This week’s column is the second installment in my Ask Jonathan marketing series. Please send questions for future columns to me at jonathan AT jonathanfields DOT com

This week’s column takes us squarely into “nobody takes me seriously” land. Our letter comes from Chris Ryman, a principal in the two year-old IT consultancy, Engineerity LLC.:

Dear Jonathan,

I am a partner in a small IT/computer consulting business. My business partner and I have been building the business for about two years, and I just quit my full time job to work full time for myself.

…our marketing strategy is different, mostly word of mouth with a touch of sales. Here’s where our problem comes in. Although my business partner and I have 15 years combine experience, and have worked on numerous projects together, etc, most people ignore, or otherwise don’t care about us when we try and speak with them about their IT and how we may be able to supplement or help their current IT situation. We believe this is because we are so young, I am 22, and my business partner is 24. If a company does give us a chance, they are almost immediately sold on our services.

My question is how can I market myself/my company in such a way that people will take me seriously and even more so, just give us the one chance we need to impress them?

Okay, we’re going to drill down a few levels, here. But, for those looking for the short and sweet answer, it’s not about age, it’s about credibility and value and, Chris, somewhere in your materials, your conversations, your pitch and your service, there’s a need that is not being filled.

Is age really a factor?

In some professions, age is definitely a major factor in the sales process. I don’t want a 25 year-old whiz-kid neurosurgeon operating on me any more than I want the barista at my local Starbucks doing my taxes (no offense to any CPA baristas). And, at the older end of the spectrum, as much as corporate-culture denies it, ageism is very much alive and well. In fact, it even tends of be tied to certain specific industries and career-paths.

But, of all the industries I know of, IT has got to be amongst the most youth-friendly cultures around.

In fact, youth is largely a badge of honor in IT.

At the ripe old age of 42, I am pretty ancient, but a close friend of mine started his own IT consultancy in his early twenties and quickly found himself swamped with business. Among his early clients was a $20-billion banking conglomerate that retained him to develop an enterprise-level credit risk-management platform that was considered mission-critical.

Take a look at some of the most well-known “consultants” and experts in the online and IT world these days. Guys like Muhammad Saleem and Neil Patel are in their early 20s, but are considered “gurus” in the field of social media networking and online platform development. Even at the enterprise level, a friend of mine who ran the entire IT operation for one of the largest hospitality brands in the world was always desperate to find and retain the best and the brightest, who, he shared, were also very often the youngest.

So, no, without even sitting in on a single client pitch, I can tell you, it’s not an age thing.

At least not on the clients’ side. But, it may be an age thing from your side. What does that mean? Your concern about the prospects’ perception that age equals inability will almost invariably flow through to your confidence, even if you don’t realize it. It will make you hesitant and defensive in a million little ways that you don’t even pick up on. It’ll change your body language, tone, demeanor and choice of words.

And, here’s the thing. You very likely won’t be aware of this…but, your prospects will be. Even if only on a sub-textual level. And, that reads as a credibility and value gap that will send prospects running. The question is, what can we do about it?

Short answer…get over it!

And, start focusing on where the real problem is—credibility and value. Just like price is never about price, age is never about age. It’s about credibility and value. So, if you do what is necessary to build credibility and value, even for the rare prospect where age might have been an issue before learning about you, it goes immediately off the table. How do we do this?

Pre-emptive credibility building.

What do you think would happen with all of your pitches if, before someone ever got on the phone or sat down with you, they loved you and believed they couldn’t get on without you? Hmmm. That’s right, it would make every sale a slam-dunk. So, how can we create this preemptive credibility and value? Here are a couple of suggestions:

Building preemptive credibility and value online: This is, by far, the easier and most effective approach. What is the key tool? Your blog and website. And, right away, we’ve got a big problem here. The website for Engineerity LLC. is the default theme from Wordpress. It has no images, almost no text, no sophistication…and no credibility or value. But, it goes beyond that, the lack of a professional online presence, even a simple one, actually sends a very amateurish, unsophisticated, budget-level message. It represents your brand and, looking at it, my first instinct would be to find someone else to work with. Your online brand makes your age an issue, because it tells the world you are green. Here are some things you need to change right away:

• Get a new theme and add basic, relevant content – even if you keep the blog as your main online presence. Change the theme so it looks like you care and develop more of an integrated blog-site format. My blog is an example of an integrated blog-site designed around a custom theme that also allows me not only to blog, but to promote services, build interest and accept inquiries. Check out Brian Clark’s Copyblogger, too, as a great example of a well integrated blog site. Items you absolutely must include:
  • Authoritative articles (see below)
  • Social-proof – see my last Ask Jonathan column with a detailed discussion about building credibility through press and testimonials
  • Bullet list of benefits of working with you – include any specific industry expertise
  • Case-studies of successful client outcomes
  • Brief bios for you and your partner
  • Contact information and inquiry form
  • Extra-tip – put your navigation menu across the top to make it feel more like a traditional website for more traditional prospects.
• Blog with authority – write a weekly 1-3,000 word article that is highly-useful and speaks to a problem that is pervasive among the clients you seek to attract. Specialize in a specific industry, at least at the beginning. This will make it a lot easier to differentiate yourself more quickly. Make sure you use precise, industry-specific keywords in the title.

  In the article, give a lot of information away for free, even stuff you feel you should get paid for. Offer solutions that are intelligent, workable and, for people who are very capable, doable. Why? Because (1) it helps establish you as an authority in the application of your skills in their industry and (2) even when you tell people exactly what to do, a big chunk of them will say, “wow, great idea,” but still not want to do it themselves. And, they become your subscribers and hottest prospects.

• Write for print-media (oh-my!) and speak – find industry magazines and print newsletters and small conferences or events and offer to write a regular column or speak for free. Why print? Because, a lot of business people still don’t know what blogs are (can you even imagine?) This is all about platform building. The more people see and hear your name, the more established and qualified they believe you to be…even if you’re a total hack (not saying you are, my friend, I just know plenty of high-profile folks who are, um, let’s say, two cards short of a full deck).
• Write for online media – Write similar articles for other blogs and websites but not websites in the IT world. Actually, this applies to the above bullet-point, too. Focus, instead, on a specific industry and then establish yourself as the go-to IT guy for that industry. Stop asking them to come to you and go meet them where they already are.

Look at your live pitch.

Conquering the online end of things will prime prospects to be much more receptive before you even have your first conversation. It will build preemptive credibility and value. Because, guaranteed, anyone who calls and is serious about wanting a problem solved will look at your website first. Plus, done right, a blog-site can be a huge lead-generation tool in its own right.

Before I sign off here, though, I want to jump back to my comment about ageism potentially being an issue from your side, rather than the client’s side.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had any really good sales training, but, if you are serious about launching a new company, I think it is mission-critical. Many people are masters at their trades, but their lack of fundamental, let alone high-level rapport, persuasion and sales skills consistently takes them out of the game.

Study sales and persuasion like you study IT.

Remember, the moment you start your own business, you’ve actually just started taken on not one, but two jobs, Chris the IT guru and Chris the chief marketing and sales executive. So, spend the small bit of time and money learning not only how to provide the service promised, but how to get the opportunity to deliver the service, too. Because, you can’t have the former unless you master the latter. This article on powerhouse marketing and sales techniques should get you started nicely.

And, remember, especially in the world of IT, it’s not about age, it’s about credibility and value. Establish these two elements and it won’t matter whether your 14 or 140 (well, actually 14 would be illegal and 140 would be, well, just kind of icky, but you get the point).

So, Chris, I hope this was helpful. Keep us all updated and to everyone else in our wonderful FSw community, feel free to chime in and offer your thoughts, advice and questions. Every voice adds value!

If you’d like to be considered for a future Ask Jonathan column, just e-mail me at jonathan AT jonathanfields DOT com and include your contact info, scenario and advice desired.

Jonathan Fields

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