Selling Your Services is Selling Yourself! 5 Tips for Building Trust!

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: August 29, 2010

Most professionals loathe to admit to themselves that selling their services is selling themselves.  We are our own products, and no matter how good our technical skills and experience are, clients still fall back on trust as one of their key reasons for buying from us. Their buying isn’t rational, its run by their emotions.   And, if our trust-earning skills are not up-to-scratch, we could find ourselves losing bids for new work repeatedly, and missing the reasons why we aren’t winning.

No one rings up and tells you “We went with Excellent Architects because their lead architect was friendly, engaging and personal in his interactions with us, while you were cold, unemotional and technical”.  They simply say “Your bid came in in the top three and was technically the best bid, but we have decided on Excellent Architects this time.  Maybe next time…”.

Heard it all before?  I am sure you have.  And no one likes to probe too hard for further reasoning, because we, as sellers of ourselves, are all afraid of having our faults pointed out, or our weaknesses and insecurities uncovered.

In a services business, trust is built from an array intangible experiences, often resulting from the judgment of our interpersonal skills, personality and ability to handle fear and concern.   The best way we can build trust with a target client is by interacting with them, readily and regularly, giving them a taste of our uniqueness.  But how do we really do this?  How do we connect in a way that is honest, genuine and worth the effort?  We can do this by:

1.  Delivering great project outcomes.  There is no better way to build trust than with “super-servicing” and delivering a great outcome on a live project.

2.  Giving your clients a “taste” of your capability as a part of the sales process.  This could be in the form of a free workshop, initial assessment or a discounted upfront stage of delivery.  If you can show them how good you are on the job (and you truly are as good as you say you are) you will surely earn their trust early on.  But be sure you don’t cannibalise your future rates by setting expectations firmly before you start that this is a one-off discount.

3.    Stay ahead of trends and industry activity ensuring you have plenty of interesting conversation when building contacts and relationships.  Read widely, and with an eye for topical information and conversation-starters.

4.  Focus on building friendships in your industry in a genuine, honest way.  After all, these are your industry peers, and in a town like Brisbane all carry their own weight, at all levels.  There is nothing more cheesy than a business-card-networker who is only out to know people with personal brands and big-name ties.  Please resist the urge to become one.

5.  Do things that you are comfortable doing. Just because your Director is comfortable on the golf course, entertaining clients and leads, doesn’t mean it is the right fit for you.  Do things you enjoy and you will relax and be yourself with your contacts, building real relationships.  It might be barefoot bowls, it might be a pub-lunch, or perhaps it is a Sunday-morning bike ride.  Whatever it is, if it is fun, its worth the effort.

What is it that you like doing with your clients and contacts to get to know them better and build their trust in a comfortable environment?  Share your ideas…

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The Problem Facing Many Services Firms

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: August 17, 2010

There is one distinct and obvious problem facing many of the professional services firms in the marketplace at the moment.  The generational relationship-building skills-transfer has gotten “stuck”. Companies have been fed so well with work, for so many years of boom, that many have neglected (or not needed) to teach their mid-tier and emerging senior staff how to sell themselves and their firms.
Check out this little video that we have compiled of some of the stories we have heard in our more recent times… Many mid-level and senior staff are really anxious and uncomfortable being charged with bringing in work for their firm.

Lets look a little closer at the picture we can see around us.  A large number of the firms in our city, across most industries, grew quickly and hungrily during the boom years of 2003-2007 when work “rained from the sky” in all industries. In 2006/7 you could win a bid simply by having an available semi-skilled staff member in the city of choice… (ahhh…remember the days fondly).   Today’s Directors and Partners drove this growth, building strong businesses, and a great array of relationships over many years, and keeping every available and hirable billable-mouth fed with work rather easily.

Then BOOM… along came the GFC… Work froze, projects of all kinds were cancelled.  Many services staff took pay cuts, salary freezes and extra leave to avoid harsher penalty.  Before long, the government pumped money into stimulus, keeping many of the larger mouths in many industries quite well-fed again, and if not well-fed then at least fed with a solid, staple diet that is only now winding down.

Throughout the GFC, Directors and Partners carried the weight of the worry, trying hard to retain their staff for the inevitable recovery, that is still inevitable, sometime… but apparently not quite yet.

Blame the banks, blame the governments, blame whomever you like. The end result is that we have a very overpopulated services industry, which 2 years after the start of the GFC, and at the end of the government stimulus programs, is now hungrier than ever. They are holding on to their staff, hoping the uptick will come soon.   Many of the relationships and a lot of  business development continues to be done at the top of the industry, with a great chasm of business development and relationship building and maintenance skills at the mid level and associate director level.   Was it that the businesses didn’t want to burden these valuable team members during the crisis?  Or perhaps it was a case of best to get in and get the hard jobs done at the highest levels?  Maybe the business development budgets simply weren’t there to allow them non-billable time to build relationships?

Whatever the reasons, the challenge now is to skills this senior and mid-level layer of professional services with the skills they need to take their services and companies to market.  Because when you have 10 consultants selling your firm in a marketplace, rather than just two partners, you have a lot greater ability to connect with targets and clients, and bring work through your door.

Rebecca Wilson and her firm, Stretch Marketing provide professional services marketing advice, implementation, training and mentoring to services firms of all sizes.

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Posted in Client Relationships, Featured, Professional Services Marketing, Sales, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Looking Different

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: August 9, 2010

As a consultant in a professional services business, it is very easy to look “the same” as everyone around you (and many people spend years trying to do so), but to succeed, and I mean really succeed, you have to stand out from the crowd. This is something most consultants are resistant to do, as it feels unnatural to stand up and be counted as different.  But different isn’t always a bad thing.

Different can come in all sorts of forms, you could hone your target markets and whittle them down to become a niche market service provider; or you could espouse your opinions loudly in the media, on a blog and in strategic company; you could elect to become known for overachieving on projects; or mentoring and educating young staff well.  Perhaps you would consider becoming a connector, someone who bridges and connects other people in the community selflessly, or you could do further training, ensuring you are the most technically advanced in your field.  Each of these things are valid differentiators, and things that will help you stand out from the crowd, but did you know that you could start to build your own story more actively?

New technologies and evolving marketing practices are encouraging people out of their box.  More and more service providers are becoming thought leaders, opinionated commentators and bloggers in an attempt to stand apart from the herd of lookalike professionals, and it is reaping rewards for those early adopters (and hey – they aren’t really early, some people I know have been blogging since 2006).

So what tools can you use from the Marketers kit-bag that can make you stand out from the crowd and ensure that you are more recognizable in your marketplace? Consider some of these:

Blogging: Blogging requires a fairly large time-investment that can rarely be handed-down to junior staff.  It is incredibly rewarding outlet for opinionated people, and a great tool for engaging people in conversation.  If you plan to blog, ensure that you target market has a high technology adoption-rate, and you know where you will find them online… because a blog without traffic is a feeble exercise.

Linkedin: Incredibly powerful, especially in B2B networks, where many members of even the most traditional industries can be found to have a profile online.  Use it to reconnect with people after a recent meeting, or to ping a contact in a new and different way, to avoid marketing staleness.  Or stand out by using the “groups” to build your networks.

Your Website: It is sad how many businesses really fail to use their website properly, serving regularly updated content, interactive and challenging promotions and providing timely hooks to your clients to bring them back through it regularly.  It is not your online business brochure… it is your online reception desk… so give it some life!

Guest Speaking: Whether you speak at the local college, or run workshops at your local industry event, all target-market immersing speaking spots are opportune ways to build your personal brand and stand out from the crowd

Roadshowing: Consider arming yourself with the latest toy from Apple, the ipad, and loading it up with a sharp, informative presentation or set of images that can support you when you are meeting clients and prospects.  Not so relevant to the traditional professions perhaps, but for the professions with a slice of creativity, like urban designers, architects and marketers it is a to-die-for utility!

The other way to stand out, is by building really solid, honest relationships, that are not dependent on winning someone’s business to work.  Think of yourself as a selfless being, here to connect others, and your attitude will soon be noticed by others who are tired of having their door bashed in by salesmen.  In my opinion there is nothing more refreshing, or differentiating than a service provider who wants a good relationship, regardless of revenue pipelines, and in my experience, it is this type of person that stands out as the most desirable service provider on offer.

We want your input… What do you do to differentiate yourself in your marketplace and industry? And what tools are you using in your plight?

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Are you Using Linkedin Effectively?

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: July 28, 2010

More and more business professionals are using Linkedin to connect and reconnect with contacts and market themselves. But some of my clients have confided with me of late that they feel like they are being left behind, and need a quick lesson in Linkedin to keep them at the cutting edge.

Linkedin is the most “B2B” oriented of the social networks, and unlike other sites like Facebook and Twitter, it allows you to maintain your professional profile and connections all in one place, but doesn’t pollute your business image with your private life.  It has more than 70 million registered users, from over 200 countries. 

Joining Linkedin is easy, but turning it into a powerful networking tool takes a bit of savvy.  So here is how to get it working for you. 

  1.   Create a compelling profile

You profile needs to clearly detail what you have done in your careers, and articulate what you want or plan to do. 

To get yourself started on Linkedin, you first need to set up a profile.  You could just cut and paste your resume, and be done with it, but this would be a lost opportunity.  Instead, consider spending a little time reflecting on what makes you tick professionally, and do more than just fill in the blanks on the easy-to-set up profile forms. 

There is two important things to note with your linkedin Profile:

a)       Defining yourself – use your headline well.  Under your name, there is a short headline that can take up to four or five words.  People find and define you by this headline, so ensure that it reflects your “purpose” and “personal brand”. 

b)      What you have done before – Use this section to show off your diversity, breadth and skills.  This is more than a resume, it is an aspirational tool!  But… remember that many of the people you have worked with before may sign up as your connections, and read your profile, so BE HONEST, and don’t over-decorate your employment history too much.  If you were the junior consultant on a team, with a former employer, then don’t rephrase it as “Senior consultant” to decorate your page, as it will be blaringly obvious to others, and reflect on your integrity. 

Things you should be wary of  

  1. Only include the contact details that you are comfortable to make public.  Your contact details will only be available to those you are connected with, but, even then, you might not want to post your phone or email. 
  2. Don’t post things that you wouldn’t want your fellow colleagues to know about you.  Remember that Linkedin is for your professional relationships, so it probably isn’t the forum to announce your political alignment, religious affiliations or favourite TV shows. 

  Read More »

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What Makes a Tender Response “A Winner”?

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: July 20, 2010

I don’t know many people who enjoy writing tender responses, and feel that they “nail” them every time. But, in working hands-on with Professional Services businesses day in and day out, I am often asked what makes a tender response a winner. Lets take a quick look…

1. A GREAT CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP

There is nothing more desirable in a tender process than a great customer relationship! Whilst this has very little to do with your tender response itself it is important to recognise that the relationship with the customer is the single most influential factor in any tender decision making process. If you don’t have a relationship, most of the time, someone else tendering will, especially in local communities like Brisbane, Australia. You can even win a tender without a compliant submission if your relationship with the decision makers is good enough. A customer that trusts you to deliver a great service doesn’t need to competitively tender your services and if they do, you can occasionally go in knowing you are in the box seat!

2. UNDERSTAND THE REQUIREMENTS EARLY

Whilst it might seem easy to ignore that tender in your intray until the last few days, it really is worth glancing at it well in advance of its deadline to understand a) what is required, and b) if there is any compliance issues that you will need to address, or partner with another firm to achieve. Leaving it until the last minute and throwing in a non-compliant tender response is almost always a waste of your time and effort and will annoy the decision maker and demonstrate your laziness too.

3. BE CONCISE AND WELL STRUCTURED IN YOUR APPROACH

 I prefer to start all of my larger tender responses that require input from others with a document and resource plan. This plan schedules the inputs from each of the other stakeholders on my tender team, and ensures that everyone manages their time and meets the team’s expectations and deadlines. This plan lays out the table of contents for the document, and allows us to write only the content that is needed to build a concise response. It sets the admin team in action, and builds a baseline document for everyone to work with.  It only takes 20 minutes to do it, and it saves hours!

4. RESPOND TO EVERY “BLEEDING OBVIOUS” QUESTION AND EVERY ITEM OF SELECTION CRITERIA

Crawling through a selection criteria document with a highlighter pen might not seem like such a fun idea, but if you really want to win a tender, this is an important thing to do. Your submission should address all of the questions asked in the request for information, in the format that your Tenderer requests it in, not necessarily the easiest, or most comfortable format for you to produce it in. Decision makers prefer a tender response that can be easily checked against their criteria so that they can clearly see the responses to the questions that they perceive as critical to their project and rank you without any extra effort. You also reduce the risk of the decision makers “missing” a key message you have presented, if it is answered directly and succinctly where expected.

5. RESIST THE URGE TO CUT AND PASTE

There is nothing worse than reading a disjointed bunch of sentences with no linkages that have obviously been “cut-and-pasted” in a rush from an older tender response. It says to a client that you don’t take the time to do things right, and waves a big red flag at the decision makers. You might get by doing it in a buoyant market when there is plenty of work around, but try it now and I’ll bet you get very poor feedback!

6. CUSTOMISE YOUR SOLUTION TO THEIR REQUIREMENTS

A generic service will rarely win a competitive response, as it is just not going to connect with a customer’s belief that their problem or project is completely unique and warrants a special service. You need to buy into the client’s vision that their project is unique and customize a “special” solution to their problem that makes them feel like they are getting value for money.

7. PRICE COMPETITIVELY

It’s a tough tough marketplace out there at the moment. Service providers are jumping over each other at the “best and final offer” (BAFO) stage to discount and win work that will mean their survival for a few more months, even if there is a nil or negative margin on the job. Clients know this, and are enjoying their shining moment. So when you price a job, go in at a reasonable enough price to get you on the shortlist, but be sure to leave room in there for a haggling client… allowing you to further reduce for a best and final offer. But be aware of how low people will go.

8. TELL THEM WHY THEY SHOULD CHOOSE YOU

Many people forget to do this. They spend reams of paper explaining their solution, their staff and their approach, but they forget to point out their unique selling proposition, or “why the Client should choose you”. Make a special page in your tenders that tells your Tenderer why you are the best person for the job – and customize it for every response (NO CUT AND PASTE HERE PLEASE!).

9. VALUE FOR MONEY

What can a client get for nothing, or for a perceived “value for money” price if they choose your company? Perhaps it’s a special workshop with an important person, or a hard-learned life experience that you have that will reduce the time or cost of a project. Clients love to think that they are getting great value for money, and it never hurts you to tell them how you will provide it. Consider putting a section in your documentation called “Value for Money”. Think of it like getting a 2 for 1 deal at the supermarket, people often can’t resist a bargain, even if it costs them more in the long run.

I’ve been writing tender responses for my Clients for years and years. Through bull and bear markets, at high and low margins. These are just a few of my ideas…off the top of my head. What other tips do you have that we can share to improve our tenders and competitive responses to clients in a tought environment?

Stretch Marketing works with professional services businesses to provide strategic marketing and business development services.  For more information, please contact us at info@stretchmarketing.com.au.

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The Importance of a Strong Brand in Services

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: July 7, 2010

 Wikipedia defines a brand as “a name, sign, symbol, slogan or anything that is used to identify and distinguish a specific product, service, or business.”    Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.

The Incoll brand is powerful when positioned with its paired tagline

A good brand will deliver the following benefits. It will:

• Deliver your message clearly

• Confirm your credibility

• Connect with your target prospects emotionally and logically

• Motivate the buyer

• Concrete Client Loyalty and solidify your relationship

• Call your audience to action at their point of need!!

To succeed in building your brand you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of contact with a potential customer or lead.

Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot. A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies day by day.

It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand. After all your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It’s a foundational piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.

What does your brand mean to your customers?  … We’d love you to share this with us!

 Is it really articulating that you are “the only” solution to your target client’s problems or needs?  How so?

Stretch Marketing works with professional services businesses to provide strategic marketing and business development services.  For more information, please contact us at info@stretchmarketing.com.au.

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Discount or Die? Fighting the Hungry Piranhas

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: June 28, 2010

The Professional Services marketplace in a slow growing economy is much like a pond full of piranhas. In fact, it could be likened to a hungry, swarming aquarium full of piranhas trying to eat the same meal as the fish next to them in the pond. They clamour over one another trying to get to the food first, jumping at the food with their ragged teeth, trying to out-jump each other to reach it first. 

Competition is fierce out there at the moment. With government work abating, little capital flowing into private property markets, and the mining and infrastructure sectors “on hold”, less money is finding its way down the food chain to the consultants that provide services to our core Aussie industries than I have seen in a long time.

Industry functions and events are full of hungry services providers, looking for new clients, new information, or an edge that might get them the next job. Directors are pushing their staff out the door, compelling them to bring in revenue, and find new business. But how can they when the work simply isn’t there?…. not yet anyway!

The marketplace is so overloaded with services providers right now that the angst can be seen at every industry function, event and topical luncheon. Some people are lining up to build relationships, others are trying to discount their way to survival. Which approach are you taking?

From a marketing perspective it is delightful to see relationships return to the fore. There was a point where relationships got “lost”. People didn’t need a relationship to win work in the boom… all they needed was availability and the ability to see the project schedule out. Even price rarely mattered.

Just two or three years ago, people would throw a tender response together, add 20% to their top price, and wink to their junior as they submitted a cut-and-paste catastrophe of a submission with minimal effort. And they would win the bid! This was simply because everyone was so busy that many chose not to submit, or simply had no resources.

Now we see the opposite. The tables have turned. Businesses are now discounting for survival. They are dropping their prices on tenders in a desperate effort to pull the work through the door at the expense of the hungry fish next to him. It is survival of the piranha pond at its finest, right when we thought things would, and should be better for our economy.

Companies are putting more effort into their tenders and submissions than I have seen in years. Cut and paste is certainly unsuitable and completely fails the client’s extensive selection criteria that is leveraging the opportunity to drive standards of delivery higher and prices lower across all services.

Customer relationships are now critical to the tender being won, and even the discounted price being taken seriously. They are now more critical than ever. Projects are won through relationships. Prices are offered at the right level by the service provider with the right relationship, through connections who want to work together. It is not collusion, it’s just business.

How is your firm doing it?  We’d love to hear your feedback on how the competitive environment is affecting your business. 

Stretch Marketing works with professional services businesses to provide strategic marketing and business development services.  For more information, please contact us at info@stretchmarketing.com.au.

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Posted in Client Relationships, Professional Services Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Marketing By Accident: No Thanks!

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: June 14, 2010

My latest article was first published as Marketing by Accident: No Thanks on Technorati.

Some businesses sputter along from month to month, doing just enough marketing to make ends meet by pure accident.   Others take a proactive approach to their marketing and communications and business development and find themselves in the fortunate position of being able to choose their customers and grow their business in a conscious way.

But what does this latter approach require for success?

Can we wish upon a star, write a plan, and hope that once a month we can push a reminder to our customers that we exist and spur them on, in between weekend barbeques?

Not likely!

Sure, you can keep a few customers alive by feeding them once a month with a dribble of self-interested information in an email newsletter.

But if you don’t truly connect with a customer’s need time and time again, and grab them personally by the heart and mind, over and over again, you simply will not be standing there when customer desire unites with a call to action to deliver a converted lead or sale.

You (or your marketing and BD) must have you standing there, when those stars align, to ensure that your target calls you when they need you, and not your competition.

So how do we do it?

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Handling Branding Through Mergers and Acquisitions

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: June 9, 2010

Article first published as Handling Branding Through Mergers and Acquisitions on Technorati.

With the rise and rise of mergers and acquisitions within the private sector of late, branding is again on the agenda for many professional services firms in Brisbane, and throughout Australia.  Last year’s uptick in the economy drove companies back to M&A as a glorious route to market leadership and swift domination. Examples are all around us, as law firms, project management firms, town planning firms, and property trusts merge and acquire. Yet in spite of the recent activity, a topical report by McKinsey claims that only one in every five mergers and acquisitions actually succeeds, generating revenue and results for the parent. But, despite this, the M&A wagon continues to roll forward.

So why is this? Why does a company lose significant market share after a merger, and can such risks be mitigated through the solid management of a brand transition to maximise the goodwill purchased both internally and externally? What happens when two big brands come together either through a merger or through an acquisition? How should the brand strategy of the resulting entity be designed?

The integration of brands, and the evolution of two firms into one co-operative company, is not a short or simple process, and will never be easy, but it can be logical, tactical and planned with precision.  So how do we do it? 

Consider the organizational and cultural synergies within both brands
It has been well recorded in plenty of business writings, that one of the main reasons for the failure of any merger and acquisition is the resulting conflict between the combined entities sales, marketing, and cultural communications strategies. An M&A can be a great example to demonstrate the innate power of organizational culture. It is often wrongly assumed by companies that the overarching goal of market domination, profitability and growth would tame the egos of either company. As such, this is one of the most crucial questions that any brand must ask itself before joining hands with another brand. Can the two brands attain cultural synergies ? Can the M&A maximize brand portfolios, market share, financial, managerial and technological resources? Can the M&A guide the new entity towards achieving market reach and growth without hindering the established brands and chosen perpetuating brand?

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Get Nimble, Get Hungry, Put your Energy to work

By Rebecca Wilson | Published: May 25, 2010

How nimble and able to adapt to change is your business?  The bigger your business, traditionally, the slower it adapts to change in a marketplace, and the less likely is it to capitalise on rapid changes in trends and emerging opportunities. 

Fat, bloated, over managed and under implemented businesses are the enemy.  So if you are leading one, consider how you can trim the fats, streamline the processes, inject some energy and get the best out of your business. 

Don’t wait for next week, or next month, or even next year, by then, the market will have moved again, and you will be left behind. 

In today’s marketplace energy and nimbleness does matter.  The advent of Internet-led technologies ensures that opportunity is everywhere, but people will only provide it to those with real vibrant energy, and the nimbleness to chase their market.    

For energy is what makes the different between ordinary and extraordinary in a services business.  Energy to learn, practise, and perfect ones services, to maintain a position at the forefront of an industry, and not down in the mediocre layer is critical to “being in demand”.  It is also critical to have the energy to compete by differentiating your business, standing up for your position in an industry. 

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