by John Rossheim

There’s never been a better time to strike out on your own as a marketing consultant. That’s what we’ve heard recently from folks who have launched their own businesses and are now mining steady streams of repeat business and prospective clients.

Here are three of many reasons why prospects are so good. Increasingly shorter product cycles mean more marketing campaigns to introduce "the new new thing." Meanwhile, the proliferation of Internet distribution channels requires that companies diversify and expand their marketing efforts. And as more product categories succumb to the commodity dollar, manufacturers become more and more desperate to differentiate their own offerings via marketing.

Besides, "demand is always high for the basics," such as effective marketing communications, says Boston-based Marcia Yudkin, an independent marketing consultant for the past 18 years. "Clients are always telling me, ‘I spend all this money on marketing and I don’t get the results I want.’ "

What talent and skills do you need to become a successful marketing consultant? "You have to rely on your instincts, which requires experience," says Mary Petto, a free agent who previously held executive positions in marketing at the brokerage firms Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.

"You need to be able to say to your client, ‘Whatever you want, I can provide it,’ " claims Petto, whose business is based in Marlboro, New Jersey. This means assembling a virtual team of writers, designers and other creative professionals. "You’re relying on other people’s talents and driving the process," she says.

Yudkin takes a very different approach, concentrating her efforts on the nitty-gritty of writing marketing materials, rather than on project management. "I think it’s important to be a good listener, to be creative and to have a good understanding of how business works," she says.

The best ways to sell your services are the simplest, according to Yudkin: "Attend business meetings and give your 30-second promo" to the chamber of commerce or to the local chapter of a professional association, she says. These meetings are customarily announced in local or regional business newspapers.

Yudkin has updated her own self-promotions in recent years. "A nice draw for me has been a free weekly [email] newsletter," she says. "This has been a source of leads from all over the world." Of course, email newsletters are free in more ways than one; the only cost to you is the time you spend writing them.

Petto has also used the Internet to build her customer base. "I’ve been pleasantly surprised," she says. "At least twice a week I get prospects in my inbox" who found the email address on her Web site.

Even if your marketing skills are sterling, you won’t rake in the gold unless you know how to price your services. Petto and Yudkin agree that charging by the hour shifts the financial risk to the client. Of course, "clients are much more comfortable with a project fee," says Yudkin. "But you want to agree to a project fee only when you can be very precise about the nature of the task," she warns.

Petto also encounters clients who ask for a fixed price. Her response? The proposal she puts together makes it clear that if the specs change, the price may have to be renegotiated while the project is under way. In the marketing market, where the demand for talented consultants often exceeds the supply, that’s only fair.

• Success Story: Karen Aidem, marketing and business development consultant
• Monster Talent Market

• American Marketing Association
• Directory of state and local chambers of commerce
• Directory of local newspapers

• Mary Petto, marketing consultant
• Marcia Yudkin, marketing consultant