Finding New Clients By Publishing A Book

The number one challenge for professionals, consultants, coaches, speakers and entrepreneurs is creating new clients. However, many of these same people feel marketing is too time consuming, expensive or undignified. Even if they try a marketing or business development program, most are frustrated by a lack of results. They even worry if marketing would ever work for them. And no wonder. According to a researcher from the Harvard Business School, the typical sales and marketing hype that works for retailers and manufacturers is not only a waste of time and money for these type of people, it actually makes them less attractive to prospective clients (Maister, 1992, Managing the Professional Service Firm).

However, research has proven there is a better way. There is a proven process for marketing with integrity and getting an up to 400% to 2000% return on your marketing investment. At the New Client Marketing Institute we call it the Educating Expert Model, and the most successful professional service and consulting firms use it to get more clients than they can handle. The findings of our 8-year, $2 million research study about how the most successful professional and consulting firms use this model were published in our book, Client Seduction.

The foundation is marketing with a book. But not just any book. A book that was designed with marketing in the first place.

To attract new clients, the best approach is to demonstrate your expertise by giving away valuable information through writing and speaking. Research shows independent professionals, management and technical consultants, corporate trainers, executive or personal coaches, marketing and creative firms, and HR and recruiting consultants can fill a pipeline with qualified prospects in as little as 30 days by offering advice to prospects on how to overcome their most pressing problems (DeVries and Bryson, 2005, Client Seduction).

Unfortunately, many who learn this truth find the idea of writing and speaking too daunting and even mysterious. Most feel this is only for a select few, but that is a miscalculated view. In the beginning, it is not unusual to wonder how these other professionals and consultants get in front of audiences and get their how-to advice in print.

The good news is there exists a body of knowledge that some have discovered to grow their professional and consulting practices. As an example, management consulting firms like McKinsey & Co. pioneered the approach and have it down to a science (Bartlett, June 1996, “McKinsey & Co., Harvard Business Review). This is a growing trend. In 1991 a random survey of the top 1,000 U.S. law firms found that 89 percent held at least one client seminar per year. In 1999, 94 percent of law firms were regularly holding seminars. Lawyers at the top 1,000 firms ranked seminars as the most effective tool for cross-selling and gaining new clients (Source: FGI Research, 1999).

What should you do to increase revenues? First, understand that generating leads is an investment and should be measured like any other investment. Next, quit wasting money on ineffective means like brochures, advertising and sponsorships. The best marketing investment you can make is to get help creating informative Web sites, hosting persuasive seminars, booking speaking engagements, and getting published as a newsletter columnist and eventually book author.

Rather than creating a brochure, start by writing how-to articles. Those articles turn into speeches and seminars. Eventually, you gather the articles and publish a book through a strategy called print on demand self publishing (we’ve done it under 90 days and for less than a $1,000 for clients). Does it work? Here are a list of business best-seller titles by professionals and consultants that started out self-published (Source: Southwest Airlines Spirit, March 2005):

 The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson: picked up by William Morrow & Co.

 In Search of Excellence, by Tom Peters (of McKinsey & Co.): in its first year, sold more than 25,000 copies directly to consumers—then Warner sold 10 million more.

 Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, by Weiss Roberts: sold half a million copies before being picked up by Warner.

Understanding the psychology of clients also provides critical evidence of the validity of the get published approach. Professional services and consulting are what economists sometimes call “credence” goods, in that purchasers must place great faith in those who sell the services (Bloom, October 1984, “ Effective Marketing for Professional Services,” Harvard Business Review). What does the research say about client choice, satisfaction and dissatisfaction of professionals and consultants? Here are the five ways prospects judge you (Aaker, 1995, Strategic Market Management) and my views of how the Educating Expert Model is the perfect fit:
1. Competence. Knowledge and skill of the professional or consultant and their ability to convey trust and confidence (you demonstrate and prove your expert knowledge by speaking and writing)
2. Tangibles. Appearance of physical facilities, communication materials, equipment and personnel (you do this by the appearance of your Web site, book and how-to handouts)
3. Empathy. Caring, individualized attention that a firm provides its clients (educating people to solve problems before they hire you proves you care)
4. Responsiveness. Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service (when you promise to give people things like special reports and white papers, do it promptly)
5. Reliability. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately (prospective clients will judge you on how organized your seminars, speeches and Web site are)

Even if you believe in the Educating Expert Model, how do you find time to do it and still get client and admin work done? No professional or consultant ever believes they have too much time on their hands. Nothing worth happening in business ever just happens. The answer is to buy out the time for marketing. You need to be involved, but you should not do this all on your own. Trial and error is too expensive of a learning method. Wouldn’t it be better if someone helped you who knows the tricks and shortcuts? We can show you how to leverage your time and get others to do most of the work for you, even if you are a solo practitioner.