Why most professional services are struggling to find good clients
If you run an accounting firm in Milton, a law practice in the CBD, or an engineering consultancy in Geebung, you’ve probably noticed something frustrating. People are shopping on price more than ever.
They call you up, ask "how much for a basic tax return?" or "what’s your hourly rate?", and if you aren't the cheapest, they hang up. It’s exhausting. You didn't spend years getting qualified just to haggle over fifty bucks like you're at a Sunday market.
Most business owners think the answer is to run more ads or shout louder. It isn't. The reason people haggle with you is that they don't see the difference between you and the bloke down the road. To them, you’re just a 'cost'.
If you want to stop the haggling, you have to stop being seen as a cost and start being seen as the expert. The way you do that is by sharing what you know. In the marketing world, they call this 'content marketing'. In the real world, we call it 'proving you know your stuff before they even pick up the phone'.
What is this actually going to do for your business?
Before we get into the 'how-to', let’s talk about the 'why'. I’m not talking about getting 'likes' on Facebook. Likes don't pay the commercial rent. I’m talking about three specific business outcomes:
1. Better Quality Leads: Instead of tyre-kickers, you get people who have read your advice, trust your opinion, and are ready to hire you specifically. 2. Higher Fees: When someone sees you as the authority on a topic, they stop asking for discounts. You can finally charge more because they aren't buying a service; they’re buying your expertise. 3. Shortened Sales Cycle: You’ll spend less time explaining the basics on a free consult because the client has already 'learnt' from your website or videos.
Step 1: Stop talking about yourself
Go look at your website right now. If it’s like 90% of Brisbane professional services, the homepage says something like: "Established in 1994, we provide excellence in accounting services with a client-focused approach."
I’ll be blunt: nobody cares.
Your clients care about their problems. They care about the ATO breathing down their neck, their partnership dispute, or why their building project is over budget.
To get results, your 'content' needs to answer the questions your clients are actually asking.
The Exercise: Take a piece of paper and write down the last 10 questions a client asked you in a first meeting. - "How do I protect my house if my business goes bust?" - "Can I claim my Land Cruiser as a business expense?" - "What happens if my business partner wants out?"
Those questions are your gold mine. Every one of those is a blog post, a video, or an email waiting to happen.
Step 2: Choose your weapon (and stick to it)
You don’t need to be on TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube all at once. You’ve got a business to run. Pick one way to share your knowledge that you don't hate.
If you like writing: Write 500-word articles that answer those questions above. Post them on your website. If you like talking: Use your phone to record a 2-minute video explaining a recent win or a common mistake you see. If you’re busy: Record a voice memo while driving between appointments and have a VA or a local copywriter turn it into an article.
Consistency is where most Brisbane businesses fail. They post three times in a week, get busy, and then don't post again for six months. It’s better to do one helpful thing a month than ten useless things in a day.
Step 3: Use real stories (The 'Morningside Plumber' Rule)
People don't remember facts; they remember stories. Instead of saying "We do contract law," say "We recently helped a local construction firm in Morningside recover $50k from a developer who was using a loophole in their contract. Here is what we changed to make sure it never happens again."
This does two things. First, it proves you’ve actually done the work. Second, it helps the reader see themselves in the story. When you prove you're the best choice through real-world examples, the sale is halfway done before you even meet.
Step 4: Make sure Google can find it
You don't need to be a tech wizard here. You just need to make sure your website works on phones and that you use the words your customers use.
If you’re a family lawyer in Indooroopilly, don't just write about "Matrimonial Property Settlements." Write about "How to split the house in a divorce in Brisbane." Google likes this because it’s what people actually type into the search bar at 11:00 PM when they’re stressed.
How much will this cost?
Let’s be realistic about the investment.
The 'DIY' approach: Cost is $0, but it will take you 2-4 hours a week. Most business owners start this way and quit after a month because they're too busy. The 'Freelancer' approach: You might pay a local writer or videographer $200 - $500 per piece of content. The 'Agency' approach: A full-service strategy (where they interview you, write everything, post it, and make sure it shows up on Google) usually starts around $1,500 - $3,000 a month.
Is it worth it? If one 'good' client for your firm is worth $5,000 in profit, and this strategy brings in just one extra client a month, the math is simple. It’s not an expense; it’s an investment in an asset you own.
What’s a total waste of money?
I see local firms wasting thousands on these things every day:
1. Generic 'Newsletter' Services: If you pay a company to send out generic tax tips that every other accountant is sending, your clients will hit 'delete'. It has to sound like you. 2. Buying 'Likes': Having 5,000 followers from overseas does nothing for a law firm in Brisbane. Focus on being famous to the 500 people who actually might hire you. 3. Over-production: You don't need a film crew. A clear video shot on an iPhone in your office often performs better because it looks authentic.
How long until you see results?
This is not a 'get rich quick' scheme. If you need a phone call in the next 24 hours, go buy some Google Ads.
Content marketing is a slow burn. Usually, it looks like this: - Month 1-2: You’re finding your voice and getting the first few posts up. - Month 3-4: You notice people mentioning your articles in meetings. "Oh, I saw that video you did on Land Tax..." - Month 6+: You start appearing in Google searches for specific problems, and the 'cold' enquiries start coming in.
Your Action Plan for Monday Morning
Don't overthink this. Here is exactly what I’d tell a mate to do if they wanted to grow their professional service firm:
1. List the Top 5 Problems: Write down the 5 biggest headaches your clients have right now. 2. Write (or Record) the Solution: Spend 30 minutes explaining how to solve one of those problems. Be generous. Don't hold back the 'secret sauce'—people pay for the execution, not the information. 3. Put it on your Website: Not just on Facebook or LinkedIn. Put it on your own site first so you own it. 4. Send it to your current clients: Send a quick email saying, "Hey, a few people asked me about X lately, so I put together this quick guide. Hope it helps."
By doing this, you stop being a 'commodity' and start being a trusted advisor. That is how you grow a profitable business in Brisbane without having to compete with the cheap guys at the bottom of the barrel.
If you're too busy to handle this yourself but you know your business needs it to get to the next level, we can help. At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in helping Brisbane professional services get more enquiries without the technical headache.
Ready to get more phone calls? Contact us at lmgroup.au/contact and let’s chat about your business.