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The Recognized Authority Podcast Cover
The Recognized Authority
Publishes Weekly on
Monday Mornings

“Anyone interested in authority needs to add this to their podcast playlist right now”

Rochelle Moulton 
Author of The Authority Code

Guiding invisible experts on the journey to becoming a recognized authority in your field, so you can increase your impact, command higher fees, and work with better clients.

Available on All Major Podcast Platforms

Episodes

EPISODE 75

How to Grow a Newsletter with Dylan Redekop

If you’ve done any research on marketing your consulting business, you’ll almost certainly have come across the advice to start an email newsletter or list. It’s a relationship with your audience that you own directly, without the interposition of a third party platform. You’ll often hear the phrase “don’t build on rented ground” in relation […]
EPISODE 74

Performing at the Highest Level with Joe Jacobi

In this episode, I speak with Olympic gold medalist Joe Jacobi about performance in sport and business. This conversation takes a slightly different road from other episodes, as we talk about the relationship between success and identity, why energy is crucial for performance & capacity, and the importance of connecting with nature. We also go […]
EPISODE 73

Building Authority with Podcasting with Megan Dougherty

Creating and publishing content is a cornerstone of the authority building process. Audio podcasts are one of the options we have to do just that, and there are many choices we can make around podcasting that will impact on how much it helps us build authority. In this episode, Megan Dougherty and Alastair McDermott discuss […]
EPISODE 72

Stress-free Consulting Proposals with Reuben Swartz

Proposals are an essential part of winning business, but writing a consulting proposal is often a hugely time-consuming and frustrating process. In this episode, Reuben Swartz and Alastair McDermott discuss how to create a stress-free consulting proposal, what elements are essential in the proposal document, and why presenting the proposal is such an important part […]
EPISODE 71

Write a Thought Leadership Book in 30 Days

Books have long been associated with authority and thought leadership. “He wrote the book on it”, “She wrote the book on it” – that’s how we describe a true expert in a field. “Consultant, author and speaker” is the byline for many thought leaders, and even the word “author” is the major part of authority. […]
EPISODE 70

Bonus Episode: Becoming a Recognized Authority

Bonus Episode: Becoming a Recognized Authority – Alastair McDermott with Tamara Howard To celebrate reaching 70 episodes, I have a special bonus episode for you! I was recently on Tamara Howard’s podcast The Better Way to Strategic Marketing where we had a conversation about authority and specialization. Tamara is a super interviewer, and she has graciously […]
EPISODE 69

How to Be a Key Person of Influence with Chris Do

A key person of influence is someone who is able to separate themselves from the market, to command the lion’s share of attention, and is able to charge a price premium. They are one of the few names mentioned whenever it’s connected to a particular subject. In this episode, Chris Do and Alastair McDermott discuss […]
EPISODE 68

Sell Expertise, Not Your Hands with Kevin C. Whelan

We often start out working on execution, implementing projects for clients after they’ve decided on strategy. Our former guest David C. Baker talks about this as “working with your hands”. But we can have more impact, be more profitable, and enjoy our work more if we can shift back a step to the strategy phase, […]
EPISODE 67

Specialization Case Study – ReeJade Richmond

Even just contemplating niching down your business can feel absolutely terrifying. That’s why I think it’s so important to hear from people who have done it successfully, and learn about the massive rewards that they are seeing. In this bonus episode, ReeJade Richmond and Alastair McDermott discuss how ReeJade niched down her consulting business to focus […]
EPISODE 66

Creating Your Content Marketing Strategy with Heather Chavin

As independent consultants, our approach to publishing content is often haphazard and inconsistent: the topic depending on what issues are top of mind, and the schedule based on our client workload. One way to ameliorate that is to create a content marketing plan: some guiderails to help us stay on track. In this episode,Heather Chavin […]
EPISODE 65

Building Your Podcast Funnel with Jonathan Baillie Strong

Podcasting is a hot topic, and you heard before on this show and others why you should consider both guesting on podcasts, and even starting your own podcast. But where to start? In this episode, Jonathan Baillie Strong and Alastair McDermott discuss how to approach podcasting as an authority building platform. They talk about different […]
EPISODE 64

How to Make More Time for Your Consulting Business with Faheem Moosa

If you’re a consultant who wants to build authority, you need to do that through content creation. That involves writing and speaking. Publishing words, videos, or podcasts. Every consultant who walks this path hits the same problem: lack of time. How do you find the time to deliver high pressure client projects, create content, and […]
EPISODE 63

Building Your Audience with Dan Sanchez

Effective marketing is difficult to get right, and independents like us have a lot to juggle when marketing ourselves. Hubspot says that the biggest determinant of effective marketing is your audience. If we’re not properly targeting our ideal clients, we might as well not be marketing at all.” In this episode, Dan Sanchez and Alastair […]
EPISODE 62

Confessions of a Million Dollar Consultant with Alan Weiss

Growing a consulting business to seven figures seems an impossible goal for many independent consultants, but it is possible, and my guest today is the Million Dollar Consultant himself, Dr. Alan Weiss. Alan is a polarizing character, probably the most polarizing figure in the consulting industry. During this conversation I ask him about his provocative […]
EPISODE 61

The Compound Effect of Content with A. Lee Judge

Everyone is talking about how we should create more content. Write more blog posts, write more LinkedIn articles, start a podcast, do more video on social. But when we actually start creating this content it seems to be hugely time consuming for very little return on our efforts. In this episode, A. Lee Judge and […]
EPISODE 60

You Don’t Need to Be Unique to Stand Out with Belinda Weaver

“Embrace what makes you different” “Stand out from the crowd” “Have a distinct point of view” “Find your ‘Blue Ocean'” Everyone is telling us that we need to show how unique we are, how we are different from our competitors. Is that really what we need to do? In this episode, Belinda Weaver and Alastair […]
EPISODE 59

Earning and Holding Attention with Ian Brodie

Attention is a currency, something we all spend on those who entertain us, and those who help solve our problems. In a cluttered, noise-filled world, getting your ideal client’s attention focused on your content is difficult, creating content that will hold their attention even more so. In this episode, Ian Brodie and Alastair McDermott discuss […]
EPISODE 58

Don’t Overthink Your Content with Teodora Pirciu

We know that creating and publishing content is a key part of building your authority – you’ve heard it from many guests on this podcast. But yet it’s still difficult to find the time to create that content. And even after we create it, we still need to deal with our perfectionism and other fears […]
EPISODE 57

Bland Content and Burnout with Craig Burgess

Special bonus episode: Bland Content and Burnout with Craig Burgess   This is a special bonus episode of the podcast, and it’s very different from our usual interview episodes. It’s a behind the scenes look at an impromptu conversation between Craig Burgess and I. This is the first time I ever spoke to Craig and […]
Episode 56

How to Build Your Personal Brand with Mark Schaefer

Building a personal brand is advice we hear a lot, but it’s not always clear what that means, why it’s important, or whether it’s something we can approach in a deliberate way. In this episode, Mark Schaefer and Alastair McDermott discuss why personal branding is overtaking corporate branding, the four key steps to building your […]

About the podcast

The Recognized Authority is the podcast that guides invisible experts on the journey to becoming a recognized authority in your field, so you can increase your impact, command higher fees, and work with better clients! This podcast features interviews with successful consultants – in any field – who are willing to share the ups and downs of their story to inspire and educate our listeners. We also interview marketing and sales experts who have a message or lesson that is relevant for a B2B professional services audience. We’ll cover all aspects of business developement, sales, marketing and lead generation with advice, tips and in-depth analysis specifically aimed at independent consultants & specialized consulting firms.
Alastair McDermott

Podcast Host & Marketing Consultant

Meet the host

I created the The Recognized Authority podcast to help independent consultants and experts to get more clients without being dependent on referrals.

I’m a former software engineer who has converted to “The Dark Side” becoming a business and marketing consultant. I built my first website on GeoCities in the before-time of 1996, and I’ve been hooked on websites ever since.

I left a safe corporate job in early 2007 to start and grow my digital marketing business during the worst recession in modern history – that was a wild ride!

Along the way I co-founded several start-ups, some of which were mildly successful, and I wrote a book called “Running a Website with WordPress: A Quick Guide for Business Owners”.

If you’re reading this, I’d love to connect with you on the socials – please add me on your social network of choice.

Apply to be a guest

Our guest schedule for The Recognized Authority is full. 

We are actively seeking guests for our new podcast Accelerating Your Authority.