Monthly Archives: March 2010

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Referral Etiquette Part II

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There are three groups where one can find and groom good referral sources:  clients,  colleagues and friends/family.  Good referrals begin with good relationships.  In addition to providing excellent services that fulfill client expectations, developing and maintaining solid professional and social relationships is paramount. The ability to clearly and succinctly describe the services you provide,  your typical clients and the problems that your services solve is also important.  Finally, be willing to make the first move in the referral game.  If you initiate referrals,  you are likely to receive them in return.

Know what you want
Before going off in search of referrals, think about what you’d like to achieve when meeting prospects.  You’ll want more than some fuzzy idea of how you like to meet people in a particular industry.  Clarify which job title is likely to be the hiring decision maker for your service and the usual goals or business challenges that drive the need for your category of service.

Then you can be clear and precise in your referral requests and will be able to craft the right introductory pitch.  Moreover, clarity will help associates to think of you as they themselves network.  You and your friends and colleagues  can then function as a referral network  for one another

Know who to ask
If you’ve worked for a client on two or three projects and have developed a comfortable relationship with your contacts, let them know that you are always looking for new business and can they recommend someone with whom you can follow up? You may not receive an immediate answer, but the seed will be planted.  Also, there will be no pressure on the client to give a name if they prefer not to do so.

If a referral is made, be sure to get approval for using that person’s name and confirm that if asked, that person feels they know you and your work well enough to provide a good recommendation.  Make it easy and comfortable to refer your services. This approach also works for obtaining referrals through social relationships.

Follow up within one month
While your name is still fresh within the mind of the referral source,  make the call or send the email and get the ball rolling.   Do not let the trail go cold and squander the opportunity.

Failure to appropriately follow up on a referral is deadly.  It happened to me a couple of times and I shall not forget it and I certainly will never refer either of them again.  In fact, I severed ties with both parties.

In one case,  I referred a young lady who launched a bookkeeping business when she was my student at the Center for Women & Enterprise business plan writing course.  A restaurant owner friend of mine  was desperate for that service and I was happy to make the connection.  For reasons that will forever baffle me, the bookkeeping entrepreneur was always too busy to follow up, despite confirming that she looked forward to meeting a prospective client. The young lady was unmoved by urgent emails sent to her by both the restaurant proprietor and myself. The restaurant owner forgave me, thank heaven, and we remain on good terms.

In the other case, a woman with a 20 year career and an MBA called a potential prospect too hastily, before I could confirm the other party’s interest in her services.  I suggested that MBA lady check out the website of someone whom I had literally just met and let me know if she saw some alignment.

If things looked promising, my plan was to invite the prospect to likewise peruse the website of MBA lady.  If all agreed,  I would make the connection. Unfortunately, MBA lady took it upon herself to contact the prospect, whom I had met a mere three hours before,  claiming that I had made the referral! I was furious. The prospect did not love it and has been cordial but cool to me ever since.

Thank your referral source
Remember to thank your referral source ASAP. Even if business is not done,  it is wise to let your source know that you appreciate their confidence in you and respect their generosity. Whatever happens,  let your referral know the outcome.  Referrals are vital to the survival of your business. They are a special favor and should not be taken lightly. This simple courtesy will encourage more good referrals for you.

Thanks for reading,
Kim

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Referral Etiquette Part I

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I love to connect people.  If I can bring people together and set them on the road to doing some business, then I am a happy girl.  Just last week I was able to connect Dave and Denise.

Denise was my former student in the business plan writing course that I teach at the Center for Women & Enterprise cweonline.org.  Denise is a smart cookie:  a  no-nonsense, ex-Lotus,  seasoned professional who was savvy enough to see a need within the small business milieu for the competencies she had honed in the corporate sector and disciplined enough to successfully transfer those competencies into her own business venture.

At CWE,  Denise wrote the plan that launched her tele-sales call center business.  Denise sets up permanent or temporary call centers for organizations that require an inside sales force.  She works with business owners or department managers to discuss the product/service that will be sold,  works with that person to articulate key selling points and benefits,  advises the owner/manager on how to run the call center, trains the tele-sales staff and is available for follow-up advice.  She has a good business.

Dave is a colleague in a Cambridge Chamber of Commerce sponsored networking group cambridgechamber.org.  Dave works with businesses that are looking to upgrade their telecommunications systems,  or better integrate those systems with other IT functions. He is often brought into a workplace that is relocating or making space changes within its current location.

Dave’s challenge  is lead generation.  Experience has shown him that personal outreach, rather than direct mail or email campaigns,  is the best way to find prospects.  He had wondered if  it would be more efficient to hire one or two part time sales people to make calls and pre-qualify prospects for his follow-up.  After pondering the notion for a few months,  he announced his intention to pursue that strategy at our monthly networking meeting.  I immediately suggested that he speak with Denise and sent him her contact information, urging him to use my name.

Dave contacted Denise a few days later. They met for coffee and discovered that they know a few people in common.  They also confirmed that Dave’s inside sales force plan is likely to reap the desired benefits.  Both parties emailed to thank me for the referral and let me know that they will work together on the lead generation tele-sales project.

So  my referral was successful.  You can do that, too.  Next week,  I’ll give a few useful tips that will help you create winning referrals,  whether you give or receive (the idea is to do both!).  Until then, remember that  people do business with people they know and like.  They do  more business with people they trust and respect.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Survive and Thrive—Price to Profit

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Let’s segue into the pricing thicket,  which is where accounts receivable begin,  if you think about it.  I confess that I struggled with pricing.  I offer an intangible service and I knew of no way to find out what my competitors charge for similar services.  Clients pay what they think we are “worth”, but how is that determined?

The received wisdom is that clients are very price sensitive  and that they are more so in this economy.  Fear drives many Freelancers to price conservatively,  yet experts advise against that practice.   Many of us need a smarter pricing strategy,  because we’re probably  leaving money on the table.  We  just don’t know how much.

Pricing that is based on what competitors charge,  hoping that number will allow  you to cover costs and turn a profit (“cost competition”),  is what almost everyone does when they can figure out their competitor’s prices.  However,  pricing specialists  warn that this is unwise,  because that price will not reflect your value to the client.  In fact,  prices that fall below a certain threshold can even steer prospects away from a business.

If prices are perceived as too low, clients will suspect that the service delivered must be inadequate.  In a service business,  delivering the service and meeting (or exceeding) expectations are the overriding factors— not money.  The money is always negotiable when it is demonstrated or perceived that the service will deliver the desired results.

What competitors charge is important,  but that should not overwhelm your pricing strategy.  Ideally,  price should accurately reflect the client’s perception of the value of  the deliverables.  But what might that be? Different customers can have very different ideas about what a service is worth,  sometimes based on their ability to pay.

It is therefore worthwhile to develop pricing strategies,  rates and service packages for different categories of clients,  e.g. corporate and nonprofit rates,  with service packages tailored to meet each group’s typical needs.

Think counter-intuitively.  People pay for what they value.  They pay a premium for what is perceived as high quality,  expert,  reliable and trustworthy.   A good reputation, excellent credentials,  impressive client list and referral from a trusted source also influence the price that clients will pay.  If you are holding several of these cards,  you can charge more and clients will be happy to pay.

A useful counter-punch for gaps in your bona fides is your marketing message.   Make your intangible service appear tangible to clients/prospects.  Describe your service as providing deliverables that will produce measurable outcomes.  Make it easy to understand what you do,  so that clients can relate your value to their business problem and can picture themselves as the beneficiary of your unique solutions.

When setting prices,  it is better to err on the premium side.  This will position you as higher quality and will support profitability.  Furthermore,  clients probably don’t know what your competitors charge unless they’ve hired for your category of service recently.

So what if you’re totally in the dark about your industry pricing norms?  If you have money to spend,  hire a pricing consultant.  If you don’t have money to spend, visit gsa.gov/mobis.   Click products & services,  choose a category,  find a vendor,  click terms & conditions and peruse price and service lists used by firms that bid on federal contracts.  Also, you can learn what clients think of your pricing,  scope of services and delivery of services with a follow-up evaluation survey.  You may be surprised to learn that if you tweak a couple of things,  clients would be willing to pay more for what you do.

Thanks for reading,
Kim

Survival Strategies , Leave a comment

Wheel and Deal—Fast Cash

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I recently heard about a company called The Receivables Exchange.  The company hosts an online real-time auction of accounts receivable and invites businesses to sell outstanding invoices to raise money quickly.  The auctions enable businesses to sell their  receivables to bidders in the global institutional investor market.  Sellers are paid the auction value of the receivables and thus gain access to working capital.

According to The Receivables Exchange,  typical sellers have more than 60% of their working capital tied up in accounts receivable and are therefore limited in their ability to take advantage of important opportunities or otherwise expand their businesses.

Collecting receivables has become an adventure for many business owners and Freelancers,  as we all know.  Customers may be asking for extended payment terms.  Big corporations that can well afford to pay on time have sometimes adopted the mean-spirited practice of paying their small business vendors in 45-60 days,  or even longer.  This can put businesses  in an ugly cash flow bind.

The Exchange can make available  badly needed capital to (certain) businesses that cannot obtain traditional financing or cannot wait out a credit approval process.  The Receivables Exchange can give access to a quick  infusion of cash when it’s needed most. The process is similar to factoring,  that old-school trick used to raise cash fast.

In factoring,  receivables are sold to a financial institution at a pay-out rate that is usually between 75-80% of  face value.  The 20-25%  held back is called the reserve. The quality of receivables determines the reserve amount,  as does the historical average turn-around time of invoices.  In other words,  if big companies like Verizon or CVS are the receivable accounts and they tend to pay within 30 days,  the reserve percentage will be lower.

Cash is usually sent in 5-10 days.  There is no credit check.  Once the receivables are paid up,  the business owner is paid back the reserve,  minus a factor fee of 2-5%.  Additionally, there is a fee of 1/8 to 1/15 %  assessed for every day past 30 days that the receivable is outstanding.  It’s a heavy hit to take,  but money is quickly raised and with few questions asked.  Moreover,  the factoring company assumes the risk of customer default.

When evaluating whether or not factoring makes sense for your business cash flow challenge,  do your homework.  Ask your accountant for a recommendation and then check references.   Make sure you understand those numerous fees.  Liquid Capital liquidcapital.com is a well known factoring company.  You might also visit the websites of the Commercial Finance Association or the International Factoring Association.

But now there is a marketplace where receivables are sold to the highest bidder.  As a result,  it is often possible to obtain more favorable rates than factoring.  This option is not available to everyone,  however.  To be eligible for membership,  the business must have minimum annual sales of $2 million,  must have operated for at least 2 years,  must be registered to do business in the US and can have no tax liens.  The app. fee is $500.00. Sign up online to become either buyer or seller receivablesxchange.com.

The Exchange is no scam.  In January,  Bain Capital gave the New Orleans based company $17 million in financing.  In our credit challenged business environment, there is plenty of upside potential for the company.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Facilitated Meetings Get Things Done

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At certain times it is advisable to bring in a professional to facilitate,  or conduct,  your meeting. The facilitator guides meeting participants through a specific agenda and employs techniques that assist participants as they work to identify key issues,  analyze problems,  discover opportunities and organically create strategies,  decisions,  actions and time tables that will lead to resolutions that participants understand and accept.

According to Michael Wilkinson,  author of “The Secrets of Facilitation” (2005),  examples of appropriate times to call in a professional meeting facilitator are:

1). An important issue has been detected or a major problem has surfaced.

2). The solution to a vital issue is not apparent and deeper understanding and analysis of  the problem are required.

3). Buy-in is needed for a solution to be successful and it is likely that the required solution will need the acceptance of key stakeholders.   A change in behavior or methods may be necessary,  without which the solution will fail.

When a professional meeting facilitator is called upon to conduct your very important meeting,  time and money are not wasted.  The facilitator works with the meeting convener to select the best participants for the meeting, who become the planning team for the issue at hand.

Who are the team leaders of departments that will control decisions likely to be made? Who are the team leaders of departments that will be impacted by those decisions? Who are the pivotal team members in those departments,  those most likely to formulate strategies,  implement actions and/or live with the fall-out? These factors impact the selection of planning team participants.

Once the convener has worked with the facilitator to choose the team,  the facilitator conducts brief,  individual interviews with them. The facilitator explains to team members why they have been invited to participate and what the convener would like to achieve in the meeting.  The facilitator then asks questions of participants in order to gauge alternative viewpoints regarding the history of the issue,  resolutions attempted and failed,  possible barriers to resolution and factors that may be critical to creating resolution.

The facilitator shares this data  with the convener and together they create an agenda for the planning session and also determine how much time will be needed to work through it and arrive at solutions. The convener then schedules a mutually agreeable meeting time and confirms specifics in writing,  ASAP.

If pre-meeting data need to be generated, the convener either assembles the data or assigns the task to the appropriate staff.  In advance of the meeting, the convener sends the agenda to the planning team,  along with data that must be reviewed.

At the meeting,  the facilitator gives an overview of the process the team will use to examine and analyze the issue and create solutions and then reviews the agenda. The facilitator also gets agreement on meeting ground rules:  e.g., no surfing of electronic gadgets,  no interrupting,  no “opting out”, etc.

The facilitator then goes about the work of conducting the meeting.   He/she asks provocative questions that will stimulate thoughtful analysis;  leads the team in brainstorming useful ideas;  generates enthusiastic participation;  and captures participant responses on flip charts,  for documentation.  The facilitator motivates the team to delve into the issues and devise solutions.

Where there is disagreement over an approach to a problem,  the facilitator works to find consensus and accommodation.  Solutions that emerge in facilitated meetings work because the key stakeholders are always present.  Their perspectives and priorities  shape and create the  solutions that arise and therefore they buy into them.  They own them and they value them.  As Michael Wilkinson has pointed out,  an effective decision = the right decision x commitment to the decision.

The facilitator transfers the decisions,  actions and follow-up from flip charts to Word documents and sends that info to the convener ASAP,  who then disseminates to the team. Additionally,  the facilitator may reconvene the team for a half day meeting in 45-90 days,  to ensure that team members are following through,  allow the team to measure the impact of solutions,  make necessary alterations and maintain project momentum and commitment.

In professionally facilitated planning meetings, business objectives are invariably achieved and implemented in a timely and cost effective manner.

Thanks for reading,
Kim