Clever Counsel #16 - Rethink Your Fees
I want to talk about how you can scale down your project fees without reducing your income.
This week’s counsel was inspired by a conversation with my dear friend Jason Anthoine, who is far wiser than I’ll ever be. Go follow him on LinkedIn.
Jason and I were talking about a predicament many senior consultants are in at the moment. Clients still need us desperately (arguably more than ever), but given the market uncertainty many leaders are gun-shy about plunking down the project fees we’re accustomed to commanding.
Many clients seem to have a financial threshold in mind at the moment - an amount of money they’re willing to spend to get what they absolutely need - but there’s significant resistance to step over that mark. Jason estimated that safe threshold to be around $3000 USD, give or take. And I think he’s spot-on.
This got me thinking about the many different ways I’ve approached project pricing over the years.
As a consultant, I was always known for internal communications assessments. That was my specialty, and my passion. I've led an internal assessment for $360,000. I've led an internal assessment for $10,000. Plus many different points in between. All of these assessments delivered value - but they differed tremendously in scale.
If I were competing for consulting clients in today’s market, I’d put together a version of my assessment for $3,000. Something I could do faster and more efficiently (think coaching, DIY step-by-step guides and templates vs a done-for-you solution).
Would it look different from other assessments I’ve done? Absolutely. Would it take up far less of my time and energy? You betcha. Would it provide value for the client? 100%.
If you’re struggling to pull in the same big-ticket project fees you used to, ask yourself...
Are you thinking about scaling your go-to projects to fit the current market?
Have you created tiered versions of your specialized services to fit different budgets?
What would it look like to plan and execute one of your most valuable offerings for just $3,000?
This is a moment to shape your offerings to the market. Not to complain that clients aren't paying what you deserve.
Just because you were able to get $30,000 for a project two years ago doesn’t mean you’ll be able to get the same today. You may have to do 10 streamlined version of that project for $3,000 a pop.
This requires getting scrappy - thinking, acting and selling differently to find a way to make it work.
Moving faster, and spreading your message farther.
Going after volume, putting more irons in the fire and increasing your top of funnel marketing strategies.
It’s a different approach for a different time.
But ten $3,000 projects is still $30,000.
