Whether you are a consultant, an advisor or coach, there are 3 types of contracts that you need to enter into in order for your business to survive. You cannot depend solely on your individual clients in order to have sustainability. Their situations change and you could have fluctuating sales.
In order to become sustainable, here are 3 contracts that you need to enter into.
1. A Retainer Contract
Retainer contracts allow you to have a stable income and a little bit extra to boost your business. Nothing is as tough as running a business when you are broke. You are constantly worried. A retainer contract which pays you monthly for certain hours of work will get rid of that stress so that you can focus on scaling. Start structuring your package.
2. Sponsored Contracts
A sponsored contract is where a company sponsors a number of end users to acquire your services. This normally happens in development programmes. A company may sponsor 50 small businesses with accounting services for instance. The company will pay (you) the fees and you have to deliver the service to small businesses that they chose. These types of contracts are not as stable as retainers, but they make you income in bulk which can go a long way.
3. Strategic Partnerships (MOU)
These types of contracts are usually structured as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Essentially, you gain access to your target market through these contracts. It could be a MoU with an association or industry body where you volunteer your services. As a result, you get exposed to their members which could potentially be your target market. This requires you to have the right tools to handle your enquiries and set up appointments. Also, closing the sale is entirely up to you.
Having all three of these contracts could give you the stability that you need. So, put your sales efforts into these kinds of contracts. Happy deal hunting!
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