Based on Howard Shenson's wide-ranging expertise, it gives you a real-life, no-holds-barred account of what it's really like to go out on your own and fight to survive—and succeed—in the consulting business. Covers every phase of consulting, from establishing the business and sales and marketing to proposals and presentations, financial issues and client relations. Shenson covers the latest trends in the industry as tracked by his well-known newsletter Professional Consultant and Seminar Business Report and his many contacts in the business.
Expert advice on how to strike a fair deal and command a fair price. The Contract and Fee-Setting Guide for Consultants & Professionals No matter how knowledgeable you are in your field..No matter how great your track record..No matter how expert your advice or impressive your credentials . you jeopardize your client base if you do not instill every phase of your practice with a consummate professionalism. And for sharp clients, the first clear signs of such a savvy professionalism are the ability to set fees at a fair market price and offer neat, straightforward contracts with clearly delineated terms. This book teaches you, in a few days, what it traditionally took people half a lifetime to learn through trial and error. In writing it, the author drew on his more than twenty years as a business consultant, lecturer, and author to offer you tips on how to ask for and get the fees you deserve and to establish contract terms that are in the best interests of you and your clients. Throughout he shares his insider's expertise * Determining market value for your services* Establishing per diem or per-project rates and calculating overhead* Advantages and disadvantages of various systems of fee-setting and billing* Six major goals of every contract* Negotiating the contract and avoiding legal pitfalls
A complete guide to succeeding in today's burgeoning seminarbusiness--from developing a program and market testing, to pricing,promotion, advertising, and more! How to Develop & PromoteSuccessful Seminars & Workshops The adult educationbusiness--seminars, workshops, classes, conferences--is one of thefastest growing industries in the country and, for many, extremelyprofitable. Now, Howard Shenson shares proven-effective,research-based strategies responsible for filling more than onemillion seminar seats, to allow anyone with marketable knowledge tosucceed in the seminar business. You'll * How to select a marketable subject and test market any seminarfor about $1,000 or less* How to develop a dynamic program and effective programmaterials* How to create a powerful, registration producing marketingstrategy and design winning promotional materials* How to assess promotional effectiveness and fine-tune marketingto increase sales* How to evaluate and choose where and when to conduct your seminaror workshop* How to select hotel and conference facilities* How to price your program to ensure maximumregistrations/profitability* How to develop or obtain program materials and how to add to yourprofits through back-of-the-room sales of products andservices* How to creatively select and rent mailing lists, and maximizeyour direct mail response while reducing marketing expense
