DAVID HERMANN FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
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WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
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AJ: Welcome to today's episode of the Thriving Through Podcast. Today, my guest is David Hermann. David, welcome to the podcast.
David: Thank you so much, AJ. I'm very excited.
AJ: So the name of this podcast is called Thriving Through. Do you feel like you're thriving in your consulting business?
David: I feel I am, and I've actually begun to feel the traction from a number of strategic decisions I took last year at about this time, actually a little bit at end of '24, and I'm now beginning to feel all the benefit of all of that.
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GOING INDEPENDENT: FACING THE UNCERTAINTY
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AJ: That's great. Did you feel through the year, as you started these strategic initiatives, were there any points during the year when you started to maybe despair a little bit, that you were ever going to get that momentum going?
David: You know, it's funny you should ask that. The answer is yes. As you mentioned in the introduction, I've been a consultant for a long time with a large consulting firm that was very corporate, and at the beginning of '24, I decided to go off on my own. And while I knew how to build consulting practices, I knew how to sell consulting, I knew how to deliver on that successfully, going out on your own is suddenly a very different experience, especially because I myself have never been an entrepreneur before that point. My family doesn't have a history of being entrepreneurs, so it was a very unique experience to go out on my own and, as I described, stare into the abyss and not be sure of what you're really doing. And there were plenty of times where I'd stop and look at myself in the mirror and say, am I really sure I know what I'm doing here?
AJ: Especially when that voice in your head was probably saying, you don't know what you're doing!
David: Exactly.
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THE THREE PILLARS OF CONSULTING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
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AJ: So what did you do to get more knowledge on how to build a consulting practice?
David: In general, I actually did work in a very large consultancy. It was the fourth largest in healthcare, and as a result of that, I learned how to build practices that way. But to start on your own, and not have a very large name behind you, does take some effort. Really, I see consulting and building the business development and marketing of consulting is really in three different areas. The first is content marketing, the second is authority building, and the third is relationship management and networking.
Part of the reason I named my firm after my own name, Hermann Group, is that I actually do have some name recognition from what I was doing before in a corporate environment, so I was trying to leverage that for that existing authority that I had already built. But then it came down to how do I actually start creating trust in David Hermann, not a part of this other consultancy? And that's where my journey really started taking off.
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BUILDING AUTHORITY THROUGH CONTENT MARKETING
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David: So, in March of '24, one of the things I started right away was writing articles. And I went back to doing that type of work, which I had been doing for a long time as a corporate consultant, where I'd write articles that were not salesy, but were very educational, because that draws attention and also supports the authority building.
Later on in the year, one of my friends actually was talking to me that, hey, your articles for Getting Off the Dime, which was that first publication, are doing so well, but I know you're also getting involved in a lot of artificial intelligence, particularly large language models. Maybe you should talk about that journey. And so I started another publication in August, actually October of '24. And at the same time, I actually reformed all of this under a second business called Hermann Digital Media, which is a subsidiary of the Hermann Group. And from there, I've started expanding into more and more of the AI topics as well in Futurepresent.
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DISCOVERING YOUR IDEAL CLIENT THROUGH ACTION
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David: One of the things I realized when I moved from my prior corporate role to starting my own firm, I was largely in healthcare, working with large hospital systems nationwide. And I decided, because I was bootstrapping my firm, that I did not want to start with hospitals, because they have very high cost of sales and very long sales cycles. And so I opened what I did to any company and any vertical.
And this is where part of that pivot took place in the end of '24. I realized, as I was selling consulting, as well as writing these articles and drawing attention to both that change management strategy and execution part, as well as the AI part, I was really attracting two different types of businesses. One was founder-led organizations. And the second was organizations that were being led by the first CEO and the chair after the founder cashed out. And in the process of all of this, I realized that it would probably be a benefit for me to also offer business brokerage.
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STRATEGIC PIVOT TO BUSINESS BROKERAGE
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David: So that's what that strategic pivot was at the end of '24 and the beginning of '25. I went back, I became qualified as a business broker as well. So I now can help organizations not only perform better, but I can also carry them through a transaction, either if the founder wants to exit the business, or if the organization is looking at trying to expand their business through acquisition, I can help identify those businesses and carry them through the transaction, and then help with the integration.
So that's kind of a long part of the arc, and you know, since then, I've actually also started a third publication called Exit and Acquire, which is focused on that business brokerage space, as well as the preparation for exiting, as well as what to do with the business in terms of integrating it once you acquire it.
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PUBLISHING "THE CHANGE AGENT CODE"
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David: The other part that I've done as an expansion of this authority building and content marketing is I recently published my first book called The Change Agent Code. In fact, I have a copy of it here, I can give the link to you after the presentation is over, but what this now does is it allows me to hand this book to potential clients, and it further reinforces, hey, this guy knows what he's doing, he actually has written a book on this topic, and in fact, the book is published under the Hermann Digital Media imprint, so I'm further creating that reinforcement of authority and legitimacy between my own consulting firm as well as the publishing company that I started.
AJ: That's fantastic. I love that. So, I'm curious, when you first started in March of '24, writing articles, creating that first publication, Getting Off the Dime, how long was it before you started to feel traction from that? How long did it take before you started to see that actually translating into engagement, people reaching out to you, opportunities, things like that?
David: I would say it was probably a good six months before I really started to feel that traction starting to build. Part of that was I was ramping up my writing at the time. I was also starting to experiment with the newsletter format on LinkedIn as well as articles on LinkedIn, and started getting a feel for what tone, what type of content would actually really bring the type of people that I wanted into my influence and within the domain of what I was trying to express.
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WHY EDUCATIONAL CONTENT OUTPERFORMS SALES COPY
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David: And you know, one of the things I wanted to touch on is the reason why I focus on educational content instead of salesy content. When you're doing salesy content, what you're doing is you're teaching people how to buy from you. What you're not doing is teaching them how to think. When you teach them how to think, that creates trust, and trust is one of the most important currencies in consulting. If you don't have trust, you're not going to get the sale anyway.
So by writing educational content, what I'm doing is I'm establishing that trust early, because I'm teaching them. I'm not asking for anything at that point. I'm just saying, hey, here's what I know, here's what I can teach you, and if you find value in this, then there's a natural progression that they will then reach out to me and say, hey, I really liked what you wrote about X, Y, Z, can we talk more about how you can help me with this particular problem I'm facing?
AJ: That makes perfect sense. And I think what's interesting about what you just said is that it's a long game. It's not something that you do for a month and then you expect leads to start rolling in. It's something that you have to commit to for the long haul.
David: Absolutely. And one of the things that I tell people is, especially when they're starting out and they're like, well, how do I know what to write? Well, what problems are you trying to solve for your clients? Start there. Write about those problems. Write about the solutions that you've helped other clients implement. And the other thing is, don't worry about giving away your secrets, because here's the reality: most people are not going to implement what you're telling them. They're going to read it, they're going to go, oh, that's interesting, and then they're going to move on with their day.
But what you've done is you've planted a seed that when they do have that problem, they remember you. And when they remember you, they're going to reach out to you because you've already demonstrated that you know how to solve that problem.
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THE POWER OF LINKEDIN FOR CONSULTANTS
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AJ: So you mentioned LinkedIn several times. It sounds like LinkedIn has been a really important platform for you in terms of building your practice. Can you talk a little bit about why LinkedIn specifically has been so effective for you?
David: Absolutely. So LinkedIn is really where my ideal client profile lives. Most of the people that I work with are either founders or they're C-suite executives, and they're on LinkedIn because that's where they're doing their professional networking. That's where they're staying up to date on what's happening in their industry. That's where they're looking for thought leadership.
And so by being active on LinkedIn, by writing on LinkedIn, by engaging with other people's content on LinkedIn, I'm putting myself in front of my ideal client profile on a regular basis. Now, the key to this is consistency. You can't just post once a month and expect to see results. You have to be consistent. You have to be showing up on a regular basis. And the other thing is, you have to be adding value. You can't just be posting for the sake of posting. You have to be posting content that is valuable to your target audience.
And when you do that consistently over time, what happens is people start to recognize your name. They start to see you as an authority in your space. And then when they have a problem that you can solve, you're top of mind for them.
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CREATING MULTIPLE PUBLICATIONS STRATEGICALLY
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AJ: So you've created three different publications now: Getting Off the Dime, Futurepresent, and Exit & Acquire. Can you talk about the strategy behind creating multiple publications versus just having one?
David: Absolutely. So the reason I created multiple publications is because I'm serving different audience segments. Getting Off the Dime is really focused on strategy, execution, and operational excellence. That's for organizations that are looking to improve their performance, they're looking to solve problems, they're looking to execute on their strategy more effectively.
Futurepresent is focused on the impact of generative AI and emerging technologies on business and society. That's for a slightly different audience. That's for people who are trying to understand how AI is going to impact their business, how they should be thinking about implementing AI, what the risks are, what the opportunities are.
And then Exit & Acquire is specifically for business owners who are either looking to exit their business or looking to grow through acquisition. That's a very specific audience with very specific needs.
By having these three different publications, I'm able to speak directly to each of these audience segments with content that's highly relevant to them, rather than trying to create one publication that tries to be all things to all people. Because when you try to be all things to all people, you end up being nothing to nobody.
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SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND BEING WHERE CLIENTS ARE
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AJ: You also mentioned speaking. Can you talk about the role that speaking has played in building your practice?
David: Absolutely. Speaking has been huge for me. I've done a number of speaking engagements, both paid and unpaid, and the reason I do them is because it's another way to get in front of my ideal client profile. When I'm speaking at a conference, when I'm speaking at an event, I'm in front of a room full of people who are there because they're interested in the topic that I'm speaking about. And if I do a good job, if I provide value, if I teach them something that they can actually use, then there's a natural progression where people come up to me after the talk and say, hey, that was really valuable, I'd like to talk to you more about how you can help me with this particular problem I'm facing.
And I can't tell you how many times I've had people come up to me after speaking engagements and say, that was actually very valuable, I'd like to talk to you more about it. And those conversations have turned into consulting engagements, they've turned into advisory relationships, they've turned into all sorts of opportunities. So speaking is a very powerful tool for building your practice.
AJ: And it sounds like the theme throughout everything you've done is being where your clients are. Whether that's on LinkedIn, whether that's at conferences, whether that's in publications that they're reading, you're meeting them where they already are rather than expecting them to come find you.
David: Exactly. You have to go to where your clients are. You can't expect them to come to you. And this is why I haven't built a website yet. Because a website doesn't go to where your clients are. A website sits there and hopes that your clients will find it. And that's not a proactive strategy. That's a reactive strategy. And when you're building a consulting practice, you need to be proactive. You need to be going to where your clients are and providing value to them there.
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ACTION CREATES CLARITY: MOVING PAST PERFECTIONISM
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AJ: You said something earlier that I thought was really powerful, which is "action creates clarity." Can you expand on that a little bit?
David: Absolutely. So one of the things that I see a lot of consultants struggle with, especially when they're starting out, is they want to have everything perfect before they take action. They want to have the perfect website, they want to have the perfect messaging, they want to have the perfect positioning, they want to have everything figured out before they actually go out and start talking to clients.
And the reality is, you're never going to have perfect clarity until you start taking action. Because it's through the action of actually going out and talking to clients, actually going out and writing content, actually going out and speaking, that you start to get clarity on what's working and what's not working. You start to get clarity on who your ideal client actually is. You start to get clarity on what problems you're best positioned to solve.
And so my advice to anyone who's starting out or anyone who's stuck is, stop waiting for perfect clarity and start taking action. Because action creates clarity. And once you start taking action, you'll start to see patterns, you'll start to see what's working, and you can adjust from there.
AJ: I love that. I think that's one of the hardest things for consultants to hear, especially when they're coming from corporate environments where everything is planned out, everything is strategized, everything has to go through multiple approval processes. And then when you're on your own, you realize that you can just take action and see what happens.
David: Exactly. And one of the things that I realized when I am feeling uncertain, my perfectionist tendencies come out, and I want to just keep dotting the I's and crossing the T's and moving words around on the paper, keeping it in my little ivory tower, and the only way to find out if what I'm doing is any good is to get it out there. And every time I do that, darn if action creates clarity isn't terrific.
AJ: Absolutely. In a similar way, I have my own motto, to great things through little steps.
David: Oh, yes. That's a good one, yes.
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TWO YEARS WITHOUT A WEBSITE
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AJ: I have two final questions as we start to wrap up. What book, podcast, or resource has been most valuable to you in your self-employed consulting career?
David: All right, well, I'm going to have to give a shout out to Alan Weiss. I don't know if you're familiar with him. The Million Dollar Consultant. I actually stumbled upon the book, The Ultimate Consultant, in a library almost 20 years ago, and I'm like, oh my god, the guy gave me a manual for what to do. So, ever since then, I've read everything I possibly can by Alan Weiss, and if I ever get the opportunity to thank him in person, I would really appreciate that.
AJ: I remember early on when I was starting in consulting, and I didn't come from a consulting company, I just started on my own, and I remember that was a long time ago, and he was still pretty early in his authorship, and I can't remember exactly what he said, but he basically said, you know, get a little more experience and then come back. He kind of shot me down a little bit on whatever I was asking him for, but you know, now I look back, he's authored something like 30 books. He's impressive.
David: Yeah, absolutely.
AJ: Final question, and single most important question. If people want to find out more about you and what you do, where do they find you? Where do they go to look?
David: Absolutely. So, please come find me either at Hermann Group, H-E-R-M-A-N-N group dot biz, or David Hermann, H-E-R-M-A-N-N dot biz, and you'll be directed right now to my LinkedIn profiles, but very soon, I'm going to have websites, because of the discussion we had earlier, that many people that are now my clients or my target audience are outside of LinkedIn.
AJ: And on LinkedIn, it's David dot Hermann?
David: Actually, that's a good question. So, I am the only David Hermann that has a period after David, and the story behind that is there is a great LinkedIn consultant by the name of Candace Edelin, part of Propel Growth, that she recommends putting a period behind your first name in LinkedIn, because when you get direct messages, you know whether or not they used a bot to scrape your name. If it was a human, they're likely not to include the period. If it was a bot, the period will be there. So, ever since that idea, I love that, so I just have kept with that all this time.
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FINAL THOUGHTS: WEBSITES DON'T ATTRACT CONSULTING CLIENTS
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AJ: I want to point out something else that you did that is something, again, there's so many things that you've done right in this short period of time. You haven't developed your website yet. So many consultants that I see when they start out, they think they have to have the perfect website immediately, and that when they get the perfect website, when they build it, they will come, and they'll start to generate leads. You didn't do that. You built out your LinkedIn.
David: Yeah, so I am almost 2 years in without a website, and it's only now that I realize that part of my ICP is outside of LinkedIn that I am exploring that. And you're right, there is this thought that a website will attract clients. As a consultant, that's not the case. All the website does is further confer authority and legitimacy to your business. You actually have to go find people where they're at, and that's why the writing, the speaking, all of that, be where your client is at. And, you know, you may not have the same client base that I have, but wherever they are, go to them. Be in the articles or the publications that they're reading, be at the conferences that they're attending, be the speaker, because I can't tell you how many times I've had people come up to me after speaking engagements and say, that was actually very valuable, I'd like to talk to you more about it.
AJ: Without a website.
David: All without a website.
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CLOSING
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AJ: David, thank you so much. It has been a really informative and insightful interview today. Thank you for coming on the Thriving Through podcast, and for all of you listening and watching out there, keep thriving through.
David: Thank you so much, AJ. It was my pleasure.