After 14 years and more than 250 professional and business services firm clients, it’s clear what holds firms back from reaching their highest revenue and profit potential. 3 pricing mistakes. And you don’t have to make them! One price for everyone (take it or leave it) Hourly billing (all risk is on client; final price … Continue reading 3 Pricing Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Tag: hourly billing
Are you wearing handcuffs to work?
You get ready for work: Morning routine? Check. Clothes, hair, shoes? Check. Laptop or phone? Check Handcuffs? Check. Wait, handcuffs? You know handcuffs. Those steel contraptions that bind your wrists together. They severely limit your movements. You feel stuck. “But look,” you think, “my arms are free to move about, no handcuffs in sight.” True … Continue reading Are you wearing handcuffs to work?
Set sail or stay safe dockside?
A ship in the harbor is safe But that’s not what ships are for. I’m thinking a lot about the pull we feel between being safe and venturing out. Why am I focusing on this now? I attended a webinar about creating digital courses. The expert is over the top energetic. She scared the hell … Continue reading Set sail or stay safe dockside?
Put love into Labor Day
What comes to mind when you hear “Labor Day”? I often think “oooh, a day off, long weekend, back to school, end of summer, long walk with my dogs in our favorite park.” Probably not so much about actual labor, the labor that the day honors. I was surprised to learn that labor Day became … Continue reading Put love into Labor Day
Don’t tell yourself you can’t concentrate
Never underestimate your powers of concentration. Want to eavesdrop on a convo with Dave? Dave: “Susan, we’ve been using hourly billing for years and years. I just don’t see how I can switch to IMPACT Based pricing and still keep the business running.” Susan: “Dave, think about changes you’ve made the past couple years. You … Continue reading Don’t tell yourself you can’t concentrate
How Do You Pay for a Non-Billable Executive?
My CPA firm client needed a CTO–chief technology officer. They’d grown to 45 accountants by adding a lot of technology to serve their clients. The CTO would further build the firm’s technology capabilities, ensure security of all client records and transactions, and deter cyber security threats. These are critical issues for their clients. Yet, how … Continue reading How Do You Pay for a Non-Billable Executive?
How to help clients say “Now I get It”
You’re speaking with a current client as part of your firm’s adopting IMPACT based pricing. This is a significant change from hourly billing. In most cases, it takes a knowledge services firm several months to fully adopt the IMPACT Based Pricing mindset: “We deliver life changing IMPACT for a fee proportional to that IMPACT.” Now … Continue reading How to help clients say “Now I get It”
Surprising Reasons Why Clients Don’t Trust Hourly Billing
A prospect told one of our clients why they don’t trust hourly billing. Listen in…. “Prospective client asks: How much will you charge for my project? Owner: It depends. Client: Depends on what? Owner: On how much work we need to do. The more hours, the higher the cost. Also, it depends on which associate … Continue reading Surprising Reasons Why Clients Don’t Trust Hourly Billing
Good Better Best is Not Value Based Pricing
You’ve come to realize that not all clients or prospective clients desire, need, or want the same value, so your firm offers three options: Good, Better, Best. (Or Platinum, Gold, Silver) What if Good, Better, Best shortchanges your clients—and your company’s bottom line? I started thinking about the harm of Good, Better, Best during a … Continue reading Good Better Best is Not Value Based Pricing
Why Knowledge Work is Not Like Assembly Line Work
When your intellect doesn’t crank out content in neat hourly increments why should you sell or buy hours? I had a fierce disagreement with a CEO last week about value based pricing versus hourly billing. He insisted that the only way he could have control over my work was to pay by the hour. I, … Continue reading Why Knowledge Work is Not Like Assembly Line Work