You're Not Charging Enough For Your Services.

The other day, I came across an old contract when I worked at <confidential> from a famous consultancy called <confidential> in NYC. The contract was signed prior to my employment and after 2 months, I fired the consultancy based on their incompetence with the project. I was amazed with the short and cavalier agreement and the associated fees for each service:

• Project Management: $39,800
• Creative Development: $45,025
• Website Development: $57,350
• Audio Production: $8,550
• Testing & Delivery: $27,350
• On-Site Production: $98,580
• Electronic Mail Campaign & Fulfillment: $5,875
• Recording Studio & Equipment Rental: $15,885

The Grand Total? $298,415 for approximately 2 months work building a simple web site with six hour-long webcasts. Oh by the way, the price doesn't include any changes/additions, overtime, hosting, travel expenses, or technology. That's extra. (I get the feeling they came up with the number and worked the financials back into logical groupings — again just a feeling)

Three-Hundred-Thousand-Dollars. Granted, the agreement was dated 2000, so in today's dollars, we're talking over $400K to build a simple site.

But I present this contract to you to illustrate one simple fact:

MOST PEOPLE DO NOT CHARGE ENOUGH FOR THEIR SERVICES.

Why? You're afraid of losing clients and scaring away any potential prospects.

Guess what? GOOD! You don't need to work with them! It's time for you to fully understand the value of your services and to get a better idea what the market will bear. What would happen if you increased your fees by 50%? 75%? or 100%? I know what would happen . . . it happened to me:

1. You would have less clients. You can then spend more quality time with your current client base.
2. You would have higher paying clients. People who are probably more successful.
3. You would have clients who are serious about working with you. You will be working with people who play better tennis, so you'll have to bring your 'A' game.
4. You would have clients you really want to work with. Charging more allows you to be picky and not just take anyone.
5. You would begin to build a long list of clients who demand your services.

Are there lines around the door when HTC releases a new phone? No. How about Apple? Absolutely. You need to be the Apple of your industry.

At first it's scary. Clients will bolt, they will complain. But new clients will appear and start telling their friends.

As an example, I have a client who was charging some of her clients $100-$125 per session. After much prodding on my part, she is now charging $200 per session, and her clients are telling their friends — and her appointment book is overflowing with new clients. (By the way, she just hit her all-time yearly revenue goal in 2016!)

I also coached another client who was feeling unappreciated in their current role. They have been delivering key improvements to the company for over five years (most making the annual report). But for some reason, they received no raise, promotion, or accolade from management. They tried to inquire, but were rebuffed time and time again. Ultimately, I had them look outside of the company and within a month, they had a brand new position at a bigger firm with an increase in pay of 20%.

Raise your prices with chutzpah and the clients will line up at your door.

P.S. I'm not a hard-liner on this. I do coach two pro-bono clients every month. So there.

The Best Tool To Communicate Effectively With Your Manager.

Everyone has a manager/boss. Even if you are in business on your own, someone is out there plucking the puppet strings of your career. I work with a myriad of people who have incredible success and terrible issues with their manager. Some bosses are insane, some are saints, some are psychotic, and some are surprisingly normal.

One area I find where most people begin to see the cracks appear in their relationship concerns how they communicate with their manager.

Healthy, regular communication will always ameliorate any potential situation, ensure problems are addressed, and steps are taken in a reasonable amount of time.

Things go wrong when people forget two-way communication resembles a tug-of-war with a huge rope. When one side doesn’t communicate and pulls away, the other side needs to fill the void, take up the slack, and increase their communication.

So how do you do it? Here are some simple rules:

1. Regular — schedule it on their calendar; meet with them (face to face) to discuss what’s happening.
2. Short — make it a 10-15 minute meeting; the shorter, the better — focus on the tactical.
3. Stick to business — cover what you’re working on and discuss next steps. Use an update sheet (1 page) to document what is discussed.

Here’s a great email/paper template I offer to my clients (Rule: Only 1 Page):

1. Accomplishments (from last week):

• Accomplishment 1 (keep each bullet point short)
• Accomplishment 2 (keep it less than 5-7 words)
• Accomplishment 3 (easy to scan)

2. Activities for this week:

• Project 1 (projects to be completed this week)
• Project 2
• Project 3

3. Long-Term Projects (in the near future):

• Project – Due Date (must have due dates)
• Project – Due Date
• Project – Due Date

4. Concerns & Issues:

• Issue 1 (talk about obstacles)
• Issue 2 (come with solutions)
• Issue 3

This template allows you to document your progress and ensure there are no crossed expectations about what you do and what your manager wants you to do. In addition, when you have 52 of these sheets in a binder, reviews go so much easier because you have a syllabus of accomplishments to choose from.

If you meet regularly with your manager (say weekly) for 10-15 minutes and use the recommended template, your relationship will strengthen and soar.

I've even suggested this template for attorneys to keep their clients up-to-date on their progress. It actually helps when their retainer runs out and the client asks 'what have you been doing?' — you now have a weekly documented process to bypass these uncomfortable conversations (and ultimately when you discount your fees because they're angry).

What do you use to update your manager/client on your progress?