I was talking to a friend over the weekend about something I call the Service Provider Slide.
It’s an odd little symptom that shows itself when service providers bill based on time units.
I used to do this back in my tech consulting days. I charged by the hour back then because I wasn’t smart enough to do otherwise.
So here’s how the Service Provider Slide plays out:
One minute you’re tickled pink that you got a new web design client. The next minute you realize you have to earn that money one minute at a time.
You are excited to offer premium service at the beginning of the relationship. Because, hey, there is a lot of money on the table.
But then something weird happens.
All of a sudden, that $X/hour you’re getting seems normal. In fact, no matter what the amount is, eventually you come to realize you “should” be getting more. Why are you working so hard for this? Aren’t you more valuable than this?
And so it goes.
This is a bad position to be in because when this type of stuff is going through your mind, it’s hard to truly serve a client.
I believe that’s a big part of why so many service providers have great service… at the beginning. And then why, after a while, service starts to slide.
It doesn’t really matter what that amount is. You get excited for like a minute, until your brain figures out that in order to get that money, you have to spend what is really the only TRUE asset we all have: TIME.
I think there are two ways out. First, you could develop a superhuman level of self-discipline and just make sure you don’t succumb to this.
I think the better way, however, is that you figure out a way to never put yourself in this situation.
Time and value have no direct correlation. Are you really more valuable if you stick around longer?
You know what I’ve found when you stop pricing by time and start pricing other ways? (i.e. by the project)
The longer you stick around, the less valuable you become. Not in real terms but in perception. Experts who stick around eventually turn into “one of the gang.” So you actually make out BETTER by delivering maximum value in the shortest amount of time. If you bill for time however, this approach will mean you’re screwed!
Just because everyone else in your industry might be billing for time doesn’t mean you have to. But just because you decide to make a change doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.
In fact, it’s not. It’s really messy. Especially at the beginning.
But do you really want to go on the rest of your life with a cement ceiling over your head? Do you really want to HAVE to work X amount of hours to get X amount of money?