Tue 03 Sep 2019
The Mediation Business Development Roadmap: 2019 Edition
Posted by Walter.Brynjolfson
We get to talk to a lot of mediators—especially as they’re in the process of joining one of the Mediate BC rosters—and in those conversations it’s not all too uncommon to discover a hole in their biz-dev plans. They don’t seem to have a solid idea of how they’re going to develop and promote their practice.
Most marketers these days have a pretty consistent set of advice that boils down to one key principle: generate valuable content. Offering information, writing wherever you’ll get published, speaking at any event that will take you, organizing community lunch-and-learns, etc.. The same is true for mediators. According to this video by Mediation Marketing guru, Natalie Armstrong-Motin, the trick is to position yourself as a sought-after writer, speaker, trainer, networker and social media master.
The nice thing is, if a mediator follows these tried-and-true methods, they’ll also be benefiting the community at large by promoting awareness of mediation as a whole. So it’s in the interest of everyone that mediators get their game on and start promoting their practices.
Luckily, we’re here to help. For those of you who are hoping to boost your name recognition, there are a few avenues we can suggest. Just remember along the way that, if you’re on one of the Mediate BC rosters, we’re happy to work closely with you to support your content-creation strategy.
Here are some things you can do, and some groups or events you could join:
1. Start writing
CoRe’s Writing Group offers the chance to regularly meet, by phone or in person, to inspire each other’s writing muse. Check the fall dates including a joint session with the New Mediators Group on Oct. 5th where the group will focus on Blogging about Conflict Resolution.
2. Go get advice from the pros
There’s a CLE Conflict Resolution Conference coming up on Oct. 16, and content creation for conflict resolution professionals will be one of the conference themes. Meeting at KPMG’s Ignition Centre, sessions will explore ways in which conflict resolution professionals can engage in a wide range of creative approaches to support their practices or build new ways of delivering services. Learn about creating powerful videos, building apps, knowledge engineering, and other ways to build on ConRes skills and knowledge.
3. Access our resources
Mediate BC created a toolkit you can use to promote your practice wherever you are. Contact us any time for access to the powerpoint presentation and other tools.
4. Find your niche
For example, if you speak and write another language, start using it to make unique content. We’re happy to support you in that endeavour. We even have a draft you can translate and adapt. Mediators like Yeda Hong and Mitra Kiamanesh are already offering content in their languages (Chinese & Farsi).
5. Conflict Resolution Week (CRW 2019)
This is our provincial-wide campaign to raise awareness of conflict resolution. Contact us for opportunities to get your name out while doing the good deed of educating the public.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
