5 Things I Like About the Kind & Funny Fit Call

We’ve had several great Fit Calls in the past couple of weeks, and let me tell you, that’s an exciting thing for me!

For anyone who is curious about Kind & Funny’s branding, marketing, design, or consulting services, we always start by connecting for a 15–30 minute phone call that allows everyone to feel out the vibe, no additional commitment necessary from either side. We call this a Fit Call.

Obviously we would like some of our Fit Calls to turn into projects for us so that we can keep our business going, but our goal is very much not to have a 100% conversion rate, it is to identify whether a project is a good fit for both sides before we work together. We have several things to learn through this process—What does this person want to do? Can we do that? Do we want to?—and it provides an opportunity for them to go through their lists as well. Just the other day someone told us how much they enjoyed the process, and I thought to myself, “You know, I really do too.”

Here are 5 reasons why I like the way we do this:

1. I love meeting new people!

Listen, I just think people are cool, and I like talking to them, especially about things that are important to them.

2. Choosing who you work with is the best

Now, while I just said that people are cool and I like talking to them, in reality that does not hold true for all people at all times because, unfortunately, some people are jerks. One of the things I enjoy most about being co-self-employed with Kelly is that we have a lot more control over how we spend our time, and who we spend it with, than when I was an employee. We get to have a “don’t work with jerks” policy here, which gives me a lot of peace of mind. (Also if you’re reading this and you were once my coworker I’m obviously not talking about you, you are for sure not a jerk, it was definitely someone else. Again, definitely not you. I liked working with you.)

3. What we go shopping for isn’t always what we need

I am a fan of Clayton Christenson’s “Jobs to Be Done” theory of customer behavior, which in basic terms says that people do not buy a product, they buy a solution. People don’t want a hammer, they want a nail in the wall. If you want a nail in the wall, then a hammer is an obvious solution, but if you want more customers to your business then there are lots of potential solutions. Applying this in our scenario, people come to us for many reasons. Some know for sure that they want a new brand and even have a clear vision of what that is, but more often people want an outcome like more customers, or they are driven by a feeling that they should be doing something that they aren’t. The Fit Call conversation helps bring a lot of clarity to these situations, which helps a person see what they are actually shopping for—sometimes that is us, and sometimes that isn’t, and both are good answers.

4. I do better work when I’m interested in what I’m doing

I don’t like going through the motions, I like being engaged in my work. Lucky for me I have a lot of interests, including learning, so there are many, many potential ways for me to be engaged in a project, and the Fit Call helps me identify my “why” for each project we accept. Maybe it’s the industry the person works in, either because I know it or I don’t and want to learn about it. Maybe it’s the business owner’s unique personal story, or a big goal they have for the next year. Maybe it’s the excitement of seeing what design Kelly will come up with, or the potential that I’ll get to do something creative. If I can find my “why” during this call, I know that the job will be good.

5. Sometimes even talking to someone else about your idea is a really important step

I have so much respect for the people who book Fit Calls with us because I know that it takes a lot of bravery to tell another person that you want something for yourself, or that you have an idea that you want to try, or that you want to turn your side gig into something more serious, or that you are an expert in your field but not in marketing yourself, or any of the other reasons that spur people to reach out to us. We get to witness people’s confidence grow in that initial meeting as we play the role of cheerleader, and we have seen that empowering step bring good things to people whether they ended up as our clients or not. I am honored and energized that I get to play a small part in the lives of these amazing people we get to meet.

Is it time for you to book a fit call? Let me know!