Mitch Mitchell of SEO Xcellence led the discussion, and below is the outline and highlights of the discussion:

The basic anatomy of a scam is comprised of 3 things:

1. It’s too good to be true
2. It looks legit but isn’t
3. You don’t see it coming.

People tend to get swayed by two things. One, making money, especially when times are tough, and two, the promise of bigger money that your logical mind says can’t be possible, yet your other mind decides to explore. These are the things scams are built on.

Next we have the different types of scams and how they’re presented to us. They are:

1. Email

Everyone’s gotten email from someone promising us millions if we’ll send them a few dollars. When it comes to businesses, the letters are better written and the promises not as large, but the same type of thing occurs.

2. Regular mail

These things come all the time in the mail, sometimes by postcard or flyer, but we have to read them carefully.

3. Banners/flyers

If you see anything posted on a pole or on a wall, it’s probably not the best business opportunity in the world.

4. Online Scams

You can find some legitimate work in places like Craigslist, but there are also a lot of scams that are looking to take your money and run.

5. Phone calls

These people sound legitimate, but you can’t promise anything to anyone until you’ve had time to research it. I had one weeks ago from someone representing GSA jobs, but the costs for going with them involved a monthly consulting fee of $250 and a fee per contract they helped write of $6,000 per, with no promise of getting the contract. You have to research everything.

6. Link scams

This is where you read something that looks really good and you want more information so you click on a link, and the next thing you know you have either spyware, malware or a virus on your computer; never good.

7. MLM

This topic got a lot of debate as to whether it’s a scam or just a bad business model. The general consensus was that these things promise you the opportunity to supplement your business with cash yet, because of their nature, end up flooding the market with so many others trying to market the same thing that you’re never going to make any money off it, and it distracts you from your regular business.

The final piece of the discussion centered around the topic of the types of offers that take money and time away from you working on your own business. The categories were:

1. MLM

Discussed above

2. Fake business/payment schemes

Remember that online scam point above? One of our members contacted someone on what looked like a great deal, only the person wouldn’t meet them in person. The last correspondence was the potential client saying he’d send a check for an amount way over what the work was worth, asking the person to cash it and send back the rest of what the check was for. Luckily, no papers were signed, but it looked good up until that point.

3. “You market me and I’ll pay you a percentage”

This is a scam because you’ve just signed on to be a de facto sales person for someone else during a time when you’re trying to market your own services. If you have need to use a certain product all the time and you value it, such as maybe being a computer repair person that only uses a certain type of hard drive when repairing computers, that might not be a bad idea, but otherwise anything that takes you away from marketing yourself first is an indirect scam.

4. “Pay me and I’ll tell you about a lead”

This goes along with point #5 above and even goes further. There are many websites that say they have lots of jobs and contracts you can bid for, but you have to pay them for access. Although nothing is ever guaranteed, you can bet that by looking around you’ll find the same jobs or potential contracts on your own with a little research.
 

In the beginning, PCA was a loosely-connected group of a half dozen or so men and women who gathered monthly to share coffee and information about consulting and business in general. Some were former employees of national or regional consulting firms while others were refugees from Corporate America. Some were experienced consultants and some were new to the profession. Each had a different area of expertise and body of knowledge they had accumulated over time. The only thing they had in common was their interest in becoming the best independent consultants they could be.

None of the original members remain involved with PCA today but the foundation they laid down hasn’t changed much over twenty years. While PCA is now incorporated as a Sec. 502 (C3) not-for-profit organization, current members still come from a variety of backgrounds and still have different areas of expertise. Some have many years of consulting experience and some are relatively new. They still meet monthly to share coffee and information, bound by that same common interest — the desire to become the best independent consultants they can by sharing their experiences and learning from others’ experiences. As one member expressed it many years ago, “I don’t expect to live long enough to make all the mistakes myself.”

The monthly meetings give members an opportunity to learn not only from each other but from outside experts as well. This year alone, there have been programs exploring the effects the new health care law will have on business owners, practicing the fine art of negotiation, using social media to grow your business and making sure you get paid for your services fully and promptly. Future programs include learning how to control your expenses, promoting your practice through print media, avoiding costly scams and developing and adhering to a code of professional and personal ethics. The opportunity to sit and talk with Central New York business leaders in a “shirt-sleeve” atmosphere gives members a valuable insight into the business of doing business.

Over the course of its existence, PCA membership has grown and contracted in cycles as new members arrived while former members left the field, accepted employment in another company or simply became too busy to allow them to participate. Currently, PCA is in an expansion mode. We invite all independent professional consultants to attend a meeting and explore the personal and professional benefits of PCA membership. We believe the value you will receive far exceeds the time you will invest.

Dick Snyder is the president of the Professional Consultant’s Association of Central New York.
 

via Flickr

It’s an interesting topic when you think about it because most of us have had an instance where we’ve wondered if or when we’re going to get paid for our work. Even if we have a contract, sometimes it takes some effort to get paid, to the extent that we might have to go the legal route to get our money.

Rob had taken a look at the contracts of many of us to see if there were any glaring omissions and he didn’t find any. Then he made recommendations to the group, as well as asked a very intriguing question that everyone in the room had to give affirmation to. Here were 3 main points and the big question, which we’ll start with.

1. Would you rather you not be paid or your competition not be paid? So many consultants and small businesses are afraid to cut loose clients who don’t pay us timely or at all because we’re worried those folks might go to someone else. Rob’s question to us was why we feel those clients are worthy to continue working with us if we’re always fighting to get paid by them, and just how much are we losing if they go to someone else.

2. Make sure to get the legal entity on the contract. His point here is that many times you’re signing up to do business with an organization but either the wrong person is signing or the contract is set up for the person to sign as themselves when you’re actually working for someone’s corporation.

3. Make sure there’s always a drop dead date on your contract for payment. Many of us say things like “within a month” or might add interest after so many days but very few of us ever have a specific date that they must be paid by.

4. Make sure there’s a clause stating a guarantee of payment. This protects you whether or not someone liked the work you did, which is sometimes a platform someone you take to court tried to hold you to, even if you did good work. If you add a line saying the client only has to pay if they like your work often means you’ve given way too much leverage to a client. If you did the work and they didn’t like it, but it was quality work, you deserve to get paid regardless.
 

Basically, Rick gave us lessons on being in business, not necessarily marketing or sales. I believe that everyone in the room walked away with some valuable information that they can use. I certainly walked away with some major lessons I knew I needed to incorporate into my business, although I also walked away feeling pretty secure that some of these lessons I already knew. What were some of those lessons? Luckily, I took notes. Here’s what I came away with:

1. Never defend, apologize or justify your price. Those who treat you as a professional will accept your price and your background. Those that don’t might not be serious about their business, and might not be your target market.
2. No mind reading. You never know what someone else is thinking when it comes to your business or your price when you market to them, so don’t beat yourself up before you’ve even tried.
3. Ask the client what their expectation is of what you can do for them. Sometimes what we know needs to occur and what the client thinks needs to occur don’t match up.
4. If you find yourself negotiating with yourself, go higher. Most people start lowering their price when they’re trying to get business. You have to be willing to value your own services more by potentially raising your rates.
5. Ask if the client has a budget first and then determine if you can work within that; get it out of the way early. Many of us go through the motions, think we have something lined up, only to discover once we tell the client the price that they can’t afford it.
6. Without the cost of the pain & personal impact you can’t sell. Not your pain but helping your potential client find their pain so that they’re salivating to work with you rather than your having to work hard to get their business.
7. You must always be willing to walk. Whether it a deal where you feel you’re wasting your time or a gig that’s giving you more trouble than it’s worth, you just might have to be the one to end things and move on to the next potential client.
8. Never become emotionally involved in a negotiation. If you seem too eager potential clients will feel it and you might lose your edge, ergo affect your potential income.
9. First concession must be the most difficult decision you make. Never reduce your price until you get to the point where you know it’s the only way you’re going to get the deal. Remember the line above about going higher on your price? This is why.
10. If you have to make a concession look to the future to know where the final price may be. Look for something on the back end you may be able to give up.
11. Always have a walk away price prepared. Don’t let anyone nickle and dime you down to the point where you’re going to either lose money on the deal or feel like you’ve been taken, because you won’t do the best work and you’ll resent both the client and yourself.
12. 80% of all concessions are given up in the last 20% of the deal. Basically this means that since price is often the last thing you and your potential client will talk about, this is when the client might start to try to negotiate your price and you’re trying to save it. Hence, the recommendation to try to get price out of the way earlier.
13. 90% of the time a potential client has already decided who they’re going to hire. In other words, don’t take rejection personal because it’s possible the deal’s already been done, in which case the decision has nothing to do with you. Once again, don’t take it personally.

Controlling Your Expenses

A Roundtable Discussion

Friday, February 10, 2012, 8:00 A.M.
Centerstate CEO (Syracuse Chamber) Building
572 South Salina Street, Syracuse NY

Sometimes we get so focused on generating income that we lose sight of our expenses. However, as the old wisdom goes, “How much you make is not as important as how much you get to keep.”

During this discussion, we will share ideas on how to minimize expenses in order to maximize net income. Please be prepared to offer examples of your successes (and your failures, if you care to share them) and to adopt those best practices that will help you keep more of what you make.

The other planned meetings for the year are thus:

March – print advertising; presenter to be determined

April – Roundtable, Avoiding Scams

May – Business Ethics, Arnie Poltenson

June – How Does Broadcast Media Work? , John Hunt Cumulus Media

We hope to see you at one of our meetings.
 

Oh sure, the reasons are many. Am I worth this much? What are others that do what I do worth? Will I get any business if I charge this amount? Will I get too much business if I do this? Is what I want to make reasonable? Throw in your own beliefs, then let’s come to grips with our reality.

As an independent consultant, you came into this with many risks. The biggest risk was whether or not you could make a living at what you do. After all, you still have to live. But life isn’t only about surviving; it’s really about living. Once you’ve made enough to pay your bills, do you still have enough left to actually enjoy? Are you making enough money so you can go on vacation, buy a new car, go to the casino, the movies, or whatever it is you want to do? Are you beholden to having to work 16 to 20 hours a day just to stay on top of things, or do you deserve to take a break here and there, maybe even go to a conference?

I’m no different than anyone else when it comes to this topic, except for one main thing. I have decided that, indeed, I am worth it. Ah, but just what am I worth, and why?

I like to figure things out this way. Since I do so many things, I figure that the dollars I deserve should be calculated differently. There’s the hourly consulting rate, the project rate, and the presentations rate. I’ve determined that everything I do falls into those three categories. Within those categories, I get to think about how I got there, what I believe it’s worth based on what I had to do to get there, and what it’s worth to potential clients. I also get to throw in there what needs to be done, preparation, expectation, and of course the market; if the market doesn’t bear the price then my beliefs don’t matter at all.

All of us are skilled at what we do. We’ve all spend lots of hours learning how to do what we do, and we continue learning almost on a daily basis. How much money are other people making off of what we do? I always start with that one, and I think about it in terms of athletics. I’m not one who ever gets mad at what an athlete makes because I figure if someone feels they’re worth that amount, that someone is obviously making even more.

If I do some calculations and know that a client will be making millions after I’ve done a certain project, I have no qualms about asking for $20,000 to $25,000 as a fee. They might, but I don’t; I know I’m worth it, and I’ve proven it.

If I know that I’ve not only studied something, but now I’m rehearsing it so I can present it smoothly to many others, and I know they have the money to pay for it and will make more money if they follow what I teach them, I have no qualms about asking for a certain fee once again.

If I have knowledge that someone else doesn’t have, I have no worries about my fee. If someone else brings down the worth of my fee by undercharging, it’s on them, not on me. I figure I know my worth, even if I don’t hit that worth every time out; after all, modification is what we do. At least I shoot for my worth; how are you doing on that front?
 

Many of us in PCA have known Rick for a long time. He gives a very energetic presentation, as he always has at Peak. This is a company that offers sales training classes for businesses of all size, and depending on the company will either do them on site or invite participants to their training room at the Dermody, Burke & Brown building on Franklin Street. The president of Peak Performance is Pete Morrissey, but DBB actually owns (partners, but we all know what that means) the organization, whose training is based on the Sandler system.

As always, if this is your first or second meeting the cost to you is only $20, and the meeting is at the Centerstate CEO building at 572 South Salina Street. We start at 8AM with some networking, then introductions and organizational business follows and Rick O, as he’s known by, will start around 8:30 and run until close to 10AM. Trust me, if you come to his presentation you’ll easily get your money’s worth, as his training usually costs a lot more than $20; that and you can ask questions.

Hope to see you there.

I’ve been a consultant for 10 years now, and I have experienced a variety of emotional responses based on who I talk to and when I talk to them. The best experiences I’ve had are when I’ve been able to share something that not only works but is totally truthful, and representatives of the client being shocked that something actually worked. I’ve actually had people surprised when I said every once in a while “I don’t know”, thinking that’s the most honest thing they’ve ever heard.

The flip side of course is having those people who don’t want to even give you a chance because they’ve had other consultants who have failed them. Suddenly you’re grouped with those who violated the ethics of being a consultant because they weren’t properly prepared to do the job, and that’s a hard one to overcome.

I’ve known some of these other consultants. Probably the worst of the lot was the guy who kept telling upper management and the company I was consulting for that he could do pretty much everything. I’ve actually heard business coaches tell people to never admit to not being able to do something, but this was way over the top. Upper management ended up giving him some extra responsibilities that quickly turned out to be something he wasn’t qualified for. I know this because I was qualified to do the job and I kept telling him he was wrong. It never occurred to me to even mention that I could do it because I was doing a different aspect of the project and not trying to find ways to keep myself there, where we were all earning a pretty penny. When I finally went over his head and got the corrections that were needed to help the department he’d been put over work better, he actually tried to make me the heavy for making him look bad, and I had to tell him that it wasn’t about him; it was about doing the right thing for the client.

That’s really the big thing about being an ethical consultant. It’s not whether you look good or someone else looks good or whether someone else has to look bad or you have to look bad. It’s always supposed to be about the clients and their needs. Of course clients can be a pain in the behind as well, and one of those ethical things that I believe some consultants need to learn is how to fire clients. If you’re working with someone who keeps getting on your nerves you not going to give them the best you have to offer, and that’s going to make the world of consulting look bad as well.

The PCA has an actual page of ethics online. I don’t know if everyone’s taken a look at it but it’s the most visited page on our website. If you haven’t seen this, or haven’t seen it in awhile, go take a look; we’ll wait…

That’s some pretty heady stuff, don’t you think? How much does anyone believe this is true? Actually I believe all of it is true with the possible exception of the last one, and that’s only because I don’t know if the organization has ever been contacted by someone to complain about one of our listed consultants. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t act on it, but if we’ve never had an opportunity to act on it the it either means that every member of PCA throughout history has been above board or there’s no one who knows that someone is a member of our organization to know the complain to us about them.

Still, not knowing about us or our statement doesn’t give allowance not to be ethical. There needs to be a moral compass for all of us as consultants that leads us to want to do the right thing. Personally, I believe that almost every single person I’ve ever met who’s been a member of this organization has been ethical. Were all out there trying to do the right thing, and at times will also point out something when we know it’s not the right thing.

Ethics are never totally black and white; if they were, Captain Kirk and Captain Picard never would have violated the prime directive as many times as they did. As long as we as individual consultants continue to try to do the best we can, and as long as we, the members of the Professional Consultants Association of Central New York continue promoting ethical standards for all consultants, it’s pretty much the best we can ask for. We help each other to be better; what can be more ethical than that?
 

One of the great things about belonging to an organization like the Professional Consultants Association is that people are willing to talk about many things that can help someone be successful as a consultant. At least I see that now. When I was first a member of the organization there were a couple of people who still wouldn’t talk to me, and one of those people doesn’t talk to me to this day. I would bet that he wouldn’t recognize the behavior in himself, but the reality is that when I first went out on my own I was able to obtain a directory that listed the names of the bunch of consultants and I tried to call all of them. This one guy in particular actually told me that I was competition to him and therefore he did not want to share any information with me. This guy is also a leadership trainer; what kind of leadership is that? Luckily one guy I talked to was a member of this organization and he invited me to come and meet everybody else and I’ve been a member now for about eight years.

To me, the art of consulting is the art of wanting to help others be better. It’s not supposed to be about you, although a part of it has to be you because you have to make a living. There’s nothing saying consultants have to give away the farm; trust me, I’ve been burned on that one couple of times and I’m a lot more hesitant these days.

Still, it never hurts to help someone else be better, even if they’re in the same profession as you, because you never know how things could work out for you later on. That person you decide to give some information to regarding marketing today might be the guy who hires you tomorrow or recommends you for work to someone else. It kind of goes off that old line which says that the people you meet on the way up will be the same people you meet on the way down. Make a positive impression and you never have to worry about falling too far before someone offers a helping hand.

Most people have a bad impression of consultants, and I almost hate to admit this but they’re probably right. So many consultants seem to be in it for themselves instead of for others. I don’t totally have a problem with that, as long as we remember that in the long run it’s not really about us. I keep thinking that’s probably why I have so many blogs, because I have all this information in me that I just want to get out to lots of people. The little bits and pieces I share might seem like I’m giving it all away, and sometimes I think I’m giving it all away, but so many people are benefiting from the things I share that I just can’t stop myself. True, I won’t make money off of a lot of it, but I am gaining a good name for myself. People know that there is always someone there to try to help them in some way. They also know that at a certain point I’m going to ask them for money, and they don’t have a problem with that for the most part either.

In a way, I view consulting like every other type of art. Sometimes you don’t know the real value of it until much later on. If we can afford to wait, we might see great benefits from the assistance we give. And I have also found that there is a lot to learn when you’re giving, and even consultants have to continue learning right?
 

The TACNY Sweet Lecture 2011-2012 Series is getting underway soon and we’re starting off with a bang!

The Technology Alliance of Central New York (TACNY) and the Tech Garden will host “Nanotechnology: Driving a 21st Century Educational and Economic Renaissance in NYS” on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 6 pm at the Whitney Applied Technology Center at OCC. The featured speaker is Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, Senior Vice President and CEO, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany-SUNY.

Dr. Kaloyeros is a key player in the development and implementation of New York’s high-tech strategy to become a global leader in the nanotechnology-driven economy of the 21st century. CNSE has generated over $7 billion in public and private investments, including more than $6 billion from the federal government and the international nanoelectronics industry.

Dr. Kaloyeros will provide an overview of nanotechnology and will describe regional initiatives, including CNSE’s partnership with Lockheed Martin and CenterState CEO to develop the Nanotechnology Innovation and Commercialization Excelerator (NICE).

Admission for this exciting presentation is free and the event is open to the public. Snacks and light refreshments will be provided. RSVPs are preferred and are requested by October 4. Walk-ins are also welcome. RSVP to sweet.lecture@tacny.org.

For more info, visit here.