LIFESTYLE
Offer to help when
you’re doing so from a
place of fullness - you
want to but know you
don’t have to
unexpected support you can provide. of regret that I wasn’t a staff writer – I’d done it all for nothing. But then,
“At my last job we had a man from Computer Angels in to sort out a couple of days later, she phoned commissioning me to write the piece.
some issues with our network,” says Suzi. “While he was there, the Yes, putting in that extra effort is always a bit risky. Sometimes, you can
kettle somehow caught fire. Whilst my colleagues watched, alarmed, the bend over backwards to help a current or potential client only to discover
guy took control of the situation and put out the fire. They were all full that they never had any intention of paying you. But generally, everyone
of praise for him by the time I returned to the office.” feels good when we approach business with a sense of goodwill.
Hopefully, nothing so dramatic will crop up for you. But there are Freelance journalist and copywriter, Anne Wollenberg says, “A
often times when a client needs a different type of service to the one you potential new client asked me to do something at very short notice. I
were prepared to provide. By pointing someone in the right direction or didn’t have the expertise for it, which would have been OK if it hadn’t
recommending someone you trust, you can save them a lot of time and been a short-notice request. But rather than say ‘No’, I said, ‘Give me
earn yourself some easy brownie points. half an hour and I’ll find you someone else who can do it’.
Recently, one of my editors asked me loads of questions about a “I rang round people I knew would be able to do it, found someone,
feature she was thinking about. Wanting to be helpful (even though I made sure they were free and happy to take on the assignment and called
was already juggling several deadlines), I made a few calls, did some the editor with their details. The editor was delighted I’d helped him out
mini-interviews and sent her the information. I then had a sudden flash of a hole and is now a regular client. All because I stuck my neck out and
rapport - Summer 2009
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