referrals

server · Guest

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Allan Adler · Guest

"Jon Morris" <jonathanlmorris@yahoo.com> writes:

Quote: If you take a fee for the referral and it doesn't work out, it might damage
your relationship with the person to whom you referred the person too.
[snip]
So unless the amount of money you could earn as some sort of commish, don't
bet your name on it.

Thanks, that sounds like good advice. On the other hand, I think
that it damages one's reputation merely to give a bad referral,
even if one doesn't get paid for it. The periodontist who
referred me to the colleague whom I like to describe as "The
Butcher of Alma-Marceau" didn't retain my good opinion of him
by not charging me for the reference.
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler <ara@zurich.csail.mit.edu>
* Disclaimer: I am a guest and *not* a member of the MIT CSAIL. My actions and
* comments do not reflect in any way on MIT. Also, I am nowhere near Boston.

Dispute Diva Dina · Guest

Jonathan,

You're right to be concerned about maintaining a positive relationship
with your clients. It's one of the keys to building a profitable
business.

However, I want to play devil's advocate for a moment, and ask you a
question: Is this client an Ideal Client for you? What's an Ideal
Client? One that shares your values and norms when it comes to
business and appreciates you and your work. Ideal Clients make coming
to work a joy because they 'get' you and you 'get' them. Kinda like the
business equivalent of a love fest!

You say this is an inactive client. Although I don't know what you
mean exactly, I'd guess that this client doesn't regularly do business
with you, right? And, he doesn't seem like an Ideal Client because he
seemingly doesn't acknowledge your efforts to satisfy him, right? If
all this is true, I' d say he's time to let him go.

Explain to him again what you've done for him, what you were required
to do (nothing) and ask him one last time what he's willing to do to
help resolve this. If he balks, simply say,

" We're both trying to fix this. This is the best I can do now, and I'm
still willing to help within reason. If you figure out how I can be
helpful within the parameters we already discussed, give me a call.
And, of course, I'm open to continuing to do business with you."

This statement calmly and professionally let's the client know:
1. That neither of you is to blame
2. You're there to help.
3. You've offered everything currently available- there's no more.
4. It's up to him to figure something new out.
5. You're open to doing business in the future.

Why is it important to say it all? Because if you don't the client's
imagination may get the best of him. He'll think the worst of you and
you'll have missed an opportunity to maintain trust and connection with
a client.

And, next time when you're prospecting for clients consider whether the
person has similar approaches to you for fixing problems. In other
words, is this an Ideal Client?

Good luck! Dispute Diva Dina

Scott T. Jensen · Guest

<santa19992000@yahoo.com> wrote:
Quote: What is "Strategic partnership" means?. Thanks.

It is a formalized business relationship between two businesses and is good
for at least one of them.

Scott Jensen
--
MARKETING FIRMS & AD AGENCIES:
58% of surfers never look beyond what they find from search engines.
Rank on search results heavily dictate how much clients' sites get hit.
Hit decrease is exponential the further from the #1 spot they're ranked.
Engage AdServius (www.AdServius.com) to raise your clients' rankings.

Mikal · Guest

<snip>

We'll it's been awhile and I played my cards right. Interactions with
these other two guys got suspicious. a month or two ago, 'Tom' asked
me to send him the original design files, and I told him I didn't feel
good about that, considering that we've been working together now for 6
months and no partnership agreement has been signed. I could tell he
was a little upset with that response. I told him I would be glad to
keep doing what I was doing, making design changes at home on the
project... But, he instead came back, after a week of not hearing
from him, telling me that 'he' doesn't feel as though I would work out
because I have 'trust issues', and that he thinks that no partnership
with me 'can' be formed. So, I sent him a registered letter briefly
telling him that the work I've done, proto-types, etc are mine, and not
to be used without written, signed agreement between all parties.
A week went by since he got the letter. My guess is, that he took
the PDF files to another contract engineering house to see what it
would cost to get re-created from the PDF files, since of course you
can't use PDF's as the 'real' files.
He probably got sticker shock, because today, I got an email from
him with, "I got your letter, and we are open for negotiation".
Now, keep in mind, that this is the same guy, that thought I was
stupid enough to think I had absolutely no claim on the work I've done,
and, just a few weeks ago, told me that I should be paid for work I've
done... offering about $2K to me (probably hoping that I'd be happy
with at least something). I think he used the words, "Thanks for the
work you've done in converting the ______ Co. design into the design
that it is today. (It's not _____ Co.'s design, it's my design. I'd
give him points for trying, but I found his comment too arrogantly
deceitful).

So now that he's realized he's backed into a corner, I, still not
being greedy, am considering 10K cash for everything. But my question
is now, if I choose to use my modified design (that I sold to him) to
create something on my own, am I infringing on 'his' copyright? In
other words, should I simple state that he has lifetime 'permission' to
the work? Or is there another way to do this?

Brandon J. Van Every · Guest

Mikal wrote:
Quote:
So now that he's realized he's backed into a corner, I, still not
being greedy, am considering 10K cash for everything. But my question
is now, if I choose to use my modified design (that I sold to him) to
create something on my own, am I infringing on 'his' copyright? In
other words, should I simple state that he has lifetime 'permission' to
the work? Or is there another way to do this?

You talk to a lawyer and you negotiate the portions of Copyright that
you want to grant to the other party. There is no such thing as an
all-or-nothing deal, it's up to you. But if you don't know the
Copyright laws and don't have competent legal advice, you'll shoot
yourself in the foot. So get on with the lawyer already.

--
Cheers, www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every Seattle, WA

T-shirt that landed someone a job: "I'm not an asshole,
I'm a Shaper!" http://www.teams.org.uk/shaper.htm

Tony · Guest

"Mikal" <accclass101@hotmail.com> wrote:
Quote: snip

We'll it's been awhile and I played my cards right. Interactions with
these other two guys got suspicious. a month or two ago, 'Tom' asked
me to send him the original design files, and I told him I didn't feel
good about that, considering that we've been working together now for 6
months and no partnership agreement has been signed. I could tell he
was a little upset with that response. I told him I would be glad to
keep doing what I was doing, making design changes at home on the
project... But, he instead came back, after a week of not hearing
from him, telling me that 'he' doesn't feel as though I would work out
because I have 'trust issues', and that he thinks that no partnership
with me 'can' be formed. So, I sent him a registered letter briefly
telling him that the work I've done, proto-types, etc are mine, and not
to be used without written, signed agreement between all parties.
A week went by since he got the letter. My guess is, that he took
the PDF files to another contract engineering house to see what it
would cost to get re-created from the PDF files, since of course you
can't use PDF's as the 'real' files.
He probably got sticker shock, because today, I got an email from
him with, "I got your letter, and we are open for negotiation".
Now, keep in mind, that this is the same guy, that thought I was
stupid enough to think I had absolutely no claim on the work I've done,
and, just a few weeks ago, told me that I should be paid for work I've
done... offering about $2K to me (probably hoping that I'd be happy
with at least something). I think he used the words, "Thanks for the
work you've done in converting the ______ Co. design into the design
that it is today. (It's not _____ Co.'s design, it's my design. I'd
give him points for trying, but I found his comment too arrogantly
deceitful).

So now that he's realized he's backed into a corner, I, still not
being greedy, am considering 10K cash for everything. But my question
is now, if I choose to use my modified design (that I sold to him) to
create something on my own, am I infringing on 'his' copyright? In
other words, should I simple state that he has lifetime 'permission' to
the work? Or is there another way to do this?

The fact that Tom wants this item means that he believes it has some worth. If
you go any further
without a patent or copyright attorney, you are going to get screwed beyond
belief. These attorneys
see this stuff regularly and know what is fair for you to get. You would be
crazy to sell it
outright. You should retain ownership so you can get compensated for decades.

Tony