2 years ago, we stopped quoting projects based on an hourly rate. The reason? We don’t sell time. We sell solutions. This concept is very concisely covered in “Breaking the Time Barrier“ by Mike McDerment of Freshbooks fame.
Our guiding philosophy has always been to provide the highest possible value to our clients, and this method of partnering in the success of these projects has made a measurable difference.
If a client believes our proposed solution will solve their $1,000,000 problem, why wouldn’t they spend 10% of that on a solution? Conversely, if they value their problem as having little value, there’s little reason to solve it. Trying to address it with hours is different than partnering on a solution to the problem. That way both of us are equally invested in the project becoming successful.
We are also not always in the PROBLEM business, but more often in the IDEA business. We’ve built solutions that our clients have been able to make a great deal of money on, and the most successful ones always have a very good idea of the value of their idea. Who WOULDN’T spend $50,000 to make $750,000?