You know the term, "ambulance chaser."

It refers to attorneys who prey on victims of accidents in the hope of retaining them as clients and making a buck off their misfortune.

I recently ran across a joke that pokes fun at this practice ...

Two personal injury lawyers met at a cocktail party. Hows business? asked the first.

Rotten, replied the other. Yesterday, I chased an ambulance for twenty miles. When I finally caught up to it, there was already another lawyer hanging on to the bumper.

So what does this have to do with marketing?

Well, there are some professionals besides attorneys who practice what I call "ambulance chaser" marketing.

Here's how it goes ...

You get a phone call or email from someone who saw your website, your ad, or heard about your business. Their sales pitch is not to ask about your business or how they might be able to help you, or even to sell you on the merits of their services or cite results they've gotten for others in business' similar to yours.

Rather, they point out that they've noticed you're not doing a very good job at whatever it is they do, and they point out if you want to improve, they can most certainly help you.

It never ceases to amaze me that people think this tactic might work. Why on earth would you want to do business with someone who hasn't even taken the time to first ask about your business or your results, and who has more or less insulted you on their first contact?

They may be very good at what they do, but if they don't take the time to first ask about your situation or the results you're currently getting, how can they possibly know if they can help you do better?

I believe you should always listen before you offer advice.

Find out what your prospect needs and where their challenges are. Then determine how you can best help them.

So, whatever business you're in, please don't practice "ambulance chaser" marketing.

Always, always, always take the time to get to know your prospective clients and their needs before you assume you know how to best help them.

And the best way to do that is to ask questions and listen.

I'm sure I've been guilty on occasion of making judgments about other people's marketing, assuming it wasn't working because it didn't fit the mold of what I consider to be the "right" way to market.

But what I have come to realize is that I need to accept that just because someone isn't doing things "my" way, doesn't mean they're not getting results.

So whether you're a coach, a financial planner, a teacher, a trainer, or any other professional offering a service, realize the best way to market is NOT to judge your prospects and assume you always know better.

Ask questions.

Learn what your prospects and clients need. And then tell them how you can help them achieve that. You'll not only get a much warmer response and better results, you'll probably feel a whole lot better when you're marketing yourself.