How efficiently can live chat work with integrations?

I've been a consultant, both independently and through two of the "Big 5" consulting firms, for the majority of my career. I've recently discovered that I have a serious aversion to time-based billing, that's been buried deep down in my subconscious for a while. Because of this discovery, I've been trying hard to break the direct bond between hours worked and income generated. The concept of value-based billing can be very appealing in this regard. The co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks, Mike McDerment, wrote a pretty interesting and entertaining eBook on the subject, called Breaking the Time Barrier - http://www.freshbooks.com/breaking-the-time-barrier It's worth a quick read, if for no other reason than to experience a different way of thinking when it comes to billing for services. Here are some of the stumbling blocks I've experienced, when trying to put value-based billing into practice - 1 - Finding the clients who are willing to take the time to hear you out on the approach 2 - Finding the clients who can appreciate the approach, however if you get through #1, #2 seems to be a bit easier, since their minds are already open enough to consider it 3 - Waiting out the time it takes to find and educate the "right" clients, as Mike describes them in the book, when you have bills to pay :) I do feel that value-based billing makes a lot of sense for both the client and the service provider. One thing that value-based billing does well is resolve the paradox between the client's goal of having a project delivered at a reasonable price and the service provider's goal of generating revenue, which, by nature, are somewhat at odds from the outset, since the client usually wants to pay for the fewest # of hours possible (whether they admit that or not, that's another story), while the service provider wants to put the time in it takes to get the job done right.

HelpScout, ZenDesk or Desk.com. HelpScout (help desk software) would be a great start – less options but even when I ran a 6 person customer support team (with over 500 emails a day), we never needed the complex features of Desk.com. Have one person create 'saved replies' to quickly answer your customers in a cohesive voice and with consistent responses. (However, encourage your entire team to inject some of their personality!) This seems like a huge task, but if they dig through their sent emails, it can be done pretty quickly. Good luck!

Hi, Great question to post. I've been in your situation a number of times so understand where you are coming from. Both from startup's i've had through to working on Go To Market strategies in large businesses. The first place i would look to is defining geographically where i wish to cover e.g a local area or national or do i wish to span several countries? Next, look at the new business "birth" rate and "death" rate within that region. This will give you an idea of a high level gross add's and net businesses you could work with assuming you wish to be helping them in their "early life startup phase". Depending on how specific your new product is, you should look to segment further. However I am a big fan of looking at my customers or potential customers based on how they behave and "Buy" - too often we get focused on how to "sell" to new customers but not understand the former. Also, think about this. Are they motivated to participate in your coaching program, or are you looking for people that require motivation to make their business successful, in turn they are looking for coaching? Again this will then help you to further drill down into "who" the clients are and "Why" they buy. It will also define where you should be networking etc or finding new business. Happy to talk further over Skype or Google Hangouts if you wish to. I'm based in New Zealand, currently working for a global SaaS provider. NZ is +12 GMT. Cheers Guy

Way too many to list. The usual suspects include: Amazon, Westjet Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Apple etc. I'm focused on new(ish) tech companies and their approach to customer service such as: Silvercar, Airbnb, ZenPayroll, Oscar.

STOP. DO NOT DO THIS.... I would never want help from someone like you. Don't get me wrong -- you aren't evil (that I know about) but you don't seem have any value that I could pay for. What would you be "consulting" a CEO like me about? How do you expect to make my business better when you don't have a clue about your own business? THAT'S THE TRUTH... Fuck the truth. If you want to get clients then you hustle -- every waking moment. You try an angle and fail and then try a different angle. You can't outsmart your way to bigger results. 2 plus 2 does not equal 4 -- it equals you going bankrupt. If you want to be successful then you need to exert massive amounts of effort to get off the ground. So get your ass out there and start asking everyone you meet: "What is that one big accounting question that's been bothering you for some time now? If I can't help you i'll buy you a cup of coffee" Then just go be a badass...