Podcast interview with Revolve speaker, Ahava Leibtag of Aha Media
For this 2nd episode in my special Revolve Conference series on the MarketingMentorPodcast.com, I welcome Ahava Leibtag, owner of Aha Media Group, a content strategy firm based in the DC area.
Ahava and I talked about the evolution of content strategy, especially in the healthcare industry, and whether there’s a difference between the value of sales copy vs. content — you may be surprised at her point of view!
Then we got into how to handle difficult conversations with clients, especially when it’s about content strategy and scope creep.
This is the topic of her session at the Revolve conference, I’m Ok, You’re Ok: Navigating Challenging Content Strategy Conversations, which she refers to as a “therapy talk” – listen and you’ll find out why.
My favorite highlights from the conversation
You can hear in her voice that Ahava is really good at qualifying her prospects, that is, not wasting time on those who aren’t a good fit for her firm. She says each year she turns away 10-15 prospects who don’t know what they want or aren’t ready to do the project right.
She’s well aware that you can’t work with everyone and she knows what she’s looking for in a good prospect: content maturity, an understanding of budget and of where they are in the project, among other things.
“I’m listening for, is it a people problem, a technology problem, or a process problem?” That’s how she knows what approach to propose, whether it involves a paid discovery or audit phase or jumping right into the work.
I especially love this…
She gets to the money question within the first 5-7 minutes of the initial conversation. Here’s what she says:
“I just want you to know that a minimum engagement
with us is $XXXX.”
Listen to the interview here and on iTunes.
More links
- How Sponsored Content Is Becoming King in a Facebook World (NY Times article)
- Sandler Sales Training
- Find out more about Ahava here
- Find all the podcasts in this series.
About The Revolve Conference, Oct. 26-28, 2016 in Charleston SC
Revolve Conference is designed exclusively for anyone seeking to improve their knowledge and skills in digital marketing, design/user experience and small business management. This 3-day gathering (one day of hands-on workshops, 2 days of keynotes and sessions) features an impressive line-up of the industry’s shining stars who will share their stories and expertise.
Whether you are an aspiring or seasoned creative professional, an entrepreneur, a student, or a career explorer, come Revolve with us! I’ll be there and hope you will be too.