Author Archives: Kim Clark

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Year-End Tax Planning: Funding Your Retirement

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Happy November.  The year will soon end and it is time to put together a tax planning strategy while there is still time to plan and execute.  There may be business equipment to purchase,  upgrades to make to your website or a seminar to attend,  but we self-employed workers must also fund our retirement.  Traditionally employed workers must also fund their retirement,  but they get help from their employers.  Freelancers are our own employers and we must step up and do all that we can to stash a few tax-deductible dollars in the cookie jar,  so that we can eat when we’re 75.

Whether you’ll squeeze a few thousand dollars out of modest billable hours or you’re looking for a place to roll the overflow from a lucrative year,  saving for retirement is a superb tax planning strategy.  It is also a superb life planning strategy.  Under no circumstances do we want to be old and broke in America.  If one is single,  that is a real possibility.  This is not Europe and the government will not give us any financial assistance in a time of need,  even though we have been tax paying citizens our entire lives.

The good news is that there are good retirement plan options available to Freelancers with a few thousand dollars to spare and the discipline to save.  Also,  the retirement money can be invested in stocks,  bonds,  mutual funds or even real estate.  You might get lucky and see your investment really grow.  Taxes will not be paid until it’s time to draw down on the account  (age 59 1/2 the youngest and age 70 1/2 the oldest).

SEP IRA

The Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account is modeled after the IRAs that every employer offers.  They are evidently the easiest type of retirement account to set up and there are minimal IRS reporting requirements involved.  Your job will be to find a brokerage firm that will set up the plan,  process your deposits,  maybe give you some investment advice and not kill you with administration fees.

Contributions are limited to 20% of your net earnings  (before the self-employment tax).  Contributions are capped at $52,000/year for tax year 2014 and the limit will increase every year or two,  to adjust for inflation.  A married couple who run a business together,  or are each Freelancers,  may open a joint account and save an annual maximum of $98,000 tax-deductible retirement dollars in 2014.  One cannot borrow against a SEP IRA.

SOLO 401K

The Individual 401K is modeled after a traditional 401K and once again,  the IRS filing requirements are uncomplicated and your job is to find a brokerage firm that will set up the plan,  process your deposits and not kill you with administration fees.  One may contribute money a little differently to a Solo 401K,  in that you may give yourself a  “salary deferral”  in a good year and stash up to 20% of your net earnings into the Solo 401K,  but the annual maximum contribution remains $52,000 in 2014  (the limit will rise modestly to adjust for inflation).  However,  Freelancers aged 50 +  can take advantage of the  $5,500 (max)  “catch-up contribution”  feature,  which allows those who are able to set aside more retirement dollars to do so and contribute up to $57,500/year in tax-deductible dollars.  Another big advantage of the Solo 401 K is that one may borrow against maximum one-half of the assets  (you must repay the loan with interest, to yourself).  Additionally,  a married couple who run a business together can start a Solo 401K retirement plan for the two and contribute up to $98,000 annually as of 2014 and $10,000 more with the catch-up contribution if both are age 50 +.

Next week,   we’ll look at the SIMPLE IRA and more retirement plan options.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Notes on Networking

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I’ve been thinking about networking lately.  Last week,  I had a great meeting with a young lady I met maybe 5 years ago,  when I revived a volunteer relationship with her organization.  I found the volunteer activity personally rewarding and I took it seriously.  I sharpened a seldom-used skill that I find highly desirable and I saw to it that my work met or exceeded expectations.  Scheduling prevented me from donating services for a couple of years,  but I always responded to her outreach. When she asked to pick my brain about a program-related matter,  which turned into a request for a face-to-face,  I was happy to say yes.

Little did I know that the volunteer service,  that is pro bono consulting work,  will now pay a stipend.  There is also an effort to grow the program.  The organization has had trouble selling to the new target market and I was happy to suggest some talking points that should produce results.  She took lots of notes.  Sometime over the next few months,  I expect that I will be invited to provide more pro bono work,  this time with a very helpful stipend and a chance to gain access to individuals that I would like to add to my client list.

What’s the moral of this networking story? One,  strategic volunteering can pay dividends.  Two,  selectively network at both ends the organization chart.  Don’t assume that lower ranking people are never in a position to help you.  This young lady was the program coordinator,  not a decision-maker and she’s half my age.  Nevertheless,  I treated her with respect and always enjoyed working with her.  When asked,  I offered to give her some much-needed insights,  without knowing that she is now in a position to help me make money.

Of course,  we all dream of meeting a powerful person who will miraculously agree to become our sponsor and shepherd us into a fabulous career.  That happens for some people,  but it has yet to happen to me.  For example,  for more than a decade I regularly attended Mass and sat at coffee hour with a very wealthy and well-connected lady who frequently discussed the professional success she had had before her retirement.

The lady was well aware of my need for clients and yet she never lifted a finger to help.  She who had never walked through a door that was not opened for her,  deliberately withheld from me.  Yet,  she never failed to enlist my help with her Sunday amusement—the New York Times crossword puzzle.  It is interesting,  because she sought me out for conversation and volunteered information about her career and connections.  I should have been golden.  Oh, well.

But how does one network successfully at the top of the organizational chart?  As detailed above,  interacting with someone who is inclined to respect you is rule #1.  Remaining aware of the difference in power and status is rule #2.  Understanding how you can be a valuable asset to an individual who has many resources and most likely doesn’t need anything from you is rule #3 and effectively communicating to Mr. or Ms. High-and-Mighty whatever value proposition that you think might be appreciated is rule #4.

There are no hard-and-fast rules for networking up the food chain,  but despite my fruitless experience,  which I will say is unusual,  networking with the higher-ups is best done at volunteer board meetings,  houses of worship,  at the fitness center,  or in other non-work related venues.  There are many people tugging at the sleeves of the well-connected.  It’s probably best to get to know them in a social situation that facilitates participating in a shared experience that can lead to organic relationship-building.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Arranged Marriage: Propose A Strategic Partnership

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On numerous occasions throughout the life of this blog,  I’ve urged readers to create strategic partnerships as a way to grow and sustain their enterprise.  Strategic partnership can bring great advantages to the entities involved.  But if poorly conceived and executed,  the partnership will be an expensive and frustrating disappointment.  You know which scenario you want,  so let’s talk about how to get there.  Freelance consultants and small business owners will likely have one of the following goals in mind when contemplating a strategic partnership:

  • Expertise that is project specific or ongoing
  • Labor needed for the short-term or intermittently
  • Access to a certain target market
  • Increasing sales in existing markets
  • Sharing resources, e.g. office space or technology

Define goals that you can reasonably expect to achieve via the partnership.  Your need may be as simple and short-term as finding a talented and reliable graphic artist to design a save-the-date card,  invitation and program book for a nonprofit agency fundraiser that you are planning or a photographer to capture special moments at the event.  If you produce many events,  you will want to form ongoing strategic partnerships that will create a team of suppliers on whom you can rely.  If a long-term arrangement is your goal,  consider carefully the expected benefits to your organization in terms of market penetration,  access to bigger projects and clients,  increased revenue,  or other pertinent factors.  Project how long you expect it will take for your organization to realize progress towards the goal.

Well-defined partnership criteria will help you to pre-sort candidates in advance of approaching someone.  You won’t know until you have a meeting,  but learning about the potential candidate’s business model,  client list,  business goals,  business practices and organizational culture are important deal-makers or deal-breakers.  The more alignment between the participating organizations,  the better the chance for success.  Prepare and prioritize your list.

Next,  think about potential partnership candidates and your relationship with those individuals or entities.  Look for a firm where a complementary aspect exists with yours,  as noted above in the example of an event planner in search of a photographer or graphic artist.  Will organizations that offer any competing products or services be disqualified?

If it’s a long-term partnership that you will propose,  prepare a partnership worksheet for each candidate,  to ensure that you approach only those with whom you are likely to partner successfully.  Be specific about what you want the partner to provide and the responsibilities of each entity.

As you consider partnership candidates and develop the worksheet,  confirm and learn to articulate the expected benefits that would accrue to an entity that would partner with your own,  attainable over the short and long-term.  How long do you project it will take for the partner’s organization to realize progress towards the goals? Seeking feedback from a knowledgeable and neutral third-party might be helpful at this stage,  to eliminate excessive optimism on your part.

You are now ready to enter the recruitment phase of your search.  This process can be formal or informal,  depending on your familiarity with the organization leader.  You might run into that person at the grocery store and suggest that the two of you sit down over coffee and talk a little business.  If you’re not so chummy,   send an email and set up a call time or a face-to-face.  If the proposed arrangement will be complex,  provide your prospective partner with a copy of the partnership worksheet.  The worksheet will make you look super-prepared and can only raise your stature in the eyes of the candidate.

Especially if your intended has a bigger and more prestigious organization than your own,  providing the partnership worksheet should be a good tactical move.  The worksheet will also help you to launch discussions of organizational priorities;  clarify the perceived benefits, of the partnership;  anticipate obstacles;  reveal alignments or disconnects in business practices;  and give insight into organizational culture.

If at the meeting the partnership seems like a good fit,  propose or answer any questions that would constitute due diligence as you develop a formal partnership agreement.  The two of you must agree in writing to the specifics of the partnership:  its goals,  expectations,  services provided,  resources shared,  responsibilities,  fee schedules,  deadlines,  effective date and how success will be evaluated and other factors that would impact the relationship.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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10 Ways To Reboot Your Email Marketing List

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E-newsletters,  webinars,  Slide Share info-graphics and other email marketing content can go as flat as an open bottle of champagne after a while.  Business in the 21st century is sort of like show business,  folks.  Gypsy Rose Lee said it best,  “You’ve gotta have a gimmick”.  You need to know how to hold your audience.  For that matter,   you’d better know your audience well enough to recognize when they stop paying attention.

Assuming that the content you provide is relevant to potential readers and not just a 3 page sales pitch about you,  wonderful you,  there may eventually be a drop-off in the email open rate.  Attention spans are short and email in-boxes are filled to the brim with all manner of messages.  But you can’t afford to lose control of your “room”,  your list members.  Presumably,  that list is populated with clients,  prospects and referral sources.  They are the life blood of your business.  How do you win them back? Try these tactics:

1.   Examine your stats and identify who is not opening your emails.  Studies show that 60% of email marketing communications are never opened.

2.   Prune the list.  Facing up to audience members who have fallen out of love with you takes courage but like any love affair that’s over,  it is best to move on.  Resolve to remove the non-readers.  Carol Tice, who founded the Freelance Writer’s Den and maintains a formidable email list,  sends her non-readers an email and asks if they would like to remain on the list.  The overwhelming majority do not respond and their names are removed.  A handful ask to continue.  You will feel better when you do the purge.  You’ll have an open rate that makes you smile.  You will know that the creative energy and hard work invested in your content marketing will be appreciated.

3.   Ask list members to update their email information.  Your open rate could improve just by allowing readers to have communications sent to an alternate email address.  Those who don’t respond after a second or third reminder to update their info are clearly not interested and can be removed from the list.

4.   To maintain the interest of readers who remain,  especially if your open rate is dropping,  take a look at your subject line.  A well-written subject line is a siren song to potential readers.  See  headline hooks that reel in readers

5.   Include a tempting call to action and name it in the subject line.   A Survey,  free webinar (hosted by you or someone whose expertise you trust),  or a white paper on a subject of interest to your readers re-establishes your relevance and will persuade a certain percentage of non-readers and infrequent readers to click and engage.

6.   Think mobile.  In July 2014,  Forrester Research reported that 42% of emails from B2C retailers are opened on smartphones and 17% are opened on tablets.  Customize your email communications for responsive design,  so that reading will be easy on mobile devices.  Make it convenient for all potential readers to open your communications.

7.   Send on a regular schedule.  Frequent readers of this blog know that Tuesday is publish day,  even if Christmas or the 4th of July fall on that day of the week.  You may prefer to publish on a given date.   Whatever you do,  establish and adhere to a predictable publishing schedule.  Readers appreciate it more than you may realize.  Make readers anticipate receiving and reading your communications.

8.   Build your list.  Organically and with permission,  build your email marketing list.  You should have met each person on your list at least once.   At the email campaign launch,  send to all business contacts along with an introductory message that announces the debut,  explains the benefits to readers,  reveals the frequency (weekly or monthly)  and provides an easy and effective opt-out.  Resist the temptation to add to your list the names of everyone who hands you a business card.  When speaking with people,  do mention your email marketing campaign,  give examples of the subjects covered and how often you send.  Ask if they would like to receive at least one and let them know that if they choose to opt out,  that can be easily and quickly done.

9.   Personalize.  Whatever service sends out your emails should include a greeting to the individual recipient.

10.  Sign me up!  On your website and social media,  allow interested parties to sign up to receive selected email marketing communications,  register for webinars or receive a copy of any white papers.

Content marketing is the new advertising and emailing your content is the best way to reach clients and prospects who no longer answer the phone.  Create a viable list by continually adding and purging members to enable your campaigns to deliver optimal ROI.  Draw in readers with relevant content and intriguing subject lines.  Format in responsive design to include those who prefer to read on mobile device.  Fulfill expectations by publishing on a regular schedule.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Fit Freelancer

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What you didn’t know about me is that in addition to bring a Freelance strategy and marketing consultant,  I’ve also been a fitness instructor for the past dozen years.  I became a fitness enthusiast on my 21st birthday.  On that day I realized that the clock was ticking and that it would make sense to do whatever was possible to preserve and protect my health and strength.

I ran one mile.  I made myself drink 8 glasses of water (a substance that I loathed) and promised myself to drink at least that amount every day.  I began to eat vegetables other than corn,  spinach or peas.  Soon thereafter I became a vegetarian and followed that regimen for about 15 years,  reintroducing meat to my diet only after peer-reviewed studies showed that red meat is a beneficial component of our diets,  providing the best source of protein and facilitating the absorption of minerals.

There are now thousands of studies that focus on wellness,  that is the benefits of regular exercise,  a healthy diet,  adequate sleep and supportive relationships.   Over the past 15 years or so,  psychologists and other social scientists have learned that regular exercise does much more than improve our physical beings.  Exercise impacts the way we think.  Statistically significant cognitive benefits of regular exercise include:

  • Improved concentration
  • Enhanced creativity
  • Faster learning
  • Sharper memory
  • Greater mental stamina
  • Lower stress

Regular exercise (defined here as three or four 45-minute workouts/week;  one mile swims/week;  or two-mile runs/week) has also been shown to boost self-confidence and cause our central nervous systems to produce endorphins and serotonin,  chemicals that are natural mood elevators.  Exercise makes us think more efficiently,  work more effectively and feel happier,  more confident and less stressed.  May I add self-discipline to the list of exercise benefits?  It takes real discipline to pull oneself out of bed at 4:45 AM on a freezing January morning and venture out into the icy darkness a few minutes later,  en route to the gym.

Surprisingly,  the time of day that we exercise matters and according to researchers,  daytime is best.  A 2008 study revealed that exercising during work hours (or before the work day) improves the ability to manage time;  increases one’s productivity; improves our interactions with colleagues; and leaves us still feeling good as we head home at the end of the day.

I will concur.  I always did my runs in the early morning and eventually,  I came to prefer early morning exercise classes.  I like to get my workout done before the events of the day have a chance to derail my schedule and I love the energy blast that early morning exercise gives me.  What a feeling of accomplishment I have as I waltz out of the health club door at 8:15 AM,   showered and dressed and ready to take on the day!

Regular exercise benefits everyone and I feel it is especially beneficial for Freelance consultants and business owners.  For us,  achieving and maintaining mental and physical stamina are a must.  Researchers offer a few suggestions that will support those of you who are about to introduce fitness into your lives:

  • Find a physical activity that you like,  because you will not continue otherwise.
  • Get a trainer and/or take fitness classes.  Commit to learning how to work out in a way that maximizes the benefits and minimizes the risk of injury
  • Get social.  Talk to people and make friends at your gym.
  • Join a team if you like team sports.  You will be compelled to practice (exercise) and play (more exercise).

I offer you my suggestions,  based on many years of gym membership and 12 + years of teaching fitness:

  • Join a gym that is convenient to your home or office,  to make it easy for you to get there.
  • Early morning is probably the most convenient time to exercise.  Develop your early morning exercise routine in spring time,  when mornings are brighter and waking up will be easier.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Customer Data: Collecting and Utilizing

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Big data and data mining are buzzwords that have echoed frequently in the business press during the past three or four  years.   The noise level has caused business leaders to feel obligated to collect data from as many customer interactions as possible.   OK,  that’s very ambitious of them,  but now what? There is a lot of talk about big data and data mining and increasingly there is some action,  but the dust has not yet settled.  Many organizations are struggling with how to interpret,  utilize and store the copious amounts of customer data now in their possession.

Customer information is always useful,  but does data collection have meaning for small businesses and Freelance solopreneurs?  What information should a Freelancer collect and what do we do with it once we have it?  Do big data and data mining have any use for the little people?  The answer is yes,  but no.  Big data and data mining are of most use to the bigger players,  who use the costly to acquire information to fine-tune product offers to millions of current and potential customers.

Freelancers and small business owners can start with their client list.  Who has done business with you over the past five years? Who are your repeat customers?  What do they buy from you and when do they buy it?  If you have not done business with a B2B or B2G client in the past two years,  is your contact still at the organization and is s/he still in the same position? Are B2C physical and email addresses current?  Visit company websites and view the staff lists to confirm email addresses,  telephone numbers and job titles.

Customer data might give you ideas on how to improve customer service,  cause you to re-think your pricing strategy,  or help you to discover unexpected talking points for your next email marketing campaign or monthly newsletter.  Your customer data might prompt you to reconsider good customers of years past and get you thinking about how to win them back.  Updated customer information will make it easy for you to send out holiday cards in December to your B2B and B2G clients and do some relationship-building,  an important element of customer retention.

Online customer surveys that are accessible on your website and also emailed to your customer list have the potential to bring in still more useful customer data.  Learn how to devise a survey that makes it easy for customers to share the information that you want.  Keep the questions simple and don’t ask more than 10 to achieve the highest rate of participation.  Freelancers may also want to send out post-project surveys with the final invoice.

Social media outlets are another excellent source of customer data.  Social media have a way of bringing out uncensored thoughts and you might be surprised by what you learn.  Are your customers willing to engage with you on Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn or Twitter?  Will any join in a Google + Hangout and join in a voice and video live chat?

Collecting data from many touch points is potentially very useful for every business entity,  but what you make of it and do with it are what matters.  Freelancers and small business owners can use customer info to improve revenue by way of expanding billable hours or sales of current customers;  re-establishing business with lapsed customers;  new customer acquisition and relationship-building.  Small data can yield big results when properly interpreted and utilized.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

 

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The Risks and Rewards of Time Management Triage

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As of September 22 at 10:30 PM,  Summer 2014 ended and Autumn officially began.  September is a hectic month for many,  as projects that have been in limbo since June,  because completion would require more time and energy than the principals could muster during July and August,  are resumed.  September is when you pick up the thread and work toward a pre-Christmas victory.  It is time for you to evaluate both work responsibilities and social invitations and decide who and what are worth your scarce time and energy.

One must learn to triage,  as emergency room physicians and nurses do,  and give ourselves permission to prioritize and move forward with what has either value or consequences and ignore what and whom are a waste of time or a low-risk write-off.  Following this strategy is not without its own set of consequences and depending on who is tugging at your sleeve,  things can get uncomfortable.  Please,  allow me to rant for a minute.

At various times in my life,  I’ve had the misfortune of interacting with one or more disrespectful,  manipulative,  boundary-crashing and supremely entitled time-sucking vampires who shamelessly and relentlessly took every opportunity to control my time and hence,  my life.  These were personal relationships and thankfully not work relationships,  but the scenario was no less stressful just because a paycheck and professional advancement were not at stake.  I am inclined to believe that women encounter this problem more often than do men.  Sadly,  both women and men will disrespect women on a regular basis.

Be advised that failing to triage one’s time also entails consequences.  The only way to have the time to fulfill important responsibilities and also participate in activities that you enjoy is to neutralize the time-suckers.  It will not be easy.  These folks are determined to get their way and they do not give up without a fight.  Expect wheedling and pestering and be prepared for possible escalation to accusations,  emotional blackmail,  harassment,  lies and guilting.  Whatever you do,  never give in to a campaign for attention and control.

But I am getting melodramatic here.  The situation is not always so heavy.  It’s just that you must recognize that you are not obligated to do everything that you’ve been asked to do,  because it’s impossible.  Your first qualifier is doing what will bring consequences if you ignore it.  Taxes come to mind,  along with deadlines for important work projects.  Activities and special occasions that involve your children and spouse will closely follow in priority and and events that involve your parents,  siblings and close friends will occupy the next tier.

Less pressing work projects,  volunteer commitments,  acquaintances and relatives whom you like are the next level down and anyone after that can take a number.   You may decide to decline or ignore their requests because quite honestly,  they are not sufficiently important to you.  If Uncle Stanley is a mean-spirited idiot who enjoys undermining people,   why would you waste time going to his birthday party?  Do not let your mother guilt you into it.

According to Ed Battista,  executive coach and instructor at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA,  the key to making time management triage work is acknowledging the emotional aspects involved in saying no or ignoring people.  Attempting to assume an intellectual approach may not be useful,  for reasons that I’ve mentioned above.  The time-suckers are masters of arm-twisting and no one wants to be portrayed as cold and callous.

Battista recommends that we must aim to expand our comfort with discomfort.  Difficult emotions and awkward  “scenes”  will no doubt have to be managed in the triage process and that is a by-product of our need to control and allot our time and energy as we see fit.  Among the skills that may be helpful is acquiring the vocabulary to communicate how overwhelmed our current responsibilities make us feel and how the prospect of additional obligations will make us feel.  The line of people demanding attention may be long,  but we must learn to say a kind,  but firm “no” when it makes sense to do so.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Know the Stakeholders, Close the Deal

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Freelance consultants,  business owners and sales professionals rise,  fall and are measured on our ability to make sales and form strategic alliances that supply vital revenue to the businesses we represent.  To get those deals done,  we rely on stakeholders within the prospective client’s organization to advocate for us.  While there is but one signature on the proposal contract,  there are always powerful influencers whom the decision-maker is inclined to consult.  To successfully close an important deal,  you must identify the three types of stakeholders who powerfully influence important buying decisions: champions,  decision-makers and blockers.  Learn the motivations of these stakeholders and figure out what is on the line for them if the deal goes through,  or is allowed to fade away.

Step 1 is getting your foot in the door,  the first hurdle of the deal.  Step 1 requires that you enlist a project champion,  for it is s/he who invites you to pursue the deal and helps you achieve Step 2,  learning the identities of whom you must convince or outwit.  Your champion knows the decision-maker for the deal and will facilitate your access.  The champion influences the decision,  but s/he is not the decision-maker.  Some champions have relatively little power within the organization.  What they do have is the respect and the ear of the decision-maker.

Paul Weinstein,  an investor and adviser to technology,  media and entertainment companies,  notes that   “Champions understand the personalities and processes on a granular level and can navigate the culture in an organization.”  Weinstein also points out that the primary motivation of the champion is often status.  Champions want their colleagues and superiors to know that they not only can recognize an innovative opportunity when it appears,  they also have the ingenuity and power to build support and get approval.

The champion is typically at a point in his/her career where risks can be taken.  S/he is deeply invested in getting the deal signed.  The key to working effectively with the champion is to collaborate on a strategy and convince the decision-maker to green-light the proposal.

While champions are comfortable with risk,  decision-makers are invariably risk-averse.  They are C-suite executives who have the power to say yes or no to big deals and they will be held accountable for the final outcome.  Their name would be on the contract and if the deal goes sour,  it would be their reputation  (or possibly their job)  on the line. Because this individual has a lot to lose,  the anxiety level associated with the decision to give thumbs up or down will be in exact proportion to the level of expected scrutiny  (and embarrassment)  should they pass on a deal that subsequently brings big profits to a competitor,   or sign off on a deal that proves to be unfortunate.

Be aware that the decision-maker is unlikely to actually use whatever it is you’re selling,  or even know much about it.  Decision-makers focus on macro issues.  They rely on others to help them reach decisions,  because they don’t have time to immerse themselves in the details of anything other than big picture issues.  They will understand a strategic alliance,  however.

Win over your decision-maker by working with your champion to supply credible evidence that portrays the deal as a winner that will make him/her look good.   Help your champion to help the decision-maker perform due diligence by providing third-party validation,  analyses and other data that refutes all naysayers,  meaning the blockers.

We perceive blockers as haters and sometimes that is true.  Blockers seldom have the power to say yes,  but they do have the power to persuade decision-makers to say no.  Like champions,  blockers are also motivated by status.  They use the power of their relationship with and access to the decision-maker in a negative way and pour on the doubt to undermine and discredit you and your proposal.  Be advised that your blocker may be a sworn enemy of your champion and that s/he may be most willing to play dirty.  Your blocker may have a competing proposal for which s/he is champion,  his/her own bid to impress the higher-ups.

Paul Weinstein urges that you take blockers very seriously and strive to either win them over to your way of thinking or devise with your champion a method to neutralize their complaints.  If there is no personal enmity between your champion and the blocker,  then relevant and credible third-party support should rectify the problem.

In summary,  Weinstein says  “the secret to closing deals lies in mastering this balance.  If you can support your champion,  coax your blocker and  convince your decision-maker,  you’re golden.  Each of the three stakeholders brings a unique set of motivations to the table.  Your job is to understand them in order to align their interests and get the deal done.”

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

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The Buying Process Is In Effect

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In 2012,  the global research and advisory firm Forrester Research reported that clients are as totally in the driver’s seat as we all knew anecdotally and that product and service providers have much less influence over purchasing behaviors than we enjoyed a decade or two ago.  We have left the era of the sales process and entered the realm of the buying process.  It is time to readjust your approach to marketing and sales in response to the new reality,  because what was will never be again.  Our clients are making decisions largely without our input.  Many sales professionals and consulting specialists aim to present ourselves as  “trusted advisers”  who guide the sales process and influence customer choices,  ideally for the good.  Say goodbye to all that.

According to the Forrester report,  clients now discuss product and service needs and options with their own team of trusted advisers,  which may include unknown third-party  “experts”  they find on websites like Yelp and Angie’s List.  How far along in the buying process that clients proceed without us varies by industry,  but the report indicates that 65% -90%  of the research process is often completed without assistance from sales professionals or consulting service providers.  By the time the client is ready to make a purchase,  much up-front research has usually been done and only vendor price quotes are needed.

Clients like the control of being in the driver’s seat.  A mistrust of sales practices perceived as unsavory,  combined with access to technologies that allow clients to rather easily research product and service needs once they’ve been identified,  are the driving forces behind the client independence.  Many are leery of being manipulated into paying for upgrades and add-ons that do nothing for their objectives.

In the flip from sales process to buying process,  your marketing strategy will become more prominent and your approach to sales will change.  Your marketing must first create visibility and awareness,  so that prospective clients will find your firm’s offerings and second,  create and sustain demand through exquisitely targeted messages and narratives dispensed through channels that clients trust and follow.  Content marketing will continue to grow in influence as it is distributed through your website and all social media outlets that clients trust.

Develop your content marketing to explore and discuss motivating factors that compel prospective clients to research your products and services,  solutions that you provide and benefits that clients receive,  frequently asked questions and how to buy from you.  As has long been said in academic circles,  publish or perish.  When not generating content,  do what you can to get in front of an audience and teach a workshop,  moderate a panel,  or give a presentation and further your brand as a source of expertise.  Remember also that traditional media outlets may still be important to your clients,  so the art of the press release should not be forgotten.

Whither the role of sales?  Rather than being reduced to mere order takers,  consulting service providers and sales professionals will apply their well-honed communications expertise to identifying networking opportunities and building relationships.  Content is king and having lots of good things that demonstrate your expertise come up in a search is a wonderful thing,  but in my town,  no one hires anyone that they don’t know.  If a prospect does not already know you,  then an introduction made by someone whom the prospective client trusts is the next best thing.  No amount of artfully written content will convince anyone to hire an unknown.

Networking will be the queen,  as you meet potential clients and referral sources and take the time to build relationships,  taking an interest in others’ concerns and offering to give before you receive.  The B2B buying process is a tall order for a Freelance consultant,  but we are determined to succeed and we will rise to the challenge.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Survival Strategies , , Leave a comment

Working Hard to Work Smart

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Yoo-hoo,  wake up!  Labor Day is behind us and it’s time to get serious about business.  Our Summer reverie is over until next year.  As inspiration,  I will speak with you about  “working smart”  vs. “working hard”.  That dichotomy has roamed through the popular press for quite some time,  but experience tells me that it is a straw man argument.  In reality,  if you want to be successful and realize your dreams and ambitions,  you are going to work both hard and  smart.  It has never been either or.  It’s both.

Working smart means prioritizing and devoting scarce time and resources to people and projects that deliver results.  Some ideas and activities are very appealing at first glance,  but either they do not have the potential to pan out in the way you would like or you lack the resources to bring about the desired outcome.  Research and analysis shows that time and money would be wasted there,  so you move on.

Effective hard work requires one to work smart.  There are 24 hours in a day and we do need time to sleep and eat,  as well as attend to responsibilities other than work.  Not everything can be outsourced.  The willingness and discipline to roll out of bed at 5:00 AM and work productively until 10:00 PM or even later may be the sweat equity one needs to invest to make the concept viable and sustainable.

Founder of the hardware and software integration company MicroSolutions and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team Mark Cuban knows all about working hard and making sacrifices.  Those behaviors supported him as he built MicroSolutions into a $30 million business.  In his role on the ABC-TV reality show Shark Tank,  the billionaire angel investor has found that aspiring entrepreneurs who have the discipline to learn more about their product,  their business model,  prospective customers,  the marketplace and the competition have the greatest chance for creating a successful enterprise.  He claims that money and connections are not as important as one might think  (I beg to differ on that point).   Cuban goes on to say that if you fail,  decipher what went wrong,  re-group and re-launch.

Cuban also cautions against constantly designing your products and services to give the customer what they say they want.  He advises business owners to solicit customer opinions about what could be made to function better and make doing business with you easier,  but to avoid relying on customer opinions to create future offerings.  Cuban points out that creating the road map to the future is the business owner’s job.  One stays in business by offering products and services to the customer that they don’t know they want until you give it to them.

But understand that hard work,  smart work and study won’t guarantee that you’ll create a successful business,  either.   Contrary to Cuban’s assertions,  connections count  (especially in the  intangible services arena,  where word-of-mouth is powerful);  money counts  (especially when funding the development of a product);  and good luck and timing count  (he may agree with these last factors).  Vision,  ingenuity and risk calculation also matter and these will impact your luck and timing.   Also,  let us not underestimate the momentum-building power of your absolute belief in your product or service and your ability to communicate that passion and enthusiasm to prospective customers and investors.

I leave you with a quote about working hard from Alexis Ohanian,  co-founder of the social news website reddit  and author of Without Their Permission  (2013) “I was willing to burn the candle at both ends.”

Thanks for reading,
Kim