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When you're asked about rates...
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When you're asked about rates and that with that (and your rates "being competitive") you'll move to the top of the line when procuring your expertise, you can reply something like this: "Thanks for asking about rates. We don't work with predefined rate cards, as all you could get is an estimate based on assumed calculations of the rate, times X, Y, or Z. And you know estimates are just that, they could go up or down (they almost always go up). We do work, however, with fixed prices, as our pricing is tailored to the specifics of each engagement. This will give you total certainty of your level of investment, while protecting and improving your financials and forecasts. If this feels like it would be a good fit for you, feel free to reply and we could set a call to better understand what you're after and how we could be of help." Give it a try. :) |
Rod Aparicio
Get one tip, question, or belief-challenge that just might change the way you market, to help your customers buy. A *daily* email for b2b founders on improving your business —without the bullshit.
"From a cost center to a profit center" What a nonsense. That implies that your profit is based on your costs control. That, magically, when you know your costs (or audit or improve them or whatever), you'll turn into profit. It implies that costs is the basis for profit per default. It also implies that to get to that profit, you need to be the most cost efficient and cost effective. That you rip off anything that is a cost. It implies that you follow best-practices. Bull.Shit. That also...
Getting too close to what the rules/views/templates/best-practices are can make you miss important details. Paper can hold anything. Reality doesn’t.
In a negotiation, the first thing you need to be comfortable with is zero. As in No Money, can't pay, won't pay, don't see the point on it. Having that figure clear in your head is the thing that will let you move forward. Right now, you have zero. If the deal doesn't happen, you'll still have zero. You didn't lose something that you didn't have in the first place. Zero means you're also free. You can say no when it's not a fit, when it doesn't make sense to you, or when you feel like it....