Traditional marketing and business development methods for professional services need to be fixed. You no longer need large marketing and business development budgets to make a difference.

Most traditional business development efforts include “prospecting” and "go/no go" stages.  While many professional services firms may call these stages different names, there are always activities to (1) discover a new lead, (2) speculate as to the level of interest during the pursuit, and (3) determine the viability of the lead (go/no go). Below are sample prospecting and go/no go stage workflows for reference.

Many people think it sounds silly to tweet. While tweeting may sound silly, Twitter is a wildly popular communication channel for quick and easy exchange with mass audiences. This post gets down to the Twitter basics and explains why this channel needs to be included in your social media tools for professional services marketing.

Mapping a process will provide vital insight.  As a consultant who applies new and exciting technologies to energize marketing activities, I like to work with client teams to develop process maps.  The way a team works, and its unique processes, drive each new technology initiative.  Without this understanding or discovering the process, it will negatively impact the rollout. 

Let's assume you gave your LinkedIn profile a makeover, and you've begun to strike up conversations, answer a few questions, and make connections. Now it is time to incorporate LinkedIn into your engagement plan. The objectives are simple – LinkedIn is a channel for connecting with clients and generating leads with new prospective clients.

It is time to think about your professional services' social marketing strategy. The following are steps to incorporate LinkedIn into your game plan. 

Did you know that LinkedIn is a channel for generating leads?  This post offers marketing tips for LinkedIn professional services leads. We provide the information on "how" - getting creative and nurturing new and exciting leads is up to you!

Are you ready to be in film?

No matter how you answer this question, you cannot deny that the silver screen is a channel for storytelling and engaging audiences.  The film is a powerful medium for making a human connection.  What are you waiting for?  This post offers four reasons to incorporate video into your professional services content marketing strategy and quit being shy! 

Is your LinkedIn profile stuck in a rut? 

Do you feel your profile looks more drab than fab? 

It takes little to give your LinkedIn profile a new lease on life...this is a social networking site for professionals like you. You can pull off a little profile makeover magic with a few LinkedIn tips for professional services firms.

The makeover tips outlined in this article transformed Santiago Carral's profile. Mr. Carral has a great resume. After reviewing his profile, we worked together to transform his profile into a functional, searchable resume that offered greater visibility to audiences looking for his professional skills. Today, Carral's profile is gaining traction.

It is time to begin a business development and content marketing playbook. Start the playbook by conceptualizing a rich media experience that spotlights your talent and captures the compelling project story. Blend content and media goals and objectives into an engaging website experience that offers project storytelling.  Let’s realize your vision to nurture relationships interested in working with your talent. 

TO GO OR NO GO ?

Pursuing viable project leads can be like finding a needle in a haystack. The economic recession continues to impact the A/E/C industry greatly.  Tracking and targeting viable leads takes a lot of work.  Efforts go through a series of starts and stop. Rather than spending long hours attempting to stay in front of pursuits that may go on hold, think about transforming your website into a lead nurturing tool that enables you to stay in front of your leads while improving your time and money investment on pursuits.