes segmented by seniority, marketing reviews and mentoring marketing teams.
B2B businesses
What brings them to me: a first marketing plan, a new product that needs a route to market, or a marketing team that needs building from nothing.
I work with B2B businesses where the sale is considered and relationship-led. That’s included a mortgage business writing its first marketing plan and refreshing its brand, a cyber security firm’s corporate marketing plan, an M&A advisory firm, and an insurtech company where the work ran from a deep-dive marketing review through to the go to market playbook for their flagship product.
I’m also doing more in tech, particularly where a growing firm has strong product people and no senior marketer.
Who I work with inside a firm
Usually one of two people brings me in.
Leadership. Managing partners, CEOs, COOs and partners who know marketing matters, haven’t got anyone senior owning it, and want a sounding board rather than a supplier.
Marketing and BD. Heads of marketing, marketing managers and executives who want an experienced second pair of eyes, someone to think with, or support developing their team.
Both work. They just start from different questions.
Who I’m not for
I’m not a B2C marketer. If you’re selling to consumers at volume, someone else will do a better job than me and I’ll happily say so on the call.
I’m also not the right fit if what you need is delivery capacity: someone to write the newsletters, run the social accounts and execute week to week. An agency or a freelancer will do that better and cost you less. I’m brought in to work out what should be happening, and to lead the pieces that need senior ownership.
Who I’ve worked with
Let’s talk…
For more information on any of my services, get in touch and let’s talk.