Newsletter of the East Bay Chapter of STC
January/February 2003

Consulting: You Have a Contract—Now What?

by Melody Brumis
EBSTC President

I am a technical communication consultant. What that means is that I do work for a client on a contract basis (a signed agreement to perform this work). My preference is to do work for multiple clients (two or more) at any given time. Since communications work is cyclical (you write, they review, you write again), there’s plenty of downtime on one project to be working on another.
While books (and articles) abound on how to land a contract (job), this is not one of them. What I find, though, is that I often get calls about work when I am working. My goal as a consultant is to keep on working. To achieve this goal, I have to do the best job possible on each of my contracts.

This article shares some of the insight (lessons learned) I’ve gained from being a consultant. Since each contract is a cycle, I’ve set down what to do in the beginning, middle, and end. When a contract ends, your good work often leads to a new beginning (contract) and the cycle continues.

B e g i n n i n g

Like the Boy Scouts, a consultant must “be prepared” for Day One. Start by reviewing the notes you took at your meeting with the client. Be prepared to complete the following checklist.

Day One Checklist

• What is the company’s name? Location? Who will greet you at the door? What time?

• Who’s the boss? (Whom will you be reporting to? Who is authorized to pay you?)

• What is the name of the project? What product or effort does it support?
  • How long has the project been in effect? What is the state of the project?
  • Why do they need you? What particular hole will you fill in the project?

• What is the structure of the project team? How will you fit in?
  • Who is the project manager? Project lead? Project administrator?
  • What developers are in charge of each aspect of the project?
  • What are the names of the subject matter experts (SMEs)?
  • Will there be other technical communicators on the project team?

• What documents (if any) do you need to bring with you? (If you are working through an agency, the paperwork may be complete. If not, find out what you need to bring with you.)

• What will you wear? (I like to wear my 2nd best suit on Day One. My 1st best suit I wore at the meeting (interview) where I landed the contract. I make sure it’s dry-cleaned, and all accessories are ready to go. A nice touch is a new pair of shoes or new earrings.)

• What communication tools will you need on Day One? (I bring everything I need to do a full day’s work. Whether I will be working onsite or not, I bring paper, pencils, pens, or a laptop to begin gathering information. I may bring a tape recorder, depending on the project.

• What personal amenities will you need on Day One? (I bring an apple, sandwich, and bottled water, in case we do not go out for lunch. I also bring my cell phone for calling home.)

M i d d l e

On a new contract, a consultant must quickly establish trust that they can get the job done. While productivity is important, the way a person conducts himself or herself is also key. A consultant must be polite, personable, and productive. These three attributes make up a true professional.

Be Polite

Mom was right. Being polite, saying please and thank you as a start, goes a long way. While corporate cultures may vary, a hello and a smile in the morning is always appropriate. For a good insight into the mores of politeness, read Rude Awakenings: Overcoming the Civility Crisis in the Workplace. See also Barney and Friends, Please and Thank you.

Be Personable

“People buy things from people they like,” states Harvey Mackay in his business classic Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. While you may not think you are a salesperson, you are. You are selling your services to your clients and would-be clients every day. How you interact with them can make or break your business. If you are an introvert, now is the time to come out of your shell. You can start by reading The Fine Art Of Small Talk by Debra Fine. If you are an extrovert, Fine also covers such useful topics as The Graceful Exit—how to end a conversation.

Be Productive

Get the job done! Easy, eh? Not so easy, my dear Watson. What is the job? Hmmm, as Sherlock Holmes might say, let’s start by looking for the clues. When you start a new contract, it’s up to you to define what needs to be done. You may have lots of clues, such as a work in progress. But, you’ll need to assess the project(s) and guide the clients to the appropriate solutions. For example, a client may hire you to complete a User Guide for a lighting control system. The draft is here and all you need to do is …. Sounds familiar? In this scenario, you would sit down with your client and begin to assess this project as well as any interrelated ones. You would also gather all the existing materials (drafts) and published documents, as well as any software that you can play with. Before you begin the assignment, you must define what it is and document your findings.

Your first deliverable will be the documentation plan (or proposal if you are writing this before a signed contract), which outlines the work to be done, the SMEs, and a schedule for completing it. This deliverable is not complete until it has been reviewed and signed off by your clients. You can create a list of works to be completed in the future without dates if it’s hard to estimate them.

You can now begin to do the job (as defined by your documentation plan). Whenever the job changes (priorities switch, say, and you need to do something different), revise the plan. You can use this plan to make sure that you are on target (deliverable will complete on or ahead of time). I like to create estimates that are aggressive, but that I can beat. I can then show the client how documentation came in ahead of time and (since time is money) under budget. Never worry about running out of work. What I find is that the more work I do the more work there is to do.

E n d

Contracts are often extended (or renewed), but the day will come when your contract ends. You will probably be aware that a contract may be ending early on. A couple of reasons for the end of a contract are that the project has been completed or there’s no more money. While you may be let go at any time (depending on the arrangements in your contract), it pays to be ready to go gracefully.

When your contract is coming to an end, your client (who by now has become a friend) has to let you know. While this is strictly a business decision, he or she may be uncomfortable telling you. Your first job is to reassure your client that you are OK with it. If you do have personal concerns (financial or otherwise), do not voice them. You can now help them determine what work you can complete before you leave (your end date). You can also begin to turn over your work to them.

Continue to be polite, personable, and productive during the ending of a contract

Use this time to assess what other projects may be coming up in the near future. Show an interest in the ongoing work even though you will be leaving. If there’s a possibility to do “on call” work, pursue it. One consultant I know left a door open for “on call” work and still has her name on an office door. Whenever her clients need a writer, they think of her and know she is ready for any project.

Participate in all the goodbye lunches and dinners

If possible, take the lead in creating a contact list of all the team members. Schedule a get-together for the near future after the project is over. You’ll not only continue your friendships, but hear about new projects (and possible contracts).

While the team may be disbanding, your clients and SMEs are staying put. Take this opportunity to thank them and say goodbye to each one individually. You may want to take some of them to lunch or give them a small gift (check their gift-giving policy first). If you’ve worked with an agency, thank them too.

And, finally, make it easy for them to find you when they need you. Pass out business cards to everyone, and send a final email note with your contact information. When they need a technical communicator, your card or email will pop up and the cycle will begin again.

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