Market Gravity by Alan Weiss

I just finished reading a very good book, “Million Dollar Consulting – The Professional’s Guide To Growing A Practice.”  There are many good reasons to read this book and I hope to touch on many of these within future posts at this website.  For this article, I am going to present a topic that Mr. Weiss describes as “market gravity,” or the act of drawing people to your consulting business.  This book is great for people looking to start their own consulting business, or for employees/owners already involved in a consulting practice who are looking for ways to grow their business.  The “million dollar” aspect is more of an eye-catcher than anything, but you get the point.  If you want to be a respected consultant in your particular area, there are certain things you can do to improve your own personal and/or business brand awareness.  See below for an excerpt from the book, which I recommend everyone who reads this article to go out and buy immediately for $20 at Amazon or your local book store.

The information below was derived from “Million Dollar Consulting – The Professional’s Guide To Growing A Practice” by Alan Weiss, McGraw Hill, copyright 2003. 

How do you stimulate others to contact you for your services?  How about through “market gravity,” the intent of drawing people toward us.  “When people approach you (“I’ve heard about your work and would like to see if you may be in a position to assist us”), the dynamic is substantially changed from cold calling (“Who are you, and why should I listen?”).”  Weiss gives the following list of what to do to aid in the process of market gravity.  We plan to implement all of the below items at some point in our existence.

Pro bono work. By aiding organizations for free, your work and relationships will grow in their repute and numbers. Suggestion: Never do pro bono work for a profit-making entity, no matter how good the exposure.

Commercial publishing. Books are golden; articles and op-ed pieces are great.

Position papers. Create articles for your press kit and Web site that position you as an authority in your field. They should be nonpromotional and packed with specific techniques and high value.

Radio interviews. These are relatively easy to obtain. Take out a listing in the Yearbook of Experts, Spokespersons and Leading Authorities, and/or the Directory of the National Press Association. Suggestion: Never pay a radio station to host a show. That’s a scam. The talent is supposed to be the payee, not the payer.

TV appearances.These are also easier than suspected through the sources above, especially on cable and local affiliates.

Advertising. From the local Yellow Pages to national directories, some feasibility buyers such listings to generate alternatives.

Passive listings. These are listings in the buyer’s guides and various industry sources, akin to advertising, but simply entries. They are also quite common on the Internet.

Speaking. One of the best sources of generating attraction. Speak for free if you must, as long as you are in front of buyers or at least recommenders.

Web site. Picture this as a much more flexibly media kit than you hard-copy presentation folder. Load it with articles, techniques, and value to compel people to return (e.g., a new article every month) and to tell others. (This is also an excellent place to sell products.)

Electronic newsletters. Send them out for free. Keep them brief and non-promotional. Encourage people to forward them to others. One page a month should take you all of 30 minutes.

Word of mouth. Do you have a clever tag line (e.g., “The Telephone Doctor”), is your business card in people’s hands, do you have interesting handouts?

Trade association leadership. Take the ugliest, hardest positions, such as treasurer, or head of volunteers. Become president. You’ll be interviewed, referred to, and highly visible in the community, profession, and/or industry.

Third-party endorsements. Ask every single client, every single time, for a testimonial letter, reference, referral, or blurb for a publication.

Print newsletters. Although more time-consuming and expensive, print newsletters are more impressive than electronic ones and tend to stay around longer. You can use a common format every month with a local printer. Use guest articles to save you work.

Referrals. Ask everyone you know for leads. Don’t you recommend people to your dentist and lawyer? Why shouldn’t they be referring people to you? Ask them every 3 months.

Print interviews. Provide human interest or business angles to the local media to secure interviews for you.

Teaching. Apply to be an adjunct professor one night a week at a local university, community college, or trade school. It looks great on your biographic data and will generate visibility.

Alliances. Find someone who has the marketing clout that you don’t, and for whom you have the competencies they lack, and create a synergy wherein 1 + 1 = 186.

Products. Create tapes, pamphlets, booklets, checklists, manuals, books, and other high-value learning tools both for income and for visibility.

Networking. Provide value to people who can, in turn, provide value to you. Attend a function at least one night a week where this is possible.