Tag Archives: value-added

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Credible + Capable = Contract

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Pitching to prospects is stressful and time-consuming, but there is such a thrill when we meet the right person and get invited to discuss a project. With much anticipation, valuable time and energy are directed to preparing for the meeting and if we are asked to do so, preparing as well a proposal that details how we would achieve the client’s goals.

It is unspeakably frustrating when a proposal is rejected or worse, when we never hear from that prospect again.  It is imperative that Freelancers practice appropriate risk management and take steps to improve our client acquisition rate and minimize negative outcomes.

Client endorsements

Recommendations by satisfied customers are trust-building votes of confidence for you.  A referral made by someone known and respected by the prospective client is the ideal endorsement. Word-of-mouth is always the best advertisement.

LinkedIn recommendations are lukewarm.  Testimonials that appear on your website are more powerful, especially those given by a prestige client.  Better still is to ask a client if s/he would be willing to speak with a prospect to give a reference for you and discuss the project you worked on.

Samples of your work

Create a portfolio of case studies or other samples of your work to provide some show and tell for prospective clients.  They deserve the opportunity to view and evaluate your work, so that they can envision the match-up between the results they must achieve and the solutions that you would deliver.  Curate your portfolio of work samples and case studies well,  by choosing projects that demonstrate your expertise and value.  A good portfolio will also help to justify your (premium) pricing structure.

Online presence

It is the 21st century and prospects expect all professionals to have an online presence.  Before deciding to contact a Freelancer or any other professional that one might hire, an online search is typically conducted.  Prospects want to get a sense of who you are and confirm that you are legitimate.

Overwhelmingly, Freelance consultants have a website, but there are those rare individuals who have been able to build a successful client list without this marketing tool. Whether or not you have a website, further cultivate your online presence through social media or post press releases online to announce  your speaking and teaching engagements, participation in charity events, or any awards you may have received. Writing a newsletter or blog, building a mailing list and sharing on social media platforms is also useful, as is guest blogging. Develop and maintain a positive online presence that is designed to win over prospects.

Communicate value-added

The ultimate reason that clients hire Freelance consultants is that they are convinced that these individuals will bring significant value to the project and will make the hiring manager look smart in front of his/her superiors and peers.  Merely describing your products and services is no longer sufficient to get yourself hired in this hyper-competitive marketplace, where in most cases there are numerous highly qualified professionals who are available and hungry for billable hours.

Communicating your unique value is the only way to get hired and that must be demonstrated in numerous ways.  Like a trial lawyer, layer on examples of the varied aspects of your value and let the preponderance of evidence in your favor pile up.  In clear and concise terms, present the case of how you will make the client’s job easier, save the organization money, position the organization to make money, or ensure that the organization achieves important goals.

Politely persistent

Once a prospect has expressed an interest to meet and  discuss doing business,  or to confirm whether or not you will be awarded a project after you have had a meeting, there are two possible actions:

1). Active pursuit, when you send one or more emails to either encourage setting up a meeting or to learn the outcome of a hiring decision.

2). Passively waiting for the prospect to contact you.

According to experts, neither approach is useful.  I’ll bet your own lived experience speaks to that fact.  Definitely, you don’t want to come across as pushy, since pressure tactics are  a big turn off.  Conversely, you cannot afford to allow assignments to fall through the cracks because you did not follow-up and help to shine a light on the pending project. You need a way to diplomatically keep your proposal on the front burner.

A useful tactic is to telephone or text the prospect three or four days after you’ve sent your proposal, to confirm that it has been received.  You may also ask when s/he would like to begin the project work.  Open the door a little wider and suggest that you would be happy to start work ASAP on some urgent action item, so that the deadline will be comfortably reached.

Freelance consultants have two jobs: finding projects and then completing those projects.  Our ability to survive financially is directly tied to this process.  As organizations continue to shrink  full-time workforces,  the number of Freelance consultants grows every day.  In order to compete successfully, a Freelancer must always be positioned to regularly sign clients and generate adequate revenue.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

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Pricing Primer for Freelance Service Providers

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“The business world is driven by the desire to increase three elements: market shares, sales revenues and of course, profitability. Pricing is the key player in any strategy concerning the growth of these three goals.”   Mohammed Nosseir, Senior Marketing Adviser, Simon-Kucher & Partners, Middle East

Determining the pricing structure for intangible services provided is a real challenge for Freelance consultants. What is the value of our time and expertise in the open market? What if we promote our services, set the price and no one hires us? Should we lower our project fees? Can we ever raise prices?

Clients are motivated to spend as little as possible for the products and services that they require. However, they are known to pay premium prices when they “feel” that a particular product or service delivers exceptional value. That value can mean an expert solution to a business challenge; a long-lasting product that performs very well with little maintenance; the ability to meet a deadline; or other factors that have meaning to the decision-makers.

Often as not, different clients will have different priorities that define what is valued. It is the Freelancer’s job in the initial face-to-face client meeting to figure out what the client feels is important. That knowledge will achieve two objectives:

  • You will know the expectations that must be met (or preferably, exceeded) to justify a premium price.
  • You will know how to price, based on the time or other resources that will be devoted to meeting and exceeding client expectations and you will grasp the urgency of client needs, which impact your price.

Most likely, there are standard benchmarks and signifiers of high-value service in your industry and they should be incorporated into your marketing and operations, along with other value-addeds layered on as necessary. Knowledge of what competitors do would be most helpful as well, but it is very difficult to learn how competitors deliver their services or price them. Nevertheless, it is advisable to choose three or four to research. Visit websites to learn what services your competitors offer and how those services are described and packaged. Then, you can better identify potential competitive advantages for what you have and find a way to describe your goods.

It may sound like an obvious no-brainer, but part of your premium value-added that will be reflected in your pricing strategy should be your positive attitude and willingness to help prospective clients find the best solution to their business needs. Friendliness and the aim to genuinely want to offer good service go a long way in life and in business. Showing a good work ethic is likewise important.

For example when on an assignment, pay attention to emails. While I don’t recommend that one should be obligated to answer emails that a client dashes off at 3:00 AM (unless this is an urgent and high-revenue project), check emails through 10:00 PM and resume at 7:00 AM. If you can anticipate client needs, so much the better, They’ll think you’re a hero and will be happy to pay for the pleasure of doing business with you.

Step by step, client by client, focus on exceeding expectations on every project, building the trust and confidence that lead to a respected brand (reputation) as you do. You will receive referrals from satisfied clients (and you can also make referrals to your clients, enhancing your brand each time you do). Good brands create good word of mouth and that supports and justifies premium pricing.

As Mohammed Nosseir concludes, “Pricing has been, and will continue to be, the most complicated element in the marketing mix family…A proactive pricing structure will help companies…to maximize their profitability.”

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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I, Consultant: Value-Added

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Solopreneur consultants and other business owners are always selling,  sometimes overtly and other times discreetly.  To sell effectively,  we must understand and articulate the reasons that clients hire us.  We need selling points at our fingertips and as as always,  it is necessary to adopt the prospective client’s point-of-view.  Why would an organization leader hire me?  What is my value-added?

1. You provide expertise.

Convince prospective clients that you possess the know-how that organization staff members lack.  Let them know that you have the answers  (without revealing specific solutions before you sign a contract).  A high-ranking job title acquired in previous employment confers to you significant credibility.  Well-known clients confer significant credibility.  Speaking engagements at prestige venues,  especially if you met the prospective client there,  inspire confidence.  Blogs,  newsletters and social media serve to support one of the above,  but neither alone nor in aggregate will they convince an important client to hire you (unless you get enormously lucky).

2. You identify problems or gaps.

The ability to quickly and accurately grasp the big picture is essential.  Nevertheless,  be advised that the client may not appreciate hearing the truth.  Be diplomatic in how you bring problems to the client’s attention.

3. You supplement the company’s permanent staff’.

Downsized workforces became a fact of life in the early 1990s and nearly every for-profit and not-for-profit organization is under-staffed.  Big companies can often afford to hire and would be wise to hire,  but company leaders would rather keep payrolls light.  The loss of productivity that under-staffing causes does not show up in an income statement,  at least if acceptable top-line growth occurs.  All organizations have been hit hard by health insurance and other operating costs.  Consultants are hired to fill in the labor gaps because we do not receive benefits of any kind and when the project has been completed,  we leave.

4. You introduce change.

For political reasons,  it may be easier to call in a consultant to implement changes that management would like to make.  The consultant is better equipped to defuse or prevent any push-back or sabotage,  because he/she is a neutral party.

5. You provide training for staff.

Maybe you once ran a sales department and you will provide sales training,  or you ran the human resources department and you’re hired to conduct team-building or diversity workshops.

6. You assist with a turn-around.

This assignment could start with a request to facilitate a strategy planning session.  Vision-Mission-Values,  or Goals-Objectives-Strategies-Action Plans will drive the turn-around.  You ensure that there is follow-through,  enthusiasm and support for the plan and that achievement of milestones and other successes are communicated throughout the organization and celebrated.

7. You assist with a new product (or service) launch.

You may do market research and confirm the prospects for the product or service and discover or confirm key target markets and their expected dollar potential.  You may take an active role in the launch,  joining with the marketing team to define the primary marketing message,  timing of the product roll-out,  formulate the advertising strategy and approve the PR strategy.

Finally,  independent consultants must pay particular attention to how we will obtain clients.  That process forms the heart of our business model.  Speak with friends and colleagues who are highly placed within industries where you expect to work and figure out if projects can at least occasionally be awarded to you.  Further,  if you work with your employer’s clients,  inform your very best friends of your plan and discreetly recruit at least one or two to follow you.

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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What Consulting Companies Know

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There are certain similarities between consulting companies and Freelancers.  The firms work on a project basis, as we do. They submit proposals and compete for clients, as we do.  Like us, the firm’s consultant comes to the client’s organization as a hired gun, takes on the assignment, produces the deliverables and gets paid.  The similarities seem to end there, however.

The fact is,  consulting companies get a lot more respect and a lot more money than Freelancers.  The consulting company’s value-added is perceived as more valuable than the Freelancer’s value-added.  Most clients have a great deal of trust and confidence in consulting companies (well, at least the person who hired them does).  As a result,  consulting companies are awarded the most lucrative projects.  Their calls and emails are always returned.

Likewise,  Freelancers who have worked for consulting companies are held in higher regard by clients and prospects.  Anecdotal evidence leads me to believe that they receive more lucrative contracts,  billing more hours and commanding a higher rate. Freelancers with a consulting company background appear to know a secret code,  know all the right moves.  I came to realize my knowledge gap through a series of casual meetings with an acquaintance of mine named Erika.

Erika once worked for a mid-size consulting company,  first in their LA office,  then in NYC.  Like me,  she facilitates strategy meetings in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors,  but we cannot call each other competitors.  Erika stands head and shoulders above me in terms of consulting savoir-faire and client list.  Next to her,  I am the country cousin!  Erika is a very cool girl and over time she took pity on my poor, untutored self and shared a few consulting company secrets.

Primarily,  the advantage gained from consulting company experience is that one learns how to build value into all client interactions.  The perception of adding value starts with the very first client meeting.  A consultant’s job is to deliver comprehensive,  data driven analysis,  insights and answers that produce the desired results. Those analyses,  answers and insights form the basis of the strategies that the client will be advised to implement,  so that key goals and objectives will be reached.

Erika lets it be known that she will deliver the goods.  In the client meeting,  she asks questions that reveal what the client wants and help her discover what the client needs–that information forms the essence of Erika’s value-added.  Next,  she confirms with the client that she’s accurately grasped the project scope and understands all priorities and timetables.  She follows up in writing and in fact boasts that she does not so much submit proposals as send confirmation letters.

Erika isn’t awarded every assignment she’s invited to discuss,  but her track record is very good.  Before she starts work on a project,  she also takes a few important actions to keep her value-added rolling:

I.  Recognize,  and if possible meet,  the organization’s senior management team: the CEO, ED and other key staff.  Their names and sometimes also photos are probably listed on the company website.

II.  Learn the thought process that led to the project’s initiation and approval.  If possible,  read the project proposal and review any preliminary work that may have been done.  Find out who supports the project and who opposes it if you are able, to learn who your friends and detractors will be.

III. Know the organizations’ basic financial data.  Read the most recent annual report and examine the P & L to learn the annual operating budget,  total annual revenue,  gross profits,  profit margin and operating margin.

IV.  Know your client’s top five competitors: key products and services,  annual operating budget,  total annual revenue and gross profits.  Know what differentiates each main competitor from your client and know each main competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.

V.   For nonprofit organization clients, know which agencies within a 10-20 mile radius deliver similar services or compete for a similar constituency.  Know where and how those agencies offer services that complement or compete with your client’s mission.

VI.   Cultivate good relationships with your project sponsor and other key project supporters.  Identify a couple of good restaurants near your client’s geography and invite your sponsor and/or those with whom you work most closely out for coffee or lunch,  as applicable.

VII.  Become a resource for useful information to your client.  Sign up for Google Alerts and stay current with industry news and competitor’s activities.  If an item looks particularly intriguing or urgent,  send the link to the right people.  This practice can continue after project completion,  as can the above strategy, to extend relationship building and value-added.  Your objective is to entice the client to engage you for repeat business and to refer you to others.

Thanks for reading,
Kim