In previous blog posts, I’ve said raise your price until 20 percent of your prospects say no. When you tell a client the cost of your services, and they say they can’t afford it, you want to find out if it’s really a matter of them not being able to afford it, or if is it a cash flow problem. Almost every time, it’s a cash flow problem. There is always a way to work that out with a client. There are three ways you can do that:
- Fixed price. This is the most desirable way because there’s no meter running, which means less tracking, and fewer discussions and less explaining or defending your time to the client. To do x, I will charge you y. Now we all don’t have that kind of project work and sometimes we’re afraid to do a fixed price. As you develop your practice more and more, you’ll begin to package things because you’ll know how much time and resources it takes every single time you do it. If you’re not sure and you’re a little nervous, I say package it anyway, take a chance and just keep raising the number until it makes sense.
- Charge by the hour, time and materials. I charge X number dollars an hour and I do work, I send an invoice.
- A budget. You can put me on your accounts payable. This is what I tell a client: There are two values for doing it this way. 1. The work that we do will have a long-standing effect so it almost makes sense that you should pay me out because it’s going to benefit you over a long period of time. 2. I have now solved one of the problems about being a consultant. When I go on vacation a check comes in the mail.
Never let money get in the way. Work it out with your client and find a solution to get yourself working that will service the client. It’s the best way I know of to build and grow your practice.
In previous blog posts, I’ve said raise your price until 20 percent of your prospects say no. [Insert hyperlink for Blog Post #5] When you tell a client the cost of your services, and they say they can’t afford it, you want to find out if it’s really a matter of them not being able to afford it, or if is it a cash flow problem. Almost every time, it’s a cash flow problem. There is always a way to work that out with a client. There are three ways you can do that:
- Fixed price. This is the most desirable way because there’s no meter running, which means less tracking, and fewer discussions and less explaining or defending your time to the client. To do x, I will charge you y. Now we all don’t have that kind of project work and sometimes we’re afraid to do a fixed price. As you develop your practice more and more, you’ll begin to package things because you’ll know how much time and resources it takes every single time you do it. If you’re not sure and you’re a little nervous, I say package it anyway, take a chance and just keep raising the number until it makes sense.
- Charge by the hour, time and materials. I charge X number dollars an hour and I do work, I send an invoice.
3. A budget. You can put me on your accounts payable. This is what I tell a client: There are two values for doing it this way. 1. The work that we do will have a long-standing effect so it almost makes sense that you should pay me out because it’s going to benefit you over a long period of time. 2. I have now solved one of the problems about being a consultant. When I go on vacation a check comes in the mail.
Never let money get in the way. Work it out with your client and find a solution to get yourself working that will service the client. It’s the best way I know of to build and grow your practice.