Practical, no-nonsense guides for consultants, agencies, freelancers and the companies that hire them: finding clients, pricing, proposals, tenders and more.
Brief, compare and choose consultants, agencies and freelancers.
For buyersHow to Write an RFP or Agency Brief (With a Scoring Matrix)A brief and RFP template for hiring an agency, the questions to ask providers, a weighted scoring matrix with a worked example, and red flags in proposals.
For buyersHow to Vet a Consultant or Agency: Questions and Red FlagsA pre-signature checklist for buyers: company checks, portfolio and reference questions, who does the work, a paid pilot, contract points and red flags.Set your rates, write proposals and quotes that win.
For providersHow to Raise Your Rates With Existing Clients (Email Templates)When and how much to raise your rates with existing clients, how much notice to give, three email templates, and how to handle pushback or a client who leaves.
For providersHow to Write a Consulting Proposal (Annotated Template)A one-to-three-page consulting proposal template, annotated section by section, with a before/after rewrite and a method for presenting two or three price options.
For providers and buyersHourly, Fixed Price, Retainer or Value-Based: How to ChooseCompare hourly, fixed price, retainer and value-based pricing with a decision table, one project priced four ways, and the mistakes that make each model fail.
For providersHow to Calculate Your Consulting Day Rate (With a Worked Example)A step-by-step method to calculate your consulting day rate from your target income, with a worked example, a fill-in table and the common mistakes.Post a need, answer a tender, work with subcontractors.
Contracts, invoicing, getting paid and growing a small firm.
Hire employees: job posts, interviews and onboarding.
