Creating Lucrative Consulting Contracts Through Retainer Agreements

Posted on 10. Sep, 2009 by Debra Thompson Roedl in Consulting, Information Marketing

One of the great benefits to Information Marketing is that you can generate revenue through a number of opportunities besides just creating Information Products.  Consulting is one of those opportunities and one that you should consider.  Why?  Because one of the fastest ways to make money quickly is through consulting.

But if you are just getting started in consulting and you don’t know how to negotiate your fee, then one of the strategies you should consider is negotiating your services through a retainer.  A Retainer agreement, is a contract between two people or companies where one pays to reserve the others time.

The Pros and Cons To Retainer Agreements

So, when it comes to retainer… one thing you have to take into consideration is that a business arrangement with a retainer is more valuable and therefore should be worth more (you charge more). 

The reason for this is because someone is essentially saying we want to be able to call upon you at any time throughout the retainer period and have immediate access to you, your knowledge and your time.  This is like being "on call".  With that said… you have to determine first what your time is worth for being "on call"… this is premium time.  Then the second thing you have to do is estimate the amount of hours you are willing to provide for the retainer and for what duration.   You need to ensure that you are getting premium reimbursement for your time and that this is reasonable upon your schedule.

Also… this is important.  Negotiate that once x hours is exceeded during the retainer period, that you will be reimbursed $xx.xx per hour for any additional hour over the agreed time.  This will ensure you are not taken advantage of and will then be reimbursed fairly for your services.

Retainers Can Be Very Lucrative

Retainers can be good on your part when negotiated carefully and in your favor.  I’ve had several retainers where I negotiated monthly rates and the client was paying for my "on-call" time to have access to me, my knowledge, my contacts etc. whenever they needed.   Often times I would work maybe 5 hours a month and yet still receive several thousands of dollars per month regardless of the actual time I worked. If I worked less hours than agreed to for the monthly retainer, they still had to pay me the retainer monthly lump sum, Yet, if I worked x hours over the agreed time they would pay me my hourly rate for any additional hours.   So in this example you can see when it can be lucrative and your time reimbursed accordingly.

Make sure that when considering a consulting opportunity that it meets with your vision, it produces revenue for your company, it continues to move you forward and is a win-win.  If it doesn’t meet any of these criteria… then think twice.  This is your business… you are in it to make money.  You can help others after you make money.  Don’t feel obligated to help friends, family, etc. and above all don’t devalue your talent and expertise.  Charge accordingly.

About the Author

Debra Thompson Roedl is an internationally renowned Information Marketing expert, author, speaker, trainer and consultant. Visit her blog and signup to receive to get free special reports on business and marketing strategies, along with blog updates, news and more! 

Go now to http://www.debrathompsonroedl.com.  Also click here so you can Follow Debra on Twitter.

What Is Information Marketing?

Posted on 20. Aug, 2009 by Debra Thompson Roedl in Information Marketing

Let’s Take A Closer Look At What Information Marketing Is…

As I mentioned in my previous post Information is a multi-BILLION dollar industry and an incredible opportunity for you to make an additional income in or to even make this your profession.  It is one of the easiest industries to "break into" AND it is based upon taking your knowledge and leveraging it.  Let me explain:

Information Marketing is the publishing, marketing and selling of information products. both off-line (i.e. book stores) and on-line (i.e. websites).

You know Information Marketing best from books that you see at book stores or perhaps the exercise systems you can purchase from the TV Infomercials.  Have you ever wanted to write your own book, share your knowledge, your system, your shortcuts?  You may not have thought about the marketing and selling aspect of that but that is Secret here to this business.  Why?  Because…

PEOPLE WILL PAY YOU FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE!  

How do we know?  For the simple fact that I previously stated in my preceding post… "last year 352 million people spent over $564 BILLION on information products.  So… don’t you think there is an opportunity there for you?  Don’t you think out of 352 million people worldwide (and with the growth of the Internet this number is sure to have already tripled) that there is a niche market out there for you?  Sure there is!  Go look on the Internet and see if you can find something similar.  Someone is writing and putting information out there right now in your niche… why shouldn’t it be YOU? 

I know what you are thinking… there is already too much information out there, or someone has already written a book on my topic… or Or OR.  No excuses. 

Here’s the deal.  There is nobody else out there like YOU with your knowledge, your experience, expertise, spin, etc.  AND more importantly there are people out there that will resonate with you and your message or information but you have to give them the opportunity.

Let me take this a step further… Have you seen a book on dieting?  More than one book?  Oh really?  In fact let’s just narrow our search to Amazong for dieting books and not even open this up to Google for worldwide returns…. On Amazon alone twhen you search dieting books you get a whopping 33,758 returns on DIETING!  Yikes! 

Hmmmm…. Well now isn’t that interesting?  There are a ton of books on dieting and new ones coming out what seems like every day!  Yet they are all different, they all have their own spin and take on "Their System" I’ll talk more about this in my next post.  Even with dieting a subject that would seem to be saturated by now and isn’t is an opportunity in Information Marketing.

You see there is never enough information and people need to know what you know.  The only difference between the "experts" and you is that 1) they call themselves and expert and 2) they have taken action to publish and market their information in some format.

So back to our topic here on Information Marketing… I like to make this simple when it comes to explaining what type of information products there and there is a lot… I call them clicks and bricks.

Here’s a quick illustration of the various ways you can "package" your information and sell it:

Now you know what Information Marketing is all about and it is HUGE!  I’m looking forward to training you in this Industry and to helping you get started.  I know you will make a positive difference in the lives of others when you share your information… your SYSTEM.  Stay tuned for my next post on more about your System. 

About the Author

Debra Thompson Roedl is an internationally renowned Information Marketing expert, author, speaker, trainer and consultant. Visit her blog and signup to receive to get free special reports on business and marketing strategies, along with blog updates, news and more! 

Go now to http://www.debrathompsonroedl.com.  Also click here so you can Follow Debra on Twitter.

Information Marketing Your Door To Opportunity

Posted on 17. Aug, 2009 by Debra Thompson Roedl in Information Marketing

As I teach my students, the key to being successful in this business is to learn the business and then APPLY what you have learned. 

Knowledge is NOT Power….
APPLIED Knowledge is POWER

~ Debra Thompson Roedl

When it comes to applying your knowledge you can get paid top dollar.  In fact you could make millions of dollars. AND… anyone can do this.  You see it about your knowledge, your ideas, your systems and taking that information and packaging it into online and off-line books, courses, audio and video training etc.  

What is this opportunity called?

It’s called Information Marketing and it is multi-billion dollar industry AND a great opportunity for you!

Last year more than 352 million people spent over $564 BILLION (That’s Billion with a capital B!) Online!  Where did all that money go?  To Information Marketing!  It is the hottest industry… the hottest "gold mine" of our time and within this economy, yet it is the most misunderstood and the least leveraged industry.  Why?  Because only a small few are really capitalizing on this industry and they are the ones bringing in the big bucks. 

But here’s why this is an opportunity for YOU!

This is an industry that easily welcomes new entrepreneurs who want to generate an additional income, work from home, create wealth.   Why?  Because it does not take a HUGE investment to get started in it… like a college education or degree because it is not Rocket Science.  Also it is not like a brick and mortar business requiring a lot of cash upfront on the onset in order for  you to just open your doors. 

Don’t be fooled though by others who have said you can make a lot of money in this industry.  You see, I don’t advocate the get rich quick schemes… if those "magic blue pills" were all truly possible, everyone would be millionaires and their would be no economic crisis.  What I do advocate is that with training and working with a mentor  who knows the System and has a SYSTEM, you can learn exactly how this business works, and through your APPLIED knowledge and skillful work make a lot of money in this field.  

How do I know?  Because within 18 days of starting my business I made over $150,000 and in just five short years have turned it into  a multi-million dollar business.  Not only have I done it and generated over several million dollars in this business through products, memberships, coaching, consulting, speaking, internet marketing and affiliate marketing, but I’ve also done it for other top marketers and experts in the world as well as teaching people brand new off the street how to do it.  Right now I have taught over 120,000 students world-wide in more than 23 countries about this opportunity through seminars, webinars, radio shows and podcasts.  I’d like to teach you! 

Sign up now for my Blog so you receive the latest information on this HOT TREND and this HOT INDUSTRY… I’ll give you the inside secrets and part the curtains on how this business really works!  Stay tuned for more!

You don’t need to know technology…
YOU NEED TO KNOW MARKETING!… INFORMATION MARKETING!

About the Author

Debra Thompson Roedl is an internationally renowned Information Marketing expert, author, speaker, trainer and consultant. Visit her blog and signup to receive to get free special reports on business and marketing strategies, along with blog updates, news and more! 

Go now to http://www.debrathompsonroedl.com.  Also click here so you can Follow Debra on Twitter.

Welcome To Debra Thompson Roedl

Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by Debra Thompson Roedl in Debra Thompson Roedl, Information Marketing

 

Welcome to Debra Thompson Roedl!

If you’ve ever wished you had an Open Door to an Opportunity… then your time has come.  I am going to take you through the transformation from your mindset to generating wealth.  My blog is your Open Door to opportunities I will teach you, provide you with training and work with you to change your thinking so you can change your life and achieve and live the dreams you’ve always dreamed of.  Specifically I’m going to teach you Personal Develpment because it all starts with your mindset… positive thinking and the belief that your thoughts become your reality.  I’m going to train you on creating your reality… what you’ve always wanted… what you’ve always dreamed of.  Then I’m going to support this new mindset we’re creating together with an opportunity for you to generate an additional income or even great wealth and its all about Information Marketing.  I’ll explain more about that in my next post here tomorrow.

This site is new, although I am not and I’ve had other very successful blog sites.  The reason that I am starting this from scratch is because I’m teaching my student’s worldwide how to do this and this is their model so they can learn how to "Get Started" in building their personal authoritative blog site. So now you too will have a model to follow and use to build your own successful site.

The other reason that I’m creating this site is to establish my new branding and entrench my brand and my name as an expert in the marketing place.  I’ve already done this but I’m taking it to the next level to actually dominate my market.  What better way to again provide this as a step by step model for my students to see and use to establish themselves within their market.

The Debra Thompson Roedl site is unique because it is based on my System… my journey to success and the systems I have created to create my personal wealth.  I believe in being the real deal and walking the talk so not only have I done it and proven it for myself but I have also applied my systems to help my clients and students achieve success, create more wealth and have the life they have always dreamed of for themselves and their family.

You and I will go on this journey together and I’m going to take you through the process as I share and teach my knowledge to you.  My passion in life is to make a positive difference in your life and help you so you in turn can go out and pay it forward by helping others.  I’m looking forward to seeing the transformation happen in your life!

About the Author

Debra Thompson Roedl is an internationally renowned Information Marketing expert, author, speaker, trainer and consultant. Visit her blog and signup to receive to get free special reports on business and marketing strategies, along with blog updates, news and more!  

Go now to http://www.debrathompsonroedl.com.  Also click here so you can Follow Debra on Twitter.