Newsletter - Things are looking up
The response to our fee survey this year has been fantastic, so thanks to all of you who participated or passed the survey on to your contacts. As well as our own database, the survey was sent out by a number of our partners, reaching well over 40,000 consultants and freelancers in total, making this the most comprehensive survey we've done.
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2010 Annual Fee Rate Survey
Skillfair’s 5th Annual Fee rate Survey comes at a time when many independent consultants and freelancers are feeling under pressure from all sides. Clients are under pressure to reduce costs and retain permanent staff – plus to read the press it would seem there are thousands of newly redundant 40 and 50 something’s looking to set up as self-employed. In this difficult market it really pays to know what your peers are actually charging and how you compare – otherwise it can be very hard to resist requests from clients that devalue your services.
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Demonstrating Quality
I've always been impressed by the depth and variety of experience that so many Skillfair members have, and that's been reflected in the testimonials, references and other information they've provided for quality checking purposes. We've now added a new feature to the system that allows members to display their key memberships and accreditations alongside the quality rating - so clients can see immediately who is 'Prince Qualified' or a 'Chartered Marketer' for example.
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Newsletter - Reading between the lines
Having moaned about consultants use of jargon last week, this week I've been having the same trouble with clients. We keep encountering tenders where the title is either impenetrable or completely misleading - my favourite from this week is one for 'Fizzbook Spin'.
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Newsletter - Marketing yourself on-line
You may remember that we asked early in January if you'd be interested in attending a 'How to use Skillfair' event. The feedback was pretty positive and we've decided that combining this with a review of how best to market your services on-line would be a good way to help you focus on marketing ready for 2010.
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