Business 101
Business 101
Get Down To Business: Agency Tips from David Baker and ReCourses

Specialization as a Means of Attracting Clients

So what is the solution? The key to attracting the best clients is to position your firm the way they want to see it. More specifically, to highlight the points that are critical in the initial decision making process.

Qualified clients look for two things. The first is that you specialize in providing what they need. That’s the subject of this issue. The second is that you have a unique method of delivering the solution within that field of specialization, and this is covered in part two (the next issue of this newsletter). The supporting data comes from industry surveys, client audits, and consultant reports.

It should not come as a surprise that specialization heads this list. Nearly every other area of our business lives follows this maxim. It’s why subscribers choose this newsletter: it deals only with firms like theirs. It’s why you consult with a medical specialist. It’s why you seek the help of a lawyer who deals exclusively with the issue at hand. It’s why you work with placement firms that know your field.

Forces Against Specialization

With such a compelling context for specialization, there are obviously equally powerful forces that counteract it in the field of persuading (public relations, advertising, interactive, and design). In other words, against this background, why do most firms sell themselves as generalists? There are four reasons: a disease (A.D.D.), an outlook (jack of all trades), a deficiency (weak marketing), and an inability (to say no).

First, one reason we don’t sell ourselves as specialists is because of a success-threatening disease called “Entrepreneurial A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder).” This is a genetic affliction that manifests itself in boredom unless the patient can learn the inside of lots of businesses. So they seek opportunities that will be stimulating and challenging, taking their expertise and applying it to fields as diverse as the marketplace will allow. In essence, we are afraid of boredom and react inappropriately.

Second, we don’t sell ourselves as specialists because of our outlook on vocation. Principals are by definition generalists, able to step into any situation and avoid embarrassment. This is a requirement in early entrepreneurship since there are many tasks but few doers. This results in hiring clones, and everybody ends up doing everything and doing a fairly good job of it. This translates into the following positioning: “we can do everything and do a fairly good job of it.” The problem is that clients don’t buy that (and we side with that client sentiment). In essence, we are threatened by hiring people better than we are and so fashion the firm to allow our generalist tendencies to shine.

Third, another reason we don’t sell ourselves as specialists is because our marketing efforts on behalf of the firm are not strong. So we cast the net wide enough to ensure that we have sufficient work. The notion of casting smaller, stronger nets into specific places makes us nervous. It may seem like a strategy that leaves too much to chance. Why not catch every fish that wants to get eaten? But the weaker the marketing, the more generalist the outlook. In essence, we are uncertain of catching the big fish and so eat all the little ones that come by.

Fourth, another reason we don’t sell ourselves as specialists is because we can’t say no. We can read that word, and we can even form it with our lips, but it causes physical pain to mouth the words audibly. So we begin responding to “good opportunities,” not making decisions based on our own plan for the firm. We mirror the requests we get rather than forge our own destiny. In essence, we are letting business happen to us.

David C. Baker is the principal of ReCourses, Inc. The content of this column is based on an article that originally appeared in Persuading.