The Job Description of Fractional

Starting a fractional service business represents a blank slate to create your ideal role. Many professionals just start coaching 1-1 or delivering consulting services, much like they did when showing up for work on their first day within a company. Describing WHAT you do to enable a potential client to hire you leaves a lot up to interpretation. With this in mind you can see why fractional service providers occasionally get a bad ‘rap’ or set the client up for unrealistic expectations.

Look at it like this, how successful would YOU be If you recruited someone to work for YOUR company with a one or two sentence ad that says ‘We just want great people who want to accomplish amazing things with our company’ and leave it at that?

I bet you would struggle to find value in that hire and they would probably throw up their hands in frustration within a day or two of starting work with you..

When pursuing fractional work, it’s very important to accurately assess your talents and skills and set realistic expectations with your potential clients. Remember this is not about trying to be something you are not.

Let me share an example from professional services: the same 3 roles of many firms: finders, minders and grinders.

?·??????Finders are those who are capable of marketing, business development?and thinking strategically about the future of the business.

·??????Minders are those who are competent and dare I say 'gifted' at relationship management, maintaining and growing the existing client base. They support the customer experience promised by the finders.

·??????Grinders are those who are the technicians who do the ‘heavy lifting’ within the client, but often are working behind the scenes or directly involved in the client relationship. They often are meticulous, have a high attention to detail and are necessary for the day to day function within the role.

In fractional, if you are capable and competent with relationships, strategy and finding opportunities, you have the ability to create collaborations that deliver work through others beyond you.

Minders are attracted to groups where others create the strategic direction and they support the execution of the fractional service. Minders are necessary to a great client experience to ensure the client experiences the results promised.

Nothing happens without the grinders. They are often the unsung heroes of an organization. Their work product makes your results a possibility.

Let me give you an example within the finance and accounting world:

Finder = CFO: Strategic thinking, visionary, builder of systems and teams to accomplish the financial goals of an operation.

Minder = Controller: Responsible for supporting the implementation of the strategic vision.

Grinder = Bookkeeper: achieves the day to day responsibility for data collection and entry that is necessary to create and monitor business income and expenses.

Don’t underestimate the value of each role, try making good decisions and managing cash flow when there isn’t anyone sending out invoices or updating the bookkeeping system.

What’s most important is evaluating where you are most fulfilled, talented and delivering value to your client.

Working as a fractional service provider offers tremendous opportunity and potential, but also comes with challenges. By understanding the talents you can draw upon for success and assessing them accurately, you can create the best experience for yourself and your client. Take the time to evaluate yourself objectively to identify where you need help or could use improvement to be successful. Identify the roles necessary to perform the role function within your client and engage other professionals to offer a comprehensive solution.

Effective utilization of skills will help nurture talent in the right direction, leading to even greater success. That’s why it’s useful to get an outside perspective from those who have “been there, done that” on occasion. If you would like to dive deeper into this topic, consider downloading our free guide - The Top 10 Reasons Fractional Service Providers Fail - so that you can make sure you stay on track and achieve success.