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

8.5. USING "SMACK TO THE HEAD" COMPARISONS

There are times when the client will balk at a fee, even when you know darn well that the fee is entirely reasonable and the good deal is terrific. You'll also be certain that the buyer can afford it, and the reluctance will sometimes start to get on your nerves. This often happens after a proposal has been presented and you believed that all such contingencies were long since dealt with.

You'll be very frustrated. So the answer is to get a metaphorical large board and smack the buyer upside the head. Here's how you do that. Find comparisons that will embarrass the buyer into giving up his or her resistance. Some buyers are simply maneuvering for a deal; some have an ego that won't be sated until they get a concession; some are transferring other issues in their life (a fight with a spouse, a lost promotion) to you. No matter. Whatever the cause, don't fall for it. Fight back.

I've found the best comparisons to be the following, but any imaginative consultant can easily add to my list (in fact, it's fun to do so):

• Point out that the client is spending more on copy machine warranties and repair than the total cost of your proposal.

• Demonstrate that spillage and ruined product cost ten times the proposal's most expensive option.

• Ask what one lost customer a week is costing.

• Ask what the cost of a very bad hire is.

• Cite the cost of each talented employee who leaves the organization (including replacement, lost business, training, succession ...