For anyone that’s a marketing consultant, you know the three steps to discomfort….
- You submit an invoice to a normally happy client.
- They come back to you with: “what have you done? Why am I paying you this much?”
- You show them everything you did, which they don’t quite understand, and proceed to grumpily write you a check. Hopefully.
Marketing isn’t a instantaneous direct cause/effect type situation. And without the need for a fancy degree or specialized skillset, lots of people claim to be marketers. Or worse, they’re the types that say “I’m not gonna pay someone else to do that — I can do it myself!” And they can, but it usually sucks. This is followed by the same person claiming that all marketing is bullshit.
I disagree — only some of it is. But the rest is a definite skill that requires experience, discipline, and abilities the average smartguy lacks.
But to the matter at hand, the “what am I paying you for” question is one that invariably comes up. And you can open up GoogleAnalytics and show the spike in site traffic (that they claim has nothing to do with your reworking of the site, its content, and focused efforts in SEO). You can also point to increased sales, exposure, and opportunities that have appeared during the period. But that too is usually the result of something they did. It’s just a wonderful coincidence that the spikes happened during your consulting period.
There are a couple ways to avoid this trap — and the associated queasiness that accompanies it. First off, when you enter into a consulting role, be sure there’s a signed agreement between you and the client. It MUST outline exactly what will happen. List in detail the deliverables. You’ll do this, this, and that. You’ll have part one completed on this date, and you’ll invoice the client for this amount on this date. Any expenses must be pre-approved by the client, and payment is due within X days of the invoice being submitted.
Here’s another tip to save your sanity: Keep a record of where things stand at the start of the project. If your goal is to drive site traffic, know what your starting point is. And make sure the client knows too. Be certain to notate every event that happens along the way. That way, your efforts are measurable.
Accountability and trust are at the core of all of this. Assuming you know your stuff, you still need to be likeable. If people don’t want to work with you, talent and skills are meaningless. So brush up on your social graces, remember to work within acceptable standards of decency, and we’ll all be happy marketers.
