I am doing what I believe is a competent job of marketing and making myself visible to prospects but competition is pretty fierce. How can I make my offering stand out more?

Getting the attention of a potential client or prospect can sometimes be challenging. This can often be achieved by making the extra effort and doing research to identify their concerns or needs and addressing them directly within the title of a presentation or agenda for a discussion.

When visiting an existing client or new prospect, the goals for a practitioner are to a) have the client pay attention and take him or her seriously, b) have the most relevant people attend the discussion or presentation, and c) have a receptive audience that is very interested to hear what the consultant has to say. If you specifically address the most pressing issue(s) or concern(s) in either the title of a presentation or in the agenda for a discussion, you might be surprised at how successful you are at achieving these goals. Here are some examples:

• "Potential Solutions for Increasing Marketing ROI Within the Next 6 Months Using _______ (prospect's competitive advantage)"
• "Focusing on the Customer: Re-evaluating Your Customers Key Expectations and Requirements in the _____ Market"
• "What _______ (prospect's) Competitors are Doing to Capture Your Market Share"

Tip: Try putting yourself in the shoes of the client or prospect and attempt to determine in advance what their top concerns are. By linking your agenda or presentation directly to these concerns, you have a much better chance of key personnel attending and listening to what you have to say. "I would like to come by to talk about my consulting services" or "I would like to come by to talk about how you might re-energize your recent ad campaign." Which would get your attention?

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