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Interim Manager App Version 1
The Helping Guide on how to become an Interim Manager in 1 week
About
Are you currently working for an organization or you are thinking about switching from being an
employee to an Interim Manager? Here it is important to have the Interim Manager mindset and
understand that there are key differences being an Interim Manager and not an employee. Visit more
under the section the Interim Manager mindset shown above. You are aware that being an employee
can not give you the self-awareness you would like on the market being a professional in your business
field? Here are the key sections of the app, where you can directly click and view more information
which will help YOU become an Interim Manager and acquire your first projects. How to acquire a
project as an Interim Manager in one week will support you in:
8 Steps to Turn Your Interim Manager Mindset into Transforming Your Competences at Your
Clients Successfully
✓ Step 1 - The Interim Manager Mindset
✓ Step 2 - Understand your clients‘ needs
✓ Step 3 - Knowing your market-value
✓ Step 4 - Select the project profile You want as an Interim Manager
✓ Step 5 - The acquisition channels and how to get „in-Touch“ with the projects you want as an
Interim Manager
✓ Step 6 - The Project Interview –communicating effectively to acquire a customer
✓ Step 7 - Understanding what should be included within the contract
✓ Step 8 - Learn how to transform your competences at your clients
Just click the topic which interests you and you will get your insight for you to acquire a customer as
an Interim Manager and also benefit from having a process which you can apply anytime and anywhere
in order to become a successful Interim Manager.

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The Interim Manager Mindset – Section 1
The Mindset of the Interim Manager differs as from any employee. You may ask yourself why? The
obvious difference is that you will now work independently, which means you will be an entrepreneur
and not be employed by one employer but you will have to acquire customers or in some cases you
will have a long-term contract with your client. Here is more information which will give you an inside
on how the employee mindset differs than from an Interim Manager:
✓ As mentioned, You will now work in different projects for different clients
✓ Have a daily-fee contract or in some cases work in personal leasing conditions together with
your Managed Service Provider
✓ In reference to the daily-fee contract, there will be a certain market-rate for your competence,
which you can still regulate in relation with the budget the client has
✓ Have in certain project an intermediary (a Managed Service Provider), who will support you
acquire a customer
✓ A stronger emphasis in working in an international environment in different teams including
virtual teams
✓ Building a personal brand which includes your competences and results within the projects
which you will be communicating in a more occassions
✓ Bein able to slip quickly in a „firefighting role“ in less than a week which includes to understand
what is needed from you and transform this in delivering value in the project, here a practical
example is liasing with different stakeholders in a short-term of time and setting-up a project
plan within a day
Therefore you need to set-back the security and political mindset and believe more in delivering value
for your client. As an Interim Manager you will have often closed-doors within organizations, this
means you will have to provide value in the following key soft-skills besides being an expert in the field
you apply for the projects:
✓ Being able to understand what stakeholders contraints there are within the project and being
able to manage these, therefore you need to able to analyse quickly the project-aim
✓ Having a entrepreneural spirit in order to change constraints into opportunities, therefore your
motivational and communicational skills need to be developed
✓ Being able to work goal-orientated, which can be often difficult as there are many details in
working in interim projects, so this is important to keep in mind
As you can see there are some aspects which need to be taken into account, once you want to acquire
a customer and start your interim management business. Please see the next section under,
Understand your client’s needs and knowing your market-value, to go acquire your customer as an
Interim Manager and start your career now!

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Understand your clients‘ needs– Section 2
Did you know that many of your potential clients are undergoing a change management process in
their organization and / or department. Here is why you are needed, as an Interim Manager, to bring
yourself within theses process. In a time of restructuring or turn-around it is important you learn what
the sponsors needs from you and what his demands are. This could vary from the following:
✓ Buy-in extra know-how to learn practices from other organizations through the Interim
Manager
✓ Needing extra skilled workforces in bridging over a certain time to deliver results for a project
✓ Or a combination of both
Now it is important on how you can bring yourself in the process of acquiring a project as an Interim
Manager and win the client. So what are needs and demands of the organizations that contract you as
an Interim Manager? Here is an overview of who the three stakeholder groups are or types of buyers
to give you an insight on who you will need to deal with and build your relationship in order for you to
acquire a project as an Interim Manager:
1. The Commercial Buyer: this is person or department who actually has the budget and often
receives handed over an important strategic project which needs involvement of external
workforces of an Interim Manager, which is your opportunity.
2. The Technical Buyer: this is often the head of procurement or the purchasing department
who has / have a good overview of what your market-price should be and what skills and
knowledge you should have in order to be able to start the project. They might only be in the
background when you are being contracted by the company.
3. The User Buyer: this is the person you will work with or the team you will be working with in
the project. They are most likely be part with the commerical buyer at the project interview
and here it is important to show and demonstrate your interpersonal skills in order to work
effectively in projects.
Within the process of finding or short-listing a candidate or at the actual project job interview, the
various stakeholder groups or type of buyers might be involved. Make sure that you know that all these
stakeholder groups have goals and you should be able to find a plan to support them to meet their
goals in order for your to acquire the project. Here are typical goals which the various stakeholder
groups have:
✓ The Commercial Buyer: meet the goals they receive from their superiors this could vary from
having a contract management process implemented in a certain time, quality and within the
budget
✓ The Technical Buyer: having an Interim Manager with the appropriate market-value which is
acceptable with the given skills and competences you have in order for you to fullfill the
project. More on market value will be delt in the next section, knowing your market-value.
✓ The User Buyer: this stakeholder group or person is going to work with you. The goal here is
to have a person that can lead the tasks and have the technical skills in order to fullfill the

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project. Also for the Interim Manager in being diplomatic in certain political topics in order the
stakeholder group not to lose their face and to understand the political landscape in a quick-
manner to not destroy build-up long-term relations from the stakeholder groups.

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Knowing your market-value and knowing your costs – Section 3
As an Interim Manager you will be having an hourly-fee or daily fee this depends of the following
criteria:
✓ Your technical skills (qualification, experience, delivered results in projects)
✓ Your soft skills
✓ The budget of your client (this can give you an orientation on how much the client would pay
for you, for you to work in the project)
These two facts can help you to estimate if the project is suitable for you in terms of you fitting to the
project. This can also vary though in your personality and soft-skills, which should not be
underestimated in starting a project. Here is a checklist oft the soft-skills that your clients will be
looking for:
✓ Open-minded & entrepreneural personality
✓ Able to give the right information for the project to have a positive outcome
✓ Hands-on mentality
✓ Good communication skills
✓ Stakeholder-minded to understand the interests of the various stakeholder groups
✓ Problem-solving skills
Therefore, besides your technical skills as an Interim Manager, it is important that the soft-skills will
also have an impact on your market-value. The market-value stands for the value you are worth per
day or per hour without taking the budget of the client into acount. This can vary from € 700,00 to
even € 2,500 in some cases when the person has a senior-level and a know-how that is rarely found on
the market. The soft-skills will also impact your market-value to 15% -20% of the total hourly or daily-
fee. Again, you may still acquire projects as an Interim Manager, which is under your market-value, but
still it is always good to review your market-value with a Consultant from a Managed Service Provider,
who will inform you indepenently, in terms of when you are not a potential candidate for a project,
how much you as a person are worth on the market.
So what is next? You have defined what you are work by researching on the internet and talking to
several consultants. You are now ready to initiate a project and win a client. Make sure that you also
look at the costs which you will have as an Interim Manager, here is a short-list of the most important
points:
✓ Project costs (as the hourly or daily-fees are mostly all-in, which means you will have to take
care of the travel costs which could vary from your hotel, flight & catering costs)
✓ Marketing costs (to acquire your customer, which could vary from your time, having
discussions with other consultants)
✓ I.T. costs (this could vary from your telephone costs in doing international calls, internet and
other electronical costs which are necessary to acquire customers as an Interim Manager)
✓ Other office costs (these are your insurance costs and your home-office costs as your rent or
obtaining a office-table etc.)
In the next section there will be more info on how you select the projects You want as an Interim
Manager, under Select the project profile You want as an Interim Manager.

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Select the project profile You want as an Interim Manager – Section 4
Do you already know what the project profile should look like? Here are some suggestions that may
help you in order for You to acquire the right project profile you want:
✓ In what business sector do you want to work? Do you have extensive knowledge in one
business sector which could be for example the banking and & insurance sector or pharma,
where you believe your set-relationships or know-how of the market is needed? On, the other
side, there are Interim Managers, like myself, which believe they can work in any business
sector. Please make sure that you know if you would like to work in a specific business sector
or if you would like to work in any business sector.
✓ Where would you like to work? Here the geographical positioning of the project is important,
it can be due to the costs you will have in going abroad or leaving your family and rarely seeing
your family, so work-life balance plays an important role. To travel can also be exhausting, so
please make sure to take all these topics into account when selecting the project profile you
want as an Interim Manager. Having worked in the D-A-CH Region (Germany, Austria &
Switzerland) I believe that together with my family to work in projects in this specific region,
including understanding of the cultural and language topics, is the future positioning for me as
an Interim Manager. So please make sure you are sure on where you would like to work and
include this in the project profile.
✓ What should the business environment look like? Is the business environment an innovative
environment where there has been for example a merger and acquisition or a joint venture.
This does not directly mean that you will work in an innovative environment. More specifically,
working in a time of change where for example a new software is being implemented or new
sales channels are being initiated. In a turn-around management an existing process is being
enhanced, this could be a re-evaluation of an existing ERP Solution which is being improved in
terms of technical availability or the process of users applying the solutions more effectively.
Therefore, ask yourself in what can of atmosphere you would like to work as an Interim
Manager. Do you want to be part in a corporate culture which is developing or in a
„firefighting“ role. It could be that you feel comfortable in both atmospheres, make sure that
you receive insights on this when talking to the relevant stakeholders who supervise the
project.
✓ What technical skills do you want to develop and share? Here it is up to you, what skill-levels
you would like to share. If you are an expert in more than one field, ask yourself do you want
to work in both fields or just in one specific field. In my case, I am an expert in Sourcing /
Procurement but also in managing E-Procurement (ERP) projects in Blue-Chip organizations.
Why am I saying this, because the Headhunters which are also Managed Service Providers will
often give you the right tags or wordings for their datatebase, in order for their consultant
network to know what you stand for. You may also insert the wording on your profiles in
google and these tag words, your potential clients‘ will look for and this is the first step in how
You will acquire an Interim project.
✓ How much do you want to earn in the project? After considering what you believe your
market-rate for project is. This needs to be split on how the client also wants it, either in hourly
or daily, here you need to be flexible and have an option for both. Do not forget the most
projects you will also have costs incl. project costs, which You need to manage during the

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projects. All-in-all you should have an EBIT between 75%-85% and at best case up to 90% per
project. If the client’s budget is not aligning to your earnings you believe you should be getting
in the project, do not do the project. It is up to you how you way more emphasis on your
important criteria, but please keep in mind: money is not everything, there are also other
criteria which you will be having over the time as an Interim Manager.

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The acquisition channels and how to get „in-Touch“ with the projects you want as an Interim
Manager- Section 5
Intro
You as an Interim Manager have the goal to acquire projects. You may not have had contact with either
Headhunters which already discussed are often also Managed Service Providers or directly with clients
in the corporate world. This section is split in the following acquistion approaches:
- Working with Headhunters to acquire customers
- Enabling with your informell Network to acquire projects
- Acquisition through online networks
All acquisition approaches have advantages and disadvantages, make sure again that start with an
acquisition channel that works for you. You may build up the other acquisition channels in parallel, but
do not forget I want You to acquire a customer in one week. So here is the overview:
✓ Working with Headhunters to acquire customers: here the advantage is that they have a
broad network of clients and projects which will suit your project profile. You will directly send
your CV to the Headhunter and they will contact you on what your project profile should look
like. Make sure that you have already all the points discussed under the sections 2,3, & 4 in
your mind and solved. Here is short-list on how you can rate the Headhunter:
➢ Time-to-Contact: once you forward your CV or apply to a project, how quickly are
the Headhunters contacting you in order to debate synergies
➢ Project database: what is sum and quality of the projects which suits your project
profile
➢ Shares or project income: the headhunter will also profit from you acquiring a
client. This varies from 5% to 40% of your hourly / daily fee. Please make sure that
you also take this into account. The headhunter who is often a Managed Service
Provider, will manage the contract management process & invoice management
process for you, so you will receive the money ontime on your bank account.
Please also make sure that you acknowledge this, that you can benefit from this
outsourcing activity
✓ Enabling with your informell Network to acquire projects: once of you have established a
network which you know deeply from perhaps your projects in the past as an employee. Make
sure that you have them on your radar, because in many cases they will be the once who will
be your sponsors and they can support you in winning clients, as they may know how you can
reach decision-makers to acquire a client. You may simply contact them over the phone and
reach out to them and research on how they are doing and what is going on in the sector. This
is especially intersting for people who were long-term employees and who built long-term
relationships within an industry. For Interim Managers, who have not yet build-up this
network, I suggest the next acqusition approach.
✓ Acquisition through online networks: if you are Interim Manager, like myself, who did not
work for a long-time within an organization as an employee, you may gain in a short-term of
time contacts directly with clients or headhunters over social platforms like LinkedIn (who also

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provide a Talent Recruitment Solution) or Xing, which is a great platform for Interim Managers
because they have a Project Section for Interim Managers integrated. There you can contact
and communicate directly with decision-makers, once you have provided Your personal Profile
as an Interim Manager. You may also build-up a website with your own domain on wordpress.
These are topics, where I can help you find Your right internet solutions to acquire a customer,
more under the section, „Learn how to transform your competences with the clients‘ profile“.

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The Project Interview –communicating effectively to acquire a customer and managing different
offers – Section 6
Winning your client through the Project Interview
Once you have had your first contact with a MSP / Headhunter or directly with your client, you can
now prepare for the interview. Here are the various important questions you will be having to answer:
✓ Your major project where you delivered value: be aware that the client need for example a
specialist in an area that have had projects in the past, which exactly did the activities which
are needed to be done for this specific project. Make sure you highlight these and show how
you demonstrated to achieve the goals which the sponsors have set you within the project.
Also show what obstacles you had and what strategies you obtained in order to overcome the
problem. This could vary from you being in charge of linking difficult business relationships and
how you approached the stakeholder groups in order to receive a consense.
✓ What is your specific value proposition: how do you differentiate from the rest and how can
you deliver specific value for the project. Do you have some certain soft or hard skills which
you believe can not be replaced by others. Maybe you have in-depth know-how in various ERP
Systems and you worked in different roles, while your sponsors in the past wanted to
implement the solution. Make sure you demonstrate these in the interview so the sponsors
can visualise and want you as their candidate for the project.
✓ Make sure you ask the right questions: do not just ask questions which are unnecessary and
do not bring value. Ask if their has been a project plan in place or are you responsible for
designing one. Next, ask about the team structure and how many various people will work
directly with you and / or who will you report to within the project. All these questions bring
value, because sometimes the client has not answered these and by the time you are arrive at
the project, they will be cleared and you can get to work.
What is next?
Once you have debated with the client over the phone or directly face-to-face you will either be asked
for once more interview or you will be directly hired for the project. In cases of working with
Headhunters it is very likely once you will talk to the client directly that you will win or acquire the
project. This could be up to 80% that you will win the client. Talking directly with the client, where you
have demonstrated through the right inbout marketing channels that the clients come to you, is also
very likely that you will win the client. Remember, once you talk to the client, be aware that you
understand what problems the client has in order to be customer-driven. Some general pressures that
your sponsors might have:
➢ Shortages of manpower and workforces, this could be because some team members might be
in sickness leave or on holiday
➢ Not being able to manage the workload, this is than delegated to an extnernal workforce
where you will most likely directly report to the sponsor what the status of the set activities is
➢ Learning more about approaches from the external workforce, here be aware that you will be
in the role of a consultant or coach and transforming information on past-practices in your
project, this is often wanten from the sponsor
✓ Keep in mind that your sponsor wants you to understand his challenge as well. This means that
your sponsor might also have to deliver and report your performance to his or her superior.

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You need to know that the pace of change in terms of roles, activities and positioning yourself
effectively will be the key of performing effectively as an Interim Manager. More info and
practical examples you will find under the section „Learn how to transform your competences
at your client“.

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Understanding what should be included within the contract – Section 7
Here are a list of contract components which are included in the contract. You will also find some
interesting hints on what should be aware of:
✓ Contract scope: make sure that you have also have included your main roles within your
contract scope. Here you do not have to insert the detailed responsiblities like setting up a
project plan or being the point-of-contact for legal questions, for example, but your roles
should be definately be included. For example, your specialization and the role as a consultant,
contractor or coach etc. should be included within the contract. Especially, once you work
directly with the customer and not through a gatekeeper like a headhunter or a Managed
Service Provider. Why is this important? Because this will in long-run be important in terms of
pricing because as a coach and consultant you might receive a higher hourly or daily fee than
only being involved in operative contracting responsibilities. Of course, do not try to hide
information which you could give your client once, you have agreed on working together but
the roles are not that defined within the contract. You should always see certain information
is important to give to your client as a consultant or coach and this information in advance is
called value-in-advance. You as an experienced Interim Manager should be weighing out if you
would like to continue giving the information and also quantify the information. So therefore,
be aware that you will also be in a selling position always within your project.
✓ Investments & fees: here you should differentiate between hourly fees or daily fees. In most
cases you will have or grant your customers all-in agreements. This means that your travel &
accomodation costs which make up your project costs which link directly to your project are
already included within the cost structure. Calculate upfront the costs you will have and also
be aware that you could be the only expert which is in the position to accomplish the project.
But of course do not forget the topic of the various sort of buyers, which has already been
discussed. Moreover, the orientation towards the budget of the client needs to be understood
and the importance, that this can almost never be crossed, otherwise you will not be anymore
within the project tender process and acquire the project.
✓ Payment terms: the payment terms should be no higher than 10 days. With many headhunters
of managed service providers you will have different options and also aligned cash discounts.
Provide options, if you would like or select an option which suits you the most. From my
personal point of view, cash is King so I believe having discounts is ok but quickly receiving the
cash from your client is more important.
✓ Other topics: there are also topics like data security or lost & protection clauses which you
may add, but make sure that you have an overview for yourself as an Interim Manager from
the three above. Once you have agreed to work together with your client, figured out a
template to set a contract you can now get to work and Learn how to transform your
competences at your clients

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Learn how to transform your competences at your clients – Section 8
Approaching your client: Make sure that the first week you will get to know the stakeholders you will
be working with, this could vary from taskforces, steering groups or other form of groups. Be proactive
when it comes to getting to know the people. It can also vary from setting-up virtual meetings, phone
or mail. Furthermore, make sure that you again receive a joined aim towards the project. Here the
SMART objective approach should be applied as a helping tool. Make sure to make the objectives
specific, measured, agreed, realistic and and a time frame. Why would this be important because this
is in the interest for the various stakeholder groups. Your direct report who is most likely be the
sponsor needs to know when processes are established and aims are met. This is just one stakeholder
group. The user buyers again will be have other interests e.g. setting up a contract process in 3 weeks
to deliver the best conditions for the organization, could be a set aim from your user buyer group.
Definition of a Project Plan: before stepping into the implementation, make sure you draw up a quick
project plan. This can be done in one day. A one-sider is often fine, where you also have your
deliverables and time-frame included. If there is already a Project Plan designed from your customer,
you can apply it. If there is uncertainty if you should design one or if you should apply the one already
designed, make sure that you state which option would be the best with your sponsor or discuss this
in the taskforce.
Transforming your competences: as a next step you should deliver what you have stated in the Project
Plan. This of course is important, as this will be enable you to achieve your aims. A practical example
is when you defined in a phase, joined discussion in approaching a cost-efficient contract management
process. Here you need to have all relevant stakeholder on-board. Always be ready to report to your
sponsor what the status is of the project. From experience, preperation is often the key to success in
the project.
Find out more on the topic of Interim Management and transforming your compentences by
contacting me over:
office@philipdavid-consulting.com or get connected with me at
https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipdavidconsulting
My profile:
10+ experience in Projects across various Business Sector with the focus on
delivering value for Blue-Chip Organizations in the area of Contract Management
and Sourcing & Procurement.
You will receive a free one-hour individual Skype Session to debate your
challenges and concerns.
Also visit udemy.com to receive this content in the video tutorial „How to become an Interim Manager
in one week“ to receive a daily action-plan to guarentee your success as an Interim Manager.
See you soon!
Philip