The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II is the second book by Dave Balter, the CEO and founder of BzzAgent, a Boston-based word of mouth marketing company. While it’s not a how-to book of WOM, it is an exceptionally well-written book, employing humor and a number of excellent examples. Balter divides the book into three sections: What You Should Know (In Theory), What You Probably Know Already (Unless You Don’t), and What You Must Know (In Practice).

In the first section, Dave discusses the difference between “pure” WOM and what 99% of the rest of us have (”regular” WOM), including the 4 key features of pure WOM. He also explores the Top 40 phenomenon, including how a product gets on a person’s Top 40 list, how that list is altered, and how it comes into play in people’s daily lives. Using the horrid HeadOn commercials to illustrate his point, Dave talks about frequency, and the shift from mindless repetition to meaningful engagement on the part of consumers. There is also a bit on the Post-Purchase Effect, using the first-generation iPhone as an example, and a discussion about how WOM translates across cultures.

The second section makes a strong argument for the importance of human connection. I admit, I found the section a tiny bit biased (as one would expect, considering the book’s author and his “day job”), but that doesn’t make the points any less valid. Dave exposes some of the misconceptions WOM newbies have and mistakes they make, like untargeted samples, how to deal with “liars” in a WOM network, rewards vs. cash, and the concept that only losers have time to join a WOM network.

The most important point, and the focus of the last section, is that there are no shortcuts in WOM. Though he makes the point in the first section that good WOM cannot be deliberately created and controlled, the last section underlines the fact that WOM takes work. (Here, Dave contrasts the viral Numa Numa video and the resurgence of the Lacoste brand to illustrate this very effectively.)

There is a lot of talk in the book about how WOM is still considered to be an “unproven” method of advertising, compared to traditional methods, and the difficulty in proving its worth financially versus traditional media costs. (There’s a particularly funny story about one of “those people,” the ones who are just out to hate WOM, no matter what, in the second section. As Dave rightly calls it, how ironic that marketers, of all people, are calling out WOM as a con game. Have they taken a look at their “traditional” methods lately?)

I have a lot of respect for and curiosity about the work BzzAgent does – WOM is an aspect of advertising I haven’t been able to implement in my day job, but it is an area I thoroughly enjoy reading and learning about. Aside from this book being a fun, quick read, it peaked my interest by being a study in WOM itself. There’s some very interesting insight into how BzzAgent works, including how they subject themselves to the same standards and experiments they would employ for any client. This book’s BzzCampaign is part of that practice. Rather than being sold solely as a printed book, you can download the book as a PDF (for free) from a number of sources. (If you want, you can buy a hard copy of the book, too, don’t worry.) To download the book, go here. If you want to read a bit more about the book and the WOM campaign behind it, there’s an article on the Harvard Business Publishing website and another on the WOMMA website.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been a BzzAgent since 2007. I reported this review as a BzzReport for the book’s campaign. If you want to learn more about how BzzAgent works and what BzzAgents actually do, visit www.bzzagent.com.

Erin Harris | Visual Communication Designer
erinmharris.com | BoDo Author | Erin Reviews

Nationwide Insurance uses the slogan, “Life comes at you fast,” and they’re right, it does.

At the beginning of 2008, I was still trying to recoup from the horrible Fall and Winter months of 2007. After going through the exercise of planning out the year once again, I told myself 2008 was going to be my most successful one yet.

The idea(s) were there. The marketing plan sketched out. The creative juices flowing. I was ready to cold-call and kiss clients, lick stamps for postcards mailings, even send out white papers. Yadda yadda yadda. You know the drill.

Then came the unexpected. Ah yes, those delightful little ventures into Mylanta® Land that we all know we should plan for, yet rarely do.

As a “hobby,” I help people survive the unexpected. Well, I do my best anyway. You see, I’ve been a volunteer firefighter for almost 20 years. So, by owning my design business in my small community, I felt I could provide a valuable design and printing service and help my neighbors. Just some of the fine services offered here at Gonink World Headquarters.

The beginning of the year was busy for both my business and the fire department. Then on February 12th, we had two house fires in less than six hours.

I rushed away from work around 4:30 to assist a nearby department on a large house fire. Tired, I returned home around 10:00 p.m. The second call came while I was finishing up with a reheated dinner.

This house fire went from arrival to extinguishing “hot spots” in about ten minutes. No sweat. Well, okay … a little swear. It was a wee bit hot in there. Then, while standing in the kitchen conversing with one of the captains, I heard a “crack.” The next thing I knew (or didn’t, as the case may be), I was out cold. I hate when that happens.

During a trip to the emergency room, the diagnosis was a broken neck with a rouge disc pressing against my spinal cord. Lovely.

My sister works in this very ER. She’s even talked about people in my very same situation … people who don’t walk out of the hospital on their own.

First up for me? Emergency surgery to replace the disc and get the vertebrae fused together to try and prevent any further damage to my spinal cord. That sounded good. “Further damage,” sounded kind of bad.

What followed, you ask? Partially closing my business to begin a grueling set of physical therapy appointments preformed by who appeared to be a student of the Marquis DeSade. For 30 days I could only work part-time.

Obviously, the business struggled. But, by early April, I was given the green light to go back to work full-time. None the less I was still required to attend physical therapy three times each week.

At this point in my life I had tasted the sweet ambrosia of local and international success. I had endured the feast and famine phases of business. And, I learned more about how to survive than I ever imagined possible.

So what’s next?: Starting over. Succeeding professionally and personally. That’s what.

Chris Tomlinson | Designer / Printer
Gonink: Design & Print | Gonink: Blog

I’ve been up. I’ve been down. But nothing prepared me for the exciting events that took place early 2007.

Successful businesses usually start off the new year with fresh ideas. Putting pen to paper, they come up with plans to make that year better than the last. I was no different. 

In my first year I went through the experience of slow times. I felt the panic of no money coming in. I also suffered through sparse, grueling and uncreative projects, just to keep the cash flowing. The reality of the design biz is that not every gig is a glamour project. You do what have to to keep food on the table.

As it’s said, “Plan your work and work your plan,” Taking all this into account, I spent time coming up with my plan and began the implementation shortly after the start of the year. 

Then one day, it happened.

Backing up … I share an office with the landlord and his insurance business. His office assistants would drop by and chat a bit while bringing my mail. Every time they did, I would complain that bringing my bills was not a part of their job and that I wished they would stop. Of course, I was joking. Thankfully they all have a good sense of humour!

So one fine day his assistant brings me a stack of mail along with a quite large manila envelope … an envelope that says “Summit Creative Awards.” If I remember correctly, it was stamped with something to the effect of “Winner!” 

My heart started pounding. Doubts started bouncing. Doubts that I had actually been awarded for my design skills. “This can’t be”.  But it was. It so was true. I had won an international design award that receives thousands of entries annually and I was going to be recognized for this! Hallelujah!

For at least a week, I jumped around having a giddy, wonderful time sending out newsletters and press releases to every single media outlet I could find. I was confident that this award would start an avalanche of work. I mean, who wouldn’t want to work with such a creative and outstanding firm such as mine? A bit naive maybe? Ha! You’d better believe it.

Once again, I fell into the stinking thinking trap of believing that because I had an office (or as my good friend, Neil, might say “hung out my shingle”), I was guaranteed loads of work.

Ok, the summer was good, I made money, purchased equipment and projects were there. But as the year went on, I ran into the same problem in early Autumn. Seems I have seasonal issue on my hands.

Business came to a near standstill … again. My phone stopped ringing … again. Panic set in … again. I started buying Mylanta®  by the case… again. And this time it turned out worse than before. But wait! There’s more!

Even though I was now at the end of the year and I’m hitting what is turning out to be my slow time, another great achievement was headed my way. Gonink  was nominated for, and won, “Business of the Year” at my local Chamber of Commerce. 

So, in less than 12 months I had garnered an international award for our design and a local business award for Gonink. You’d think things couldn’t be brighter, right? That it was going to be nothing but success for me here on out, right? 

Wrong. In the words of Dickens, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” As any seasoned business owner will tell you, life & business can and do come crumbling down. Just because things look 

In February of 2008 it did just that. Literally.

Up next: Tragedy hits. Closing the doors for good a real possibility.

Chris Tomlinson | Designer / Printer
Gonink: Design & Print | Gonink: Blog

In Part One, I was happily living the creative dream life with a full time business of my own. Being my own boss, I could and did make my own hours. Work came to me so no more chomping at the bit waiting for the phone to ring. I didn’t have to market every day, because, by golly, I had work coming in! I’m figuring this is a piece of cake. I felt like I was on the top of the world with the perfect business … a dream business … all mine.

After launching, I joined the local chamber. Soon, I found myself accepted my nomination to the Board of Directors. Shortly there after, I started developing the chamber Website. I was flying high and business could not have been better.

That all started to change in late September when my workload started drying up. By early October, my front door no longer resembled a revolving door. It was more like a steel gate locking people out. Or so, I thought.

Remember my statement, “I didn’t have to market every day, because, by golly, I had work coming in!“? Well, the truth is I didn’t market AT ALL during the slow times or the busy times. No seasoned professional at BoDo, or anywhere for that matter, will tell you that’s a good idea. 

Calling for help, I found myself leaning on business associates and those aforementioned pros. Pros who knew how to work the system and keep gigs coming in.

Thinking that my business was going to collapse in just a few short months of opening full-time, I truly began to panic. I doubted my abilities and my business experience (which was nil to none, by the way). Losing confidence in my abilities, I even thought that maybe people just didn’t like me (crazy, yes?).

Slowly, towards the end of October business started to pick back up. In November we launched the Churubusco Chamber’s website at www.churubuscochamber.org.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I felt that it was just one of those down times every business experiences and that we were going to be just fine. But, I also knew that not getting “out there” was something I needed to avoid. The trick, it seemed, was crafting a plan and then actually implementing it.

Around this time, I entered my business’ logo into an internationally recognized design competition called The Summit Creative Awards. I shelled out the money for the entry fee and then took my time getting around sending in the entry. So much so, the organization started emailing me asking where my entry was. In a stellar moment of blatant self doubt, I thought, “Oh yeah, that thing. The thing I won’t win because I’m not a super designer. The thing I won’t win because I’m just a dinky little store front copy shop that gets a few gigs here and there.” I finally mustarded up the courage, printed the logo on some high quality photo paper and sent it in.

That logo entry and my business networking was going to start a tidal wave of good things for me at the beginning and end of 2007.

Up next: What it’s like to win awards and feel successful. Then yet again, have business fall flat.

Chris Tomlinson | Designer / Printer
Gonink: Design & Print | Gonink: Blog

Every business goes through its ups and downs. The graphic design business is no different. The best way to survive down times and live life to the fullest is to plan ahead. But, even the best laid plans can get disrupted by unforeseen events. That’s where contingency planning comes into play. They can save your business

In the next five posts I’ll walk you through a real life business situation. Mine. Hopefully you gain insight as to how running your business can be fun, frustrating, scary and enjoyable … all rolled into one.

So, in the immortal words of Glinda, the Good Witch, “It’s always best to start at the beginning.”

In the Spring of 2005, a good friend bought a substantial piece of property which included a large building. The plan was to develop the area into a small shopping complex. You know the type; offices, fast food, etc. For whatever reason that particular project fell through.

He then came to me to see if I would move my graphic design business to his building. My “business” at that time was a haphazard attempt at becoming a full time freelancer, working from home. It’s the way most of us start out. 

Any creative reading this knows the dream of making your own hours, watching the tv while designing this or that, sitting at home amongst all of your amenities and living the “good” life. Some of you might also know that it’s not that easy. A few others might know this kind of “loosy goosy” approach to business is one reason some clients perceive us as unprofessional. It’s also pretty much a sure-fire route to reading the want ads.

After  loads of soul searching, I decided to give it a whirl on a part time basis. As luck would have it, I was sitting pretty. My full time job allowed me to work partial daytime hours. So, in late November 2005, I officially opened Gonink: Design & Print and prepared for an onslaught of work. With a waiting list of work in hand, even before my doors opened, I had lofty hopes of this being a success.

After eight months of almost 18 hour days, seven days a week, I knew something had to give. My body was taking a physical and mental beating from the lack of sleep and increased stress. So, yet again, I was faced with another tough decision – either close down the business, or quit my full time job and go full time with gonink.

To make this daring leap into the business world, I had to dig even deeper to believe in myself and my business. I planned everything out for both general business and marketing. I made sure I had enough money to cover me. I worked out contingency plans if things didn’t go they way I thought. Finally, on June 6, 2006, I made the switch. Later on I joked about how I picked an opening date of 666. But, thankfully, the next 18 months proved that number wrong.

Lessons learned: 

1. Believe in yourself and your abilities
2. Plan your work and work your plan
3. Keep focused

Before you make the leap, be sure you have enough money to cover your business and personal expenses for at least three months. Six is better. A year’s worth is great.

Up next: What it’s like to feel successful and win awards. As well as the gut wrenching anxiety of a business slowdown.

Chris Tomlinson | Designer / Printer
Gonink: Design & Print | Gonink: Blog

So, I think I’ve mentioned this before: I don’t like pink books for “girls”. They bother me. For one, I don’t like pink. Second, I’m not twelve. But I will forgive the Girl’s Guide chicks their magenta book cover both because it’s relatively tasteful in its design, and because the information inside it is so good.

The Girl’s Guide to Kicking Your Career Into Gear by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio is an excellent collection of interviews, advice, and the authors’ personal experiences. The third book in their “Girl’s Guide” series focuses on your career as a whole, whereas the first two were about starting your own business and being a boss (respectively). They start out with a simple, but important, point: “If you’re not looking out for your career, then no one is.”

Chapters cover where you are now (“You Are Here”) and where you want to be, the “new girl’s network,” change and challenges, and “thinking big.” The section that I found the most helpful, however, was the one on fear. Aside from the usual advice about confronting difficult coworkers, Friedman and Yorio make the observation that owning your success is scary:

“To say the sentence ‘I am successful’ out loud is uncomfortable for most of us. There are several reasons why this is the case. As women, we have been raised never to boast, and downplaying our successes has become a comfortable way to connect with other people. … The key is for all of us is to define our own success.”

They go on to talk about their own experiences in writing their books, and how their decision to think positively and take control really changed their outlook, and attracted more good things to them. It sounds cheesy, but they explain it well, and it really makes sense. As they put it, “When you believe that you are surrounded by idiots and your boss just doesn’t understand how hard you work and that you should work somewhere else but can’t afford to leave your job — then you have accepted that your career is not under your control.” They also talk about gender stereotypes and how to work with them (and break some of them), and handling challenges at work and at home.

The book ends with Part Four, entitled “Think Big”. Part Four discusses the overall picture: what do you want? Is it the corner office? Flex time? A raise? It also talks about getting what you deserve by, oddly enough, asking for it. The section finishes up with a chapter on leadership and delegating (something that many women have a hard time doing). Susan Heathfield, a management consultant, shares her “12 C’s for Effective Team-Building,” and the Guide girls provide “Fifteen Things We Learned From Girls Taking Charge.” Since this book came out fairly recently (January 2008), the ladies are still off on their book tour, but they’ve got some good information on their website, www.girlsguidetobusiness.com, along with a (slightly neglected) blog and calendar.

Though there’s some useful stuff in this book for everyone, women are more likely to enjoy it (for obvious reasons). What I’m finding, though, is that the Girl’s Guides aren’t the stereotypical “grrl power!” pink books, and for that, I give them a lot of credit. It’s hard to strike a balance between good business advice and the specific difficulties women face, but these ladies do an admirable job.

Erin Harris | Visual Communication Designer
erinmharris.com | BoDo Author | Erin Reviews

We’ve come to an end, ladies and gentlemen (and those who have yet to make up your minds). We’ve talked about never working for free again, never working against your education and training, working on your own terms and educating yourself as you go along. We’ve found places to look for pro bono opportunities, places to find contracts and ways to deal with difficulties. We even found ways to trumpet your success to the masses. What could possibly be left?

Well…to be honest with you…not much. I don’t know about you guys but I’m exhausted. Except maybe one thing. Because there’s one big secret about this entire series:

I’m not getting paid to do this. Not a single word. Not a single line.

I took this series on for about four separate reasons. I wanted to write for BoDo because I believe in BoDo. I wanted to learn about online blogging, online publishing and online writing. I wanted to expand my knowledge of Web 2.0 as more than a catchphrase. And I wanted a creative outlet to write about something I loved.

To this endeavor I brought to the table over ten years of experience and endless hours of college and real-world education. I know nonprofits - good, bad and ugly, inside and out. I know freelance work. I know people. I know writing for the public. I know kung fu.

But there were many things I didn’t know when I started. I didn’t know about timed publishing, but I learned very quickly; I didn’t comprehend the vagaries of HTML, but I picked it up as I went along; I didn’t know how time-consuming responding to comments would be (nor how much fun it was!) but I threw myself into it with glee; I had no idea how WordPress worked, but I made it happen.

Did I benefit from this series? You bet your sweet tuckus I did.

I currently work for a very large, very nice, very professional non-profit that decided to upgrade their website. We were called in to a meeting about the redesign where we were asked the following questions:

“Have you ever worked with CSS and online publishing?” Why, yes I do…now.

“Do you have any experience with HTML editing?” Why, yes I do…now.

“Do you know about tagging? How about SEO.” Why, yes I do…now.

I could keep going, but you get the drift. I learned. I grew. I’ve expanded my understanding of the creation of an online presence exponentially. All because I was willing to say yes - to working pro bono on my terms, on my time and in my way.

And I have triumphed. I’ve added nearly a dozen lines to my professional resume, my career skill-set and my personal growth. I even picked up a dozen freelance writing gigs along the way that did make money. I didn’t make a dime on this series and yet I’m richer for every word I put into it. I’ve gathered something that can never ever be taken away, devalued or spent.

Maybe you think “I don’t have time to work for free.” Hogwash; I pull a 40-hour workweek and a full set of weekend activities and managed just fine. Perhaps you think “Well, that’s great for you, but I’m not a writer — I’m a different type of creative individual.” Rubbish again; whether you write, code, design, illustrate or sing jingles you can follow these articles and reap the benefits just as I did.

There are millions of reasons to say no to a new project. Some of them are even believable. But those reasons are just a million little fears made manifest in the smoke of your insecurity. The fear of what-might-happen is the most subtle and insidious poison ever manufactured inside the human mind. The easiest way to combat that fear is simple; step into the unknown and it will not follow.

Work pro-bono to free your mind. Once you get past the minutiae, you’re free to focus on the bigger and better things. They’ll make you bigger, better people. And, young or old, newbie or veteran — the rules still apply. Always get something back, even if you work for free. Treat your pro-bono work and clients like paid jobs and they’ll return the favor. Make a contract to protect everyone’s best interests (with a few extra steps in there to save your own skin). Ask questions. Learn about things you didn’t know before. When the work is done, show the world. Bigger and better, folks…bigger and better.

I wish the best of all things to all of you who have taken on a project pro bono. To my collaborators and friends: Jeff Fisher, Tamar Wallace, Calvin Lee, Jay Wickham and the unflagging support of my editor-in-chief and cheerleader Catherine Morley, I thank you from the bottom of my big fat motherly heart. And to those of you still on the fence - just go ahead and say yes to pro bono! The worst that can happen is that you’ll learn something about yourself, your world and your work.

I encourage you to ask questions and leave comments and tell me how you feel, what you think, and let me know what I’ve missed or just to say hello. In the meantime and every time - be gentle with yourself.

Thanks, and ciao for now.

This series has been dedicated to the exploration of pro bono practices: from how to find the non-profit client, understanding the expectations of not-for profit work, setting up contracts to protect both parties and the successful (and not so successful) ways to educate yourself and your client on how creatives can and should work together to the benefit of all involved.

Thomas (Tom) Stephan | Director of Something Clever
BoDo Author | Dyer Straits | Working Pro-bono

Brought to you by Ilise Benun and the Creative Freelancer Conference
August 27-29, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago
www.CreativeFreelancerConference.com

1. Look Closely and You’ll Find Your Market
When building your market, don’t start from scratch if you can avoid it. The foundation of your business should be rooted strongly in something you know well and in which you already have some expertise. Even if you’re just starting out, you’ve got a history. Past employment experience, a recent pro bono or side project, or even a hobby can be used as a diving board.

If you’re making the transition from corporate work, it’s important to build on that investment, even if you are sick of the field you are coming from. It will be much easier to leverage the relationships and the knowledge you already have than trying to do everything at once. Starting a business and approaching a new market simultaneously is double the work. Once you have a business under way, then you can move toward new markets.

2. Cherry Picking The Best Prospects
One of the benefits of being a freelancer is that you don’t need hundreds of clients. You can afford to target your market very specifically. If your market is non-profit organizations, you don’t have to reach out to thousands of them. Instead, you can choose the ten or twenty-five or fifty you want to work with and pursue only them.

Always keep your eyes open for the choice prospects whose names you come across online and in magazine articles. Then, take a moment to write them a letter, send them an e-mail or just pick up the phone and call to introduce yourself. This is a cold call, yes, but what makes this kind of cold call instantly warm is your genuine interest in this company.

Plus, it’s very flattering to your prospect to hear that you are calling because you have chosen them based on what you’ve seen and what you have to offer. If there really is a fit that you can describe clearly, they just might agree to meet with you. And that may well develop into a lucrative and productive working relationship, either now or later.

3. How to Get Out of a Conversation
Some people have no trouble getting into conversations; it’s getting out of them that presents the problem. So if you don’t start conversations for fear of not being able to stop them, here are 3 strategies to experiment with:

• Get a refill. If there’s food or drink involved in the event, you can always say, “I think I need a refill.” Or you can smile and say, “Excuse me. I need another one of those Swedish meatballs.”
• Involve another person. Introduce another person into the conversation. Then say, “Excuse me while I let you two get to know each other.”
• Stand up. Sometimes you don’t have to say anything. Just stand up! Your conversation partner is likely to take the nonverbal cue.

4. How to rate your prospects
Not all prospects are equal. Some are better than others. Some are worth more effort than others. But how to keep track of it all when the phone is ringing and the email is piling up?

The first thing to determine a rating for each prospect. For example:
“C” = prospects with a casual interest
“B” = prospects with a qualified need and a possible project
“A” = qualified prospects with an actual project
“A+” = prospects who have given you a verbal commitment but haven’t yet signed on

Once you know where all your prospects stand on this scale, you can then determine the best way to contact each (and the proper frequency for each prospect). A creative solopreneur typically pursues a “C” opportunity three or four times in the course of one month. A “B” lead is worth a few more tries (and for a bit longer). While an “A” opportunity deserves more persistence for a longer period of time.

Be sensitive to each situation, and temper your persistence with your gut feeling. If the prospect in question travels a lot, or is an extremely busy executive, it’s unlikely she will drop what she’s doing when you call, but she still may want you to stay in touch.

5. What is Your Money Mentality?
Are you one of those freelancers who is detail-oriented about words or images, but fuzzy when it comes to money?

Do you know how much income you need to generate in order to pay your bills every month, or do you just cross your fingers and hope enough money comes in?

For many creative types, dealing with money is an obstacle to doing business. “I’m bad with numbers,” is a common refrain and, frankly, a common excuse used to neglect essential business tasks like billing.

One fundamental aspect of the financial end of running a design business is the mental attitude you bring to the process. Which of these statements is most familiar to you:

“I can’t stand dealing with money.”
or
“This financial thing is a challenge, but I’m going to learn it and make it work for me.”

How about these:

“I can’t afford to spend money on marketing.”
Or
“What do I need to do in order to afford the marketing I know I need to grow my business?”

It’s up to you. You can choose between an open or closed mentality. Open is better and will facilitate the growth of your business. With this positive mental attitude as a foundation, you can begin planning a business that will support you, your goals, and your future.

6. Why You Must Not Reveal Your Hourly Rate
In order to run a healthy and profitable business, you must know how long it takes you to do various tasks and projects. In essence, you must know your expenses, and time is a major expense. (That’s why it’s essential to track your time.)

However, your hourly rate is not your price.

It’s one of the building blocks of your price, so you need to know what it is, but use it only for internal purposes. Use your hourly rate to determine what to charge for a project, but never reveal that hourly rate in a proposal or in conversations with your client. Not only is it none of their business, it also wouldn’t mean anything to them. An hourly rate is only relevant in relation to how long a project takes, and they have no idea how long your design process takes. By talking about your hourly rate, you open the door to their assumptions.

So when a client asks you how long a project will take, never say, “This will take X hours.” The only thing they need to know about time is when they can expect to receive the deliverable.

Instead, you say, “Let me check what we have on the schedule, and I’ll get back to you with a time frame. In the meantime, let me know your deadline and I will do my best to accommodate it.”

7. Use Your Web Site to Weed Out Tire-Kickers
As a freelancer, you don’t have a lot of time to spare. So you don’t want to waste your time with prospects who can’t afford you. But how do you know that before talking to them?

Your web site can serve as a filter.

Post a form on your web site that prospects fill out if they want an estimate or proposal. The serious prospects will take the time to fill out your form. Tire-kickers and those shopping for price will not.

The form, once filled out, also will give structure to the request, help to focus your potential client and put in one place all (or most) of the information you need to get started preparing a proposal.

Beyond that, this structure also gives your prospect a sense of how you work and some of the requirements of working with you. It’s part of your positioning as a professional.

Here are some of the questions you should include on your web site’s proposal request form:

• How did you hear of us?
• Briefly describe your company.
• What is your immediate need?
• Do you have a budget?
• What is your deadline?
• How and when is it best to contact you?

8. How to Deal With Scope Creep
Scope creep — when uncontrolled changes affect the scope of a project – can be the bane of a freelancer’s existence. If you don’t address it with a client, you easily could squander all your profit on a job.

Scope creep sets in when a project is not well-defined, well-planned or well-managed, or when there is a change in direction. If this happens early in a project, it may be a sign that you didn’t ask enough questions at the outset, or that you underestimated the project.

When this happens, above all, don’t procrastinate. The most important aspect of managing scope creep is communication. As soon as you see that a project is veering off course and that you will be spending more time or more money, you must advise your client immediately and decide together how to handle it.

If, for example, in a status meeting or phone call, it becomes obvious that what you are being asked to do is outside the scope of the project, say so right away: “That is outside the scope of the project as we outlined it in the proposal, so we’ll need to review that and possibly revise the pricing. Are you aware of that?” Then, initiate a “change order” to document the changes.

It’s also a good idea to include a reference to scope creep in your contract so there are no surprises. A simple paragraph that outlines the process if scope creep starts to happen will plant the necessary seed so that you can bring it up much more easily later.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt