Summary
Expect to learn how to shift your mindset from "charging" to finding a fair price through collaborative conversations with clients, focusing on understanding their desired outcomes, actively listening, and being willing to walk away if a fair price cannot be reached, which should be seen as a positive outcome rather than a disappointment.
3 Key Takeaways from this Video
- Move away from the concept of "charging": Instead of viewing pricing as simply charging clients, focus on finding a fair price through collaborative conversations and understanding the scope of work they desire.
- Active listening and collaboration: Engage in conversations with clients to understand their goals, priorities, and preferences. Discuss the pros and cons of different options, allowing the client to feel involved and invested in the decision-making process.
- Be willing to walk away if necessary: If a fair price cannot be reached or if there is a lack of alignment between you and the client, it is better to recognize the mismatch and be content with not pursuing the project, rather than forcing an unsatisfactory agreement.
Transcript
0:06 Historically, as service providers, lawyers are apt to think about words like, “I'm going to charge”. And I think the very first step is to remove the word charge from your vocabulary and think about it more as looking to find a spot, which is the scope of work that a client wants and what is a fair price.
0:33 And it's a conversation and the conversation is a lot around what does success look like for you as an example.
0:40 You know, is it important to get this done right away? What are the options? What are the pros and cons?
0:46 And this is where you come in a little bit and talking about, well, if we do this, these are some of the advantages and disadvantages and start to get that conversation moving so that the client is then speaking to you about this might be right for me.
1:02 And so if you spend enough time listening again as opposed to telling, then that's where the collaborative part really comes in.
1:10 It's really training yourself to listen to not think that you've got the right answers and get to scope eventually. And so again, it's patience and you'll eventually through working together get to the right price.
1:24 One of the things that's interesting is if you don't get to the right price, like if there's not a fit, you need to be happy.
1:31 You need to go, this was never going to work out. We never work quite on the same page. What is a fair price from my perspective was never going to be a fair price from their perspective.
1:42 Better not to have really got started with the project. That should make you happy actually, as opposed to disappointed that you lost a piece of work.