A TRANSFORMATIONAL WORKSHOP PRESENTED BY IGNITION'S TIM WILLIAMS
Quick, can you describe your firm in an interesting, relevant, and differentiating way in 30 seconds? If not, you haven’t devoted the necessary time and energy to defining your firm’s positioning strategy.
A clear, differentiating positioning strategy is the foundation of success, because it answers the critical questions of what you do (the answer can’t be “everything”) and whom you do it for (the answer can be “everybody.”) Remember, standing for everything is the same as standing for nothing.
In this energizing workshop, Ignition’s Tim Williams, author of the two leading books on positioning strategy for professional service firms, shows how your agency can build on its current success by defining its unique value proposition. Tim will show you how a clearer positioning leads to:
A well-defined set of criteria for identifying the clients who want your agency for what it does best.
A stronger win ratio in new business, because the agency is playing to its strengths.
A broader — not narrower — geographical market area.
Fewer competitors, because there will be fewer firms who do what you do.
Partners and associates who are energized by a clear direction and focus.
A clear path for investing in the development of services and acquiring new talent.
A meaningful, unifying theme for your website, social media, and new business program.
More pricing leverage with clients, because you’ll be offering more differentiated services and expertise.
Ultimately, a clearer direction for how your firm should spend its limited time, money and resources.
We explore why your firm’s energies should go toward not just becoming better, but becoming different. Using examples from around the world, we show how to develop a differentiating business strategy based on four key questions – the “load-bearing walls” – that define a firm's positioning strategy:
What are our core competencies? The areas in which we are best in class? When it comes to the agency’s service offering, the task is to identify not just capabilities but competencies. Competencies are capabilities of the organization that can be delivered in a dependable, differentiating way.
Who is our ideal client? Who do we know best in terms of categories, audiences, or brands? Defining an effective positioning strategy means having a clear definition and understanding of your best customer – the types of clients you are best suited to serve. We’ll apply creative thinking to this question by deeply exploring your firm’s experience with business categories, market segments, audiences, and types of brands.
How can we leverage our ways of doing business? How do we add value through our methods or approaches? The third crucial element of the positioning strategy is the culture of your firm: the standards by which your firm operates, serves clients, and makes daily decisions. We’ll define how the firm is differentiated by its unique philosophies, beliefs, methods, and approaches.
Why are we in business? Beyond making money, what is the purpose of our firm? The primary unspoken question on the minds of most associates in a professional service firm is: “Where are we headed? What are we trying to become?” This means not just defining who you are, but why. The most notable firms have an ambitious reason for being.
Most importantly, this workshop shows how by doing a better job of marketing – starting with defining a clear positioning — you’ll be able to do a lot less selling. Instead of being only mildly appealing to a broad group of prospects, you become intensely appealing to a select group of prospects — prospects who want the firm for what it does best.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This content is designed for senior executives of agencies and other professional firms (law, accounting, IT consulting, etc.).
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Tim Williams is founder of Ignition Consulting Group, a leading U.S.-based consultancy devoted to helping agencies and other professional firms create and capture more value. Tim is a noted author, international speaker, and presenter for major associations, networks, and business conferences worldwide. He is author of two books on business strategy and has authored numerous articles in leading marketing and business publications. Tim writes the popular blog “Propulsion” and was selected by LinkedIn as a global LinkedIn Influencers in the area of marketing. As a consultant to agencies, law firms, accounting firms and other professional services, Tim has worked with hundreds of firms ranging from mid-size independents to multinational networks in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Before forming Ignition, Tim worked at global agencies in New York and elsewhere, and more recently served as president of several successful mid-sized firms in the United States.
This workshop can be presented in either a full-day or half-day format. A webinar version is available as well. For details and pricing, please contact us.
