Back in 2009 I did a monthly email newsletter wih hints and tips on marketing and business development for professional service firms.

The first month's feature was and still is highly topical: What To Do When You Need Sales Fast.

In the current economic climate, many professional firms are facing the challenge of bringing in new business in a very short space of time – for example, to replace the lost revenue of a major client who has stopped buying, or to “fill the gap” when engagements are delayed. In some cases it's a “do or die” situation – they need to chalk up new sales in a month or two or face layoffs or worse.

Unfortunately, for professional service firms, accelerating sales is not simply a matter of running a campaign or pushing the partners and business developers harder. The lead time for a sale is usually much more dependent on the client's timetable than the professional's – and pushing too hard, too fast can very often backfire.

However, there are ways of generating sales in short timeframes – if you have a strong understanding of the key sales drivers. Not all the strategies will work for every profession or for every client – but each is worthy of strong consideration.

Firstly, you must focus on clients who already trust you and believe in your capabilities.

Secondly, you must package and position your services to make them easy to buy.

Finally, you must reduce “friction” in the buying process.

To read the full article you can read the archived copy of Outside In Newsletter Issue 1 here.