Where do new business leads come from at your firm?
At most professional services firms, the answer is usually something like:
- Referrals and networking
- Networking and referrals
- An RFP we got invited to participate in (sometimes because of referrals and networking)
That approach is okay for plenty of professional services firms, but if you want to ignite aggressive growth, you need to move beyond this hit-or-miss, personality-driven, non-scalable model.
You need to spread the word and build trust beyond that Chamber of Commerce mixer that always has the same people and the same conversations.
In an increasingly noisy world in which skepticism runs rampant and trust is harder to earn than ever, consider public relations as the tip of the spear for your lead gen efforts.
Why trust drives lead generation for professional services firms
The shared interests and camaraderie built through networking don’t carry the same value they used to—everybody is under more pressure to perform than ever before. Which means that your would-be clients can’t simply hire people they like; they have to hire people who will perform.
Your future clients are far more likely to hire a firm that has demonstrated its expertise in public. It’s well-established that at least two-thirds of the buying process happens before you ever hear from the prospect—they’re doing their research online and in AI engines, and media coverage, thought leadership mentions and awards play an increasingly important role in making the short list.
What does PR for professional services firms look like?
At Scribewise, our approach to public relations is grounded in thought leadership. We believe that the “product” a professional services firm sells is its thinking, and the best way to attract attention is to demonstrate that product in public. In other words, when thought leadership from your firm is consistently published and referenced, it builds the credibility every firm needs to have a smart sales conversation.
A good PR program will be centered on a firm-wide point of view; your thought leadership pillars should be anchored to this POV.
With this foundation, you can secure media coverage.
This means pitching reporters with story concepts, creating and placing bylined articles, serving as an expert source on industry trends and current events in the press, podcasts and other media venues where your ideal clients get their information. These activities, in turn, can lead to speaking opportunities, awards and other superlatives.
How PR helps professional services firms generate leads
Let’s be very clear: You don’t start a PR program and get flooded with red-hot leads. (Except for this one time we placed a single article in a very targeted publication for a client and they got five ready-to-buy leads within 24 hours. Glad to tell you about it sometime, but it is not a reasonable expectation.)
Public relations efforts that generate positive press coverage give you what will become your most valuable sales asset—credibility. And PR that focuses on raising the profile of your in-house experts works best of all; as you surely know, people buy from people, and if your consultants are frequently positioned as experts in trustworthy media, those outbound sales efforts get a lot warmer.
Media coverage reveals and amplifies your firm’s expertise. It establishes your client-facing people as smart in front of an audience far greater than you can ever reach through one-on-one meetings. Best of all, because you’ve made it through the gauntlet of reporters and editors to get published, media coverage provides third-party validation that tells your future clients, “This firm knows its stuff.”
Over time, public relations becomes a flywheel that moves ever faster, increasing your credibility and reaching well beyond your existing networks to new opportunities. It’s similar to what they’ve always told you about your bank accounts—the great thing about compounding interest is that it compounds; the same holds true for your credibility.
Putting press coverage to work for sales success
Once your firm has started to generate positive press coverage and build up your aura of expertise, you will have an arsenal of assets to use in both marketing and sales efforts.
Press coverage should always be highlighted in your marketing channels—your website, your social channels, your email newsletters. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that everyone you want to reach saw your article in the trade journal that everyone reads—the truth is that none of us read everything, even in our favorite media outlets.
PR placements should be treated like gold by your business development folks. One of the most powerful tactics a BDR can use is to send along an article from the trade press written by someone from your firm, along with the message, “Thought you’d be interested in our POV on this” or, better yet, “Here’s how we think about the issue you and I discussed the other day.”
Most professional services firms have a very consultative sales process—the hard sell doesn’t work when you’re talking about big-ticket, nuance-filled projects and relationships. Press coverage that demonstrates expertise is both a great conversation starter and a relationship-builder.
You’re in the business of selling expertise. Virtually nothing in the marketing playbook demonstrates expertise like thought leadership PR. When you launch and commit to PR, your outbound and inbound sales efforts become easier, and growth soon follows.