Some thoughts on finder’s fees

Posted April 9, 2012 · 7 Comments

Last year somebody reached out to me and mentioned that they had a client they couldn’t take on so they wanted to pass them my way. I got some basic details about the project and it seemed like we’d be a good fit for what the client needed, so I said send ‘em over. The person said, “OK and then when you land the client, you can send me a 10% finder’s fee.” Without thinking much about it, I agreed. After getting off the phone and giving it some thought, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it. On one hand, I may not have ever found that client, so getting 90% of something is better than 100% of nothing. But, on the other hand, the other developer was overloaded and wouldn’t have taken the project anyway and I felt like they were just trying to capitalize as they sent the client away. Either way, I wasn’t really happy. And, as luck would have it, it didn’t work out and we didn’t land the client so I didn’t have to deal with it anyway.

I go to a fair amount of WordCamps around the country with a bunch of other WordPress developers. When hanging out and talking with non-developers, one question that comes up from time to time is “Who is your competition?” My answer is always the same, “Everybody here. And nobody.”

I’m currently fielding more project enquiries than I could handle. Hell, my current project list is already insane and I’m telling anybody who calls that I’m booked through the middle of next month. And when they say that they can’t wait that long to get started, the next thing I do is send them an email with a list of other WordPress developers I know who may be able to squeeze them in. No request for a finder’s fee. Just trying to connect somebody who needs work done with somebody who may have time to do some work.

This past week I had another request from somebody asking for a finder’s fee. I politely told them that I don’t offer a finder’s fee and if they wanted to send the project to somebody else instead, that was fine with me. Once again, when I got off the phone, I stopped to think about the conversation. I’m wondering if I’m going about this all wrong? Am I missing out on a grip of cash by not requesting a finder’s fee from people I send leads to?

Oh, right, I almost forgot… I don’t care.

Here’s my thinking; if you are only interested in sending me the lead because you’re looking for a slice off the top as the client leaves your hands, do me a favor and just don’t send them my way. If you spent time with the client ahead of time and helped them sort out their RFP, you definitely should be paid for that. There’s even a word for what you did. They call it consulting. Consultants get paid. By the client. I am not your client.

So, yeah. After having some time to think about it, I’ll just go on record and say, “No, I will not send you a finder’s fee”. I’ll have to list this post right next to my “No, I will not sign your NDA post”

I’m curious what you think. What’s your take on finder’s fees? Do you ask for them? Do you pay them? Leave a comment and give me your angle on it.

 

 

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Hire an assistant. Now!

Posted July 25, 2011 · 17 Comments

When we started the company, there were three of us. The other two guys did the bulk of the design/development and I did some development, but mostly I ran the business. I spoke with all prospects, I managed all projects, dealt with accounting… all of it. Then earlier this year, one of those guys left to pursue other interests. Once he left, I took on the bulk of the design work on top of what was already on my plate. This was not a smart move.

For a couple months we rolled forward without making any significant changes to the way things were. We were working crazy hours to deal with everything on our plates and there was never a time when I felt like things were under control. I had lists of every shape and size. Notes on this project and that. But, there wasn’t anything that resembled a method to my madness. It was just… madness. Finally, when my stress level was reaching epic proportions, I made the decision. We need a project manager and we need one now!

As I started putting together the job description for this new position, I quickly realized that it wasn’t just a project manager I was looking for. I needed an assistant with project management skills. I interviewed half a dozen people for the position, but none felt perfect. As I was taking a couple of days to ponder my options, the exact person I had in mind for the position asked if the position was still available. Without a second thought, the position was hers. Welcome, Sarah.

Getting up to speed

Now that we had our person, the real fun begins. We set up an initial meeting to do a bit of a brain dump. I spoke for nearly 2 hours straight while she took notes. A lot of them. When the meeting ended and I saw the amount of information that had been floating around in my head, I was amazed. I knew I had been trying to manage a lot of information about a lot of projects, but seeing it all on paper was a real eye opener.

Over the next few weeks we worked together to find the processes that worked best for us. There is no such thing as a perfect solution when it comes to project management. We tried a few options and settled in on what felt comfortable. We’ve tweaked it over time and what we have now seems to be doing the trick. But, we’re still tweaking as we go.

Once we had the basic framework for project management in place, we started looking at all the areas of the business where she could take tasks off my plate. It should be no surprise that email was one of the first things that came up. On any given day I receive a handful emails from people looking for our services. I started by CC’ing Sarah on all client emails. Within a week she had taken over the ‘first line of defense’ answering the emails that have fairly standard responses. Over the next couple weeks she had taken over the bulk of all new prospect emails. If she did nothing else, she’d be worth her weight in gold! Lucky for me, this was only the beginning.

During those first couple weeks, Sarah turned my ramblings from that first meeting (along with all the emails and new prospects that had shown up since) in to an organized spreadsheet. We had tabs for existing projects, pipeline prospects and deals that we failed to capture. We’d meet a couple times a week to discuss each list. It’s amazing how a 10 minute meeting looking over a list can be so much more productive than 2 hours of pouring through your inbox trying to find all the details…

These are only a few of the things she’s taken off my desk so far. As we continue to refine our processes, I know there will be more.

The Payoff

As I said before, I had a lot of information floating around in my head. Since I was always so busy with everything that was on my plate at the moment, it was virtually impossible to step back and look ahead or behind. I was just rushing from project to project putting out whichever was the biggest fire.

About 4 weeks in to having Sarah on board I had that ‘A HA!’ moment that let me know I had made the right choice. I received an email from a prospect who I had talked to a couple months before. We had exchanged a few emails about a project, but it didn’t go anywhere and he ended up falling through the cracks. Sarah saw his name on that original list of prospects, reached out to him with a simple email asking if he was still in need of our services, and the next day he emails us asking for a contract and invoice so we could start his project. Without Sarah sending that email, it’s unlikely we would have landed that client.

While that is the most obvious example of the benefits of having an assistant, there are plenty of more subtle benefits as well. My time at my desk has been significantly more focused and productive now that I have less to manage on my own.

If I could give you just one piece of advice, stop trying to do it all yourself. Hire an assistant and in no time you’ll be wondering how you managed without them for so long.

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No, I will not sign your NDA

Posted April 19, 2011 · 15 Comments

I’m the first point of contact for our small business. As such, I’m the one who reads all of the contact form submissions. Here is part of a form submission I received recently:

Before I talk to you about my project, I need you to sign an NDA.

What I think they really mean is: I don’t trust you.

The fact that you recently saw The Social Network and think every developer is going to steal your idea and turn it in to the next Facebook behind your back is not my problem.

I have a pretty standard response that I send to people who ask for an NDA. For my developer friends, I’m posting it here for you to use as you see fit:

No, I will not sign your NDA and here’s why; I don’t like signing anything that I don’t read and understand completely. Language in NDAs (and most contracts) love to throw in all sorts of legalese that just don’t give me a comfy feeling by signing without having somebody else take a look at it first. So this means that I’m 1-2 hours in, and maybe out of pocket if it turns out to be something I need to have a lawyer take a quick look at, and this is just to talk about YOUR project.

I have not looked at your NDA, but I give you my word that we are honest and trustworthy people and as programmers we are far too busy to be stealing any ideas to work on for ourselves.

I realize this doesn’t sit well with some people. If this is a show stopper and you need to find a different developer, we understand completely. However, I’d be more than happy to talk to you about your project with the understanding that any information you tell me IS held with the strictest confidence.

For any prospective clients who are turned off by this, I offer you this link. No hard feelings.

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