Top Four
Marketing Secrets of
Building a Professional Practice
Building a coaching or consulting practice can be rewarding and
lucrative. Sadly, many who get started on this path simply can’t make
it. Almost daily I talk to people who give up on their dream of
“solopreneurship” and, resentfully, join the ranks of job seekers.
What disturbs me the most
is that many of them are talented and skilled professionals; real
experts in their field. With just a bit of marketing know-how they may
have been able to generate healthy six-figure incomes doing the work
they love.
Instead, they spend tons
of money getting more certifications. They are becoming “master
technicians” mistakenly thinking that alone will get them clients. But
that’s not how it works at all!
Let’s take the coaching
profession for example. You see, prospective clients don’t even know the
difference between ICF, CTI, Hudson, Adler, CoachVille or any other
certification. They have no clue what CPC, MCC or other letters you
might be putting behind your last name mean – nor do they care! What
they care about is results – what benefits they’ll receive.
There’s a lot of talk in
the coaching community right now about certifications, and while I agree
it is important, it doesn’t matter one bit if you don’t have clients!
Plus, you can be the most educated, certified, qualified, and
professional coach out there and still struggle to stay busy.
You might think that’s
common sense, right? WRONG! I see coaches drop thousands of dollars in a
blink of an eye to get another certification and agonize for months over
a hundred dollars investment in a marketing course!
The good news, unlike
getting certified, learning a few simple marketing strategies doesn’t
have to cost thousands of dollars. And it can make all the difference in
the world. As a matter of fact, here are my top four “practice marketing
secrets” absolutely free.
Marketing Secret #1 –
Know Your “Ideal” Client
It’s critical that you
know who they are, what their biggest problems are, how they make
decisions, what they like to spend money on, where they hang out, etc.
The “narrower” you describe your ideal clients and the more you know
about them the easier it becomes to get your marketing message across.
Marketing Secret #2 –
Become An Expert
And I don’t just mean be
good at what you do. Heck, you should do that anyway! I mean position
yourself as an expert in a specific area.
For example, you might be
work with C-level executives in the insurance industry, or teach sales
skills to realtors, or do turn-around consulting in manufacturing, or
help working young mothers achieve life balance, or become a dating
guru. Whatever makes you tick – just focus on one thing!
Marketing Secret #3 – Use
Multi-Step Marketing
This is where I see so
many professionals completely blow it. If a potential client doesn’t
sign up for your services what do you do? Forget about them? I hope not!
You work hard to get new leads and meet potential prospects so why give
up on them? Many people simply feel uncomfortable doing business with
someone they don’t know too well.
You should have a
systematic way of keeping up with them – for years, if that’s what it
takes. Let them get to know you, your company, and your services. You
never know when their situation might change and they might be ready to
sign up.
Marketing Secret #4 – Get
Help
Just like your clients
need your help, don’t be afraid to get help in the area of business and
marketing. One of the most idiotic things I hear from professionals is
“I should be able to do this myself.” Have you ever seen a brain surgeon
operate on his own brain tumor. After all – he should be able to do it
himself, right?
About 4 years ago I was
struggling with closing sales and was really frustrated to see my
potential clients hire other experts even though I was a lot more
qualified to help them. I got the help of a successful sales coach. His
advice not only quickly produced results to pay his fee but it also
allowed me to make trips to my bank a lot more often.
There you have it – those
are my top four secret marketing tips. OK, so maybe they are not so
secret after all. In that case – I’m sure you are already happily
working with all the clients you can possibly handle ;-)
(c) 2004 Adam M. Urbanski
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Urbanski, the Marketing Mentor, helps Independent Service
Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more
promotional tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to
http://www.themarketingmentors.com
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