We've realized that regardless of real value, there are some things people
are willing to pay for and some things people aren't willing to pay for
(and the dividing line can vary a bit among different clients). The trick
seems to be to present the cost in a way that is "highly palatable"
(various products we've purchased for our cats use this phrase!) to the
client. More and more we're back to doing fixed-price bids that say we'll
do x for y (the problem being what the hell is x, of course). These days
our fixed-price bids tend to say more about what we won't do than what we
will do. Some clients ask for a la carte pricing, but we've learned that
then they can get anal about analyzing each item (I have a brother-in-law
who says that the price for this piece is outrageous, why is project
management important to the success of my project, etc.). Other clients
want an hourly estimate with a range of less than 5% between top and bottom
(but to us this is basically the same as fixed-price). Lately, almost every
time we submit a proposal the client comes back and wants us to reduce the
scope of work to fit their budget (the budget that they weren't willing to
tell us about the first time around).
Clients. Can't live with 'em. Can't pay the bills without 'em.
The irony for me is that doing the actual work on a project is usually the
easy part.
--bruce
> Life being what it is, however, people just can't deal with that.
>So I find the best bet is just to front-load my rate and count all of
>those issues as overhead. I'd prefer not to do it it this way, but I
>just don't have the time to convert the rest of the world to my way of
>thinking.
>
> I *will* jack up my rate when negotiating specific situations or
>contracts, depending on such circumstances. I don't always (or even
>usually) explain this to people, although sometimes it's come up
>during negotiations (usually in the form of a reply; they imply I
>should be so eager to take the job that I should accept an offer of a
>lower rate; I casually cite various factors about the job that make me
>not-eager. It's a more polite way of saying "screw you, I want the
>money").
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Hart Consulting http://www.hartcons.com/
Web Design & Engineering Studio Silicon Valley, California
650-967-6162 1-800-749-8032 (fax)
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