How To Start Your Own Coaching or Consulting Business
Ideas To Market Your Consultant Business
- Networking. At the onset, this is the absolute most
effective element there is to getting new clients for your consultancy,
bar none. The old saying "it's not what you know, it's who you know"
may not be completely
accurate when it boils down to long-term success, but it certainly rings true when beginning a business. You will want to get the word out about your business in an up close and personal manner as soon as possible. TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW that you are starting a business and tell them EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT BUSINESS. Now, of course, the art here will be striking a balance between self-promotion and annoying everyone in your Rolodex (or your PIM client for the tech-set). Start by letting friends and family know what you are up to. Feel free to "practice" on them, as they will be your most forgiving audience. - Word of mouth/referrals. Once you have started getting
some business rolling in, Word of mouth/referrals is an excellent source
of generating more business. Happy clients are bound to want to refer
you to other businesses that could use your talents, so be sure to keep
your clients happy.Don't hesitate to ask for referrals of your current
clients to other individuals and entities that may be benefited by your
services. You'll be surprised; some of the most popular marketing campaigns
in the history of marketing have been through grassroots, word of mouth
campaigns.
When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack were first starting Apple Computer in their garage in Cupertino, some of the best (and only) marketing they had access to was the word-of-mouth of dozens of satisfied customers who were amazed at the quality of their work, you can make this type of testimonial marketing work for you. One excellent way to maximize from the benefits of this type of marketing is to facilitate communication between your past/current clients to potential clients. For example, if you have a web site for your consultancy, it is a great idea to have a place for your customers to leave feedback that can be publicly on your portfolio page(s). You can also have your clients fill out standardized forms and keep some testimonials on record to how potential clients through a variety of media, including print, TV, web and radio advertisements.
- Advertising. Although it can be costly in some forms,
advertising is perhaps the most common form of marketing and self-promotion.
Television ads and full-page spreads in mainstream publications will
most likely be out of your reach (unless Donald Trump is funding your
consultancy), but there are plenty of other more affordable options
out there. Like we have mentioned before, it is all about getting more
"bang for your buck", so it will be in your best interest to maximize
on your advertising dollar. Advertising in local magazines or the local
newspaper can be cost effective when addressing certain demographics.
Purchasing a short prime time spot on the radio is another method, but
costs several orders of magnitude more than print to get across its
message. When done properly, radio can be an awesome advertising vehicle
(just ask Howard Stern).
- The Internet - Perhaps the most significant "bang
for your buck" outlet for your advertising dollar is the web. Web sites
are very affordable (even free if you know what you are doing). A web
site is an excellent method of advertising because you can attract many
entities on a global scale (a little search engine optimization can
garner 1000s of page views a day) and you can reach the widest audience
possible (potentially, anyone with an internet connection). Be sure
to print up a healthy portion of business card and in addition to land-line
telephone, mobile phone and fax numbers make sure the URL (uniform resource
locator) for your web site is displayed prominently on the front of
the card.
- Cold Calling. This is usually everyone's least favorite
method of marketing. "Cold calling" refers to the practice of calling
a company or individual "out of the blue" with the intent to sell them
on your services or business. Cold calling is so popular because all
you need is a phone book and a telephone. If you are a computer consultant,
all you need to do is pick up the phone and call every tech-related
company within driving distance and in an attempt to sell them you spiel.
It is recommended that you establish a format or basic outline to use
for every call. If you find that you have success using a particular
method, it's a good idea to make a note of your success so you can apply
similar techniques at a later time.
The key to cold calling is to be as articulate and as observant as possible. You will need to be able to express your level of skill and talents while simultaneously convincing the person on the other end why they need someone like you. The goal of a cold call is not to get a job, but rather simply to get your foot in the door. A cold call, which leaves you with any more information than you started with, is a successful cold call. Leaving a cold call with an actual job offer is nearly unheard of. What you are actually aiming for is the opportunity to meet in person with the individual responsible for hiring consultants for the company, but there are a variety of successful outcomes for the cold calling scenario, such as getting more information that you otherwise would not have had (phone numbers or other information regarding potential clients, etc.), or learning more about the organization you are trying to woo into a transaction with you. The more you learn about the particular subject of a cold call, the closer you can get to. ·
- Warm Calling. Warm calling is similar to cold calling,
but instead of contact completely new entities, you are either re-calling
past cold calls that have given you more information regarding their
business details, which will afford you an easier time turning a phone
conversation into a workable potential client meeting OR you are calling
entities for the first time since another third party has given you
information regarding the called. So-called "warm" calls are much more
desirable that "cold" calls, as the warm variety does not have the same
uncomfortable "breaking the ice" factor that you have when doing the
coldest of cold calls. Furthermore, if you have more
information regarding the business structure of the called party, you
have a much better chance of directing your call to individuals in a
position to give you business.
- Volunteer. In the beginning of your consultant career (and, indeed, potentially throughout your career), you may find it necessary and/or useful to give away your talents for free. This can be frustrating, but there are MANY benefits to this approach. For starters, EVERYONE likes to get something for free, and the recipient of your good will is much more likely to pass on a positive reference or otherwise provide free word of mouth advertising. In addition, if you are an advertising or marketing consultant (or, indeed one of many different types), you may use volunteer work as a "portfolio piece" which is another way to draw in more customers. Perhaps most importantly, by working in any capacity, even a free one; you will be exposed to a myriad of potential clientele within the industry of your choice. All things considered, volunteer work - when executed properly - can be a win-win situation.
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