9
O P I N I O N
Show your value
Don’t be afraid to charge what you’re worth. You want clients who value your relationship and appreciate your talent.
“P rice is what you pay, value is what you receive.” Every day, as business owners, we must show our value. We show our value to our clients, employees, industry partners, family, and friends. I recently read an article that talked about getting paid for what you are worth. Regardless of industry, every business owner wonders if their price is too high, too low, or just right. As an architect, engineer, or contractor, you have years of experience and knowledge to provide to your clients and should be compensated well for it. Your services shouldn’t be discounted. EVER. Your services, talent, and experience are worth every penny you charge to your clients.
Lindsay Young
If something takes you 30 minutes today, but it once took you three hours, your years of experience have made that a much easier task – hence why you have different hourly rates depending on positions/years of experience. You’ve learned how to be more productive, but you’ve also seen that problem many times before so you can apply what you already know. It doesn’t require spending hours researching, asking around, or trial and error. You just know the solution to the problem. You complete the task or request of the client almost by routine. Your research time and experience has saved your clients time, money, and headaches, which is exactly what your clients want.
But how do you actually show value to your clients? There are five crucial things involved in this process: 1)Education. As a professional services provider, you might find it hard to justify (to yourself and to your clients) your lump sum fee or your hourly rates. First, educate your clients about what this fee includes and the experience the team brings to the project. It’s part of the business development cycle that the client sees the value in the services you provide. For most owners, their projects are no small sum of money and likely the biggest investment they will make in their business. They need to
See LINDSAY YOUNG, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER February 3, 2020, ISSUE 1330
Made with FlippingBook Annual report