In March I posted a summary of Jerry Weinberg’s ten laws of trust, taken from his brilliant book, published twenty-five years ago and still in print: The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving & Getting Advice Successfully. It was clear from the response that many people hadn’t heard about Jerry’s work.
Today I was thinking about adjusting my consulting rates, and remembered that Jerry has a lot to say on this subject too. Understanding his Ten Laws of Pricing made it easy for me to set fees for my work, and, more importantly, helped me feel comfortable with the role of money in my professional life. #2 alone gave me the confidence to bill an additional six digit income during my IT consulting career, and #9 makes setting your rate for billing or being charged anything a snap.
So here are Jerry’s Ten Laws of Pricing. If you like them and want to know more, do yourself a big favor and buy his book!
- Pricing has many functions, only one of which is the exchange of money.
- The more they pay you, the more they love you. The less they pay you, the less they respect you.
- The money is usually the smallest part of the price.
- Pricing is not a zero-sum game.
- If you need the money, don’t take the job.
- If they don’t like your work, don’t take their money.
- Money is more than price.
- Price is not a thing, it’s a negotiated relationship.
- Set the price so you won’t regret it either way. (Also known as the Principle of Least Regret.)
- All prices are ultimately based on feelings, both yours and theirs.