What's your favorite way to get a prospective client's attention? I have a few favorites and have had many of these tried out on me. In no particular order, here are some of the best (and worst) I've come across:
- mass offline advertising (magazines, direct mail, radio, etc.)
- pure face to face/phone networking
- cold calling
- social networking (LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc.)
- pro bono speaking engagements/conference participation
- simply attending conferences to network
- online advertising (banners, Google ads, etc.)
- establishing subject matter expert status by writing articles, blogs, newsletters, etc.
Please share your comments with ideas, experiences (good and bad), and suggestions. Once again, the community is only as good as your contributions... I can't do this all alone...
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Monday, August 25, 2008
Getting Your Prospective Client's Attention
Monday, August 18, 2008
Outlook: The Poor Man's CRM
Have you ever had that uncomfortable conversation with a prospective client that went like this:
"Hi Mrs. Prospect. This is Mike calling to see if you've got some time to catch up and discuss our services."
"Thanks for the fourth follow up. As I mentioned Monday, I need some time to look at the budget. I didn't reply to your voicemails and emails on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday because I'm getting ready for budget reviews next month. Why don't you give me a little time and I'll be in touch."
Oops. Multiple calls and emails in the same week.
Having been on the "buy side" of services before, I can tell you such pestering is infuriating and dramatically decreases the chances I'll purchase services from that individual.
Now you, being entrepreneurial and driven at heart, probably get antsy waiting for return calls from prospects and may have even found yourself in the above conversation (I have).
So what's the solution outside of spending a ton of cash on a CRM solution? Outlook. Simply place a "tickler" appointment on your calendar several weeks (or even months) out as appropriate and then forget the prospect exists. Let Outlook tell you when you need to follow up.
It's easy and cheap. It will also prevent you from becoming that annoying overeager salesperson who calls all the time and never gets the sale because of it. It also demonstrates to your prospects that you're respectful of their time and that you LISTEN to what they're saying. Both of those traits should enhance your chances of landing the deal.
Anyone have any other pipeline management suggestions and tips? Let's hear them!
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Monday, August 11, 2008
Contract Clauses to Beware Of
We small guys and gals don't have the luxury of having a legal department. Sometimes it's even too expensive to have counsel on retainer (aside: hopefully we have some attorneys join this network to help us... Invite your attorney to join today!). Given that, we're left to our own devices to wade through the huge contracts large corporations ask us to sign.
Do yourself and your business a favor: READ THE FINE PRINT! As procurement and legal groups at big companies seek to add value, one way to do so is through the contract. This value is delivered at YOUR EXPENSE.
Two of my favorite hostile clauses I've come across recently:
- Vendor (me) gives Customer worldwide unrestricted license free rights to any and all content delivered by Vendor. These rights include reproduction, redistribution, and having other third parties use such content as Customer in its sole discretion deems appropriate. Such content shall be considered work made for hire and shall become the intellectual property of Customer with no further financial obligation to Vendor. (Translation: we're going to take your intellectual property and use it however we want and not pay you a thing for it). Ummmm no.
- Vendor (me again) shall give Customer "most favored customer status" whereby Vendor shall provide pricing to Customer equal to or better than Vendor's lowest price offered to Vendor's other clients. (Translation: we're going to ride the coattails of another company's procurement group who beat you up on pricing irrespective of how much or little business we've given you in the past). Once again... Ummmm no.
I asked both clauses be stricken. They were.
What are the least friendly clauses you've come across in your contract negotiations? Share and help the rest of us know what to look out for.
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Monday, August 4, 2008
Ideas on Pricing
First off - I don't look good in orange (actually, I do but saying so would defeat the purpose of the previous statement). This post is not about price fixing across companies. It's simply a thought starter on how to think about pricing your services if you're a small service provider. There are three major approaches (and one snarky one) I've come across (and would love to hear your thoughts on others):
1. "What the market bears" - this is simply calling around and getting rates from other providers of services similar to yours. Effective because it will keep you in line with the market. Ineffective because, let's face it, who wants to simply get "market" rates?
2. "You're as good as your last game" - if you've made the jump from corporate America to your own firm, simply take your TOTAL annual comp (base, bonus, benefits, etc.) and divide by 2,000 to get your hourly rate (250 work days/year X 8 hours a day). It's a good starting point but presumes your previous employer was paying you appropriately and/or that you were delivering enough value to warrant said compensation.
3. "The value you add" - do an analysis of how much economic value your services create and take an appropriate cut of that (10-20%).
4. "Spaghetti" - throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. Said differently - chuck out an obscene number and see if the client bites on it. WARNING: THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDED APPROACH!
I'd love to hear your opinion on other ways to think about pricing as an independent service provider.
- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
