Target State’s Ant McMahon owes his business success to doing what he does best and outsourcing the rest.
What comes to mind when you hear the terms: vendor selection, change management, digital transformation and contingency planning? Do you see them as empty buzzwords or something integral to your business success? To be fair I didn’t give them much thought until I met Anthony (Ant) McMahon, back in 2019, at TNG (The Networking Group) NorthWest. Now I know every smart business needs to get behind what these terms mean and – more importantly – work with tech experts like Ant to apply them to their business.
At our first coffee catch up Ant told me he was writing his own blogs, but this came at a hefty opportunity cost. While Ant’s a good writer, he finds the process of writing compelling narratives time-consuming, especially for subjects which risk boring readers if they come across as too techy and dry. Working with me over the last six years – beyond blogs to include white papers, case studies, and web copy – has been more efficient, cost-effective, profitable and enjoyable, as it allows Ant to redirect that time to billable client work.
When I began working with Ant he was known as the IT Psychiatrist; now his business is Target State. Their mission is: “To simplify technology for all New Zealand businesses so they can achieve sustainable growth.” Over the years, Ant has fine-tuned his services to three core offerings:
1) Tune up: To help you stop wasting money on underperforming vendors, see where you’re losing value and fix it.
2) Navigator: Enabling you to streamline your procurement with a clear problem statement and rapid, targeted vendor shortlist.
3) Matchmaker: Equipping you to lead your procurement with precision, from defining your needs to securing the ideal technology partner.
What did Ant want to achieve with a copywriter?
Ant’s top four goals for Target State:
1) To free up time for core business activities
- He appreciates creating content is vital but doesn’t want to be the one doing it.
- To redirect writing time to billable hours and supporting client businesses with their tech.
2) To create and publish content more efficiently and cost-effectively
- Hire a copywriter who can achieve this in a fraction of the time it takes him.
- Receive blogs with minimal need for revision (that are 95-99% there on the first round).
- Outsource content writing and narrative building to experts (people who write and edit content every day).
3) To build and maintain trust and credibility
- To receive robust, well-researched and topical blog posts, white papers and more.
- Develop intriguing content that sparks conversations with readers.
- Attract potential clients through informative blogs and client stories.
- Tie blog content to sellable products or services with great calls to action.
- Have a single source of truth: a centralised library of content which potential, new, and existing clients can refer to for more information.
4) To outsource to a writer who can become a trusted strategic extension of Target State
- Build a long-term partnership with a content writer who understands his business.
- Find a reliable partner who can become an integral part of his operations.
- Have someone who digs deeper to reveal new insights, angles and potential gaps.
Regular content allows Ant to focus on what he does best while maintaining his strong online presence.
Put bluntly, when Ant’s writing, he’s not out there serving his clients. Time spent writing eats away at his billable hours and profit margins. That said, Ant knows content marketing is a vital business activity that needs to be done consistently and well.
Working with me means he doesn’t have to choose or compromise:
“Crafting a narrative takes time when you don’t know how. Whereas working with someone like yourself, and your team – it’s something you’re doing every day. You’re doing it better than I ever will, at a third of the cost.”
Ant
Clients find, trust and stay with Ant – he credits some of this to his blog.
Ant says many of his clients and leads mention reading the blogs, which helps initiate sales conversations. His blogs have also been valuable for reinforcing client relationships – clients stay loyal because of Ant’s impeccable service and the credibility established through his blog content. In the future, Ant plans to contract me to help him develop sellable products (gated content). These templates, processes and frameworks will add another revenue stream to his business and create even more value for his clients.
“I’ve got a lot of people saying, I read that blog and building a conversation from there. I’ve had clients who I’m engaged with through other means, and they’ve built the trust because of the blog. [And] they stayed because of the blog.”
Ant
Creating beautiful blogs and clear case studies from simple topic ideas.
Ant values my process. I follow up on ideas, ask clarifying questions, and dig deeper. As a result, he’s grateful the content requires minimal revision, most pieces are 95-99% complete in the first draft. He says this efficiency makes for a great partnership, as it removes most of the time and burden of content creation.
“What I find most valuable is your ability to ask questions, dig deeper and not just take things at face value… you come back and clarify and then rework things. I also put huge value in the longevity of our working relationship. I have enjoyed working with you and see you as a trusted extension of my business.”
Ant
Follow Ant and Target State
Website: https://targetstate.co.nz/
Katie! I want to experience similar results! How do I get started?
Awesome – I like you already! All you need to do next is book a free chat to ask me any questions and see if we’re a good fit. Or simply complete the contact form on the same page and I will be in touch.