Читать книгу How to Win Client Business When You Don't Know Where to Start - Tom McMakin, Doug Fletcher - Страница 43

It's wonderful when we get a call from someone interested in what we do. It's a pleasant surprise when it's from someone we don't know. Our survey data suggests that this pathway represents about 14% of our new clients.

It can be very hard for prospective clients to tell when we're very good at what we do. One of the reasons for this is information asymmetry. Information asymmetry exists when there is a gap – sometimes a large gap – between what you know about your work and what a client knows. Because clients are not often experts at the type of help they need, it's usually difficult to identify the truly talented. Many in our professions may look the part, talk the part, and act the part.

In some professions, there are credentials that serve to indicate that a person is capable of doing the work. Law, accounting, architecture, engineering, and medicine are a few examples. If we're looking to hire an accountant, we wouldn't hire someone without a CPA qualification. Similarly, we wouldn't hire an attorney or doctor who wasn't licensed to practice their work.

In other professions, it's not so easy. Management consulting, IT services, and marketing/advertising, don't have the same standards. Anyone can claim to be a marketing expert or web designer or strategy guru. What clients need are credibility markers. “Credibility markers” is the term that academics have given to things that demonstrate our capability.

Often a prospective client discovers us through things we've done in the past. It could be a recent article you wrote in a trade journal, or a speech you gave at a conference. Perhaps you were highlighted in the news about a recent project, such as a prominent new building on the city's skyline. Or maybe someone discovered you via your website because of a white paper or blog post.

Client work sometimes comes from people reaching out to us as of result of these credibility markers. In the absence of a repeat client, referral, or an inquiry from someone we know, this client pathway is the next leading source of business. The importance of credibility markers leads us to a better understanding of the second rainmaker skill, demonstrating your professional expertise.