Insights

Insights grounded in how people actually decide.

Research-informed perspective on trust, differentiation, and growth.

For expert-led businesses, insight isn’t about being louder. It’s about being clearer.

This is where we share perspectives drawn from our original research, real conversations, and patterns we see across agencies, consultancies, and professional services firms. The goal isn’t volume or cadence. It’s usefulness — insight that helps leaders see what they’re missing and think more clearly about what to do next.

What you’ll find here

The insights we publish are grounded in research and refined through real-world application.

Topics often include:
  • How trust forms before a sales conversation begins
  • Why differentiation often breaks down, even for firms with a strong difference
  • What research reveals about audience expectations and assumptions
  • How expertise is evaluated, misunderstood, or discounted
  • Where thought leadership helps, and where it gets in its own way

We publish when there’s something worth sharing.

Types of insight you’ll see here

Resources

Short guides to building pipeline, differentiation, reputation, and trust.

Articles & essays

Short-form writing that explores patterns we see in research, client work, and industry conversations.

Research briefs

Accessible interpretations of original research, focused on implications rather than data volume.

Conversations & appearances

Selected podcast interviews, talks, and discussions where research-informed perspective is explored in dialogue with others.

Notes from the field

Occasional observations from working with expert-led teams — moments where assumptions surface or clarity shifts.

How to read this page

You don’t need to read everything here.

If a headline sparks recognition, start there. If something challenges an assumption you’ve been carrying, pause. These insights are meant to support better judgment — not quick answers or shortcuts.

If you’re evaluating whether our approach fits how you think, this page will give you a clear sense of that.

Where these insights come from

Everything we share here is informed by original research into how audiences evaluate expertise and form trust. Sometimes it’s research we’ve conducted. Sometimes it’s research conducted by others that deepens our understanding of the work.

If something here resonates

If an insight here reflects a challenge you’re navigating — or names something you haven’t quite been able to articulate — we’d be happy to explore whether research could help bring clarity.

Insights in Your Inbox.

Our perspective is grounded in research, shaped by real conversations, and designed to be Relentlessly Helpful.®️

No pitching. No noise. Unsubscribe anytime.

Welcome to Fun with Research!

This is the introductory episode to Fun with Research! In it, I talk about the purpose of our show. In my work doing research for agencies and their clients, I’ve noticed two common issues with agency folks in regards to incorporating research into their work: A problem of CONFIDENCE While many agency marketers have some…
Read More Welcome to Fun with Research!

Overcoming Persona Problems

in late 2018 I had the pleasure of spending a few days with more than 75 agency owners at the Agency Management Institute All AMI Conference during which I hosted two roundtable discussions about persona development. When I asked the agency owners if they were developing personas in their work for clients, virtually all said…
Read More Overcoming Persona Problems

Is Your Client Ready for Research?

Research can be a difficult topic to broach with clients. I go into every discussion with a new agency or prospective client assuming they’ve had a bad experience with research — because most of them have. It’s often been difficult for clients to understand and make use of the many tables and charts they receive…
Read More Is Your Client Ready for Research?

New Audience Audit Study Reveals What Agency Clients Want – and Why

Today at the BOLO conference for digital marketing agencies, Drew McLellan and I presented the first look at our new study aimed at understanding how clients choose agencies — the attitudes clients hold about agencies, where they believe agencies offer value for their clients, and how clients want their agency relationships to be structured. Agency Buyer…
Read More New Audience Audit Study Reveals What Agency Clients Want – and Why

Understanding Small Business Ownership Through Audience Segmentation at Infusionsoft

Today Infusionsoft published their 2014 Small Business Market Survey, based on research conducted by Yours Truly. Their post and the full report share a wealth of insights, which I encourage you to check out. But I’d like to talk about WHY they did the research they did and WHY it’s different. Infusionsoft serves small businesses…
Read More Understanding Small Business Ownership Through Audience Segmentation at Infusionsoft