Selling Professional Services

Years ago, developing and sustaining a book of business was not as big a problem for accountants, attorneys, financial planners, and other professionals as it is today. Clients were more loyal to the firms they worked with, and unlikely to shop your services, compare rates, or jump ship. Times have changed! And if you don't change along with them...well, you're not going to enjoy yourself or have as much control over your career as you deserve. Believe it or not, you can enjoy the process of expanding your client base. 

How Clients Buy is the much-needed guide to selling your services. If you're one of the millions of people whose skills are the "product," you know that you cannot be successful unless you bring in clients. The problem is, you're trained to do your job-not sell it. No matter how great you may be at your actual role, you likely feel a bit lost, hesitant, or "behind" when it comes to courting clients, an unfamiliar territory where you're never quite sure of the line between under- and over-selling. This book comes to the rescue with real, practical advice for selling what you do.

We are in the golden era of boutiques. The business models of your clients are being disrupted. This makes it virtually impossible for them to have all the required expertise in-house. They are looking for external expertise. They have big budgets to spend. Clients are buying from boutiques in record numbers. The sun is shining. Time to make hay.

Never Say Sell explains how to scale individual engagements into long-term business relationships. Cowritten by Tom McMakin, the coauthor of How Clients Buy and expert in account development, and colleague Jacob Parks, this book provides insights into how key rainmakers at firms like Accenture and IBM drive growth from existing relationships. Never Say Sell is a business development guide for professional service providers like consultants, accountants, and lawyers, whether they are sole proprietors or members of account teams tasked with expanding key accounts.

I’ve written this book because selling your business is quite possibly the biggest financial transaction of your entire life, and you’ve never done it before and will likely never do it again, and you really need to be smart about this. I recently did a quick study on the likelihood that a firm in a particular, narrow vertical would have a successful exit—defined as someone else purchasing, for real money, a majority of your firm’s equity.

Unlock the Secret to Attracting Affluent Clients—Without Chasing, Discounting, or Playing the Mass-Market Game. Affluent clients aren’t buying what everyone else is. They crave experiences, relationships, and brands that feel like they were built just for them. In The Power of Exclusivity, top affluent marketing strategist Mark Satterfield reveals how to create prestige, scarcity, and allure around your services—so elite clients come to you, not the other way around. Inside, you’ll discover: How to craft a brand that signals status and trust to the ultra-wealthy Real-world ...

Turn Your Photography Passion Into a Profitable Business Success in portrait photography isn’t just about mastering your camera — it’s about building a powerful brand, understanding your clients, and creating a business that thrives. In The Professional Photography Playbook, acclaimed Master Photographer and Photographic Craftsman Jeff Lubin shares the exact strategies he used to build a 7-figure portrait studio. This no-fluff guide is packed with tools to help you: Craft a signature style that sets you apart Attract high-paying, loyal clients Build long-term marketing partnerships ...

More and more professional services firms are “productizing” their services to grow and scale. But successfully marketing and selling standardized services or products is very different from marketing and selling traditional professional services. Commercialize, a follow-on book to Productize, explores why commercializing new ideas is the most significant stall point when B2B services organizations productize. The book then outlines how the most successful firms commercialize packaged services and new products and get to revenue impact fast and efficiently.

Relationship Sales at Scale™ is the new selling philosophy for our age. It marries the timeless power of tribe-based trust with digitally enabled scale so you can open doors tastefully and convert prospects consistently, all without spamming anyone. Written by Dan Englander, CEO and founder of Sales Schema, the book’s stories, strategies, and hands-on resources are grounded in thousands of outreach campaigns conducted since 2014 to secure opportunities between clients and hard-to-reach prospects, including the leaders of the largest companies on earth.

Unlock the hidden power of strategic silence with The Silence Advantage, the definitive guide for professionals who want to rise above the noise and command premium opportunities. Discover how leading consultants, trainers, lawyers, and advisors have transformed their careers by focusing on selective visibility, building deep trust, and harnessing the network effect to attract high-value clients through authentic recommendations. If you're a professional ready to break free from the exhausting cycle of chasing attention, this book offers you a proven roadmap to become indispensable within ...

These are true stories of winners and losers in the quest for superior service. Who wins? Who loses? It's up to you! Benchmark the best service innovations (Chapter 5: Generating New Ideas). Discover how to keep your customers happy, loyal, and buying more (Chapter 10: Building Up Your Business). Find out who makes the biggest mistakes in service and what you must avoid (Chapter 13: The Infinite Absurdity Awards).

Are you part of the skilled trades? Whether you’re an HVAC service technician, plumber, electrician, or in any profession that provides essential home services, this book is for you.