Marketing and Sales for Accountants, Lawyers, and Consultants Is Very Similar

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Everyone thinks they are unique-"I am unique," "my firm is unique," "my industry is unique." We often have folks write us at RainToday.com asking for content unique to their industry because marketing and sales is different for consulting than it is for accounting, right?

I believe there is much to learn from other professional service industries. The fact is: the dynamics of professional services firms are by and large the same, and so are the ways they market and sell themselves.

No matter which industry you're in, you share the following similarities with other professional services firms:

• Clients can't see or feel the end product. You are selling an intangible, a promise of expertise you will deliver when you say you will. You need to prove the value of working with your firm during the marketing and sales process.
• Clients and prospects don't know they need your services. Often, clients and prospects don't know they can realize greater efficiencies or that they are missing out on the benefits your services deliver. Other times, they think they can do what you do, just as well, internally. You need to overcome the inertia of many of your buyers.
• There is a very long sales cycle in professional services. You cannot expect to have a conversation with a prospect and convert him into a client overnight. It just doesn't work that way. You must nurture leads through each stage in the sales process until they are ready to buy.
• At the core, marketing and selling professional services is about building relationships. Trust is essential in a professional services sale, and trust is built over time through the relationships you create with your prospects and the value you provide. People buy people.

I realize each professional services industry is unique. But in the key areas that matter to all clients and prospects-demonstrating tangible value from intangible work, establishing and maintaining high levels of trust, and partnering for the long term-professional services firms are more alike than they are different.

Take the opportunity to learn from those in similar industries. You may pick up a few tricks that you can apply to your own business.