138 Quick Ideas to Get More Clients [Paperback]

Howard L. Shenson (Author), Jerry R. Wilson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471589519 | ISBN-13: 978-0471589518 | Publication Date: October 22, 1993 | Edition: 1

America's most sought-after consulting guru shows you how to successfully market your services and make more money. Contains 138 insider secrets for building a client base applicable to a broad range of professionals inside or outside consulting. Features invaluable marketing do's and don'ts and covers such topics as direct mail, networking, cultivating referrals, media contacts, preparing contracts and setting fees.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"This book is filled with current, relevant and power-packed ideas for immediate and long-range application." — Naomi Rhode President, National Speakers Association Vice President, Smart Practice Now the "consultant’s consultant" shows how you can raise your income by more than 30% … You can have all the skills in the world in your profession, but if you don’t consistently market yourself in today’s increasingly competitive environment, you’re not going to maximize your business potential. That’s just part of Howard Shenson and Jerry Wilson’s message in 138 Quick Ideas to Get More Clients, a uniquely practical guide that’s designed to give you the motivation to sell your services and the easy-to-implement strategies that can help you do it successfully. This portable guide provides you with a wealth of field-tested ideas that you can easily incorporate into your own marketing plans, including ways to:

• Enhance your stature within the profession
• Turn research efforts into a means of building your client base
• Become more accessible to current and potential clients
• Obtain the support and aid of influential professionals
• Tap your present client base to increase referrals
• Set fees that increase your income without alienating clients

And these are just a handful of the dozens and dozens of ways you can generate more leads and turn them into paying customers! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

HOWARD L. SHENSON, recently deceased, was the author of several highly popular professional handbooks, including the bestselling Shenson on Consulting, The Contract and Fee-Setting Guide for Consultants and Professionals, and How to Develop and Promote Successful Seminars and Workshops. JERRY R. WILSON is an internationally known consultant and Certified Professional Speaker and is the author of the highly acclaimed book Word-of-Mouth Marketing. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (October 22, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471589519
• ISBN-13: 978-0471589518
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #787,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many Helpful Marketing Ideas Most Consultants Don't Use!, July 23, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 138 Quick Ideas to Get More Clients (Paperback)

The authors start off by saying, "You can be the most terrific speaker, consultant, attorney, engineer or professional the world has ever seen, but to really succeed, you must successfully sell your services." The key element of this selling is summarized as " . . . to really succeed means to differentiate yourself from others." The authors go on to point out that the massive waves of downsizing are creating much more competition all the time, requiring consultants to improve their marketing continuously.

Here are some examples of the gems in this book:

-- "don't quit marketing" -- many consultants only market when they do not have enough business. You are advised to always spend 15-25 percent of your time in this area.

-- market only to decision-makers -- the gate keepers have to let you in before you can make the sale. Spending time with gate keepers though quickly becomes wasted time.

-- make selling your services your number one task so it always takes priority

-- be seen as an expert in your field based on recent research you have conducted

-- try to market people through the insights you get from your research

-- use wasted time to work on marketing (such as downtime sitting in an airport)

-- whenever you mail your card to someone, include two so one can be shared

-- ask all of your contacts for referrals.

Once you are working on these things, here are some other good ideas:

-- create an environment in which making a referral seems like their idea

-- aim your publicity efforts to generate qualified leads

-- quote fees on a fixed price basis

-- let clients know that you will make them self-sufficient.

One of the good aspects of the book is that it does not seem to have any overtly bad advice in it. Some bits of advice I would question, but it certainly won't get you into trouble.

The main weakness of the book is that the ideas are presented at a summary level. Most people will need more detailed information to be able to implement the concepts. As a starting point, I suggest you read Networlding, Socratic Selling, and Publicity Power(all of which I have also reviewed).

If you do not have a marketing plan for your consulting practice, reading this book will be good background for helping you prepare one.

The key point of this book is to help you overcome your stalled thinking that professionals do not have to market. Good work will be enough. Unless you are already a well-known authority with more demand than you can handle, your good work will only take you so far.

Good luck in finding more clients so you can help more people achieve 2,000 percent solutions!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 138 QUICK Ideas to Get More Clients, April 8, 2009

By 

Maryann deSteph "Maryann" (Suffield, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 138 Quick Ideas to Get More Clients (Paperback)

I found this book to be very outdated. As I was reading I realized that everything I have been taught lately in seminars, business meetings, etc. had been very contradictory to this book. After checking the copyright date, I realized why I felt it was outdated, it was 1993. A lot has changed since 1993!

If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't buy this one... I may have learned one or two things from it, but that's it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps a Bit Too Quick?, April 20, 2005

By 

Kevin Devine "Building Your Business Plan" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 138 Quick Ideas to Get More Clients (Paperback)

As every business owner knows, one of the most frustrating aspects of being self-employed is finding potential customers and convincing them to buy from you. 138 Quick Ideas is a small book full of suggestions for how to network, track down, and lure customers to your door. They are laid out in a common-sense order, with good examples and straightforward text, making the book accessible to business experts and novices alike.

The only drawback to the book is that most of these ideas are by now well known, and many of them are included in the other reviews you'll see here. Plus, when the title says Quick it means just that - nearly all of these ideas occupy less than a page, so the book reads swiftly. So although I can heartily recommend you read this book, I'm not so sure the retail price is justified.