Duct Tape Marketing

05/18/2026

Consultants know this feeling well... the clients who are the easiest to work with are often the hardest to price.

You can see exactly what you'd do for them. You know it would work. And somehow that makes it harder to say a number out loud.

After 30 years of this, the pattern is pretty clear. Pricing gets easier when the engagement is defined well enough that the value is obvious before you name a number. The engagement sold itself before price ever came up.

When a client walks in already understanding what they're buying and why it matters, price stops being something you have to defend. It's just the next step.

That's what I'm walking through in my free training on May 19th at 2 PM MT.

How to Build a Highly Profitable Fractional CMO Practice Using the fCMO+ Operating System

Register here: https://loom.ly/4-UUB0k

05/14/2026

There's a revenue number a lot of experienced consultants get stuck at.

Skill isn't the problem. The work is good and the clients are happy.

The practice just wasn't built to support more than a certain amount before it starts to strain.

More clients means more complexity. More complexity pulls more time. And at some point the only options on the table are burning yourself out or turning away work you should be taking.

Neither of those is the answer.

The real move is changing how engagements are structured so the same effort produces a different result. That's what I'm walking through in my free training on May 19th at 2 PM MT.

How to Build a Highly Profitable Fractional CMO Practice Using the fCMO+ Operating System

Register here: https://loom.ly/4-UUB0k

05/06/2026

Consultants and agency owners: the market has split and most practices are stuck in the wrong half.

Cheap AI ex*****on on one end. Senior strategic leadership on the other. The middle, where most consultants live, is getting squeezed from both sides.

Clients can produce campaigns and decks faster and cheaper than ever. What they still can't do is figure out where to go. That's the seat worth owning. The consultant who makes that call and stands behind it doesn't haggle over retainer rates.

John Jantsch and Sara Nay, Duct Tape Marketing CEO, are running a free 3-day working session May 12-14 (11-12 MT) to help you move into that seat.

Day 1: From doing the marketing to leading it.
Day 2: Getting paid like a strategic leader.
Day 3: From monthly invoice to multi-year partnership.

Save your seat here->https://loom.ly/rQBMyK4

04/27/2026

I’ve had these vintage Advent A3 speakers for years that I just love. 50 yrs old and sound amazing. So I built a window seat bookcase around them.

04/24/2026

I think a lot of people get business development wrong.

It’s not really about selling.

The best professionals I know rarely ask for business. They consistently show how they can help.

In my recent conversation with Deborah Farone, a few ideas really stood out.

First, your network is probably much bigger than you realize. Opportunities often come from people a step or two removed.

Second, there’s no universal playbook. The right approach is the one that fits how you naturally operate.

And maybe most important, strategy has to come before tactics. Too many people jump into activity before they’ve defined who they serve and how they’re different.

When you get that part right, growth becomes a lot more predictable.

Listen to the full conversation here: https://loom.ly/kvAqM9c

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://loom.ly/f5Jq67w

Deborah Farone explains how to build a thriving practice through authentic relationships, trust, and niche positioning—without relying on traditional sales tactics.

04/23/2026

What if AI isn’t here to replace creativity, but expand it?

It won’t do the work for you. It makes you better at it.
A better editor. A better decision-maker.

But only if you use it like a tool.

If you’re not feeding it your voice and your customer’s language, you’ll get average results.

When you align it with what your audience already cares about, that’s when it clicks.

Because great copy doesn’t change minds. It moves people to act on what they already believe.

AI just helps you get there faster.

So the real question is: how are you using that extra time?

Full conversation here: https://loom.ly/pcOijLw

Discover how AI is transforming copywriting, scaling content testing, and enhancing human creativity with insights from VSL pioneer Jon Benson.

04/22/2026

Most agencies are laser-focused on lead generation. More leads = more revenue, right?

Not always.

As Taylor McMaster shared on the podcast recently, the revenue you keep matters more than the revenue you chase.

Retention issues often don’t start post-sale—they start during it. Misaligned expectations in the sales process create problems that surface months later.

Two simple shifts:
• Involve account managers earlier to build continuity and trust
• Treat onboarding as a strategic experience, not a checklist

Growth doesn’t stall because of a lack of leads. It stalls because of what happens after the deal is signed.

Full conversation here: https://loom.ly/oHJYwd0

Discover how better account management drives client retention, upsells, and scalable agency growth with insights from Taylor McMaster of Dot & Company.

04/21/2026

Sara Nay, Duct Tape Marketing CEO, sat down with Stephanie McGurr to talk about what really changes when you commit to a niche.

Stephanie shared how focusing on a specific industry helped her streamline operations, improve client results, and build a more scalable agency.

The biggest insight?

Niching down is not just about positioning. It is about creating repeatable systems, delivering consistent outcomes, and becoming significantly more valuable to the clients you serve.

They also covered:

- Why strategy should come before tools
- How automation should support human connection, not replace it
- Where fractional CMO leadership fits into today’s marketing landscape

With so much focus on AI and new tools, this conversation is a strong reminder that clarity and strategy still drive results

Have you committed to a niche, or are you still trying to serve a broader audience?

Catch the full episode:https://loom.ly/oFbtgSA

04/18/2026

Financial stress is not about how much you make. It is about the habits quietly running your finances.

This week I sat down with Mike Michalowicz to talk about his newest book, The Money Habit. If you know Mike from Profit First, you already trust his thinking on business finances.

This book takes that same systems-based approach into personal finance, and the core argument is worth sitting with: financial stress is not a math problem. It is a behavior problem. And making more money without changing the behavior usually just turns the volume up on the anxiety.

A few things that landed for me:

Strict discipline tends to backfire. Tight budgeting creates a sense of deprivation, and deprivation often leads to overspending. It becomes the same cycle of restriction and binge, whether it is food or finances.

Systems beat willpower every time. What Mike calls “behavioral intercepts” are structures that guide your natural behavior instead of forcing you to fight it.

Your bank accounts are your most effective financial tool. Not an app or a spreadsheet. Setting up accounts based on where money needs to go creates clarity, simplifies decisions, and reduces financial stress.

One mantra I am keeping from this conversation: "If in doubt, add an account."

Full episode here: https://loom.ly/KuKFCdY

▶️ Watch on YouTube: https://loom.ly/dTpRaCk

04/16/2026

Hiring your first team member should feel like a growth milestone.

In reality, it often creates more friction than freedom.

Duct Tape Marketing CEO Sara Nay joined Sarah Noel Block on the PodcastSales podcast to break down why first hires fail and how to approach them differently.

In this episode:
• Why the first hire should support operations, not strategy
• How a simple time audit reveals who to hire
• The onboarding mistake that overwhelms new team members
• How to build systems that actually support growth

For consultants and agency owners thinking about hiring or already feeling the strain, this conversation highlights common missteps and how to avoid them.

What was your first hire, and would you make the same decision again?

Tune into the full episode: https://loom.ly/Y1Wp9mU

Why do so many first hires fail for solo consultants—even when the person seems perfect on paper? In this episode, Sarah Noel Block sits down with Sara Nay, CEO of Duct Tape Marketing, to unpack the hidden mistakes solopreneurs make when hiring and onboarding their first team members. In this epis...