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Cardwell Management Services UK Limited
Regency House, 45-51 Chorley New Road, Bolton, BL1 4QR
Cardwell Management Services UK Limited
Regency House, 45-51 Chorley New Road, Bolton, BL1 4QR
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What options do I have to market myself?
Irrespective of whether you intend to use Agents to help you secure work, it is important that you market yourself in the right way.
Failing to market themselves effectively is the single most expensive mistake that inexperienced contractors make. So what do you need to do?
Well, start by developing a basic plan so that you understand what you can offer a potential client;
1. What skills and experience do you have that a client would like valuable? Go On make a list now.
2. Who are your target audience and key sectors - what's happening in these sectors that you can assist potential clients to understand/ overcome?
3. How do you compare with other providers in this space - do an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses against the competition
4. What are your pricing options? Are you looking for a day rate or are you happy to work on a 'at risk' basis?
Once you have undertaken this review, you need to do two things;
1. Consider how you can integrate these thoughts into a well crafted CV, and
2. Decide what support material you need to promote yourself.
Most freelance contractors never really consider developing materials that will support their search for a contract. However, this can be one of the easiest ways to help differentiate you from others. Consider the image that you want to protray, do you need a logo? Design some high quality business cards and letter heads, think about webcontent and a website and get yourself a proper email address, rather than using a personal address or worst still a Hotmail account.
All of these things will help you make you appear more professional, and if you can publish materials, such as presentations that you have given or white papers about your industry etc, there are lots of places on the web where you can publicise these for free. You might feel that doing so will reduce your USP. However, what it does do is to demonstrate to everyone that you understand the issues, can provide solutions and helps to place you one step ahead of your competitors.
See Also
Do I need a website?
Networking
Crafting my CV
Recommended Links
Printing Organisations - a choice of our recommended printing companies for your business cards/ letterheads and promotional materials
Scribd.com - a free and effective way to disctribute your articles and white papers
Slideshare.net - an effective way to distribute and promote your presentational materials
Failing to market themselves effectively is the single most expensive mistake that inexperienced contractors make. So what do you need to do?
Well, start by developing a basic plan so that you understand what you can offer a potential client;
1. What skills and experience do you have that a client would like valuable? Go On make a list now.
2. Who are your target audience and key sectors - what's happening in these sectors that you can assist potential clients to understand/ overcome?
3. How do you compare with other providers in this space - do an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses against the competition
4. What are your pricing options? Are you looking for a day rate or are you happy to work on a 'at risk' basis?
Once you have undertaken this review, you need to do two things;
1. Consider how you can integrate these thoughts into a well crafted CV, and
2. Decide what support material you need to promote yourself.
Most freelance contractors never really consider developing materials that will support their search for a contract. However, this can be one of the easiest ways to help differentiate you from others. Consider the image that you want to protray, do you need a logo? Design some high quality business cards and letter heads, think about webcontent and a website and get yourself a proper email address, rather than using a personal address or worst still a Hotmail account.
All of these things will help you make you appear more professional, and if you can publish materials, such as presentations that you have given or white papers about your industry etc, there are lots of places on the web where you can publicise these for free. You might feel that doing so will reduce your USP. However, what it does do is to demonstrate to everyone that you understand the issues, can provide solutions and helps to place you one step ahead of your competitors.
See Also
Do I need a website?
Networking
Crafting my CV
Recommended Links
Printing Organisations - a choice of our recommended printing companies for your business cards/ letterheads and promotional materials
Scribd.com - a free and effective way to disctribute your articles and white papers
Slideshare.net - an effective way to distribute and promote your presentational materials