Your Responsibility For Marketing Your Consulting Firm

As the owner of a consultancy firm, have you ever considered your role and responsibility when it comes to marketing? Today, I want to emphasize the importance of understanding your level of responsibility in marketing your consultancy practice. Your actions in this realm can greatly impact your ability to overcome challenges and achieve the success you desire. This article is specifically geared towards owners of small to medium-sized consultancy firms, where the owner often wears multiple hats, including delivering services and generating sales.

In my personal journey of growing and selling three professional practices, there was a period when I didn't fully grasp the extent of my personal responsibility for marketing. In the early stages of my firms, I was the rainmaker – responsible for both finding clients and delivering services. This is a common trajectory for many consultancy firms. Even if your firm has multiple partners, each partner typically handles their client acquisition and service delivery. In essence, you become responsible for sales and marketing.

However, here's where the challenge arises: many of us, including me, lack expertise in marketing. Consequently, we delegate this responsibility to others – junior staff, external marketing professionals, and so forth. This delegation, while seemingly practical, often leads to disappointment and lackluster results.

The truth is, marketing consultancy services is different from marketing products or other service-based businesses. When we apply generic marketing tactics to our consultancy firms, the results are often far from satisfactory. You might have experienced this firsthand.

Ultimately, we have to take personal responsibility. We can't just keep abdicating to someone else and hope they finally get it right. We can't keep making excuses that it's not our field and we don't know what to do. Or if you do keep on complaining about the way it is, without taking responsibilty, you can't expect anything to change.

So, what's your responsibility when it comes to marketing your consultancy practice?

It's simple: become the person who learns how to do it successfully. You don't necessarily need to execute every marketing task, but you must understand the strategy, design the systems, and have a clear vision of how to delegate responsibilities effectively. Don't abdicate your role; instead, assume responsibility for the process and results.

Here's the catch: learning to market a consultancy business effectively can be a substantial undertaking. It's a different game from marketing products or basic services. You need to be humble enough to recognize your limitations, be willing to learn from experts, and, ideally, avoid the costly mistakes that many of us have made.

So, where should you seek guidance? Look for mentors or resources from those who have successfully grown and sold consultancy practices. Their experiences in marketing professional services will be invaluable, as they understand the unique nuances of our industry.

Ultimately, your responsibility for marketing should center on positioning yourself and your firm as the accepted authority in your niche. This means demonstrating your expertise, delivering value, and showcasing results through your marketing efforts, rather than promoting who you are and what you do. You've got to make it about who your clients are and what problems you solve for them.

If you'd like to delve deeper into this topic or explore strategies to become the accepted authority in your market, you can find more resources on my website. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, where I share daily insights to help you on your journey.

In conclusion, taking ownership of your consultancy firm's marketing is about approaching it strategically, methodically, and, ultimately, successfully. By understanding your role and responsibility, you can steer your practice toward consistent growth and client acquisition. Remember, it's not about doing everything yourself but rather becoming the leader of the strategy.