This document provides an overview of marketing strategies for professional services firms. It discusses six core marketing strategies: marketing to new clients, marketing to existing clients, superpleasing, nurturing, courting, and branding. For each strategy, it provides examples of specific tactics and ideas for implementation. It emphasizes focusing efforts on the most effective strategies and consistently implementing tactics over time. The document concludes by recommending professionals commit to their top three strategies from the six discussed to focus their marketing efforts.

1. Marketing a
Professional Services Firm
A practical approach....
11th October 2013

2. Agenda
1. Theory first
•
•
6 strategies of PS Marketing
Return on marketing investment
2. Get practical
•
•
Focus on each strategy – one by one
Identify some action points

3. More action(95%) than theory(5%)
(Discipline, commitment, hard work)

4. Pick 6 Max
and commit to 3....

5. Marketing Strategy
For a Professional Service Firm

6. Two Core Marketing Strategies
1. Marketing to New Clients
6 Tactics
2. Marketing to Existing clients

7. 6 Business Development Tactics
Brand
Brand
Nurturing
Courting
New
Clients
Existing
Clients
Superpleasing
Brand
Broadcasting
Listening
Brand

8. Substantial work in each strategy
Ultimate goal is to progress all 6
6 spinning plates

9. “Solution is to choose a small number of
the most effective activities and do them
consistently”
CJ Hayden
Get Clients Now

10. Where should you spend your
time ?

11. Return on Investment
Prospect Clients
Existing Clients
Need Identified
Superpleasing
(WOM)
Courting
Highest ROI
Joint #2
Need not Identified
Nurturing
Broadcasting
Lowest ROI
Source: David Maister

12. Practical Focus
Start with existing clients

13. Superpleasing
Ouzos Parking Angels

14. What is Superpleasing
• Exceeding existing clients’ expectations so
that they will go out of their way to
recommend you to others.

15. Did you get good service ?
Two Concepts
Technical Service
Servicing the Customer
Car Service
Spark Plugs, Oil Filters
Communication, coffee, money
Medical
Availability, Affability, Ability (in that order!)
Professional Service
Tax Return, Contracts, Audit
Technical Drawing, Conveyance
Trust, communication, money
matters, extra mile, golden
moment.

16. Golden Moments
• Avis – Love bombs deliver 98% repeat.
• Solicitors – Flowers win business
• Accountants - Find your fee
• Call to say “thanks” for the cheque.
• Don’t worry – I’ll drop it out to you
• The carpenter and the rabbit

17. More Superpleasing ideas
• The car mechanic
• I’ll drop you to the dart
• The bar man
• Take a seat and I’ll drop it down to you
• The accountant
• I got your books – we’ll start them on Monday and finish in two
weeks.
• The lawyer
• It will cost €4000 – I’ll charge you €2k upfront and €2k at end of
April.

18. “It ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it –
that’s what gets results”
• We experience Professional Service work
• The Professional Service experience comprises technical work and
customer service
• We need to do good technical work and service the customer to
provide a positive experience
• Satisfaction Equation - Satisfaction = Perception – Expectation
• Good (or even excellent) technical work is expected
• Servicing the customer has greater potential to affect the customer
experience than the technical work.

19. Source of the opportunity
• Very little dissatisfaction with Professional
Service firms on a technical level
• High levels of dissatisfaction on a client
service level
» Source: Shultz Doerr 2009

20. What could you do ?

21. Superpleasing Ideas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Commitment (which of the above you definitely commit to)

22. Nurturing

23. A planned programme for
Nurturing existing clients

24. Finding and winning additional
business from existing clients
outside the current remit.
“This requires an investment of unbillable time in marketing to existing clients”
David Maister

25. Benefits of Nurturing
• Higher probability prospects
• Confidence and trust
• Understanding client concerns
• Non competitive
• Cost of acquisition is lower
• Client industry is known
• More Profitable
• Fewer write offs
• Less fee sensitive
Compared to
new clients

26. Nurturing Strategies
1. Creating awareness of an additional
service need (Where the client is
unaware of the need)
•
•
•
Build trust and confidence on existing
engagement – going the extra mile
Increase knowledge of clients industry,
business, organisation and of the client
Pursue the next engagement
2. Cross selling additional services

27. Nurturing Activities
• Increase client contact – outside of a transaction
• Unbilled time for office visits
• Attending client internal meetings & social
events
• Running client seminars or reverse seminars
• Desk research
• Useful articles from client industry magazines
• Client competitor analysis
• White papers on client issues
• Partner introductions

28. Nurturing Plan
• Picking your targets based
on potential and relationships
• Allocating responsibility
• One page marketing plan
• Develop a system that
rewards new business from
existing clients
• Setting a budget for non
billable time for existing client
development

29. Managing Nurturing
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
All client facing partners involved
Work in small teams
Focus on one
Focussed on key clients
key client Per
week
Led by client partner
Develop a plan per client
Involve junior staff
Individual action plans, responsibilities and
timelines

30. Quarterly Client Plan
Client Standout
Responsibility
Timing
Budget
Time
Site visit
PB
31-Jan
4 hrs
€ 800
Organisation chart
JR
25 - Nov
1 hrs
€200
Activity Description
Budget
Cost

31. What could you do ?

32. Nurturing Ideas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Commitment (which of the above you definitely commit to)

33. Listening
Where marketing started

35. Listening Process
Set up a structured feedback loop
• Letters after each engagement
• Face to face interviews – 3rd
party
• Not by the service provider
• An online client feedback
system after every assignment
or once even annually.
• Telemarketing & online

36. The value of Listening is in ....
• Monitoring performance
• Independent, depersonalised
• Predicting needs
• What services will clients need in the future
• Based on their plans
• Motivational – people know that its happening
• Sets a common standard of performance
• Objective content for performance reviews
• Linking the reward structure of the firm to the staff and partners’
performance

37. Practical Examples
• Client Interviews (Internal manager)
• Feedback into Managing Partner
• Resource requirements
• Recruitment planning
Law Firm
• Staff and Client Interviews (External)
• Feeds into strategic positioning and
communication
• Internal process – Value Chain
Retail Business

38. What could you do ?

39. Listening Ideas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Commitment (which of the above you definitely commit to)

40. Broadcasting
Attracting new clients

41. Demonstrate Competence
• To attract new clients....
• You must demonstrate
competence to the right
audience

42. Holy Grail
• Demonstration one on one and face to face
is the ideal but not always possible
• What are the next best things to do ?
• Demonstration face to face but one to many
• Demonstration but not face to face
• Judge all activity against the Holy Grail

43. Tier 1 - Tried & Tested
• Small scale seminars
• Speeches to target industry meetings
• (not to fellow professional unless they give
you business)
• Article writing – in client industry media
• Proprietary research – white papers
• Forms a great platform for seminars,
speeches and articles
Practical Innovation

44. You have to consider digital

45. But there’s more....

46. Its easy to start drowning

47. Tier 2 - Support
• Digital Marketing – that demonstrate
• Blogs, webinars, podcasts, social media.
• Networking with referral sources
• Community / Civic activity
• Newsletters
Less direct, more time consuming

48. Tier 3 (Clutching at straws)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Publicity/PR
Brochures
Ballroom scale seminars
Direct Mail
Cold calls /Telesales
Sponsorship – sports or cultural events
Advertising
Video Brochures
Not face to face & do not demonstrate competence

49. Practical Advice - Focus
• Spending money on marketing is so easy
• Lots of ways to spend it and people to take it !
• Making it work for you is the tricky bit
• Apply the Raspberry Jam rule
• The thinner you spread it the less effective it gets
• Pick a few core strategies and do them well

50. Identify your ideal target
(Maximise client value probability)
Ideal Profile
• What sectors deliver
most of your current
income ?
• What sectors are
growing ?
• What are you best at ?
• Where are you well
connected ?

51. What could you do ?

52. Broadcasting Ideas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Commitment (which of the above you definitely commit to)

53. Courting

54. Courting a Prospect
“Traditionally thought of as
selling or proposing to a
single new prospect but
is more akin to a
courtship”
David Maister

55. Courting Occasions
• Courting involves pursuing a prospect who
has identified their need for a professional
service.
• This could be an invitation to present
credentials, a three way pitch, a tender, an
enquiry or a referral

56. Tender Example

57. Two Parts
• Two parts often to the tendering process
1. Written submission
2. Short list interviews

58. Central Point
• PS firms rarely have unique skills
• Tenders are rarely if ever granted on the
basis of technical competence
• Stage 1 – sorts out those who can from those
who cannot based on resource, capacity,
technical ability and experience
• Stage 2 – all participants can do the work. So
what are the decision making criteria ?

59. And the winner is .....
“What I the client want is
that rare professional
who has both the
technical skills and a
sincere desire to be
helpful and to work
with me and my
problem”

60. Start with the buyer’s needs?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
They have a problem
They lack the knowledge to solve it
They need help
They are vulnerable and threatened
They are dependent
They will be cautious – no risk taking here
Looking for danger signals
They need reassurance
They have to sell you.

61. Who would they choose ?
• Someone who is helpful
• Someone who listens carefully
• Someone who helps to frame their problem and
gets buy-in from the buyer
• Someone who set about outlining possible
solutions
• Someone with interesting ideas
• Someone who makes the client feel important
• Someone who explains costs and value
• Someone they like !

62. Before you start...
• Tendering is very time consuming
• Costly distraction if you lose
• Consider carefully what the buyer wants
• Capability, capacity, relevant experience
• Know that it will be competitive
Decide if its worthwhile

63. Take the pain once
• Prepare a tender library
•
•
•
•
•
•
Organisation charts
Accounts
Insurance documents
Accreditation documents
References
Key Staff Bio’s

64. Recognise the 2 stages
• Stage 1
•
•
•
•
Answer the questions like an exam
Before submission review the tender request
Consider the weightings
Have we answered the questions
• Stage 2
•
•
•
•
Demonstrate competence
Find similar case studies if possible
Give an opinion
Be helpful

65. Courting Skills and Activities
• Pitch preparation
• Its about them – not you
• Presentation skills
• Sales skills
• Unlocking the
prospects pain
• Give before you
receive
• Developing empathy
• Role playing
• Creating a positive
impression
• Rational & emotional
• Closing skills
• Handling objections
Ongoing training and ad hoc work is required

66. What could you do ?

67. Courting Ideas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Commitment (which of the above you definitely commit to)

68. Brand

69. The Brand Halo Effect
Brand
Brand
Nurturing
Courting
New
Business
Existing
Clients
Superpleasing
Brand
Broadcasting
Listening
Brand

70. Professional Service Brands
• Typically we think of Coca Cola, Kellogg’s,
Guinness, Nike, Apple
• In Professional Services e.g. Accountancy
• PWC, KPMG, Ernst and Young, Arthur Andersen !
• In lrish law we think of the top 5
• Arthur Cox, A&L Goodbody, MOP, McCann Fitzgerald
and William Fry

71. What is brand ?
• A brand is not
• A name
• Logo or brochure or a web
site
• A corporate identity
• A brand is shorthand for what your clients think
and feel about you
• What you do, what you’re good at, what you cost
• How you behave, big or small, slick or sloppy.
• Young and hip, tired or market leader

72. Where do they get these ideas
• The markets you
serve
• The services you offer
• The things you say
• The things you do
• The people you hire
• Awareness levels
•
•
•
•
Your clients
Your offices
The way you dress
The people you
associate with
• The way you behave
• Marketing activity
Its all been driven by you
Its strategic

73. Brand = Credibility
•
•
•
•
•
Radio News
“Mary Murphy – tax partner of PWC said
.......”
“Mary Murphy – of Murphy & Co said .......”
Same Mary Murphy – different impact
Mary Murphy 2 – no established credibility
Mary Murphy 1 – massive credibility
• Long standing international reputation
• Built up over many years

74. Benefits of a strong brand
1. More Conversations
• If somebody needs expertise and you have a
reputation in that field they call you.
2. Better conversion rates
• You never get fired for choosing IBM – Why?
International reputation for being the best
• The choice is made easy
3. Higher Fees
• Stronger reputation commands highest fees
4. Best recruits
• The best attracts the best

75. What do I want people to think
about us ?

76. Brand Decisions
• Strategic Decisions
•
•
•
•
•
What markets we want to serve
What services we want to provide
What clients we want to work with
Who you want to hire
How we want to behave – (“the Be-attitudes”)
• Communication Strategy
• What you want to say
• How and where you want to say it
• LAST - What you should look like

77. Brand is too important to leave to marketing
• Brand = Experience + Expression
• Marketing can only handle Expression
• Who determines experience ?
• Who sets the behaviour of all members of the firm
• Who can set the standards based on core values
• Who can enforce the behaviours that back it up ?
• Starts with the Managing Partner !

78. What could you do ?

79. Branding Ideas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Commitment (which of the above you definitely commit to)

80. Top 3 Commitments
6 Commitments
• 1.
Top 3
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 2.
• 4.
• 5
• 6
• 3

81. Next Steps
• Follow up sessions
• Session 1 – How to attract new clients
• Traditional and Digital techniques.
• Date: 21st November 2013
• https://standoutnewclients.eventbrite.ie/
• Session 2 - Building your brand
• The what and the how of building your brand
• Session 3 - Marketing to existing clients
• Superpleasing and Nurturing

82. Contact Me
pbanks@standout.ie
086-2352054