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How do you handle consults?

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Billergirlnyc:
When I do consulting it's never truly for "free". I do just like lawyers, software companies and their demos, etc do. I offer a teaser. I tend to make them talk more about their business than I do about mines, that way I can pinpoint their issues and tell them how I can help, or at least what they need to do to get where they claim they want to be. I don't give-up free detailed information. I use the method my attorney used on me with their "free" 1 hour consult, haha, they gave me GENERALS, so I do the same and it works for me. You're in business and yes you want to be "nice" but you don't have to help them correct their issues for free. Even if you end-up consulting and training you may still find clients who keep calling on you because either their staff isn't grasping it, don't care, or they truly need your full service, just be open to it. I train staff all the time and still end-up doing the billing for clients who are so deep into a mess that it's the only choice to get them on the right path financially.

I also agree you need to be mindful of potential clients and clients who just aren't going to generate anything for you. I travel to meet potential clients but I also need to be sure I can help them. I think this is what others mean when they say qualify your clients. It's as simple as asking a few basic questions this way no one wastes their time.  Some doctors are habitual and abusive when it comes to consultants; in that they're ALWAYS looking to outsource or hire a consultant, when in reality they're only looking for free info. So just be mindful of this. When a doctor tells me they can't "afford" to outsource and want the bottom of the barrel prices for consulting I just walk away. If they're not willing to let me see why they can't afford to outsource or pay me a competitive rate for consulting, then it's not worth it for either of us. You'd be surprised how many can afford your services they just THINK they can't. It's up to you to learn how they can - IMO.

Also, I'd like to add another bit of advise, never take the approach that you're not a "salesperson" type. All of us are. If you're a small business and are the one closing deals, then guess what? You're a salesperson. I don't mean in the traditional sense, but what I do mean is, even if you hire someone else to do marketing and sales for you, only YOU can sell your services, and if you plan on consulting then you're going to have to learn to embrace that. Consulting is all about selling your set of skills and expertise and you're up against people who already embrace that they're salespeople at the end of the day. Even the richest singers are salespeople and again not in the "traditional" sense but they're selling their talents and if they didn't do it well no one would buy their music, etc and so on. I learned this early on. I loathed selling or marketing but I soon realized that I wouldn't stay in business if I didn't embrace that half of my time would be spent on being the marketing and salesperson for my business. The good thing with healthcare is once your name gets out as being good at what you do, your clients will happily refer you to their peers and the selling isn't as hard but you still need to embrace closing deals even as a consultant.

tallmanusa:
That was a very well written piece Billergirl.
Thanks.

Christy:
thanks for the thoughtful response, billergirl! Very helpful!

so yes, I am not looking to give anything "for free," that's why I posted for advice on the matter. I am anticipating the meeting and how it will probably go and the gear shift from "getting to know you" to "tell me this, tell me that!"

All of my other consults have been local, so it's always been easy to schedule a paid follow up consult. I think I am going to learn from my mistake and do the freebie part and listen, listen, listen like Billergirl said and schedule a paid follow up consult if desired by the client....

learning as I go along from both experience and a LOT of help from this board!

thanks, all! ;D

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