The Fall Cohort for the Harpeth Marketing Seller-Doer Workshop begins August 7.
Small and independent businesses with fewer than 10 employees make up 78% of the businesses in the United States and, according to U.S. Census Bureau and Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) and Nonemployer Statistics*, there are approximately 140,000 to 180,000 small and independent businesses with fewer than 10 employees in “Insights” *.
These independent market and user experience researchers, public opinion specialists, and data experts know your space, your tech stack, your stakeholders, and what you need to do to find the actionable information and strategic insights you need, and provide an important release valve for corporate product design, customer intelligence, and insights teams. You need experienced, qualified people you can trust? These are they.
The vast majority of these businesses are solopreneurs or freelance consultants or “nonemployer firms”. What you may not see all the time is that the more independent they are, the more they are doing the work, researching customers, products, and ideas, while also selling their capabilities to the next client for the next project.
It’s a struggle that all small business owners realize, too: you have to work to keep the pipeline full so that you can continue to do more of the work you actually enjoy. If you don’t sell, you don’t do.
They are, as Steve Henke of Harpeth Marketing refers to them, “Seller-Doers,” and they are hustling every day. But they aren’t born salespeople; in Insights, salespeople are often shaped from informed research professionals.
Following a recent ICN Friday Forum with Mr. Henke, we reflected on the seven years he has been conducting the Seller Doer Workshop with the independents of our world. ICN Members can get a sizeable discount on the Autumn Seller Doer Workshop by visiting our LinkedIn Group.
Brian Fowler, ICN Executive Director: Congratulations, Steve. You have been growing and developing this successful workshop for seven years now and have worked with hundreds of people on Seller-Doer skills development. What have you learned about yourself and our changing market of insights professionals, especially lately?
Steve Henke, Harpeth Marketing: While it’s not really something I just learned… it is something that has been reinforced of late. When times get a little tight/a little tough (like they are now)… now is NOT the time to get shy about sales & marketing. When everyone else is shying away, you need to be the firm that’s still visible, that’s still available, that is still writing blog posts, posting on LinkedIn, and hosting webinars.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money… but you do have to invest the time to build your brand and keep it top-of-mind, so when things pick back up – YOU are the one they call for work, because you are the one that has stayed visible this entire time.
BF: Have you had any moments with workshop participants or noticed any trends that concern you, inspire you, or that made you stop and reconsider?
Steve Henke: I think the addition of AI to the industry – and specifically to the sales ecosystem – intrigues and concerns us all. There’s great opportunity for efficiency when used properly. But, if it’s being used in place of good, fundamental selling skills and processes… all it will do is help bad salespeople be bad faster!
BF: Do you have any advice or resources for people starting their own research consultancy?
Steve Henke: Three things:
1. Be very clear on what makes you different. If what you do and who you do it for and how you talk about yourself are like every other agency… why would a buyer choose you? Find that point of differentiation and make that the pointy end of your marketing & communications spear.
2. Be clear on WHO you serve. If you target everybody, you’ll end up serving nobody. Find those 1-2-3 niches that you’re really good at, whose problems you know how to solve and whose businesses/industry you understand… and become the ‘go to’ firm for those groups.
3. You could be the greatest firm in the world, but if no one knows you exist, you’re never gonna sell anything. So, be prepared to market your firm like crazy, especially early on. And you don’t just want to be known… but known for something. And once you’ve reached a top-of-mind position, you can’t stop… marketing and promotions must be an on-going/always-on effort.
The Fall Cohort for the Seller-Doer Workshop begins August 7th
Since 2019, more than 160 MR professionals have trusted the Seller-Doer Workshop™ to help them communicate more effectively with buyers, acquire new clients, maintain & grow existing accounts and create a system for repeatable success.
What This Workshop Helps You Do
You’ll ‘graduate’ from the Seller-Doer Workshop™ with new skills, new tools and a new understanding of sales, all designed to help you generate revenue from new and existing clients. It’s a practical program the covers the following topics…
- Professional sales for non-salespeople: selling is a noble undertaking when you understand what it’s really all about
- The language of selling: how to speak in a way that really connects with buyers
- Strategies & tactics for acquiring new clients: stop pitching and start helping
- Maintaining & growing existing clients: this is the forgotten key to success
- How to create your own, personalized sales plan: salespeople don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan
Built Specifically for the Market Research Industry
Most sales training programs are generic… created to try to appeal to as many different types of participants as possible. Not the Seller-Doer Workshop™. This workshop was purpose-built for the realities of Market Research:
- Long, relationship-driven sales cycles
- Complex sales processes involving presentations and proposals
- Procurement challenges & buying committees
- Feast-or-famine revenue cycles
- Client ‘churn’ you didn’t anticipate
- Competing against new technology and DIY tools
* Including Market Research & UX Research (NAICS 541910), Business Analytics & Marketing Consulting (NAICS 541613), Data Science & Systems Analytics (NAICS 541512). As of May 2023, the last set of government employment figures available from the BLS, the Census Bureau, and other agencies.
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