You can’t put a price on experience
But maybe we should.
You don’t need experience to sell a Mars Bar. But when we’re selling - and delivering - services, who you work with matters.
I analyse a lot of pricing data (I’m guessing more than anyone else in the recruitment industry) and so often see recruiters with 10+ years’ experience at a similar average rate to recruiters with significantly less experience.
As I see it there are two main causes:
1. The more time you spend negotiating with clients, the less confident you are in your prices
2. Over time you find a rate you’re comfortable with, then focus on delivery rather than challenging that rate
Both of these reasons are completely understandable. But they lead to a situation where great recruiters are being dramatically underpaid for what they do.
A quick example: if you’re an experienced recruiter billing £250k a year but undercharging by just 10% then you’re missing out on an additional £100k every four years.
I come across this situation all the time. I also see experienced recruiters recognising the challenge, making changes to their pricing approach, and going on to bill much more for the rest of their career.
If you want to take your experienced team out of their pricing comfort zone and start getting paid for their true value, simply reply to this email and I’ll explain how I can help.
Jon
P.S. It breaks my heart to hear great recruiters tell me they had to match a competitor’s rate in order to work on a new role.
Statistically, the chances are the ‘other recruiter’ doesn’t have the experience or the skills to match the value a great recruiter can bring.
And yet the client expects - and often gets - all that experience for the price of a less successful recruiter.
If you want to take your experienced team out of their pricing comfort zone and start getting paid for their true value, simply reply to this email and I’ll explain how I can help.