The Next Pro Gig Podcast

Engagement Management & The Next Gig

Now that we’ve closed our next gig and onboarded at the client, it’s time to knock our engagement out of the park. Whether this is your first gig as an independent consultant or your 50th, there are core fundamentals of engagement management that if executed well will leave the client singing your praises as one of the best contractors to work with in the market and that’s what we are covering in in this episode. We start with a Kickoff Meeting to ensure we are aligned on scope, expected outcomes, and engagement logistics.  Then we move into a Periodic Status Update that fits the cadence of the project as well as your hiring managers habits.  Finally, we wrap up the engagement with a Transition Plan and close out meeting to ensure the work we completed is recognized and the appropriate transition plan is in place to ensure a smooth exit. When an engagement is nearing completion, there is often a spike in the urgency and amount of work needed to hit a project deadline which happens to be the same 2-3 week window where you need to be thinking about locking down your next gig. We will discuss how to navigate this transition point and give you the confidence to deliver on your current engagement while also securing the next engagement so you limit bench time and focus on what you do best: Flexing your core skillset muscles in company cultures and environment where you thrive... We are now circling back into our Business Development Process (Episode 3) which will lead to Nailing the Interview (Episode 4) and back into Nailing Your Engagement (this episode, Episode 5).   You officially have all the raw material and processes to THRIVE as a Professional Gig Worker... :) Subsequent Season 1 episodes are going to dive deeper into specific topics like Pay/Bill Rates and Monetizing Your Network.  If you have any topics you would like us to elaborate on please shoot us an email at:  roger@nextprogig.com. We will continuing sharing frameworks, though leadership and exclusive content on the Next Pro Gig Podcast Community [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252/] LinkedIn Page.  If you haven't joined, please click on the link above.  We are excited to have you! Live full, Roger Email us with any questions or comments: roger@nextprogig.com ---------------- Music by Sway Wild [http://www.swaywild.com/] (click for website) Find on Spotify: Sway Wild [https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gBQnCbOX2Okv38QKDmb5o?si=yt2InWq3TK-uOnNAo736aA] (Copyright 2020) - The Next Pro Gig Podcast

Trigger Hunting & Closing the Gig

Episode 4 is where the rubber meets the road from a sales perspective.As a professional gig worker, you likely have minimal time to allocate to business development so we are going to show you how to find market signals that will lead to more winnable opportunities.It all starts with The Three Triggers that drive all independent consulting work: * Deadline Driven Demands (bandwidth/capacity) * Project Based Demands (skillset) * Critical Chair Coverage (backfill) We are going to share insights on how to properly qualify WINNABLE opportunities and how to crush every interview you are going to have as an independent professional.  We will touch on bill/pay rate in this episode as a part of qualifying opportunities, but plan a full bonus episode to dive deeper into the three rate scenarios (Replacement, Project and Contingent) you typically see as a Professional Gig Worker. Once in the interview process we focus on the present value of our skill set which is a relatively big difference as compared to your traditional full time interview process.  Finally, once you win the deal, we talk about the importance of on-boarding efficiently with the client and/or intermediary. It’s all about reducing friction in the process so you gain back control and stop paying other parties (via a reduced rate) for work you can easily take care of on the front end. More control, more money in your pocket! At the end of this Episode, you will be able to find more closable leads, qualify winnable opportunities, convert more interviews and onboard in an efficient manner. In Episode 5 we will be talking about engagement fundamentals that will help you assimilate to a new client environment quickly and knock it out of the park over the course of the engagement.  We will also be talking about ways you can monetize your brand while working on an engagement. Over time we will be sharing all frameworks discussed on the podcast: Goal Setting, The Three Pillars, The Ultimate Buyer Analysis and Trigger Hunting Framework on the Next Pro Gig Podcast Community [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252/] LinkedIn Page.  If you haven't joined, please click on the text in the last sentence or search on LinkedIn.  We are excited to have you! Live full, Roger Email us with any questions or comments: roger@nextprogig.com NPG LinkedIn Group Page: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252 [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252] ---------------- Music by Sway Wild [http://www.swaywild.com/] (click for website) Find on Spotify: Sway Wild [https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gBQnCbOX2Okv38QKDmb5o?si=yt2InWq3TK-uOnNAo736aA] (Copyright 2020) - The Next Pro Gig Podcast

Pro Gig Business Development Strategy

In Episode 3 we start out by auditing all of our marketing material to ensure alignment with our Three Pillars work from Episode 2.  Specifically, we ask you to audit your: * Resume and/or Profile * Cover Letter * Email templates * Social Media summaries and profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc * Elevator pitches * Digital marketplace profiles * Or where ever else you are sharing your story with the market Once we confirm our signal is strong and clear we work through your Ultimate Buyer Analysis which will help us understand where our buyer goes when they are in a pinch or need help in their business.  These first level of trust relationships will become part of your ACTIVE business development strategy. The core of our PASSIVE business development strategy comes from aligning with the right intermediaries (e.g. staffing, recruiting, consulting firms) in your market.  This will take some legwork of research, phone calls and in person interviews, but in the end you should have a few core intermediaries representing you in the market.  We also touch on the rise of digital marketplaces for Professional Gig Workers with a higher level skills set and how to effectively leverage them at the current time. Our final ACTIVE business development channel is finding appropriate networking groups that serve your ultimate buyer and offer a nice balance of "give/get" for your independent consulting practice.  Finding the right networking groups for you will offer consistent business development opportunities while you are engaged in projects. At the end of this Episode, you will have an effective business development strategy that will help you find your next gig faster in the short, medium and long term. In Episode 4 we will be walking through the process of interviewing, closing and starting your first/next engagement sharing best practices to crush your interview and give tips on things like rate negotiation. We will be sharing frameworks related to Goal Setting and The Three Pillars and The Ultimate Buyer Analysis on the Next Pro Gig Podcast Community [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252/] LinkedIn Page.  If you haven't joined, please click on the text in the last sentence or search on LinkedIn.  We are excited to have you! Episode Links: * Business Talent Group: https://businesstalentgroup.com/ [https://businesstalentgroup.com/] * TopTal: https://www.toptal.com/ [https://www.toptal.com/] * EY Gig Now: https://www.gignow.com/ [https://www.gignow.com/] * PwC Talent Exchange: https://talentexchange.pwc.com/ [https://talentexchange.pwc.com/] * Accenture: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/careers/career-stage/contractor-exchange [https://www.accenture.com/us-en/careers/career-stage/contractor-exchange] * MBO Partners: https://www.mbopartners.com/marketplace/ [https://www.mbopartners.com/marketplace/] Live full, Roger Email us with any questions or comments: roger@nextprogig.com NPG LinkedIn Group Page: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252 [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252] ---------------- Music by Sway Wild [http://www.swaywild.com/] (click for website) Find on Spotify: Sway Wild [https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gBQnCbOX2Okv38QKDmb5o?si=yt2InWq3TK-uOnNAo736aA] (Copyright 2020) - The Next Pro Gig Podcast

The Three Pillars

In Episode 2 we will help you develop a strong foundation for an efficient business development strategy aligned with your goals as a professional gig worker. We start with some mid-to-longer term visualization / goal setting for 3-5 years out to help put you on a sound, short-term course aimed towards your mid-to-longer term goals. We then shift to the Three Pillars: 1. The core skillsets that form your craft 2. Culture and environments where you excel 3. Organizational sizes & structures you are most comfortable The capstone over the Three Pillars will read "Where I Thrive" and is the basis for our reflection exercises. We will go through each Pillar in detail focusing on times from our work and personal life when we found ourselves "in the zone" and were able to contribute our whole, true self to the task at hand.  By analyzing these vignettes we will find threads that show us where we thrive as a person and we will then use these threads to tier or core skill sets, cultures/environments and organization sizes/structures to focus our messaging to the market. At the end of Episode 2, you will have a better appreciation for who you are as a worker, what environments you want to target, and what types of companies you prefer to serve.  As an added bonus, you will likely re-discover some of your favorite muscles and an awareness of where else in your life you can flex them to increase your fulfillment as a human. In Episode 3 we will be using this understanding to audit our profile, resume, social media, pitch decks, etc to make sure we are signaling the appropriate messaging to the market and to targeted service providers in our business development. We will be sharing frameworks related to Goal Setting and The Three Pillar on the Next Pro Gig Podcast Community [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252/] LinkedIn Page.  If you haven't joined, please click on the link above.  We are excited to have you! Live full, Roger Email us with any questions or comments: roger@nextprogig.com ---------------- Music by Sway Wild [http://www.swaywild.com/] (click for website) Find on Spotify: Sway Wild [https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gBQnCbOX2Okv38QKDmb5o?si=yt2InWq3TK-uOnNAo736aA] (Copyright 2020) - The Next Pro Gig Podcast

What is a Professional Gig Worker?

In Episode 1 we discuss the broader Gig Economy including historical context, current size, COVID-19 implications, and growth predictions.   We then work our way down into the two key components that define the Professional segment within the broader Gig Economy:  (1) Preferred Choice / Primary Income (2) High Level Skillset Roles / Projects We go on to explore the primary function of the Gig Economy labor marketplace (matching task with skillset) from both the client / hiring party and gig worker perspective before sharing the common attributes of Pro Gig Workers and how critical it is to be a "Practitioner" versus an "Advisor" in the Gig Economy. As we wrap up we explore the top Pros and Cons of working as an independent consultant before laying out the framework we will follow through Season 1 on how to thrive as a Pro Gig Worker: * Self-awareness around your skillset and what you want to get out of gig life * Developing a sound business development strategy * Closing your first / next engagement including economics and on-boarding * Engagement best practices to deliver high ROI and develop deep trust * Engagement wrap up and transition Thanks for Listening! Roger (roger@nextprogig.com) -------------- Links mentioned in Episode Intro: * Next Pro Gig Podcast Community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252/ [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12409252/] * Sway Wild on Spotify: Comin' & Goin' [https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gBQnCbOX2Okv38QKDmb5o?si=kO25I7k_SAadaE7T8WspeQ] Links mentioned during Episode * MBO Partners: https://www.mbopartners.com/state-of-independence/ [https://www.mbopartners.com/state-of-independence/] * UpWork: https://www.upwork.com/research [https://www.upwork.com/research] * Freelancers Union: https://www.freelancersunion.org/resources/freelancing-in-america/ [https://www.freelancersunion.org/resources/freelancing-in-america/] * McKinsey Study: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/independent-work-choice-necessity-and-the-gig-economy# [https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/independent-work-choice-necessity-and-the-gig-economy#] * "The Gig Economy" by Diane Mulcahy: https://www.dianemulcahy.com/gig-economy/ [https://www.dianemulcahy.com/gig-economy/]   Email us with any questions or comments: roger@nextprogig.com (Copyright 2020) - The Next Pro Gig Podcast