Tweet

FIVE STEPS TO GETTING THE FEES YOU KNOW YOU DESERVE

Written by: Mike Schultz

Article Overview: By John Doerr One of the most common laments I hear from service business executives goes like this: "Our services are becoming a commodity. Everyone is out there saying they can do the same thing we do, pushing fees further and further down. Prospects are just buying on price." Unfortunately as service providers, there are aspects of what we provide that have become commodities. Price competition is rampant. However, if you follow these five steps to provide value before, during, and after the sales process, you will get the fees you know you deserve.

FIVE STEPS TO GETTING THE FEES YOU KNOW YOU DESERVE

By John Doerr

One of the most common laments I hear from service business executives goes like this:

"Our services are becoming a commodity. Everyone is out there saying they can do the same thing we do, pushing fees further and further down. Prospects are just buying on price."

Unfortunately as service providers, there are aspects of what we provide that have become commodities. Price competition is rampant.

However, if you follow these five steps to provide value before, during, and after the sales process, you will get the fees you know you deserve.

Step One: Concentrate on Your Value

In his book The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman discusses how even such services as tax preparation and writing of legal briefs are being outsourced to India, China, and even Russia.

1) To survive and 2) to get higher fees, forward thinking accounting, law, consulting, and technology services firms need to concentrate on delivering value in the services that cannot be outsourced. These are services such as business analysis, business counseling, and visionary ways of delivering services - services that require a deep relationship and trusted advisor role.

Concentrate on the value your services provide beyond tax preparation, writing legal briefs, and writing code. Delivering these services that cannot easily be outsourced to someone 5,000 miles away will separate you from the crowd and will allow you to receive higher fees because you are offering something different and more valuable.

Step Two: Know and Validate Your Value

I recently attended a roundtable discussion on branding with chief marketing officers of major law, accounting, and consulting firms. The speaker asked the audience, "What are the differentiating aspects of your services?" The response from the audience was uncomfortable silence.

If you and your colleagues do not know what is genuine and distinct about your services and what keeps your services from becoming a commodity, how do you expect the marketplace to know? To know your value requires deep and unnerving introspection. And, once you think you have your answer, it is essential that you validate it by asking the people who really know - your clients.

All too often what we believe to be true and what the market believes to be true are two different things. In order to concentrate on the value of your services you must know what that value is in the eyes of your clients and prospects.

Ask them:

If you were to recommend me (my firm) to a colleague, what would you say the benefits are that you get from working with us?
Finish this sentence, "Our firm is a leader in the area of..."
What makes my firm distinct is...?
When you are looking to hire (fill in your service area) what is most important to you?
Be prepared for some tough answers. Maybe you are not a leader in anything. Maybe they cannot see the difference or the benefits of your services. If they can't, you have to go back to step one. If they can, then start spreading the word.

Step Three: Articulate Your Value

Perhaps it is because most service firms do not know what it is that they do for their clients. Or perhaps, they just have poor marketing skills. Whatever the reason, if website copy is any indication, it is no wonder why everyone is lamenting about services becoming a commodity. All too often on websites I see something like:

We deliver solutions to our clients' problems through excellence in our processes, people, and technology.

But, what do you do? Once you know the value you provide, say it in a way that is meaningful to your prospects and clients. Say it in their words. Say it in a way that is clear, to the point, and distinct.

I recently came across a website in which one of the testimonials declared, "They pushed back and made my brain hurt. It wasn't always what I wanted to hear but they got results." This message may not speak to everyone, but the value they provide is clear. I am sure that there are company leaders out there who would love a consulting firm to cut through the clutter to get something accomplished.

Step Four: Sell Your Value

Many selling methodologies talk about finding the pain and alleviating that pain. That's not enough. If you stop at a simple question of fixing problems, you cannot sell the full value of your services.

To get to the complete value you can provide, you must help the prospect articulate the impact of relieving the pain (afflictions) and just as importantly, achieving their dreams (aspirations) during the sales process. Such questions as:

What would happen to your business if you could improve this process?
What affect would this change have on your bottom line?
How much faster do you think you could grow if you were able to put this in place?
What won't happen if you don't solve this problem at all?
The more you can position your services as a packaged solution that has an impact on the business, addresses aspirations as well as afflictions (pain), and presents a how the future will be different for the client when they work with you, the less susceptible you will be to price competition. If you just uncover "pain" and present an easy-to-find commodity solution to that pain, you should be facing price competition.

Step Five: Deliver Your Value

Deliver your value and satisfy clients. Satisfied clients means repeat business, increased business with current clients, and referrals - the holy trinity of success in a service firm.

The Good and Bad News

The bad news is it is hard work to understand and articulate your value. The good news is, by demonstrating your value in the sales and marketing processes you position yourself as a trusted advisor early on. So few firms make the effort to know, articulate, and sell their value. When you do, you differentiate yourself by the very act of positioning yourself as not just a provider of a commodity service, but the seller and deliverer of value.

Related Articles
  "I Don't Deserve to be Loved"
  The associated document fees related to a standard UK finance agreement
  Proposals in a Jiff
  The Keys to Outrageous Healthiness
  The Fee Catalyst

Article Tags: business analysis, business executives, chief marketing, commodities price, commodity, consulting firms, delivering services, five steps, india china, john doerr, laments, price competition, prospects, service business, tax preparation, technology services, thomas friedman, uncomfortable silence, visionary, writing legal briefs



Related Forum Posts
label signs jackson thriller executive/seeks investor - ismael records has just signed one of the marketing and promotions executives of MICHAEL JACKSONS THRILLER, BAD and OFF THE WALL ALBUMS as its new president of marketing and promotions. we want to embark on an AMERICAN IDOL TYPE CROSS COUNTRY TALENT SEARCH. winners will have their own CD marketed, promoted , nationally distributed, with radio airplay. our venues will be PAID VENUES with TICKET SALES, along with any investor getting a percentage of all venue and ticket sales , any investor will also receive a percentage of all of our winners CD sales which will again, be distributed nationally, any investor will also receive a percentage of the ISMAEL RECORDS LABEL. PLEASE! NO OFFERS OF LOANS OR BANK LOANS OF ANY KIND!. we will also NOT! PAY ANY UPFRONT FEES. ONLY THE ABOVE PERCENTAGES WILL BE PLACED ON THE TABLE. ISMAEL RECORDS has been up for only 3 years, besides being a recording label it is also an entertainment label. working on the entertainment side the label has been doing a series of talent shows. tyrone ismael ceo/president of ismael records has been networking and steady building alliances for the label. until recently mr ismael has himself refused to take on any artist to the recording part of ismael records, simpley because the label did not really have the sources to push an artist the way a label should. we have seen so many labels with tons of artist but nothing to do with them, the artist are just sitting there. with the contracting of our new marketing and promotions president , ismael records now has sources of manufacturing ,radio airplay, national distribution plus over 25,000 storefronts in which we can now place our artist CDS into besides distributing to the top of the line internet retailers. besides MICHAEL JACKSONS, THRILLER, BAD and OFF THE WALL ALBUMS, our new marketing and promotions president has also marketed and promoted the CDS/ALBUMS of such other great recording stars as LUTHER VANDROSS, TYRESE, ALICIA KEYS, SANTANA, EARTH WIND AND FIRE, BIG MIKE, THE GHETTO BOYS, BOY GEORGE, SADE, THE OJAYS and this is only to name the few, he also has written refrences from such greats as MR QUINCY JONES, SADE, and mr POLLY ANTHONEY of SONY MUSIC, he himself is also former acting vice president of marketing and promotions for EPIC RECORDS. i can not bring myself to ask this executive to bring all that he is already bringing to the table as well as ask him to finance this venture, this is why i am now seeking investors. we are seeking no less than $25,000 in order to get this project out of the starting gate. the TV SHOW AMERICAN IDOL has been one of the top shows for years now, each year you can see the thousands and thousands of hopeful new artist trying to become the next star, there is no other entity out there right now besides AMERICAN IDOL that has the resume of our new executive thats doing what we are now trying to do. this project has LEGS and if pushed out of the starting gate with the proper advertising and promotions it will generate its own capital. any investor will also be receiving the above percentages well after they have received their original investment return, as long as we can keep this project running our investors will receive the above percentages.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to develop the best lateral thinking skills

Paint A Word Picture - Excite Your Customer

What is an Adaptive Organization

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.