Consulting Is All About Marketing - You!

I debated about the title of this article. Originally, it was: "Consulting is All About Finding Clients." From there it morphed into: "Consulting is All About Marketing Your Services." And then, after musing over what I did in building my practice over the years and what it was that clients actually purchased, I realized that what most clients actually buy is "you" the person.

Business Owners Are Really Buying "You" as Much as Your Expertise.

This is particularly true for small business owners. In a very real sense the small business entrepreneur IS her (or his) business. Every decision is a personal one and often they come to the decision to seek help only after anguishing over the fact that they can't do it alone. (Most entrepreneurs embody at least some characteristics of the superman complex.) That opens up the possibility that they feel vulnerable.

Your Sales Process Does Not Include "Cold Calling."

It stands to reason that they will be cautious - even suspicious - of you and your expertise. So how do you break through the barriers to engagement?

You certainly don't want to stand on a street corner with a sign that says "expert consulting services for sale." Nor do you want to go door-to-door offering your services. Neither of these approaches would instill confidence in a prospective client's eyes.

How clients actually "find" you is usually through referral, by reading your words of wisdom or by investigating sources of expertise in a specific area that they "think" they need assistance with.

Your Sales Process thus begins by gaining a reputation for being a problem solver. You do this in several ways, too many to list in this article. But all of them, to one degree or another, must enhance your problem-solving reputation. And that usually means that you find ways to "demonstrate" your knowledge.

Sampling The Inventory in Your Professional Brain

When you write a white paper, give a talk, appear on a panel or get quoted by some other authority -- sharing provocative bits and pieces of your knowledge -- you are indirectly marketing yourself. It's admittedly an oblique approach, but all the things you do today will impact your sales tomorrow.

Everything You Do Publicly is Marketing!

From your business cards, stationery, phone answering to your wardrobe and the car you drive, look at yourself through the eyes of your prospective clients. How will they judge you? If, for example, you drive a Maserati, will they resent "paying a premium" (in their mind) for your services or will they assume that your services are really valuable? If your phone is answered by a machine that sounds like a relic from the 1950s, will they worry that you aren't up to date on business issues? If you admit to not knowing how to Tweet, will they think you are "an old dog unable to learn new tricks?"

These may be subtle things, but you are selling an intangible service. Like it or not, marketing will likely determine your level of success in consulting.

Looking for more on how to break into the world of consulting? Long-time entrepreneur Joseph A. Krueger of The Marketing Machine® shares regular stories and tips - mostly but not all marketing related -- for new and expert consultants at http://www.ConsultantsMarketingMachine.com.