A Masterful Guide To Marketing Your Services

Throughout my career, I have had the good fortune to work with some amazing people on a variety of equally amazing projects.

About two decades ago, I met Michael, a serial entrepreneur who loved nothing more than starting a new project and then moving on when it was up and running.

The MBA-Level Marketing Training Program

When Michael contacted me, he wanted to create an MBA-level marketing training program to help owners of small businesses generate more new businesses for their businesses.

At the time, most marketing training focused on mass marketing consumer products.

Michael’s idea was to deliver high quality and practical marketing training in a user-friendly format to help small businesses market their goods and services.

But instead of drawing upon the same marketing resources used in business school, Michael wanted to draw upon his own experience, much of which was peacefully sleeping in his archives.

With the vaguest of outlines of a table of contents, my role was to develop the written material to support the eight day-long workshops that Michael would conduct monthly for eight months.

On completion, the workbook was huge: more than 75,000 words, over 300 pages in length and addressing about 90 topics and sub-topics.

After eight very successful live workshops, satisfied with his work and true to form, Michael was ready to move on to another challenge.

With the project now mine to manage, I converted the entire program into a home-study program.

And when I refined my target market to focus on marketing professional services, I revised the home-study program accordingly. At that point, I renamed the program A Masterful Guide To Marketing Your Services.

What Goes Around Comes Around

Now, having lingered in my own archives for more years than I care to remember, the original MBA-level marketing training program is once again seeing the light of day.

Included as a bonus in a new offer, the program represents a rich resource to help self-employed service providers generate more new business for their professional service businesses.

In the spirit of sharing, I will share the key concepts of this program by means of this and my following two posts.

Let’s start with addressing two essential elements of marketing services: attracting new clients and building strong connections with clients.

Attract More Ideal Clients

Attracting more potential clients is essential for any service provider. There are a few critical steps that you can take to maximize your chances of success in this area.

Regardless of your service area, word of mouth marketing and the referral process represent the best two approaches to attracting more prospective clients.?Both provide social proof of your ability to serve and satisfy clients.

Wirth only a handful of current clients, you can build a successful referral program.?With these sound client connections, you can usually generate more referrals...simply by asking for them.??

After all, if your clients are happy with how you have helped them, why wouldn't they be willing to help you??

As easy and effective as generating referrals can be, too many business owners either take them for granted or ignore them completely.

The most effective referral marketing programs are systematized much like other business processes such as bookkeeping, client intake and social media marketing.?

Typically, referral systems include features such as identifying primary referral sources, referral program goals, referral forms, referral tracking, offline referrals and referral rewards.

Create Strong Connections With Clients

Establishing strong connections with clients is essential for any service provider. This is especially true if you are targeting high-end clients and high-value engagements.

Among other benefits, strong client connections generate a sustainable flow referral sales and repeat business.??

In order to build strong relationships with your clients, it is important to focus on providing exceptional service. Ensure that your clients understand that they are important to you.

In addition to providing exceptional service, it's essential to foster trust with your clients.

Ensure that your clients know that they can trust you and your services. Show them that you are invested in their success. Provide clear communication and be transparent with them about what you can do for them.

Another way to build strong connections with your clients is to get to know them better. Take the time to learn about their businesses and their goals. Ask them questions and show genuine interest in their success.

Finally, be sure to follow up with your clients after you have completed a project or engagement. Follow up not only shows that you care but it also helps to ensure that your clients are satisfied with your services.

By way of completion, content of the above two sections is taken from Parts II and III respectively of A Masterful Guide To Marketing Your Services.?To download a table of contents, click here.

To learn how to get your copy, please click here.

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