Change the scope not your price

This one goes out to all those of you providing services or consulting.

Is this too much?

One of the main reasons that the majority of small companies fail to grow is that the owner is afraid of not winning business and underprices for work compared to the market. This leaves them as a contractor rather than a consultant or service provider, and they never have the time or cash flow to take on more people.

One of the key principles is that your hourly or daily rate doesn’t change.

Clients are often new to using consulting services and they often don’t know exactly what it is they want.

With experience you will be able to tell what it is that the client needs as opposed to what they are saying they want, however, you need to provide a scope that matches what they are asking for.

By offering what your client is asking for there is a good chance that the price will be too high. This is where things can get tricky.

Now you need to make you client understand that there is a trade-off between scope and price. Offer them less service or a more focussed scope. Keep the focus on the total cost rather than the unit cost.

There is always a risk that the client won’t even come back to you after the initial offer – and we have all been on the receiving end of this frustrating situation. This situation can be rescued if you ring up and indicate you are willing to talk about the scope.