Tip No. 209
Q. Do you have any tips for gaining contract employment?
A. Contracting as a free agent can be exciting, rewarding and give you the flexibility to choose your own hours and assignments. But when starting out, bringing in business can be a major challenge. Here are some ways to help build your client base: What is your specialized niche? – Look at your skills and experience to identify the unique value and services you can provide. Then match them to areas that have high and growing demand where there are not a lot of experts to do the work. Grow and nurture Your Network – Put yourself where the people who can hire you are – conferences, professional association meetings, etc. – and know what they know by reading the same publications. Contact all of your friends and colleagues, past and present, and regularly keep in touch with all in your network. Be the Expert – Publish articles in related publications and speak at trade or professional association conferences on themes such as trends, opportunities or creative ways to solve common problems. Use these articles and speeches as marketing materials by posting them on your website and sending them to your clients and network to keep in touch. This is the best advertising you can get! Build Referrals – The recommendation of others is one of the simplest and most effective ways to build your business. And referrals gain more referrals, creating positive exponential growth – just what you want! To promote referrals, first be sure to take care of your existing customers in a way that will leave them absolutely thrilled with your services. Then, whenever they compliment you, ask them to pass along your name, number or website URL to others. You might even consider your own "referral reward" program, where you send a thank you note along with a gift certificate or other reward to those who send new clients to you. Consider Subcontracting – Subcontract your services out to other firms or independent professionals in your field. You might become a project-based provider for a firm that delivers the type of services you provide. The income will be less than if you got the work independently, but the work is “handed” to you and can be a great way to build your portfolio. Utilize a Service – On-line services like Sologig help market the talents of its members and match them with a wide variety of projects nationwide. With most of these services, you create a profile companies can review when searching for a contractor to do a particular project, and you’ll also have access to a database of thousands of assignment postings and can contact the companies or agencies directly. Besides connecting members with project opportunities, many services offer a wide range of resources to help them run their business. More is Better – The more qualified prospects you reach, the more clients you will have. Even if you can only handle a few assignments at a time - a larger client base gives you the option of choosing the most exciting and rewarding projects! And isn't that why you became a contractor in the first place?
CMI Career Management International
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