1 - When you are scoping out a project as an Independent Consultant, you have a decision to make ...
... do you open up the scope?
... or do you lock down and greatly limit the scope?
2 - This is not an easy decision, and quite honestly, the fate of your project depends upon the decision you make.
3 - Most vendors / competitors tend to lock the project down. In exchange for $40,000, the vendor / competitor will do "x" and "y" and "z" and that is all.
4 - Obviously this is a "best practice". Way WAY too many independent consultants have been burned by scope-creep.
5 - But one of the biggest assets the consultant has is trust.
When a client trusts the consultant, both parties thrive.
When a client views the consultant on a transactional basis, nobody wins (though goods are exchanged for money).
6 - If the prospect is new and you haven't worked with the prospect, you have to make a judgment call.
7 - If the prospect passes the "thrift test" ... if they aren't trying to squeeze you on price ... I typically offer the prospect the opportunity to ask any questions regardless of scope.
You'd obviously think this tactic is pure lunacy.
You'd be wrong.
8 - If you ever want to establish trust, you do it right from the get-go. By offering the prospect the opportunity to ask any questions, you get a head start on building a positive relationship.
You take a leadership position. You promise to take care of your client.
9 - And yes, about 1 in 20 clients abuse this level of trust. It's not common. But 19 in 20 don't. People are generally honest and good.
10 - So please, consider offering a client "more" .. even if there is risk associated with it.
The independent consultant only has a handful of things at her disposal.
a) Smarts.
b) Product Offering.
c) Pricing.
d) Trust.
Trust might be the most valuable of a/b/c/d above.
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2 - I have a client who literally does the opposite of what I tell them, on purpose and has done so since 2014. They completely trust me, even when I rail on them three times a year. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. I've never seen anything like it. They trust me.
3 - I have a client who never acknowledges my work. I send them my work and I never hear a thing from them, positive or negative. But they keep hiring me.
1 - If you are an Independent Consultant, your time is as important as earning a living.
Odds are you don't offer a software solution that "scales" ... so all you have is your brilliance and "x" hours a week.
Therefore, managing your time ... that's really important.
2 - There are several types of prospective clients. Most you don't want to work with.
Who do you want to work with? Somebody who is a "fan" and believes in what you are selling. They've been with you for a long time and they believe in you.
3 - Then there are a whole bunch of prospective clients who are "in the middle" ... not good, not bad. But they are generally time wasters.
2 - Here's how it works. Person emails me and says they want Consulting help on a topic and are "willing to pay me". That's often a red flag.
This frequently means they are "willing" to pay me $20/hour.
3 - I'll offer 20-30 minutes of consultation time for free, and I'll tell somebody that my typical rate ($400/hour) applies thereafter ... but they can ask whatever they want to ask during the free call and I'll answer honestly.
1 - The future always comes. The past always fights it. Then the past dies ... quietly.
Here's a story for you.
2 - When I worked at Nordstrom and we decided to evaluate whether we were going to continue our catalog division, there were two camps.
3 - The first camp represented the future.
This camp said a lot of dumb things. They didn't always understand how customers behaved, they didn't always understand profitability, they didn't always understand how to deal with people.
In sports, you heard a prominent announcer last night say "sometimes you have to throw analytics in the dumpster".
Instead of focusing on the incidents/comments, focus on the bigger picture.
2 - I've told you before about being at a dinner with CEOs a few months ago, and one CEO did not like where my data would lead his company ... so he addresses me in front of the other CEOs and says the following:
3 - "Why should we listen to you? You're just a geek!"