Value based pricing with Jonathan Stark

The Pricing Queen

In this episode:

• Why hourly billing is nuts!
• What is the way you should be getting paid for your services.
• Why billing and pricing are not the same thing.
• The importance of scoping last.
• The ‘why’ conversation.
• Why you should always offer three price options.
• Retainers and when to use them.

Former software developer and now value-based consulting guru, Jonathan Stark talks to Sally about some of his thoughts around hourly billing and why it’s nuts! He covers why hourly billing is a backwards pricing strategy, the ‘artificial ceiling’ and how hourly billing caps your pricing and limits your income. It can also create trust fractures in the client relationship and encourages scope creep. Jonathan also shares his thoughts about why hourly billing could be considered unethical.

Jonathan discusses the difference between pricing and billing - why you should price for your work and not bill for your time and looks at the different ways to price your services.

Jonathan and Sally chat about ‘the why conversation’, designed to help you price your services effectively. Jonathan outlines how it can help you write the best proposal for winning big business and create an effective plan for your client. He shows that by asking three specific diagnostic questions (Why do you want to do this? Why now? Why me?) will help root out the business motivation to ensure you can deliver the right outcome and decide if the project is a good fit for you.

Jonathan looks at pricing options and explains why there should always be three levels. He also covers how these levels should reflect what the solution is worth to the client and how you can be creative in your scope. He also provides an overview of retainers, why and when these are an ok way to price your services.

Jonathan packs some amazing analogies into this episode making these revelatory pricing tips easy to understand and a real joy to listen to. You will never bill hourly again!

Selected links from this episode

Get Jonathan’s 6 day free email course at valuepricingbootcamp.com

Read Jonathan’s book Hourly Billing Is Nuts

Connect with Sally on Instagram LinkedIn

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The Pricing Queen podcast is produced by Annabelle Buckland at @decibelle_creative Decibelle Creative