Are you doing the right things to be profitable? (D'Arcy Norman CC BY 2.0)
Every firm wants to be profitable. But often those running firms make the mistake of thinking acquiring new clients is the best way to achieve that, especially if they aren’t discriminating and accept any business as a client. New clients often are high risk and may not be good clients over time.
The best way to become profitable is to sell to existing clients and charge more for your services, says Randy Shattuck in his podcast interview, The Best Path to Profitability for Professional Services Firms. It’s always easier to sell something new to existing clients than it is to sell something existing to a new client, he says.
Getting existing clients to buy additional services, however, means signing on ideal clients—those who believe you offer great value. You do that by building a value proposition and brand, Shattuck says.
“The more you build your brand, the greater the likelihood that you’re going to get the right deals with ideal clients with high profit per deal,” he says.
Tony Tiernan agrees, but says in his article—Does Your Firm Suffer From an Identity Crisis?—that you must also make sure you provide truly great services. If your firm is experiencing a lull, take the time to make sure your firm has a clear identity, offers outstanding value and services, and is targeting the right clients.
Whether you’re acquiring new clients or reaching out to current clients, you must still sell to them. And selling is not something many services professionals feel comfortable doing. In fact, many when faced with selling for the first time say they won’t be good at it, don’t have the time, don’t like talking about money, and more.
The good news is services professionals already possess the skills that make them great salespeople, say Mike Schultz and John Doerr in their article, The Story You Tell Yourself About Selling. You must simply change your mind set. If you believe you can sell and will sell, you can become a big gun rainmaker.
Publishing content can help with client acquisition, but it takes work, as C.J. Hayden explains in her article, Publish or Perish: Why You Must Make Publishing Part of Your Marketing Plan. By publishing quality content that shows your expertise and in some cases shows what it’s like to work with you, you create awareness and build your brand. So, when you talk with prospective clients, they already know about you, are ready to work with you, and don’t question your rates, Hayden says.
One firm that has discovered the power of original content is Resicom. The company wanted to become a thought leader in its market, so it turned to publishing articles and white papers, writing a blog, and speaking engagements, writes Gwen Moran in her case study, How a Service Firm Cut through the Noise to Create Conversations with Hard-to-Reach Prospects. As a result, Resicom improved its website ranking in search engines by 300% and opened dialogue with several prospects who were particularly difficult to reach in the past.
Resicom joins a growing number of small U.S. businesses that have discovered the power of social media such as blogs. In fact, the use of social media tactics such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn doubled from 2008 to 2009 for small businesses, according to “The State of Small Business Report” from Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. And of those surveyed, 39% said they publish a blog on their area of expertise.
Blogging, however, is just one piece of the pie when it comes to marketing your firm and creating a brand. Consider the type of media your prospects prefer and the tactics they best respond to and build your plan.
