Working at Home on the Internet

Consultants on Retainer?

 Do you ever wonder what to charge a customer for a bunch of small jobs that don’t really fit into a billing category? Answer questions small and large that help them through rough situations continually but you would feel guilty if you sent them a bill for each and every time you solve a problem.

I have thought about it long and hard.

I think I may have just come up with an answer that could work to the advantage of both the customer and your business in just such a senerio.

Go on Retainer

Why not, Lawyers do it with Big Corporations and Small Businesses all over the world. If there is a legal question that doesn’t involve any investigation and can be answered in a single sitting and is answered to the clients satisfaction, it’s covered by the retainer. If it is a lot more involved and involves casework or some court appearances then the client is charged depending on the type of case and how much work has to be done.

Reasons

I get calls from clients and customers every day with some small problem, but I still have to take the time to answer. Sometimes it takes a little investigation to find the answer to their questions, but it always takes time. And, as they say, Time is Money.

I’m not talking about the occasional question, but clients that need and want answers right away on a moments notice. Or the one’s who think that it is only one question, although it might take an hour or more to get the answer and they want it NOW.

Solution

Going on retainer for some clients seems like a viable alternative to either billing them for each small job or not billing them at all. If the customer/client wants you to be there front and center to help them with their problems right then and there and have priority statis, they should be willing to pay for it.

What do you think?

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

You can always answer in comments if you want to expand on your answer.

For those using RSS just click the Post Title to take the Poll.

New Here? You may want to Subscribe to my RSS feed for daily updates. Or if you prefer, Subscribe by Email What is RSS? Thanks for visiting!

April 22nd, 2008 at 04:29pm | Posted by Joe | Attitude, Basics, Management | 2 reader remarks | Print This Post