How to avoid too many responses to a project

The feedback we get from clients is that responses from consultants are remarkably quick and generally of good quality. Unfortunately, there are some projects that a lot of people are qualified for and that will generate a lot of contacts.

Recent examples have included requests for a small website, training associates and coaching & mentoring projects.

If you're worried about getting too many responses, or you want to restrict the number of people you invite to quote, then you'll find it easier to use our contact system.

To start off, use the Find Consultants button to search for the kind of consultants you need - using the Skills Search is usually the most effective as it will bring up a list of members with the skills that you need.

Next browse through the list, looking for someone whose profile appeals - most people include their website and CV so you can get a good idea of the kind of service they offer. If the consultant looks interesting click on the Watch Consultant button at the bottom of their profile. This will add the consultant to a list for later use.

When you've finished browsing click on My Consultants to go to the list of consultants you've identified as interesting - you can then click on Select All and then Contact to send all of them the same message or send individual messages if that makes more sense.

If you want to, you can keep your contact details confidential but remember that the consultants don't know who you are so you'll need to make sure you give them enough detail to reassure them that this is a real project that they want to work on.

Now you can just sit back and wait for the responses, typically you'll get responses within 24 hours but it's usually worth waiting a few days to make sure you get responses from people who are away or busy.