My observations for this came from continually seeing post after post on social media that read similar to this unaltered request from earlier today:
Think about what you just read. No experience at all! No idea what to charge! Asking for advice on a Facebook group for advice on how to do this! Would you want to be the client?
Is this where the services arena has evolved to? This particular post is focused on Instagram. Name a social media platform and I can point you to similar requests. Or “lead-generation” – with the same kind of questions. Email, websites, conversion strategies, Facebook Advertising, Chatbots, Sales, you get the idea.
Is this where the marketplace has evolved to?
We all have to learn somewhere, I get that. There are so many options to learn a craft or trade to get experience from. If the current experience level is clearly laid out to the customer, and they are willing to let you learn on their dime, it could be a good thing.
A well-meaning response to the above post was shared:
“Go to Upwork and search for a freelancer who does SMM, they will also do SEO. You can get someone for $8 an hour. I have a guy I can turn you in to. You can charge a monthly fee and offer other SM too like FB, LinkedIn..ect.. good luck
Does that give you concern?
Selecting experts to help you with any of your needs can be challenging. Entrepreneur.com had an excellent article providing 4 Keys to Choosing the Right Vendor that I have found helpful and referred people to in the past.
The same challenge faces sales professionals when looking for training. Search Google for “sales expert” and it returns a staggering number – 645,000,000 million listings. 645 million – and you need to pick one and you need them quickly.
Unfortunately, the odds of picking the wrong provider is very high. I hear stories every month about a company paying an “expert” $25,000 for a one-day training session, and come to realize that after the buzz is gone, the sales team goes right back into their old routines. Or from a company leader with a vision for a fresh, updated website and online strategy paying five and six-figure invoices for results that simply do not perform.
I can list a continually growing number of people who attend a webinar that I run, or a seminar in their city, that then go to the market as an expert for hire on the topics that they had no understanding of prior to the webinar or seminar. Or the eBook that they downloaded has now provided all the expertise they need to charge a customer.
Expertise is earned, not obtained by a quickie webinar or eBook. Put the work in people. Partner or collaborate with those that truly have expertise. Gain some credible testimonials from your work from those in the field you choose to serve. Then, with full disclosure to your client take on a solo project.
Selecting whom you work with for any venture is extremely critical. How do you make your choices?