We are not all the same
Hammering home my point about time sheets, remember how much we are selling in terms of our know-how. For those hung up on charging for time spent on each job, if you must think about time, remember how much of that you spent learning to do what you do.
What counts is always what value both in comfort and in money we give to our clients. I remember once upon a time when I was with a large firm we sold a product which saved a particular client £500,000 every year, for which we charged £50,000 just once. The staff time doing it in terms of salary and overheads cost no more than £15,000. The client was happy to pay, still being ahead £450,000 in the first year, and the whole £500,000 per annum for several years afterwards.
Not long before I “left” my last job I was beaten over the head along with the team for having hardly any time down to clients on my time sheet. Those who were upset were stuck in the Dark Ages. Most of my time was spent on research with a little marketing and selling. As I said , selling was not my best attribute, but of the one-in-four (let’s be conservative) products I sold, the price was £6,000 to £10,000, and I had just done one for £30K for a couple of weeks work, because that was what it was worth to the client.
You have worked hard. Your knowledge has cost a great deal of money and a lot of your time. Always remember what you are worth and don’t sell yourself short. You will, won’t you?
