Referrals and word-of-mouth recommendations can bring your business some of the hottest leads you receive, since people tend to trust their peers and friends. Some of that trust is passed on to your business or brand when you receive a client referral, so you have a head start getting sales based on these leads. Reviews and testimonials are also powerful, but you really can’t beat direct referrals for quality, qualified leads.

Lead generation for professional services firms is best accomplished through the synergy of a variety of well-thought-out, ongoing marketing efforts. The goal is to get in front of your target audiences (clients and prospects) wherever they are and keep in touch. This way, you catch the prospect when they need your services—when they’re ready to make a decision to "seal-the-deal." At this point, quality clients and pre-qualified leads will jump right into your inbound marketing funnel.

The online world is getting more crowded everyday, so it can be quite a challenge to set your company above the rest. By keeping strong goals in mind, however, strategic inbound marketing for professional services firms can bring your core audience to you.

In my recent post, Deep Six Boilerplate with Content Marketing for Professional Services, I discussed transforming the tired old boilerplate library into a high performance blog that rates your text by the popularity of your post.  One of the suggestions was to incorporate presentation slide decks into your content marketing practices.

How do you feel about your firm’s boilerplate? Personally, my experience with boilerplate has always been miserable.  Boilerplate tends to be a useful “start” for responding to a lengthy request for a proposal (RFP) or request for qualifications (RFQ).  However, boilerplate is not fresh or exciting, and, if it is not regularly enhanced, the text becomes stale and dull. If you have a particular fondness for your firm’s boilerplate, please do not read any further. However, if you have musty and out-of-date boilerplate, it is time to consider a fresh approach! 

Every firm wants to attract attention and portray their services and experiences in a favorable light. Blog posts and press releases cover a range of company messages. These tools are communication methods for maintaining a positive image and essential to building a solid reputation. 

Are you starting to generate blog content for your firm? While you're drafting material, it is important to optimize each post to attract the attention of desired audiences.  A blog post is an effective communication tool for providing information that will enhance and stimulate business development efforts. As you increase the number of posts, you will see an an increase in blog traffic and increase the probability of converting a site visitor into a prospective client.

Did the 10 Benefits of Blogging for Professional Services Marketing convince you to launch your firm’s blog?  Hopefully, the answer is “yes” because this post offers ideas for generating blog content. 

Are you contemplating a blog for your professional services firm?  According to a 2012 State of Inbound Marketing Report by HubSpot, in a survey of 972 marketing professionals, 81% of businesses reported that their company blog is useful to critical for their business.