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Business Books to Read Summer 2011

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Our Summer idyll will end in just a couple of weeks, but there’s still time to squeeze in some all-important professional development and maybe a meeting with a promising prospect, too.  Freelancers cannot afford to merely work hard when September rolls around.  We must also work smart.  I’m lucky to have discovered a trove of worthwhile business books that will make me smarter and I’m happy to pass along my take on what I’ve read.

The books will teach us effective ways to turn prospects into clients (sell only to VITOs),  how to devise business goals and strategies that will ensure our long-term success (because the red ocean is where you’ll drown)  and that  y=f(x) —and how to apply that formula to make both our own and our clients’ business processes operate more efficiently and profitably (what’s your sigma?).

The Borders book chain is going out of business, so why not make the most of that sad event and scoop up a few titles on the cheap? What’s not left on the shelves at Borders can be checked out of your local library.  Get started now on creating both a strong fourth quarter and laying the groundwork for a financially healthy 2012.

The Secrets of VITO: Think and Sell Like a CEO (2002)  Anthony Parinello
If Freelancers expect to convince decision-makers to award us assignments,  it is imperative that we understand what motivates them to hire us.  This astute and sophisticated book helps Freelancers understand the standard concerns,  priorities and mindset of the typical CEO or organization leader.  Learn how to win trust and convey expertise.  Learn smart ways to approach, persuade,  negotiate with and sell to those who can either veto or green-light our projects.

Blue Ocean Strategy (2005)  W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

Blue Oceans represent untapped markets and undiscovered customer preferences.  Who knew they craved Sony’s Walkman or Apple’s iPod until the marketing campaign told them so?  Red Oceans represent mature,  shrinking and highly competitive markets.  Remain there and your business will surely operate in the red and perish. This classic guide to innovative strategy development shows Freelancers,  business owners,  corporate execs and nonprofit organization leaders how to pursue fearless, rational and uncomplicated approaches that will redefine and energize strategic direction,  articulation of the value proposition, the business model and marketing.

Six Sigma for Dummies (2005)  Neil DeCarlo, Craig Gygi and Bruce Williams

Six Sigma is a highly sophisticated and exacting data-driven process improvement system that was originally designed for manufacturing companies.  However,  the system can be successfully applied to service delivery as well,  from hospitals and health clinics to restaurants and financial institutions.  Six Sigma will substantively minimize errors and inefficient practices in product manufacturing and service delivery systems.  The material is complex,  but the book is well-written and very clear.  I found that anyone whose work involves operations,  strategy or finance will benefit from exposure to the basics of Six Sigma, whether or not you become formally trained in its tenets.  You’re bound to gain useful insights on how to accurately measure, assess and streamline the delivery of your organization’s products or services.

Thanks for reading,
Kim

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Summer Reading List 2011

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For just about all of us,  the school year Summer Break meant having fun: hanging out with friends,  going on picnics and trips to the beach,  summer camp and family vacations.  Yet Summer was not all fun.  When I reached high school,  Mom and Dad made sure I got a job every year,  so I would earn some money and learn the habit of saving when they insisted that I bank half of my paycheck each week.

Also,  students at my college-prep public high school were required to read two books  (from the school’s list)  over the Summer and submit a book report for each when we returned to school in September.  I’ve always been an avid reader,  so the reading assignment was never a chore for me  (although I disliked writing the book reports).

This year,  I decided to renew that tradition and get into some business-themed books.  It had been a while since I’d mined that category and I had the appetite to make up for lost time.  Here are three books I’ve read since June.  Maybe you’d like to suggest a few titles that you’ve found to be useful?

TouchPoints  (2011)     Douglas Conant and Mette Norgaard

Freelancers,  corporate execs,  nonprofit organization leaders and business owners all require leadership training.  This excellent and informative book provides first-rate lessons for experienced leaders and those new to the club.  Learn how to create a leadership model that reflects your unique style and values,  rather than merely mimicking a cookie-cutter template.  Learn how communication skills promote leadership skills.  Explore the existential question of why you choose to lead.

Knowing Your Value  (2011)     Mika Brzezinski

Although this book’s intent is to confirm that women deserve to receive appropriate financial reward for their professional gifts and teach them how to successfully negotiate a raise,  salary or contract fee  (and other perks)  that accurately reflect the value they bring to the organization for which they work,  I recommend this useful and enjoyable book for both genders.  The Haves are shamelessly using the weak economy to withhold money from the Have-nots and that means we all need to learn how and when and under what conditions we can respectfully request money and recognition  (plus a good title!).

Black Faces in White Places  (2011)     Randal Pinkett and Jeffrey Robinson

The title of this book is misleading.  It is not primarily a book about survival strategies designed to assist people of color who work in Euro-American dominated environments.  Randal Pinkett was the winning contestant on  “The Apprentice”  in 2005  and he is the only African-American to be named the winner.  The authors do speculate as to why no other  “Apprentice”  winner has ever been asked to consider sharing the prize.  Was it subtle racism?  Only Trump knows.  But who among us has not been treated unfairly at some point?  The authors posit that the most reliable way to triumph in life and business is to deliver excellence and that is the subject of this well-written,  dense and absorbing book.  Pinkett and Robinson  (who run a lucrative consulting firm)  provide a detailed roadmap that is applicable to Freelancers,  business owners and all professionals of all races.  Learn to identify your passions and your purpose,  nurture beneficial relationships,  develop and consistently deliver excellence and give back generously,  to pay it forward and mentor others.

I’ll be back next week with the rest of my Summer reading list.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Launch Your Part-time Business

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Here’s a sampling of part-time business suggestions that will jump start your brainstorming and get ideas flowing for a business you can run while also keeping your nine to five.  Oh,  and do be sure to keep your business activities separate from your job,  meaning,  don’t tell your boss and co-workers what you’re up to.

Baker

First,  decide if you’re a bread baker or a pastry chef: will it be baguettes and croissants,  or cupcakes and pies?  You can sell your wares at neighborhood street fairs and farmer’s markets.  Do some market research and take a tour of local venues,  to see what sells in which marketplace,  at what prices and to which customers.  Check the licensing requirements of your state and city health departments and also find a commercial kitchen to give yourself the capacity for high-volume baking.

Bookkeeper

Those with experience in corporate finance departments,  payroll departments or accounts payable/receivable are the best candidates to set themselves up in a tidy little part-time bookkeeping business.  Brush up on your QuickBooks skills and promote yourself to Freelancers,  churches and small businesses.  Join your neighborhood business association to meet potential clients.

Caterer

Are you a fabulous cook who knows how to serve and present food elegantly and efficiently?  Does the prospect of preparing Christmas dinner for 12 or a buffet Easter brunch for 50 fill you with excitement and make your organizational skills shine?  If that is the case,  then catering on the side may be an ideal money-making and creative outlet for you.  Hone your chops by taking over the preparations for a few large family events.  Graduate to getting hired for dinner or cocktail parties held by friends of friends.  Consider renting commercial kitchen space to make cooking for large events easier.

Floral designer

If you’ve always known how to compose a pretty bouquet,  upgrade and refine your natural abilities by taking a flower arranging course at an adult learning center or community college.  Next,  identify good flower market and floral supply wholesalers,  so you can provide a wide selection of fresh and exotic blooms arranged in the loveliest vases and still earn a good profit margin.  Promote your services to those celebrating anniversaries,  births,  christenings,  graduations or other special occasions.  Form a strategic partnership with a (part-time) caterer who needs to decorate a party.

Gardener

Do you have a green thumb?  Do you know people who have no time for yard work?  There is money in mowing lawns,  trimming hedges,  tending window boxes, weeding and coaxing roses to bloom.   My mother’s uncle started a part-time gardening business which he ran for at least 20 years.  My father worked with him on many spring and summer evenings throughout my childhood.  The more artistically inclined can create a niche in landscape design for residential clients and neighborhood merchants.  Remember to include Christmas decorating in your list of services.

Hair stylist

So maybe you were a hairdressing school dropout? Pick up those scissors again and revive your skills,  so you can offer wash,  cut,  blow-out and maybe even color and straightening services at your kitchen sink or the client’s.  Friends and friends of friends who need makeovers,  or maybe just maintenance,  will appreciate both your talent and at-home discount prices.

Photographer

If you’re a clever shutterbug,  invest in a good digital camera,  become a Photoshop expert and  pull together a portfolio of your work to show to prospective clients.  You may even want to specialize in a niche,  like weddings  or family reunions.  Form a strategic partnership with a web designer who creates sites for Freelancers  and make money taking the all-important website photo.

Tutor/coach

Are you a good teacher?  What is your area of expertise—golf, tennis, algebra or languages? Open an account at Craig’s List,  to advertise your services.  Those who teach an academic subject should also contact local parent’s groups, neighborhood blogs and local schools.  My brother’s wife has taught piano for several years and she’s quite busy.  She is a full-time wife and mother of four.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Having it Both Ways with a Job and a Business

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To my readers in the weekly paycheck world: do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to chuck your day job,  become the captain of your destiny and start a business of your own?  Maybe you have a special creative talent,  something you do that makes you feel proud and fulfilled,  something that friends and colleagues always compliment you on?

Maybe you already daydream about starting a business,  but fear that you don’t have the resources or temperament to grow it into your primary source of income?  Perhaps you need a few extra dollars each month,  because your paycheck is no longer big enough as prices at the gas pump and grocery store continue to rise?

You can have it both ways and start a part-time,  on the side business while you continue to work full-time and enjoy the security of a regular paycheck and health benefits.  People have done it for years and for all sorts of reasons,  mostly as a cash flow safety net,  but also to provide an outlet for a creative talent.

Former full-time employee and part-time business owner Felicia Joy has coined the term  “hybrid entrepreneurship”  and she defines the process as  “the act of working a full-time job while building a business part-time.”  Joy explains it all for you in her new book  “Hybrid Entrepreneurship: How the Middle Class Can Beat the Slow Economy” (2011).

Joy advises that although your part-time business venture will not be your main source of income to still treat its launch seriously.  She recommends that you write a business plan to ensure that you cover all bases,  such as devising a good marketing strategy,  identifying your target customers,  perfecting the business model and assessing start-up costs.

Furthermore,  Joy says it’s important to create a professional image for your business: print business cards,  build a website,  have appropriate print collaterals,  open a separate business email account and maybe also have a separate business telephone line.

Network for your business venture,  so you will meet peers with whom you can form strategic partnerships and referral relationships that will help you to grow your business more quickly.  Join a professional association related to your business,  to receive access to information and other resources that will help you grow as an entrepreneur.

At work,  volunteer to take on assignments and lead projects that will help you acquire skills that you’ll need in your business,  such as sales,  operations,  bookkeeping or marketing.  As Joy says  “Learn to leverage your day job in a way that helps you in your business and also helps you at your job.”

Next week,  I’ll give a few examples of part-time businesses that you may want to start.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Data Driven Payoff

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Because the February-March session sold out,  I have been invited to reprise my three-part workshop  “Become Your Own Boss: Effective Business Plan Writing”  at Boston Center for Adult Education 122 Arlington Street Boston MA on three Mondays,  May 9, 16 & 23 from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM.  For more information or to register please visit http://bit.ly/becomeyourown59  or call 617.267.4430.

As Freelance consultants,  we know that information is nearly as valuable to us as our skill set.  Information leads us to make smart decisions about all aspects of business: what services to offer,  identifying target client groups,  determining a profitable business model,  understanding how to market our services,  gaining a competitive edge.  That good information is integral to all that we do comes as no surprise,  but until now there was no scientific evidence to support that belief.

New research done by Erik Brynjolfsson,  economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Business,  Heekyung Kim,  graduate student in economics at MIT Sloan School and Lorin Hitt,  economist at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business proves that good information really does put money in your pocket.

The three studied 179 large businesses and found that when decisions enacted were based on reliable data,  companies achieved a 5+ % higher productivity level than businesses that relied more on “experience and intuition” for decision making.  The higher productivity could not be attributed to other factors,  such as the use of more sophisticated technology.

In the study,  data driven decision making was not primarily based on merely collecting data,  but was closely linked to how the data was utilized.  In the April 24, 2011 New York Times,  Mr. Brynolfsson stated that business decisions based on data and analysis “have huge implications for competitiveness and growth”.

Thomas Davenport,  professor of information technology and management at Babson College in Massachusetts supported the conclusions reached regarding data driven business decisions in a book written with Jeanne Harris and Robert Morison, “Analytics at Work: Smarter Results” (2010),  concluding that companies that rely heavily on data analysis are likely to outperform those that do not.

The big question is,  which data do we choose to collect and analyze and how do we best apply it?  Curating data is big business.  “The biggest change facing corporations is the explosion of data”,  said David Grossman,  technology analyst at Stifel Nicolaus in the April 24 NY Times.  “The best business is in helping customers analyze and manage all that data”.

How does a Freelancer decide what to do with data available to us?  I propose that data presented here would guide readers with excellent proficiency in mathematics and possessed of an advanced degree in the subject to become data analysts!  All others might take a look at our P & L statements and examine gross revenue and fixed and variable expenses and analyze how much it costs to generate income and what can be trimmed to make the bottom line better.

Speaking of revenue,  do some research on the services that your target clients are contracting for these days.  Are you retaining clients and signing new ones, too?  How does your 2Q 2011 active client roster compare to 2Q 2010?  Do you need to tweak your business model to maintain your competitive edge,  or might it be wiser to seek a strategic partnership?

To help figure things out,  do a free online search of Google’s Key Word Tool or Wonder Wheel and type in a descriptive phrase of your core service.  How many prospects in your locale are searching for what you sell?  Next,  type in a phrase that describes the service you think might interest clients and see how many local searches it gets.  There you have it,  data driven analysis to guide your business decisions.

Use Google Analytics to track hits to your website and report which pages receive the most attention.  You can correlate that data to the number of follow-up requests you receive and  the conversion of that follow-up to new business.  Make further use of that data to evaluate the efficacy of your website and learn how you can enhance this important marketing tool.  Will adding multimedia to your website be useful?  Or will adding pages to give more information do the trick?  Or maybe you should just simplify the text and clarify and strengthen your message?  Listen to the data and find your answers.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Ask and You Might Receive

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Nearly all Freelancers are feeling the pain of the long slog through the sluggish economy.  Merely treading water is now considered a victory.  Even those fortunate  enough to have maintained robust billings are sensitive to the cash flow problems of their customers and fellow business owners.  Consequently,  the time is ripe to ask for a better deal,  for everything.  You may be pleasantly surprised at what people will do to keep your business.  To get the ball rolling,  all you’ll need are some creativity and moxie.

You’ll also need to remember that your goal is to both save money and build mutually beneficial business relationships,  especially when approaching fellow Freelancers or other small business owners.  Be assertive,  but considerate and respectful.  Don’t try to squeeze someone whose business may be hurting.  Think of benefits that will accrue to the other party and communicate that as you present your proposition.

The other party will appreciate that you’ve thought of their interests as well as you own,  so no matter what,  you’re likely to be seen in a positive light.  Even if you are unable to get what you want,  you’ll never lose by asking.  As they say,  it’s just business.

  • Think about bartering products or services.  What do you sell or do that suppliers and service providers might value for their businesses?  HR or IT services?  Graphics or PR or landscaping?  You’ll never know until you ask the question and get the dialogue started.  Make sure the exchange is of equivalent perceived value,  so that no one feels short-changed.
  • If you rent an office,  begin preparations now to campaign for a rent roll-back.  Commercial space is plentiful and most landlords want to keep a good tenant.  Be sure to pay your rent on time and otherwise cast yourself in a favorable light.  Get information on rents for comparable spaces in your area and determine what would be reasonable to pay for yours in the current economic climate.  Are their problems in the building?  If so,  make a list so that you can more effectively negotiate with your landlord at lease renewal time. 
  • When it’s time to advertise,  ask for a discount (try 10 %).  You’ll be more successful if the ad is larger and/or if you place multiple ads with that publication.  Ask also if you can be notified when remnant space is available,  which will save even more money.  You must be flexible and prepared to act quickly when taking remnant advertising space.  You might even spend more than you anticipated.  In exchange,  you just might get an eye-popping half page ad for the price of a quarter page.
  • Think about the products and services that you use all the time when doing business.  Do you ship items on a regular basis?  Do you travel frequently and stay at the same hotel?  If so,  then it’s time to ask for a loyalty or volume discount.  Have information about how often you use the service/product and how much you spend at the ready,  to support your case.
  • To preserve your cash flow,  request more flexible payment terms from suppliers and service providers.  Ask for 45-60 day terms,  or ask to pay half of the balance in 30 days and the remainder at 60 days.  The other party may not love it,  but the terms may nevertheless be extended in an effort to keep you as a customer.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Attention Shoppers! It’s Time to Invest in the Business

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Our  “new normal”  economy has regrettably resulted in sluggish business for most Freelancers and we are forced to watch our pennies.  The financial squeeze may tempt many to cease spending on all expenditures deemed nonessential,  but it’s wise to be strategic about what gets relegated to that category.

In fact,  judicious expenditures for the right business upgrades will help us to fight back against the recession and demonstrate to clients that our business remains viable.  If your credit line can handle it,  this is an ideal time to invest in your business by purchasing almost any type of equipment or promotional service.   Fourth quarter purchases are sweetened by the knowledge that the tax deductions will flow back to you a little faster.

So let’s go shopping!  There’s plenty of inventory in the stores,  despite diminished wholesale purchases,  and prices have never been better.  Now is an excellent time to replace or upgrade  computers and other IT equipment,  office furniture or even a company vehicle.  Commercial real estate is likewise more plentiful and hence affordable,  so if trading up has been on your wish list,  investigate options now.   Plus,  if a build-out is necessary,  those in the trades are ready and willing to provide quality work at competitive prices. 

Advertising space is likewise more plentiful and hence more affordable.  Discounts are available and payment terms are gentle.  Revisit publications and online sites that were previously out of your reach and ask what can be done for you now.  Do not be afraid to negotiate.  The buyer’s market is in full effect.

Now,  take a look at your website.  Does it look a little dull?  Maybe the text could use some sharpening?  Or perhaps you’d finally like to have a logo?  What might help your website to communicate your brand and core services more effectively,  or provide a compelling  “call to action”  to potential clients?  Web developers,  graphic artists and copywriters continue to be busy,  but not so much that they won’t take on smaller  jobs and do good work at a reasonable price.

The  “new normal”  economy also makes this an excellent time to hire,  if you can make the case that an extra body or two will increase revenue.  There are so many highly qualified professionals searching desperately for cash-generating projects that you will be able to hire someone (maybe part time?) to write your monthly newsletter,  manage social media,  cold call prospects and set appointments for your follow-up,  manage the books and accounts payable and receivable or just about anything else you need taken off your plate.

Finally,  our professional skills are our most valuable asset and also deserve investment.  I’ve seen more generous than expected early-bird registration discounts offered for numerous seminars,  since organizers are anxious to fill rooms.  Take advantage of this trend and sign up for training that perhaps you previously could not afford.  You may also want to have a few sessions with a business coach,  who may now offer money-saving incentives to stimulate business,  and work on other ways you can find competitive advantages for your business venture.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Manners Maven

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A couple of years ago,  I had coffee with a very successful risk management Freelance consultant.  As we chatted about business,  he related an interesting story about a client who hired him earlier in the year.  The client told him that he had interviewed several candidates for the project and all were highly qualified. 

His team chose this particular gentleman because he had the best manners.  (I always knew he was a classy guy!) After considerable  experience in working with Freelancers,  the client and his team concluded that good manners matter and just about everything else can be learned on the job. 

I’m not  sure that many project leaders consider manners and etiquette as prime factors in the Freelancer hiring process,  but I am certain that poor business etiquette will have a deleterious effect on that decision.

Business schools and even medical schools have finally begun to address this previously overlooked soft skill.  Most of us have had enough of the me-first,  I’m entitled,  self-absorbed behaviors that have migrated from so-called reality TV shows and into daily life and work.  As antidote,  here are a few tactics that will incorporate some subtle niceties into your business communications and interactions:

1.  Dial your business phone and listen to your outgoing message.  Does it sound professional and welcoming?  Would you want to do business with the person who created that message?  If your OGM is less than pleasing,  re-record and smile as you speak.  Smiling forces us to slow our speech,  enunciate clearly and adopt a pleasant tone of voice. 

2.  When in a meeting,  devote your full attention to the proceedings.  Turn off your phone,  computer (unless you will use it to take meeting notes) and all other electronic distractions.

3.  After meeting with an associate who is helping you in some way,  send to that person a thank you email within 24-48 hours.  Especially if your meeting was with a client or prospect,  recount major points discussed and confirm any agreed-upon actions. 

4.  If a business meeting is held in a restaurant,  the person who initiates the meeting pays the check.  When meeting with a client or prospect,  offer to pay the check even if that individual requested the meeting.

5.  When meeting prospects and colleagues at a networking or similar event,  refrain from pushing your business card onto every person that you encounter.  Save the card exchange for those with whom you have a discussion that points to follow-up conversations.

6.  Treat assistants with respect.  If the assistant is someone you will speak with more than once,  ask his/her name,  remember the name and greet that individual by name  on subsequent visits to the office.  Be advised that the assistant may control access to the client.  If you are rude or dismissive,  word of such behavior will be passed along and it could cost you.  Besides,  assistants often have information that may help you to sell your services.  Be nice and make the assistant your ally.

7.  At Christmas,  send a card to all clients with whom you’ve worked over the last 3-4 years.  It’s good business to stay in touch.

8.  When an invoice is 45+ days old,  contact the accounts payable or finance department and confirm that the invoice was received.  Could it have been lost? Unless the invoice is 90+ days old,  avoid contacting the client about billing matters.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Living is Easy…

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And so we are drifting through the summer doldrums.  As heat and humidity rise,  our focus and motivation fall.  Summer is the slowest period for Freelancers and most others,  with the exception of  landscapers, building contractors, wedding planners and those in the tourist industry.

For the majority,  summer means billable hours  that evaporate like the morning dew on roses.  But who can afford 10 weeks of idleness?  Savvy business owners know it is wise to make hay while the hot sun shines and use the summer months to position themselves to create business in the fourth quarter and beyond.  A business slowdown need not mean no business activity.  Summer is the perfect time to pick up the thread of what slipped off the radar screen earlier in the year.

You may start this productive cycle by reviewing your business model.  How efficient is your operation?  How much does it cost to make a sale?  Just how profitable is your business,  anyway? What processes could be streamlined?  What technology could make service delivery,  customer contact and/or administrative functions easier,  faster or less expensive?

By the way,  did you meet your sales projections for the first half of the year?  Might it be time to hire help,  so that productivity can increase,  customer service improved or administrative functions executed in a more timely fashion?

What emerging  priorities and concerns  are on the horizon that may excite or agitate your clients and how might that impact your business? You have the next few weeks to catch up on industry magazines,  websites,  white papers and blogs and find out what you need to know to stay competitive and understand  what may change in your marketing message or service options and delivery.

Summer is also a great time for professional development.  Look for certifications to pick up,  or courses and workshops to attend.  If you can budget it,  use this time to boost your skill set and  make yourself  appear more of an expert to clients and prospects.  Along the way,  you’ll meet a few people you should know.

Summer is a time of more flexible schedules and despite vacations,  it’s a good time to collar people and arrange those meetings that no one had time for between January and June.  So go back through your notes and remind yourself of whom you wanted to meet with and send out a few emails.  What intriguing and mutually beneficial proposal will you present?

Finally,  summer is an excellent time to do the prospecting that you’ve been putting off  for six months.  Ask colleagues for introductions and maybe do some selective cold calling.  Make it a point to make inroads on new business development.  I’ll bet that slippery someone whom you’ve been chasing since last year is more available in July and August.

By taking the initiative,  you will see that  summer is the best time to evaluate, investigate and create business opportunities that will give you a cushion of revenue that will get you through next year’s summer doldrums!

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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For a Few Dollars More: Up-selling and Second Helpings

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Business has been rather soft for the past several quarters,  thanks to the tanking you-know-what and alas,  the sales girls at Saks and Neiman’s have not seen me for a while. When cash was in hand,  I built up quite the wardrobe.   I shopped prodigiously and wisely and my outfits still look good (thank you Donna Karan!).

Now when I look for something to wear to a meeting or party,  I must shop in my closet.  Lately,  I’ve been thinking of ways to apply that practice to my business.  How can I wring more action out of what I already have in-house?

In terms of resources expended and conversion rates,  maximizing business opportunities within one’s client roster is easier and more cost-effective.  I pretty much know what my clients want from me.  Still,  I wonder if there are ways to up-sell or entice with additional services? I wonder if I might have opportunities within other departments in an organization?

To figure it out,  I did some low cost market research.  As usual,  the best way to learn what clients need is to directly ask them.  Inviting  a  client to lunch or coffee,  away from workplace distractions,  sets the stage for a productive  exchange of information.

A good conversation opener is to inquire about new initiatives and/or challenges  in the client’s organization.  Ask next what you might adjust re: delivery of services,  service offerings and business practices that will make things easier for your client.  From there,  review the full list of your services.  Clients often will not remember all that you do.  This information alone may inspire your client to envision new roles for you,  perhaps even in those coveted other departments in the organization.

Guide the conversation to become  a  brainstorming session that will reveal where,  when and by whom value-added up-sells would be appreciated.  Arrange introductions to decision makers and obtain important endorsements of your work.  Learn the names and titles of gatekeepers and key influencers.

Client needs fall into two buckets:  anticipated and unanticipated.  The former needs are what you and your client will discuss over lunch.  You may be able to propose how your services can address some of these needs.  They are organizational goals and objectives and have a budget and timetable attached.

The latter needs require good  luck and timing on your part.  Maintaining communication will improve your odds of hitting the jackpot.  These client needs are ad hoc and often spring up suddenly.  They may constitute  a headache,  if not an emergency,  and they sometimes must be quickly addressed.

Position yourself to be at top-of-mind and viewed as the go-to problem solver by:

1). Meeting or exceeding client expectations every time.

2). Creating follow-up opportunities that are not perceived as either desperate or  annoying.

Some Freelancers like to keep a calendar,  so that they will remember to contact clients at regularly scheduled intervals,  sometimes with a newsletter.  The receipt of relevant information is usually welcome,  but my advice is to tread lightly.  Many vendors may be competing for your client’s attention in various ways and saturation point will eventually be reached.  Respect boundaries at all times.

My standard approach is to announce a new workshop to clients,  whether or not I expect them to buy.  Someone could surprise me! Client needs evolve in response to changes in the business environment,  as do yours and mine.  What was brushed off last year may be important now.

Sending news of a workshop is a  “safe” way to contact clients.  It violates no boundaries;  it demonstrates my expertise;  and it will get my name into their prefrontal cortex,  so that if an unanticipated need arises or unexpected money is dropped into their budget,  I”ll be more likely to receive an email.

A clever and indirect method of client contact is to make a referral.  You will receive  significant validation when that third party contacts your client and lets them know that you made the recommendation.

Maintaining contact with clients post-assignment is an effective strategy to mine additional revenue from your client list.  For $20.00 or less,  you can  invite your client  to update you on anticipated needs and learn about  new organization  priorities,  concerns,  fresh business opportunities for you and the decision makers and influencers who control access,  plus get advice on how to improve your business practices and hone your competitive edge.  Additionally,  you will learn how to craft a sales pitch based on selling points that you will emphasize when promoting those same services to similar clients,  new or current.

To attract revenue from unanticipated client needs,  devise unobtrusive ways to maintain the contact by offering value to the client.  Announce  new services,  speaking engagements or classes;  send a newsletter if you dare;  make strategic referrals;  maybe send links to articles that you know will be of special interest.  Make it a point to extract more sweet water from the well.

Thanks for reading,

Kim