Leverage this!

November 3, 2007 by  

You won’t learn this in B-school or from career advice articles, but its important for the independent professional service firm to know how to deal with the “leveragers”. These are people who want or need your knowledge and creative talents and assets, but they devalue them and will go to great lengths to get them for free, or for less.

They can show up in different forms. I call them the bottom feeder, tire kicker, brain picker, carrot dangler.

The Four Types of Leveragers

The Four Types of Leveragers

A bad experience with a leverager can help you recognize and release a hidden belief in what you don’t want. An example is: “I have to take whatever business I can get”. It can also provide an opportunity to exchange that old belief for one that you do want. An example is: “I have complete trust in, and alignment with, my clients who value my work and honor our relationship”. There’s really no good reason why you should overpay by giving away your time, energy and creativity.

It can be discouraging and disheartening to get caught up with a leverager. If it happens to you, don’t be hard on yourself. You’re learning discernment – what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. Its most important to radically trust your instinct. But although I’m a firm believer in expecting and preparing for successful client engagements, I do recommend adhering to the following:

  • Don’t start projects without a deposit.
  • Get progress payments agreed to up front and stop work if they are not met.
  • Determine how much time you will give for a work sample or pre-sales consultation; use a timer.
  • Set up a credit card payment option.
  • Get brain pickers and tire kickers out of your life by billing them; you’ll never hear from them again.
  • If a client continually changes and adds to the scope and it starts to feel like a ploy – stop. Walk away even if you are owned money. Its unlikely you can turn around a client who is intent on a win-lose scenario or whose business model justifies your overpaying in emotional energy or creativity.
  • If you withdraw from an engagement, do so firmly, but peacefully and with respect for your client, and their good qualities that drew you to them. Separate fact from emotion even if the client cannot, or will not.
  • Don’t sign over-complicated or highly restrictive contracts.

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