How to dazzle prospective clients with your Guru Profile
| Category: Marketing | Date: 2001-02-15 |
So youre a guru, and you want to hang out your shingle on Guru.com. Its easy, the instructions on the site promise -- just follow a few simple steps, and *Presto!* youll have your own Guru Profile! But how do you create a profile that will generate phone calls and emails from interested hirers? More importantly, how do you ensure that the hirers who contact you are people who can actually use your services? If your profile is thin on information, skimpy on experience, or sketchy on credentials, potential hirers will probably pass you by. The more complete and specific your profile, the more likely you are to receive inquiries from hirers who will appreciate your expertise. Ill show you how to fill in the blanks.
What You Need to Know
To create an effective Guru Profile, you need to understand how prospective clients will approach it -- and what theyre looking for when they browse Guru.coms Guru Directory.
Step into the Clients Shoes
Prospective clients use the Guru.com website to find the talent or expertise they need to solve a problem, complete a project, or move their company forward. Theyre all asking the same thing: "How can this guru help me?" Your profile needs to answer that question right off the bat.
When creating your Guru Profile, theres a natural tendency to focus on what you do and how you do it. But prospective clients are more interested in the results you can deliver. Saying that you develop websites using Macromedia Dreamweaver isnt as powerful as saying that youve worked on websites that brought in new ecommerce revenue. Likewise, a list of all the projects youve worked on wont get as much attention as a description of how one of those projects increased the value of your clients business.
Proper Positioning
Before you write a word, think through how you want to position yourself: What is the solution you offer, and how can you best demonstrate it to hirers? Consider this hypothetical opening sentence to a Guru Profile: "I am computer literate, I have excellent writing skills, and I would love to find work that allows me to utilize these abilities." Its a swell description of what the guru does, but its far too general to generate much response. The first sentence of your Overview should leap out at even the most casual browser. Make it a crystal-clear statement of what you do, and make it something thats impossible to ignore: "Greenback Consulting helps manufacturing companies increase profits. Our 15-year track record speaks for itself: Weve improved the bottom line of over 75 companies by a total of $3.7 billion." If the benefits you provide arent as quantifiable, dont worry. Just make your case based on the most powerful way that you improve your clients business. (For specific tips on how to describe your services effectively, read Naming Names, one of my previous Guru Guides.)
Be Complete
Think of the Overview section as the cover letter to your profile. It may arouse someones interest, but youll need to provide a lot more information to sell yourself effectively. The other sections of the profile build the case for you and your services. Sure, many hirers wont read everything in your profile. But if something important to them is missing, theyll look for someone else. This is one reason why its important to fill out every section of your profile. Heres another: The more information you provide, the more likely it is that your profile will pop up when a hirer uses Guru.coms search function to locate people with your expertise. Thats how search engines work.
Besides, if you leave a section blank, people might wonder why that information isnt there, or what youve got to hide. Or, they simply might not have enough information about you to bother with a follow-up email or phone call. Consider this worst-case scenario: Theres a profile on the Guru.com website (we wont name any names here) that provides no title, no overview information, and no information for any of the other sections. This mystery guru merely lists his areas of expertise -- hes a system architect and an MIS/IT specialist. Thats all we know. Would you even give this guru a call with no more information than this? Probably not.
Keywords Are Key
Brainstorm all the keywords you can think of that apply to your services, and put them in your profile. Be as specific as possible -- generalities arent going to do you much good. Hirers are looking for specialists who understand their particular situation. You should include every keyword a prospect might use to search for your services. Especially in categories where there are dozens of gurus listed, keywords help clients to zero in on you, the proverbial needle in the haystack that is the Guru.com database.
Before you do anything else, click on the "Find a Guru" link, and conduct a search in your professional category. Pretend youre a hirer, and look at a few profiles. Where do they grab your attention, and where do they lose you? Next, type keywords that describe your services into the search engine, and see what comes up. If the search produces a profile for someone offering similar services, youre on the right track.
What You Need to Do
OK. Its time to fill out your profile. Heres a blueprint for completing each section of a Guru Profile, with some specific tips on how you can make your profile stand out.
The Overview
Your Overview is the first section that someone searching for a guru will see, so its more important than anything else in your Guru Profile. Ask yourself a simple question: "What do my clients get when they hire me?" Then, write about that. Tell hirers how you can solve their problems or improve their business. Follow this with information that builds a solid case for your services, including the kinds of projects youve done in the past, who some of your clients have been, and a little about how you work with clients. This paragraph should establish your credibility. It should also help a reader determine if youre the right guru for the job. Being very specific works to your advantage, since it helps screen out people who cant use your particular expertise.
A somewhat long Overview -- 15 to 20 lines -- is better than a short one. As I said earlier, the Overview functions as the cover letter for your Guru Profile. Make it good, because if its not, prospective clients wont bother to check out any other part of your profile.
Your Title: When you type a job category into the search engine, a long list of guru titles will appear. Set yourself apart from the pack by making your title as descriptive, unique, and solution-oriented as you can. On my first attempt at creating a Guru Profile, I put "owner" as my title. But after checking out the other consultants in my field, I realized that this looked pretty weak compared to "Internet marketing strategist." When browsing through the profiles, I saw that one guru even gave her title as "Ms." Thats polite, but its not going to get her a lot of business.
Lets say youre a management consultant. Type "management consultant" (with the words inside quotation marks) into the search engine, and youll get a very long list of gurus. You need to distinguish yourself from them. Billing yourself as a management consultant wont do the trick. How about Performance Management Consultant or Electronic Business Management Consultant? One astute guru has even titled himself a "financial and business consultant to the tennis and athletic club industry." Thats more like it. Take advantage of the fact that you can type in a long title to ensure that it describes what you actually do.
Pay: Lets face it, pricing is really tricky. I saw one Guru Profile that listed $300 as the hourly rate. And recently, a client told me she has a friend who charges $2400 per hour. If I saw that as the hourly rate on a profile, Id freak. But its just as bad to ask for $24. That pegs you as inexperienced. Personally, I believe price is the very, very last thing you tell a prospective client. This is where many gurus sell themselves short. (For a more detailed discussion of pricing, check out "Name Your Price," my Guru Guide on how to start getting paid what youre worth.)
You can list an hourly rate, of course, but why limit yourself? Hourly fees tend to make you look expensive relative to your true value. Perhaps you want to eliminate the tire-kickers, but if youve listed your credentials, theyll already know you dont come cheap.
Contact Information
This is pretty straightforward. Just give us the facts.
Skills
Skills are organized into general categories such as Analytical Skills or Communication Skills. Within these general categories, you are given an opportunity to list your particular skills. These can add depth and credibility to your profile. Lets say youre a productivity improvement consultant. You might list "Excel -- Expert Level" as an analytical skill and "Interviewing and Focus Groups" as a communication skill. Dont overlook the obvious. If a hirer is looking for a specific skillset -- a programming language or a software package, for instance -- and you leave it out, the hirer may pass you by. Remember: The skills you take for granted may be exactly what someone else is looking for.
Work Experience
This is where you should list all of your satisfied clients, in addition to any previous fulltime jobs you may have had. Dont just describe what you did; talk about the results you achieved. And dont limit yourself to two or three gigs. Go nuts. Knock yourself out. List a half-dozen or more projects, starting with the most important: "The software I wrote for Acme Operations increased productivity by 8.2 percent in their Widget Division," or "I designed a new logo that formed the cornerstone of Acmes rebranding effort." Take advantage of the URL that you can include for each work experience -- using the Web to provide actual samples of your work is a great way to clinch the deal, particularly if youre a writer, Web designer, or other creative guru. As always, seeing is believing.
References
Of the many profiles Ive reviewed, this section is the one that people leave blank most often. Hello?! If someone likes your Overview enough to check your references -- and then theres nothing there -- itll be a letdown. Check with past clients and tell them youd like to use them as references. If youre new to gurudom, use past employers or former colleagues. (Just make sure their comments will be relevant to your current expertise.) Even though many hirers wont bother to actually contact your references, itll make them feel more comfortable just seeing a list of them. It lets prospects know that there are people out there who are willing to vouch for you. Thats important.
Ideal Gig
People like to hire gurus who have worked on projects similar to theirs. Youve already listed some of the projects youve worked on in the Work Experience section. Outlining the parameters of your ideal gig is another way to help hirers decide if youre a good fit. This is good for you too, because it weeds out people who arent right for your services. Lets say our productivity improvement consultant writes: "Companies who benefit from my services understand that achieving results takes a longterm commitment. Its likely that your company has already tried several approaches that didnt work very well, and youre now ready for a more comprehensive solution. You will need to assign several people to a productivity improvement team, and make it a top priority. Otherwise, my services wont have any effect." You may get fewer inquiries with a statement like this, but those who call will be much more qualified.
Education
Dont leave this blank. Even if you dont have an impressive degree -- and were not all Harvard MBAs -- you should still list your credentials. These can be both academic and non-academic, depending on your line of work. If our productivity improvement consultant did some advanced study with the top expert in the field, this is the place to mention it: "Certified as a productivity improvement consultant by Jane Smiths Productivity Institute." Lead with your most impressive credentials, and forget about those that arent relevant to your area of expertise. You may be a black-belt in Tai Kwan Do, but this isnt the place to mention it -- unless youre a self-defense consultant.
Youre Done -- Almost!
When youve finished your profile, print out each page, and check it for typos and grammar. Then have someone you trust check it for typos and grammar. Then, check it again. I read one profile by someone who billed himself as the greatest copyeditor of all time. Perhaps, but he forgot to punctuate some of the sentences in his Overview. Doh!
Finally, do a search using the keywords for your skillset to see if your profile comes up. All set? Go ahead and make your Guru Profile public. Then, wait for the emails to start rolling in.
About the Author
Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing works with professional service businesses to help them attract new clients. His web site is a valuable resource for anyone looking for effective marketing ideas.
Robert Middleton
robmid@actionplan.com
URL
http://www.actionplan.com
robmid@actionplan.com
http://www.actionplan.com
What You Need to Know
To create an effective Guru Profile, you need to understand how prospective clients will approach it -- and what theyre looking for when they browse Guru.coms Guru Directory.
Step into the Clients Shoes
Prospective clients use the Guru.com website to find the talent or expertise they need to solve a problem, complete a project, or move their company forward. Theyre all asking the same thing: "How can this guru help me?" Your profile needs to answer that question right off the bat.
When creating your Guru Profile, theres a natural tendency to focus on what you do and how you do it. But prospective clients are more interested in the results you can deliver. Saying that you develop websites using Macromedia Dreamweaver isnt as powerful as saying that youve worked on websites that brought in new ecommerce revenue. Likewise, a list of all the projects youve worked on wont get as much attention as a description of how one of those projects increased the value of your clients business.
Proper Positioning
Before you write a word, think through how you want to position yourself: What is the solution you offer, and how can you best demonstrate it to hirers? Consider this hypothetical opening sentence to a Guru Profile: "I am computer literate, I have excellent writing skills, and I would love to find work that allows me to utilize these abilities." Its a swell description of what the guru does, but its far too general to generate much response. The first sentence of your Overview should leap out at even the most casual browser. Make it a crystal-clear statement of what you do, and make it something thats impossible to ignore: "Greenback Consulting helps manufacturing companies increase profits. Our 15-year track record speaks for itself: Weve improved the bottom line of over 75 companies by a total of $3.7 billion." If the benefits you provide arent as quantifiable, dont worry. Just make your case based on the most powerful way that you improve your clients business. (For specific tips on how to describe your services effectively, read Naming Names, one of my previous Guru Guides.)
Be Complete
Think of the Overview section as the cover letter to your profile. It may arouse someones interest, but youll need to provide a lot more information to sell yourself effectively. The other sections of the profile build the case for you and your services. Sure, many hirers wont read everything in your profile. But if something important to them is missing, theyll look for someone else. This is one reason why its important to fill out every section of your profile. Heres another: The more information you provide, the more likely it is that your profile will pop up when a hirer uses Guru.coms search function to locate people with your expertise. Thats how search engines work.
Besides, if you leave a section blank, people might wonder why that information isnt there, or what youve got to hide. Or, they simply might not have enough information about you to bother with a follow-up email or phone call. Consider this worst-case scenario: Theres a profile on the Guru.com website (we wont name any names here) that provides no title, no overview information, and no information for any of the other sections. This mystery guru merely lists his areas of expertise -- hes a system architect and an MIS/IT specialist. Thats all we know. Would you even give this guru a call with no more information than this? Probably not.
Keywords Are Key
Brainstorm all the keywords you can think of that apply to your services, and put them in your profile. Be as specific as possible -- generalities arent going to do you much good. Hirers are looking for specialists who understand their particular situation. You should include every keyword a prospect might use to search for your services. Especially in categories where there are dozens of gurus listed, keywords help clients to zero in on you, the proverbial needle in the haystack that is the Guru.com database.
Before you do anything else, click on the "Find a Guru" link, and conduct a search in your professional category. Pretend youre a hirer, and look at a few profiles. Where do they grab your attention, and where do they lose you? Next, type keywords that describe your services into the search engine, and see what comes up. If the search produces a profile for someone offering similar services, youre on the right track.
What You Need to Do
OK. Its time to fill out your profile. Heres a blueprint for completing each section of a Guru Profile, with some specific tips on how you can make your profile stand out.
The Overview
Your Overview is the first section that someone searching for a guru will see, so its more important than anything else in your Guru Profile. Ask yourself a simple question: "What do my clients get when they hire me?" Then, write about that. Tell hirers how you can solve their problems or improve their business. Follow this with information that builds a solid case for your services, including the kinds of projects youve done in the past, who some of your clients have been, and a little about how you work with clients. This paragraph should establish your credibility. It should also help a reader determine if youre the right guru for the job. Being very specific works to your advantage, since it helps screen out people who cant use your particular expertise.
A somewhat long Overview -- 15 to 20 lines -- is better than a short one. As I said earlier, the Overview functions as the cover letter for your Guru Profile. Make it good, because if its not, prospective clients wont bother to check out any other part of your profile.
Your Title: When you type a job category into the search engine, a long list of guru titles will appear. Set yourself apart from the pack by making your title as descriptive, unique, and solution-oriented as you can. On my first attempt at creating a Guru Profile, I put "owner" as my title. But after checking out the other consultants in my field, I realized that this looked pretty weak compared to "Internet marketing strategist." When browsing through the profiles, I saw that one guru even gave her title as "Ms." Thats polite, but its not going to get her a lot of business.
Lets say youre a management consultant. Type "management consultant" (with the words inside quotation marks) into the search engine, and youll get a very long list of gurus. You need to distinguish yourself from them. Billing yourself as a management consultant wont do the trick. How about Performance Management Consultant or Electronic Business Management Consultant? One astute guru has even titled himself a "financial and business consultant to the tennis and athletic club industry." Thats more like it. Take advantage of the fact that you can type in a long title to ensure that it describes what you actually do.
Pay: Lets face it, pricing is really tricky. I saw one Guru Profile that listed $300 as the hourly rate. And recently, a client told me she has a friend who charges $2400 per hour. If I saw that as the hourly rate on a profile, Id freak. But its just as bad to ask for $24. That pegs you as inexperienced. Personally, I believe price is the very, very last thing you tell a prospective client. This is where many gurus sell themselves short. (For a more detailed discussion of pricing, check out "Name Your Price," my Guru Guide on how to start getting paid what youre worth.)
You can list an hourly rate, of course, but why limit yourself? Hourly fees tend to make you look expensive relative to your true value. Perhaps you want to eliminate the tire-kickers, but if youve listed your credentials, theyll already know you dont come cheap.
Contact Information
This is pretty straightforward. Just give us the facts.
Skills
Skills are organized into general categories such as Analytical Skills or Communication Skills. Within these general categories, you are given an opportunity to list your particular skills. These can add depth and credibility to your profile. Lets say youre a productivity improvement consultant. You might list "Excel -- Expert Level" as an analytical skill and "Interviewing and Focus Groups" as a communication skill. Dont overlook the obvious. If a hirer is looking for a specific skillset -- a programming language or a software package, for instance -- and you leave it out, the hirer may pass you by. Remember: The skills you take for granted may be exactly what someone else is looking for.
Work Experience
This is where you should list all of your satisfied clients, in addition to any previous fulltime jobs you may have had. Dont just describe what you did; talk about the results you achieved. And dont limit yourself to two or three gigs. Go nuts. Knock yourself out. List a half-dozen or more projects, starting with the most important: "The software I wrote for Acme Operations increased productivity by 8.2 percent in their Widget Division," or "I designed a new logo that formed the cornerstone of Acmes rebranding effort." Take advantage of the URL that you can include for each work experience -- using the Web to provide actual samples of your work is a great way to clinch the deal, particularly if youre a writer, Web designer, or other creative guru. As always, seeing is believing.
References
Of the many profiles Ive reviewed, this section is the one that people leave blank most often. Hello?! If someone likes your Overview enough to check your references -- and then theres nothing there -- itll be a letdown. Check with past clients and tell them youd like to use them as references. If youre new to gurudom, use past employers or former colleagues. (Just make sure their comments will be relevant to your current expertise.) Even though many hirers wont bother to actually contact your references, itll make them feel more comfortable just seeing a list of them. It lets prospects know that there are people out there who are willing to vouch for you. Thats important.
Ideal Gig
People like to hire gurus who have worked on projects similar to theirs. Youve already listed some of the projects youve worked on in the Work Experience section. Outlining the parameters of your ideal gig is another way to help hirers decide if youre a good fit. This is good for you too, because it weeds out people who arent right for your services. Lets say our productivity improvement consultant writes: "Companies who benefit from my services understand that achieving results takes a longterm commitment. Its likely that your company has already tried several approaches that didnt work very well, and youre now ready for a more comprehensive solution. You will need to assign several people to a productivity improvement team, and make it a top priority. Otherwise, my services wont have any effect." You may get fewer inquiries with a statement like this, but those who call will be much more qualified.
Education
Dont leave this blank. Even if you dont have an impressive degree -- and were not all Harvard MBAs -- you should still list your credentials. These can be both academic and non-academic, depending on your line of work. If our productivity improvement consultant did some advanced study with the top expert in the field, this is the place to mention it: "Certified as a productivity improvement consultant by Jane Smiths Productivity Institute." Lead with your most impressive credentials, and forget about those that arent relevant to your area of expertise. You may be a black-belt in Tai Kwan Do, but this isnt the place to mention it -- unless youre a self-defense consultant.
Youre Done -- Almost!
When youve finished your profile, print out each page, and check it for typos and grammar. Then have someone you trust check it for typos and grammar. Then, check it again. I read one profile by someone who billed himself as the greatest copyeditor of all time. Perhaps, but he forgot to punctuate some of the sentences in his Overview. Doh!
Finally, do a search using the keywords for your skillset to see if your profile comes up. All set? Go ahead and make your Guru Profile public. Then, wait for the emails to start rolling in.
About the Author
Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing works with professional service businesses to help them attract new clients. His web site is a valuable resource for anyone looking for effective marketing ideas.
Robert Middleton
robmid@actionplan.com
URL
http://www.actionplan.com
robmid@actionplan.com
http://www.actionplan.com
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