Jim Dettman
jimdettman at verizon.net
Sat Nov 6 15:15:09 CDT 2010
Couldn't agree more and it's the reasons I bill strictly by the hour. My current rate is $70 regardless of the type of work I do. Everything and anything is billable. Only concession I give is if it's a project 24 hours or more, I discount my rate by 20%. Keeps life simple. Have I lost some potential clients because of it? Yes. But I think I've also avoided quite a few pot holes (or worse) that way. Jim. -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Dan Waters Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 3:14 PM To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving' Subject: Re: [AccessD] New engagement; trying to avoid the "tip of the iceberg" consulting trap Hi Mark, I think a full rate for 8 hours to deliver an assessment report is a better plan. 1) The assessment report is the first deliverable, and that's what they're paying for. Once it's delivered, they can do what they want with it. That's why they're paying your hourly rate. 2) Once they pay you for the report, they'll be reluctant to 'lose' that money by hiring someone else. People don't like to lose 'sunk costs'. 3) If you deliver a good assessment report then your credibility goes up - and you become the best choice. Also, the person hiring you now has solid documentation to justify the scope/cost. Be direct and tell the people hiring you that this is what the report is for. 4) When the work you do and the price you charge correlates with your assessment report then your credibility goes up again. So don't overpromise! 5) Would you ask a mechanic to assess your car problem by talking to you on the phone for an hour? No professional programmer would give an assessment without sufficient diagnosis time. If they still want a scope/cost with just an hour's discussion - just politely decline and know you dodged a mess. Good Luck! And I'd like to hear how it went! Dan PS - Fuggly? New Technical Term! ;-) -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mark Simms Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 1:14 PM To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving' Subject: [AccessD] New engagement; trying to avoid the "tip of the iceberg" consulting trap I'm going in to see a new client (via agency) on Monday. The deal is supposedly this: I interview with them for an hour; assess the project scope and duration. If they like what they hear, then I'm hired. Anyone seasoned in consulting can immediately see the "trap" that's being set. I want to avoid it by only giving them a rough estimate AFTER spending 8 hours with the current code base. I've seen way too much fuggly VBA code to be duped into giving a blind estimate. I'm also afraid they'll only be showing me the "tip of the iceberg". Only question remains: if my estimate at the end of the day is rejected, what do I charge for the 8 hours that they will consider wasted ? Half rate ? Full rate ? In my mind, this is like an initial legal consult...and lawyers usually give you 1 hour for half rate. -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com