Developing our Consultancy Practices David Saint, Chairman Top - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Developing our Consultancy Practices

David Saint, Chairman

Top Issues identified in January workshop: 1: We can’t charge viable fees Steps to resolving this problem:

• 1. Being clear what ‘viable’ means
• 2. Understanding the barriers
• 3. Amending our understanding of ‘viable’
• 4. Addressing the barriers

What does ‘viable’ mean? Should the fee be:

• Enough to cover the bare essentials of the work needed?
• Enough to cover set up time, travel time, project admin,

and other incidentals?

• Enough to enable us to do a really thorough job?
• Enough to cover project over-runs and ‘mission creep’?

Should the fee be:

• Enough to cover our living costs that day?
• Enough to cover our living costs, even on the days we

don’t have fee-earning work?

• Enough to cover the costs of being in business as a sole

trader?

• Enough to cover our infrastructure costs if we are running

a larger company?

• Enough to give us a surplus over the above so we can

invest in CPD or R&D?

• Enough to give us a surplus over the above so we can live

a life of luxury?! Are we talking about day rate, or fixed fee per project?

Understanding the barriers to charging higher fees

• The client really can’t afford more
• The client doesn’t believe they can afford more
• The client’s trustees don’t want to spend the money
• The client thinks the day rate is inappropriately high for

the sector

• The client thinks the day rate is inappropriately high for

the work

• The client thinks the total price is inappropriate for the

project

• The competition’s pricing (including everyone in this

room!)

Amending our understanding of ‘viable’

• Which of the following could we reduce?
• Our living costs that day?
• Our living costs, even on the days we don’t have fee-

earning work?

• The costs of being in business as a sole trader?
• Our infrastructure costs if we are running a larger

company?

• Our need for a surplus over the above so we can invest in

CPD or R&D?

• Our aspirations for a surplus over the above so we can live

a life of luxury?!

If we ‘need’ €5000 per month,

• €333 per day is viable if we can average 15 days

chargeable per month

• €500 per day is viable if we can average 10 days

chargeable per month

• €625 per day is viable if we can average 8 days

chargeable per month

• €1000 per day is viable if we can average 5 days

chargeable per month

Which fee level do we a) need? b) b) try to charge? c) c) on average typically achieve?

Addressing the barriers to charging higher fees

• The client really can’t afford more
• The client doesn’t believe they can afford more
• The client’s trustees don’t want to spend the money
• The client thinks the day rate is inappropriately high for the

sector

• The client thinks the day rate is inappropriately high for the work
• The client thinks the total price is inappropriate for the project
• The competition’s pricing (including all of us!)

Brainstorm solutions, from point of view of 1. Our individual businesses 2. What can EUConsult do to help 3. How EUConsult members can collaborate with and support each

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Top Issues identified in January workshop: 2: We don’t win the work we bid for

Why not?

Why not?

• We never heard from them again so we don’t know why
• The work never went ahead
• The need for the work disappeared
• The client decided to do the work in-house
• The client’s boss or trustees decided the work should be

done in-house

• The work went to somebody else, but we don’t know who
• r why
• The work went to somebody known to the client, or who

they had worked with before

• The work went to somebody who charges a lower day rate

• The work went to someone who scoped it out as a smaller

and therefore cheaper piece of work

• The work went to someone perceived to have stronger

technical skills

• The work went to someone perceived to have stronger

sector experiences

• The work went to someone perceived to be better located

geographically

• The work went to someone with stronger sales skills than

me

Making it more likely we win the work we bid for

• We never heard from them again so we don’t know why
• The work never went ahead
• The need for the work disappeared
• The client decided to do the work in-house
• The client’s boss or trustees decided the work should be done in-house
• The work went to somebody else, but we don’t know who or why
• The work went to somebody known to the client, or who they had worked with before
• The work went to somebody who charges a lower day rate
• The work went to someone who scoped it out as a smaller and therefore cheaper piece of work
• The work went to someone perceived to have stronger technical skills
• The work went to someone perceived to have stronger sector experiences
• The work went to someone perceived to be better located geographically
• The work went to someone with stronger sales skills than me

Brainstorm solutions, from point of view of 1. Our individual businesses 2. What can EUConsult do to help 3. How EUConsult members can collaborate with and support each other