Rav:
Would you recommend reducing your fee if your client thinks you’re expensive so you don’t lose the job?
Miriam:
I am often asked to meet on site to discuss the project before being appointed. How much should I disclose of my design solution to their project before my fee proposal is accepted?
Piers:
How do we know whether to bundle, upsell, cross-sell, version, etc. in a fee proposal? How can we best tailor our strategy to our client?
Audrey:
How do I filter our potential problem clients?
David:
When clients receive a fee proposal they tend to look at the bottom line rather than the range of services offered and the value attributable. How can I get them to compare like for like?
James:
For the initial service you proposed, should it be hourly not to exceed?
Chris:
My hourly rate for fixed fee quotes (house extensions) is £20. Any more than that and I would not get the job. This is not a high income for a professional but is driven by the ‘unqualified’ competition! Would mandatory fee scales help overcome this problem?
Sylke:
How to prevent the common issue of clients not paying the fee after receiving the proposed scheme via email.
James:
Competing firms sometimes low ball the fee by using lower salaried employees to provide the service and your firm uses senior people. How would you recommend dealing with that situation?
Thomas:
It has been suggested I offer a three-tiered proposal of fixed fees based on level of services. That seems too complex for the client to digest. Also, I have been told the client will always select the meddle fee.
Anonymous Attendee:
In the fee proposal should we explicity say payment methods? For example, we will pass along extra fees if you pay by credit card or online (via Venmo, Paypal, etc). And should we allow flexibility and all the possibilities to pay by check, card, ACH, online, crypto etc? Or say we don’t take payment in these particular ways because of X reasons? Thank you!