Make Your Own Lane: Why You Should Never Pick Such Projects?

When I write these blogs, I try and make sure, I do not sound preachy or super instructive because all I am trying to be is proactive – protect you from same grave mistakes, save your time / energy and keep your motivation to pursue this intact. I also kind of keep my tone neutral when I comment on certain project briefs, that I get to see on various freelancing portals.

We share these on a case to case basis as we have a growing virtual team of BECKON Aspirants in different modes. They are most likely to find this helpful and proactively work out a way to manage such queries from prospective clients.

In the BECKON Learning Community,  the beginners can be in any of the following modes:

1.   Reading mode – These members self-learn by reading different sources including a beginner’s guide for online working.

2.   Learning mode – These team members are working on their skills with one on one support from BECKON Coach to refine their offerings and deal with clients with more confidence

3.   Delivering mode – These are associated with local or global assignments however the project lead who is training them on this live job is front ending the client. This is entirely a collaborative effort.

Each of these members, in different modes cannot initially gauge what they are getting into when they respond to project like the one indicated below:

Project Brief

I'm looking for someone to finish this proposal

Here is what you need to consider before you respond:

1.   Reading Time

If you want to figure out what is wrong with client's current proposal, you have to read it end to end for a quick gap analysis. A proposal can be anywhere between 8 to 10 pages. Do you want to offer this at no cost – Your first impressions of the draft – Good, Bad or Unacceptable!

2.   Research Time

The amount of research time required to deliver as per client's expectations

3.   Rationale Time

You will never be able to figure the exact rationale first draft writer had when the content story board was created.

  

For all you know, the first draft writer delivered was as per instructions he received from client. You cannot expect the client to ever admit his own mistake to you – if at all there has been a communication gap from his end. 

If he does admit, you can treat this as a fresh assignment and get started. You can completely ignore the earlier outline to begin with a fresh perspective that is relevant now. The client should be able to call out now – what exactly he wants or trust your expertise

Based on your conclusions, you may want to probe client for further inputs before even considering the project.

1] If the client is not happy with the existing draft and needs a better version, can he articulate what changes he needs? What he finds missing in the first draft? If he is not crystal clear about his needs and edits he wants, you can be sure he is relying on you to do something with the document.

2] The client may have his own learning requirement. While discussing the order, you can assess if he knows his mind or is in two minds about the draft. If he is not clear, you educate him based on your expertise. Whether you want to do this business coaching for free as part of relationship building or as a paid order so that he gets a sample of your thinking horizon – it is absolutely your call.

The point here is – you have to know why the first draft did not satisfy the client.

Stay away from freeloaders

Some portals empower buyers to claim refund if they are not satisfied with delivered content. If the client is not able to clarify what the draft proposal lacks, he is probably just running the same document through another pair of expert eyes - for free.

I am not sure how neutral was that? I am sure you got the message by now –

1] Stay miles away from any kind of messy document created by someone else.

2] If you really have  to clean any mess, it better be your own because, that will at least be part of your learning experience - a revised version of your own work, is any day a subtle skill enhancement.

Connect with us here if you are unsure about any assignment - if you should proceed and execute or just drop it due to lack of adequate direction for the right output

Make Your Own Lane: Avoiding “The Full Time Catch”

I quit my corporate job in November 2013. 

For the most part of 2014 and early 2015 I made a few short trips across India with my mother. I somehow got used to this independence – the freedom of not planning your travel based on long weekends and available leaves or cutting it short due to workload.

It is so much fun to plan drives and trips based on great weather outside, without any agenda, the mood of the group and you can actually extend your stay for a day or two, without affecting other’s work or business for not being in action.

Having said that, I do not quite enjoy staying away from home for too long - I actually begin to miss my routine after 2/3 days - my prayers, exercise, my walks etc. So mostly my trips in 2014 were short however they were absolutely care free – I choose my fellow passengers very carefully as I enjoy the journey just as much as I like exploring the destination.

So what is the point I am trying to drive today?

In 2015, after I executed a project for a Dubai based business owner this is his response

 

Image Source: Original Mail

 Just repeating the mail content here for clarity due to poor image resolution.

Loved your work the website is operational (Masked) pivoting to this industry.

Would you ever look at working in Dubai?

In my mind, "No please. I entertain no such thought in my mind.

Burj Khalifa and may be some desert air. That should be it. I will be done and dying to be back home."

This was my second international client.

The first client was from US based in Indonesia for work. He got almost everything done for his startup from me – Business Plan to Website; Financial Plan to leadership profile; Curriculum to blogging, Social Media Strategy to landing page, presentation deck to content review – over 25 assignments at a stretch, one after another.

He shared my details with his lawyer to be included in company documentation as COO. I was in two minds initially.

Finally I had to politely decline working with him after a certain point because the rationale is simple - Each one of us have our design of life that does not quite enable you pursue someone else’s dream, while you have one or two of your own to fulfill – Being occupied with just one entity was not my kind of dream any more. Why did I quit corporate then?

I received this correspondence from a client Egypt, in March this year. 

Image Source: Original Mail

Due to confidentiality I had to mask, critical information.

Today, I have personally supported over 70 clients across the globe, developed a virtual team of over 10 resources. I established the coaching avenue like never before with 4 quadrant pricing, outcomes driven framework and signing of results, not just the function. 

I have been able to volunteer for Training and Community initiatives, support pet projects with friends in travel, textile and beauty industry.

If I had taken up the offers from my first and second clients, the impact would be just one dimensional.

Today, location and label independence is the new normal for work. I educate my clients to be concerned about deliverables and business outcomes, not how I or how the virtual team delivers it and from where. 

Write to advocating.outcomes@gmail.com if you want to join the virtual team to learn how to execute projects independently with a beginner's guide.

I Cannot Sell Even At Gunpoint.

I can do everything, but cannot sell. Sounds familiar? Who needs to sell? Let us hold on to that thought – we will learn that in a minute.

A friend of mine, I knew for years, was a stellar sales person. She was with an FMCG firm then and she did sell me, and many of my contacts several products. That was over fifteen years ago. We even bought things from her, which we never needed. I always thought that if one could sell like her, they never had to worry about financial security. They will never really fall short of jobs.

Then marriage, pregnancy, being a single child she had to look after both - her ailing parents and ageing in-laws as her husband was working abroad – that sales career was long gone. In its place what she has built is what I asked her to share with me for benefit of others who can replicate that success.

Virtual Office: She works from anywhere. If you are wondering what is the big deal about that or about being a freelancer? For the past five years, she has carried out several projects online – tutoring, term projects, assignment based fee etc. Initially I had the same thought cross my mind, which just occurred to you – What a waste of her precious selling skills!

Suit Capability: She bids only for those projects that will not always require new learning each time – That does not mean she does not want to go beyond her comfort zone. If the scope is familiar, her speed of execution is high which means more money as she can quickly assign herself to other similar projects.

Work Life Balance: Her work is not affected even when she moves out of her home country. She decides the dates for her vacation, while the rest of us are at the mercy of our company holidays to plan one.

Increments & Retirement Benefits: An extra assignment each time she needs an increment or wants to save for her retirement – All well in her control.

Again, that was about my friend, who is a great sales person. I am sure her cover letters for bids, her resume on freelance portals, and her responses during interviews – each time with different clients and different companies and winning all those projects is an outcome of knowing how to sell her skills and experience well.

So it is that age-old wisdom – Each one of us are selling. Most of us do it really bad – during interviews,client presentations, appraisal discussions, building our resume, even while pitching an idea at home or anywhere . Do you still want to chant mantra like – “I cannot sell even at gunpoint”? Now that you know you do sell, is it worthwhile learning it and doing it better?

Selling is a lot about the language you use. To know more about Sales Program, contact advocating.outcome@gmail.com