Information for consultants

Winning business

How best to market your marketing services and win new business? Subscribing to our Marketing Consultants Directory is an excellent start but there are other key ways of making your expertise known:

Keeping credentials up to date

Keep your website fresh and accurate with case studies and testimonials that demonstrate you can really deliver.

Preparing for a pitch

Our directory should at least put you on some short lists. Next stop is the pitch. We recommend you don’t show too much creative work at pitch stage – unless clients specifically ask. Focus more on ideas and strategy. Your aim is to show you understand their business and have the insight to solve their problems. Also check out our advice to clients about pitches (see above).

Setting a price

There’s an old saying that if clients aren’t questioning your invoices, you’re not charging enough. A good rule of thumb is to charge about 1% of your most recent salaried role. Also indicate any discounted rates clearly on your invoice.

Networking

Even for a communications professional, networking can seem daunting. As a CIM member you have access to a comprehensive network of events focused on helping you win more business.

There’s also virtual networking. Try portals like LinkedIn or ecademy for consultants and Haystack for agencies. And membership of respected professional organisations provides networking opportunities. The Institute is the foremost, but there are also others that cater for different disciplines.

Polish your networking skills. That means approaching people you don’t know, being a good listener and being prepared.

Agreeing terms

To get the relationship with your employer off to the right start it’s important to set out everything in black and white in the form of terms and conditions. See Related downloads for a checklist.

Making the client relationship work

The only thing more important than winning new clients is keeping them.

Communication and clarity

Communication is key to a successful client relationship; it’s the only way of building and maintaining trust. Make yourself available and remember that every conversation is a chance to find out more about your client’s needs.

Honesty and transparency are critical. Avoid the temptation to over-promise and under-deliver – you will soon lose your client’s trust. Don’t be afraid to say what you think, but be constructive. Clients don’t want a consultant who agrees with everything they say – but tact is important. Equally, ask for their feedback on your work.

Never assume a client understands marketing jargon, so explain things clearly. And when it comes to showing creative work, help them to react – it’s an area with which many clients aren’t very familiar.

Always be clear about who will be working on the project and ask for the same information from your client – who will you be reporting to and so on.

Formality and finance

As well as following our advice under Agreeing terms (above), you should consider professional indemnity insurance. This will protect both you and your client against unforeseen circumstances beyond your control.

It’s also a good idea to keep an audit trail of your interactions with the client and ask for written commitments, especially for work sign-off.

If you incur extra work that needs to be billed, tell the client before invoicing. Be explicit about extra or unexpected expenses and whether you mark them up. If the client asks for a change of approach, make it clear if this affects the price and, in cases where you are really concerned about escalating costs, build in financial reviews at regular intervals.

When it’s time to be paid, try to give your client every opportunity possible to meet the payment terms. Late payments are often just down to administrative inefficiency.