Here are just a few of the tips from Jane Ranshaw's book, 101 Tips for Marketing Your Services:
Before you can effectively market consulting or professional services, you must have a vision of where you want your career to take you. What do you want from your consulting practice? Where do you want to be in a year? In five years?
A mission statement need not be complex. Develop several key goals and summarize them in a few sentences or bullet points.
The power comes when you post your vision or mission where you can see it daily–on the refrigerator or next to the bathroom mirror. In a few weeks, the goals become embedded in your subconscious. Soon, you begin altering your behavior as you live the vision and evaluate every opportunity in terms of your mission.
Always behave fairly and honestly in your professional activities. You may be tempted to cut a few corners, especially with a demanding client who doesn't seem to appreciate your best work anyway. However, no matter how large your city or how many practitioners in your field, the business community is still small enough--and news now travels at Net speed--that a reputation for less-than-scrupulous ethics can become known overnight and stay with you for years.
Charge clients a fair, professional rate. Do not overcharge them, nor shortchange yourself. While clients should expect to pay a reasonable rate for your services, you are equally entitled to earn a decent living. Then, once you determine a rate, stand by it. Never reduce your rate to fill a slow period or to attract a new client unless you are willing to maintain that rate with the client for months or even years.
For more on setting rates, see the article: Pricing Consulting Services: An MBA’s View
When meeting with a potential client, focus first on what the other person is actually saying. Avoid jumping to conclusions--either positive or negative. You may interpret a statement, "I'm not ready to buy right now," as "I'm not ready to buy (period)."
At the same time, resist the temptation to jump in with a long recitation about your experience in an attempt to impress the prospect or to start suggesting which of your products or services might fit the situation.
Work at really listening. Look at the other person and concentrate on what he or she is saying. Paraphrase. Ask questions to confirm your understanding. Once you are sure you understand the client's situation, then you can look for ways to fill the need.
Never leave home without a business card, even if you are "only" running to the store or post office. Think of them as personalized post-it notes you can give to others. In addition to "call me," business cards are a handy way to say "remember how I helped you."
Write a quick note (include the date) on the back of your card before giving it to another person, whether you’re discussing a great restaurant in Montreal, a terrific book on business process re-engineering, or how to use a software package. In the coming days or weeks, the person will run across the card and remember your helpfulness as well as your name and what you do.
Maintain a file of the business cards you collect. As soon as you receive a card, make a note on the back where you met the person, a bit of pertinent information (loves Car Talk on NPR), or a follow up note (call in May to see if she needs help on her marketing plan). Keep both the cards and record the information in your contact manager. And, of course, follow up regularly.
When a client drops the bomb that you didn’t get the big project, use the occasion as an opportunity to get feedback about why. Perhaps another consultant offered a more creative approach or assembled a different package of services. In either situation, you will likely get some useful ideas for future proposals. You also show an interest in maintaining a relationship and indicate that you’re willing to learn, a helpful trait in any consultant.
Make sure your business card indicates your field of expertise. (Two or three words usually work.) Otherwise, the people you give your cards to may not remember a month or two later when they find your card in a briefcase or jacket pocket. Also, put a brief tag line across the bottom of your stationery to remind people of your special skills if your letter becomes separated from brochures or work samples.
A well-written proposal is a potent selling tool. Strive to create proposals that are clear and focused on the project at hand. Avoid boilerplate; it gives proposals a canned feel and look.
Give clients all the information they need to make an informed decision. Avoid creating road maps by emphasizing what you can do instead of detailing how you plan to accomplish it.
Six months or a year after a project, offer to return for a "free" review of how your intervention turned out. You will grow professionally as you and the client discuss the pluses and minuses of your consultation, and you have a golden opportunity to uncover new ways in which you can help.
Offer a lead to another consultant or contractor and you create a friend who is likely to return the favor. In 1984, I met Bill B. at my first dinner meeting of the Society for Technical Communications. A few weeks later, he called with a lead on a project he could not fit into his schedule. He also mentioned the rate the client was offering—it was 25% higher than I was getting at the time.
I won the project and did several more before the client's operations were merged into those of its parent company. Since then, I have had the pleasure of referring several clients to Bill and we have also collaborated on projects.
In my 23 years of consulting, I have experienced this scenario many times. Sometimes I'm the first to make the referral; sometimes colleagues like Bill initiate it. Sharing information and contacts is a sound investment that pays dividends for many years.
This page was last updated 03/25/2001
