Value-Based Fees: How to Charge - and Get - What You're Worth, 2nd Edition

In this thoroughly revised edition of his classic book, Alan Weiss shows how consulting fees are dependent on only two things: value provided in the perception of the buyer and the intent of the buyer and the consultant to act ethically. Many consultants, however, fail to understand that perceived value is the basis of the fee, or that they must translate the importance of their advice into long-term gains for the client in the client's perception. Still others fail to have the courage and the belief system that support the high value delivered to clients, thereby reducing fees to a level commensurate with the consultant's own low self-esteem. Ultimately, says Weiss, consultants, not clients, are the main cause of low consulting fees.

Introduction.Preface to the Second Edition.Acknowledgments.Chapter 1: The Concept of Fees.Will People Actually Give Me Their Money for My Advice?The Ethical Nature of Capitalism.The Mercedes-Benz Syndrome.The Importance of Buyer Commitment, Not Compliance.Critical Steps for Buyer Commitment.The Buoyancy of Brands: How Brands Help Fees.Creating Shared Success.Chapter ROI.Interlude: A Case of Bottom-Line Blindness.Chapter 2: The Lunacy of Time-and-Materials Models.Who Wants to Be as Dumb as a Lawyer?Supply-and-Demand Illogic.Ethical Confl icts of Interest and Other Small Matters.Limiting Profi ts, or Why Not Just Forget Domani?Why Lawyers and CPAs Do So Poorly.Educating the Buyer Incorrectly.Chapter ROI.Chapter 3: The Basics of Value-Based Fees.It's Better to Be an Artist Than to Be an Engineer.Focusing on Outcomes, Not Inputs.The Fallacy and Subversive Nature of "Deliverables".Quantitative and Qualitative Measures and Criteria.Measuring the Unmeasurable.Serving the Client's Self-Interest.The Subtle Transformation: Consultant Past to Client Future.Perpetual Motion, Perpetual Progress.Chapter ROI.Interlude: The Case of the Annoying Accountants.Chapter 4: How to Establish Value-Based Fees.If You Read Only One Chapter . . ..Conceptual Agreement: The Foundation of Value.Establishing Your Unique Value.Creating the "Good Deal" Dynamic.The Incredibly Powerful "Choice of Yeses".Some Formulas for the Faint of Heart.Chapter ROI.Chapter 5: How to Convert Existing Clients.Correcting Your Own Mistakes.Setting Priorities Among Existing Clients.Offering New Value.Finding New Buyers Within Existing Clients.Finding New Circumstances.What If Clients Resist Conversion?Abandoning Business.Chapter ROI.Interlude: The Case of the Loaded Loading Dock.Chapter 6: The Fine and High Art of Using Retainers.It's Just the Smarts, Stupid.Optimal Conditions for Retainer Arrangements.Choosing Time Frames and Creating Realistic Expectations.Organizing the Scope and Managing Projects Within the Retainer.Capitalizing on Retainer Relationships.Aggressively Marketing Retainer Relationships.Chapter ROI.Ethics and Fees, Fees and Ethics: A Midbook Practicum.Chapter 7: Seventy Ways to Raise Fees and/or Increase Profi ts Immediately.Act Today and Receive the Bass-o-Matic Free of Charge!Chapter ROI.Interlude: The Case of the Rebounding Retainer.Chapter 8: How to Prevent and Rebut Fee Objections.Since You've Heard Them All Before, How Can You Not Know All the Answers?The Four Fundamental Areas of Resistance.Maintaining the Focus on Value.Boring In on the Subject.Offering Discounts.Using "Smack to the Head" Comparisons.Ignoring the Competition.Chapter ROI.Interlude: The Case of the Perverse Purchasing Agent.Chapter 9: Setting Fees for Nonconsulting Opportunities.How to Make Money While You Sleep, Eat, Play, and Make Money Elsewhere.Keynote Speaking: Don't Charge for Your Spoken Words.Highly Leveraged Practices for Working with Bureaus.Products.Exploring New Lucrative Fields.And Now for Some Perspective.Chapter ROI.Chapter 10: Fee Progression Strategies.Why You Fall Behind When You Stand Still.Entry-Level Fees.Transition to a "Going Concern".Transition to Word-of-Mouth.Transition to the Brand Phase.Transition to the Ultim