Freelancer, agency, fractional CMO, or in-house hire? Real costs, who each one fits, and the specific failure mode that nobody selling them will admit.
FIELD NOTES
Straight Talk on Getting More Customers
You’re spending on marketing and the phone still isn’t ringing enough. Every post here helps you find out why, and gives you one thing you can fix this week.
The One-Sentence Test: Can a Stranger Tell What You Do?
How to tell if your branding is hurting your business: run this five-second test on your homepage with real strangers, score it honestly, and fix the message.
The Missed Call Math: What an Unanswered Phone Actually Costs a Service Business
Missed calls leak revenue, but vendor math inflates it. Here is the honest formula for what your unanswered phone actually costs, with verified sources.
How Much Does a Marketing Agency Cost Per Month? Real Numbers, Including Mine
Most agencies hide pricing behind a quote form. Here are the real marketing agency costs per month, what a retainer includes, and my own published rates.
Why Your Marketing Isn’t Generating Leads: The Three-System Diagnostic
Marketing not generating leads? Almost every case is one of three failures: message, proof, or follow-up. Use this diagnostic to find yours and fix it.
Browse by problem
Diagnosis & Systems
Start here. Find which of the three is costing you.
Message & Positioning
Why strangers can’t tell what you do.
Proof & Authority
Evidence that makes people believe the promise.
Capture & Follow-Up
Speed to lead, and what happens after.
Buying an Agency
Real prices and honest comparisons.
Charlotte & Verticals
Local studies and trade breakdowns.
Marketing should not feel random.
If reading this raised a question about your own numbers, bring them. I will tell you which of the three systems is leaking — including when the answer is that you do not need me yet.