Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Confusing Output with Input…

A few days ago, someone asked me, “how do you have time to actually make a living or do anything for clients because it seems like all you are doing is marketing your business?

It would take me 3 hours every day to do what you do.”

Let’s leave out, for the moment, that marketing is 99% perception and 1% reality Winking smile

Instead, let’s focus on the difference between input and results.

For a long time, our mind frame as workers has been based upon an industrial, assembly-line mentality.

The 8 hour day. How much do you pay for hour?

I need you to do one task, over and over, for an hour and I’m willing to pay you X for it.

Not only does the economy rely on that less and less, but when you sell your services to someone, they aren’t buying your time, they are buying your results.

I never charge by the hour because my clients don’t care how much time I spend working for them.

What they care about is: the results we hope to generate.

And, when I hire vendors, I don’t care how long it takes them. What I know is: I’m willing to pay a certain amount for this project and if you can do it for that amount, great.

Raving Fan, Jack Quarles, sent me a great post along these lines called “they bill by the hour.”

It’s worth the read and it’s worth thinking about.

What’s more, it puts you in the mind of your customer and, well, obviously that’s a good thing.

Oh, and the 3 hours that it would take that person to do what I do…it takes me about 20 minutes Winking smile

But, that’s another post for another day.

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