A Brand Without A Product

Branding matters, but sometimes it might be going too far.
This company makes brands and then sells them... without a product. But something strangely attractive about a content-free brand... Would it suit your consultancy?
1 | For Sale: Hessian, A Brand Without A Product | Co.Design: business + innovation + design:

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Anti-selling video...

Wiggle Room (Johnson Automotive Commercial) - YouTube:

Anti-selling

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Give the client some distance...

Let's say your client has a complex problem to solve. An recruitment problem, a new IT system, a cultural change. Giving the client a sense of "stepping back" from the data gives them more "perspective" and makes it easy for them to choose you. Read the article: How to Move Forward by Stepping Back:

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What you want to say to your clients sometimes... Stop it!

Sometimes your clients are just doing bad behaviours, and you just want to say "Stop it"!.
Watch Bob Newhart do it. Gracefully. (not).
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How much to Charge... a recurring theme

Marcus joined my newsletter and asks me a question I cannot answer, but it's related to what EVERYONE wants to know:
I'd like to know about Average consulting fee schedules for: Training (consult; design; delivery) Business/executive coaching Business development Online media creation / management (incl. on-line store management) Thanks for your help!


So here's my answer:

Thanks for taking the time to send me a question.
Unfortunately i have done no industry benchmarking. I can only talk from my experience, because I often ask people in seminars to tell me what they've heard others are charging.

For trainers:
I know trainers who charge as little as $300 per day and some who charge $20k for one day's training. it depends what the client can afford, how exclusive their services are, and how good their marketing is.

For coaches:
Similarly, for coaching you can find people who'll do it for $100, and up to $15k for a session.
Sometimes seek has job ads for contracts in training and coaching, so check that out.

For online media etc:
One way to get a guide to fees for online media creation would be to visit elance, odesk or any of the other online markets.

I did write a few thousand words on how to set prices and you can buy the chapter of the Consultant's Guide or the entire Consultant's Guide.

And here are some of my other blog posts on the subject of charging:

• generically on how much to charge
• a seth godin inspired post on getting paid what you're worth
• on the dangers of discounting

and because we have to do everything with a grain of salt...A humorous take on client's negotiating cheaper prices.
hope this helps.

If you have any other pressing questions, please ask!

best of luck with your consultancy!

cindy

30 ways to promote your blog posts

If you don't have a blog, then you should.

It doesn't have to be marvellous, in fact the more specialised the better.
And when you do have one, here are 30 ways to promote your blog posts

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Change Agent, methodologies and models

Irene asked this question when she signed up to my newsletter (sign up at the right of this page).

I'd like to know about action plan of a change agent

Irene,
Thanks for your question.
My site is about consulting to consultants, but generally I give advice on running the consultancy and managing yourself and working more effectively with clients. Because consultants can be from many disciplines (management, image, real estate), I generally don't give advice on specific methodologies or approaches.

For a great site which DOES deal with management theories and models, I suggest you try 12manage.com -  membership is free, and there is plenty of information there about every kind of methodology and approach you could ever want. And then some.