Yuku free message boards

My opinions echo JM's.

I have considerable experience with this type of client. They're always in denial until either a) they finally are convinced that software people really are that expensive and nobody worth hiring is going to work for practically free; or b) they staff up with newbies and desperate people with poor negotiation skills and hunker down to "try" to make it work.

The main concept to keep in mind is that smaller and medium sized businesses are virtually always in denial and just don't want to hear the real costs or risks until something external forces their hand. In general, they pretty much have to be convinced that a real pot of gold lays at the other end of their staffing in order for them to justifying paying market rates.

And lastly: this level of customer always regards management and consultation as waste and as pure overhead.

Now, having said all of that. I could see someone injecting themselves on a "spot" basis as a helper for hiring, or for project planning. But you would have to keep the scope small and limited and specific in order to assuage the constant paranoia about running the meter up. I would just think of a service like this for the kind of customer that you are stating - who really needs it - is paradoxically, not a good concept for something that could be readily sold. Your customer base really needs this service but by definition won't believe that they do need it.

I'd have to say that my deep dissatisfaction with contracting has come about from having to deal with the dummies at the low end of the business and tech maturity scale. They just aren't good customers for professional services unless you really sit on them and persuade effectively.

I am not certain about the having been burned a few times thing, though. Most smaller companies see it as finding a "diamond in the rough" who is really good but who accepts sub-par wages.

An exercise for you, Dennis: suppose someone appeared in front of you and promised to consult with you to design your sales process? In other words, they could do for your sales what you propose to do for small scale tech project scoping, planning and hiring.

Given your experiences in hiring and firing unsuitable sales people, I would think that sale to you for this service - a sales consultant - would be a slam dunk.

But two immediate objections come up in my mind:

1) How would you know that the person who promised this clarity themselves wasn't a BS artist like some of the people you've hired? It seems to me that someone like this would come off like deja vu.
2) How could that consultant justify to you hiring them when you probably feel that you have already sunk a lot of time and money into your own learning curve?

I suspect that most small businesses - especially the ones who have been burnt - would see this proposition as you would likely see a proposition as I noted.

In general: serial failures become so cynical that you can't effectively do business with them.

A prospective client moves through several life stages, from "bright idea" to senility. You literally need to catch them in their prime, before they have exhausted their critical reasoning abilities.

My experience is that this market is quite thin. Most likely you tend to run into clueless greenfield startups - don't wanna spend real money, they can find "discounts" and better deals - and startups that never got off the ground - embittered owners trying to justify wasted past effort.

Dennis Nedry wrote:

---

1) Initially, to get the business, they would have to do some serious work on their own, and not on the clock. They'd have to bring a plan with them. If they don't want to invest in getting my business, I would not hire them. It's not as crass as it sounds, free trials, free advice, etc. is common in the businessplace. My attorney gave me about 5 tidbits of free advice worth thousands probably.

What I've found is that as the scale of the business gets smaller, the level of aggravation that is generated in meeting their objections multiples.

I think what I don't like about your idea - in general - is trying to position a professional service so that it appeals to really small businesses. They just plain suck to market professional services to.

I mean, how ready are most one man shops (as an example) to spend $100/hr and up for, say, a copywriter or a salesperson? Even a proven quantity? Same thing. I always get objections like "I can't spend money like that, I'm small" just as they turn around and talk about far larger budgets that they have willingly allocated for other needs.

A typical example of this is an ISV one map shop guy I spoke with in the late 90s about migrating his DOS stuff to Windows. I proposed Delphi as the tool of choice, having already done a lot of work in C++ and VB, in addition to several Delphi projects. So I believed that I had a good cross section of available technology under my belt and I knew what I was talking about.

So this nerdy twerp cross-examines me with questioning like: "How can *I* be *sure* that you laid the proper groundwork and that you haven't missed something better because you have tunnel vision? What about Clipper for Windows? I heard they have something out now."

I felt like bitch slapping this idiot for wasting a couple of hours of my time. But I just said "I can't help you, and I doubt that anyone else is good enough for you, since you seem to have so many great ideas, even though you have never developed in Windows and I have used three different tools professionally yet you think I am blowing hot air. Good luck." I bet he went out of business within five years.

And I'd be damned if I would do any advance work for this sort. They don't deserve it and they would misinterpret it. But that's pretty much the market you're describing.

Small business owners tend to be really smart people who outsmart themselves by alienating the very people who can help them. They are also obsessive compulsive about deals, bargains and paying the hired help low.

As far as freebies. I do not believe that this is realistic in this space. While I agree with the idea, I reflect back on my own projects and I think that an initial Q&A and perhaps an interaction on the scope of a business lunch is probably about as much as I want to do for someone that I don't know.

But proportionality would govern this. If a prospect wants to give me an hour of their time to explain their world, then I would be glad to map out a very rough strategy.

My experience with small ISVs (as an example) is that they are the ultimate in "drop and run mentality" and a freebie can permanently mark you as "the free guy". They want, they want, they want, but they can't pay.

-----------------------------------------------

IF one wanted to do this type of business, I believe that a far better tactic would be a long term one. Blog and write prolifically and get endorsements and testimonials from businesses for your services.

In other words, make prospects come to you. By marketing. Not by asking for business. It has to be driven by a perceived need already articulated ("I will lose my ass unless I hire Dennis") and not by pushing out a proposition ("Dennis says I will lose my ass if I don't hire him.") In the first case you are the man. In the second case you will have to fight to establish yourself as the man.