Monthly Archives: January 2015
How to piss off a prospect…
Time for a rant. This was precipitated by an unsolicited phone call early one Sunday morning, from a so-called “marketing firm” run by a so-called “consultant.”
Too bad he is giving consulting such a black eye.
Normally I’d let the phone ring, but for some reason I decided to answer. Actually, I was kind of curious as to what kind of jerk would call early on a Sunday morning.
Here is a short summary of the conversation:
Who is calling please? –Mumble, mumble, mumble.
Who? –RKX Research. (Not the real name*)
And who are you? –David.
David who? –Sorry, I can’t give you my last name for confidentiality purposes.
OK, David. And just where is RKX Research located? –Sorry, I can’t give you that for confidentiality purposes. But you can Google it.
OK, David. Then who is the CEO of RKX Research, and what is his number? –Sorry, I can’t give you that information for confidentiality purposes. But you can Google it.
OK, David. Did you know we are on the DO NOT CALL list? –(Haughtily) We’re a market research firm, and we are excluded from the FTC rules on DO NOT CALL requirements.
OK David. So does that give you the right to call a complete stranger on a Sunday morning? — Well yes, legally we can call…OK David. I don’t really give a damn about your legal interpretations For your information, I consider your call legal harassment. — Uh, would you like to talk to my supervisor?
Sure, put him on. — Pause
Who is this? –Yohan.
Yohan what? –Yohan K…
Well, Yohan, if that is your real name, I just talked with David, if that is his real name. I explained that I don’t really like getting unsolicited phone calls on a Sunday morning. — Well this is a marketing research call, and we are exempt from FTC rules..OK Yohan. As I explained to David, I consider your calls legal harassment and will take legal action if you ever call again. Are we clear? –Do you want me to remove your name from our call list?
Sure – you go ahead and do that. One more thing. Who is the CEO of RKX Research, and what is the address? — Sorry, I can’t give you that information …. but you can Google it.
END OF CALL…
So, I decided to Google the mysterious RKX Research. Here is what I found:
- RKX Research is located in New Hampshire.
- The owner is KM. Had to hunt a bit to find this, but yes, you can Google him.
- The web site is self aggrandizing. No list of owners or executives.
- The FaceBook page has not been updated since January 2013
- The Twitter feed has one tweet in 2012.
- LinkedIn. Forget it. At this point, didn’t feel like paying LinkedIn to learn more.
Kind of interesting. If this company is a legitimate marketing company, why so little Internet presence? Why so evasive about ownership? Perhaps they are not proud of what they are doing?
So what can we as consultants glean from this? Lets look at it upside down. Imagine you want to break into market research consulting, and you really want to piss off prospects. Here are seven quick ways to do that:
(1) Ignore common courtesy. Call complete strangers at odd hours. Sunday mornings are particularly effective.
(2) Hire snotty kids to make the calls. Then teach them to be obnoxious and patronizing.
(3) Prevaricate. Tell people you’re just doing “market research” even if not completely true. This lets you hide behind a technical loophole.
(4) Be difficult to reach. Hide your identity and personal email address.
(5) Don’t monitor/upgrade social media for years at a time. This has the added benefit of showing how (in)competent you are at marketing.
(6) Ignore common sense. After all, most people are just waiting for a thinly disguised sales call from some stranger – particularly early Sunday morning. Their time or privacy are not nearly as important as you are.
(7) Brag about what a great outfit you are on your website. Who knows? Maybe your mother will believe it. Or maybe not.
Would YOU hire these clowns to piss off your customers or prospects?
Finally, I’m not opposed to market surveys. I regularly participate in those sent by email from companies and organizations I know and trust. I do NOT respond to fishing expeditions from strangers, particularly on a Sunday morning. Nor should you.
End of rant.
* Decided not to include the real info on RKX Research as originally planned. No need to hurt or humiliate anyone – even though they might deserve it. Rather, decided to share this rant as a lesson on how NOT to act as a professional consultant.
© 2015, https:. All rights reserved.
Some comments on fees…
Here is my reply to a post at Consulting Success regarding fees. Good info on this site — but with an emphasis on business/management consulting rather than on technical consulting.
As consulting engineers, we’ve used “project fees” for years. When quoting, we provide a budget and a general estimate for time. We use an internal hourly rate for estimates, but don’t include that in our quotes.
To me, hourly rates are useless. For example, if I’m getting a kitchen remodel, I don’t care what the contractor’s hourly rate is — I just want to know how much the project will cost. BTW, I’ve used that analogy on procurement people when asked about hourly rates.
Finally, we don’t bid “fixed fee.” Rather, we include a statement that “we will not exceed the budgetary estimate without client approval.” This gives us some room for contingencies or small changes. Clients and procurement people seem to like it too.
Hope this helps. I always appreciate Michael Zipursky’s insights.
Do you have questions of fees? Ask away…
P.S. Been a crazy week here, as Mary broke her arm. On the mend after surgery…
© 2015, https:. All rights reserved.
Don’t Hoard Your Experience… Share it…
Learned this lesson early in my consulting career. Fortunately, somebody else made the mistake, and I was able to benefit from their goof-up.
We’ve always had a policy of full and open disclosure for our clients. Retain us, and we will share everything we know about our specialty, with the exception, of course, of proprietary client information.
Worried abut overloading a new client, I quipped,
“We don’t hold back. You can tell me when to shut up, when you’ve had more than enough details and information…”
He replied,
“No, I really appreciate your being open. The last consultant we had (on a different problem) didn’t want to share anything. Seems he was afraid if he disclosed all he knew, we wouldn’t need him anymore.
My engineers were frustrated, and we all decided as soon as we have everything we needed, we’re done. Which is a shame, as if he were more forthcoming, we’ve have him back again and again.”
Wow, I thought, I’m glad we didn’t follow that approach. Based on this incident, we made it a formal policy to ALWAYS share what we knew. Even if it means they don’t need us again, because we’re pretty sure they will recommend us to others.
P.S. As a consultant, your goal should be to work yourself out of a job. Your client should always be in a better state after working with you. They will thank you for it by their referrals and recommendations — and by inviting you back for new problems.
© 2015, https:. All rights reserved.
Are You an Economic Slave???
Ninety percent of Americans have virtually no savings… so says the latest issue of Money magazine. If you are in the ninety percent, consulting may offer a way out.
The problem with most jobs is that the income is fixed. Unless you are in sales (commissions) or an executive (bonuses), you have little opportunity for upside. But a consulting side-hustle can change that, and may even lead to full financial freedom.
Of course, making more money alone won’t do it. You need to cut your expenses too. Fellow engineer Pete (Mr. Money Mustache) saved his way to freedom in seven years, by cutting his expenses by 75%. Yes, it can be done purely by aggressive savings.
But you’ll get there faster, and with less pain, if you combine frugality with some extra income. I’m a strong advocate of combining both approaches — make more/spend less.
There are lots of ways to make more money. Unfortunately, many are scams or borderline scams. You know what I mean – multilevel marketing, on-line schemes, too many franchises, etc. Most of the money is made by the promoters — not the producers.
But consulting, even part-time, allows you to control your own destiny. The start-up costs are low, and you get to keep the profits of your labor. Other than the IRS, you don’t need to share those profits with those further up the food chain.
This is not meant to disparage other small businesses, such as restaurants, shops, specialty manufacturing, etc. But most of those require capital, commercial space, and employees. Not a problem if that is the way you want to go – or have already gone. 🙂
Since you are reading my blog, however, I assume you have at least a passing interest in consulting –which I define as marketing/selling/delivering professional advice, with the goal of improving your client’s situation.
No, you are not selling products or get-rich schemes – just your time and advice. You are joining the ranks of other professionals – doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, architects, business advisers, and more.
Doing so part time is a good way to start. That is what I did. For several years, my business partner and I moonlighted on engineering projects. Eventually, the itch got so bad we went full time. But is was much easier making the transition from part-time to full-time, than from ground zero.
Two final pieces of advice:
- First, avoid conflicts of interest. You don’t want to lose you day job, and you don’t want to affect your reputation. Integrity matters.
- Second, keep a low profile. You don’t want to inflame petty office jealousies. The voice of experience speaking.
My challenge to you — As the new year begins, give some thought to your own economic freedom. Remember, Uncle Daryl wants YOU — to be FREE. Happy New Year!
P.S. Back in the game… My goal is one post per week each Monday, with additional ones as the mood strikes. So join us Mondays, or sign up for our feed and newsletter.
© 2015, https:. All rights reserved.
2014 Annual Review…
Well, another year gone by, and time to reflect.
Got this idea from Chris Gullibeau of The Art of Nonconformity. He does this each year, and each year challenges others to do the same. Great idea!
So once again, I’ll review three categories:
- JumpToConsulting (www.jumptoconsulting.com)
- EMI-GURU aka Kimmel Gerke Associates, Ltd. (www.emiguru.com)
- Personal (www.linkedin.com/in/darylgerke)
But first, a quick overview…
The Jump-to-Consulting project is now FOUR years old. The catalysts were questions by my older son, questions by other colleagues, and a fat file for a prospective book. With today’s economy, many people are considering options such as consulting.
I was also intrigued by blogging, and simply wanted to learn more about this Internet phenomena. What better way that to just start a blog. Incidentally, that was the same attitude that got me into consulting. Curiosity, and a desire to learn.
The EMI-GURU project began 35+ years ago, and led to full time consulting in 1987. It has been great fun, and quite successful. I’ve traveled the world, and made a lot of friends along the way.
It made me both location independent and financially independent. Best of all, it allowed me to practice my profession as an Electrical Engineer in a ways I didn’t even imagine as a student or young engineer.
EMI-GURU also provides the grist for JumpToConsulting. Much of what is discussed here is based EMI-GURU experiences. The stuff I talk about is not theory — rather, this is real world and is based on 35+ years experience in the consulting business!
HIGH-LIGHTS in 2014…
Jump-to-Consulting – The blog is up to 150 posts. Had hoped for a few more, but still proved to myself that I can keep a blog going. Slowed down a bit midyear, but no plans to stop.
Not many readers (it is a pretty tight niche), but it has helped several make their own personal JumpToConsulting. (Way to go!) So don’t be bashful — your questions and feedback mean a lot, and they do inspire me to keep going here.
EMI-GURU – Not much new to report here. Continue to ramp down the one-on-one consulting, but still involved with the technical classes. Teaching (and sharing what I’ve learned) is a primary passion.
Personal – Dropped a few more pounds, which means I’ve kept the weight off for a year. Went into maintenance mode with Uncle Daryl’s SEC (Stop Eating Crap) diet, and it worked. But time to get more serious about this lifestyle change.
After 30 dogless years, we “adopted” a pooch in August. She has been great fun, and also an incentive to walk a couple of miles every day. I call her my “personal trainer.”
Spent about eight weeks in our RV. The longest trip was 4700 miles in the fall, visiting grandkids in CT followed by a ride through the mountains of the east coast. Beautiful fall scenery! Also visited several Civil War sites to temporarily satiate my interest in history.
LOW-LIGHTS in 2013…
Jump-to-Consulting – Slowed down in the second half of the year. Not burnout, but time for some reflection, precipitated by the passing of two friends a few weeks apart. So I simply decided to take some time off.
EMI-GURU – Business is slow, but at this stage in my life, I’m content. Leaves more time to goof off. No desire to return to the 30-40 trips per year of a few years back.
Personal – No low lights other than losing a couple of friends to cancer. That, and the closing of a favorite local funky restaurant, the Chino Bandido (Chinese-Mexican.) But life goes on…
LOOKING FORWARD to 2015…
Jump-to-Consulting – Ready to get back into the groove. Keep on blogging, with at least one post per week. Also considering an E-book, on-line classes, monthly newsletter, and a FREE monthly roundtable. Watch my blog for more details. Better yet, sign up for the newsletter!
EMI-GURU – Continue teaching technical classes, which I really enjoy. As an old codger, there is nothing like seeing a younger engineer (and even an old timer) suddenly “get it.”
Also continue to pass consulting jobs to my business partner, who is still very much involved in both consulting and training. I’ll back up as needed, but rest assured, EMI-GURU is ALIVE and WELL!
Personal – Spend time with the grandchildren, along with reading, writing, and more travel in our little RV. Restart the weight loss program from maintenance mode. A goal is to eventually lose another 60 pounds so I can join the centennial weight loss club.
May move back to our house, due to disappointments with the patio home “experiment.” Lesson learned – beware of dysfunctional HOAs (home owner’s associations.)
Wishing you all the best in 2015! And THANK YOU for reading my blog.
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