7 Tips to Market Consulting and Professional Services

Patrick McFadden • August 14, 2018

 

Sure, marketing for professional services gets more complex by the day, but that’s because it’s made up of activities that are by nature very hard to quantify and pin down. Sometimes even the best of the best have a hard time marketing because they are so focused quantifying and searching for that one killer technique, they just don’t dedicate enough time and patience to have many components working together.


Whether you’re in life science translation, accounting, law, pharmacy network consulting, or provide other professional services, the advice below still applies if you want to define your ideal customer, make the competition irrelevant and intentionally guide a prospect to becoming a referral source.


Learn how to market consulting and professional services that can help you succeed this week, this year and beyond:


Start With Your Ideal Client

Most professional service marketing today is target market-centric not ideal client-centric. And while the first one is important, it’s equally important to understand the clients that you are well suited to serve and that you want to work with. This will make a win-win for both you and your client. Ask yourself the following:


  • Who needs the services you provide?
  • Who can you deliver the greatest value to?
  • Who do you enjoy working with?


Take into account your best accounts today and what makes them ideal for you so that you can apply it to attracting new clients in the future. Take the following into consideration when defining these ideal clients :


  • What do they look like?
  • What are their problems?
  • How do they want to be served?
  • What do they think value is?


Once you can answer these questions, put the list together and keep it nearby to help qualify prospects. This will help to ensure you don’t target everyone, wasting valuable time, energy, attention and money on the wrong prospects.


No marketing technique is complete without a comprehensive understanding of your ideal client.


Develop a Problem-Solving Message

There’s something to be said for a thorough, extensively understanding of your buyer’s world. When you’re taking the time to  address the problems your prospects see and feel before offering your solution,  there is little chance the techniques you’re implementing to attract and convert them won’t resonate.


Insight into the problems prospects are having is key because very few people want what you sell. That’s not a blow to you or your business or your solutions. I’m sure all are remarkable. People want what they believe they will  get, achieve, relieve, dodge, or acquire  based on buying what you sell.


So, your job is to understand the problems prospects are trying to solve and match your solutions to those very specific problems.


Make a list of the problems you solve for ideal clients

If you’re having a tough time thinking about your ideal client’s problems, think about the conversations you had leading up to your sales meeting, the things addressed in your client interview or hopefully, you’re a good note taker and can revisit those for some insight.


For example , a lot my firms prospective clients might say things like — I just want my phone to ring, I want to be on the first page of Google, I want more referrals, I want less marketing headaches, I want my website to generate leads, I feel like I’m wasting money on ineffective marketing, etc.


So my firm don’t sell strategic marketing consulting services or marketing plans or even consulting — all my ideal clients need to know about what we do is that:


  • We make the phone ring — end of story.
  • We get you on the first page of Google — end of story.
  • We make more referrals happen — end of story.
  • We make marketing headaches go away — end of story.
  • We make the website generate leads — end of story.
  • We make marketing dollars go to work — end of story.


Another example, a massage practice:  They might have the best tables, oils, and most highly skilled therapist but all their customers seem to care about is that their pain and discomfort go away.


So that’s the problem solving message they need to communicate, shout about and promote. The rest is an expectation — I mean doesn’t everyone in the massage business have highly skilled therapist.


Don’t Sell, Give

Don’t sell, give. Repeat that sentence over and over again so that it sticks with you.


Use your website, social media, articles, networking, speaking, advertising, sales calls, meetings, sponsorships ( I think you get my point) to help your ideal client solve a problem they’re having.


This helps to establish trust and credibility, which are two attributes that are key if you want somebody to eventually buy from you.


Show Your Expertise in Content

Content continues to grow in importance in the professional service marketing mix. Most buying decisions today start with a prospect consuming your content. Be it an ad, a blog post, LinkedIn publishing or otherwise, how you show up, what you have to say and the positions you take about industry topics matter. Placing value in verbal and visual content that demonstrates your ability to lead is critical.


Professional service providers underestimate the value that educational content can bring to the table. 65% of buyers accept a meeting or otherwise connect when they find content on the best practice methodology based on the provider’s area of expertise.


As professional service providers, buyers look to you for insights and to set the tone and the agenda in your respective field. Showing up as an expert can help you build trust with your ideal customers and position your organization as an authority.


Build Trust at Every Touchpoint

So many professional service providers are focused on the changes in marketing and all the new things we have to master and pay attention to.


The fact is the most significant driver of change today isn’t the way marketing is changing, it’s the way buying is changing. With clients now in charge of their buying journey, the most important marketing technique left is your ability to build trust at every touchpoint – client experience.


While they are in charge of their journey, it’s your job to influence it, and in my opinion, this starts with analyzing your current impact throughout the journey. Consider how you can dramatically build trust at each stage. When you dive into the ways to improve your client experience, start with where your gaps are first, and then optimize the areas you are already making efforts in.


Be First In The World

No. Not the whole world, but in your buyers world. Being first to the world doesn’t matter. What matters is being first in your buyers world.


74% of buyers choose the company that they first hear about. Get in front of your prospects early. It’s no secret that there’s a direct correlation between awareness and market share. So investing in brand awareness efforts that raises the profile of your professional service among ideal clients can help you close the deal. Read here 5 Ways to Supercharge Your Brand Awareness


A Marketing Process is The Solution

This may be hard for you to come to grips with but marketing is a process, plain and simple. Now, some people take that to mean that you simply create a one size fits all, turn-key set of tactics and call it a day.


The truth, however, lies  not in the repeatable tactics, but in the repeatable process based on the right strategy.

Marketing is — getting someone who has a need to become aware of you then trust you enough to buy and refer.

Awareness and Trust — You need them both to make the sale and generate referrals.


To gain awareness and trust you need a process approach to marketing. It is this marketing process that presents your message in various formats and channels that eventually allows you to cut through the clutter and become the obvious choice.


Contact your professional services marketing consultant at Indispensable Marketing

If you’re a consulting or professional service firm that needs help with marketing your practice or your firm’s online presence on Google and other search engines, at Indispensable Marketing we can help. We offer marketing strategy consulting, marketing audits, monthly marketing packages, consultations, exploratory calls or monthly local SEO services. Contact us for more information.

The Missing Layer in AI: Why Judgment, Not Just Data, Will Define the Next Era of Intelligence

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
Everyone is scaling outputs. Almost no one is scaling judgment.

Everyone Talks About AI Judgment. We Built It.

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
Ask anyone in tech where AI is headed, and they’ll tell you: “The next leap is reasoning.” “AI needs judgment.” “We need assistants that think, not just answer.” They’re right. But while everyone’s talking about it, almost no one is actually shipping it. So we did. We built Thinking OS™ —a system that doesn’t just help AI answer questions… It helps AI think like a strategist. It helps AI decide like an operator. It helps teams and platforms scale judgment, n ot just generate output. The Theory Isn’t New. The Implementation Is. The idea of layering strategic thinking and judgment into AI isn’t new in theory. The problem is, no one’s been able to implement it effectively at scale. Let’s look at the current landscape. 1. Big Tech Has the Muscle—But Not the Mind OpenAI / ChatGPT ✅ Strength: Best-in-class language generation ❌ Limitation: No built-in judgment or reasoning. You must provide the structure. Otherwise, it follows instructions, not strategy. Google DeepMind / Gemini ✅ Known for advanced decision-making (e.g., AlphaGo) ❌ But only in structured environments like games—not messy, real-world business scenarios. Anthropic (Claude), Meta (LLaMA), Microsoft Copilot ✅ Great at answering questions and following commands ❌ But they’re assistants, not advisors. They won’t reprioritize. They won’t challenge your assumptions. They don’t ask: “Is this the right move?” These tools are powerful—but they don’t think for outcomes the way a strategist or operator would. 2. Who’s Actually Building the Thinking Layer™? This is where it gets interesting—and thin. Startups and Indie Builders Some small teams are quietly: Creating custom GPTs that mimic how experts reason Layering in business context, priorities, and tradeoffs Embedding decision logic so AI can guide, not just execute But these efforts are: Highly manual Difficult to scale Fragmented and experimental Enterprise Experiments A few companies (Salesforce, HubSpot, and others) are exploring more “judgment-aware” AI copilots. These systems can: Flag inconsistencies Recommend next actions Occasionally surface priorities based on internal logic But most of it is still: In early R&D Custom-coded Unproven beyond narrow use cases That’s Why Thinking OS™ Is Different Instead of waiting for a lab to crack it, we built a modular thinking system that installs like infrastructure. Thinking OS™: Captures how real experts reason Embeds judgment into layers AI can use Deploys into tools like ChatGPT or enterprise systems Helps teams think together, consistently, at scale It’s not another assistant. It’s the missing layer that turns outputs into outcomes. So… Is This a New Innovation? Yes—in practice. Everyone says AI needs judgment. But judgment isn’t an idea. It’s a system. It requires: Persistent memory Contextual awareness Tradeoff evaluation Value-based decisions Strategy that evolves with goals Thinking OS™ delivers that. And unlike the R&D experiments in Big Tech, it’s built for: Operators Consultants Platform founders Growth-stage teams that need to scale decision quality, not just content creation If Someone Told You They’ve Built a Thinking + Judgment Layer™… They’ve built something only a handful of people in the world are even attempting. Because this isn’t just AI that speaks fluently. It’s AI that reasons, reflects , and chooses. And in a world that’s drowning in tools, judgment becomes the differentiator. That’s the OS We Built Thinking OS™ is not a prompt pack. It’s not a dashboard. It’s not a glorified chatbot. It’s a decision architecture you can license, embed, or deploy— To help your team, your platform, or your clients think better at scale. We’ve moved past content. We’re building cognition. Let’s talk.

We Found the Missing Layer AI Has Been Waiting For

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
In every era of innovation, there’s a silent bottleneck—something obvious in hindsight, but elusive until the moment it clicks. In today’s AI-driven world, that bottleneck is clear: AI has speed. It has scale. But it doesn’t have judgment . It doesn’t really think . What’s Actually Missing From AI? When experts talk about the “thinking and judgment layer” as the next leap for AI, they’re calling out a hard truth: Modern AI systems are powerful pattern machines. But they’re missing the human layer—the one that reasons, weighs tradeoffs, and makes strategic decisions in context. Let’s break that down: 1. The Thinking Layer = Reasoning with Purpose This layer doesn’t just process inputs— it structures logic. It’s the ability to: Ask the right questions before acting Break down complexity into solvable parts Adjust direction mid-course when reality changes Think beyond “what was asked” to uncover “what really matters” Today’s AI responds. But it rarely reflects. Unless told exactly what to do, it won’t work through problems the way a strategist or operator would. 2. The Judgment Layer = Decision-Making in the Gray Judgment is the ability to: Prioritize what matters most Choose between imperfect options Make decisions when there’s no clear answer Apply values, experience, and vision—not just data It’s why a founder might not pursue a lucrative deal. Why a marketer might ignore the click-through rate. Why a strategist knows when the timing isn’t right. AI doesn’t do this well. Not yet. Because judgment requires more than data—it requires discernment . Why This Is the Bottleneck Holding Back AI AI can write. It can summarize. It can automate. But it still can’t: Diagnose the real problem behind the question Evaluate tradeoffs like a founder or operator would Recommend a path based on context, constraints, and conviction AI today is still reactive. It follows instructions. But it doesn’t lead. It doesn’t guide. It doesn’t own the outcome. And for those building serious systems—whether you’re running a company, launching a platform, or leading a team—this is the wall you eventually hit. That’s Why We Built Thinking OS™ We stopped waiting for AI to learn judgment on its own. Instead, we created a system that embeds it—by design. Thinking OS™ is an installable decision layer that captures how top founders, strategists, and operators think… …and makes that thinking repeatable , scalable , and usable inside teams, tools, and platforms. It’s not a framework. It’s not a chatbot. It’s not another playbook. It’s the layer that knows how to: Think through complex decisions Apply judgment when rules don’t help Guide others —human or AI—toward strategic outcomes This Is the Missing Infrastructure Thinking OS™ isn’t just about better answers. It’s about better thinking—made operational. And that’s what’s been missing in AI, consulting, leadership development, and platform design. If you’re trying to scale expertise, install judgment, or move from tactical to strategic… You don’t need a faster AI. You need a thinking layer that knows what to do—and why. We built it. Let’s talk.
More Posts