Posted on 23, Jul | 
Posted by PaulIn the last two years, I reckon that a lot of buyers have turned business into a Moroccan Market. Every price is challengeable in SME business, it seems.
This is championed by the plethora of ‘free stuff’ which has become overwhelming. With all the shortcuts, does that make everyone capable of being an expert at everything? Therefore, as we’re all experts at everything do we need all these other experts?
Let me offer a few examples. Lawyers claim they’re being undermined and always challenged on price. Who would have thought 10 years ago they could haggle on price with a lawyer? But everyone who needs a lawyer goes to the Internet first, right? (To check for legal framework, precedent, and procedure.) Sure, when they screw up, they’ll hastily go to a lawyer – maybe better informed - but often too late and incur greater expense.
High St Jewellers maintain that 99% of people never challenge the price for a piece of jewellery or a watch. Knowing that, on the rare occasions that I go to jeweller, I always ask if there’s a deal. ‘Bit out of my budget, what can you do?’ It always works.
I know an IT guy who charges £30 an hour. How is that workable? Or where is the perceived value in that? He never charges for one three minute phone call asking for advice.‘Ah, don’t worry about it’, he says. (He saved me three hours of grief trying to sort out a problem.)
Unless there is a special case, eg, there is a definite sprat to catch a mackerel that’s visible now, providing you are competitive, never discount a service offering, in my opinion. If anything, explain more what may be involved around the price – travel time and cost, research, ‘thinking time’, etc. If you have to add a smidge of added value, that’s your call.
Jan Jack, from Perfect Verse, I’m sure she won’t mind me saying, was under-charging, in my opinion. Her customers occasionally grumbled about cost, but she could spend 4-5 hours on research and writing 6-10 unique, bespoke and always sublime verses – touching, witty, risqué, etc to suit. Framed and delivered. But the thinking time could have been days.(Even through the night.) *
When I started my business, I charged one customer £400 for 3 hours of deep dive marketing. Within a week, using the tactics I suggested, he had a new local managed service deal; onsite 24/7 callout account yielding £690 a month. I should’ve charged him 10% of gross over 12 months. Hey ho. Also, he kinda thought the new business was his right – and nothing to do with me, of course!
As a marketing consultant, I dive deep into a new client’s business to understand their product or service. After the ‘drains-up’, the marketing plan and the strategic plan, then comes the clever bit – the creative elements. But very few ever say, ‘wow, well done, that’s brilliant’. And it is! Even if the solution to their problem has been a blinding flash of the obvious. In the UK, even someone delivering great value and profitable marketing can be resented when the invoice needs to paid. In the USA, profitable solutions are sought and welcomed, then applauded and lauded.
TACK, the sales organisation, came out with a cracking report last year that said 71% of buyers are now looking at new suppliers for better deals and year on year savings.*2 Fair enough, perhaps that means that the ‘old pals act’ gives way to new suppliers being able to pitch. Mail me or them for a copy.*2
What value does a solution or a great business idea have? And what’s the best way to bill for it? Profit share? Open-book accounting? Or perhaps we will see the day where a client says, ‘thanks, you’ve really made a difference’.
* http://perfectverse.co.uk/
*2 – paul@ig4b.com