Do I get reimbursed for the time I spend speaking to new clients?
We will reimburse you for up to 60 minutes for any initial introduction call with a potential new client, as part of the matching process.
It's up to you if you would like to continue past this time, but we have to put a sensible cap in place here. We feel an hour is plenty of time for you to check whether or not you and the client a good match for each other - this is not supposed to be a kick-off call to plan out the work you will start on, but rather a time to simply say hello.
Keep a note of the start/stop time of the call and head into My Time to log this (My Time -> Internal -> Add Time Entry).
Please explain clearly which prospective client this relates to, so that we can verify the time log is accurate on our side.
"Call with new client, Bob Smith, at ABC Company. Opportunity ID 123445".
More Info
You can find more information about this process in the e-book here.
The client will have already read a detailed profile that we have put together about your skills and professional background, and they have already had a consultation call with our Client Engagement team to go over how the service works at Virtalent.
Likewise, you will have read the client brief, which details the support they would be looking for fro you. This leaves very little detail to actually cover on the call - you already know each other to some extent!
These calls are therefore really just designed for you both to cover off any other questions that you have of each other, and to make sure you 'click', before you start working together. A typical call will last 30-40 minutes - a particularly chatty or inquisitive client may naturally take longer to talk everything through with you, but likewise some clients only want to say a quick 'hello'!
At this point the client should not be trying to train or onboard you into their team, nor is this in 'interview'. We’ve already told them how wonderful you are!
It's also up to you to lead the call, so you should aim to wrap it up before 60 minutes if you would like to do so. If the client wants to work with you, they should then be finishing the setup of their account with us and you can then arrange any calls needed (billed to the client) for training, onboarding, planning work, and any other more "intensive" discussions. The first step is actually making their final decision as to whether to work with you.