Pricing on Purpose

As professionals, we struggle with finding the right balance for pricing. How do we capture the value we create for our customers, manage our risks, and offer a customized solution that fits our customers’ budget needs and their purchasing approach?

We usually don’t have the complete information about the scope of the work to be performed and tend to adopt an hourly price. We do this because we think it helps reduce our risks, but does it? Or we price by the hour because it’s what the customers’ management and purchasing departments are used to and they don’t understand the conflict this causes. (We want more, they want less).

At Asyma, we’ve developed and implemented a fixed fee model that offers customers three pricing levels. We offer this pricing with a 100% money back guarantee based on a specific defined project scope and results outcome. This key innovation is a major differentiator between us and the competition.

With fixed fee pricing, we are able to reward employees who work quickly and focus on deadlines and project due dates. Our employees concentrate on problem solving, collaboration, and communication to meet or exceed project due dates. We are able to pursue the best ideas and focus on what is in the customer’s best interest: delivering on time, every time, and solving the customer’s problem. With a fixed fee project the customer is able to determine, up front, if investment in the project is worth it.

It creates an engagement where:

1. We win by pricing based on the value we create, which increases profitability
2. The customer wins by paying a price determined up front that we guarantee the value
3. The customer wins by having solutions delivered on time, every time
4. The employees win by being rewarded based on value created

As Ron Baker says in his book Pricing on Purpose, “Unfortunately price theory is ignored by too many in business today.”

Maybe it’s time for all of us professionals to take a hard look at our pricing policies. Fixed fee pricing has certainly worked for us and created more of a win/win relationship with customers. Maybe it will for you too.