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.
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Public sector cuts benefit small consultancies
Skillfair provides a comprehensive low and high value UK tender alert service specifically tailored to the needs of specialist consultancy and knowledge based businesses. Although the number of larger projects advertised has remained the same Skillfair has seen a 15% increase in the number of smaller projects in the first 4 months of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.
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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.
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How to Win Tenders Presentation
The question of whether to go after public tenders and how to maximise your chances of winning is a perennial one. This presentation is aimed at helping you understand the procurement process, particularly how it looks from the other side of the fence.
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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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