ICYMI: The Independent Practitioners Alliance is featuring its popular speakers in quick Q&A format to give you some input even on your busiest days.
Today, we’re featuring Scott Mann who was a presenter at IPA’s 2017 PR VirtuCon. Mann is the creative director and founder of Highforge and touched on many issues at VirtuCon, including the theme of the conference: Being an independent practitioner means freedom to control the type of work you do and the clients for whom you do it. It means you are in charge. But going it alone also means your bandwidth is limited, and sometimes so are your resources.
Mann shares with us his “Guide to Winning Clients” – and also preserving your wits and grace for every client interaction you have on a daily basis.
Q: When indies get busy with current clients, they often forget to chase new ones. We all know that the costs of developing new clients can be more than investing in the ones you already have. So how do you balance this every day, every month or every quarter?
A: You can’t balance these needs unless you’re looking into the future. But it can be done. It takes about an hour once a week, but I believe a cash flow projection spreadsheet is crucial. It’s likely the only forward thinking accounting you’ll ever do. Running the numbers out 90 days will tell you when and where your landmines are and will inform where your efforts need to be. For example, if two big retainers end two months out and there’s nothing to replace it, you want to plan for that in advance before you find yourself in a hole.
Q: What do we often miss (or mess up) in our own marketing?
A: The two primary reasons small businesses fail are tax issues and marketing. Either invest your time in getting good at these things or hire good partners to do these tasks. To get more specific on marketing, I think the most important thing you can do is make sure you’re strategic with your time and money. Doing something because people say it’s important isn’t the same as doing something with a purpose.
For example, everyone might tell you being on social media is important. So you invest a bunch of hours making it look good, writing content, posting updates but all for what? What’s your strategy? Are you talking to the right people? Are you getting engagement and traction? Are you getting leads? How do you define success or failure? If it isn’t measurable, then you’re wasting your time.
Instead, approach marketing with a purpose and to learn. For example, invest $1,000 in Facebook ads for anyone who is friends of my friends or that say they are a communications director. Measure the results. Determine if you get more than $1,000 (plus your time or the cost of the help you needed to set up) from that investment, then determine if you want to reinvest, pivot or try a different strategy.
Test fast and move fast, don’t set it and forget it. The bad news is this takes a lot of time in the beginning. The good news is that once you’re getting results it starts to require a lot less effort.
Q: How do we ask for a raise for our remarkable results – and how do we keep up with inflation – especially when clients are in a cost-cutting mode?
A: A couple things here: 1) getting a raise requires planning up front before you ever start the work and 2) managing expectations of the future in your initial contract. There are many options. You can build a contract/retainer just a like an employment agreement, with bonuses and raises built in based on results. You can build in a default minimum increase year over year. You can build in a contract review quarterly or annually where you meet and review and adjust rates and expectations (and make sure you don’t skip it even if you’re keeping rates the same).
If this hasn’t been done up front and you’re looking to increase your fees, then your work is harder but it can be done. To avoid taking a dip in income, use my leapfrog method. As you add a new client at your higher rates, go back to your lowest rate (or most demanding) client and tell them you’re increasing your rates based on your higher levels of service and experience. If they leave, it’s not a loss. Not being afraid to lose a client gives you exponential confidence when negotiating higher rates.
Q: If the business model is “about them – not you,” how do we stress that to the client every day in every way?
A: Clients don’t do what you do. They don't know what you know. And paying you can be scary because they may not fully understand what goes into your work or what to expect. They are usually scared. Fear erodes trust. Your primary job is to build trust. Every miscue, late reply, mistake, disagreement, etc., requires 10-25 positive touches to repair the damage. This means more touches! Both personal and professional wherever possible. Approach with empathy, ask questions in every interaction, and take time in your busy schedule to pause and put yourself in their shoes as often as possible. And one of my secret magic tactics to build goodwill and relationships – write thank you or personal notes and mail them.
Q: How do you set yourself apart from a competitor?
A: It’s all about asking more questions than the competition and listening twice as much as I’m talking. Being thoughtful about my questions and being genuinely interested in making another person’s world better is key. This opens a lot of doors that normally wouldn’t be open.
Q: Last words of advice?
Meditation, prayer, yoga, nutrition, family, friends, travel (or your equivalents) ... are all more important than work. You will be much more successful and more passionate with your work when your self care comes first. There are no exceptions to this rule.
You can follow Scott Mann on Twitter here or connect with him on LinkedIn.