Tuesday 29 September 2009

How do I find that next project?

If you're having a quiet period this is the $64,000 question - and sometimes it seems as though everyone you meet has a 'magic' answer that will get you that elusive next contract.

Chatting to Skillfair member Nick Harvey last week reminded me that it's doing the basic things that really counts. Nick mainly takes on interim roles so is either incredibly busy or 'resting' as actors would call it. In the quiet times his policy is to 'do useful stuff' - that is; get out and meet existing contacts who are themselves busy; offer to help people bid for work; be active in his professional body/networking groups. In short, to keep busy and be seen as a 'useful person to know'.

While this may seem a rather random approach it works for two reasons. Firstly, if you meet enough people who are actively in business you will eventually meet someone who realises you ca help them - and secondly, while this may seem bizarre - people are more inclined to do business with people who are already busy.

Seems to work for Nick anyway, half an hour after we finished our chat he emailed to say the bid team he's been working with has landed a tender :-)

Friday 18 September 2009

What animal represents your consultancy?

I regularly give talks and run workshops on marketing consultancy and one of my favourite approaches is to ask the participants to draw themselves or their business as an animal. This usually generates a fair amount of nervous laughter and comments about lack of drawing ability. Fortunately I can't draw for toffee either so when people see my efforts on the flip chart they feel able to give it a go.

The sheer range of creatures we wind up with is amazing- from hyenas, cuddly teddy bears, fish fowl and sometimes an imaginary creature. The most surprising one last night was the very friendly and chatty consultant who protrayed himself (very artistically I may say) as a 'bull in a china shop'.

The interesting thing about this exercise is it helps you think in a more creative and personal way about your business. If you also take an objective look at the creature you come up with from a clients point of view it can also lead you to changes you need to make in your approach to attract more or better clients.

So what kind of animal best represents your consultancy practice?

Tuesday 8 September 2009

Spell Check Your Profile on the Web

I'm probably the last person the web to discover this - but I've just found that Firefox, Chrome and Safari all provide built-in spell checking functions. Given the number of times I mis-type words like netwroking and marekting this can only be a good thing!

If you have a spare half hour I'd recommend downloading the latest version of your favourite browser and then checking through any online profiles for typos and spelling errors (they come underlined in red).

For information on the browsers use these links;

http://www.google.com/chrome
http://www.apple.com/safari/download/
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/

NB you may need to load a dictionary to make the firefox spell checker work - just right click on any web form and select Add Dictionaries

It's not entirely clear if Internet Explorer version 8 has a spell checker but no doubt it will soon - this is the link to download.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/worldwide-sites.aspx

Wednesday 2 September 2009

Hiding in plain sight - are you visible?

Like I suspect quite a few parents around the UK I've been mulling over the possibility of getting some extra tuition for one of my sons. After asking around it seems the web is the place to find a tutor and the process has been quite informative. There are a mix of directories, tutor agencies that are easily found - plus a handful of sites that just run adverts that take you to yet more directories.

Agencies are remarkably coy about pricing and you have to dig quite deep to find out what their T&Cs are (sound familiar?) but what struck me most of all was the variation in the profiles loaded by tutors on directories. Some were excellent, giving you a real sense of who the person was, where they would be able to help and whether they would be a good fit. At the other extreme there were a number of apparently local tutors with completely blank profiles - who have all missed out on a possible opportunity.

I know from my own experience that real life often gets in the way of loading uinformation on websites, I've lost count of the number I'm registered with and keeping them up to date can be very time-consuming - but if you've taken the time to register and paid for a directory entry (whether its as a tutor, a consultant on Skillfair or any other site) it does seem to be a real waste to leave your entry blank!