Questioning the Billable Hour is a three-part series leading many to conclude that price paid should reflect value provided, rather than time spent. The alternative proposed is value-based pricing, fixed up front (as part of the selling/buying process) backed by a satisfaction guarantee.
Questioning the Billable Hour part 2: The Carpenter’s Invoice, A Parable about Pricing
Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1975: A man owned a house with a squeaky dining room floor. He paced that floor listening intently for the location of the squeak.
Each time he thought he found it, he would pull up the carpet and drive a nail into the floorboards. Each time, the squeak eluded him.
Eventually, he called in a carpenter.
The carpenter paced the floor, pulled up the carpet, and drove a single nail into the floor. The squeak disappeared.
The carpenter billed the man $50. The invoice said, “Driving one nail: $3. Knowing where to drive the nail: $47.”
Having experienced how the problem had already caused him more than $50 worth of trouble, the man happily paid right away.
- Glenn R. Harrington, Articulate Consultants Inc.
Three Reasons Why Independent Businesses Need Authentic Key Messages To Succeed
If your company does not already distinguish itself as uniquely valuable to a niche of the global economy, then your company needs to identify itself and its value proposition in the same few words as the ideal client would use, and propagate that key message in renewed marketing and brand management.
Key Messages Blunders Part 4: Getting It Wrong
In coining names, slogans, mottos, brand promises, and other key messages, many marketers for independent business simply get it wrong. They key: Really understand the ideal client first, then use their own words for authentic key messages that work.
Nine Reasons to Pay A Pro Editor to Review Documents for Publication
Many people find that a professional editor can make and suggest revisions more comprehensively, more constructively, and more contextually appropriate than software tools supplemented by a friend or colleague.
