By Marvin Ng

So you want to be a consultant.  How do you get the word out?  More importantly, how do you get the word out effectively and ‘economically’?  Some of entrepreneurs/consultants that we have interviewed have shared some useful tips:

Web Page
The cost of setting up and running a website has come down tremendously over the past few years.  Today, running a simple website will cost you no more than US$100 per year, which includes the cost of hosting and the upkeep of the domain name.  Considering that the Internet has become a ubiquitous part of our lives, it is essential that your consulting business have its own website.  Additional tips:

• Get your own unique domain name.  Businesses should avoid using free hosting services and they should avoid having email suffixes like .hotmail.com or .yahoo.com.
• Submit your website to major search engines like google and metacrawler.
• Put up the resumes of principal consultants on the website.
• Put up the names of notable clients that you have worked with on the website (with their permission of course).

Marketing Materials
Write a brochure for your business.  They are handy during exhibitions and networking events, and they are useful to send to potential clients.  You can have the brochure done up professionally or save some money with a bit of DIY.  If money is tight, I recommend that you:

• Come up with a couple of drafts and have friends/colleagues provide some feedback.
• Engage a professional copywriter who is experienced in the field that you are in to do up the final copy.
• Do up the brochure using desktop publishing software.
• Get your friendly neighbourhood printers to churn out the final product.

Newsgroups and Forums
Be active on the net.  Visit newsgroups and forums that are relevant to your profession.  Spend a certain amount of time posting authoritative answers to problems that other people are encountering.  To make your time spent worthwhile, you should:

• Have a signature file at the end of all your postings, so that people (potential clients) will know how to contact you.
• Make your answers short and succinct.
• Always treat other newsgroup/forum users with respect.
• Avoid getting into online arguments with other newsgroup/forum users, especially if the issue relates to an opinion and not a fact.

Case Studies
Turn your success stories into case studies.  Write up some of the more interesting problems that you have encountered and describe how they were solved.  Turn these into case studies and use them as articles on your website.  You may also want to send them to editors of publications read by your target audience.  However, do make sure that the client’s identity is protected and in some cases, you may also want to obtain the client’s permission before to publish the case studies.

Word of Mouth
If you already have a good track record solving your clients’ problems, go ahead and ask them to refer you to other people who may need your services.  Besides helping you, they may also be doing those people a favour.  Keep your friends and relatives informed about what you do.  Your uncle or aunt may just know someone who needs your services.

COPYRIGHT(C) 2002 By Marvin Ng

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marvin Ng provides how-to advice on start-up and business issues.  Visit http://www.startupcafe.com to get useful start-up advice and interesting business ideas.  Become a subscriber of our online e-zine and draw inspiration and ideas from the stories of other seasoned entreprenurs.  mailto:subscribe@startupcafe.com