PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MARKETING IN A NUTSHELL
A Topnotch Handbook From Down Under
THE PASSIONATE PROFESSIONAL, by Linda Julian. Julian Midwinter & Associates,2007. Paper, 252pp. $35.00 US. To order, click here
It’s heartwarming to see that our Australian constituency is not only on a par with American and British marketers, but, as might be expected, has its own slant on it. Linda Julian, an Australian professional services marketing consultant, has produced a charming and delightful book that covers the subject of marketing like a lively Cliff Notes, with a page for each aspect of the subject. The brightness is that it’s not a gimmick – each page is a concise checklist that really covers the subject with the directness of an arrow.
She does by subject sections, in which each page within the section addresses an aspect of the subject. For example, the first section is What clients want. The first page is What clients want most. The second addresses Unspoken questions. The third is Buyer perspectives. The others in that section are The challenge of being uncomplicated, The journey to uncomplicated simplicity, and How is that a solution to my problem? The interesting thing is that in just those few pages, she more than adequately covers the subject. For those of us who have written multi-page tomes, we don’t say much more than she does in so few words.
The beauty of it is that she’s right – at least to the point that there’s little to disagree with.
The organization of the book covers a full range of subjects that are integral to the marketing process. Establishing trust relationships, Strategy and planning, Growing through referrals and networks, Pricing and leveraging value, tracking your success – to name a few. It’s as if she’s taken the best books (there are really very few) on professional services marketing and extracted the key points.
Can you use this book to learn marketing from scratch? I doubt it, unless you’ve come from another marketing discipline. But for the beginner, it’s an invaluable check list. For the experienced marketer, it’s a handbook. Will reading it turn you into a a consummate marketer? Of course not, But I don’t think that that’s the author’s intention. It doesn’t go into the nuances and techniques of each marketing tool, for example, but it’s a start. Her advice on direct mail, as an illustration, is absolutely correct in its mechanics, but doesn’t do much o clarify the techniques of content or timing. It isn’t wrong, but it doesn’t go far enough.
Still, that doesn’t diminish the value of the book. Which, incidentally is beautifully designed and organized. For a change, the back page blurbs, attesting to her skills and practicality, are correct.