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Professionalism for the WIN!

by Headfirst
15 replies
So I've stressed in many posts here that in order to be successful as marketing consultants you must treat your business as a business.

The two items I tend to harp on to my fellow offline warriors is registering your business entity and most importantly, properly insuring business.

So on to my story...
I dropped a new round of local direct mail pieces yesterday and already managed to get a call from a prospect today.

In the course of my initial consultation we discussed his need for a new website and he voiced a concern. A friend of his had hired a consultant to setup a website and ad campaign for a business last year. He(the friend) was recently threatened with a lawsuit (and settled for what sounds like a big chunk of change) because the consultant didn't bother to license the images used in the website.

I explained to him my process for procuring licenses for the images that may be used and then went on to tell him "and if you're still worried about it, I carry $1 million in copyright infringement insurance. Would it reassure you if I faxed you a certificate of insurance?"

5 minutes later we hashed out the payment details and I closed on a $6,000 project.

The moral of this story kids? If you're not going to treat your consulting business like a business, you have no business in this business.
#copyright #insurance #professionalism #win
  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Wow , thats an amazing story! Bravo!
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    • Profile picture of the author Kirrybows
      That's interesting. Can you explain the images licensing a bit better. I may not know enough that I need to know about it. What do you mean by licensing the images for the website and all that?
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      • Profile picture of the author Headfirst
        Originally Posted by Kirrybows View Post

        That's interesting. Can you explain the images licensing a bit better. I may not know enough that I need to know about it. What do you mean by licensing the images for the website and all that?
        Any image you don't create yourself is owned by someone else. Unless they've given you permission to use it, you can't.

        When I refer to licensing I refer to two things. First, my artists (outsource) all sign an agreement that all work product they create is mine and they release all rights to it. Second, when I buy images I print out the receipt which usually includes the license documentation and put it in the client file. I include a copy of that with the delivery paperwork.
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        Golf Outing Sponsor Signs, Banners and Flags||Plymouth, MI Marketing || Plymouth Dentist
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  • Profile picture of the author mancmusicman
    thanks for the post. when i setup my business i made sure i took out all the necessary insurance and liability needed ..not only for my peace of mind but also like you said to give peace of mind to the client too
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  • Profile picture of the author Headfirst
    Just to clarify as I've gotten a couple of PM's about this. The copyright infringement insurance is part of my Professional and E&O policy, its not a separate insurance. I have a "cyber liability" policy that includes coverage for copyright infringement, data breach and data loss.
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    Golf Outing Sponsor Signs, Banners and Flags||Plymouth, MI Marketing || Plymouth Dentist
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  • Profile picture of the author hotlinkz
    Good point about General Liability Insurance. I started without it and added it after my company generated a little revenue.
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  • Profile picture of the author D111
    Any recommendation on companies to go with for Professional and E&O insurance?
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  • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
    I brought this issue up a long time ago and was resoundly told by a bunch of WF regulars that E&O insurance was just for people who are trying to start a business and not for those who are just hustling up some deals.

    I respectfully disagreed and went on my merry way.

    If you are selling services to any business, and you aren't carrying E&O or liability insurance, you are jeopardizing everything you own and every penny you earn into the future.
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    • Profile picture of the author Headfirst
      Originally Posted by MichaelHiles View Post

      I brought this issue up a long time ago and was resoundly told by a bunch of WF regulars that E&O insurance was just for people who are trying to start a business and not for those who are just hustling up some deals.
      I've gotten a lot of that here too. I think the problem is that it flies in the face of the idea that all you need is a $27 WSO and no startup capital to become rich
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      Golf Outing Sponsor Signs, Banners and Flags||Plymouth, MI Marketing || Plymouth Dentist
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      • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
        Originally Posted by Headfirst View Post

        I've gotten a lot of that here too. I think the problem is that it flies in the face of the idea that all you need is a $27 WSO and no startup capital to become rich
        Well, considering that profit can only come from the movement of capital, well... nevermind...
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      • Profile picture of the author John Durham
        Originally Posted by Headfirst View Post

        I've gotten a lot of that here too. I think the problem is that it flies in the face of the idea that all you need is a $27 WSO and no startup capital to become rich
        Thats the idea for a guy with no capital.

        You "can" start from zero from your kitchen table and make 50k per year following someone elses business plan. People do it all the time.

        There's enough evidence on the warrior forum to prove that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
    Great post. You also need the proper business structure to protect yourself and to "treat your business as a business." Doing nothing or going as a sole proprietorship are not your best options and expose you to some substantial asset risk.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dexx
    Originally Posted by Headfirst View Post

    A friend of his had hired a consultant to setup a website and ad campaign for a business last year. He(the friend) was recently threatened with a lawsuit (and settled for what sounds like a big chunk of change) because the consultant didn't bother to license the images used in the website.
    In this situation, wouldn't the business then turn around and sue the consultant for damages?

    I'm guessing any "consultant," who would so easily commit copyright infringements, would also be lacking in any professional documentation / protection in this situation.

    Moral of the Story: Follow the law, pay for what you use (software, pictures, etc.), or CLIENTS will hold you responsible for what you've done to THEIR business.

    This is the same thing as using a wordpress (or any) theme for commercial purposes that you have not purchased the rights to do so with...you are just asking for trouble.

    ~Dexx
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    • Profile picture of the author WillDL
      Originally Posted by Dexx View Post

      In this situation, wouldn't the business then turn around and sue the consultant for damages?
      In general yes, but if the vendor doesn't have insurance do you have any idea how slim the odds of a business actually collecting the judgment is? On top of that you are talking about lawyers costs on two fronts. The suit against the business for infringement, and the suit against the consultant for damages. That's an enormous sink of time and resources. A lot of business owners don't want to risk dealing with that.

      Because we in house so much, we actually carry cyber liability. Worse case scenario (for us) we are out our deductible, and our insurance files against the vendor for damages. They will if they can prove the vendor agreed to be responsible for copyright issues. But only if they think the vendor has money, or you know, a house they could seize to recover their money.

      If you have liability insurance then our insurance files a subrogation suit againt yours. We don't have to care which company wins, beyond whose premium goes up.

      Short version.

      If you like your house or bank account, have insurance.
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      Occasionally Relevant.

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