A marketing plan need not be elusive

Sometimes, the most educated professionals need the most help

By: Mike Mathis
   CRANBURY — Lawyers know how to write briefs, and accountants understand how to tabulate debits and credits, but Freddi Silverman says they may not know how to spread the word about their businesses.
   So Ms. Silverman does it for them.
   "They feel uncomfortable extolling their virtues," said Ms. Silverman, founder and principal of Strateg-e Corp., a public relations and marketing firm based here in Cranbury. "They don’t want to appear to be bragging. The hardest thing for my clients to express is why they are better or different than anyone else."
   Ms. Silverman’s firm develops marketing campaigns for professionals including lawyers, accountants, architects and engineers so they can build their businesses and practices by getting the attention of the media and the public.
   Ms. Silverman teaches them what they didn’t learn in college or law school, such as how to generate new clients and promote what she calls "professional, proactive marketing" in the face of fierce competition from rivals.
   "You basically are marketing the person and their diversity," said Ms. Silverman, a resident of West Windsor whose company employs three. Ms. Silverman said she’s going to hire a fourth shortly. Attorneys are new to the marketing and advertising arena because, up until about five years ago, they were not permitted by law to advertise, Ms. Silverman said.
   "There was an onus on them not to advertise," Ms. Silverman said. "The law changed, but they didn’t know how to advertise."
   A married mother of two, Ms. Silverman has spent 24 years in the public relations and advertising industry. She studied journalism at Bradley University in Illinois and worked as a copy and feature writer for several publications before entering the field.
   Ms. Silverman was founder and creative director of a $22 million advertising and public relations company. She also founded and was the first president of the Advertising and Public Relations Association of Morris County.
   Most of Ms. Silverman’s early work involved direct-to-consumer companies, such as automobile dealerships, high-tech firms and banks, she said. She later shifted her focus to business development for professional practices, financial service companies and consumer retail companies.
   Before Ms. Silverman can help those firms, however, they have to want and be able to help themselves, she said.
   "They have to be knowledgeable in their field so I can be knowledgeable," Ms. Silverman said. "I’m not an expert in anybody’s field."
   Ms. Silverman is, however, skilled in what it takes to successfully market a professional business. She offers the following advice in dealing with clients and how clients should confront their marketing strategy:
   • Don’t try to oversell a client. "They’re not used to doing things without getting results," she said. "We don’t like to take them out of their comfort zone."
   • Don’t overcharge clients. Ms. Silverman said she charges from $85 to $250 an hour for her services. "Not being able to work a fee schedule the client considers fair" can be a problem, she said.
   • Educate yourself about the client’s business. Ms. Silverman recommends taking courses or attending lectures to accomplish this goal. "You have to understand their business and understand their competitors," she said. "The hardest part for any profession is to understand the client’s business."
   • Don’t be afraid of going outside for help. Ms. Silverman said that while many firms have in-house marketing representatives, they often have many jobs to do. "They feel those salaries (for the in-house marketing executives) should cover the gamut of marketing," Ms. Silverman said. "They drown in the sheer magnitude of what’s expected of them."
   Ms. Silverman said her job is never dull, because she learns something new from each client she accepts.
   "Every day and every week, I am learning something additional," Ms. Silverman said. "That way, it’s not a boring field."