Value-Based Fees: How to Charge—and Get—What You're Worth: A Guide for Consultants, Second Edition

3.7. PERPETUAL MOTION, PERPETUAL PROGRESS

There is nothing magic or even new about my models. Substitute them for others of your own design if you like. But the point not to be lost is that you must have a conscious model for determining your value to the client, and your models, whatever they are, must start with your own acceptance and buy-in. The first sale is always to yourself.

Most consultants are unaware of their own business model.

Never view the client as a fixed position moving to another fixed position. I'm told that the best airplane pilots are able to immediately visualize movements in three dimensions, since an airplane, even when taking off, is not moving merely forward or up but in several directions at once whenever airborne. Similarly, a client doesn't merely move from position A to position B but rather moves dynamically, somewhat to the left or right, a little up or down. Client success is a moving target, which should always be a goal, not a destination.

Therefore, our ability to influence the client's future is an ongoing need and a continual value. If we're really good, the collaboration isn't just about reaching point B; it's about continually describing and preparing for new futures and the requisite journeys.

And as you accompany the client on that journey, you are constantly learning and increasing the fuel in the first column, enabling the third column to continually be enriched. That's right, the very work you do with a client should make you more ...