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New Business Pricing Structure - help!
Hi all,
I've been approached by a web and print designer (one man band) to potentially find new business for him. I've never worked on a freelance basis before and I'm curious to know what the norm is in terms of fees (if indeed there is a norm).
I would be required to make new contacts and manage any accounts that I bring in. The account management side I would be happy to charge a daily rate for, but I need to work out how I would charge for the time spent researching, cold calling, following up leads, sending/presenting creds presentations etc. If I only charge for new business wins then I could potentially working very hard for very little given the current financial climate. My feeling is however that my prospective client, who is effectively freelance himself, would prefer not to pay me a fee for the ground work, just for the business that I bring him, which I think seems unrealistic.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
I've been approached by a web and print designer (one man band) to potentially find new business for him. I've never worked on a freelance basis before and I'm curious to know what the norm is in terms of fees (if indeed there is a norm).
I would be required to make new contacts and manage any accounts that I bring in. The account management side I would be happy to charge a daily rate for, but I need to work out how I would charge for the time spent researching, cold calling, following up leads, sending/presenting creds presentations etc. If I only charge for new business wins then I could potentially working very hard for very little given the current financial climate. My feeling is however that my prospective client, who is effectively freelance himself, would prefer not to pay me a fee for the ground work, just for the business that I bring him, which I think seems unrealistic.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
- Contact in PM
Rizzo
Messages count : 51Likes count : 0Registration : 5 November 2006I'm not sure there is a "norm" here so I'll be interested to hear what others think.
Shoe on the other foot this designer probably doesn't know how successful this is going to work out so if he agrees to pay you for cold calling and then doesn't get any business..well I'm sure you've thought of that.
Where are the list of prospects to approach going to come from? How about initially you ask this designer to supply you with a list of say 30 companies that he would like as new clients. That way you get a feel for the sort of company you should be going after for future reference and it cuts down some of the initial research time?
Half of the problem with these things is getting going so sometimes it's best just to make a start as best as you can agree and then review it weekly until you find a system that works, time and money wise. So you could agree to spend X hours in week one trialling it by calling this first list, with expenses paid of course, and then you'll have a better idea for a fair system. Perhaps once you've got profitable work coming in there won't be such an issue about the funds being available to pay you for the time spent on new business or you could ask for a higher success fee if he is reluctant to pay you for the groundwork.
If it's harder work than you thought getting new business then you'll need a Plan B.
Not sure if that helps?