Marketing for Professional Services Firms
Does your current approach to New Client Acquisition reflect the change in the Economy?
We work with the partners and staff of professional service firms to help them achieve their business growth goals. Our clients are lawyers, accountants, IT companies, software businesses, telecoms providers, consultants and other service professionals.
We help them improve their marketing and sales capabilitites to attract more clients and win more new business. Many professionals are highly skilled at what they do but are not sure how to best market themselves and are hugely uncomfortable in selling situations.
We work with you and your team to analyse your current performance and aspirations, look at your client base, how you are positioned, what approaches you use in marketing and business development, what your competitors are doing, how you manage current clients and new business opportunities, and the results you achieve.
There is an assessment of your current marketing and business development practices, which will be developed to provide a list of improvement opportunities and a plan for implementing the improvements over the next few months.
"The expertise you shared with the partners made us take a fresh and radical look at how we develop our future business.Your workshops were most informative and energising providing us with fresh ideas and inspiration to help us agree our forward planning.We were particularly impressed with your knowledge of the challenges facing a business in our industry. You shared your knowledge in a clear, straightforward and highly professional manner and your input lead to us having our most productive partner retreat ever. I have already started recommending your services to others and I hope that you will be able to continue to help us in the future. I Thank You for your time and commitment."
Martin Karran, Head of Private Client, Turner Parkinson Solicitors
"Alistair delivered a motivational session to our team of accountants and challenged them on growth strategy and their ability to sell services. Selling is a key skill for accountants but sadly it still not regarded by many as absolutely vital for business growth; our accountants agree that they are good thinkers but not good at putting their thoughts into action. Alistair’s session has really got the team debating how they can implement more effective business growth and measure the results. His delivery style is interesting, humorous and involving – we are already seeing action from our newly inspired team!”
Emily Dean, Head of HR, Montpelier Group Accountants
"We have used Alistair to help our clients grow their businesses. He provides practical, insightful, actionable advice that our clients tell us has made a real difference. Personally, I use Alistair to bounce ideas off and I find his challenge and feedack invaluable."
Simon Brownbill, Director of Practice Development, Hurst Accountants
Have a look at the dozen or so common problems in the list below and see if you can spot any familiar issues facing your practise:
Collapse of conveyancing fees and interest earned from client accounts.
1 or 2 Partners generate 80% of new business.
Your website produces few leads and little business.
Cross selling is a goal of the practise but it doesn't seem to happen.
We attend networking events but achieve nothing.
The practise does a lot of seminars, brochures, sports tickets, sponsorships and advertising but can't track any specific client to the initiatives.
Our staff belong to many organisations but few in an influential leadership position.
The practise does not premeditatedly identify industries where it has experience or expertise, with the aim of persuing potential clients in those industries.
We don't maximise the potential of the latest technologies available such as blogs, podcasts, online video etc
Business development does not get focus in Appraisal meetings.
No incentives for generating new business or consequences for not doing so.
No formal referral strategy in place.
Many staff are willing to market but don't really know what to do.
The Financial health of any business is reliant on attracting new revenue streams. Do you have strategy and systems in place to achieve your goals?
Are you struggling to differentiate yourself on price, quality and service in an increasingly competitive marketplace? We can help you find answers to the following questions.
Who should you be talking to? What will you say to them? Where will you find them? Why should they bother to listen?
If your practise has been affected by the change in the economy call us Today on 0161 748 0060 to arrange a FREE INITIAL MEETING to discuss your particular circumstances and learn about how we can help you with a written Action Plan of up to 80 ways to add value to your operation that will lead to increased lead generation and existing client spend. Consider it in motoring terms as giving your business a M.O.T.
Some Sample Topics covered in our training sessions are listed below:
- Professional Business Development Review
- Rainmaking Fundamentals
- Why the downturn is a good time for Business Development
- Executing your Lead Generation Plan
- Why Professional Services marketing doesn’t work!
- 7 Deadly Sins of Professional Services marketing
- Fatal marketing Mistakes made by lawyers
- Marketing Planning-Analysis & Assumptions
- Top 25 methods buyers use to choose Professional service firms
- Top 10 Lead Generation mistakes
- Building Brand Taglines
- Business Development Process
- Top 25 Lead Generation Methods
- You can’t build a relationship by email alone
- Cold calling works
- 5 Ways to reconnect with an old client
- Promote a Just Do it culture
- Referral Scripts
- Selling Questions that Provide structure
- Ways to respond to “We already have a provider”
- Networking - Questions to ask a new contact
- Reasons for losing a Business Pitch
- Tips for Making every contact count
- Tips for legal blogs
- Targeting
- What you should strategise about
- Marketing to Existing Clients
- Listening to Clients
- Profitability & Growth
- Tactics to Enhance Client Value
- Role & Measurement of the Practice Leader
- Partner Performance Review
- Client Feedback Questionnaire
Customer Service
- Basics to get you started
- Legendary Customer Service
- Emotional Bank Account
- Customer Wish list
- The Missing quality in Customer Service – Commitment!
Alistair Marshall Consulting....Professional Business Development for Professionals.