LIVE Q&A SESSION 21:

March 25th, 2021: 6pm (Eastern Time, US & Canada)

Chat Transcript:
Where are you joining us from?
Alison Smith:

NYC
Nami Amso:
Auckland
Sunny Tam:
SFO
David Christensen AIA:
Bellingham, WA
Tony Masters:
Tony Masters Sydney Australia
Todd Barnett:
Madison, Wisconsin
Stephan Kryvoviaza:
Sunny Gold Coast……
Henrik Folkar:
Saigon
Verity Frizzell:
New Jersey, USA
Chris Morrison:
Sunshine Coast Qld
Brad Huggins:
Casa Grande, AZ
Anthony Robins:
Vancouver BC Canada
Andrew Haney:
Atlanta, GA
Jill Gleave:
Sydney, Australia
shelley indyk:
sydney
Bill Kumlin:
Calgary alberta
Naama Blonder:
Thank you
Naama Blonder:
What I am thinking of saying is I will charge now 50% less
Naama Blonder:
and when it’s approved I will receive
Naama Blonder:
50%
Naama Blonder:
as a bonus
Naama Blonder:
what other than approval?
Naama Blonder:
as a goal?
Naama Blonder:
Thank you
Todd Barnett:
No. Has not been a problem. Yet. 🙂
David Christensen AIA:
Retainers for new clients mostly
Joanna Wasilewska:
deffinitely charge per phase and if they don’t pay you don’t move on to the next phase + have % penalty added for your voices unpaid within 30 days. 😏
Nami Amso:
Thank you very much for your time.
Alexandra Howieson:
https://calendly.com/blueturtleconsulting/fee-proposal-review-consultation-with-ian-motley
Jill Gleave:
Thank you – inspiring!
Questions answered:
Naama:
We are thinking to offer our client to reduce our upfront fee for the rezoning stage and get a success bonus when the project is approved.
In what way the Fee Proposal will look different than usual?
What advice can you share on that move from a fee perspective (anything you can think of!)?

Gerry:
1) What about a letter form contract/proposal without a termination clause?
2) What about a retainer of 10%?
3) What about a two part contract first for preliminary with cost estimate and second with a percentage of the preliminary cost estimate?

Tony:
Establishing a relationship with a client is fundamental to winning a project.
Part of that process is how you can add value to the client.  We now do this in two stages:
First an LCC which defines the project, the planning parameters of the site, some written options on directions one might take, some initial budgetary estimates and a program.  This is paid for by the prospect so that they become a client.
Our second stage is an action plan, which is a legal document. Should the Action Plan appear to be a legal document or should it be a continuation of reinforcing the client relationship?

Magid:
1) How can we communicate the value of our level of service and product design quality in the fee proposal so that $- comparisons with competitive proposals are not taken at face value?
2) How can the unsophisticated client discriminate between two similarly structured proposals and select us with confidence that though fees are higher they are getting much more value.
3) What kind of guarantees can architectural firms present to clients in order to manage their fears?

Verity:
Can you explain the differences between a retainer, mobilization payment & deposit?

Adrian:
Any tips on chasing fee payments from a client who is not paying their invoices?

Anonymous Attendee:
We have been issuing our proposals with (NTE) “not to exceed” fee amounts, and billing hourly to that amout. We are thinking of changing our fee structure to fix fee for each phase and bill out in a percentage per month. My question is we have clients that ask for documentation for justifying the fee and hourly has been easy. How do you recommend we do this for a fixed fee, showing the supportive documentation?

Anonymous Attendee:
Hi! I am a designer and I charge % of construction cost or any services/trades I procure and it covers procurement process and walk through the scope before work begins. When i hire trades, it’s a fair fee. When I hire GC it adds up to a one large amount so I can see how it may be getting uncomfortable although I never had a problem obtaining a payment. What would be another option to charge? keep in mind, it is not for project management after construction begins. I charge monthly fee for that.

David:
hi- in NYC, I 100% use AIA contract templates with an attachment explaining services to new inexperienced clients, assume similar arch org templates around the world? Do you have a set of templates, you can’t possibly reinvent each project but doesnt hourly proposal have upsets, estimated totals?

Adrian:
what is the best way of doing due diliggence on a client before engagement?
References:
1. Fee Proposal Workshop: On Demand Training & Mentoring:
Click for details

2. Blog post: The Right (And Wrong) Way To Calculate Hourly Rate
Click to View

3. Schedule a Call with Ian Motley
Click to View Calendar

To Register for a future session Click here