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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>+ 1 on enjoying the discussion thus far. I think Domenic
hit the nail on his head with his legal analogy. The legal industry,
while mostly despised </span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;
color:#1F497D'>J</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>, has really figured it out – if you go to visit a
lawyer there is an expectation that the first 15 minutes to an hour is free
while the details of the case are discussed, discovery, etc. but anything
beyond that is billable time. In the tech sector, the buyer usually does
not understand the value or benefits of the services that are being
provided. However, if you walk into a law firm there is an understanding
that there are varying levels of expertise (i.e. a senior partner bills more
than a newly minted law school grad), and more importantly the client gets “it.”.
Conversely, Drupal/tech customers can’t comprehend the subjective nature of
our rates and why 3 developers may charge 3 different prices – its partially
their fault, but we need to do a better job of how we position and market
ourselves to avoid these constant fee fights. There is a reason why
the Lullabots or Acquias of the Drupalsphere charge on the high side – not
only have they earned the street cred, but really done a wonderful job at
positioning themselves in the public market. In Acquia’s case it certainly
helps that Dries is the co-founder. Understandably though, they are viewed
as the “senior partners” in the firm. There will always be a
sliding scale of economics at work, but don’t lose sight of the fact that
marketing is a big part of your consultancy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Dave<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Mediacurrent<br>
<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
consulting-bounces@drupal.org [mailto:consulting-bounces@drupal.org] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Domenic Santangelo<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, August 06, 2009 12:48 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> A list for Drupal consultants and Drupal service/hosting providers<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [consulting] General consultant's vent<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal>On Thu, Aug 6, 2009 at 6:34 AM, Brian Vuyk <<a
href="mailto:brian@brianvuyk.com">brian@brianvuyk.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I agree with you in principal. If the client doesn't
approach us with fully drawn up specification and design documents, they should
expect to pay consulting time to get their project refined and firmed up.
Historically, probably 10-15% or more of my hours were tied up in this aspect
of business. However, as long as so many developers are willing to do this for
free, it can't easily be stopped. Small shops, like mine, can't give up a
competitive edge like that, and charging a client several days labour that
another shop would give for free just doesn't work.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><br>
I recently needed a legal document drawn up, so I called an attorney that came
highly recommended from friends in this area. He drew up the (one page)
document, sent it over, I looked through it and said, "great, let's do
it" and he asked for a large retainer. I can't use this doc unless I pay
it. That too got me to thinking about Drupal work -- okay, fine, let's estimate
and wireframe for free, and build that cost into contracts we DO land. <br>
<br>
I don't really have an answer here, but I think examples from other more
established industries might show good patterns that we can follow. I dunno.<br>
<br>
-Dom<o:p></o:p></p>
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