Quotes "I am finding the service extremely useful especially the daily alerts which are excellent. I must admit I hadn't thought of anything else on the site and getting a call to talk me through the facilities has been invaluable", Victoria Pagan, ERS Research and Consultancy To contact Skillfair call 0844 4457071 or click here to email us   Guest Account Current Market:    104 articles found in All Content     Partnership with IMechE Skillfair provides consultants directory and alert service to 80,000 members of IMechE   view   Happy Christmas from Skillfair Happy Christmas - we'll be keeping the office open until noon on Tuesday to make sure you get a chance to respond to any more that come in. The office will re-open on 5th January 2009.   view   Taking Stock The lead up to holidays is often hectic - but also a good time to clear your desk and catch up on long delayed tasks. Make sure you take time off to relax and allow your subconscious to sort through problems!   view   Skillfair Conference 2008 Presentations and notes from Skillfair's 2008 Conference   view   Mad rush to publish tenders before Christmas Clients seem to assume that suppliers will have plenty of time to respond to tenders over the holiday period. So make sure you have your standard responses lined up ready for a flurry of opportunities being published just before Xmas!   view   Execution is everything Good ideas aren't enough by themselves, you need to carry them out carefully and professionally if your business is to succeed.   view   The Adviser's Edge The Adviser's Edge is a unique resource for consultants, advisers and coaches working with small businesses and startups.   view   Managing the Handover Now that you've won the assignment how do you make sure you talk to the right people and get your work started on the right footing?   view   Being the early, and informed, bird Keep an eye on your industry magazines for stories that give you insight into you clients worries - then you can tune your approach to what they're actually looking for.   view   What is good advice? As a small business owner it sometimes feels as though every man and his dog is queueing up to give you advice on how to run your business. So how do you work out who to listen to?   view   Do you need a salesperson? Many consultants are reluctant to engage a salesperson, or to think of that they do as selling, but you don't need to be pushy or a motor mouth to sell consultancy successfully - in fact the opposite is usually true.   view   Confidence breeds confidence Clients need to trust a consultant before they decide to buy - so it's important that you have confidence in yourself and the value you bring to their business.   view   Timing is everything In finding new clients timing is often the key. Unless a client has a need for your services right now they're not likely to buy - so you need to keep in touch once you've made an initial contact so you're still in their minds once they've decided to buy.   view   Case Study - Small firms can win tenders Infinity Public Relations is a small PR firm specialising in the travel, lifestyle, food and drink and property sectors. Their first attempt at tendering resulted in a successful bid against a number of larger firms.   view   Sharing Information The benefits of sharing information around and a link to a free tenders site for Eire.   view   How do I include my website in my profile Your Skillfair membership includes 1 or more Google searchable profiles - to boost your own website in search engines, make sure you include your website in your profile.   view   What kind of CV can I load in my profile You can load a CV or company profile into your Skillfair profile to provide potential clients with more information about your services.   view   The Importance of Setting Expectations The importance of having clear expectations, preferably in writing, before embarking on any kind of project.   view   State of the Market for Independent Consultants Large consultancies are struggling in the credit crunch but Skillfair's snap survey shows that most independents are doing as well or better than this time last year.   view   How do I Express an Interest? Many tenders or requests for proposals, use the term 'expression of interest' - what does this mean and what should I do?   view   Skillfair Consultants Supporting Keep Trade Local The FSB's Keep Trade Local campaign is aimed at supporting and encouraging small retailers. Skillfair's consultants are heavy users of their local services across the UK and we encourage you to sign the online petition to make government aware of how important local shops and businesses are.   view   Who are consultants really? There are two conflicting stereotypes of consultants around – the young, ambitious ‘suit’ who marches into a business exuding confidence and advocating sweeping changes or the grey-haired, 50-something executive, usually male, who has been made redundant. Skillfair's 'Way of Working' survey explains what independent consultants are really like and how much they contribute to the economy.   view   Discounts for Skillfair and PCG members PCG members are entitled to a 15% discount off the price of their first year of Skillfair membership - the arrangement works the other way as well.   view   Marketing your way out of the credit crunch How will the credit crunch affect your consultancy business and what can you do about it?   view   Strong response to Offer Adverts Members report strong interest from consultants in offers advertised on Skillfair offer alert.   view   Advertising Products and Services on Skillfair Skillfair's database of consultants covers the whole of the UK and has a high proportion of small and home office based businesses. If this is your target market then our offer alerts provide a simple, easily tracked and cost-effective way to advertise.   view   Skillfair 2008 Consultants Conference Skillfair 4th Annual Conference, 13th November, The Brewery, London, EC1Y 4SD   view   The Importance of Staying in Touch Not checking your email system and web site regularly can mean you miss out on client opportunities, Make sure you email yourself from time to time - email isn't as robust as we sometimes think!   view   Essential resources for consultants Presenting a consistent, professional approach is critical to succeeding as an independent consultant. These are some of the key documents you should have at your fingertips ready for when a client calls.   view   Advertising to Skillfair Consultants Many of Skillfair's members offer services that are potentially useful to other consultants. To provide a mechanism for these to be advertised without sending too many extra emails we send a weekly offer alert.   view   New Offer Alert Service Announcing a new service that allows product and sevrice providers to advertise by email to Skillfair consultants.   view   I need help, is it a Project or an Opportunity? Many consultants want to build up associate lists or to work with other people to bid for work. In these situations there may or may not be definite work available, so to make sure consultants are clear what's on offer we allow you to post either a Project or an Opportunity.   view   How much does it cost? Skillfair Consultant membership costs £120 per year excluding VAT. Client membership is also £120 per year and we don't charge commission on any projects or assignments placed through us.   view   Starting a conversation Selling any product or service is like a conversation - you need to find out what your customer wants and build trust between you. The key to any good conversation is to listen and that's doubly important if the opening stages of the conversation take place online.   view   Case Study - Sector Specific Expertise “Sector specific knowledge is critical in winning new business and Skillfair has been extremely helpful in finding quality candidates” - The Strategy Works needed a consultant with great consulting skills, but also with experience of the laundry care market.   view   Making marketing a priority   view   PI Insurance Evidence I've said in my profile that I have PI insurance - but you haven't given me a quality point, why not?   view   Who is the competition? Should consultants worry about competition from other consultants - or is client inertia the main problem to be overcome in finding new business?   view   IBC Partnership News Skillfair provides the tender and opportunity alert service for IBC members - this service is available to IBC members for £20 off the normal Skillfair price.   view   Business Advisor Survey - Your Views Wanted An invitation to respond to research on the climate for Small Business Research Advice.   view   Consultant Newsletter - 16/05/2008 New icons on Skillfair to identify Opportunities - that's projects that don't involve an immediate fee-paying piece of work - and a change in how we notify you when people have viewed your profile.   view   So, you want to be consultant? The reasons people become self-employed vary hugely - some have always planned to work for themselves, others fall into it or are pushed by circumstances or redundancy. Whatever the reasons, the key issues are the same and it's worth spending time thinking strategically about your consulting career before you take the plunge.   view   Client Case Study - Specialist help needed Finding the right person to help with your business is always tricky & Michael Quinlan needed expertise in manufacturing, marketing and government grants. A tall order, but one that was easily filled through Skillfair.   view   Raising Standards with ISO9001 PCG's IS9001 accreditation scheme is specially designed for small consultancy firms. Skillfair members can take advanatge of a 10% discount on their first year's accreditation fee.   view   PCG ISO9001 Scheme Discount Smaller companies often need to work harder to prove their credentials. PCG's ISO9001 scheme is a great way for consultancies to do this and Skillfair members benefit from a discount on the already modest price.   view   2008 Fee Survey Full Results Fee rates are under pressure across all skills and sectors, with particular pressure in the 3rd sector. The best paid consultants are those in Change Management who are willing to work all over the UK.   view   Consultancy Fee Rate Survey 2008 Annual fee rate survey results for 2008, showing lower average rates and pressure on rates in the 3rd Sector.   view   Reputation on the web Reputations can be made on the web, but are just as easily damaged. Make sure that you use hard to guess passwords and don't share your login details for Skillfair, Facebook, forums or any other networking sites.   view   Consultancy rates under pressure in 3rd sector Skillfair's fee rate survey shows that rates are under pressure, particularly in the 3rd or voluntary sector.   view   2008 Consultants Conference - 13th November 2008 The Skillfair Autmn conference will be on 13th November 2008 at The Brewery in London.   view   Case Study: Meg Abdy Retail intelligence expert, Meg Adby, teamed up with an NHS specialist to win work for the NHS Institute for Innovation & Improvement   view   Are suppliers lists worth the effort? Many public sector organisations have preferred supplier lists. It can take a fair amount of effort to get yourself included on these and there's generally no guarantee of any work. A number of Skillfair members have been successful both in getting on the list and turning their listing into real work.   view   Do you need a marketing specialist or a GP? If your business isn't quite performing as you want - it can be hard to know whether you just need some tactical marketing help or a broader rethink. This article gives some pointers to help you decide.   view   Marketing your business - how can we help? The success of any business depends on making sure you product matches what the market needs and that people know about your offer. An marekting consultant can help you with all aspects of marketing your business.   view   How can Skillfair help HR Managers? HR is an increasingly challenging area, keeping up with new regulations and developing your existing workforce are just part of the role. When your organisation needs specialist interim help or consultancy Skillfair can help you find resources without soaking up time and extra money.   view   Skillfair and UKITA Partnership UKITA is the UK Association for IT suppliers. Skillfair members can obtain a discount off UKITA membership and UKITA members can access Skillfair services at a discount.   view   Consultancy Tender Alert Service Skillfair's tender alert service is specially designed for copanies and individuals who provide complex, knowledge based services and solutions. We add value to the information by matching alerts to the skills required for each project.   view   IT market extended & UKITA partnership Extension of IT and Computer related tenders rto include hardware, packaged software and complete systems. Plus a link up with UKITA, the UK IT Association.   view   How to avoid too many responses to a project Clients sometimes tell us that they're worried that posting a project will generate too many responses. When you have limited time to sift through emails try using Skillfair's contact system instead.   view   February Client Newsletter - Quality over quantity Positive feedback from Clients on the process of advertising projects on Skillfair and improvements to the Skillfair response system.   view   Newsletter - More to life than work All work and no play is bad for most people, and Skillfair consultants get involved in arange of community and charity related activities to balance their life style.   view   Consultants making an effort for charity Many consultants use their flexible lifestyle to volunteer or raise money for charity - here are just a few of them.   view   Case Study: Jeremy Hurst Many people enter self-employment for work-life balance - but landing clients outside your local area requires effort and persistence,as Skillfair member Jeremy Hurst has found.   view   Training Managers - How can we help you? How Skillfair can help training managers with those urgent or specialised requests for trainers.   view   Training your way in Training can be an excellent way to meet new potential clients, as the trainer you have the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise to a range of people. But make sure you deliver really good training if you want to do this!   view   Case Study - Selling Wisdom! With a strong commercial and public sector background, John Thurlbeck has found Skillfair an excellent way to generate new leads.   view   Help for Trainers and Course Providers However good you are at delivering training finding the next client can be challenge. Skillfair can help with access to public tenders, private clients, associate opportunities and other resources.   view   Training Materials - Who Owns Them? How does copyright apply to training materials and what do you need to do so that you have the right to use materials again?   view   Websites for Training and Learning Professionals A selection of websites with information to support training an learning professionals   view   Getting publicity for your business Your product is great, your service excellent - but customers just don't seem to know about you. A PR specialist can help you generate news and interest that will bring customers to you.   view