Are you stuck in the past with your pricing?
As your value increases, so should your fees
I was speaking to a recruiter recently who complained that once they've agreed their rate on a role, the client assumes all future work will be done at that rate.
Of course, this isn’t the case. So, when a more senior role or tougher search comes along, the recruiter has to start the pricing conversation all over again - not something they look forward to. And because they don’t look forward to it, it’s something they tend to avoid whenever they can.
This deadly combination of reluctance and avoidance leads to a range of fixed rates… with every client paying based on how much they valued the service before they’d ever done any work with the recruiter in question.
If any of this sounds familiar to you, you must understand that it doesn’t matter how much you prove your worth after that initial negotiation. Nor does it matter how hard you work for your clients, or how many roles you fill.
Why?
Your fee is stuck in the past.
If you don’t revisit your fees, the chances are it’s because you don’t want to rock the boat and, potentially, lose a client.
I understand these concerns and, believe me, I’ve had them myself in the dim and distant past.
However, the long term consequences of not renegotiating your fee can be even worse than losing the client. This is because you can end up with your most established clients - those with the deepest relationships, the greatest understanding, the best results - stuck on rates you resent. And that feeling leads you to underservice them… to shift your attention to newer clients on better fees.
So what can you do about it?
Well, quite simply, you need different services to suit different situations.
A new client might choose your more streamlined approach, at a cheaper rate. As they develop their relationship with you, their confidence in your work increases and they pick a more valuable service.
They may even select a cheaper service for some more junior roles, before returning to your highest value service for their crucial executive hire.
So if you want to review your current approach and get advice on the best way to create a range of services, just reply to this email with the word ‘consultation’ and I’ll talk you through the next steps.
Jon
P.S. If you believe in your work, it makes sense that clients would be willing to pay more once they’ve got to know you and the value you create for them.
So if you want to review your current approach and get advice on the best way to create a range of services, just reply to this email with the word ‘consultation’ and I’ll talk you through the next steps.