Charging by the hour saved my b2b consultancy from going under

Honestly, when I first started my b2b consultancy, I used fixed prices like everyone else. Tbh, it was a mess because projects always ran over scope. Ngl, I lost money on almost every deal. Then I switched to hourly billing, and clients threw fits. But it forced them to be clear about what they wanted from the start. Now, we waste less time on endless revisions, and my team actually gets paid for their work. I know most people say hourly billing scares clients away, but it filters out the bad ones. After two years, our profits are up, and we only work with serious businesses.

4 comments

4 Comments

blair6921mo ago

I mean when you say it filters out the 'bad ones', idk man. That feels like a stretch. Maybe it just filters out clients who hate watching the clock, which honestly includes a lot of good people. They might want to focus on the work getting done, not every 15 minute block. It sounds like your fix just moved the pain to the client side, so of course your profits are up. But is that really building better relationships or just making them pay for your old scoping problems?

moore.beth1mo ago

But is your profit really up because you're doing better work, or just because you're billing for all the extra time? @blair692 has a point that it might just hide your old planning issues. Sounds like you fixed your problem by making it the client's problem instead.

keith_bennett1mo ago

My buddy's best client left after that move, which @blair692 kinda warned about.

angelarivera9d ago

See it all the time with people who want a new deck... they'll fight a fair hourly rate but then ask for a dozen changes that blow the budget.