Newsletter - What form of advice?
Last week's survey about free advice generated an interesting conflict. Most of you (about 85%) thought that small businesses should pay for advice - even if there was some subsidy - and that people generally take more notice of advice if they've paid for it. On the other hand, the vast majority of people offer free advice at least occasionally! I think some of the confusion is probably down to different definitions of what constitutes advice - after all an article published on a website is a form of advice, but so is a 3 hour meeting at which you explain possible approaches to the client and they then decide to take your advice but do everything themselves!
|
Newsletter - Are you user-friendly?
I normally try to give only positive advice in this newsletter, but I was asked this week for my thoughts on the top mistakes consultants and freelancers when dealing with new clients. That got me thinking about some of the things that we all sometimes do with the best of intentions but that result in mis-understandings and losing business. You can see my top mistakes, along with other people's contributions here, but I think the positive message we can take from all of the negatives is the need to listen carefully to what your client is saying, however daft it may seem, and try to look at things from their point of view - rather than pitching straight in with our own opinions.
|
Newsletter - Public or Private?
I'm writing this newsletter just before doing a talk on tendering to a group of IBC members near Derby, and as I was preparing the talk it occurred to me that we sometimes draw too strong a distinction between public tenders and the buying process that goes on in the private sector. My experience has been that some large private companies run almost as complex and bureaucratic a process as major government departments. Equally, quite a lot of the public opportunities we publish are actually very small and involved little more than a letter and a short proposal.
|
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.
|
Keep it simple
I've come across a few blogs and discussions this week where people have been discussing how they should refer to themselves and their business. Critical issues such as 'do we talk about training or learning' or 'are you a mentor coach or a coach mentor' seemed to have assumed a life of their own.
|