Professional Practice Development: Meeting the Competitive Challenge

Many professionals today, in a wide variety of fields, find themselves in need of the knowledge and skills that will permit them to build and maintain a successful practice. The current economic climate, changes in the rules of competitive advertising and client relations, and an overabundance of professionals have led to the need for improved skills in practice development. Professional Practice Development gives both practitioners and newcomers the practical information they need to compete for new clients and retain existing ones. With particular focus on traditional and non-traditional channels of communication, this step-by-step guide shows how to develop and implement strategies that lead to a flourishing practice.

Brody begins his study with a discussion of the unique situation professionals find themselves in today. Next, the book discusses planning, the importance of information, and the role of decision-making in building a practice. Further chapters explore the many kinds of communication that make a successful practice. The study addresses office environments, client communication, marketing strategies, envronmental assessment, and professional networking, and concludes with an overview on managing the entire process.

E. W. BRODY teaches public relations in the Department of Journalism at Memphis State University in Tennessee and maintains a public relations consulting practice in Memphis. He has written a number of books, including Public Relations Research (Praeger 1989) and Public Relations Programming and Production (Praeger, 1988).