14 Lessons I Still Embrace From My 2008 Internship With Seth Godin

Since I get asked about this a LOT - I figured I'd write a short newsletter update explaining the lessons I learned and how it came about.

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“What Was It Like To Work With Seth?”

At least twice a month, someone notices that I interned with Seth Godin in 2008 and asks me questions about it.

I feel awkward about giving a detailed answer; everyone deserves their privacy. But in hindsight, I’d say the opportunity came a little too early to take full advantage of.

However, it still had a tremendously positive impact on me, my thinking about any project I approach, and my life.

How It Came About

Back in 2008, Seth Godin announced a summer internship program. Essentially, four (possibly five?) people would come to his offices in Hastings-on-Hudson and collaborate on projects with Seth himself.

The day it was announced, I knew the timing was fortuitous. I had been consuming Seth’s books and blog posts for years, watched almost all of his talks, and been a massive disciple of his permission-marketing philosophy. It seemed perfect for someone like me. Better yet, I had just completed university and didn’t have fixed plans afterwards.

I went all out in my application; I even created a blog called ‘I want to work with Seth Godin”

… and wasn’t accepted.

However, Seth did announce a virtual internship for those who didn’t make the initial cut, and I participated for the next few months.

At the end of the internship, I contacted Seth and asked if I could intern with him directly. We set up a call (the most nerve-wracking call in my life), and I flew to NYC a few weeks later.

Key Questions From Seth

With some consultancy adaptations

The most significant advantage of working with Seth (other than the association, which certainly helped attract my first clients) was understanding more about how Seth thought about projects and ideas.

Seth had a clarity of thinking few others matched. He didn’t leave things to chance; he went deeper into concepts than others. I remember copying many of his questions at the time.

I think later, he repeated this almost word for word at an event I attended.

These questions still influence my thinking today and are especially useful for solo consultants whenever you find yourself at a loose end.

I’ll share them here with adaptions for consultants:

1. Who is it for? Who specifically is the service you’re selling for? “marketers” is a bad answer. “VPs of marketing at telecoms companies who are struggling with [x]” is a much better answer. You have to really know who you’re targeting and what they want. Once you know who they are, you can begin figure out how to connect with them through a combination of content targeted at them and warm introductions.

2. What is their worldview? What do these people believe about the world of theirs that’s relevant to you? What are their deepest emotional beliefs about the sector/industry/problem? How will your services support or subvert that worldview?

3. Have they bought it before? Selling consultancy services to people who have previously relied on consultants is a lot easier. If they have never used consultants (or external support), you will face plenty of doubts and problems. It’s simply easier to target organisations that have hired consultants in the past (typically avoiding smaller organisations).

4. Do these people know you exist? Awareness is the number one problem you need to overcome. Most people in your target audience don’t know you exist. You need to have a method to build awareness. You should have a clear vision of what your clients need, distinct from their current mindset. This is the idea you’re going to spread.

5. Do they trust you? The activities that build the most trust don’t attract the most attention. You only need to earn the trust of 50 to 100 senior B2B professionals to build a thriving consultancy practice. Trust combines knowing your motivations, intentions, and track record. You can’t solely build trust by creating and publishing content. You must be strategic and show up in places (often in person) to have many direct one-to-one interactions.

6. Who and how are you connecting people? If you want to thrive, you need to be a connector. You can thrive by either directly connecting with people in building solid relationships, being the person who connects people via hosting events, activities, or building groups, or connecting people with the right solutions through trusted recommendations. You must do at least one of these (or, better, do all three!). [adapted this one for consultants].

7. If it catches on, why aren’t cheaper competitors going to steal it? I’d adapt this to ‘Why can’t someone else copy your website and become a competitor?’ As you become a success, what is your moat that prevents a bunch of clones from springing up? Trust me, logos on your website won’t do the job. What is the thing you offer that is of incredible value and few others can claim to possess?

8. What’s the hard part (scarce)? The hard part for most consultants isn’t doing the work; it’s attracting clients. You need a reliable, sustainable GTM strategy to attract clients. You need a method you can replicate and improve each year. You can’t rely on one-hit-wonder content articles. For me, this is a combination of deep audience research > Unique content based on unseen issues > Speaking about these topics at events > Meeting lots of people in person > attracting clients > and marketing to past clients.

9. What's the cost to make a sale? The setup costs of becoming a consultant are relatively low, but the time and opportunity costs are high. If you have to spend months attracting your first client and years building a sustainable client base, can you afford that? This is slightly different for solo consultants, so I’d rephrase this: Are you generating enough revenue to cover your costs? If you begin your consultancy practice too soon, you might run out of money

10. Who are the first ten people you will tell? Folksy consultancy wisdom suggests telling your friends about your service just to get started. Most people announce on LinkedIn that they’ve become a consultant. But what if you didn’t? What if you kept it almost a secret and created a different story?

11. Why will they tell their friends? The big question is who will amplify your content and spread your messages and why? This is emotional—you and the messages you’re sending out must have an emotive hook. Are you sharing something novel? Do they have a relationship with you? Does it reinforce what they believe? Is it controversial? Will it make them look good? This has to be baked into the content.

12. Can it be made less expensive? Why can’t another consultant offer the same service for less? It’s always an option to go cheaper - it’s not one I’d recommend for most consultants. Discounting your fee is usually a failure of marketing. You haven’t properly positioned or differentiated yourself.

13. Can it be made faster? [Adapting this one for consultants too] If you’re small, you need to be able to respond faster than larger organisations. You need to be able to turn things around quicker. You need to be able to react to trends and new opportunities. You need to

14. When are you going to ship? (day/time). What are you doing to do next? What’s the very next step? What deadlines will you hold yourself accountable to for launching your website, your next service, your marketing campaign, etc?

I hope you find these lessons as useful as I have over the years.

Thanks Seth.

Good luck!

Richard Millington