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This may apply to many people here so I hope you don't mind answering a question specific to my situation. Huge thanks in advance if you can! I've recently dis
by wilfra 13y ago
This may apply to many people here so I hope you don't mind answering a question specific to my situation. Huge thanks in advance if you can!
I've recently discovered a skill I never knew I had - and one I'm way better at than being a developer. I'm really good at working with non-technical people who want to build things. I can explain technical things to them in a way they understand (because I was in their shoes for many years). And most importantly - I can quickly grok what business problem they are trying to solve and think of way better ways to solve them than whatever strategy they came up with ("I want a site that has like dropdowns and a calendar and logins and maps and a place where..." when a two page lander+them doing everything manually, would be a better and cheaper way to test their idea).
Ok so my question is, how do I market that service (not where to find clients but how to pitch them)? What do I call myself? Should I just charge them hourly/per project (and offer the 2-day a month retainer) or is there a better model I could sell them on that could be more lucrative for me and a better solution for them?
- dotmanish 13y ago"Product Management" or "Product Management Consulting" is probably the term you're looking for. There are complete consulting firms built on doing Product Management alone.
- wilfra 13y agoThanks. The kind of non-technical people I work best with don't even usually know what product management means and I'm also doing the development, but that's a good lead. I'll check into it.
- rscale 13y agoGiven that description, I could see you working quite effectively in a technical sales role (e.g. sales engineer).
- reeses 13y agoThis is the difference between a consultant and a contractor. A contractor is an order taker. A consultant is a trusted advisor. You'll pitch to a different level (middle managers and above) but you'll also double your billing rate. It works very well with companies that don't have a CIO/CTO/VP of IT and are struggling but don't really know why. The epipheo guys are pretty good at putting business pain into a short message. You may not want to have cartoons, but watching their videos can give you quick insights on marketing your solutions. As for what to call yourself, incorporate and go with "principal consultant", "founder", "CEO", whatever. If you specialize, use that in the company name or as a subtitle on your letterhead/email sigs/cards/etc.