Free Advice

I wouldn't be where I am today without help from a lot of smart, experienced, and generous people; so I'm paying it forward as best I can online - with the free downloads in the right column and in my blog posts.

And, if you're thinking of hiring a consultant (of any kind) - here's some quick advice:

1. Has he or she actually done work in the discipline for which they're pitching their expertise? Unfortunately, there's nothing preventing anyone from deciding to become a business consultant, life coach, or social media guru. Print a biz card. Throw up a web site. They're ready to roll!

Ask about their actual experience. If they're selling - for example - marketing help, ask what kind of marketing? There's a huge difference between writing ad copy for a consumer product and developing a B2B product.

2. Beware of those absolutely free, risk-free, money-back guarantees! If you read the fine print, there's always a gotcha. ("You didn't do exactly as I told you in binder #3, page 50 on getting 50% return on your direct mail piece.") Wouldn't we all love to think there's some easy, magical solution to all our problems - from weight loss to becoming the next Google? Sadly, there's not. It takes a lot of hard work to succeed.

And, there's really no such thing as free or no-risk. Even if you're not paying actual money - you'll still be investing time, effort and thought. Time, effort and thought that might better be spent elsewhere (like following up/keeping up with existing or potential customers.)

3. Get to know the person (people) behind the logo, web site, and client quotes. If the consultant is going to be truly useful - you're going to be spending a lot of time together. If you don't click, then it'll be frustrating for everyone...and a waste of your money. For example, if you don't like what I'm saying here - or elsewhere on my site - and the way I'm saying it...then I'm not a good choice for you.