The Guerrilla Consultant – a newsletter dedicated to applying the principles of Guerrilla Marketing to the work and lives of consultants. Although the economy may be picking up, that doesn't mean you can slack off on your marketing efforts. The most profitable firms maintain a consistent focus on marketing—good economy or bad. This month we look at 20 ways to help get your firm to the top of the heap. We'd like to thank everyone who bought the book recently—you helped make it a #1 Amazon bestseller in the Marketing & Sales and Consulting categories. Feeling lucky? MarketingSherpa is giving away 5 copies of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants in their book giveaway. Go on over and and put your name in the hat. Mike McLaughlin Co-Author, Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants 20 Ways to Float Your Firm to the Top Will a ‘Rising Tide’ Raise Your Boat? Signs are everywhere that the market for consulting services is picking up steam. Consultants in virtually every field are noticing a stronger market. Researchers have found that operational performance of consulting firms is better than it’s been in more than three years. That’s the good news. The unfortunate irony is that, as the market heats up, some highly competent consultants will struggle to win client work against less qualified competitors for one reason: their marketing programs are self-defeating. You won’t find a better time to take a fresh look at your marketing strategy. Chances are you’ll recognize opportunities that will bring more clients—and more profit—to your practice.

Did a colleague forward this newsletter? Sign up to receive your own copy: Last month: How Consultants Blow Sales We've extended our offer: Purchase Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants and receive a bonus package of materials worth $250 from six highly successful consultants. Details on this limited time offer. Blog & Buzz How to Dump Hourly Rates The value of what you offer should form the basis of your fee. We continue to examine this popular topic in the Guerrilla Consulting blog, 11/28/04 Hourly Rates—Confusing Effort with Results By charging a client for time alone, you completely undermine the expertise you’ve spent years building, and you limit the profit you can justifiably earn. Guerrilla Consulting blog, 10/23/04 XPlane bBlog & Danavan blog - more on the hourly rates discussion 11/04 Business of Success Radio, 11/14/04 Send Me a Proposal The best proposal is one you don't have to write, as we explain in Business KnowHow, 10/26/04 Why Guerrilla Consultants Need Great Web Sites Jill Whalen's High Rankings newsletter recently carried our first book excerpt, 10/14/04 Powerpoint Blues - Eight simple rules for keeping your audience engaged. Guerrilla Consulting blog, 11/07/04 Additional Resources for Consultants Management Consultant News - interviews with consulting leaders, articles, research results, news.

Have a look at the 20 Guerrilla Consulting Principles below, and use them to tune up your marketing strategy. You may already be following some of the 20, while others may generate new ideas.

20 Guerrilla Consulting Principles

1. Marketing is embedded into every aspect of the practice, from the big things—like how you deliver services—to the details like the look of your emails and envelopes.
   
   
2. Your backlog of business covers at least 50% of your forecasted profit for the next year.
   
   
3. You have a market positioning vision that establishes your direction and purpose. Everyone in the practice understands and can describe it in a few brief sentences.
   
   
4. Clients understand your market positioning vision.
   
   
5. Your clients and prospects know what makes you dramatically different from your competitors.
   
   
6. All members of your practice know exactly how they contribute to the success of both your business and its marketing strategy.
   
   
7. You have a marketing activity calendar, and you follow it.
   
   
8. Client-specific tactics are at the center of your marketing strategy.
   
   
9. Existing clients and their referrals are your richest source of new business.
   
   
10. You routinely ask for referrals.
    
    
11. You have patience with your marketing program, recognizing that some strategies take hold more quickly than others.
    
    
12. You measure the effectiveness of your marketing, making mid-course corrections as needed.
    
    
13. Your marketing strategy relies on an array of integrated tactics, applied consistently over time, rather than a start-and-stop approach.
    
    
14. You rigorously qualify every opportunity before agreeing to create a proposal or begin client work.
    
    
15. You place a high value on clients and on account management skills.
    
    
16. Your consultants execute projects flawlessly.
    
    
17. Your consultants provide a positive experience for your clients, no matter how tough the project.
    
    
18. Your marketing materials make a substantive contribution to your business development efforts.
    
    
19. You make time every day for marketing the business.
    
    
20. You win your fair share of profitable work.

You probably have other ideas about marketing a practice to add to the list. If so, we want to hear from you: join the discussion.

Next month, we’ll look into the relationship between marketing and client/account management. In the meantime, think about the advice of Peter Drucker: “The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous.”

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The Guerrilla Consultant is published on the first Monday of the month.

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