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Case Study and Client Success Story

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It is cause for celebration when your Freelance consulting expertise helps a client to achieve important objectives.  In previous postings I’ve recommended that you add to your website,  LinkedIn or Google +  sites case studies,  which are client success stories,  to demonstrate how you work with clients and the excellent outcomes that are realized when you arrive on the scene.

Business strategy development,  facilitation of business strategy meetings and marketing campaign development  (that is sometimes the result of a business strategy meeting that I’ve facilitated)  are my consulting specialties.  Special event and conference planning,  along with event marketing PR,  is an important niche market.  Also,  I develop curriculum and present workshops in business plan writing,  sales skills training and networking skills training.   My client list consists of small and medium-sized for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and except for teaching,  I connect with clients through referrals and personal introductions.

"Cooling Water"

“Cooling Water”

In November 2011,  a friend introduced me to the artist.  She is mixed-media collage painter and occasionally,  she sculpts brightly colored decorative bowls.  Her work had been featured in a small local museum that is far from the tourist areas and in solo or group shows in modest art galleries.  Over the years,  the artist had received several opportunities to enhance her career,  but she was often unable to follow-up and many slipped through her fingers.  Members of the creative class tend to have little energy available for business strategy and marketing.

She sold a few original paintings and her prints and decorative bowls sold reasonably well,  as did the greeting cards that featured images of her paintings.  The artist had recently earned a career victory,  when she was named the coordinator for a community arts initiative that is based at her alma mater.  She asked to meet with me.

We discussed her primary goal,  identified potentially promising opportunities and made a list of objectives that would serve as milestones.  Solo and group shows at more prestigious galleries,  an exciting offer to illustrate a children’s book published by a small local house and the formal launch of the arts project of which is coordinator were the defining objectives.

A business strategy and marketing campaign that would guide her choice of projects to accept or pursue,  to advance the primary goal of upgrading her brand and attracting higher-end collectors,  was developed and implemented.  Integral to the campaign was a revised marketing message and PR communications strategy.

The ArtMobile encourages local children to be creative

The ArtMobile encourages children’s creativity

Good results came quickly and serendipitous fortune appeared.  The university agreed to sponsor a big launch party for the arts project.  Outreach to the local cable television network led to the artist’s appearance on a talk show.  Two gallery shows were scheduled and offers for two more came in,  when gallerists who had been acquainted with her work,  but had not been moved to offer her a show,  learned of her affiliation with the community arts project.

One of those galleries is located in Martha’s Vineyard,  in the town where the President and First Lady,  who are known to be art lovers,  vacation.  The artist’s paintings sold well in Summer 2012 and she was invited to show her work there again this summer.  We have our fingers crossed and hope that the Obamas visit the gallery.

To review and evaluate the book illustration contract,  I referred to the artist an acquaintance of mine who is an intellectual property attorney and he gave the thumbs-up.  Because the book is based on a historical figure,  the artist felt that period research would be essential to her creative process.

I contacted a local college that has a well-regarded library and information science master’s degree program.  Within two weeks,  I was able to speak with four potential candidates who both concentrate on that period and have an interest in art.  I sent them to the artist for interviews and she hired two: one to perform research for the book and the other to catalogue her archive of paintings.

On the evening of July 3,  the artist hosted a large opening reception and birthday party at a restaurant that is now displaying several of her prints.  I contacted a pastry chef and asked him to create a special cake for the occasion,  a cake that depicted one of the artist’s paintings in butter cream frosting.  He chose to portray  “Never Walk Alone”.  A local newspaper was contacted and the editor sent a photographer.  Guests were wowed by the cake.  It was beautiful to behold and delicious!

The artist and the pastry chef

The artist, the pastry chef and the cake

The crowning milestone achievement was reached on July 16, 2013,  when the artist was sworn in as a committee member of the Boston Arts Commission,  a 123-year-old agency that chooses the art that will be displayed on City of Boston property.  This prestigious honor is a 5 year appointment.  The artist was nominated for the appointment by the arts association in the neighborhood where she has lived since childhood.  She leads art walk tours that highlight the distinctive architecture,  cultural institutions and public art in her neighborhood.

Swearing-in at the Boston Arts Commission

Swearing-in at the Boston Arts Commission

Signing appointment documents

Signing her appointment documents

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Professional Development , , , Leave a comment

Escape From Power Point Purgatory

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Presentations are an excellent way to sell yourself and your product or service.  The late Steve Jobs of Apple Computer was famous for delivering presentations that  never failed to inform,  educate,  inspire and entertain his listeners.

Overwhelmingly,  presentations mean Power Point,  no matter the number of obituaries written on its behalf.  Power Point continues to dominate,  despite the presentation capabilities of the iPad tablet  (sorry, Steve).  The challenge is to avoid the tendency to use Power Point as a teleprompter and leverage its advantages.

The secret to working with Power Point is to keep things simple.  Venture capitalist and author Guy Kawasaki  (“The Art of the Start”, 2004)  says  “A Power Point presentation should have no more than 10 slides,  should last no longer than 20 minutes and should contain no font smaller than 30 points.”  Communications coach,  author and popular keynote speaker Carmine Gallo likewise advises that 20 minutes is the ideal maximum length of a presentation,  based on research by neuroscientists from the University of Kentucky,  who found that attention spans drop precipitously after that time.

Every presentation is a story,  a narrative that has a beginning,  middle and end.  When invited to present to a client,  frame the story that is your presentation as a challenge.   After you’ve told your listeners who you are and established your expertise,  begin your talk by describing that challenge.  Next,  highlight any major obstacles that might impede success and then explain the solution you will deliver to resolve the matter.  In conclusion,  give a concise summary to reinforce the key take-away points.   Ask for the business and take questions.

Regarding the design of your slides,  experts recommend that you keep those simple,  too.  Janet Bornemann,  who designs Power Point presentations for corporate clients and is the creative director at PowerPoint Studio in Acton, MA,  recommends that when making slides,  think 5 x 5:  five lines per slide and five words per line. “It is very important for the mind to be able to rest on an idea or thought,  so if it’s a constant flow of words,  people will grow tired”,  she observes.

Treat your slides and the presentation overall as an extension of your brand,  your image,  like any of your marketing collaterals.  There shall be no clip art and no jazzy slide transitions.  Your presentation convey that you are capable, trustworthy,  confident and professional.  Bornemann says,  “Be consistent with colors and fonts.  Focus on the message—everything has to have a reason.”

Jim Confalone,  founder and creative director of ProPoint Graphics cautions against the overuse of charts and graphs and advises that any art and charts you include must be integral to the story and move the narrative forward.   Some presentation experts feel that the first slide should show a startling fact about the challenge the client is facing,  some attention-grabbing adverse outcome that the client must overcome and that captures the reason for hiring you.

Do not bury your listeners with minute details.  They will probably remember only three or four key points.  Leave your audience of decision-makers with a sense of your expertise,  your ability to produce the deliverable; describe the primary benefits derived by the organization if your solution is chosen to resolve the challenge that is the project; and let them know that you give excellent customer service and will respond to their needs and fulfill or exceed expectations.

Finally,  muster the discipline to rehearse your presentation and then rehearse some more.   Jim Confalone says that the number of hours it takes to create the presentation equals the number of hours you’ll need to adequately rehearse.  In order  to shine,  you’ve got to know the thing cold.  One does not read from the slides, ever.  Know your material,  be enthusiastic and connect with your audience and exude confidence.  You might even enjoy yourself!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Sales , , 3 Comments

Transform No Into Yes

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Here is the scenario: Percolating in your brain is an idea for an interesting initiative that you are certain will work well in the organization of a good and steady client.  You figure that you may be able to sell them on it and create a paying project for yourself.  You speak with a couple of people and identify the decision-maker and key influencers.  You vet your idea through an influencer,  who supports it and gives you the green light to approach the primary decision-maker.  You make the appointment.

Over coffee,  you make your pitch.  The decision-maker is pleasant,   yet starts backing away from your concept,  even though you’ve verified its usefulness via your influencer.  How do you get to the heart of your client’s objections,  successfully overcome them,  save the sale and get paid?

The late,  great sales guru Zig Ziglar,  motivational speaker and author of several sales training books,  once said that every sale has five obstacles: no need,  no money,  no hurry,  no desire and no trust.  The Freelance consultant as salesperson’s  job is to uncover and overcome whatever mix of these objections and persuade the client that the proposal is worthwhile and will make the client look good to superiors and peers.

Realize that  “no” does not always mean  “no”.   Sometimes clients say no when there is limited time and energy available to evaluate what has been proposed.  The need may be relevant,  but other matters take precedence and your proposal is not perceived as urgent.  As a result,  the decision-maker is not inclined to address the issue in the near future and it is easier to decline.

Alternatively,  you may not deliver a sales pitch that inspires either desire or trust (confidence).  Homework may have been done to confirm the need and identify key players,  but it is still necessary to communicate a narrative that will convince the decision-maker to take that leap of faith and put him/herself on the line for your proposal.

Budget constriction is another frequent objection,  regardless of the state of the economy.  When conferring with your influencer,  it is always important to find out if  there is available budget to support your proposal and also gauge what will motivate your decision-maker to petition for funding.

When selling,  it is necessary to present the details that the client needs and wants to make the decision,  no more and no less.    It is important not to give too much information,  or you could confuse the client or open up a can of worms that will turn on you.  Neither can one be vague.  Give all relevant information and express it clearly and concisely.  Describe the benefits that you expect will be important to the client and paint a picture of what’s in it for him/her.

Steve Strauss,  business attorney and columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine and USA Today newspaper,  recommends that you  diplomatically let the client know that you know your proposal is a good one for the organization because you’ve taken the time to verify its usefulness.  Don’t immediately fold your tent if the client hesitates or declines.

Instead,  ask if there is any additional information you can provide,  or some other accommodation you can make to allow him/her to feel  comfortable with approving the deal.   Show the client that  you are prepared to confront and resolve questions and doubts.  You might save the sale and even if you don’t,  you may be able to position yourself to successfully get another proposal approved when timing and funding are on your side.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Plan Now to Make More Money

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At last,  Summer is officially here.  Bright sunshine and abundant flowers do wonders for my mood,  yet the season does my wallet no favors.  Clients wrap up projects by June 30 and teaching opportunities grow scarce.  When it comes to paying bills, well…..But rather than grind my teeth,  I’ve learned that it is far more productive to make use of the down time.  Two activities headline my Summer to-do list:

1.  Professional development:  Sign up for a course or webinar,  attend a symposium,  read a business book or two

2.  Position myself to make more money:  Examine my client list,  marketing strategies and pricing structure and figure out which of those factors needs tweaking.  Meet with a prospect I’ve had my eye on over the past few months.

If you’ve been trying to meet up with a certain prospect,  Summer is usually the time to try to get to him/her,  because so many of us are less busy at this time of year.  Do what you can to make contact with that person.  If you have identified this person as a good prospect but you haven’t met,  you may know or surmise where he/she goes for business networking.  Get on the list and get your body in the door.  If possible,  recruit someone who commands respect to make an introduction,  so you will have a good endorsement and look more trustworthy.  If you’ve already made contact,  ring up your prospect and schedule lunch or coffee.  People are often more relaxed in Summer,  so you’re likely to have your best opportunity to build a relationship that leads to doing business.

While you’re thinking about prospective clients,  revisit your marketing strategy and confirm that you are reaching those who have both motive and money to hire you.  The essence of your marketing strategy is to know how to portray yourself favorably to the clients on your wish list.  That sounds so obvious it’s ridiculous,  but many Freelancers do not know who has the greatest potential to become their best clients or how to make themselves known to those in that group.  According to the 2012 Freelance Industry Report,  only 28%  of Freelancers who spend less than 2 hours/week on marketing bill at $70.00 + per hour,  while 41%  of Freelancers who spend 20+ hours/week on marketing bill at $70.00 + per hour.

Considering that a 2010 survey by the Freelancers Union revealed that 29%  of Freelance consultants earned less than $25,000.00 a year and 58%  earned less than $50.000.00 a year,  one can assume that not many are billing at $70.00 + per hour and if they are,  they’re receiving rather few hours.  Therefore,  consistently spending even two hours/week on marketing can reap tangible benefits,  since it has been demonstrated to have a direct correlation to your billable hourly rate,  if not the number of hours one is able to bill out.  (I wonder who has 20 hours/week to spend on marketing? )

Furthermore the busier you become,  the less attractive it is to keep low-paying and/or difficult clients on your roster,  because you will be unable to afford to keep them there.  Scarce time will also make you feel confident enough to ask current clients for a price increase as well.  Make time to do more marketing by dropping any difficult or low-rent clients and use that space to perfect and execute your marketing strategy.

To give yourself some inspiration check out free webinars,  if you’re unable to afford a course or a conference.  Those of you with teaching or speaking experience might even be invited to become a presenter.  I presented the webinar  “A Business Plan for Your Nonprofit”  on April 24 through Nonprofit Webinars  http://nonprofitwebinars.com/past_webinars/a-business-plan-for-your-nonprofit  .  Marketing strategies will be different for every category of service,  but robust marketing must be on the calendar of every Freelancer if we expect to connect with clients who are willing to pay us what we are worth.

Thanks for reading.  Have a happy 4th of July holiday.

Kim

 

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Early Birds Rule the Worlds

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I am a morning person.  One of the ways that I generate the predictable cash flow that most Freelance consultants need as we wait for contracts to come in and invoices to be paid is teach fitness.  Five mornings a week,  I teach fitness and on three of those mornings I teach at 6:30 AM.  On the weekends I teach at 9:00 AM.

I despise getting out of bed at 5:00 AM when it is pitch black,  which unfortunately is the story of my life for about eight months of the year.  Yet I enjoy waking early to the bright dawns that the Summer Solstice brings.  At this time of year,  I have no need for the alarm clock.  Once I’ve taught my fitness class,  I am free to do my  “real”  work.  Pulling myself out of bed in early morning darkness is torture,  but getting an early start on the day is well worth the sacrifice.

Christoph Randler,  professor of biology at the University of Education in Heidelberg,  Germany says that people whose performance peaks in the morning are more proactive and more productive than those whose performance peaks in the evening.  As a result,  early risers typically excel in school and often do well in business.  “When it comes to business success,  morning people hold the important cards”,  says Professor Randler.

His research indicates that because morning people are more proactive,  they are more successful in their professionals lives.  Early risers are better at anticipating problems and devising solutions to minimize them.  The larks in Randler’s studies mostly agreed with the statements  “I feel in charge of making things happen”  and  “I spend time making long-range goals for myself”.  Morning types are more likely to take action and change a situation to their advantage.

Night owls who wake up when the sun has long since risen are not necessarily life’s losers,  however.  Some studies show that they’re smarter and more creative.  Still,  since ancient times,  early risers have been closely associated with higher productivity and success.  Aristotle said  “It is well to be up before daybreak,  for such habits contribute to health,  wealth and wisdom”.   I will add that we larks are a highly disciplined lot and as evidence I point not to myself,  who is paid to show up,  but to the fitness center members who take my 6:30 AM classes and also to those who arrive at 5:30 AM,  regardless of the weather.

Is it possible for an evening person to successfully become a morning person?  “Somewhat”,  says Professor Randler.  Much of the lark or owl tendency is genetic.  Before I began teaching fitness,  I was a fitness center member who for 15 years worked out in the evenings.  When a favorite instructor began teaching at 7:00 AM,  I decided to give it a try.  Lucky for me,  the change was made during the Spring schedule.  The days were getting longer and that eased my transition.  It would have been much more difficult to make the change if the days were getting shorter.

As I noted I’m a natural morning person,  but let me tell you that there is morning and then there is early  morning and the two are not interchangeable.  For those who claim that you “get used to it”  after a while,  I reply that for three months of the year,  when it is bright at 5:00 AM,  I prize the early morning.   But for most of the year,  waking up in darkness remains as difficult now as it was 12 years ago,  when I switched to early morning workouts.

But like the classic lark,  I am disciplined and I make long-range goals for myself.  The feeling I have when walking to the showers at 7:35 AM,  knowing that my moonlighting job  has been completed for that day,  is great.  The energy boost I get from the work-out puts me in the frame of mind to charge into the day and do business.  Together,  these  value-added benefits outweigh the unpleasantness of leaving my warm,  soft bed,  even on cold January mornings and give me the resolve to do it all over again the next day,  whatever the weather.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Millennial Client

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The Millennial Generation has arrived and they are hotly pursued.  Millennials represent the future and everyone wants a piece of the 21 – 35 year-old market segment.  While prospecting,  you may have encountered a Millennial gatekeeper,  the boss’s young assistant.  Those in their early thirties will also be decision-makers,  so it’s time to make sure that your marketing message and sales strategy are appropriately tailored.

Millennials have been even more heavily chased by Corporate America than Baby Boomers.  They grew up in the age of product tie-ins to books and movies,  video games,  24 hour television,  music videos,  social media and cell phones.  They have been on the receiving end of 360 degree media bombardment for their entire lives.  As a result,  they excel at picking apart a marketing message.  They respond to what they feel is an authentic story about a product and they do not want a slick marketing message.

Michele Serro,  former associate partner at IDEO,  a design and innovation firm and founder of Doorsteps,  a New York City-based online tool for prospective homeowners that targets Millennials,  has done extensive research on this generation.  Serro found that for Millennials,  the marketing message is nearly inseparable from the product itself.

She found that to influence this cohort,  a holistic marketing approach is necessary and authenticity is essential.  “Millennials can sense when they’re being marketed to or told a story”,  Serro says,  “and they are extremely impatient with irrelevant information.”  A  “canned”  sales spiel will get you nowhere with Millennial decision-makers.  If they feel that your message is false,  you will be labeled as untrustworthy and that will be a deal breaker.

Your sales pitch should be the story of your product: a believable narrative that explains what your product does,  who your service is meant to benefit and how what you’re selling will help your Millennial decision-maker resolve or avoid a problem,  make the organization look good,  or service their organizations’ customers more effectively.

Because they’ve been forever immersed in social media,  Millennials are accustomed to interacting directly with the purveyors of the products and services that they use.  Facilitate that expectation of engagement:

1.  Make the text on your website read like a conversation and design your ads to reflect the content marketing style,  which is also conversational in tone.  Your message will be somewhat personal and casual.  It will allow your Millennial client to connect with,  understand and trust what you’re selling.

2.  Respect their intelligence and never dumb-down your message.  Millennials are ambitious,  as evidenced by their heroes Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.  Present your information in a fast-paced way that has some whimsy.  You can be sincere or you can be clever.

3.  Work with their short attention spans and spread your message via tweets,  a constantly updated interactive website,  regularly updated blog posts,  YouTube and podcasts and content marketing type ads.  Make all postings smart phone friendly.

4.  Give them the opportunity to engage with your brand.  Start a dialogue that facilitates a conversation and set the stage for product loyalty.  Ask questions they’ll want to answer.  Create meaningful content that focuses on building community.  Not everything should be a sales pitch.

Nancy Robinson,  Vice President at Iconoculture,  a Minneapolis consumer research and advisory firm,  says that Millennials can become your loyal clients. “They’re loyal,  but that loyalty has to be earned and renewed.  They expect customer service,  they expect the product to be good,  they expect the product to work.”

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Adding to Your Value-Added

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If you want to bill clients at premium prices,  you need to establish and present a brand that communicates your value-added as perceived by prospective clients.  In plain English,  you must make clients feel that you are worth the money.

A good brand is very seductive.  Brand loyalty leads people to pay $5.00 for coffee when they could buy perhaps higher-quality brew for $2.00.  It makes women covet $1000.00 + handbags so they can flash a certain designer label,  when handbags of similar quality and attractiveness,  but without the logo,  are available at less than half  that price.

As we continue to explore strategies to expand business,  let’s give some thought to building on authenticity  (see the May 28 post),  using it to strengthen perceived value-added and power of  the brand.  Increases in perceived value are generally more profitable than increases in the quality of services delivered.  Clients are known to pay more for what they think is worth more before they’ll pay for service upgrades.

Successful Freelance consultants deliver first-rate expertise and customer service.  As a marketing strategy,  we can attempt to make ourselves appear worthwhile to prospective clients in a number of ways.  One strategy can be to package ourselves rather lavishly,  handing out expensive business cards,  renting office space in the high-rent district and paying big registration fees to attend prestige conferences.  The premise is,  in order to attract big fish clients,  one must swim in the same waters.

Alternatively,  one may choose the high visibility route and invest scads of time on social media sites,  posting frequently, earning a high Klout score and showing up in the top ten of a Google search.  The premise is,  if one’s name is all over the internet,  then prospective clients will see it and one will then be considered the obvious choice when it is time to hire,  through the power of notoriety and perceived expertise.

Teaching,  speaking engagements and visible involvement in business and professional groups are a third strategy.  The premise here is that professional expertise is demonstrated through these activities and that builds trust and gives prospective clients the incentive to not only hire,  but pay a premium for services rendered.

Whichever strategy you find most attractive,  be mindful that your perceived value will be enhanced when you establish links with individuals and organizations that are admired and respected by your clients.  If you can arrange to be photographed with the mayor or governor,  it will raise your perceived value because you will be seen in the company of movers and shakers.  Membership in certain professional associations or social clubs may also confer significant value.

Professional certifications can do the same,  which is why a Certified Public Accountant can charge two or three times what an accountant with a degree but no special piece of paper can charge for providing nearly identical services.  The CPA designation allows a trust factor to kick in and it’s worth money.   According to Martin Reimann,  professor of Psychology at University of Southern California, the “right” affiliations and relationships bolster one’s perceived value.  They are endorsements of value-added.

My parents often told me when I was growing up that we are judged by the company that we keep.  I took that admonition to heart and picked my friends with care,  especially as I got older and there was more on the line.  The advice applies equally to our professional lives.  If it appears that we have the confidence of those whom prospective clients and referral sources respect,  we are more likely to be hired or referred and better able to charge premium prices for our services.  But it all starts with being authentic.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Getting Good PR

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Every Freelance consultant and business owner has an eye open for good publicity opportunities.  Articles written about one’s business are far more effective than paid advertisements,  because they are considered objective opinions.  Other than word of mouth by satisfied clients who sing your praises,  there is nothing better than good PR to help build the buzz that makes you look credible and successful and worthy of still more business.  So what are the best ways to get good publicity?

If you have the kind of business that can potentially attract more than sporadic media attention,  then building relationships with editors and writers whose publications and stories focus on your category of business is a good use of your time.  Once you’ve identified good media prospects by reading their articles,  send a press release that details an event that would interest.  In your email,  reference an article or two of theirs that you’ve read.  Follow up with a telephone call.  Offer to take that person to lunch or coffee.  Even if your press release doesn’t get you any editorial space,   you may be called to provide comments as an expert when other stories are written.  Check in periodically,  to maintain the relationship.  Meeting for coffee every once in a while can pay off.

Bloggers have lots of influence and it is sometimes a challenge to reach them.  Blog Dash is a site I recently found that helps you connect with bloggers whom you can hire to spread the good word about your business.  Fifteen categories of business are represented,  from arts to travel,  and numerous bloggers within each category can be reached.  There is a free option,  which will give you no real access to bloggers  (but they will see your business and may comment),  or you can pay up to $50.00/month and be able to pitch bloggers directly and build relationships.  http://blogdash.com

Write a good press release  (see my post Press Release Primer,  3.1.11)  to encourage traditional journalists and bloggers to give your story some editorial space.   They are considered old school in some quarters,  but a press release is still the way to get the word out to journalists and bloggers,  whether or not they know you.   But you have to provide good content and 95%  of the time what a Freelancer or other business person has to say is not considered relevant.  Hint:  when one advertises,  one generally receives editorial space.

Solicitations to provide expert opinion or commentary showcase you to look like the go-to in your field.   Help a Reporter Out HARO  http://helpareporter.com and Seek or Shout  http://sos.cision.com  allow you to respond to requests for quotes on any subject,  from big data to the medical device industry.  Three or four years ago I signed up with HARO but I quickly shut this free service off.  I was nearly buried in emails and I couldn’t take it.

It is obvious that the adage  “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”  was created before the dawn of social media.  Social media can cause a minor PR hiccup,  or negative customer review made by a spiteful customer (or maybe a competitor),  to blow up out of proportion and do you some damage.  Resist the temptation to hand over your social media functions to some 22 year old.  In theory,  social media updates ought to be a great responsibility for a young person who lives this stuff anyway, understands how to get the word out and works cheap.   The problem is,  that young person may not have the wherewithal to give the right answer when something challenging is written.

Creating good buzz about your business is part of the Freelance consultant or business owner’s job.  How to get that done in the most effective manner requires a strategic approach,  like all of your other business activities.  If sporadic PR is what your business attracts,  it is best to engage in a variety of activities to ensure that you appear viable and relevant to clients and colleagues.  You may not get written up,  but you will build a good reputation.   If your business is the type that would attract more press,  then spend the time and money to advertise in the relevant publications and build relationships with journalists who cover your kind of business.   Subscribe to have the ability to reach out to bloggers and see what that does for you.  Budget for a year and then evaluate.  Learn to write a good press release  (see my post  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,  3.19.13).

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Authenticity is the Only Personal Brand

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The successful Freelance consultant is acknowledged as an expert and leader in his/her chosen field  by clients,  colleagues and competitors.  This Freelancer has superior skills that are accompanied by integrity;  s/he can be trusted to meet or even exceed expectations.  This individual commands respect because s/he is highly competent,  reliable and credible,  that is to say,  authentic.

Authentic is an adjective that’s thrown around a lot these days and perhaps suffers from overuse,  but I agree with leadership development specialists who assert that a truly effective leader is highly skilled,  trustworthy,  respectful,  communicates well and is unafraid to be him/herself.  A leader embraces the genuine self,  strives to develop and present  the best self and does not waste time trying to be someone else.  For those reasons,  leaders are often considered charismatic and they inspire great loyalty.

Les McKeown,  CEO of Predictable Success,   an adviser on organizational growth and author of  “Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization on the Growth Track and Keeping It There” (2010),  has shared three phrases that will telegraph your authenticity and leadership ability to others.   At some future meeting,  it will make sense for a leader to make at least one of these statements:

“I have nothing to add.”  The confident leader is not in love with the sound of his/her own voice and does not feel compelled to weigh in on every matter.  A leader intuits when everything that is relevant has been expressed,  respects the well-reasoned opinions of others and allows others to take center stage and shine every now and again.

“I don’t understand what you mean by…..”  Authentic leaders admit knowledge gaps and ask for information that will clarify,  so that they can grasp the subject under discussion and promote good decision-making.  They are not driven by a need to appear  expert in all things.

“I recommend that we…..”  A leader recognizes when it is time to make a decision,  whether or not all the facts are in hand.  Usually,  all the facts can never be in hand,  but a leader knows when we must move forward and either take advantage of an opportunity,   head off a crisis,  or cut losses.  An authentic leader takes responsibility to put resources and reputation on the line and make,  or advocate for,  a decision or action.

Role models can be inspiring and show us the way,  but at the end of the day we must be ourselves.  We must be willing to embrace what we believe in,  acknowledge our priorities and articulate our values and vision.  To do so takes confidence,  which is yet another attribute of a leader.   An authentic leader has no desire to present a false  “personal brand”  that may seem trendy at a given moment.  A real leader knows that authenticity is the only worthwhile personal brand and that its value is timeless.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Sales , , 1 Comment

When the Sale Slips Away

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Whether we like it or not,  Freelance consultants are salespeople.  Before we are able to ply our given trade,  we must first sell prospective clients on the idea of hiring us to do what we do,  whether it’s web design or floral design.  Steve W. Martin,  professor of Sales Strategy at University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business,  says that those who sell should be cognizant of the lowest common denominator of decision-making: stress.

Martin observes that stress is the death of rational decision-making.  Stress shortens the attention span,  escalates mental exhaustion and typically results in analysis-paralysis.  Despite the  “buying signals”  that your prospective client may display,  more than likely s/he is experiencing fear and doubt when speaking with you about your product or services.

The stress this creates serves as the key factor in determining whether or not the deal gets done.  The most successful salespeople anticipate,  seek to identify and learn to counteract that stress and enable the sale.  Giving prospective clients information and diplomatically phrased and presented tactical advice that will help them fight against internal organization politics is a useful part of your sales strategy as well.  Here are a couple of more reasons that your sale dies on the vine.

Stalled sales cycle

Customers are more cautious than ever and moving them through the sales process can become an almost Sisyphean task.  Steve W. Martin correctly labels this common phenomenon as an internal problem that occurs when project sponsors do not know how to sell their concept to the senior executives who are able to give the  green light.   Further, certain sales cycles are prone to be lengthy in the best of circumstances.  It is too easy for your contact person/project sponsor to get distracted and turn attention toward developing issues and in the process push your sale to the back burner,  where it drifts into oblivion.  Then there is sometimes reluctance to take responsibility.  As a result,  project sponsors involve more of their co-workers in the decision process and you know what happens when there are too many cooks.

Product information and vendor selection

As we enthusiastically pitch our services,  prospective clients often wonder if we are telling the whole truth.  Compounding that is the reality  (or perception)  that differences between many products and services are almost insignificant.  Buyers are often skeptical because they may have been lied to by previous sales people.  The client may feel that 1). it is necessary to separate fact from fiction when talking with someone who is trying to sell something and 2). it’s pretty much all the same thing anyway.  Selling on service and operational efficiencies and the resulting benefits is the best antidote.  Avoid selling on price if at all possible, because it reduces you to a commodity.

When preparing for your next prospective client meeting,  keep in mind the inevitable presence of stress in your would-be client’s work environment.  They don’t quite know who or what to believe.  They’ve got co-workers,  subordinates and bosses judging them.  They are torn between acting in the best interest of the company and in the best interest of themselves.  There is also the now-prevalent belief that not spending money is best for the organization’s bottom line and no one’s reputation suffers for declining to spend money.  Making no decision just gets easier and easier.

Thanks for reading,

Kim