Sell Well: Helping Agencies Close More Deals and Grow Revenue

There is a client on your roster right now that you are quietly losing money on, and I'd bet it's not the one you'd guess. It's not your cheapest client, and it's not your most demanding one. It's a very specific combination of the two that wrecks your margin without ever showing up on an invoice. In this episode I'm handing you the ten-minute exercise I use to grade an entire client list and see exactly who deserves more of you and who has been costing you more than they pay. Grab a pen. We're going to find the one group you need to let go of before the next quarter starts.Work with me 1:1 at suzieconsoli.com.

A few years ago I had a client who drove me up the wall. Endless revisions, constant tweaks, the kind of name that made my stomach drop every time it hit my inbox. I was convinced she was the problem and I was this close to firing her. Then a mentor asked me one question that flipped the whole thing on its head, and I walked away making more money and actually enjoying the work again.In this episode I'm breaking down the exact reframe that changed how I look at difficult clients, the question you should ask yourself before you draft that breakup email, and how to handle it if the client pushes back on the ask. I'm also drawing a hard line between the client who's merely annoying and the one who's genuinely toxic, because one of those you can fix with a number and the other you can't.Work with me 1:1 at suzieconsoli.com.

We are back with another Monday Money Myth with Jason Medlin, fractional CFO, accountant, and tax strategist. Today's myth: I think my business might be set up incorrectly and it's too late to fix it. Spoiler alert, that's absolutely not true. We talk about why the way you structure your business matters, why most small business owners should be in an LLC, the compliance tasks that come with it, and what actually happens when things slip. Jason breaks down how to find out where you stand right now, what those scary dissolution letters really mean, and why it's never too late to course correct. Spoiler: it's way simpler than you think.Chat with Jason: bottomlinecapitalllc.com Head to suzieconsoli.com to learn more about coaching.

Listen in on my chat with Cheyenne Buttrey of Copy Girl Co. to break down one of the most misunderstood parts of growing a service business, marketing funnels. We talk about what a funnel actually is (spoiler, you probably already have one), why bigger isn't better, and the four core building blocks that make a funnel work. Cheyenne shares when you should bootstrap your funnel versus when to bring in an expert, how to avoid the tech rabbit hole, and why your data matters way more than your software. If you've been feeling overwhelmed by funnel advice on the internet, this one's for you.Work with CheyenneWatch her amazing new YouTube channel!

Back at it with another Monday Money Myth with special guest Jason Medlin, fractional CFO, accountant, and tax strategist. In today's myth, we are tackling *shudder* taxes. If you're like me, you would rather just not think about it until it's a problem. Spoiler alert, that's the fastest way to April shock and sadness. We talk about why most small business owners treat taxes like a once-a-year surprise instead of a monthly planning item, the magic 20-25% rule that actually lets you sleep at night, and why quarterly estimated payments are a game changer. Jason breaks down the difference between burying your head in the sand and actually planning ahead, and how one of those keeps you from feeling like your business didn't even do that well.Chat with Jason: bottomlinecapitalllc.com Head to suzieconsoli.com to learn more about coaching.

We white labeled our branding and web process to other agencies for years, but 2023, my last year at Lawson House, is when we really saw the explosion, it added over half a million dollars in revenue. Here's what it actually is (and what it's not), why it works so well, and exactly how to implement it in your own business so you can scale without hiring more people or chasing clients one at a time.

Kicking off a new recurring series with Jason Medlin, a fractional CFO, accountant, and bookkeeper, where we debunk the money myths that keep business owners up at night. First up: if you've got cash in the bank, you're good. Spoiler alert, that's not how it works. We talk about why cashflow modeling matters, why looking ahead 12 to 13 weeks is the sweet spot for forecasting, and how understanding your actual monthly spend is the foundation for everything else. Jason breaks down the difference between retroactive bookkeeping and proactive financial planning, and why one of those actually lets you sleep at night.Chat with Jason: bottomlinecapitalllc.comHead to suzieconsoli.com to learn more about coaching.

Someone's going to ask for their money back, and it's going to suck. But here's the thing, you don't have to panic. I'm breaking down the four-question framework that helped me decide whether to give refunds or hold firm, and why your emotional state matters way more than your contract's fine print. Plus, the one thing you absolutely need to do before any money changes hands.Head to suzieconsoli.com to learn more about coaching.

This week I'm phoning a friend. Becky Pierson Davidson runs Affinity, a boutique agency building memberships and community products. She's also one of my coaching clients. Becky's the reason this podcast exists in the first place, so I had to have her on.Here's what I wanted to dig into with her. Most sales calls that go sideways aren't a delivery problem, they're a customer journey problem. There's a missing step between "nice to meet you" and "here's a $5,000 proposal," and that's where deals quietly die. That's exactly what we worked on together, and her close rate tells the story.I also made her tell us about the time I told her to go find $40,000 before the end of the year, and she actually did it. We get into how she found the money, who she reached out to, and why announcing your goals publicly is one of the most underrated sales moves out there.Becky is the kind of friend who will tell you exactly how she did it, no fluff, no gatekeeping. Press play and pretend you're on the call with us.Check out Becky's podcast: pod.link/1817274960Work with Becky: affinitycollective.coHead to suzieconsoli.com to learn more about coaching.

Years ago I watched someone proudly share that they'd saved $74 on a subscription plan. And I watched the CEO of that company stop everything and ask one question that I still think about at least once a week.Are you a comma person or a decimal person?This episode is about that question, and honestly, it's about the moment I had to ask it of myself all over again when my laptop screen shattered and my first instinct was to go hunt for a deal on Facebook Marketplace. Fear is sneaky. It shows up dressed like responsibility. And if you're not paying attention, you'll spend 20 minutes debating a $9 tool while the real money sits right there waiting for you to go get it.

When you're staring down a big gap between where you are and where you want to be, the instinct is to zoom out, audit your funnel, rethink your messaging, figure out what's broken. But sometimes nothing is broken. Sometimes you just need a blitz.In this episode, I break down the sales blitz: what it is, when to use it, and exactly how to execute one. You'll hear how one of my clients closed a $40K gap and doubled her revenue using three specific moves, and how you can do the same the next time you're behind on a goal.If you've ever written off a sales target before the clock even ran out, this one's for you.

Caroline Lewis is the CEO of Lawson House, the marketing agency I founded and sold to her, and today she's pulling back the curtain on what that whole transition actually looked like.We get into how I blindsided her with the question of whether she'd want to run it, what she had to think through before saying yes, and the part that scared her most: taking over sales from the founder. Caroline shares the three buckets she's used to grow revenue since taking ownership, including bringing cold outreach completely in-house, building agency partnerships that drive referrals both ways, and training her team to sell so she's not the only one closing deals.If you've ever wondered what it looks like to sell a business to someone you trust, or to buy one and figure out the rest as you go, this episode is for you.

Nobody likes talking about money. You hate asking, they hate being asked, and somehow it still has to happen. In this episode I'm breaking down why the budget conversation doesn't have to be the awkward moment everyone dreads, how to bring it up in a way that actually feels helpful to your client, and what to do when they still won't give you a number. This one will change how you think about money on a sales call.

In this episode I'm talking about when you actually need a business coach, what to look for, and why most of coaches are missing the thing that would actually help you grow. I'm also pulling back the curtain on the exact 7-stage framework I take my clients through, from evaluating where your business really is to building a 90-day plan that fits your actual life.If you've ever wondered what it looks like to work with me, this is the episode.

Most people follow up until they're desperate, and desperation costs you money. In this episode, I'm breaking down the two-part follow-up method I swear by: setting a defined sequence so you always know when a lead is dead, and why chasing new leads is almost always a better use of your time than begging old ones. I'll walk you through the exact timeline I use, and what to do with leads that just aren't ready yet.

If your close rate isn't where you want it to be, the problem might not be your pitch. It might be that you're trying to do too much on the first call. In this episode, I break down why pulling up a 40-slide deck before someone even knows your name is killing your deals, and what to do instead. I share the two-call close process I use with my coaching clients, including a story about a car saleswoman who completely changed how I think about giving prospects breathing room. One of my coaching clients used this process all year and had exactly one person say no. I'll walk you through exactly how it works so you can start closing more without ever feeling like you're being pushy.

In this episode I'm telling you the full story of how one of the most hostile cold calls I ever took turned into a $10,000 website and one of our longest running retainer clients. And then I'm breaking down exactly what I did so you can do it the next time you get a Larry.Because here's what I've learned: if you've only ever worked referral calls, cold calls can feel like a wall. But they don't have to be. Cold clients, when you win them over, are some of the most loyal clients you'll ever have. They chose you based on you, not because someone told them to.I'll walk you through the four things that turn a cold, skeptical call into a closed deal, and none of them involve being pushy.

Most service business owners are doing way more work than they're getting paid for just to land a client. In this episode I'm sharing the strategy that changed that for me at Lawson House, and for a lot of my clients too.If you've ever felt like prospects trust you enough to have a conversation but not quite enough to say yes, this one's for you.

So many of my clients come to me convinced that outbound sales is sleazy or off-brand, but it's actually what transformed my business. In this episode, I break down the difference between inbound and outbound marketing using a house party analogy that makes it all click, and share why relying solely on inbound (and referrals) is leaving money on the table. I talk about how outbound strategies like cold email helped me break into entirely new markets, triple my business year over year, and helped one of my clients double their cash flow in just three months. If you've been waiting for leads to come to you, this episode will change how you think about growing your business.

I never planned to be a business owner. If you'd asked me in college, this would've seemed way too far out of reach. But in March 2020, with no portfolio, no business plan, and a world that had just shut down, I took a leap anyway — and it changed everything.In this first episode of the Sell Well Podcast, I'm sharing my whole story. From trading design work for yoga classes to closing 7-figure deals, from my first $800 website to selling my agency Lawson House for a life-changing exit — I'm walking you through all of it. The scoreboard system that kept me going in year one, the cold email that became the engine behind our growth, the moment I stopped being a designer who sometimes sold and became a CEO who sold first, and what it finally felt like to walk away from something I built with my whole heart.If you're in the thick of building something and feeling like you're figuring it out alone, this episode is for you.

I started this show because I know how lonely it can be to build something and feel like you're figuring it out alone. Every week I'm bringing you the sales tips, the hard lessons, and the honest conversations that nobody else is having. Think of this as your weekly gut check from someone who has been exactly where you are and made it to the other side.If you're ready to close more deals, grow your revenue, and actually enjoy the business you're building — you're in the right place. Subscribe now so you don't miss the first episode.