Case study: Sonia Job, Marketing in Practice

“If it hadn’t been for Skillfair, I would probably have given up self-employment by now!”

Sonia Job has been running Reading-based Marketing in Practice (a strategic marketing and communications consultancy) for the past five years, and like most people who work for themselves, has had her lean times. She started the business comfortably, tapping into the network of contacts that had encouraged her to work for herself. But then, inevitably, changes in personnel within client companies, over-stretched budgets and the usual demands placed upon decision-makers meant that contracts in the pipeline began to dry up.

“I’ve joined several organisations that seek to match consultants with clients, but I’ve only ever had success with Skillfair,” says Sonia. “The accuracy of the matching, the clarity with which the projects are displayed and the ease with which I can pursue the projects that look like they have potential all lend confidence to a process I would otherwise find very daunting.”

Marketing in Practice works predominantly in healthcare markets, helping GPs, dentists and Primary Care Trusts to improve their communications with patients. More recently they have ventured into publishing, creating a consumer healthcare magazine that is distributed to health stores throughout the UK, and which is a major marketing tool in the promotion of products distributed by the Bio-Stat Healthcare Group.

It is often too much for one or two people to handle on their own, so the Marketing in Practice team is occasionally augmented by other consultants within the network. “Bigger tenders that I know we have the skillset to fulfil but not the manpower to tackle on our own become achievable by finding other Skillfair members who are happy to help on a project-by-project basis,” Sonia explains.


Working in this way has meant that Marketing in Practice has secured four Skillfair-posted projects in the past three years (with a total contract value of £35K) and been short-listed for two public sector projects that would have been worth in excess of £250,000. The smaller projects have been handled by the core team of Sonia and two part-time assistants, while the public sector bids were proposed by consortia of like-minded small companies, each offering complementary skills.

A good example is the project to provide return to work rehabilitation for the long-term sick. In the bid in which Sonia played a part, Marketing in Practice would have devised and implemented the patient communications programme, a team of occupational health advisors and physiotherapists specialising in ergonomics would have undertaken the clinical assessments, and medical specialists would have directed the three-year campaign.

“Although we were unsuccessful in our bids for the big projects – and some might wonder what on earth we were doing, putting ourselves forward for them in the first place – we remain positive,” says Sonia.

“Each tender is easier to understand as you come to recognise the language, and realise that much of the form-filling is just the way it works. If your team is the most able – and your pricing the most competitive – the chances are you will win the bid, even if you’ve had to leave quite a few blanks in the application!”

Marketing in Practice now nurture the contacts they gained through the tendering process to ensure they are as well prepared as they can be before putting themselves forward again. “I would never have thought of going for these on our own, but with Skillfair’s access to tenders, and other consultants with such a wide variety of experience and expertise, I remain confident we will succeed one day,” Sonia explains.

She has no doubt about continuing her membership: “We’re not quite there yet, but with Skillfair, even the times when the work’s a bit slow mean I never doubt the next big project is just around the corner.”