(FAQs for buyers of consulting)
Consultants, please read:
We make no undertaking to promote any particular consulting firm; instead, when one of our clients has a project that fits your firm's capabilities, we notify you. While we receive dozens of project requests each month, the range of subject matter is very broad, so there is no guarantee of any particular firm getting a project in any given month.
On the other hand, we do not ask any of our firms for any payment upfront, nor do we approach any firms without a specific project in mind. We of course welcome any registrations we get from firms on their own initiative. If for some reason you do not find the arrangement satisfactory, please do not hesitate to notify us and we will remove your firm from our roster.
We will only come to you with qualified project leads as opposed to casual, non-productive inquiries. To ensure that you're notified on relevant project opportunities, make sure your profile is updated and fully describes your firm's capabilities. If you have any future questions feel free to contact us.
What is Professionalink?
Why should I sign up?
How much does it cost?
Why should I trust ProfessionaLink to represent me well?
What experience does ProfessionaLink have in placing consulting projects?
How do you advertise? Will we have a brochure on your website?
Will you keep my references confidential?
How do I make sure we get a fair shot at suitable projects?
What is Professionalink?
ProfessionaLink is a service linking high quality professional firms with corporate buyers, thus eliminating much of the cost, risk and uncertainty associated with the search for attractive consulting projects.
Our service is predicated on matching the expertise of the consultant with the specific client requirements.
We also qualify the lead, confirming whether there is budget, identifying the decision-maker and ensuring that we have obtained a specific description of the project, including project objectives, scope, timing and deliverables before approaching possible consulting candidates.
Why should I sign up?
ProfessionaLink has a 'rolodex' of several thousand Fortune 2000 executives to whom we have introduced our service, and we have live conversations with several hundred executives a month in pursuit of project opportunities, resulting in a steady stream of projects.
Signing up involves no obligation on your part other than to specify your capabilities in our format and to present up to 4 references who can speak to your firm's expertise. We also ask you to sign a very simple Marketing Agreement which specifies the terms of membership.
There are no upfront subscription fees or other payments required to gain access to projects and there is no obligation on your part to pursue any projects we present.
However, we will not introduce your firm to a client opportunity until the sign-up process is complete.
How much does it cost?
The cost of service (6 to 20% depending on the size of the project) is a fraction of what it costs you to get a qualified lead.
You only pay us once you have been paid.
Why should I trust ProfessionaLink to represent me well?
We are not attempting to represent any particular members, that's up to you; what we do is to present to our client a shortlist of 2-4 candidates that we believe are high quality and suitable for the project. We play a neutral role and do not attempt to 'sell or represent the consultant.
We do a good job of matching consultants to client opportunities due to our expertise and experience in the consulting field. We are led by a seasoned team of top-flight consultants, Internet executives and marketers who understand the consulting business and make every effort to understand each member’s capabilities in depth.
What experience does ProfessionaLink have in placing consulting projects?
We have placed hundreds of consulting projects averaging $200k each.
Our senior executives have a total of over 50 years cumulative experience in selling and managing consulting work; we are now applying that to our business model. We have learned from others' experience as well: we have carefully examined how others have attempted to create professional services exchanges, obtained client feedback and ? we believe - created a better process.
We now have a core group of over 500 consulting firms in our database and have begun actively generating business for them.
How do you advertise? Will we have a brochure on your website?
We use disguised descriptions of consultants to illustrate the strength of our membership to corporate buyers.
We do not advertise particular firms by name; instead, when we see a project that fits your firm’s capabilities, we notify you. As a result, you get qualified project leads as opposed to casual, non-productive inquiries.
Will you keep my references confidential?
Absolutely. We treat the process of checking references with great care. We do not provide the client with verbatim reference information, but rather we distill the input from various references, combined with our own observations of the firm and feedback on other projects in which we have placed the firm, in a brief to the client so they understand why we are recommending them.
How do I make sure we get a fair shot at suitable projects?
First, make sure you have completed the sign up process. Since clients often have a short time frame, any delay in completing the process may result in ProfessionaLink submitting other candidates instead.
Provide as much information as possible on your firm. Brochures, articles, latest thinking/intellectual capital, etc. is helpful. We of course treat all proprietary information confidentially, but we will give preference to a firm that clearly has expertise relevant to any given project.
Be candid with us about your firm's capabilities. Our best members will decline a project on occasion because they feel the fit may not be the best; conversely, members who consistently overstate their capabilities will receive fewer project opportunities from us.
KEY TERMS & CONDITIONS
Fletcher Grundmann
Managing Director
fgrundmann@professionalink.com
Phone 202-828-6407
