Marketing Your Consulting And Professional Services Third Edition

While finding and keeping a core group of clients remains the bread and butter of any consultant's business, doing so is far from simple in a field that's becoming increasingly crowded and competitive. Today, as the result of drastic shifts in the landscape--information technology, virtual organizations, telecommuting--targeting and attracting clients is a greater challenge than ever. To help you meet that challenge head on, Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services, the bible for consultants and professionals worldwide, has been thoroughly revised and expanded. This brand new Third Edition gives you the tools and the know-how to survive and thrive in today's tough market.

Beginning with a comprehensive overview, this updated resource keeps you abreast of current trends and issues. In addition, you'll find complete coverage of Dick Connor's innovative--and highly effective--Client-Centered Marketing (CCM) approach, a practical "deliverables-driven" system for penetrating specific markets. This easy-to-follow, six-part process helps you achieve a myriad of essential marketing objectives: from expanding services for current clients and capitalizing on the potential within your business to generating profitable growth and managing your image with clients and targets.

With a wealth of new information that focuses on finding and qualifying new clients--what every consultant worries about most--this new edition of Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services, Third Edition provides essential information on:
* Analyzing your current business or practice--evaluating clients, assessing existing prospects, preparing a strategic profile
* Becoming "client smart"--determining how the niche industry is organized, identifying requirements for success, determining its needs
* Building market awareness--maintaining positive name recognition, establishing your firm's intended image
* Prospecting--acquiring new, high-potential clients, preparing a winning proposal, selling the value-adding solution
* Ensuring client satisfaction--handling service and relationship breakdowns with a practical recovery action sequence


Complete with helpful worksheets and checklists, as well as precise definitions of terminology and an annotated bibliography, Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services, Third Edition is a must for today's fiercely competitive, highly demanding marketplace.

Praise for the previous edition of Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services

"Loaded with examples, useful forms, and informative exhibits, Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services is an extraordinary how-to manual that provides vital step-by-step instruction and advice on how to maximize profitability and success. . . . Marketing is a how-to you shouldn't do without." -- Managers Magazine

"This is definitely a 'MUST READ' book for entrepreneurs and business professionals of all types. The attention to detail provides practical insights on the critical keys to marketing success." -- Dr. Peter Johnson, Corporate Marketing Strategist

"As today's business environment becomes increasingly competitive, consulting professionals look for fresh approaches and innovative ideas to 'cut through the clutter' and increase their share of business. Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services provides highly useful information for every professional consultant. It's an essential purchase." -- Jonathan D. Blum, Managing Director -- Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations, Singapore

"Marketing Your Consulting and Professional Services is excellent. It contains down-to-earth, indispensable tips for marketing consulting services. Vital reading for both beginners and seasoned consultants--worldwide. I wish I had had this daily guide during my rough start." -- Dr. Oskar Pack, Management Consultant and Sales Trainer -- Euskirchen, Germany

DICK CONNOR, CMC, is a consultant specializing in accounting and general business and a former associate professor of management at Northwestern Graduate School of Management. He is the author of Increasing Revenue from Your Clients and coauthor with Jeff Davidson of Getting New Clients, both published by Wiley.

JEFF DAVIDSON, CMC, is a full-time professional speaker and the author of 25 books, including Marketing on a Shoestring: Low-Cost Tips for Marketing Your Products or Services (Wiley).

Partial table of contents:

FOUNDATIONAL MATERIAL.

The Client-Centered Marketing Process.

The Client-Centered Marketing Process Model.

MARKETING FACTORS ANALYSIS.

Evaluating Your Current Clients.

Managing Your Current Leverage Relationships.

Building Your Firm's Strategic Profile.

TARGETS.

Managing Your Targets of Attention.

Selecting an Industry for Special Attention.

AN INSIDER'S UNDERSTANDING.

Developing an Insider's Understanding of the Industry.

SERVING THE NICHE.

Building Marketing into the Fabric of the Firm.

Preparing Value-Adding Solutions.

DEVELOPING AND CODIFYING YOUR MARKETING PROCESSES.

Positioning Your Business.

Writing That Works.

Selling the Value-Adding Solution.

MANAGING THE CLIENT-CENTERED MARKETING PROCESS.

Wrapping It All Up.

Bibliography.

Glossary.

Appendices.

Index.

About the Authors.