If you’re like many professionals, marketing professional services may make you a wee bit uncomfortable. You may feel as though self promotion is a sleazy activity, engaged in only by people trying to put something over on unsuspecting prospects.
But marketing professional services is an important skill to cultivate if you want your business to thrive over the long term, despite what might be happening with the economy.
Let me introduce you to Harlan, a client who learned about the importance of self promotion the hard way:
Harlan is an architect who went out on his own about 7 years ago when he decided he didn’t like working for a control freak boss who micro-managed his every move, despite the fact that he was a talented designer. A couple of loyal clients ditched his old firm and supplied Harlan with enough work to take him through the first two years.
Busy with these clients, Harlan went along diligently focusing on his projects, but neglecting to do anything about getting new work in. Concerned about their ability to pay their bills and support their family, his wife suggested that Harlan start attending some networking events. She had an attorney friend who told her this was a good way to start marketing professional services, but Harlan kept putting it off, saying that the projects he was doing would generate referrals in time, he didn’t need to do any self promotion.
Deep down inside, he knew that self promotion made him feel a bit like a used car salesman, and he would do anything to avoid it. As luck would have it, about a month before his last project ended, just in the nick of time, another one came in. A nice juicy, big one which took him through year 5, and the stock market crash that officially started the recession in the fall of 2008.
The recession hit just as this project was about to be completed. Contractors were laying off their crews, suppliers were in a panic. Business had dried up, and Harlan was faced with a difficult decision: To deal with his aversion or start looking for a job.
Harlan had grown accustomed to working for himself. He liked making his own decisions, having the freedom to design without someone looking over his shoulder and setting his own pace. It seemed natural for him to work like this. What didn’t come naturally however, was doing any kind of self promotion.
The next 7 months were brutal. He soon went through his savings and started to tap into what little retirement money he had managed to squirrel away. His credit score dropped and none of the local design firms needed anyone, even part-time.
When Harlan called me, he was at his wits end.
Here’s what we did:
We pinpointed what he disliked about marketing. We talked about colleagues who seemed to have a knack for marketing professional services, and which of their attributes he admired. We developed a message which identified his ideal clients and projects. We analyzed his competition and determined what made Harlan different. We examined the reasons his client’s were attracted to him and what results they were able to achieve by having him design their spaces. We made lists of contractors, suppliers and engineers who respected his work, and developed a marketing and sales strategy that Harlan felt good about. We practiced and role played marketing conversations and developed a brochure and website to take his message public that he was proud of.
He began to sow the seeds that would turn into new business. And sure enough, these seed began to grow. Today, Harlan is busy with new projects and the phone is ringing with requests for new proposals. Self promotion is no longer a dirty word.
If your aversion to marketing professional services is holding you back, apply for a Business Sanity Strategy Session where we can speak about your specific challenges and learn how I can help.
Susan Martin, Marketing Coaching
