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How do I get my first PAYING gig?
Question:
Dear Wannabe Consultant: Your dilemma is not uncommon to new service providers. I have several clients who as new business owners or as professionals working in a new field were uncomfortable asking for payment from their first customers. For many it was because their first customers were friends or family. For others it was because they build such close friendships with anyone they work with (even if the relationship started as strangers) that they feel odd asking for pay. Below are some free tips on getting your first paying gig. 1. Stop giving away your services for free. This is obvious, but necessary. 2. Create a written Service Plan form that will allow you to smoothly and professionally integrate payment negotiation into your first contact with a prospective customer. I can help you create this form via e-mail. Cost of this support to you would be $40 an hour. Typically I can complete such a form in less than 3 hours effort. I have one client, an event planner, who lost money on 6 small personal parties (birthdays, baby showers, etc.) she planned and coordinated. Then she had me build her a form and now she is getting corporate event gigs and making significant profit on each event. The form gave her the confidence and professional approach she had lacked 3. Charge a rate that you think is twice as high as it should be. It is a very interesting but true phenomenon that others value you at what you value yourself. Example: I communicated with a national business to business internet site for eight months trying to get my business listed. I gave away tons of information regarding my industry thinking they would see the value of my knowledge, skill, and services. Then they asked me in for a presentation. My Vice President told me to say "Sure, but it will cost you $1,000 an hour." I thought this was an outrageous rate but knew I’d given more than this away already in industry information I’d paid thousands of dollars to gain and spent thousands of hours to learn. So I took a chance and did this. Guess what? My business was listed on the site for no cost to me within 24 hours and my quote and business name now appears on their site. 4. In your Service Plan form offer your customers several payment options. For example, offer customers that don’t have current cash the option to pay on account and have them sign an automatic payment agreement that allows them to pay you in installments and assures that you will get paid on time every time via electronic funds transfers from their checking account or via credit or debit card. I offer these payment processing services and more at my site http://www.users.uswest.net/~capp . 5. Join your local Chamber of Commerce or BNI or LeTip Networking Group so that you get qualified referrals from business people who expect you to negotiate payment in your first contact with them. 6. Outsource payment processing to a third party so that you can let a neutral third party see that you get paid on time every time. Time and time again I have shown businesses that it costs less for an outsourced service to collect their payments than to do it themselves. Please let me know if these tips help your business succeed and feel free to contact me for more assistance as my business’ goal is to help my small business clients be among the 20% who succeed beyond five years because they’ve figured out how to assure consistent significant cash flow. Elizabeth Paulsen, President http://www.users.uswest.net/~capp Cascade Auto Pay, Inc. 3830 S 176th St. SeaTac, WA 98188 Ph: 206.244.9092 Fax: 206.431.5543 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have a confidence problem which in reality is totally unsubstantiated. > However, it keeps me from getting short-term assignments which could > help cashflow wise as i build up another business. > The other day a fellow I know got his second three month assignment with > a second dot.com company. He will be paid $4000 a month plus an equal > value in options this time around. His first gig which just ended was > for $3000 per month and no options. > The truth is that i have just as much to offer start-ups as he does. He > has acknowledged this by suggesting that we go into business together > later offering our consulting expertise. > I know another "consultant" who most people see as a total flake who > makes everything up yet she manages to get assignment after assignment. > So far, I have been giving away my expertise for free as a mentor to > dot.com entrepreneurs who tell me that my knowledge and advice is of > great value to them. > Now I would like to start getting paid. I am in my mid-forties and have > launched a few companies successfully and have a lot to offer. However, > I just have real trouble in asking for a paying assignment. Conversely, > I can market myself very well as a mentor but I just can’t seem to do it > as a paid consultant. > Anyone have any advice on how to overcome my fear and land a paying gig? > Wanna Get Paid
Response:
I have a confidence problem which in reality is totally unsubstantiated. However, it keeps me from getting short-term assignments which could help cashflow wise as i build up another business. The other day a fellow I know got his second three month assignment with a second dot.com company. He will be paid $4000 a month plus an equal value in options this time around. His first gig which just ended was for $3000 per month and no options. The truth is that i have just as much to offer start-ups as he does. He has acknowledged this by suggesting that we go into business together later offering our consulting expertise. I know another "consultant" who most people see as a total flake who makes everything up yet she manages to get assignment after assignment. So far, I have been giving away my expertise for free as a mentor to dot.com entrepreneurs who tell me that my knowledge and advice is of great value to them. Now I would like to start getting paid. I am in my mid-forties and have launched a few companies successfully and have a lot to offer. However, I just have real trouble in asking for a paying assignment. Conversely, I can market myself very well as a mentor but I just can’t seem to do it as a paid consultant. Anyone have any advice on how to overcome my fear and land a paying gig? Wanna Get Paid