How To Price Your Consulting Services And Communicate Your Worth
Claire is a fantastic consultant who has built a solid practice delivering her IP to health tech companies. Her clients loved her… and her work. She was booked out months in advance, was brought in to run strategy sessions, coach leadership teams and write internal processes, but she was barely hitting six figures a year (a figure that was substantially lower than her competitors).
When she asked why, we realised it was because she priced her packages based on the time she would spend delivering that project, and nothing more. When she did raise her pricing to match her competitors (almost) she began to overdeliver – adding bonus workshops, unlimited email support and after hours and weekend calls. 18 months later she was exhausted and ready to give up on the work she used to love and even leave consulting altogether.
As consultants and thought leaders, we often sell ourselves short. We set our prices too low and are ultimately paid less than we should be. And that’s because we fail to adequately communicate our worth
In my own work, I’ve noticed that this is a problem that’s particularly prevalent among women in consulting. We’re so conditioned to stick to the people-pleasing script that we struggle to speak up and communicate our worth. We find it hard to say, ‘I’m an expert at what I do… and this is how much I deserve to be paid.’
But that’s exactly what we have to do.
Because if we don’t speak up for ourselves, who will? And if you fast-forward 10 years, you’ll still be under-valuing yourself, under-charging for your services and suffering from burnout from trying to do more for less.
The solution is easy though. It’s simply to charge what you’re worth.
Of course, just because it’s an easy solution doesn’t mean it’s easy to do. One of the biggest things I see my clients struggling with when they’re starting out is setting their prices. They don’t know what they’re truly worth and they certainly don’t know how to communicate that value.
So I want to talk you through how to price for consulting so you’re getting paid what you’re really worth. Not some safe number you know won’t ruffle any feathers. I want you to understand the value of what you deliver to your clients. And I want you to be able to confidently communicate that when you set your fees.
How to price for consulting
When it comes to pricing your work, you must start by truly understanding your worth. This is the overarching part of pricing that most consultants and thought leaders miss. In fact, most of my clients are surprised by how much they’re truly worth because they’re used to thinking in terms of an hourly rate.
But the value you bring to your clients is more than the time you spend working on their project. So I don’t think you should be charging per hour at all. When it comes to consulting, I believe you should almost always be charging a project fee.
When you charge per project, event, keynote or workshop, for example, you’re able to encapsulate the value you bring. And that value includes your IP, your experience, your metrics, your market positioning and more – it’s not just the number of hours you’re going to spend delivering a project.
Remember, few people can do what you do. That is what your fees represent. Not your hours spent on that project. But the hundreds and hundreds of hours spent developing your expertise so you can deliver that project. That is your worth.
The risk of overdelivery and burnout
Claire’s story highlights a common mistake I often see. Once a consultant has decided to raise their fees, they feel under pressure to justify them. Suddenly they start to over-deliver. The mindset is that they have to make these raised fees worth it for their clients. What they’re forgetting, of course, that the work they already do is enough. We’re simply trying to bring your fees up to where they should be.
Instead, focus on clearly communicating the transformation and the outcomes you provide to your clients. This will build trust and justify your value, without you having to do any extra work. In fact, you must try to resist the urge to do more – this will only lead to burnout.
The risk of client loss
A second challenge for consultants is overcoming the fear that they’ll lose clients when they raise their fees. I’ll bet this has kept many of you under-charging for years. You think, what’s the point of raising my fees if I end up with fewer clients, and less money anyway?
The actual outcome is that you’ll raise your prices, the clients who understand your value will stay loyal and you’ll be able to service them better without losing any revenue. You won’t be doing more for less. You’ll be doing less for more.
And remember, if you’re clients aren’t willing to pay you what you’re worth, either:
you haven’t communicated the value you bring clearly enough, or
maybe it’s time to find clients who will.
If you’re trying to set your own consulting and thought leadership pricing, here are the steps that I’d suggest.
1. Benchmark your fees
When understanding how to price for consulting, your first step should be benchmarking your fees against others in the industry.
Look for fellow consultants who have similar expertise, market positioning and types of clients. This will give you a realistic range of appropriate fees and will help you to understand where you fit in the market.
2. Factor in your unique value
Next, define your positioning and the unique value you bring. What can you offer to your clients that your competitors can’t? What unique IP can you share? What problems can you solve that few others can? What have your clients achieved under your thought leadership?
Answering these questions will help you work out if you’re offering a premium, specialised service, or a more accessible solution. This will help you to decide whether to price your fees at, above or below market average.
You should also factor in the time you need for thought leadership and business development.
3. Keep it fluid
When considering how to price for consulting, remember that fees are fluid. They won’t stay the same forever. Embrace pricing as an evolving process, rather than a fixed number.
Not only does this allow for growth, but it also takes the pressure off having to arrive at the exact right number today.
As your confidence, skills and market positioning grow, you’ll need to gradually increase your fees. My hope for you is that you can know and communicate your worth, now and into the future.
