Don’t hold your breath, but I think I finished the massive project du jour yesterday. I’ll go over it once more today, but I’ve reviewed it four times now, applied Styles, created my TOC, and otherwise prepared it for PDF and delivery. Amen. But now…. nothing today. That’s fine because after that, I need a break. A short break. Never can I get comfortable with a long rest – that’s time not being paid.
Which brings me to something another writer and I were discussing in email – consulting fees. Do you charge for consulting? How and when would you? As we talked, I realized my own policy of giving free consultations may need some updating. I have charged for a consultation only once. I now see that as a mistake. Here’s why.
Too many times clients will ask for the free consultation and nothing comes of it. That’s fine if you’ve not driven to meet the client or put research into their particular product or industry. However, that’s pretty rare. As I mentioned to the other writer, I’ve not had many onsite meetings (one a year at best), but that’s no excuse. I should be working smarter.
Here’s my game plan for all future consultations:
Free if you buy. I’m all for spotting a client a free hour if they’re hiring. But I think they need to understand upfront that my fee is $XXX and I’ll waive that if they hire me. Otherwise, I’ll deliver the invoice either that day or that week.
Research and driving are part of the consultation fee. I had a potential client meeting a few years ago that soured me. I’d been referred by this client’s colleague. I did a week’s worth of research and outlining for what I understood their project to be. Five minutes in it was clear the client didn’t want a writer, but an actuary to teach the writing course. All that time spent researching and outlining? Gone.
One hour free; the rest is billed hourly. A free consultation shouldn’t be a free-for-all. I have met with clients whom I expected to have one hour with. Two to three hours later, I’m making my excuses and racing back home to a pile of deadlines. And not getting the gig. No more.
Do you charge for consultations? What’s your practice?
7 responses to “The Consulting Fee”
Great minds, Lori. I've been saying I was going to do this (talking to myself again-ha!), but have seldom done it.The only time I quoted a consulting fee, the client dropped the request. It was the "can you look at this & give me your opinion" request. As soon as I said, "Sure, and here is my consulting fee," – end of discussion.
Steve Slaunwhite has recommended it and every time I see the suggestion again in a newsletter, I say, "Yeah, I know. I should."
It's on my plan to revise and update my fees and my plan is to add consulting fees. I work on a project fee basis and write what's included in the scope. It would be no big deal to add a fee for consultation.
What I like about the idea is it gives a value to your time. Even if you choose to waive it, like your idea of "free if you buy," it still establishes a value.
I look forward to hearing how others handle consulting fees.
Cathy, the only reason I offered freebies was to get the foot in the door. But in retrospect, I think those who would jump at a freebie aren't necessarily looking to pay a fair price. It's like a light bulb went on over my head yesterday.
I talked with an interior designer once who said she started charging for consultations when it was apparent her clients were taking her presentation ideas and doing the work themselves. She said the clear remedy for her was the fee. That way she's not wasted time no matter what the outcome. I'd bet she got more serious inquiries after that, too.
Currently, I only do consulting with one client. I drive to their site for these meetings. I get paid hourly for the consultation, which is generally 2-3 hours. Also, I get paid mileage and the drive time to get there and back. They supply coffee and snacks and will have pizza delivered if it's around lunch time, so essentially they pay for my food. I don't ask them to, they just do it. It wouldn't be worth it if I gave them any of that consulting time for free.
In the past, I've given some free consulting if you count a small question or two that doesn't take much to answer. Beyond that, I don't really have much of a practice for consulting. I guess it would vary with most clients.
Every now and then someone will track me down, call or e-mail saying they want to discuss a project. (Most want me to call them, long distance. They might have free long distance, but I don't.) It doesn't take long to realize when they're picking your brain. I usually find a reason to cut the calls short and rue the time I wasted talking to them. Next time, I'll reply by stating a consultation fee – and include the bit about it being waived if I get the job. More incentive for them to hire me.
Slightly OT, last night I needed something to watch while knitting, and tuned into the season premiere of Parenthood. I don't watch it regularly, since I have trouble empathizing with the overly dramatic family's typically self-manufactured problems. (That said, the kid who plays the autistic son, Max, is really good.)
Anyway….the ne'er do well daughter off-handedly made a suggestion to her brother for something that could give the shoe company he works for a competitive edge. In a pinch, the brother pitched the idea to his boss, who loved it and told him to develop it. The sister mentioned the idea to someone else, who said he'd buy a dozen if they hit the market. When their overbearing father heard that she wasn't getting credit for the idea and wouldn't be involved with the project, he lectured her and closed with something along the lines of, "If you undervalue your own ideas, everyone else will, too."
The dad is a jerk, so hearing him say something that made sense really stuck. For a second there I thought Lori was consulting on that script, LOL.
Oh I like that… waive the fee entirely if they hire me. Otherwise, here's the bill. Seems clean and fair. I'll keep that in mind.
Enjoy your break, Lori.
I like the idea of charging for the initial consultation unless they hire you–then it's free.
I try to avoid consultations as much as possible. After all, that's why I quit the PR consulting work to write full-time. I'll give a free consultation up front, but I don't advertise that fact. It's all a part of selling my services anyway. But if the questions start piling up or they're constantly emailing me, it's a $150 per hour fee for telephone conversations (or for 3 detailed email responses). I find that rather than making a lot of extra consulting, suddenly those clients become much more self-reliant, and we all get back to the work we're supposed to be doing. For simple questions here and there, I don't bother billing however. It's more for those needy client types.