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

4.4. THE INCREDIBLY POWERFUL "CHOICE OF YESES"

No client should ever have to make a "go or no-go" decision, yet that is exactly the narrow box that most consultants force on their buyers.

The psychological shift from "Should I use Alan?" to "How should I use Alan?" is enormous. The buyer, in the latter instance, actually enters into a collaboration with you to determine how best to apply your talents and use your contribution. The former, a binary choice, is a sales proposition; the latter, a pluralistic choice, is a partnership proposition.

NOTE

By simply providing options, you move the sale to an assumptive close and the fees to a "migratory range" that is ever upward. Every buyer wants to lower fees, but not one wants to lower value.

Another powerful effect of options is that they relentlessly drive fees upward. When confronted with three options, each one promising higher value for the client, the buyer will tend to move at least to the second and often to the third. This can't happen with a "take it or leave it" proposal. Buyers may seek to lower fees, but they also seek to maximize value.

Here is a brief example of options used in a project involving gathering employee feedback on desirable benefits to retain talent.

Option 1:

We will conduct focus groups throughout the company, representing about 15 percent of the population. The value of these includes "self-sanctioning" groups, which will separate a "one-off" opinion from the prevailing opinions and also allow for follow-up ...