University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants
Book

Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants

Breakthrough Tactics for Winning Profitable Clients

Michael W. McLaughlin and Jay Conrad Levinson
Wiley, 2004
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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Well Structured
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Consulting is considered one of the most profitable professions, and is one of the last to remain unregulated. As a result, it attracts a variety of firms and people who often exaggerate their capabilities in an effort to gain attention and attract business. Authors Jay Conrad Levinson and Michael W. McLaughlin succumb to the same problem as consultants who promise their clients too much. The "breakthrough tactics" they advertise on the book’s front cover never quite materialize and the promise deflates the sound advice they do provide. The first two-thirds of the book addresses "guerrilla marketing," a term used to sell other books, but not particularly apt for the familiar tactics here. However, the authors provide a good rundown on some solid, well-accepted components of marketing, such as public relations, advertising, surveys, books, speeches, Web sites and pro bono work. They teach good management, which can transform and re-energize these tactics. Things pick up a little in the final third of the book as the authors discuss sales techniques, including pricing, dealing with competition and preparing a proposal. getAbstract.com suggests this useful (if not warrior-like) book to beginning marketers and consultants, and to the owners of small consulting firms.

Summary

Are Consultants Worth It?

While consulting is estimated to be a $159 billion a year business, many consultants have fallen on hard times. Consulting was often touted as a "dream job" featuring dedicated specialists applying creative solutions to help eager clients, but that vision has eluded many consultants. Whether this is a result of failed promises, market saturation or major corporate scandals that involved consulting firms, it’s evident that the consulting business needs a jolt of fresh marketing.

Many clients defect because consultants’ projects do not meet their expectations. One 2002 study found that a mere 35% of clients liked what their consultants were doing. Clients are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so if a consultant does not show the appropriate level of knowledge, clients are less tolerant. They are more likely to question invoices and to ask if the final product was worth the money.

This attitude has put consultants on the defensive. Some rationalize the current situation by noting that the period of consultants presenting "big ideas" seems to be over. When they don’t have new management theories or technologies to customize or exploit...

About the Authors

Jay Conrad Levinson is chairman of Guerilla Marketing International, a consulting firm. He is the creator of the Guerrilla series, and a former vice president and creative director at J. Walter Thompson and Leo Burnett Advertising. Michael W. McLaughlin is a principal with Deloitte Consulting and has more than 20 years of consulting experience.

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