I’m experimenting – again! Truly, it’s the most fun part of being in business for myself.
This time I’m stopping the clock (no pun intended). I’m offering branding services according to results and not time.
Is it scary to think I might work longer for a lower rate? Sure. It’s easy to underestimate the effort a project will require, especially when initially offering a service. But every project teaches me so much, making it easy to tweak and improve my offers and my rates.
Is it a relief to quit watching the clock and focus intently on the client? Totally. It has opened my creative juices in ways I never imagined. My attention is completely on serving and building trust so that valuable results can flow.
But the best part?
If people aren’t hiring me for my time, then what are they buying?
Outcomes.
And that’s a win-win. I get the huge satisfaction of knowing that I am providing something that makes a measurable difference and my clients are thrilled that they have clear takeaways.
Will I still offer an hourly rate? Sure. Sometimes a consultation session is just what the client needs. In those situations I’m very mindful of what the desired outcomes are and how we are working together to achieve them, even when time is constrained.
It’s a kick to discover other clock-busting service entrepreneurs who are offering results-based pricing. One of my favorites is Rebecca Prien, Counsel to Creativity. She is an artist and an attorney who provides non-scary legal services to creatives. Her pricing model includes packages of legal services for which one can pay over time. It feels like legal layaway but I’m old enough to remember when layaway meant you got the goodies without the debt. How wonderfully Old School! I just hired Rebecca and am thrilled that we will be working together.
If you’re wildly uncomfortable with results-based pricing for your business, why? Are you struggling to define the outcomes? Are you afraid you’ll price it too low? There’s a compelling reverse-engineering opportunity here. If you can clearly define the outcome, it’s remarkably easy to assess the value.
If you’re not in the outcome business, what business are you in?
I’d love to hear other examples of clock-busting entrepreneurs in the comments. I’m very interested in collecting examples of models that are working to the benefit of the provider and the client. Thanks!
image credit: sandra_marek
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You are cutting-edge as always, Ms. Foley! What a great idea; it sounds like a win-win for both you and your clients. AND it sounds you’re giving a great big vote of confidence to your essential self, your work and creativity, and what you have to offer — which is awesome, and can’t help but translate into top-tier outcomes for your clients.
I can’t think of any other entrepreneurs who charge this way, but there is something that Tom Buford once said that I will always remember: What would a client rather pay for, one hour of work that makes a huge difference, or twenty hours of work for the same result and same price? Clients aren’t interested in how many hours you work for them, just in what results they are going to see. And if they can get that result more quickly, it’s actually a BONUS, for which they would probably be willing to pay more!
Keep us posted on how it goes!