Our key beliefs when it comes to pricing for our services are:
- Quality comes at a price – something can always be made or provided cheaper but invariably comes at a more expensive long term cost.
- Pricing needs to be sufficiently profitable - we need to ensure we can maintain the flexibility to be proactive and reactive to our clients’ needs, have the time and ability to invest and innovate in our business for the long term benefit of our clients.
- Our fees should be transparent - all our clients know and understand before they commit to any work what it will cost, what they will get and what it will mean to them so that they can ensure they feel it is fair value for money.
- Value for money – every client is unique in terms of their circumstances, goals, plans and the level of service that they need and want. Our pricing policy needs to be flexible enough to ensure everyone feels it is fair value for money and they are not cross subsidising others.
Because of the variety of factors involved in establishing the cost of the advice and the services we offer and even more so the depth and breadth of the value we can offer it is hard to simplify this within a page or two. That is not to be deliberately obscure but ultimately to be as fair as we can be to us and our clients for the long term nature and benefit of our relationship.
We really want to help so let us see what value we can add and then we can agree a fair price. Any fees need to be weighed against the implications of maintaining a business model that is not firing on all cylinders, maybe travelling in the wrong direction with the cumulative cost of delaying taking action or the consequences of a trial and error approach.
Catch 22 – when to engage a Consultant?
You may be in a position where you ask “My business is hitting its targets, why do I need to pay a consultant to tell me I’m doing well?”
There is a saying "Mend the roof while the sun is shining":
- Re-investment of a small percentage of your surplus cash-flow now means you will have the best chance of finding out whether your success is sustainable and profitable
- This means avoiding mistaken assumptions about the causes of your current success and making sure you are able to retain and repeat the activities and processes which led to your performance
- When things are going well, this is the time to forge ahead and put clear daylight between you and the competition. The larger the gap, the more creative you can become and the harder it is for the competition to catch up.
Success breeds confidence, energy and a “can-do” attitude, which all contribute to your ability to absorb and act upon expert advice designed to ensure you can avoid any bumps or pot-holes in the road ahead and capitalize on market opportunities.
The flip side of the coin maybe that you are saying: “My business is missing its targets, I cannot afford the luxury of a Consultant to tell me what I am doing wrong?"
- When tough times strike, business owners instinctively try to repair problems they either didn’t see coming or didn’t dedicate time to fix in the good times whilst they made hay
- This often means a series of trial and error short term “fixes” are attempted, none of which create confidence that things will really improve. Invariably they are treating the symptoms rather than the causes
Working with an objective, but passionately interested and enthusiastic expert sooner rather than later can prevent a short term crisis developing into a permanent and accelerating downward spiral
In either event, it is worthwhile investing in a third party perspective
Can you afford not to have a 12th Man supporting you and your business?