In December, we announced the new consultations offering within Project Catalog™ and these consultations are now available for purchase by clients. This feature can help talent make the most of their time and expertise on Upwork so they can increase earnings, build a network of clients, and boost their reputation. We’re happy to announce that these consultations are now available for purchase by clients. In celebration, we’ve compiled a list of the 7 top tips for optimizing the success of consultations.
- Send a message to the client within 24 hours of their order. Clients have told us that receiving a personal confirmation gives them peace of mind. This can be as simple as, “Thanks for purchasing my consultation. I’ll review your materials and let you know if I have questions.” Or something more detailed like, “I reviewed your information and I have a few questions. Can you tell me…” This is also your opportunity to let the client know if you can’t help them. Maybe the client didn’t completely understand what they were buying or are new to this line of work. You can send a kind message like, “Thanks for purchasing my consultation. Unfortunately, this is outside of my scope so I won’t be able to offer the guidance you need.”
- Prepare an agenda and share it with the client in advance of the consultation. Planning the discussion and giving the client a heads up on what to expect–and what they may need to prepare–can help maximize your time with the client.
- When creating the consultation offering, leverage the "Custom Topics" field to add skills related to your niche in order to differentiate your consultation from others. It's not about the number of topics supported, but rather offering a unique combination of topics that represent your niche specialization with a detailed description of guidance only you can provide.
- Keep your availability up to date or link your primary calendar to the scheduling tool. Make sure clients can only see times you’re free by keeping your available hours up to date and selecting when you prefer to meet.
- Set a realistic delivery date for when you can deliver the client’s documents. To qualify for payment protection, you need to send at least one document type to the client afterward. If you need a few days to write those materials, make sure you give yourself that time.
- Use the requirements to get the info you need from the client upfront. In the requirements section, you can ask for any info that will help you plan for the consultation. This could include their website, their goals, their technology requirements, or anything else you need. Consider updating this section if you're finding yourself asking for a lot of information after they order.
- Make sure you read through and understand the policies. You and the client will be held to the policies for offering consultations. You can see the main policies in the editor but can find the full policies in this help article.
If you have questions about consultations, visit the Help article and join the Community discussion.
This article was submitted by and expresses the views and opinions of the individual listed as the author. They do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Upwork, and Upwork does not explicitly sponsor or endorse any of the views, opinions, tools or services mentioned in this article, all of which are provided as potential options according to the view of the author. Each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools, practices, and services that would best fit their specific needs and situations.
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