The consultant markets their services through their website, social media accounts, presentations to partners in their industry, traditional media like newspapers, and referrals from existing clients. Social media and online intake forms have proven most effective at reaching younger clients, while traditional methods like newspapers work better for older clients. The consultant has learned that keeping up with changes is important to not lose market share, and that customers now expect immediate results and are less loyal. Marketing "no cost" services instead of "free" helped address perceived value issues. Trends may lead to more independent consultants working on projects as needed and consulting brokers matching clients to multiple bidding firms. Prospective consultants should focus on their pitch and differentiation, and be prepared to sell to intermediaries

1. Interview with a Consultant
Michele W.
January 23, 2015

2. XXX, Business Consultant
XXX University
Small Business Development Center
May I introduce to you…

3. Question 1: How do you market your
services?
• Website www.XXX.edu/sbdc
• Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/XX
XSmallBusiness
https://twitter.com/XXXSBDC
• Pitch presentations utilizing
the whole SBDC team to
identified partners in the
industry. For example: Invited
all lenders individually to learn
about our services, and learn
of theirs.

4. Question 1: How do you market your
services?
• Traditional media when
necessary. Newspaper is
effective for certain
demographics.
• Word of Mouth. Do not
underestimate the power of
referrals. Taking good care of
existing clients invariably leads to
them sending in another.
• Follow-up. Stay in front of
existing and potential clients
regularly by utilizing email blasts,
updates on social media, and civic
engagements!

5. Question 2a: What approaches to marketing
your services have proven to be most
effective for you? Why?
• Social Media has proven to be very effective means
of getting younger clients in the door. Our society is
moving at an incredible pace and expects immediate
results and satisfaction.
• Going to online intake forms with instantaneous
feedback has streamlined the process and given
clients insight into how they could have similar
technology for their organizations.

6. Question 2b: What approaches to marketing
your services have proven to be least
effective? Why?
• Social media is very ineffective for clients of a certain
older age demographic that are not accustomed to
using it. For these clients, traditional methods,
including newspaper ads remain more effective than
other forms.
• It all comes down to identifying your audience.
What is effective for one client demographic may be
least effective for another.

7. Question 3: What have you learned about
marketing consulting that you wished you
had known when you started out?
• Keep up with the changes, or your competition will have
you for lunch. Too often we interact with a client that
has incorporated the old “word of mouth” market plan
for the last twenty years because it has always worked.
Along comes an up and coming start up that incorporates
the latest client management software, utilizes email
blasts and effectively navigates the web and social media,
and quickly takes market share from the sedentary
business.
• Today’s customer is more educated, less loyal, and willing
to switch brands at the drop of a hat.

8. Question 4a: What unique challenges have
you faced in marketing your consulting
services based on the kind of consulting that
you do?
• What message are you giving your client?
• Because our services are subsidized by three
entities,(XXX, The Federal Small Business Administration
and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and
Economic development), the clients we interact with
were always being told our services were free. In fact,
they were never free, they were paid by another. Using
the word free caused a perceived value issue for our
clients.
• How good could free consulting be?

9. Question 4b: How have you met those
challenges?
By modifying the message to “no cost” instead of free,
we were able to keep values intact.

10. Question 5: What trends, if any, do you think
exist that might be changing the way that
consulting services are marketed?
• Trends point to shared/partnered job opportunities in
the future, where everyone is an independent
consultant and industries only employ for the life of a
project instead of the life of an individual.
• I envision a future with consulting brokers that act as
an intermediary to clients. They will help define the
scope of the project and package it in such a way that
multiple firms will be able to bid on it.
• This is already happening in the technology field with
application and web design. Expect it to spill over into
other markets soon.

11. Question 6: What advice would you have for
prospective consultants in taking advantage
of those trends?
• Focus on your pitch, specialize, and understand key
differential advantages that your consulting business
brings to the table over another.
• If a collaborative brokering environment becomes
the norm for selling consulting services, realize your
audience has changed.
• You are no longer selling your service to the end user,
but an intermediary. Adjust accordingly!!

12. Question 7: Based on your experience, what
advice would you give a prospective
consultant about marketing?
• Understand your product.
• Understand your competition.
• Be able to give examples of your
work.
• Polish your pitch.
• Make sure your message is
consistent on all sources of media
used.
• Identify and know your ideal
client. Understand what buying
principles drive them. Listen to
their needs!
• Don’t assume you know what the
client wants.