Generating Leads in Professional Services: Proven Tactics You Can't Ignore

0:07Hello and welcome to another episode of the duct tape marketing podcast. This is John Chance and no guests today. I'm going to do a solo show. I get lots of good feedback from these. So if you keep giving me good feedback, I'll keep doing these shows. So hopefully you enjoy them. Today, I'm going to focus on marketing, lead generation, client building for professional services industry in particular. Professional services, by that I mean consultants. We work with a lot of consultants, agencies, fractional CMOs. But I'm also really applied this same idea or one of the ideas I'm going to talk about at least today to accounting firms, law firms, consultants of all stripes.

0:50because professional services marketing is just different. I mean, you're not selling a product. It is really about trust building as much as anything. And so there are elements, there are some things that just won't work necessarily for marketing professional services. And there's some things that you just have to commit to doing long-term to build that trust. Trust doesn't come overnight. But the first thing I want to talk about is, and I work with a lot of folks that are like, oh, my pipeline is dry. I need to generate leads. And so they, you know, they go out and they start buying books about funnel hacking and building huge lists.

1:27And, you know, those are fine if you've got the business to a place where you're trying to scale it and you're trying to add consultants and things. But for most consultants, most small agencies even, I mean, how many more clients do you need? How many can you actually serve? How many more clients a month would actually cause you some issues with fulfillment because that's really where it starts because a lot of what you're going to do in professional services is you're really just going to try to get an appointment. You're going to try to get in front of somebody so that they can realize that you are uniquely suited to solve their unique problem in a very specific way.

2:05And that's really tough to do by, you know, creating ads, ESLs, video sales letters, things. As I said, it can be done, But that's not where you want to start, I don't think. So I'm going to go all the way back to the beginning. And again, the first exercise is how many clients do you need? How many clients can you serve? Because that's really going to dictate how and where you spend your energy. But the first thing that you have to do, I think marketing professional services requires a bit of a mindset shift for a lot of people. As I said, the primary goal in all of your marketing is to actually build trust and kind of elevate your practice to a level where people trust you.

2:48And you do that, frankly, by delivering value. And you do that by having total focus on your customer. You know, I think a lot of people where they really struggle with marketing professional services, I mean, you know, that's air, right? That's a lot of cases. Consulting is consulting. You know, you can't plop it in front of somebody and say, look, you know, take it out for a test drive. So that's why trust is such an important element. And I think that, you know, what happens is a lot of times people, consultants particularly, especially ones that, you know, are kind of new to the game. Can I really do this?

3:19You know, I've never really done it for anybody else. You know, why would somebody trust me? there's a real feeling of a need to, you know, I got to fake it. I've got to, you know, make them understand how much I know and, you know, all the things I can do that are so unique and nobody's ever done before. And, you know, I think that's really backwards. It's not about you. It's completely about them. And I think a lot of times, you know, that's, that comes from a lack of experience, but also comes from a lack of confidence. And I think that, you know, that our need or our feeling that we have to make it about us is because we lack that confidence.

3:53If you like that and just say, look, I'm here to get a result for you. I'm here to solve a problem that you have. Let's talk about if we can do that or not. I think you get that mindset. It's about them. You realize, hey, I only need X amount of clients rather than anybody who says they will do business with me. I think that's the real starting point is to kind of shift it about who's important here. And I think it takes the pressure off of what you're trying to do and how you're trying to convince people, pitch people. You're just there to solve their problems. You're there to get them a result.

4:29You're there to deliver value. It takes all the pressure off. Having said that, now we've got to go out and get somebody who wants to talk to us. I talked to a lot of folks just getting started in professional services and they want to set up all these complex funnels and things. And I think you just, if you want an idea or the other advice, of course, that I rail against quite often is that people tell you you've got to pick a niche and go deep in that and just tell everybody that's who you serve. And that can pay off in the long run. In the short run, if you run, if you just get started, how would you pick one?

5:03Maybe you've got some deep experience in an industry and that certainly would be a good starting point. But a lot of the folks just arbitrarily pick one because they think it might be good. And I think that's a recipe for disaster. When you go about an ideal client, first off, if you're selling, you know, we primarily sell marketing strategy. Well, have they ever marketing strategy before? You know, can marketing strategy solve a problem? Can you identify the problem that marketing strategy can solve? Can you prove that you can do it, that you can deliver value? You know, that's a lot of, I think, how you narrow your focus to an ideal client.

5:39So, you know, what problem do you solve? Does your prospect know that they have a problem? It's pretty tough to convince somebody that you've got a solution for something they're not even trying to solve. How badly do they want to solve it? That's another thing. We waste a lot of time convincing people that this is a good idea. And I think it's, you know, in many cases, you're not going to get an ideal client. And so, you know, from somebody that you have to convince that they have a problem, you have to convince them what the problem is. And you have to convince that, you know, they should want to solve that.

6:10Nobody ever should want to buy our services. They should need, they should be, they have a huge desire to buy it. They have a serious problem that they know that they can identify, that they know that it is the thing that's holding them back. Those are the things, I mean, that's, you know, that's what we have to go after as an ideal client. And, you know, if you've got that feeling that, hey, I've only got five or six clients that I need, I think it just makes it a lot easier to say, look, I can be very laser focused on who I can talk to and who I can't talk to, who I can help and who I can't help.

6:43That's why I think in many cases, we use a lot of tools. We use assessments and we use something like the marketing hourglass, which is a tool of ours, which actually does a great job at demonstrating somebody has a need for strategy because they realize all it does is the tool shows them the gaps that they have. So all of a sudden, then they start not only realizing they have a problem, but they also start assessing what that problem is costing them. And that creates urgency. So that's why assessment tools are really great for professional services. All right. So we talked mostly about mindset.

7:18Now I want to get a little bit into the tactics of then how do you get that visibility? How do you get out there and start having people say, hey, I want to talk to you. I want to have an appointment with you. So the very first place to start, and so many overlook this because I think that they just They look at their phone, they've got 2000 contacts on it. They think, oh, those people never need what I do, do they? I mean, the first market you ought to go after, if this is all about building trust, who trusts you already? People who know you already, people you've already worked with. Some people will call it warm markets.

7:54Identify who they are because those are going to be the people that are willing to talk to you even if you're just getting started. So start figuring out what problems they have. Can you solve it in a simple way? And here's the critical thing with consulting. Can you communicate how you solve your solution in very simple ways? I, in my very first book in duct tape marketing, I coined a phrase of the talking logo. And the idea would, is that is a phrase that really hooks people's interest. And it's not about you. It's about who you serve and what problem you solve. And it typically is, if you think about in response to, if you were at an event or a cocktail party and said, somebody said, so John, what do you do for a living, that you would have to have this very concise, specific, evocative message, talking logo, that's going to be less than, I don't know, 15 words that makes them, almost forces them to go, if they have that problem, if they are that target market, right?

8:55Forces them to go, really? Tell me more about that. Because it's the way that when you go out there and you start talking to people, especially if you're new to consulting, when you go out and you start talking to people who know you already, you want to have a very concise way to say, hey, here's something new I'm doing. So for example, a talking logo, the form is, you know, we work with or we help or whatever, you know, verb you want to use your target market. So in our case, it's quite often agencies who have this problem. All right. So for us, it might sound like we work with agencies who are tired of working more and making less.

9:33We hear that all the time as a problem that a lot of agencies have. If they're successful at getting business, there's so much pressure on tactics these days and so much competition on price these days. I feel like they're working harder. They get more business, they bring on more team and they're actually making less. So if that agency person that I'm talking to, I'm across the table from, or I've just met, or I've just reached out to on LinkedIn in even is feeling, you know, that problem, all of a sudden, that's somebody who is going to say, tell me more about that. So a lot of, again, what I've talked about is figuring out your ideal client, you know, figuring out how to get started where, you know, who trusts you already, you're, you definitely have to build visibility.

10:17And we're going to talk about that as well. But your initial visibility comes from people who trusts you already and having that talking logo that really hooks them into a conversation. So after that, you know, it's really a matter of, you know, there are five or six proven ways to create greater visibility, to generate leads, to generate conversations, which is a great deal of what, you know, your real goal is. And I always tell people, look, two or three of them, don't try to do every single one of them, or worse, don't try to do something that you absolutely hate. Like, for example, speaking is a great way to build, is a great way to get in front of and be visible and be seen as an authority.

10:58But if you hate the idea of that, well, then don't put yourself through that. You don't have enough time. You don't need thousands of clients, right? So pick the two or three that you feel most comfortable with and go deep in those. So as far as those go, I mean, first and foremost, and don't let this be a detriment to you getting out there and actually having conversations. But first and foremost, you need to have an online presence that communicates trust. Because even if somebody refers you, they're going to go to your website. Does it have that simple message? Is there proof that you've done something?

11:32Is your solution that you provide very clearly and simply communicated? That's job number one. Again, go out and have conversations with people before you get that done. Don't sit here working on that until you get that done, but that's certainly kind of a given, obviously, these days. Now, that was a great place for you to then think in terms of producing content that addresses your ideal client's problems. It's not necessarily sales content, it's educational content that shows them that you know what you're talking about. That's something that really is, it doesn't have to be something you lock yourself in a room and do for six months, but it needs to be something you commit to weekly to continue to produce some of that.

12:15Networking is always going to be a consultant professional service business's friend. Your warm market is potential for clients. It's also great potential for referrals. They already trust you. Connect with people that are in your warm market. I think one of the best reasons for doing a podcast, quite frankly, is not because you're going to have a giant audience or get lots of sponsors. It gives you a reason. It gives you an excuse to connect with your ideal client in a way that benefits them. That's about them. I want to interview you on my show because I am interviewing, you know, CFOs or CEOs, midsize company CEOs.

12:52And I'd love to have you on my show. Well, that just happened. Maybe also be a prospect, but now you've got a reason to do something for them. Peer roundtables, get your clients together, get other, you know, peers together. Referral groups are another great way to kind of control your own networking. I mean, there's nothing worse than just having to sit back and wait for the networking chamber event to go, maybe meet two or three people. Well, create your own networking events. I tell people all the time that you can't ever be in a position where you don't know where your next prospective conversation is coming from.

13:26So that has to be something you commit to every week, probably 20 % in the beginning, 40 % probably, or 50%, but at least 20%, Even when you feel like, hey, I'm really rocking this. Things are going great. You know, 20 % of your time needs to be spent on marketing activities. Always have a list of 50 prospects, maybe 50 influencers, and always ask for introductions. Now, I mentioned speaking. You can hold your own events, you know, webinars. Certainly, there are industry groups, trade groups that need speakers all the time, particularly if you work in a couple full speak industries. Make yourself available as a speaker to those.

14:05get on podcast. There are so many podcasts today and the podcast, in many cases, hosts are, are starving for good guests. And so you can get yourself on podcasts. And here's the sort of dirty little secret about podcasts is podcast hosts traditionally want to promote the heck out of their shows because they want more listeners. And so you're going to get links from that. It's great for SEO. You're going to get content that you can reuse and share. You can get transcripts out of it. I mean, so it's really such a, it's the power tool, quite frankly, if I were going to, you know, really, there's obviously some foundational things you need to build, but, but I would, you know, for somebody that feels like they, they enjoy being on podcasts, that's a great, great tool for you to really exploit because of the many benefits that, that really come from being at the exposure is actually almost a side benefit in some cases, because you'll get on some shows that probably don't give you that much exposure, ideal client.

15:01You'll get on some that are great for that, but there are just so many benefits for doing it, spending the time to do it because it's not that time consuming that it makes a ton of sense. Last one I want to talk about is strategic partners. And there's a lot of overlap in these. I mean, that could be seen as networking. Certainly you can do speaking for strategic partners, but every professional service provider should actually develop a group, if you will, of obviously non-competitive other professional service providers because your clients need them all. I mean, if you can, if you're an accountant and your client needs a lawyer, you know, be the person that brings them that great resource or that great referral.

15:41So there's great reason to have those resources anyway. But then you can start looking at, you know, you can start doing workshops for all of your strategic partners, clients. So, you know, they've already got trust with their audience, with their community, with their clients, and now they can introduce you as a trusted advisor is a great way to borrow trust. Particularly, again, I keep focusing on people that feel like they don't have enough or maybe they're just getting started. The right strategic partner might be able to get you in front of 500 prospects through some combination of introductions and speaking and networking.

16:15So really focusing on developing. And I'm not talking about here affiliate type of relationships two or three really good core strategic partners that have your same ideal client in mind you know an executive coach for example is a professional service provider that is a great strategic partner because you know in our and in my business we offer marketing well executive coaches don't do marketing but pretty much every person they work with every ceo that they work with has a marketing problem and so that's going to be an area executive coach you know, helps direct some business too. So, you know, having a partner, strategic partner like that, and there are lots of things you can do in terms of producing content together, doing webinars, obviously referring each other, but looking to develop a few of those relationships is really core to kind of your long-term momentum.

17:08So this was just kind of my foray, almost brain dump really into the difference of, you know, you didn't hear me talk about everything. You didn't hear me talk about social media necessarily. Those are all kind of nice top of funnel things. Once you get the sort of the middle, the trust building component down, the visibility part, the expertise part, once you get all that down, you can start expanding into some more areas outside of that. But again, maybe you never do because you're able to build a solid book of business just on these visibility tactics that I've explained today. So hopefully that was useful.

17:45I always love comments. It's just John at duct tape marketing. If you want to send me an email anytime, and hopefully we'll run into you one of these down the road.