The Unique Boutique Podcast

S2E4: The truth about paid ads, with Karen Young

"Google are bandits." It's not the kind of thing you'd expect from a certified Google Partner agency - but Karen Young says it with a smile, and she means it. Karen is the founder of Ethos Metrics, the ethical pay-per-click agency built on a simple, provocative idea: the platforms are incentivised to maximise their own profit, not yours, and that gap costs advertisers more than they realise. In this episode she explains how the system really works, why most default settings benefit the platform over the advertiser, and how a smart business can take back control. We cover where AI is genuinely improving paid advertising and where it's just noise (plus a few horror stories of letting it run unsupervised), why LinkedIn is often the better bet for consultancies, the difference between vanity metrics and the numbers that actually matter, and how to know whether PPC is even right for your business before you spend a penny. Karen also shares the story behind Ethos - why she built a deliberately small agency of "corporate escapees," and why being honest to a fault has become her sharpest point of difference. A genuinely useful listen for any founder who's been burned by paid ads, or assumed they were beyond reach. Send us a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404227/fan_mail/new]

S2E3: Stop selling capability. Start selling outcomes, with Cris Beswick

Most consultancies still pitch what they can do. Clients have stopped buying it. Cris Beswick has spent two decades inside the boardrooms of global brands - first as a consultancy founder with two exits (the second five days before Lehman Brothers crashed), and now as an innovation, leadership and culture advisor to CEOs at some of the world's most complex organisations. In this episode of The Unique Boutique, Matt sits down with Cris to unpack why the big-consultancy model is visibly cracking, what's replacing it, and why boutique firms are now better positioned than the global names to win the work that matters. What we cover: * Why "innovation is an outcome, not a thing you do" - and what that reframes about how you pitch * The McKinsey stat that explains everything: 84% of leaders say innovation is critical, only 6% are happy with their performance * Why capability-led positioning is dying - and outcomes-led positioning is taking its place * The "innovation theatre" trap (and the positioning equivalent boutiques quietly fall into) * Why roughly 80% of AI implementation programmes are failing - and what leaders are getting wrong * The "position of truth" - the honest baseline that should anchor every client engagement * How boutiques can now run the same diagnostic-led approach the big firms have always had to themselves * Vulnerability, authenticity, and the nerve to tell a CEO they're the problem Plus: snog, marry, avoid - what to embrace, commit to, and ditch in your business. Guest: Cris Beswick - innovation, leadership and culture advisor. Keynote speaker. Founder of The Evaluaite Hub. Host: Matt Hodkinson - founder of Tylt. Category positioning for boutique consultancies ready to lead, not just compete. Send us a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404227/fan_mail/new]

S2E2: Positioning AMA with Matt Hodkinson

For this episode, Matt does something different - he turns the microphone on himself. No guest, just an AMA: real questions submitted by boutique consultancy founders across The Unique Boutique network, answered in turn. The questions cover the pains that keep consultancy leaders up at night - losing pitches on price to firms half as capable, referral pipelines quietly drying up, partners who each describe the firm differently, fees that everyone knows are too low. Matt works through them with the same directness he brings to client work, drawing on the Positioning Periodic Table and over a decade spent inside 200+ boutique consultancies. In this episode: * Positioning vs marketing: why one moves the needle and the other just makes a louder version of an unclear message * Why a rebrand fixes the surface and leaves the strategy underneath untouched * Narrowing on purpose: why a sharper position repels the wrong prospects - and why that's the point Send us a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404227/fan_mail/new] Send us a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404227/fan_mail/new]

S2E1: Category claimed. Standing out, selling smart, and why most consultants are invisible, with Justin Michael

Matt sits down with Justin Michael - author of over a dozen books including Tech-Powered Sales and Seven Figure Formula, and one of the highest-paid consultants in the world of B2B sales and client acquisition. Justin has trained over 250 teams, worked one-to-one with more than 1,000 professionals, and built a seven-figure practice without a big agency, a VC-backed budget, or a Harvard MBA. In this episode: * Why claiming "number one" in your category is legitimate - and how to do it honestly * The content vector principle: why you should only create content you actually love * De-niching: why niching on the problem, not the persona, opens up your market * LinkedIn DMs as the new cold call - and what everyone's getting wrong Links & Resources Mentioned: * Seven Figure Formula by Justin Michael [https://www.amazon.co.uk/7-Figure-Formula-Acquisition-Consultants-Solopreneurs/dp/1948382946/ref=sr_1_1?crid=S0CU2YCR39QF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BRJRHmDA6Ag7ijPEnXbB6A.8I2no-Oux67Xh9sueyG5a64WcHmTdcNbTwCIb-amjgA&dib_tag=se&keywords=seven+figure+formula&qid=1777631440&s=books&sprefix=seven+figure+formula%2Cstripbooks%2C111&sr=1-1] * Tech-Powered Sales by Justin Michael & Tony Hughes [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tech-Powered-Sales-Achieve-Superhuman-Skills/dp/140022652X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ILCDV9QZXWCY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3WDqqEpeWuyuGCtkqiDF-g._s0K-Y1Zbea4ONcsaEaT3-l-uhDuYI4BWn9DWeAdgwU&dib_tag=se&keywords=tech-powered+sales&qid=1777631413&s=books&sprefix=tech-powered+sales%2Cstripbooks%2C105&sr=1-1] * Sales Superpowers by Justin Michael [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sales-Superpowers-Outbound-Operating-Explosive/dp/1948382709/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E2O6EFCF27DW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dMWnlxEcsmRcsZMBARarpiEkUOgkj8CleTm-JaGtbAyFl3y6oKw1LSMahPIr0d6e39oT21XhtyzqDg1PgXaC9NmyWkpLrDWU2HmKNkX0bJ8.3DGkFQ_7gmzpgvtSgFi9mfSVGSzHXFweGbCA7EAW_50&dib_tag=se&keywords=sales+superpowers&qid=1777631392&s=books&sprefix=sales+superpowers%2Cstripbooks%2C120&sr=1-1] * The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch [https://www.amazon.co.uk/80-20-Principle-Achieve-BESTSELLER-ebook/dp/B09Q63NN3Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=335E7OQGPFUPY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.25vwC3uUiqZyadUlwh-810LaQwglB5Pptlxbd9O66qmAkdBINbpOkD_fC2JJZ3WTE_FkKMPY-GZgqLHCovfDrTp1PGpBHR_lYcyOKRTFQ0O444VyZNzK1vlvwGYKgUR1z6GdN5OSdjECouaIKPJoIm6hkbR-Oo6ZJDVrKoEgImJ-wxzzm9EsndR6plbGf8QNhhJQtTKt1i-D_YZ3PHiD4NGAuxU4-ql1LJq-rx1Pxm8.ji5BLnVh5WfrnVDTydqBASgPcH1UUMo589da9OjvRDU&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+80%2F20+principle&qid=1777631362&s=books&sprefix=th+e80%2F20+principle%2Cstripbooks%2C105&sr=1-1] * Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pitch-Anything-Innovative-Presenting-Persuading/dp/0071752854/ref=sr_1_1?crid=26VWQ6LX1A9CT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vzeHP9epKsGF276H41Q7590OYYOSAJZuMwXdRliFl2H6s3pCbtpsKMbKJ-iaZyId0c94yayzhrrAkuxbpERK6oSHwsi4fbasmz-XLlGeQety_NJ3OLfrkfukX3iT9M0MBpBgTpHCvlsEcCwSEsBRkOws4J26ujAblrs2uKdxeAC75zcnws52GYbFyN6gGfHme-fZD9fWic_aLxMs7JmGMQ.sD3euuKP94RO1fcvIo4bilSft2BcAwX7Hglx93CrfiQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=pitch+anything&qid=1777631334&s=books&sprefix=pitch+anything%2Cstripbooks%2C121&sr=1-1] * The Go-Giver by Bob Burg [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Go-Giver-Little-Story-Powerful-Business/dp/0141049553] * Daniel Priestley / Key Person of Influence [https://www.keypersonofinfluence.com/] * Alan Weiss [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv5jzB9jcTk] Send us a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404227/fan_mail/new]

Ep. 34 Why your marketing feels harder (and what to do about it), with James Thomlinson

In this episode of The Consultancy Edge, Matt Hodkinson sits down with James Thomlinson (Sprint Partners) to unpack a question almost every consultancy leader is asking right now: Why does marketing feel so much harder than it used to… and what actually works now? From shrinking attention spans and squeezed budgets to the “sea of same” created by AI-generated content, James shares what’s changed, what’s broken, and how boutique consultancies can still stand out, build trust, and win work in a slower, more uncertain market. You’ll hear practical insight on: * Why “more channels” doesn’t mean more results * How AI is making average marketing even more invisible * The real role of human thinking in a world of automated output * Building a pipeline that doesn’t rely on luck (or referrals) * Why sales cycles are dragging — and how to keep momentum * What top-performing firms do differently (James’ “Growth Accelerator” lens) * The shift from “people-first” to tech-first, people-powered * A simple reminder that might be the most valuable of all: stop perfecting, start moving If your marketing feels sluggish, unpredictable, or harder to justify than ever — this one will reset your strategy and give you a clearer plan for 2026. Connect with James Thomlinson at Sprint Partners: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jthomlinson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jthomlinson/] Connect with Matt Hodkinson / Tylt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthodkinson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthodkinson/] 👍 If you found this useful, hit Like, Subscribe, and drop a comment: What’s feeling hardest about marketing your consultancy right now? Send us a message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404227/fan_mail/new]