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Offering Discounted Fees
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I've often found it helpful to position prices as a savings. For example: "My normal rate is $450 per hour, but because you were referred by Mark, I'll do it for you for $400." People always like a discount or special price. And it's easy to find a reason to justify the special price. For example:

  • Because you're a previous customer
  • Because you're planning to buy more than 10 hours
  • Because you're a member of our church
  • Because I may need to call on your services in the future
  • Because you're in an industry that's been especially hard-hit
This letter gives no reason at all, simply suggests the discount, which worked well because we got the assignment. Notice, also, that the letter gets right off pricing and goes to a friendship topic, a professional trade association called CHAHRM. I often treat pricing as though it's an afterthought. 


May 19, 20-

Mark L. Black
Director, Human Resources
Northern Colorado Health Systems
4500 South Long's Peak Avenue
Ft. Collins, CO  80524

Dear Mark,

It was a great pleasure seeing you again yesterday.

I spoke with Clyde Monahan about the pricing you and he had discussed. As I told you, our normal price for clerical level staff is 10% of salary, which is $2,000 for a $20,000 person.

Clyde suggested we give you and Northern Colorado Health Systems a special price of $1500 per person for clerical staff. Our fee for all other outplacement will be 10% of annual salary.

If you have any questions about this, Mark, please give me a call.

In the meantime, I'd like to get more heavily involved in CHAHRM. I've written a monthly career column for the Colorado Human Resources Association's Advisor for the last five years. I could contribute something to the CHAHRM newsletter if you're interested.

With best wishes,


William S. Frank
wsfrank@careerlab.com

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William S. Frank, M.A., President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.