A Question about Marketing Your Services and Expertise

Dear Colleague,

As you probably know I will facilitate a Marketing a Consulting Practice = How to Become a Rainmaker workshop (Marketing Professional & Consulting Services) on the 11^th November in Johannesburg.

 

Yesterday I received an interesting email with a request and I thought you might be interested in my response.

 

The Question:

I would like to discuss my personal situation with you personally please, as I am not sure if this seminar/workshop(s) presented by yourself will be the correct one for me.

I am not a sales person (never was) however, I am now involved (new responsibilities) to go out to the market place and to find more potential members for our Institute and focusing on Commerce & Industry. (This initiative is for reaching  people, tertiary institutions and organisations. There is a mix of recruitment/marketing/awareness in my responsibilities).In the "attachment" is a profile of our organisation as background. How can you assist m in what I need to do?

 I am very keen to hear from you.

 

This was my response. What would you add if you were in my position?

 

I think you will definitely find this workshop of use.

 

Rule Number 1 - Always think of yourself as a Businessperson first, then as a Consultant.

 

“You have to market yourself to sell your firm. This is true of accountants, architects, consultants, engineers and lawyers. It is certainly true for economists, executive recruiters, PR specialists, human resources consultants, estate agents and increasingly the medical profession. Yet, the sales methods that stand big companies in good stead may not always work for a consultant in private or professional practice. Firstly, you may not have the budget and secondly you do not have the resources or time. This means that you need to use different methods and processes to get your messages across”.

 

Every consulting business needs new clients to thrive and grow. Building a business is an activity that should never stop. The trick lies in dividing your time between doing the actual work and marketing constantly. Keeping one eye on your current client and another on the horizon for future clients is a difficult juggling act.

 

Just as there are many different ways to drive a car to Cape Town, there are many different ways to bring in new clients into your business. You can place ads and hope that your customers may see it, or you can cold call hoping that you can get possible appointment for interviews.

 

The trick lies in developing the most cost effective way to reach clients and to build your business. Effective ways could range from obtaining referrals to building a reputation through writing articles in the media. This workshop will explore innovative ways and means to ensure a steady stream of clients.

 

Marketing is a numbers game. The only way to increase your batting averages is to go and bat. If you go and bat there is a good chance that you will be caught out. But the more times you go bat the better your chances for striking it rich. Thus the better your marketing planning and execution, the higher your probability of success. The bottom line is marketers market. Remind yourself daily that you should be working on something.

 

Tony Robbins in his book "Unlimited Power" speaks of the concept of modeling i.e.” To become successful, you need to model yourself on the knowledge, skills and attitudes of successful people…By role modeling them you can shorten the very expensive learning curve and become successful far quicker yourself.

 

Researchers in systems thinking speak about leverage points – those small, well-focused actions that can, when used at the right time and in the right place, produce significant, lasting benefits exponentially beyond the effort required to take the action step itself.

 

Remember that even small changes can affect your marketing efforts in a powerful manner.

 

In the book “High Income Consulting" by Tom Lambert, the author has the following to say:

 

"The so - called window of opportunity is open only briefly as an organisation's priorities change. When a potential client recognizes the need for services which you supply, yours must be the name they know. Your marketing, therefore, must be CONSISTENT and INDIRECT, aimed specifically at making you well known to ALL your prospective clients".

 

Marketing by definition is a system implying that it should be all of the above. You have to find methods that will work for you in the long term and in the short term, using vehicles ranging from public speaking engagements to suitable audiences to being listed in directories.

 

The Market your Practice workshop will provide ample opportunity for consultants to deepen their learning as marketing strategists and strengthen their consultancy marketing skills.

 

More information - http://www.deonbinneman.com/marketing-a-consulting-practice/

 

I can ask you many more questions such as what is your plan of action, where are you going to start, etc....

 

If you are still interested to attend you need to act quickly to register your place. I only accommodate 15 delegates and the event is filling up fast. If you pay before this Saturday you can save some real money.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Deon Binneman

The Reputation Go-to Guy