Professional Services Marketing Part 19

* The t.i.tles of decision makers at your target companies?

* The specific names of the organizations that are your best targets?

* The names of specific decision makers for your service areas at your best target companies?

How much time does your company spend on targeting? How would you answer these last four questions? Is this menial work stil beneath you?

The chart shown in Figure 20.1 shows how other professional service firm leaders rated themselves. How do you compare?

Figure 20.1 Target Knowledge Ratings Figure 20.2 Companies' Ability to Generate Leads: Wel -Known Companies are Better at Lead Generation While the chart showing total responses is helpful to see the overal trend in professional services, looking at target market knowledge by the companies' self-reported ability to generate leads takes us a step further in underscoring just how important it is to know your target market wel .

(See Figure 20.2.) Compare how much the self-reported excelent-at-lead-generation companies know about their targets versus how much the self-reported poor-at-lead-generation companies know.

There's a direct correlation-in our data and in our experience-between companies that know exactly who they target and how wel they can generate leads.

Know Your Market Many service firms fear being specific about their targeting. When they look at their current clients, they see a wide range of industries, sizes, geographic locations, and circ.u.mstances. They do not want to eliminate anyone from the target market since they can always think of a good client who may fal outside the target profile. (See Sample Target Profile on the next page.) But in marketing, if you are not targeting and marketing to someone, you cannot market to anyone. Your message, your offer, and your value wil become spread too thin and sound too generic.

As you build a target list, you want to ask yourself the folowing questions: * Who are the buyers of my services? What are the t.i.tles? Who makes the money decisions? Who makes the vetting decisions? Rank your answers according to who is the most important for you in the buying process.

* Who are the influencers? Who may recommend to my buyers about their service providers? These influencers may or may not be within the target.

* What revenue or workforce size is best for my type of service? Who is too big to buy? Who is too smal to afford? Who is just right?

Remember, you wil have clients that fal outside this range for one reason or another, but who is the best fit?

* What geography should I target? East of the Mississippi? In an area I want to set up a new office? In my own backyard? Give yourself a good fighting chance for success.

* In which industries do I have a good track record? Clients like to know you have experience in their industries. Where do you have the best stories to tel ?

* What is usual y happening in your clients' companies before they buy from you? New management, a new acquisition, new laws-any change at al is usual y good for a professional services firm. What are the triggering events that make a company a good prospect for you?

* What is important to your firm? You may be in a mode to take anyone who is available with cash, but more likely you have good prospects and less good ones. What kinds of marquee clients wil add to your aura? Which clients can you grow with? Who do you want?

"Successful business developers build their networks like a good minister builds a congregation-one believer at a time."

-Kevin McMurdo, Chief Marketing Officer, Perkins Coie SAMPLE TARGET PROFILE.

Target Profile-What Do My Best Clients Look Like?

Think of the very best clients you have (or the ones that you want). In the Target Profile Worksheet on the next page, fil in the specifics about whom you want to target. When you are finished, you wil want to go to such sources as Hoover's, Info USA, Dun & Bradstreet, Jigsaw, SalesView, ZoomInfo, and so on, to fil in the specifics around the number of companies (and sometimes the individual people at those companies) that actual y fal into your target profile.

TARGET PROFILE WORKSHEET.

My Target Profile Buyers Influencers Size Geography Industries Prospects' business situation Your business considerations Number of targets I Want Names Once you have identified the profile of your targets, you need to start compiling names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and so on.

You can begin by thinking of whom you already know who should be added to your current database (or list of names in your card file or contacts in your Outlook).

* Identify your key referrals, and make certain they are added to your database. They need to be reminded of the firm as much as any prospect.

* Categorize your referrals by type and possible practice reference.

* Build up your contact lists by thinking strategical y about whom you know and who can and should be in the database.

* Establish a goal for every event you attend, and bring back new contacts for the database.

* Make sure al new contacts get into the database. Over time, this wil fuel your marketing engine.

* Capture al lead sources. This needs to be dril ed into everyone's mind. Only by capturing lead sources can you learn what is working and where the best marketing return on investment (ROI) can be found.

* Leverage the entire firm to see who might have any kind of entry into the types of firms you are seeking.

* Use online resources, such as target company web sites, Spoke, Jigsaw, Twitter, and LinkedIn, to verify names, t.i.tles, phone numbers, and other essential targeting data.

Every marketing tactic, revenue growth plan, and branding campaign starts here. Without your targets clearly defined, your marketing efforts wil inevitably fail to meet your expectations.

Now, imagine if this were possible: * You have al the relevant data and details about your clients and top prospects in your database, and the data is constantly updated and clean so you can trust it.

* You just completed major research on trends in your industry. You write a white paper summarizing the trends. To get the white paper noticed, you run a marketing campaign via e-mail and direct mail to the people in your database to download this white paper.

* You run these campaigns directly out of your database. The database is your control center.

* Although you might send 500 or 5,000 e-mails or direct mail pieces, each of them has a unique URL landing page that the person can visit to download his or her own copy of your white paper.

* When the clients and prospects visit their unique URL landing page, their contact information is prefil ed out on the Web response form, and the form itself is customized to their company and industry.

* They download the white paper. An automatic process sets up a task in your database for the "owner" of that client or prospect to fol ow up within a set period of time. The designated person at your firm is notified by an e-mail that he or she has fol ow-ups to make.

* When the designated person logs into the database to fol ow up, he or she can quickly scan a dossier of relevant company news, information about the contact, and any other relevant information about your company's dealings with that person or company.

* A manager at your company can log onto a management dashboard to see how many white papers were downloaded; how the team is doing with fol ow-ups (and who may not be doing theirs); and what downloads have turned into real pipeline opportunities, new clients, and repeat business.

* As prospects become clients, critical data is stored (such as contracts); created (such as project plans and team a.s.signments); and managed (such as time tracking, project tracking, expenses, and client satisfaction data) in one centralized, easy-to-view place.

* This information synchronizes seamlessly with al of your accounting information.

* This system is available anywhere you can get Internet access.

Imagine if this were al possible and within the reach of the typical professional services firm!

This is al core functionality of Salesforce.com.

Many professional services firms use Salesforce.com or one of the many other available database technologies such as Netsuite, Saleslogix, SugarCRM, ACT!, Oracle, RightNow, Microsoft CRM, OfficeAutopilot, and a host of others.

Most professional services firms own one of these systems or something much like it.

Many of them, however, take zero advantage of any of the database marketing and enterprise customer relationship management programs these technologies can help them run.

What does that mean? Opportunity for you to get ahead . . . if you can get done what other firms don't.

21.

RAIN Selling Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right.

-Henry Ford Up until now we have discussed the marketing of professional services. Although many professional services providers stil use the terms marketing and sel ing interchangeably, we hope by now you have a good grasp of what marketing truly is, what it can do for you, and how to go about implementing successful marketing and lead generation efforts.

Let's a.s.sume your marketing efforts realy start to pay off. You have RAMPed up your brand. You have seen a pickup in revenue per client. Just as important, you have started to generate new conversations that have taken you far beyond referrals. Now it is time to for you to start sel ing and make rain.

"THE DOG ATE MY ROLODEX"

At professional services firms, we know that marketing, sel ing, and delivery can be deeply intertwined. It would be so much easier to implement marketing if we didn't have to deal with those pesky client leaders (or if we weren't one of those pesky client leaders).

Alas, we do (or are). So we need to make it work.

First, let's get some of the most common excuses out of the way: 1. I'm booked for at least six weeks. I couldn't handle another deal if it landed on my desk.

2. My business development discussions, if I get into a good one, take an hour. I only have 45 minutes to make cal s now, so I should wait until I have more time.

3. This isn't a good use of my time. Somebody else should source leads, and I should deliver work.

4. I'm not good at it, so what's the use? (And I sure can't tel anyone this, so I'l make up another reason.) 5. In my business, leads come only through referrals. Proactive outbound business development, even networking, doesn't work. Why bother?

6. I'm deathly afraid of sel ing.

7. If I reach out to prospects, I wil sound like a used-car salesperson. Since I'm a professional, I can't set up that dynamic.

8. I know how to talk about what I do (I think). Yet, for some strange reason, the words never come out right.

9. I don't even know who to contact. I have the time and the wil , but what do I do?

10. I hate sel ing.

Pick your poison: You're too young or too old. You're better in the mornings, and it's late in the day. If you get into a conversation, you wil need to get your boss on the phone, and she's not around. The dog ate your Rolodex.

Regardless of your reason, the end result is the same: Another day goes by, and you don't work on business development.

Sel ing is often more chal enging for professional services firms and providers. It's easy to understand why. First of al , ful -time salespeople sel al day. They can go from rookie to retiree, and al they need to do is sel to be successful.

In contrast, professional service providers study the technical aspects of their craft for years. Then they work with clients al day, al the time, for years on end. This goes on until they find themselves up for partner, promoted to director, or off on their own. Then suddenly, they also need to develop business, or they might not have any clients to work with.

Whether they want to or they must, many professionals are driven toward making the transition from trusted advisor to rainmaker. So they look to the sales profession for tips on how to do it. Unfortunately, some of the tactics that salespeople may use to sel are counterproductive for aspiring rainmakers. Why? Because when most salespeople sel , they are sel ing either a product or a service delivered by someone else. Professionals who sel are typical y sel ing something far more difficult: themselves and their col eagues.

Many professionals have yet to reconcile their "sales" role and their "trusted advisor" role. Thus professionals find themselves struggling with the fol owing question: Buyers inherently don't trust salespeople, but now I'm going to have to find and land clients for my firm and my services-in other words, sel. If I start off as the salesperson, how can I make the transition to trusted advior, responsible for handling the most confidential and sensitive situations that arise?

Selling with Integrity Oily. Smarmy. Phony. Mendacious. Two-faced. Right or wrong, these words are often a.s.sociated with salespeople. None of us wants to be a.s.sociated with these terms, nor do we want to engage in any sel ing tactics that wil make these labels apply to us. We rarely see professionals engaging in tactics that wil merit these labels, which is good. It is not, however, because they use the right tactics. More often than not it is because they avoid sel ing altogether.

Here's the good news: You can sel with high integrity and without snake oil tactics. You should never have to engage in any sales activity that makes you feel ethical y uncomfortable.

Sell as You Serve So many service providers think sel ing, by its nature, is a distasteful and less than ethical process, the sole purpose of which is to part people from their money for things they don't need. They believe that to be successful at sel ing, service providers must leave their values and everyday personalities at the door and adopt a sleazy persona and voice that would natural y say something like, "What's it gonna take to get you into this shiny red pre-owned sports car today, ma'am?"

Nothing is further from the truth. The best rainmakers bring clients and cash into their firms because they are no different when they sel their services than when they deliver their services.

They prepare.

They listen.

They solve problems.

They care about their clients' wel-being and success.

They create new futures for their clients that the clients didn't know were possible. They are interpersonaly sensitive. They can either push the limit or slow down when it is in the client's best interest. The best rainmakers meet mutual y set expectations over and over again, building trust, relationships, and two-way confidence. The best rainmakers are ethical at al times.

"In business development, the service is the sale. In the end, it's very much up to the lawyer and the lawyer's ability to work with the client and recognize that the sales process is ultimately the process of providing excel ent service."

-Kevin McMurdo, Chief Marketing Officer, Perkins Coie In other words, the best rainmakers are simply great professional service providers. In effect, they are starting the process of being great service providers during the sales process before clients official y engage their services.

Sell to Need Great service providers are masters at uncovering the goals and the chal enges of their clients and prospects. Great rainmakers are no different.

However, service providers often lack the tools to engage in the types of conversations that al ow them to ful y explore al of the client's needs.

Communicate the Value Great service providers understand the value they provide to clients. They craft compel ing solutions based on specific client needs and can communicate that value to the client clearly and articulately. When you can uncover, quantify, and communicate the impact of engaging your services, you are better able to articulate your true value to each client.

To facilitate the transition from trusted advisor to seler, we developed the concept of RAIN Seling SM to help you plan your sales conversations in sel ing as you serve, sel ing to need, and communicating the value.

SM.

RAIN Selling Basics Since trial and error are the norm when it comes to learning how to be a rainmaker, the learning curve is long and steep and often fil ed with anxiety and pain. This leads us to ask the questions, "Is it possible to shorten the learning curve when it comes to sel ing professional services? Is it possible to make sel ing itself feel less 'salesy'? Can we increase the level of success of the sel er?" The answers (as you may have guessed) are yes, yes, and yes. We at Wel esley Hil s Group have worked not only to provide a process for sel ing professional services, but, to improve the process of learning to become a rainmaker.

RAIN is an acronym for rapport, aspirations and afflictions, impact, and new reality. The word RAIN, of course, is also a nod to the fact that this process is focused on rainmakers-the traditional name for those people who bring new clients and big fees into service firms.

Graphicaly, RAIN Seling looks like Figure 21.1.

Figure 21.1 RAIN SellingSM: From Rapport to Commitment R-Rapport The ability to build rapport in sales conversations is an old concept that is more relevant and more important than ever.65 At the same time, it's talked about less and less in sales training circles and dismissed as a ploy to make a surface-level connection to a potential client. Why is true rapport so important? Rapport sets the foundation of comfort for the rest of the conversation and for any future relationship. The word rapport also implies a real connection between people, not just a surface-level commonality.

Having a true connection to a potential client is so important in rainmaking because, al other things being equal, buyers tend to buy from service providers that they like as much as they buy from those who can meet their needs the best. Yes, there should be a strong focus on creating and presenting a compel ing value proposition, but rapport is an often overlooked factor that can tip the scale in favor of one service provider over another.

A-Aspirations and Afflictions The "A" in RAIN Sel ing stands for aspirations as wel as afflictions. Many sales discussion methodologies suggest that to sel products and services as solutions to needs, you must first uncover the problems and/or pain of the potential client. We suggest that uncovering problems and pain (afflictions) is only half the story.

When clients buy professional services, they are typicaly thinking as much about aspirations (where they want to go) as they are about afflictions (problems or pain). If you think about asking questions in the negative context, you wil find yourself always positing, "What's not happening for you?"

or the trite "What keeps you up at night?"

"The best rainmakers are just those who are most pa.s.sionate about what they do. They believe more than everyone else that what they do matters, and they're good at, and not shy about, articulating that."