Have you ever had a plumber fix a clogged drain? Have you ever hired a cleaning service to get your house in order? Have you ever taken your car to the mechanic for a repair? In all of these situations you were likely to have paid for a service by the hour. Did you ask upfront about what it would cost? How did you feel when they quoted an hourly rate? How did you feel when you got the bill? What was the first thing that went through your mind? Have you ever had one of these services take longer than expected?
Chances are you thought about the time it would take. And these are services that usually only rack up a few hours of work at a time. Imagine what happens when a job is a project that spans hundreds or thousands of hours. Have you ever been in that position?
Likely, you would spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about how much time was spent and how much remains. People in these positions, unless they have endless piles of cash, tend to worry about time. It’s human nature. In this situation, time expenditure directly correlates to cost. It’s only natural to want to minimize time.
Are you putting your customers in this precarious position?
If you bill by the hour, your customers worry about time. As much as you’re excited at the prospect of additional work, they dread the amount of time that will be involved. While you focus on getting things done, they’re watching the clock. Perhaps a few of your customers are vocal about time expenditure, but it’s usually after the fact when they pore over the invoice. After the time has passed for anyone to do anything about it, aside from slashing hours.
For some of your customers, the worrying can be nerve racking. For others, the unexpectedly large invoice is beyond frustrating. Your customers wish there was a better way. Are you willing to find it?