Marketing Your Consulting Services.pdf - epiheirimatikotita.gr

into someone who frankly cannot use your services and cuts the phone call short,
you should silently thank him or her for not wasting your valuable time. So rather
than feeling rejected, you can feel thankful. And what do you say? “Thank you for
your candor and have a great day!” Create your own cold call attitude.
In addition to creating your own cold call attitude, you can build a process to
take the chill out of your cold calls. To start the process, I warm up the client with
a letter. Not just any old letter, but one that I have written specifically to the client.
In most cases the client reacts positively right from the start. With cold calls, the
client is frequently negative initially. And the rejection, quite frankly, is not fun—
and yes, I know I should not take it personally!
Cold calls, warm calls. The choice is yours. This chapter addresses prospecting
for specific clients and then identifies a process to warm up your cold calls. Chapter
Eight will take the process to the next step—selling. In that chapter we will cover
more about what to do to open and close your sale, whether it is a warm call or a
cold call.
FIND NEW CLIENTS
You have clarified your niche. Now it’s time to specify the organizations by name.
Who will be your first clients? To some extent it will depend on your marketing
plan. If you intend to sell only to your current clients, you can skip this chapter.
However, I am guessing that you are reading this book because you are looking for
new clients.
Your new clients may come from referrals, networking, or prospecting. The referral
work may come through your friends, family, colleagues, or even a past employer.
Your networking may come your way through people you meet at professional meetings,
conferences, or volunteer work. You have little control over the kind of work
that comes from referrals or networking.
Some of the referral or network clients may be related to the niche you identified,
but many of them may not. As these come your way, however, you will most
likely not turn any of the work down. As you take on new work, your marketing
plans may need to change. You will not likely turn down a great opportunity just
because it is not in the geographical area you targeted. You may need to change the
targeted area to coincide with your new client if all else is equal. It is more efficient
to travel to the same area for several clients than to travel in opposite directions.
Bottom line? Keep your marketing plans flexible.
Prospecting in All the Right Places: How Do You Find Clients? 139