NOBODY'S BITCH...

David Droga is an ad executive who jumped out of his fat salary partner position in New York some time ago.  He now runs a very successful 120+ strong advertising agency in New York and has a client list that includes Puma, Unilever and Microsoft.

David's advice to anyone who seeks him out to ask such is, "not all the stars will line up at once, you don't need a wacky point of view, get yourself a strong business partner and don't pitch unless you get paid."

In other words, "You're nobody's bitch."

Times are harder than usual to come by work for anyone involved in the pressing of palms, listening to clients problems, dreaming up of creative solutions.  But I fully agree with this adage.  There's absolutely no reason to go and prostitute yourself on the streets at the lowest common denominator price.  You only end up working harder for less.

This is relevant. In the UK right now we are facing a veritable tsunami of ex-public sector employees deluging into the one-man band world of 'consultancy'. They are clutching a little black book of former colleagues and contacts at local authorities and regional agencies across the land.

The main culprits have probably resurrected their LinkedIn profile lately and addded a whole heap of similar concubines to make themselves feel warm and cosy (LinkedIn UK had 3m members in late 2009 and had added a further 1m by June 2010 for example).  A few are already taking the leap, taking the money (correction taking the taxpayers money) and setting up on their own.  Cheekier ones amongst them have secured three month handover contracts and are contracted back to the place that let them go - typically to train more junior staff how they did their job (because it was so difficult you know).

And so, just like the chart of public sector employment that runs sharply uphill between
1998 and 2008 (see my previous blog) one should expect a sharp increase in self employment in the next decade.  And if these people don't set up so called consultancy businesses they will probably start to bake cupcakes and sell them given what I've seen on facebook and elsewhere?

Thing is for most of these people, they were not very, how shall we put it, efficient at their job - we know that now - by 2008 it took 30% more public sector employees to keep the machine oiled as it did in 1997.  I know this from first hand and can show you examples of people taking a month-plus to write reports that would have taken me a matter of days - and they had whole departments of research support too!

Anyway.. To my opening point..  I had a meeting with a prominent property agent last week at which he was moaning about the fact that work is getting harder to find, contracts to secure etc etc.. The reaction of his company - one of the top four commercial agents in the world - is to start to drop day rates, commission fee percentages and fight it out with everyone else in the market.  Now I think this is false and promptly told him so.  There's nothing wrong with becoming more competitive - and any consultant's client should force this as much as possible - but I think by simply competing on price in such a naked way sends out (at least) three very unprofessional and poor signals:

• the first is a statement that we can do it for less but in the past
  ten years when times were good we were taking more money
  out of your pocket than we should have been.
  Not a great statement to make?

• the second is saying we are desperate enough now to undercut
  our rivals just to secure your business - hence you the client are the
  most important factor in the equation and wield all the power.  This
  of course should be something that a good consultant makes a client feel
  whilst very firmly retaining the control in the relationship.  I tend to try
  and make the client see the benefits of hiring our firm or buying our products
  and they then feel grateful for you pointing out their competitors are already
  doing this so they might just lose out if they don't etc etc - regain control.

• Lastly, by dropping fees in an all-out battle with competitors you say, "we are
  no different to anyone else." I firmly believe my business to be unique.  We do
  things others don't.  Our services stand above the crowd.  Why would I want
  to line up on the Mac-menu with everybody else? Conviction and stamina have
  got me to where I am today in my business.

One thing is for certain then, our day rates will not be dropping now times are a little harder.  Our product prices are now lower it must be said, but clients are being told how we have achieved this - economies of scale, knowledge of their geography, not quite as much background research going into the final product unless they pay the old, higher price.

I am nobody's bitch!

Interesting links:
Social networking stats for 2010 summary
10 surprising facts about LinkedIn membership in the uK