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Other Added - Setting Prices - Pricing Your Consulting Services
Many people get offended by PhD type people who will not give them the time of day at parties. Often people feel slighted, as they simply brush them off and refuse to chit chat. Not long ago someone mentioned this and indeed we have all probably witnessed this behavior at one time or another, so it was decent commentary and a worthy subject.Thus, I felt obligated to take the PhD person's point of view and attempted to debate their possible thoughts. So, I said; of course there is a flip side to all this. That is that if those who are propelling BS are allowed to continue, then the person listening is soaking it in.For instance - Talking about the weather is fine, for a few minutes and all the how do you do stuff as well. Yet, when the BS starts flying and these are things you have heard over and over again and again, sometimes it is insincere to continue to listen and "pretend" that you are buying into it all.If the BS'er demands to b
In the long run, excellent service providers will prevail over mediocre "competitors."
Getting Away from the Hourly Rate Mentality
Before you do business with a new customer, you hold all the leverage in the relationship. After the services have been performed, the customer possesses the leverage. The lesson is that you want to set all of your prices when you possess the leverage - that is, before the engagement begins. This requires quoting fixed prices and removing yourself from the Almighty Hour mentality.
The minute you quote an hourly rate, you put a fixed limit on your earning potential. It’s hard to increase an hourly rate once it has been set. The most successful service providers charge for the job as a whole, and don’t reveal how many hours it will take to complete the job.
One of my clients - a management consultant – bemoaned the fact that he always underestimated the hours required to comp
Tough words... but I truly believe that folks who make career changes should be applauded for their courage. The courage to live closer to their authentic selves. The courage to put aside all the negativity we hear about the economy. The courage to face their own fears.Most people will change careers 5-10 times in their lifetimes. Not just jobs – but whole new careers. At the same time, we’re not taught how to go about this in the best way –how to evaluate what careers fit us best – how to choose work that makes our heart sing!If you are considering a career change, here are some tips to get you started:1. Know thyself. Give yourself time to really get in touch with yourself. What do you value most in your work? What skills do you really love doing? What natural talents and gifts do you have that you must use to serve others?2. Go on an exploration. Be curious. Ask lots of folks about their work. Make a list of everything you’v
In case you hadn’t noticed, people can react very differently when faced with the same price for a product or service. In fact in most cases, we’ll never actually know what is in their minds when they consider a price and then decide to respond to it in certain way. So what does that mean for those of us pricing and selling our services out there in the market?
Typically, people who sell services go for an hourly rate. They use a process called “reverse competition” to determine what their rate should be. This is where you take a look at what your geographical competitors are charging, and you decide where in the range you want to fit on the spectrum of hourly rates. Inevitably, we choose a rate somewhere in the middle, so we can say that we’re not the most expensive, but neither are we the cheapest!
What kind of message are we sending out to our clients with this approach?
We’re showing absolutely no differentiation from any other company – just sticking ourselves straight down the line. In other words, we compete with everyone! Not a very prudent marketing decision.
So pricing simply using an hourly rate that sits in the middle of the spectrum is, in my view, a wasted opportunity to create a point of difference with your offering. Let’s think more broadly for a minute about what we are actually offering to your clients: Regardless of what our specific offering is, we all offer some combination of:
Quality, Price and Service
QUALITY
Quality has become an expectation - the minimum you need to be in the game. It is similar to a high school degree - no one cares if you have one, but watch out if you do not. Quality is no longer an effective differentiator. So if you are going on about the exceptional quality of your service in your promotional material and sales pitch, just realize that in your customers eyes, you are not differentiating yourself in any way.
After all, no sane company is going to advertise the fact that the work they do is of average or low quality. It’s all high, isn’t it?
PRICE
There is absolutely nothing positive about competing on price, unless you specifically position yourself as a low-cost provider. Certainly, there is a market for the discount provider, but I believe this only works if you have a very high volume of transactions. As a service provider, the only sensible route is to obtain premium prices for your services.
No matter what you charge, there is always someone, somewhere, willing to perform the work you do for less money. Customers are value conscious, not price conscious. They look to do business with people they feel give them more than they are paying for. So the goal for the service provider is to make sure the customer perceives the full value of the service, not simply the price component.
Its accepted fact that many customers will equate high price with high value - especially when there is very little else to judge your value on.
Wise consultants know that if they price their services at the low end of the market, customers do not take their advice seriously. On the other hand, if you charge rates on the upper end of the spectrum, the customer will hang on every word you say and has a higher probability of implementing your suggestions. This of course has a proviso that you are offering a great service, rather than a mediocre one.
Sometimes the biggest hurdle to get over when considering charging premium pricing is our own attitude. Do any of these sound familiar?
‘I can’t charge those prices – my customers will all walk away!’ ‘My service isn’t worth that much’
As long as you stay in that mindset, you’ll never make the transition to high end pricing. You must truly believe the value of what you offer - after all if you don’t, why should your customers? More on this below in a discussion about articulating the value of what you do.
If you are selling good advice, and your customers listen carefully and implement it - they will be more successful and thus will value you that much more. It is a cycle that spirals upward: The more you charge, the more people follow your suggestions, the more profitable they become, the more valuable you are to them. This is a vicious circle that you definitely want to be part of.
SERVICE
The third component of your offering is service. In today's world, service is the ultimate differentiator and separates successful companies from mediocre companies. People will pay a premium for excellent service, and want to do business with companies who provide it. They want to build up personal relationships, know that their needs are understood, and do business with people who demonstrate integrity and value long term associations.
Successful businesses are in the relationship building game, and everything they do is aimed at strengthening connections and affiliations with potential and existing clients. This is where each of us can be different. No one can imitate our personal style and success at building and maintaining relationships.
In the long run, excellent service providers will prevail over mediocre "competitors."
Getting Away from the Hourly Rate Mentality
Before you do business with a new customer, you hold all the leverage in the relationship. After the services have been performed, the customer possesses the leverage. The lesson is that you want to set all of your prices when you possess the leverage - that is, before the engagement begins. This requires quoting fixed prices and removing yourself from the Almighty Hour mentality.
The minute you quote an hourly rate, you put a fixed limit on your earning potential. It’s hard to increase an hourly rate once it has been set. The most successful service providers charge for the job as a whole, and don’t reveal how many hours it will take to complete the job.
One of my clients - a management consultant – bemoaned the fact that he always underestimated the hours required to compl
Workflow is a tool that is used to maximize the efficacy of any process. It ensures this by giving the right task to the correct person. Implementing a workflow in any business process incorporates remodeling of the entire process and then automating it. Workflow tools are an assortment of tools that manage information as a workflow. These workflow tools are typically web-based designs that are generally created on HTML form, SQL dumps or on a XML map.It is possible to improve the workflow by incorporating tools such as business process management basics and six sigma basics to it. This involves mapping the entire process from the beginning to the end. This is implemented by utilization of both people and automated applications and granting them specific responsibilities for every step. It also manages the functioning of the process through a continuous run of information and associated actions. It analyzes various performances through findings.is, in my view, a wasted opportunity to create a point of difference with your offering. Let’s think more broadly for a minute about what we are actually offering to your clients: Regardless of what our specific offering is, we all offer some combination of:
Quality, Price and Service
QUALITY
Quality has become an expectation - the minimum you need to be in the game. It is similar to a high school degree - no one cares if you have one, but watch out if you do not. Quality is no longer an effective differentiator. So if you are going on about the exceptional quality of your service in your promotional material and sales pitch, just realize that in your customers eyes, you are not differentiating yourself in any way.
After all, no sane company is going to advertise the fact that the work they do is of average or low quality. It’s all high, isn’t it?
PRICE
There is absolutely nothing positive about competing on price, unless you specifically position yourself as a low-cost provider. Certainly, there is a market for the discount provider, but I believe this only works if you have a very high volume of transactions. As a service provider, the only sensible route is to obtain premium prices for your services.
No matter what you charge, there is always someone, somewhere, willing to perform the work you do for less money. Customers are value conscious, not price conscious. They look to do business with people they feel give them more than they are paying for. So the goal for the service provider is to make sure the customer perceives the full value of the service, not simply the price component.
Its accepted fact that many customers will equate high price with high value - especially when there is very little else to judge your value on.
Wise consultants know that if they price their services at the low end of the market, customers do not take their advice seriously. On the other hand, if you charge rates on the upper end of the spectrum, the customer will hang on every word you say and has a higher probability of implementing your suggestions. This of course has a proviso that you are offering a great service, rather than a mediocre one.
Sometimes the biggest hurdle to get over when considering charging premium pricing is our own attitude. Do any of these sound familiar?
‘I can’t charge those prices – my customers will all walk away!’ ‘My service isn’t worth that much’
As long as you stay in that mindset, you’ll never make the transition to high end pricing. You must truly believe the value of what you offer - after all if you don’t, why should your customers? More on this below in a discussion about articulating the value of what you do.
If you are selling good advice, and your customers listen carefully and implement it - they will be more successful and thus will value you that much more. It is a cycle that spirals upward: The more you charge, the more people follow your suggestions, the more profitable they become, the more valuable you are to them. This is a vicious circle that you definitely want to be part of.
SERVICE
The third component of your offering is service. In today's world, service is the ultimate differentiator and separates successful companies from mediocre companies. People will pay a premium for excellent service, and want to do business with companies who provide it. They want to build up personal relationships, know that their needs are understood, and do business with people who demonstrate integrity and value long term associations.
Successful businesses are in the relationship building game, and everything they do is aimed at strengthening connections and affiliations with potential and existing clients. This is where each of us can be different. No one can imitate our personal style and success at building and maintaining relationships.
In the long run, excellent service providers will prevail over mediocre "competitors."
Getting Away from the Hourly Rate Mentality
Before you do business with a new customer, you hold all the leverage in the relationship. After the services have been performed, the customer possesses the leverage. The lesson is that you want to set all of your prices when you possess the leverage - that is, before the engagement begins. This requires quoting fixed prices and removing yourself from the Almighty Hour mentality.
The minute you quote an hourly rate, you put a fixed limit on your earning potential. It’s hard to increase an hourly rate once it has been set. The most successful service providers charge for the job as a whole, and don’t reveal how many hours it will take to complete the job.
One of my clients - a management consultant – bemoaned the fact that he always underestimated the hours required to comp
Human Resource (HR) management is the process of managing people and includes hiring, developing, assigning, motivating, and retaining employees to achieve organizational objectives. The contributions of HR management will vary depending upon the organization's size, objectives, functions, construction pattern, complexity, nature of production, and employers. In large organizations, the human resource management also acts as a strategic business partner to meet challenging business needs.Globalization, corporate strategies, labor market changes, etc. led to the emergence of HR management. The main functions of human resource management are manpower planning; recruitment and selection of employees; employee motivation; employee evaluation and selection; industrial relations; employee services; and employee training, development, and education. Their functions will also include managing culture, facilitating change, strategic decision making, and
No matter what you charge, there is always someone, somewhere, willing to perform the work you do for less money. Customers are value conscious, not price conscious. They look to do business with people they feel give them more than they are paying for. So the goal for the service provider is to make sure the customer perceives the full value of the service, not simply the price component.
Its accepted fact that many customers will equate high price with high value - especially when there is very little else to judge your value on.
Wise consultants know that if they price their services at the low end of the market, customers do not take their advice seriously. On the other hand, if you charge rates on the upper end of the spectrum, the customer will hang on every word you say and has a higher probability of implementing your suggestions. This of course has a proviso that you are offering a great service, rather than a mediocre one.
Sometimes the biggest hurdle to get over when considering charging premium pricing is our own attitude. Do any of these sound familiar?
‘I can’t charge those prices – my customers will all walk away!’ ‘My service isn’t worth that much’
As long as you stay in that mindset, you’ll never make the transition to high end pricing. You must truly believe the value of what you offer - after all if you don’t, why should your customers? More on this below in a discussion about articulating the value of what you do.
If you are selling good advice, and your customers listen carefully and implement it - they will be more successful and thus will value you that much more. It is a cycle that spirals upward: The more you charge, the more people follow your suggestions, the more profitable they become, the more valuable you are to them. This is a vicious circle that you definitely want to be part of.
SERVICE
The third component of your offering is service. In today's world, service is the ultimate differentiator and separates successful companies from mediocre companies. People will pay a premium for excellent service, and want to do business with companies who provide it. They want to build up personal relationships, know that their needs are understood, and do business with people who demonstrate integrity and value long term associations.
Successful businesses are in the relationship building game, and everything they do is aimed at strengthening connections and affiliations with potential and existing clients. This is where each of us can be different. No one can imitate our personal style and success at building and maintaining relationships.
In the long run, excellent service providers will prevail over mediocre "competitors."
Getting Away from the Hourly Rate Mentality
Before you do business with a new customer, you hold all the leverage in the relationship. After the services have been performed, the customer possesses the leverage. The lesson is that you want to set all of your prices when you possess the leverage - that is, before the engagement begins. This requires quoting fixed prices and removing yourself from the Almighty Hour mentality.
The minute you quote an hourly rate, you put a fixed limit on your earning potential. It’s hard to increase an hourly rate once it has been set. The most successful service providers charge for the job as a whole, and don’t reveal how many hours it will take to complete the job.
One of my clients - a management consultant – bemoaned the fact that he always underestimated the hours required to comp
Benefits! They're what marketing is all about. No doubt you've heard the mantra over and over: "Benefits, not features.. Benefits, not features."So how do you tell the difference, anyway? And how do you choose which ones will get your prospect's heart pumping?First, let's set the parameters: A feature is a raw fact about your product or service. You're open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Your widget slices, dices, and then folds flat. Your cleaning service uses Chemical X to clean carpets.A benefit, on the other hand, is the specific advantage of your product or service. It stirs the emotional desire within your prospect, and connects him with what you are selling. It tells him What's In It For Me.Your convenient hours make after-work shopping a breeze. Your widget makes dinner prep simple and saves counter space. Chemical X leaves carpets sanitary enough for babies to crawl on.Every feature provides at least one benefit, often s
As long as you stay in that mindset, you’ll never make the transition to high end pricing. You must truly believe the value of what you offer - after all if you don’t, why should your customers? More on this below in a discussion about articulating the value of what you do.
If you are selling good advice, and your customers listen carefully and implement it - they will be more successful and thus will value you that much more. It is a cycle that spirals upward: The more you charge, the more people follow your suggestions, the more profitable they become, the more valuable you are to them. This is a vicious circle that you definitely want to be part of.
SERVICE
The third component of your offering is service. In today's world, service is the ultimate differentiator and separates successful companies from mediocre companies. People will pay a premium for excellent service, and want to do business with companies who provide it. They want to build up personal relationships, know that their needs are understood, and do business with people who demonstrate integrity and value long term associations.
Successful businesses are in the relationship building game, and everything they do is aimed at strengthening connections and affiliations with potential and existing clients. This is where each of us can be different. No one can imitate our personal style and success at building and maintaining relationships.
In the long run, excellent service providers will prevail over mediocre "competitors."
Getting Away from the Hourly Rate Mentality
Before you do business with a new customer, you hold all the leverage in the relationship. After the services have been performed, the customer possesses the leverage. The lesson is that you want to set all of your prices when you possess the leverage - that is, before the engagement begins. This requires quoting fixed prices and removing yourself from the Almighty Hour mentality.
The minute you quote an hourly rate, you put a fixed limit on your earning potential. It’s hard to increase an hourly rate once it has been set. The most successful service providers charge for the job as a whole, and don’t reveal how many hours it will take to complete the job.
One of my clients - a management consultant – bemoaned the fact that he always underestimated the hours required to comp
Robotic welding has come of age in the past few years. In advances in computer technology and robotics, simple, repetitive tasks in manufacturing are often performed by robotic welding devices, with a resulting savings in labor and an improvement in safety, since there is less human interaction and less chance for human error.Trade shows and conventions for the fabrication industry and welding trades often feature robotic welding devices these days. Demonstrations at the trade shows give examples of robotic welding machines doing graceful and complex maneuvers, demonstrating speed and flexibility possible with robots today that were not possible a generation ago.Industrial robots are used in welding, painting, ironing, assembly, palletizing, pick and place, inspection, and testing of products. Robots have proven themselves to be valuable resources in manufacturing applications in all of these areas.Any welding task is suitable for
In the long run, excellent service providers will prevail over mediocre "competitors."
Getting Away from the Hourly Rate Mentality
Before you do business with a new customer, you hold all the leverage in the relationship. After the services have been performed, the customer possesses the leverage. The lesson is that you want to set all of your prices when you possess the leverage - that is, before the engagement begins. This requires quoting fixed prices and removing yourself from the Almighty Hour mentality.
The minute you quote an hourly rate, you put a fixed limit on your earning potential. It’s hard to increase an hourly rate once it has been set. The most successful service providers charge for the job as a whole, and don’t reveal how many hours it will take to complete the job.
One of my clients - a management consultant – bemoaned the fact that he always underestimated the hours required to complete a job, even when he added in extra time. When all the extra hours were added in, his hourly rate worked out to less than $50 per hour. At my suggestion, he began quoting prices by the job. After three months he conceded that on average, he was able to charge more for the whole job than when he quoted by the hour. His customers – it seems – perceived greater value when he outlined what the job consisted of, than when he simply quoted an hourly rate for his time.
Price Resistance
If you are in business, at some stage you will encounter resistance to the price you are charging. Your best option here is to help the customer understand the full value of your service, and the value or benefit they will get by implementing it. If you cannot conquer price resistance through educating the customer, then I would seriously suggest you not take the engagement.
Never decrease your price to get business from a customer suffering from price resistance. That cheats your best customers - those who value what you provide - and subsidizes your worst customers - those drawn to you by price considerations alone. Those will be the first customers to defect once they find - and they will - a service provider willing to do the work for less. You do not want to work for people who do not understand, or refuse to pay for, the value you provide.
Stay true and stick to your guns.
In today’s world it is no longer relevant to talk in terms of hourly rates when positioning the price of your services. It’s all about value you provide, and the perception of value in your customers’
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