Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of Business Development Success

by Mike Schultz, Lee Frederiksen, Mike Schultz

A proven approach to revenue-generating marketing and client development Professional Services Marketing is a fully field-tested and research-based approach to marketing and client development for professional services firms. The book, now in its Second Edition , covers five key areas that are critical for firms that want to grow and become more profitable: creating a marketing and growth strategy; establishing a brand and reputation; implementing a marketing communications program; executing lead generation strategies; and developing business by winning new clients. You will also read real-world case studies that illustrate major points, as well as quotes and stories from well-respected professionals in the industry. Firms of any size can use this proven approach to marketing and client development to attract new clients and grow their professional service businesses.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 29, 2009

Reviews

[Gary Spagnoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is opinionated and gives strong recommendations - I'm a fan of how the authors attack the billable hours model, and it's something that I originally read about in Alan Weiss' Million Dollar Consulting (a better book IMO).

The advice given on how to manage revenue streams and how pricing elevates your brand is a friendly reminder on avoiding discounting rates in the professional services space. There's nothing incredibly groundbreaking here, but the writing style makes this very quick to run through. Recommend to any smaller online agency looking to compete with more white collar / traditional firms.

[Ties · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very high quality, practical advice and how-to information that I can immediately implement in our daily operations.

[Olivia Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reading this book. Good strategy in this book.
I am also build my brand in Lead Generation.
https://theleadcrafters.com this is my domain.
I hope this book helpful for my brand.

[Justin Jaeger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing I found most useful about this book is that it separately analyzed much of the philosophies I bring to business development into individual trackable initiatives. It acknowledges the different methodologies that professional services firms practice in terms of sales and marketing while emphasizing the importance of making a plan and living in it, which is something I find encouraging about the attitude and culture in my current position. I read chapters 1-5 for my on boarding.

Some of my favorite takeaways: (I won't call them spoilers, because of the evangelistic nature of the non-fiction here)

-The power of the referral and its "transferred trust." It speaks to how we qualify leads. A referral is like a blind date- with a third party's reputation on the line. In the news world, (my background) these days people are putting their faith in blogs as opposed major news organizations because our trust in the generally accepted authority of corporate entities is trumped by the personal transferred trust of social endorsement. In our business, to market and sell our professional service, little can be more powerful than the social perception of our brand and the personal endorsement of a positively raving referral.

-Money is a conceptual thing. "It can be just as difficult to sell a $5,000 engagement as it is a $50,000 engagement as it is to sell a $500,000 engagement." The level of effort involved in a sale is rarely an indicator of the revenue an engagement will bill. We should weed out engagements that do not match our ideal client profile because our time and effort is best spent with the customers and engagements that are the best fit for us.

-Are people choosing us for our rates? our reputation? our brand? The book speaks to pricing and the importance of its role in perception of our brand. "The pricing model you choose is a tool to help you maximize profit while also creating value in the mind of the buyer."

-"Business plans do become important... if you are trying to do something new and bold." BUT "Marketing and BD remain the redheaded stepchild. It is no longer debatable that strong marketing & BD can have a major impact on the success of a professional services firm. (Although we still see firms argue long and hard about it)"

I also love the concept of distilling the seven levers that matter to increase revenue, performing a comprehensive audit to evaluate our network and marketing effectiveness, and most importantly, the four core measurable outcomes of marketing:
-New conversations with potential buyers.
-Better odds of winning client engagements.
-Higher revenue per client and per engagement, and higher fees for your services.
-Increased affinity with the actual and potential workforce.

I'm storing those three evaluation tools separately for use later with our team and the continuing development of our Business Development Charter.

[Joel Ungar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I lied. I didn't read all of it. I stopped at page 56, when the authors got on board the billable hour train - 4 sentence "...there's nothing inherently wrong with the billable hour."

I disagree 100%. And therefore I stopped reading.

Most of what I read before page 56 was ok - nothing overly original, and certainly nothing great enough to make me want to read past their support of the billable hour.

[Chi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good start for anyone enjoying marketing and business development in general. Yet I hope there would be more examples and stories to describe the techniques and strategies and make the material easier to follow.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

7 years into my career in marketing (all with professional services firms). This book should be on the desk of every manager with a direct or dotted line to a marketing / business development function.

[Berenice · Rating 4 out of 5]

a useful tome

[Dionne Golding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful, easy to understand, practical advise and information on how to market any professional service practice, of any size. Invaluable resource!