Do You Provide Task Management Or Solutions?

What are you offering your clients? Do they come to you for solutions or to help them manage tasks? How you answer that question will definitely be reflected in the type of clients you have and the profitability of your relationship with them.

In a recent blog post, marketing guru Seth Godin addressed this issue of tasks versus solutions. He wrote:

“If you ask people for the next task on the list, if you allow them to define the thing they are buying from you, you have abdicated responsibility. Your work product becomes dependent on the insight and guts of the person giving you an assignment. This is especially dangerous for consultants and freelancers, because the answer might be, “nothing.” Or it might be a paying gig that’s profitable in the short run but a career deadener over time.

Far better to reach a level of confidence and skill that you can describe solutions rather than ask for tasks.”

Those words are worthy of reflection. What are you asking of your clients and what are you delivering?