31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive, clear & common-sense, August 5, 2009
This review is from: Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of Business Development Success (Hardcover)
Review from the Selling Professional Services Blog at [...]
One question I get asked every now and then is "Can you recommend a good book on marketing professional services?".
And to be honest, my normal answer is "not really".
For sole practitioners and small consulting firms, Robert Middleton's Action Plan Marketing material is an excellent resource. For larger firms there's very little on marketing that I find helpful, so I usually point them to the relevant chapters in more general works like Maister's Managing the Professional Service Firm, Harding's Rainmaking or Denvir & Walker's Growing Your Client Base.
Well, now I have something to recommend.
Professional Services Marketing is Mike Schultz & John Doerr's new book focused on helping professional firms build strong brands, create a "lead generation engine" and develop effective business development cultures.
Here's the difference with Professional Services Marketing - it's based on what really works in professional services.
As well as running their own professional service firm, Schultz and Doerr advise leading law, accountancy and consulting firms. And as the founders of [...], they have access to the most recent research on lead generation methods, client buying criteria, fee rates, etc.
The impact of that experience and research comes through loud and clear in the book. What you won't find here are unsubstantiated theories or concepts from product marketing crudely adapted to a services environment. Instead, it's based on practical, real-world-tested ideas.
Example: In Chapter 6 - Don't Worry About Your Competition, they debunk a number of myths hung-over from product marketing. "You must be a first mover" - nonsense. "You must be #1 or #2 in your market" - pish. "You must have a USP" - yeah right. I come across these myths frequently (and unfortunately, I hear them repeated by too many trainers and consultants who should know better). Schulz & Doerr demonstrate here and throughout the book that they're not afraid to break with conventional wisdom and to "tell it like it is". Using research and experience they show how these ideas are not only wrong for professional service firms, but that by following them they can damage your business.
OK - so here's what the book actually covers:
* Marketing Planning
* The Key Levers of Lead Generation
* Options for Fees & Pricing
* Competition
* Culture
* Branding
* Uniqueness (and why it's a mistahe to think you need to be unique)
* Thought Leadership
* Marketing Communications
* Lead Nurturing
* Targeting
* Selling
* Networking
* "Hustle"
No book is perfect, of course. The chapter on selling has some excellent ideas (particularly about the importance of surfacing client aspirations as well as problems) - but isn't enough on it's own to turn a stumbling accountant or brash lawyer into a competent salesperson. I'd have liked to have seen pointers to more detailed resources in this area like Let's Get Real or SPIN Selling.
But overall - how highly do I rate the book? Put it this way: I got a free electronic version of the pre-release version of the book - but I've stumped up my own cash to add a hard copy version to my library for reference.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't put this on your book shelf. Keep it on your desk., July 19, 2009
This review is from: Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of Business Development Success (Hardcover)
There's an awful lot to like about this newest book on marketing professional services. It's research-based, it provides insights on every aspect of marketing services, and it's well-written.
Among the insights in this book that will have wide appeal to service providers is Schultz and Doerr's discussion of uncovering your firm's key brand attributes. The nine questions that guide the reader to their true value proposition is worth the price of the book.
It's hard to go wrong with this book. Highly recommended.
Michael W. McLaughlin
Author, Winning the Professional Services Sale
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Right to the Core, August 2, 2009
This review is from: Professional Services Marketing: How the Best Firms Build Premier Brands, Thriving Lead Generation Engines, and Cultures of Business Development Success (Hardcover)
This book has got the goods on everything you need to move your firm ahead: the very best know-how from two of the very best practitioners and biz thought leaders on the essentials of professional success, steeped in vital topics like branding (all facets), lead generation, setting fees & prices, ID'ing your "key brand attributes," intellectual capital, relationship nurturing, "bad marketing advice," targeting, passion and much, much, much more. The writing itself sets the correct tone, one all too typically forgotten (or ignored) by even seasoned entrepreneurs. Chapter 6 is an example: "Don't Worry About Your Competition... Let Them Worry About YOU!"
To skip thru common business blunders and get right to the core of your business value and success, open the pages of this book and get going. Recession or not, as author of a similar book, I can personally attest that this knowledge gem by Schultz and Doerr can empower you to leave loserville far behind.
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