Jerry Fletcher

4 years ago · 4 min. reading time · 0 ·

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Consultant Marketing New Business Promotion

Consultant Marketing New Business Promotion

Consultant
Marketing
New
Business
Promotion

J.L.LFLETCHER

4 + Different Slant

It’s all about basics.

Over lunch with my friend Kent who runs a nationally ranked digital agency we were talking about what works to promote consultant businesses. I told him about the findings from the 2018 version of the Z-axis annual Consultant Marketing survey. We agreed that he needed to take another look at how they were measuring referrals. He reported that even though his organization’s expertise was in SEO, SEM and Social media basics still produced more action.

What works for consultants?

  • In-person meetings
  • Speaking
  • Referrals & Testimonials
  • Blogs & Newsletters
  • Case Histories

How do you promote your capability to consumers?

I’ve worked with Ad Agencies (digital and traditional) PR firms, Direct Marketing companies, Financial Advisors, Management Consultants, Leadership Consultants, Negotiation Consultants, HR Consultants, Accountants and bookkeepers, and Business Consultants. These are B2B organizations.

The other side of the coin is Coaches (Money, Wellness, Mindfulness, Life, Naturopathic), Therapists (Massage, Psychiatric, Physical), not to mention a slew of other independent professionals that includes veterinarians, dentists, computer repair specialists, Nail salons, plumbers, electricians, HVAC and other contractors.

Each of the above businesses have one or two things that work better for them than anything else. The promotional approaches that are common to all of them are those you need to consider along with the unique ones that technology now provides.

Start with a brand.

That is the most basic element. Whether you are an auto dealer that builds your name around a pet, a mindfulness maven or a CPA who calls himself Captain Crunch having a memorable brand is what gets you in the ball game.

It takes a personal touch to close.

All business contracts come from personal contact with the buyer. All.

No matter how good you are at digital marketing, paid or free, you are going to meet with the contact to turn them into contract. On occasion you may be able to do so via skype or Zoom or telephone but the percentages are significantly lower than an in-person meeting (10% at best). So, all of your promotion should make it easy for your target prospects to begin and maintain a relationship with you until they have reached the point in their customer journey when they are ready to buy.

Be the guide on the customer’s journey.

Speaking puts you in front of more potential customers more quickly than any other approach. Being in the room, passing pheromones, will generate more believability more quickly than any other method I know of. Seeing the lights go on in the audience’s eyes will make you and them even more convinced of your expertise. The trick is to supply the information they want to learn on the topic and not sell anything.

Referrals are where most folks turn to get the scoop on someone that can solve their problem. They ask a friend or colleague to point them to a resource. Next they will Google you or your company and then they will check reviews (for B2C) and your web site (for B2B and B3C). Depending on your Google listings they may check your social media sites as well. You need to have a consistent position in all the areas they check from friend to FaceBook.

Testimonials If you do good work people are inclined to say nice things about you. Too often they are extremely laudatory and come across as unbelievable. The trick to getting good testimonials is to put yourself in the position of the prospect. What questions would you ask? Would you want to know what concerned the person before they hired the independent professional? Would you like some idea of the difference between their presentation and what they were actually like to work with? In other words, a great testimonial is not all sweetness and light. It needs language like, “I wasn’t sure but a week or so in it was better than I thought it would be…”

Blogs None of the consultants I’ve worked with over the years have ever reported acquisition of a client that can be directly traced to a blog post. So why do them? The reason is that it forces you to put in print information that supports your views and helps build SEO for your web site. It also provides the basic information you can include in a monthly newsletter. Building a compendium of material easily searchable on line gives you quick access to well thought out approaches on any subject where you want to reflect expertise. For instance, there are over 100 blogs on Brand at JerryFletcher.net

Newsletters are a real source of business. Yes, you have to build your list. Social Media can help with that. Make it easy to sign up in as many places as you can. Give that form pop up status on your web site. Include the form on the newsletter with a suggestion to send it to a friend. Why does it work? People are busy. The newsletter arriving once month is viewed as being more important than willy-nilly e-mails and lead magnet offers. It is perceived as having the “good stuff.” And if you organize it properly the prospect will want access to more of the data you provide. Two tips: 1. Include information of use from sources other than yourself. 2. Offer them the choice of getting it via mail or e-mail. This promotional device has worked for over 80% of my clients.

Case Histories As I teach in 30-Second Marketing you have to have concrete examples in order to close. The similarity of problems solved for clients and those a prospect is facing make collecting this data an essential action. It helps you clarify for yourself and others what actually happened as a result of a client engagement. I guarantee that if you don’t record it in some way it will fade over time. I came across these three videos as I was reviewing and updating all my video files. Enjoy:

Learn what information to gather to build a case history (Success Story) that will help you close more business. https://vimeo.com/352835268

How to turn your case history (Success Story) into video https://vimeo.com/352835331

How to turn your Case History (Success Story) information into an easily produced print document that gives prospects a reason to trust you and do business with you. https://vimeo.com/352835307

Web sites, white papers. webinars and wily funnels can all play a part in promoting your practice. A web site is essential. White papers can aid your perceived expertise. Webinars, like live video are wearing out their welcome because the content is too sales oriented. Funnel hacking is a skill that few if any independent professionals need until they have developed products for on-line sales.

And so it goes.

_________________________________________________________________

Jerry Fletther
Consultant
Marketing

)

QJerry Fletcher is a sought-after International Speaker, a beBee ambassador, founder and Grand Poobah of www.BrandBrainTrust.com

His consulting practice, founded in 1990, is known for on and off-line Trust-based Consultant Marketing and Brand development advice that builds businesses, careers and lives of joy.

Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com
Speaking:
www.NetworkingNinja.com
DIY Training: www.ingomu.com


Comments

Ali Anani

4 years ago #6

#4
Thanks Jerry. I have very strict family engagements today and tomorrow. I shall then watch the videos with more patience. You mentioned the 30-seconds marketing. Now, I recall the great book by Edward Lewellen "The 30- seconds mind manager", I suggest you couple your efforts and you may come up with a novel book on neuroscience of marketing.

Jerry Fletcher

4 years ago #5

#3
Peace my brother. I knew your meaning. Homophones are a nightmare even if English is your first language. And so it goes.

Jerry Fletcher

4 years ago #4

#2
Thanks Ed. I appreciate the share on Linked In. It may wind up there in a slightly different form if I adapt it for my regular blog. You may have wsaved me the trouble! And so it goes.

Jerry Fletcher

4 years ago #3

#1
Dr. Ali, Hope you had a chance to review the videos. They were done years ago and have been sequestered in the vault until yesterday. the elements of case histories are a major factor in developing powerful web sites and key to 30-Second Marketing TM.

Ali Anani

4 years ago #2

I mean t piece and not peace in my previous comment

Ali Anani

4 years ago #1

Great peace Jerry Fletcher. You highlight great points. One particular one that I find very useful is "Case Histories". This is a form of storytelling and its effectiveness is related to how we tell the story.

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