A candid one. I built a practice over about twenty years and never marketed it. Word of mouth kept me busier than I wanted to be, which was pleasant and also a trap, because I never developed the skill.
What I have learned since starting to actually try.
Referral work and marketed work are not the same work. A referral arrives pre-sold. Somebody the client trusts has already vouched for the result, so the conversation starts at scope and price. Marketed leads start much earlier — they do not know what a bill audit is, whether it is legitimate, or why they would not just have their bookkeeper look at it.
That means the material has to do a job the referral did for free. Explaining what the service is, showing that findings are documented rather than asserted, addressing the contingency structure before they ask.
The second thing: the channels that produce volume and the channels that produce fit are usually different. Cheap volume brings people shopping for a free review with no intention of engaging. I would rather have four qualified inquiries than forty.
Third, and this surprised me: the practice being genuinely good at the work is not a marketing asset until somebody can see it. Case studies with real determinants and real methodology do more than any claim about years of experience.
What I have learned since starting to actually try.
Referral work and marketed work are not the same work. A referral arrives pre-sold. Somebody the client trusts has already vouched for the result, so the conversation starts at scope and price. Marketed leads start much earlier — they do not know what a bill audit is, whether it is legitimate, or why they would not just have their bookkeeper look at it.
That means the material has to do a job the referral did for free. Explaining what the service is, showing that findings are documented rather than asserted, addressing the contingency structure before they ask.
The second thing: the channels that produce volume and the channels that produce fit are usually different. Cheap volume brings people shopping for a free review with no intention of engaging. I would rather have four qualified inquiries than forty.
Third, and this surprised me: the practice being genuinely good at the work is not a marketing asset until somebody can see it. Case studies with real determinants and real methodology do more than any claim about years of experience.