Contractors can, should and must be good at sales

Get together a group of contractors and ask them if they are professional salespeople. Youíll get who respond with an enthusiastic ëyesí, but from most there will probably be a mixture of shifty looks, shuffling feet and the odd smirk. Thatís because too many contractors see salespeople as sharks wearing shiny suits driving even shinier cars!

But without being able to handle sales, contractors are setting themselves up for a career of second-rate contracts, long periods without work or even bankruptcy, believes Dave Chaplin, editor in chief and CEO of leading contractor website www.contractorcalculator.co.uk and author of the critically acclaimed Contractorsí Handbook.

ìYou can be the greatest IT programmer or engineer on the planet,î states Chaplin, ìbut if you canít sell your fabulous skills you might as well have stayed in full time employment and not wasted your time even thinking you could be a contractor.î

Successful contracting relies on good sales skills

He continues: ìThe sooner new contractors get their heads round the fact that they are not applying for another full time permanent job, but instead selling an exiting product – themselves – the sooner theyíll start winning lucrative contracts.î

Winning contracts is a sales process. It starts with the CV, which is a sales document about you, and needs to be wholly focused on why you are the best person for the specific contract being applied for. The CV has to be designed with one primary aim: to get you to the next stage in the sales process, the interview.

But itís not really an interview, as Chaplin highlights: ìContractors donít have interviews in the traditional sense of the word; the need to see interviews as sales meetings where they are giving their prospective client a sales pitch about themselves, their skills and what they can do to help the client successfully achieve the results required of the contract.î

During the ëinterviewí you, the contractor, have a great deal to do. You must fact-find about the clientís problem, demonstrate you can help, pitch this to the client, ask for the business and close the deal. And all this in not more than an hour!

Negotiation techniques

You really prove are in business for yourself as a contractor when it comes to the negotiation stage of winning a contract. This is when you have the chance to secure the best deal you can.

Itís not like the mild horse trading that occurs when finalising the package for a full time permanent job, but a proper business-to-business negotiation that must be approached with professionalism.

ìThe first task, long before the negotiation starts, is to research the current market rate for the contract,î advises Chaplin. ìThen, before the interview and prior to getting any offer from the client, be vague and talk about ëmarket ratesí, but never, ever mention a number.î

When youíve had the offer, thatís the time to get tough. Chaplin explains: ìIf youíre negotiating, it means youíve won the contract and are therefore negotiating from a position of strength. Remember, you can be looking at negotiating significant margins if you are dealing with an agent, or big differences in hourly or daily rates if bargaining direct with the client.î

Contractors can and should master professional sales

There is a wealth of resources available to contractors seeking to develop their professional sales and negotiation skills, much of which Chaplin wishes was available when he first started contracting.

ìI got well and truly stitched up on my first contract by an agent who recognised my inexperience and took a whopping margin,î says Chaplin. ìThatís why I wrote the Contractorsí Handbook, so new contractors donít have to go through the painful and expensive learning curve I suffered.î

Chaplinís advice is clear – even first time and new contractors who invest time and effort in learning some contracting skills will be able to start their career confident they are securing good deals on their contracts. At the same time, more established contractors should make sure their sales process is up to scratch – from CV through to contract negotiation.