Value-based Billing

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Guru.com and others are asking for billing rates (by hours or days). I want to negotiate value-based billing as a free-agent or with my small consulting firm. When I charge by the day (about $3,300 or more), people try to get by with less time or go to someone else when they need my help.

When I work with a client, we are targeting results that will have a real benefit in terms of bottom-line. I would rather negotiate for a value-based fee--part in payments and part when the results are achieved.

I have also developed state-of-the-art tools and techniques to assist clients to "move beyond current limits to performance and success." This is a new, evolutionary aspect to consulting that many potential clients have not yet experienced or thought about. How do I add that to my value-based billing approach?

At present, the "market" is not geared for value-based billing. Has anyone had experience with that approach? What can I do and how can I influence someone like guru.com to provide an expanded platform where I can work with them for "gig's"?

Joel Montgomery http://www.MetaLearning.com

-- Joel Montgomery (joelmonty@MetaLearning.com), November 28, 2000

Answers

If you can offer value based billing based on value-added that you offer, why can't you go and out and hunt down your own gigs, that way you can bill directly. Setting up a simple billing system isn't rocket science. You can always continue to work with Guru.com with the way they are set up to do business as well.

These are one of those things that if the standard service doesn't offer, there is no reason why you can't make it something that you can create to offer yourself. If at sometime an organization like guru.com see what you see, at least you gave yourself a head start.

That's my 2 cents Joel. Only Guru.com and other services can direclty answer themselves why they don't provide the value-based billing type service you are looking for.

-- Mark Zorro (zorromark@consultant.com), December 01, 2000.


Joel judging by this article, I don't think those services will be ready soon with value-based billing arrangements.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/1999/10/18/focus2.html

-- Mark Zorro (zorromark@consultant.com), December 01, 2000.


Joel -- There is a "Guru" for value based pricing. His name is Ron Baker, and Ron has a book called "The Professionals' Guide to Value Pricing". Ron's mission in life is "To, once and for all, kill the billable hour..."

-- Jeff Noble (JNoble@goodCAs.com), December 04, 2000.

Joel,

Consider approaching a client on your own. Assess the ROI of your services by asking a client, "what will this do for your companies bottom line if we achieve these measurable objectives?" You may be suprised at what figure you here. You may even have the opportunity to share in the success you achieve proportional to the outcome and not the time it takes to achieve it. Likewise, you share the risk in the success or failure of your efforts. This is a great selling point to your prospective client. It doesn't always have to relate to the bottom line in the short term. For example, charged with rebuilding an infrastructure may have wide implications on multiple revenue streams not realized until many other pieces are in place, much later along a strategic plan. The value of creating the infrastruce necessary to reach any future objectives in accordance with that plan, certainly has greater inherent value that is perhaps better measured not in hours, but rather on the value of having the opportunities it will allow an organization to take advantage of and try.

-- Steven Haleo (aecslh2@e-dr.net), March 17, 2001.


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