Our research says that people work with consultants because they are looking for results. (What Do You Want To Grow Your Business?)We are as obsessed as our clients on results so we thought we should liven things up and so the birth of the 30-Day Challenge.
Spend half-a-day working with me. Wait 30 days and I'll call you up. You tell me what the improvement has been.
You then decide what to pay for the results you have achieved.
The catch? None.
For more information go to Robert Craven's 30-Day Growth Challenge.
POST SCRIPT: NEW DATES...
- LONDON - 6th APRIL
- BRISTOL - 8th APRIL
62 comments:
While one should never say that something is too good to be true, there is a sense that this will provide a true win-win situation.
I look forward to the results.
So, no results, no payment?
Jim
Brave one this. A challenge but whostands to lose most? How will you avoid being ripped off? How much is a reasonable fee?
Very brave
You have zigged where others zag. Contrarian. It all makes sense now.
A rather neat piece of disruptive marketing. Now it is up to you to deliver. Or rather it is still up to the delegates but you are taking that risk. Be interesting to see how it all pans out.
I found this quote at Buzzle.com
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/disruptive-marketing-a-matter-of-survival.html
Disruptive Marketing is simply doing things uncharacteristically. Not for the purpose of being different, but for the purpose of making a difference. Effectiveness and adapting to change are the drivers of Disruptive Marketing. The traditional formula should not be thrown away, however it must be modified and complimented, with other approaches/techniques that meet the demands of changing Market needs and requirements.
oops something wnet wrong there. over-excited
Linda
High RISK bonkers strategy.!!
But on the other hand?
Part of the disruptive piece is the irritation that this will create amongst your competitors.
By charging for results you will rock the assumptions of most consultants. Pay by the hour and don't guarantee results is the usual approach by consultants.
Here's hoping this won't catch on!
Bill M
Thanks for all the comments to date. Feel free to contact me direct on rc@directorscentre.com
And to answer some of your concerns:
- No, we do not seem to be attracting poorer quslity prospects, quite the revers
- No, it doesn't seem to be giving the wrong message to the market
Robert
Robert,
This is fantastic news and if anyone can pull it of then you can!
2years ago I stood in front a group of shared service directors and presented "Fixed price Project Delivery" one linkedin forum suggested I too was bonkers. Well that may be so. From that, I secured a substantial piece of work, which saved the client a huge slug of money and we made more money per day than ever before, and we used less days than we built into the contract.
My gut feeling is that you will be able to pull this one off.
I agree that it is a brave and bold move.
Fi
Hi Robert,
At last, some common sense. Minimum risk from your perspective, yet the possibility of a reward or future business !
This is 21st century marketing !
To our success,
Peter.
This is the future: pay by results is a model that works terribly well for Google, and the lack of which is killing Microsoft. You need to get onto Twitter and find someone who will ask Tweeters to get in touch with you there !
And I disagree on being disruptive: this may be leading edge, but because people now prefer to and can work through trusted business contacts, there are strong indicators that say it can become mainstream !
Kind Regards, Peter.
Not a true dispruter - but then you are a marketer. But yes it is disruptive. I bet your competiton love you!
Learn how to spell it first... DISRUPTER.. and lets' not squabble about definitions.
This does make people think. Not business as usual. That is what matters.
All that will happen is that
1. you spoil the way other consultants sell
2. you get ripped off by little shits
You talk about not competing on price and here you are doing that very thing.
Mt Smarty Pants, if you are so very clever then you would not compete on price (your words) but compete on everything else but price.
My only hope is that your brand and reach is not as strong as you think it is. This is the last thing that small consultants need.
A bit harsh. Unncessary. Incorrect.
And paranoid.
I think Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Anon misses the point.
Brave, yes, but great to see a new model being tried. I for one look forward to hearing more, finding out how the market receives it and what results you get.
Hope you get the results you want!
Dear Mr Anon
I don't think we are "competing on price". We are simply offering a different way to arrive at the price.
To compete on price means selling at a lower price. That is not the intention.
Our experience is that people will be willing to pay more than a published/pre-agreed price. In fact basic economics supports that unless at an equilibrium point, there will be people willing to pay more.
The trick is to get them to pay more. Depending on your model of human nature determines whether you think they will.
RC
We're considering doing a similar thing for new prospects.
We make you a new website. The website stays there, hosting in our server, for a month free of charge. After a month, you choose if you want to pay its price and keep it or you want us to remove it and go back to what you had.
I assume people who get business out of the deal will pay for it instead of stopping getting business. That said, I think I'm going to keep an eye on your "experiment" and see how it works for you :D
The only way to sell consultancy that clients will value is to charge premium prices. otherwise clients do not listen.
Whether we add value to their businesses is a side product.
They buy because they need us. We give them what they want and ask for. Payment on results is not how to grow a consultancy business.
Pure win win.
Hi there Robert
I guess my worry would be the whole 'decide the fee after 30 days'... I have nightmares about being locked in an increasingly unpleasant negotiation. Like when Hotel timeshares offer customers a free TV for coming along to a hotel for a 'meeting' on the timeshare. Hours later the customers emerge battered and bruised. Some with the TV. Some with a timeshare.
For a small business owner - consultancy means expensive. 'We'll decide the fee later" is just too terrifying!
Pete
I guess you aren't really deciding the fee later. At least if DC/RC get their act togetether then the conversation will be open and visible.
jez
I presume that this works better with larger clients with bigger turnovers and therefore a 5% increase in turnover is altogether a bigger number for you to be paid from?
Kevan
Anon says "Whether we add value to their businesses is a side product."
Wow! Do you include this in your sales pitch to new clients? I wonder how they feel about the value of their business not being your primary concern?
I don't see what the fuss is over a "pay me what you think I'm worth" approach. The only difficulty is if you fail to deliver exceptional value...
Consultants have got away with delivering *process* and not *results* for far too long. Come the revolution they will be (one of)the first to be put up against the wall.
M<adge
I guess my worry would be the whole 'decide the fee after 30 days'... I have nightmares about being locked in an increasingly unpleasant negotiation. Like when Hotel timeshares offer customers a free TV for coming along to a hotel for a 'meeting' on the timeshare. Hours later the customers emerge battered and bruised. Some with the TV. Some with a timeshare.
For a small business owner - consultancy means expensive. 'We'll decide the fee later" is just too terrifying!
The last time I saw this in action was a few months ago in Barcelona.
I was in a restaurant and was offered a massage (whilst sat at the table). The deal was that I paid what I felt was an appropriate amount. I felt comfortable with that as an offer, and paid based on what I thought of the results.
I seem to remember reading something on this subject years ago, and from memory the research done in this area showed that where payment is left to the discretion of the customer the average fee is higher. Big health warning on this though as it was a long time ago.
I do use payment by results as one of the options for my website traffic generation, search ranking and social media services. I make it clear to clients that they will pay more to me for this as it passes the risk in the contract entirely to me. It can win clients where they are sceptical, have been bitten before by bad service or perhaps have to demonstrate results to their managers.
The down side is that it can require total transparency from both sides, as you may have to have access to sensitive data or information to make the projects work.
I don't know why people are flaming you for thinking of a more innovative approach to your marketing ...they obviously don't know much about it!!
It is used all the time in the telemarketing industry and Kevin is right that you definately need transparency between you and your client for it to work.
YOU also need to investigate whether there is a market for their product/services before you embark on this path.
I remember it first being advocated in the '80s because it can give higher rewards.
I would recommend a mix of steady contract work and this approach.
If done correctly it will work very well for you.
A results only basis can mean that an enormous amount of time, effort and cost has to be expended before you get any payback and you will always get someone who wants to use the system for their own advantage.
All I shall say is, do your homework on any client prior to offering this service and good luck to you.
OK - hooked. Will call. At the standard office number?
David
This is simply madness. Or am I going mad? Good luck to you.
Loved the Barckays truck. Clever idea. Intimate. Not disruptive but thought provoking. Why? Why?
You are clear that you prefer to work with buisnesses that turnover 500k+ so what will happen to those at the lower end?
Interesting concept. Requires the working capital at your end to invest in the project before receiving payback.
I would be very interested to hear how you get on...what sort of engagements you produce and what sort of "no win no fee" deals the clients are willing to put into place.
I am currently engaged on two long term (12 months) contracts where we are accepting a reduced fee for a slice of the gains made by the client. This is in the sales/marketing/business development space and we are effectively directing the propostion/marketing strategy for our clients and the results are easily measurable (both clients are financial services therefore increase in assets under management is the simple measure).
Along side this I am advising another client and waiving any day rates, instead taking a share of the revenue generated from a new product/service launch. This is a small, independent client who has little spare cash to invest in day rates for consultancy, but is willing to share in the spoils of their highly promising new venture should we be able to help them get it off the ground. This is high risk for me and can only be undertaken because other clients are paying day rates which mean a certain level of income is guaranteed.
Good luck...post an update if you will once you've had chance to assess.
DR
How about offereing your clients a guaranteed xfold ROI. If this is not reached by x months you pay the client back. We have been using this for 10 years and have never lost a single penny. You will need to have an efficient measurement process that the client will accept and commit to using. We have stopped using revenue share methods as described earlier as in general, clients do like the idea of sharing their hard earned profit. I have yet to see a succesful model where the clients pay only on results- a bit too spartan?
JC
A master stroke. Let us know how you get on.
Sonia
Certainly a gamechanger.
Not sure if it reeks of desparation or genius.
Would or rather could never happen here.
The wonders of being small and nimble.
There seems to be a lot of paranoia around.
Gerry
Fascinating to see how this might roll out. Free is not the same as zero cost and people need to realise that. I hope you don't get any numptees in the room cos that might spoil your little experiment.
And how has this gone?
Jim
RE Businesses less than 500k turnover. We do not rule out working with them but the 500k line is a rough guideline between 'serious' businesses with infrastructure and those which don't have the resource etc to 'make stuff happen'. We talk to people and decide what is best for them.
The 'free' option is always the Business Club www.directorscentre.co.uk and then there are various forms of consultancy with us or colleagues who may be able to help.
Always worth a chat.
RE How has this gone?
No shortage of interest in the concept. Plenty of conversations. Will keep you posted after the event!!
RC
So what happened?
It's that Lack of JFDI that's the problem for most marketing (and training, obviously) though isn't it. Lack of JFDI means it's hard to get them to come on training in the first place! :)
Hopefully those that have turned up for training will be less JFDI (is that adjective?!!?) than average......? I guess the only way to quantify that is to try it and see.
Just a thought - might it be 'safer' to charge people and then offer them a refund if they don't have results; it puts you a bit more in control and means that the JFDI might work you your advantage - if they can't be bothered to reclaim the money! :) :) :)
Let us know when the next ine comes on line
Attended the London St Pauls event and would like to give some feedback (anonymously).
A great day but seriously challenging. Getting your head out of your backside and making the big and brave decisions is no easy task.
Good things was the 30 day follow and the linkedin club page and follow up emails and reminders.
For my business it was a challenge. It hurt and was tough. As it says on the can, not for the faint-hearted. This is a workshop for people who have the bottle to make those decisions. The emphasis on speed and simultaneous activity does create its own problems. But overall it has been a good thing.
J
OK - hooked. Will call. At the standard office number?
David
I do use payment by results as one of the options for my website traffic generation, search ranking and social media services. I make it clear to clients that they will pay more to me for this as it passes the risk in the contract entirely to me. It can win clients where they are sceptical, have been bitten before by bad service or perhaps have to demonstrate results to their managers.
The down side is that it can require total transparency from both sides, as you may have to have access to sensitive data or information to make the projects work.
I guess my worry would be the whole 'decide the fee after 30 days'... I have nightmares about being locked in an increasingly unpleasant negotiation. Like when Hotel timeshares offer customers a free TV for coming along to a hotel for a 'meeting' on the timeshare. Hours later the customers emerge battered and bruised. Some with the TV. Some with a timeshare.
For a small business owner - consultancy means expensive. 'We'll decide the fee later" is just too terrifying!
Anon says "Whether we add value to their businesses is a side product."
Wow! Do you include this in your sales pitch to new clients? I wonder how they feel about the value of their business not being your primary concern?
I don't see what the fuss is over a "pay me what you think I'm worth" approach. The only difficulty is if you fail to deliver exceptional value...
Not a true dispruter - but then you are a marketer. But yes it is disruptive. I bet your competiton love you!
Hi Robert,
At last, some common sense. Minimum risk from your perspective, yet the possibility of a reward or future business !
This is 21st century marketing !
To our success,
Peter.
My gut feeling is that you will be able to pull this one off.
I agree that it is a brave and bold move.
Fi
Part of the disruptive piece is the irritation that this will create amongst your competitors.
By charging for results you will rock the assumptions of most consultants. Pay by the hour and don't guarantee results is the usual approach by consultants.
Here's hoping this won't catch on!
Bill M
oops something wnet wrong there. over-excited
Linda
A rather neat piece of disruptive marketing. Now it is up to you to deliver. Or rather it is still up to the delegates but you are taking that risk. Be interesting to see how it all pans out.
So, no results, no payment?
Jim
Thanks for the feedback, Mr Anon
I spoke to all delegates (who would take my call at the time!!) after the event so I know what you are talking about.
The emphasis on speed and simultaneous activity is however necessary to create the momentum and fight the lapses into inertia
I was stuck in a rut and The DC told me I could grow my company and actually become successful.
I needed an energy boost and an injection of confidence. I was with other business owners who were experiencing the same lack of self belief, all of whom were aspirational but lacked a strategy and a clear focus on the businesses we were running.
In half a day, I gained a whole new perspective on business, simplifying and changing the way I worked from the next day.
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