I ran a workshop with some temps consultants recently. They gave me a long list of reasons why they might reduce their rate (my first action was to make that list shorter), but one reason stood out for me.
Most of us make the same mistake at some point, and fixing it is vital if you want to stop leaving money on the table.
One of the consultants in the workshop was highly experienced, and clearly a very good recruiter. Reading through their testimonials, it was obvious that their clients thought the same.
In my eyes, it was important to make sure they were getting paid fairly for the experience and expertise they brought to every project their worked on. But in one area, the consultant was undervaluing themselves - and getting paid much less than they deserved.
"When the booking is easy for me to fill, I'll often charge a bit lower."
You might have spotted the problem already: the consultant was so experienced that even some challenging bookings looked easy to fill from their perspective.
So while other consultants might see the role as difficult and charge accordingly, the best recruiter was offering themselves at a lower rate.
In other words, they were penalising themselves for their outstanding level of experience and expertise.
Whether you're pricing temps or perm services or long-term projects, many of us make this same mistake. We either forget how much we've invested in order to make a project appear easy, or we feel awkward charging a high price for something that doesn't take a long time.
The answer is to continually focus on the value you are creating for your client. If you can deliver an important project in a short timeframe without any hiccups, by applying your experience and expertise to avoid the challenges that others struggle with, then most clients will gladly pay you well for your support.
If you want to get paid for your expertise and avoid leaving money on the table, simply reply to this email with 'Expert' in the subject line and I will explain more.
Jon
P.S. The wider goal of the workshop was to bring more consistency to the way the temps consultants priced their services.
I identified several subjective ways they were setting their rates, including 'easiness' of the booking, and we agreed that we needed to have more clarity on how these factors were defined.
This led to a more consistent approach internally, but also benefitted the clients as it was easier for them to understand when they (justifiably) needed to pay more.
If you want to get paid for your expertise and avoid leaving money on the table, simply reply to this email with 'Expert' in the subject line and I will explain more.