A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about the good and not-so-good aspects of being a consultant. I forgot to add that one of the good (very good) things is that you can decide who you want to work for and who you don't.
I thought about this last Friday after a phone conversation with a prospective client. He had e-mailed me about working on a proposal and asked me to call to discuss it. So I did. When I got him on the phone, he told me -- rather rudely -- that I should have my phone number on my website. His manner should have tipped me off, but no, I went blithely on listening to him explain his predicament with his proposal. His predicament was that he had never done a proposal before, he didn't know what to do, and the proposal due date was June 22.
I had briefly looked at the RFP that he had sent with his original e-mail, and told him on the phone that it would take a least a couple of weeks of my time because the RFP called for a lot of very detailed information. Then, in a sort of nasty way, he said that he was also talking with another proposal specialist who had also indicated that he could prepare all the required proposal sections. The client made several other points about the other consultant, making sure that I understood that this was a "competitive situation." Now, I'm happy to compete with others for business when prospective clients tell me in a friendly way that they're soliciting a number of bids. However, I don't take well to someone who is trying to pit me against others through pressure and numerous reminders that someone else might be selected for an assignment. In fact, this usually has the opposite effect on me -- instead of going after the business, I walk away.
Then, on this late Friday afternoon, my potential client "tells" me what he wants me to do. And what he wants me to do over the weekend is to undertake a detailed review of the RFP, tell him exactly what sections and subsections I can handle, and give him a price for each. He wants this early Monday morning so he can discuss it with me and then with his staff. I didn't say much; I was pretty noncommittal about it. But after we hung up, I knew for sure that this was not the way I was going to spend my weekend.
I also decided that this client was likely to turn out to be one of those "clients from hell." As a consultant, you have to sometimes be willing to walk away or turn down work because you don't think that your personality and the client's personality are a good match. After a while, you learn to trust your intuition on these matters. Fortunately, I've had very few clients from hell. But those few were enough to keep me on guard against getting any more of them.
So this morning, I'm going to send off an e-mail to this prospective client. I'll thank him for his interest in my services and let him know that I will not be available to work with him.
Choosing your clients -- just another benefit of being a consultant.
My condolences on the loss of your Mom. I know you are thankful for the time you could spend with her. Your post was very interesting and very true. I am a small business owner. I came to you site via several others while searching for grant opportunities. I currently have a proposal for a stim grant that is in its 2nd year of waiting. As you know, you can only do so much each day and your income and growth are directly related to how much energy you can expend in a day. Your description of your "client from hell" reminded me of one I had last year. It is nice to be able to pick your clients. Most of mine have been long term. Thank God for those wonderful people. They have given me a stable financial environment and have become like family. Growth is a hugh undertaking and responsibility, involving more people in the form of employees and clients while maintaining the high standard I have has proven to be a daunting task. I will check out your recommended sites and check back here to see what you are up to.
Thank you, I was happy to find your site.
Judy T