Thoughts on Pricing

We believe there is entirely too much fear and mystery in professional service firm pricing.  Professional service firms hate talking about the subject and potential clients are afraid to ask. 

Not a good start to a healthy, trust-based relationship. . .

Ironically, we think it is more likely fear, rather than the actual pricing, that leads business owners to hesitate using professional service firms to the degree that they should.

How unfortunate!  CPAs and business attorneys regularly save businesses many times over their costs in the form of reduced tax liabilities and headaches.  It should, therefore, come as no surprise that Cornerstone draws freely on the services of both professions.

Nevertheless . . .

Cornerstone’s Pricing Approach is Different

 Cornerstone Business Solutions is being built as a customer friendly professional service firm and this includes our pricing.

Unlike many professional service firms, we prefer not to charge by the hour although there are circumstances, particularly in early stage engagements, where it’s the right thing to do for both the client and the consultant. 

For straight-forward projects, we often find an ‘hourly meter’ can be counter productive to building trust which, by its very nature, takes time to earn.

Why is building trust so important?  Because business development is at the heart of your livelihood and the value of your business.  You need a trust-based relationship with your business development advisor and that requires time to earn.  Spending the time necessary to earn trust is difficult when the fear of an hourly-based bill looms large in the back of the mind. (For those who are curious or prefer hourly billing, our standard rate is $175 per hour which is in line with the professionals mentioned above.)

If not hourly, how do we prefer to price business development services? 

In a routine business development engagement, Cornerstone prefers working on a monthly retainer or fixed-price project basis when possible so that our valued clients have greater control over their business development investment.

Our more simple engagements often begin with a modest monthly retainer.  Following completion of the business development plan, an engagement can move to a series of fixed-price projects with investment amounts varying by project size and budget.

In the case of larger, more expensive projects (e.g. a comprehensive and complicated cash flow model), we often divide a client’s investment into several monthly progress payments.

Thus far, our pricing approach seems to be working well for both our clients and ourselves and our clients appreciate our willingness to publicly take the fear and mystery out of our pricing.  (A detailed time report is also maintained at all times for the record.)

The Bottom Line on Pricing — Cornerstone Stretches Your Business Development Dollar 

Cornerstone’s pricing is customer friendly, flexible and affordable!  We don’t want a pricing mystery or pricing itself to hinder your intelligent desire to build a better business.

Call us for a complementary, no-obligation consultation.  Don’t suffer from FTI (Failure To Implement) disease.  Let’s get started today Building a Better Business.

As always, Cornerstone’s service is satisfaction guaranteed!