Frequently Asked Questions
What is the interim management market worth?

In the UK, we reckon it amounts to around £500 million a year and growing - maybe in excess of 10% though some commentators might put it higher than that. Please see our latest research.

Why use Russam GMS?

Most of the work will come from my own contacts won't it? Maybe. But our clients know that we have a leading search capability in that we have developed the most comprehensive working database of independent senior executives together with a highly productive internet capability and our own developed networks. Our business model is to use all this to "start from scratch" with each and every assignment we handle. (This compares with other Interim Management providers whose business model is to concentrate on a small and easier to manage number of Interim Manager contacts.) When companies have a need they will come to us. So you should consider Russam GMS as a key part of your marketing strategy. Our research indicates that about a quarter of ALL interim managers get their work through intermediaries and about half of all assignments on the go at any one time is sourced through Interim Management providers such as Russam GMS.

So who is on the Russam GMS database?

Senior executives with a serious interest in IM who would be earning a minimum of £40k per year if in permanent employment. We look for a strong functional focus allied with general management experience. Most importantly the executive must deliver a quality job. If the client thinks they have not got value for money they are unlikely to use you, or another interim, again. So we work only with executives of the highest competence and commitment. And those executives know how to market themselves to us and to the client.

How are fee rates set?

Believe it or not fees are rarely a problem. If a client backs away on the grounds of cost, experience tells us that there is either a hidden agenda or the project would not have been a sound one. The key point is to realise that market forces will prevail. Arithmetically, the daily rate should relate to the total employment cost to the client organisation of putting someone on the payroll - plus a bit more! Our own test is to agree with the client the level that would be appropriate if the task were allocated to a permanent employee. There are two answers to this. The first answer reflects the management level of the task with reference to the internal 'grading' structure of the organisation. The second reflects the seniority of the executive ideal for the task. These two are often different. Interim Management offers an element of over-resourcing that is both sensible and practical but obviously no-one takes a sledgehammer to crack a nut! However, there are other market forces that need to be taken into account. Industry norms, supply and demand and scarcity, relative eagerness on behalf of the executive or the client to get some work underway all play a part. Market forces usually prevail. Thinking back to what you used to earn is not a market force! Finally, and this is arguably the most important test of all, an assignment well done based on a happy working relationship is never challenged on grounds of cost.

Why should I trust Russam GMS?

Russam GMS has been operating for 30 years. We were one of the first into the market. We are owner managed. We are founder members of the Association of Temporary and Interim Executive Services which was re-launched in October 2000 as The Interim Management Association. The IMA sets standards aimed at promoting professionalism and ethical behaviour. Being well thought of by clients, by Interim Managers and by the business world in general is very important to us and much of what we spend our time, effort and money on is designed to promote this.

How do you sell Interim Management to your clients?

From the Interim Managers' perspective, these are the client benefits upon which we base our sales messages, benefits which have been proved time and time again by our clients. Your task is to ensure that you can deliver against them!

* Highly developed skills and experienced senior executives/managers.
* The comfort of legitimate over-resourcing/ over-qualification whilst still being very much hands-on.
* Precision selection of the most appropriate Interims
* More cost effective than hiring an equivalent full time employee
* Known and controlled costs
* Management control of the assignment or project.
* Flexibility
* Immediacy
* No commitment other than what is in the Agreement

Some thoughts on 'Running a Successful Interim Management Practice'
Following the SSB Model, successful Interim Managers quickly learn that they have to manage their clients. This is not quite the same as managing a boss and may well be skill you may not have needed when in the sheltered world of employment. You should prepare your own Business Plan.

The Business Plan

This does not have to be long but should cover:

* The product - the tighter and more focussed it is, the better.
* Research on the market you have identified
* Developing and implementing the Marketing Plan
* Selling
* Managing the Business

Developing consulting skills

Many managers have acquired these skills - they often just need repackaging or formalising. The skills needed include:

* Gathering information
* Writing proposals
* Handling meetings
* Communication and presentation skills
* Handling clients and their staff
* Project management
* Writing reports

The debate about the differences between Interim Management and Management Consultancy is one you ought to be aware of.

Practice and approach varies between Interim Management Providers about qualifications for inclusion on their databases. Some look for previous experience as an Interim Manager, quoting - for example - two years as a prerequisite or - for example - three actual and quotable assignments. Some want to interview every new Interim coming onto their database whilst others prefer to wait until there is a specific assignment to talk about.

For some basic interview guidelines click here

Sales and marketing

Knowing how and where to sell one's professional products is almost as important as being able to do a good job once the assignment has been secured. You need to be aware of your own personal skills, strengths and weaknesses and to understand yourself and the way that you react to new pressures inherent in Interim Management and Independent Consultancy. Many executives new to Independent Consultancy derive benefit from psychometric assessment. The aim of this is not to provide yes/no judgements but to become more aware of yourself within the new environment. Emerging from the Business Plan is the Marketing Plan which should be based on the following elements:

* Identify and target prospective clients
* Create awareness of your services to create a demand
* Develop and manage a continuous activity programme
* Follow up all leads
* Meet prospective clients and sell the work.

In identifying and targeting prospective clients the successful Independent Consultant needs to develop an extensive range of business prospects with which effective and continuous contact is maintained. Sources of Interim Management/Consultancy work can be broadly categorised as follows:

* Social Contacts
* Previous Employers
* Business Contacts
* Specialist Intermediaries
* Specialist Trade Operators
* Head-hunting/Executive Search and Selection Firms
* Management Consultancies
* Other

A successful Independent Consultant needs to develop a personal activity programme based on the following:

* Networking
* Trade literature/brochures/CVs etc.
* Mailshots/direct mail
* Entertaining
* Cold calling and face to face selling
* Articles and Media exposure
* Newsletters
* More serious publications (e.g. a book)
* Giving lectures or other forms of trade exposure
* Advertising and related PR

Networking is a key activity. Some can find it a bit daunting. But it works best. Networking with prospective clients rather than with peer groups should, clearly, be preferred. Although peers can and do refer work.

In establishing and running a successful practice these are some of the questions that you should have answers to:

* How much did you know about marketing before starting operating on your own account?
* How much research/study/planning have you done?
* Do you know enough now to prepare your marketing plan?
* Are you giving luck a chance?
* Are you developing your network as best you can?
* Are you allocating time and effort to marketing in the best way?
* Are you keeping an open mind?
* Is your material attractive?
* Are you making use of PR?
* Do you have something special?
* Do you have a sensible and credible marketing plan?
* How good are you at what you do?

The fact is that everything works for everyone, sometime. Remember:

1. Most Independent Consultants are - particularly in the beginning - totally unfamiliar with the process of generating prospective clients. In virtually all cases they have never had to do it before. However it is a skill and it can be learnt.

2. Professional people are strongest in their own professional skill. That is why they are usually not familiar with the skills inherent in sales and marketing and that is why there is a role for intermediaries.

3. As an individual, it is very easy to overlook the fact that established companies have highly professional and substantial selling and marketing functions in-house. Assuming that an individual is just like one of these companies except very much smaller, it is naive to suppose that you do not have to have your own sales and marketing function.

4. A degree of rejection is the base on which all good salesmen build a fortune. If you treat rejection as the norm and the winning of an assignment as a victory you will find that it will help to maintain a greater degree of emotional stability.

5. You need to try hard to understand the techniques and background to sales and marketing and to assume that you never know enough. So much unhappiness arises out of executives who make marketing decisions before they ought to and close their minds to new information and opportunities.

6. You need to work out arithmetically how many prospects you need to generate to produce the right amount of work. These figures should then be translated back into output, documentary and personal effort.

Being successful as an independent is therefore much to do with technique where the skills can be acquired. However virtually no one, in the history of work itself, has been genuinely successful without the technical skills and experience and competence required by the trade or profession. You need to be good at what you do!

Some years ago we prepared a statement of what we thought were the key success factors for an Interim Manager. Over ten years later we see no reason to change any of them.

Success Factors

1. Having a 'trade'. It is normal that excellence can only be achieved in a narrow range of activities.

2. This 'trade' must be clearly defined and be clearly recognisable by and effectively communicated to prospective clients.

3. Continuing effort should be made to retain and improve technical skills which have to be the basis of one's success and ability to command good fee rates.

4. It should be ensured that one's physical appearance, personal attractiveness and interpersonal behaviour should be of the highest standard.

5. The ability to approach business prospects effectively, the ability to sell, particularly face to face, and good presentation techniques are important skills requiring continuous development and practice.

6. Promotional material should be simple, factual, beautifully presented without being over-glossy and well supported by case studies/references

7. Marketing should be well planned, comprehensive and continuous, even when very busy. Everything works if done properly and activities based on personal contacts work best.

8. Continuous effort should be made to understand how the Interim Management/Independent consultancy market operates and changes. Nothing stands still.

9. Recognise that emotional stability and the dangers of loneliness need careful handling and, under the influence of effort and energy, situations will change from day to day.

Appearance Skills

It is a feature of most successful people - in whatever walk of life - that they invariably have some charisma, a pleasing personal appearance, together with the sort of personality attributes that make it possible for them to persuade, influence and inspire people. Looking good and making the best of what you have got is absolutely vital. Judgements are invariably made in the first fifteen seconds of meeting. You may well be surprised - even horrified - to know just how many 'NO' decisions are made by clients and Interim Management Providers alike in those first fifteen seconds!

The aim is to develop 'personal presence' in terms of your own parameters and what the industry expects of you. Management of your appearance will lead to an unconscious state of always being 'right' in your appearance - whatever the situation demands. Image is part of this process. A positive image wins assignments.

The following checklist may help you become more aware of aspects of the importance of appearance skills:-

* What are appearance skills and why are they important?
* See yourself as the 'product' - what does that mean to others? How do others see you?
* How to use your personal presence for professional effectiveness
* Understanding and using 'physical chemistry'
* Colour and colour mixes - what colours suit you best?
* Physical shape and scale - which styles suit you best?
* Psychology of colour shapes and scale. How this can best support the 'personal profile' that you wish to portray
* Wardrobe organisation - sorting, purchasing and maintaining. Shopping - spending money wisely

Information Technology

The Independent who does not have his own personal computer and is able to use it with competence will be seen as intellectually inert and out of date. It is vital that the Independent should be able to do his own word processing, spreadsheet work and database management. Instant personal access is now vital. This means having a mobile phone and an effective message retrieval system. Independents need access to the Internet, use e-mail and have some 'Social Networking' presence (Linkedin, Twitter etc).

Personal Finance

It is silly not to arrange one's financial affairs to best effect. Narrowing the gap between gross pay and net pay is crucial for the Independent. In spite of IR35 it represents an opportunity that is not generally available to the senior executive in the corporate environment. The importance and complexity of this area is evidenced by the fact that the Independents who are most likely to seek professional help are qualified accountants themselves! Making the best use of gross earnings is vitally important. Making the decisions that effect not only the immediate income but also long term financial health and security does require continuing professional help. The irony is that Independent Consultants who do not seek professional guidance in this area even on a care and maintenance basis are actually rejecting the principle upon which they themselves expect to be employed. IR35 has made personal financial management more difficult.

These are the key areas:

1. Commercial and legal comparison of sole traders, partnerships and limited companies The Interim Manager needs to plan how best to establish the structure of his operation. Increasingly, however, formats are being imposed by third parties, which makes planning more difficult.

2. Taxation and National Insurance distinctions between Sole Traders, Partnerships and Limited Companies

3. Tax Planning Opportunities including such elements as independent taxation, allowability of expenses, profit sheltering, dividend policy etc.

4. VAT and Penalty Procedures. The wide-ranging powers of Customs and Excise need thorough understanding and careful management.

5. Cash Management. As an employee, much of the task of cash planning is done by deduction from gross salary. The independent needs to adopt a new approach.

6. Pension Planning. The cornerstone of personal financial planning, the importance of making proper provision for retirement cannot be over-emphasised.

7. Other key areas are:

* Investments
* Mortgages
* School Fees
* Inheritance Tax
* Keyman Insurance, Life Assurance, Disability and Accident Cover
* The Data Protection Act 1984
* Financial Services Legislation
* Professional Indemnity
* Insolvency Legislation