In this series about hourly rates and pricing for your freelance or small business services, we’ve looked at:   9 Reasons to Stop Charging Hourly Rates 4 Reasons Why Hourly Rates are Bad for Clients Too Charge What You Deserve–Project Fees & Flat Fees Packaging Your Services Should You Be Paid for Performance?   But [...]

There are two final alternative to charging hourly rates–performance pay and retainers. Like the name implies, performance pay means a good chunk of your income is based on the results you achieve–whether it’s called a commission, royalty or some other name. In theory, it’s a great idea—the more the client benefits from your work, the [...]

Packages take the flat fee idea a little further and up the perceived value by combining your service with other relevant services and/or products–usually for a bit of a discount. Packages also allow you to give prospects several options to choose from instead of just one–which means they’re much more likely to buy because you’ve [...]

Previously, we talked about the pitfalls of hourly rates for freelancers and self-employed professionals and why your clients should hate hourly rates as well.  Now let’s talk about a popular alternative…the flat fee or project fee. But first, I want you to think about this…If you buy a home in a new development, is the [...]

Last time, we talked about the 9 Reasons to Stop Charging Hourly Rates. But those only focused on why hourly rates are bad for YOU. Before I get into the alternatives, it’s important to consider how hourly rates are bad for your clients as well. Because for them, hourly rates mean… Surprise larger-than-expected bills. Even [...]

When’s the last time you walked into your dentist’s or accountant’s office and said, “I want to buy some hours”? I’d bet some pretty good money that it was never. Instead, you ask to have a painful tooth checked or your taxes done. That’s because people don’t buy hours…they buy solutions. Hours are an expense…solutions [...]

Did you ever have a crush on someone back in school and no matter what you did (or talked your friends into doing for you!) the object of your affections didn’t seem to even know you were alive? So one day, when you were really down in the dumps and moping about it, you broke [...]

People often use dating analogies when they’re talking about getting clients and when you think about it, a ton of similarities exist. So here are some marketing lessons from an online dating site… 1. Whether it’s an online profile or your website, visitors usually don’t know a single thing about you–and they’re pretty skeptical. After [...]

Zeroing in on events that prompt prospects to realize it’s time for a new solution (aka “trigger events”) are a great way to find new prospects because it focuses your efforts on a market of ready or nearly ready buyers. Whether you love or hate him, the election of President Bill Clinton was a HUGE [...]