As a solopreneur, sole trader or micro business owner – would you let you neighbour walk in and raid your pantry, at will, for free? After all you took the time to go shop for the contents, you paid for the contents and you stored the contents for your benefit, right? Even the neighbour who pops over for the odd cup of sugar can get a bit annoying if they do it often enough.
So why are you állowing others to raid your intellectual pantry – after all you sourced the training and life experience to fill it, you paid for that training and experience and you currently have it stored for your own business purposes, in the most fabulous computer system of all – your brain. Not to mention all those manuals and books in your book shelf, CD sets DVD’s…..OK so you get the picture. So why DO you allow others to raid your intellectual pantry?
Some times the person wanting to pick your brain looks innocent enough, they stroke your ego and talk about how they’re just getting started and see you as the expert
‘Mary-Jane suggested I call you and arrange a coffee, she says your an expert at……………..and might be able to give me a’some guidance’
They offer to take you for coffee or meet you for lunch and take up at least an hour or more of your time, sometimes emailing or calling again later for more FREE advice.
‘Oh Just a quick phone call, what would you do about…………..’
Now it’s all very well to be willing to make a contribution BUT your need to be very clear about what you’re doing.
I find this happens a lot when your business is - consulting, coaching, marketing, PR anytime someone thinks they will get what they need from you during a conversation. Somehow they think a cup of coffee is appropriate compensation for an hour of ’picking your brain’.
Lets face it there is loads of FREE stuff available out there – articles, pod casts, videos and if you can’t find what you need for free it probably means you need to pay for that level of expertise. In my situation as a business coach to solopreneurs, sole traders you know micro business owners (1-4 team members), they have a bunch of information or ideas but they really struggle to implement. I am super good at what I do and an hour with me does make a difference, an hour a week or a fortnight makes more of a difference – but here’s the thing – like any business owner an hour of my time is worth way more than a cup of coffee.
Can I pick your brain over coffee?
So what to do when some calls asking to take you to coffee for a chat?
- Ask Them specifically what they want to meet with you to discuss – you can do this over the phone or ask them to email you a list of things they hoped to cover or discover during the time with you.
- Ask Yourself - what’s in this for me? - I am serious, is it going to make you feel good, bring you a new client, maybe this person could be a great Joint Venture or referral partner OR does it feel like a waste of time for you?
- Make a Choice a) agree to have a coffee and explore the mutual benefits b) let them know what your consulting fees are and send them their payments options, once they have paid for the consult they can arrange an appointment with you; c). say ‘No Thanks‘ that doesn’t work for me and direct them to some free resources
We’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback and experience so please leave your comments below!
Lenore, a great article that highlights one of the main issues consultants can and do face. You’ve offered some positive solutions and at least the concept of considering it and what one can do about it.
Personally, I find there are two key aspects to when this happens. The first is about my attitude around my business that I am a ‘giver’ and the second is the ability to be assertive and guide the process. It’s all about finding the balance between the two.
When I say I have an attitude around my business that I am a ‘giver’, I’m meaning that on the initial conversation (usually a phone call), I will give of what I know, relating to their query. It is an ideal opportunity to profile for them your knowledge, the fact that you are open and communicative and allows them to gauge synchronicity with working with you.
Within a reasonable period of time, I will always then throw into the conversation something along the lines of, “So, is that the kind of solution you are looking for?” You HAVE to challenge with a call-to-action at some point. If they come back with a pensive,”I’m not really sure”, then neither am I. I don’t proceed and that’s a call I make right then. I don’t send them anything, I don’t post any packages to them. Nothing. It says to me a) they’re not ready – for whatever reason, b) they haven’t asked enough other people to know or understand what I’m saying or appreciate that I know what I’m saying, or c) they don’t have the money to pay for the solution. And I move on.
However, invariably, their response is positive and sometimes even outright enthusiastic. “Great”, I say. Then, here’s the clincher. “This is how I work. My initial half hour [note the time-limit] consultation where I take your Brief is free, and I usually conduct that at my office here in Hamilton. {Note: I don’t go out to coffee because a 1/2 hour stretches to 11/2 hours. Realistically, it is always harder to LEAVE a mutual meeting point; at my office, I can say ‘I’m expecting another appointment’ to cut it short. It also has the psychological ‘I’m in charge of the situation’ element to it. Let’s be real, meeting for coffee is more for ‘friends’ or long-standing clients, not to win them.} Alternatively, I send them a GoToMeeting hook-up invitation which formalises the intention and provides an outline of discussion points which they may contemplate or investigate prior to the meeting. This is highly encouraged and leads to gaining a better insight of what they are looking for at the meeting.
Then I go on to say, “Once I have your Brief, I’ll prepare a Project Proposal and if you like what you see, we’ll proceed from there.” [This is a basic branded template which I tweak for each client]. Doing it this way, ensures that moving forward, time assigned for the client is genuine billable time, and most clients respect the professionalism in approach. By the way, the concept of billable time from that point forward is outlined in the Proposal, as is the rate and terms of payment.
It is a transparent and easy to understand approach when working with clients. The beauty about it is, ‘set it straight at the beginning’ and you will eliminate – or at the very least, deter – billing issues, payment issues or misinterpreations of client expectations.
All-in-all, let’s say I’ve spent an hour of my time on a prospect.
The other most important element in all this, which I’m sure Lenore is another post, relates to the fact that not every potential client is a viable client who will be aligned with your expectations, operations or business focus. You need to learn ‘how’ to turn down clients if they are not suitable to you.
Trust there is something here that helps your consultant readers!
Cheers
Angela.
Hi Angela,
Thanks for the comprehensive response and consideration you have given. I know this will be very valuable to consultants who are reading this post, I already have someone in mind who will definitely benefit from reading your response.
I have a similar approach for potential coaching clients 30 minute introductory session which is also conducted over the phone. I like the 2 way nature of this interaction – I get to see if they are an ideal match for me and they get to do the same. The decision to proceed or not as made at the end of the call.
I usually find the step that is missing for most consultants/coaches is asking the right questions on that first phone call to find out what that person actually wants from them and in the business world not everyone who calls is a potential client, sometimes they become a fabulous sources of referrals or even a JV partner on future projects. I have to say there are some coffee meetings I am extremely grateful I accepted as they have lead to way more business than just one more client!
Over all, like everything in life, it’s a balancing act! My suggestion to clients is to have a process/system in place, ask great questions and listen for the hidden opportunities in every conversation.
Cheers
Lenore