Smart Gets Paid: Business Coaching for Women Consultants

Have you ever dropped your price, said yes to one more thing, or stayed quiet just to avoid an uncomfortable moment? For women consultants and fractionals trying to grow on purpose, there are five truths that are uncomfortable to face. And if you don't build a tolerance for that discomfort, it starts making your business decisions for you. Leah Neaderthal, founder of Smart Gets Paid, walks through all five. You'll hear a member on a live coaching call pricing a new offer, what Leah told a member whose client was frustrated with her, the throwaway comment that showed Leah how far she really was from seven figures, and her very unscientific method for keeping discomfort from running the show.   — APPLY TO THE ACADEMY If you're ready to stop letting discomfort make your business decisions, that's the work we do in The Academy.   For women consultants who've been in business 2+ years and are making $120k+, The Academy helps you build the two systems every consulting business needs: → A marketing system to keep the right clients coming in → A sales system to help clients say yes and get you paid more   Learn more and apply: smartgetspaid.com/academy   — QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE What do I do when potential clients can't afford me? Why do I feel guilty charging for advice I used to give away for free? How do I talk about my work in my marketing without feeling braggy? How often can I make an ask in my newsletter? What do I do when a client is disappointed or frustrated with me? How do I stop being an order taker with my consulting clients? How long does it really take to grow a B2B consulting business? Is it realistic to grow from $250K to $1 million in a year?   KEY TAKEAWAYS Not everyone can afford you, and that's ok. An ETSY lets you help people without working for free. When you don't take up space, you give and hope. Have a slide about how you work with people, use your own client examples, and after five or six newsletters, you've earned the right to make an ask. As an adult, you can't be in trouble with another adult. Clients are allowed to be disappointed, and bending against your integrity to fix their discomfort costs your business. You are the expert. When you can't own that, you stay an order taker in a one-down relationship with your clients. Grab the expert stick your clients are handing you. B2B growth takes longer than the influencers promise. A million dollars a year is $84,000 a month. Try this: when discomfort shows up, take a breath, notice it, and ask what you'd do if you weren't uncomfortable at all.   CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Why does growing a consulting business feel so uncomfortable? 00:04:17 What's the difference between head trash and discomfort? 00:07:01 What if some clients can't afford me? 00:08:46 Listen in: pricing a new offer on a coaching call 00:17:05 Why is it so hard to take up space in my marketing? 00:20:49 What do I do when a client is disappointed in me? 00:25:18 Why don't I feel like an expert? 00:29:17 Why is growing my business taking so long? 00:35:07 What does yin yoga have to do with your business? 00:37:49 How do I raise my tolerance for discomfort?   — GET ROADMAP TO CLIENTS Map out a simple sales process for your consulting business in less than an hour. Take potential clients smoothly from first contact to a signed proposal, so you can stop reinventing the wheel with every opportunity. Get the free video course: smartgetspaid.com/roadmap   — CONNECT WITH LEAH LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leahtn/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@smartgetspaid Website: smartgetspaid.com Email: [email protected]    

Can you actually get paid for your experience instead of your labor? Jeanne Meyer, a corporate communications consultant who spent three decades in the field, says yes. She stopped acting like an agency, started saying no to the execution work she didn't want, and packaged her advice into offers priced on value. In this conversation with Leah Neaderthal, founder of Smart Gets Paid, Jeanne shares what changed and what became possible, and Leah closes with an exercise to start your own painkiller statement.   — APPLY TO THE ACADEMY If you want to get paid for your experience instead of your labor, the painkiller statement and value-based pricing are two of the strategies Jeanne credits to The Academy.   For women consultants who've been in business 2+ years and are making $120k+, The Academy helps you build the two systems every consulting business needs: → A marketing system to keep the right clients coming in → A sales system to help clients say yes and get you paid more   Learn more and apply: smartgetspaid.com/academy   — QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE Can I actually get paid for my experience instead of my labor? How do I stop acting like an agency when I'm a solo consultant? How do I package my consulting into offers priced on value instead of hours? How do I say no to work I don't want to do without losing the relationship? What is a painkiller statement, and where do I start?   KEY TAKEAWAYS Jeanne went from getting paid for her labor, the hours, the deliverables, the execution, to getting paid for her experience: knowing what to do when the stakes are high. She dropped the agency act and became a sole advisor, which made it possible to say no to execution work and refer it out through referral agreements. She credits two Academy strategies for getting there: the painkiller statement and value-based pricing. She prices projects individually on value instead of hours, and added an on-call option when clients said they wished they could have her on speed dial. She calls it early days, and in the first month it helped convert four clients she would have lost or never signed. Try this: make two lists, the good things that happen for your client when they work with you, and the negative things they avoid because of you. That's the start of your painkiller statement.   CHAPTERS 0:00 Can you get paid for your experience instead of your labor? 4:46 Who is Jeanne Meyer, and what does she do? 6:28 What does burnout look like in corporate communications? 9:32 Is she a founder or an advisor? 12:32 Why would a 30-year veteran bet on herself with a program? 17:14 Why did she stop acting like an agency? 21:52 How did saying no and referral agreements change her business? 24:50 How do you package your advice into offers priced on value? 28:52 What happened the first month she offered it? 33:38 What almost stopped her from joining The Academy? 35:14 What happens to the "not the right time" conversations? 37:43 What advice does she have for women ready to make a change? 39:15 What should corporate communications consultants do first?     — GET ROADMAP TO CLIENTS Map out a simple sales process for your consulting business in less than an hour. Take potential clients smoothly from first contact to a signed proposal, so you can stop reinventing the wheel with every opportunity. Get the free video course: smartgetspaid.com/roadmap   — CONNECT WITH JEANNE MEYER LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/meyerjeanne/ Website: https://authentic-intel.co/   CONNECT WITH LEAH LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leahtn/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@smartgetspaid Website: smartgetspaid.com Email: [email protected]    

What does it take to build a business that can actually withstand real life? Kara van Stralen spent over a decade inside the rooms where big decisions get made, working on Capitol Hill, in the White House, and in a governor's office, before she started her own government affairs firm. That insider view of how decisions really happen became a real edge in her own sales process. But the bigger test came later, when her business had to prove it could hold up under real pressure, not just win clients, but actually support her family when life didn't go as planned. Kara van Stralen, founder of Vista Strategies, shares how she went from chaos to calm, and built something sturdy enough to catch her when she needed it most.   — When you're ready to break through to the next revenue level in your consulting business, here are two ways I can help you.   1. Join The Academy For women consultants who've been in business 2+ years and are making $120k+. Build the two systems every consulting business needs to get more of the right clients, get paid more, and build a sustainable business:  → A marketing system to bring the right clients to you and fill your pipeline → A sales system to help clients say yes and get you paid more. If you're ready to make your business and revenue more stable, secure, and sustainable, visit smartgetspaid.com/academy to learn more and apply.   2. Get Roadmap to Clients Map out a simple sales process for your consulting business in less than an hour. Take potential clients smoothly from first contact to a signed proposal – so you can stop reinventing the wheel with every opportunity. Get the free video course at smartgetspaid.com/roadmap   —   CONNECT WITH LEAH: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leahtn/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@smartgetspaid Website: smartgetspaid.com Email: [email protected]  

Marketing has changed for consultants. LinkedIn has changed. And if you feel like you're chasing a moving target, that's because you are. Jaclyn Sergeant, the Academy's Marketing and Pipeline Coach, joins Leah to break down what's actually working right now, including how LinkedIn's algorithm works today and why falling reach might be good news. They also share how the Academy rebuilt its entire marketing system to match this moment, and what that means for how you should be showing up today.   — When you're ready to break through to the next revenue level in your consulting business, here are two ways I can help you.   1. Join The Academy For women consultants who've been in business 2+ years and are making $120k+. Build the two systems every consulting business needs to get more of the right clients, get paid more, and build a sustainable business:  → A marketing system to bring the right clients to you and fill your pipeline → A sales system to help clients say yes and get you paid more. If you're ready to make your business and revenue more stable, secure, and sustainable, visit smartgetspaid.com/academy to learn more and apply.   2. Get Roadmap to Clients Map out a simple sales process for your consulting business in less than an hour. Take potential clients smoothly from first contact to a signed proposal – so you can stop reinventing the wheel with every opportunity. Get the free video course at smartgetspaid.com/roadmap   —   CONNECT WITH LEAH: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leahtn/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@smartgetspaid Website: smartgetspaid.com Email: [email protected]  

Fractional work is exploding, with some estimates putting the number of self-described fractional executives well over 100,000. But there's a gap between what the label promises and what a lot of people offering it are actually delivering. In this episode, Leah breaks down what's genuinely good about the fractional model, the honest truths nobody tells you before you brand yourself that way, and the dirty little secret almost no one's saying out loud. Whether you're already calling yourself fractional or thinking about it, you'll walk away knowing what actually makes any engagement work, fractional or otherwise.   — When you're ready to break through to the next revenue level in your consulting business, here are two ways I can help you.   1. Join The Academy For women consultants who've been in business 2+ years and are making $120k+. Build the two systems every consulting business needs to get more of the right clients, get paid more, and build a sustainable business:  → A marketing system to bring the right clients to you and fill your pipeline → A sales system to help clients say yes and get you paid more. If you're ready to make your business and revenue more stable, secure, and sustainable, visit smartgetspaid.com/academy to learn more and apply.   2. Get Roadmap to Clients Map out a simple sales process for your consulting business in less than an hour. Take potential clients smoothly from first contact to a signed proposal – so you can stop reinventing the wheel with every opportunity. Get the free video course at smartgetspaid.com/roadmap   —   CONNECT WITH LEAH: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leahtn/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@smartgetspaid Website: smartgetspaid.com Email: [email protected]