-Continuation-

By: Jimmylyn A. Ramos

• Another important activity that will facilitate building a
consulting practice is the development of
relationships with significant third- party referral
sources.
• These referral services oftentimes are fellow
professionals who serve mutual clients.
• Former clients are a particularly good source for new
business referrals if one is just starting a practice.
Examples of a significant third-party referral sources:

 Accountants
 Lawyers
 Investment bankers
 Insurance brokers
 Bankers
 Financial planners
Scope of Public Relations
• the third general area for marketing professional
services
• includes a wide range of traditional as well as
innovative strategies.
• Special activities under public relations/promotions
range from advertising to the sponsorship of golf
tournaments to giving a speech at an appropriate
trade organization.
The following might be considered representative:
 Institutional advertising
 Product and service-oriented advertising
 Newsletters
 Seminars and workshops
 Speeches
 Articles in professional or industry publications
 Press relations
 Trade shows, symposia and panels
 Participation in community trade and professional
organizations
• It is important to remember that all public
relations/promotionals activities should be designed to
established contacts that can be enhanced on a
personal basis as a follow up to the activity.

• Professionals see the public relations activities as the

goal rather than pursuing the opportunities the activity
creates.
• remain as a popular tool for many professionals.
• Seminars that are designed for a specific audience
on a topic of interest, that are short (2 or 3hours), and
that provide the participants with practical
suggestions are typically the most successful.
• Seminars or symposia cosponsored by two groups of
professionals offer the opportunity for enhancing
relationships between the cosponsors as well as
between participants.
• From an idealistic standpoint, community involvement
in civic and charitable organizations offer
professionals the opportunity to “repay” their
communities; more pragmatically, they also meet
fellow professionals and future business contacts.
• The involvement of a firm’s professionals needs to be
planned, coordinated, and monitored, however, for
maximum benefits to be derived.
• The vast majority of consultants fail to grow their
businesses because they refuse to abandon
business.
• Growth depends on abandoning some lines and types
of business in the pursuit and acquisition of other,
more productive lines of business.
• A consultant cannot retain all types of business and
expect to grow. Continuing to take on everything
means that the consultant’s growth in expertise and
reputation are not advancing.
 Alternatives to simply dumping the clients, some
suggestions are:
 Explain to the client that certain assignments
cannot be cost-effectively handled anymore.
 Establish alliances with younger consultants
who may want to align themselves with more
established practitioners in order to learn, obtain
business and network.
Provide the client with advance notice that the
consultants will be accepting lesser assignments
and doing lesser workshops and appearances.
Offer to transfer the skills to the client, if
What are some business conditions that will justify
abandonment?
1. Beneath the growing fee structure
2. Unchallenging
3. Providing a reputation that does not fit the
consultant’s growth strategy
4. Overly specialized
5. Unable to attract the kind of talent the consultant
wants in his firm
6. Unable to attract the kind of references the
consultant needs
7. In areas and industries that themselves are not
growing
9. Unethical in its actions and/or borderline illegal
10. Harsh in its demands for travel, support, and other
logistics

 Finally, the consultant should examine his/her

markets and clients before making hard, steely
decisions about leaving some of them.

“It does not matter at all – not at all – what your billings
are or how much you make. The only thing that
matters is how much you keep.”