[thelist] Paying for proposals?

[Erik Mattheis]

>They come to us with a "I want to do this; how much?" question
>and trust what we come up with.
>
>But, in having said that, because they're larger some of our clients
>tend to enjoy the 'dog and pony show' (as one of them put it).

I'm understanding better, ... It seems like compensation for the time
preparing the presentation would be built in to the fee once you get
it. I maybe made the mistake of assuming you weren't used to having
to put in proposals.

I'm also again realizing how fortunate I am not to have to show my
dogs and ponies too awfully much ... there has usually been at least
some (and more often _complete_) insulation between me and the
"judges" ... either someone at the client who goes to get a budget
approved by the suits or I'm subcontracting for someone good at
putting on a 100 page PowerPoint dog and pony show: in which case I
struggle to remain ignorant of the markup on my services the pretty
PowerPony presentation garners for the presenter.

>As for the amount of unbillable time, a day doesn't sound like much, but
>like you say, coupled with quick tech-support, helpful advice, chit-chat
>etc. it tends to add up to lots'o little bits of unbillable time... I
>was looking for a segment of that currently unprofitable time that has a
>distinct value to try and put a cost to that value.

It would be _completely_ in line to charge for general tech support
(not related to services you're already getting paid for like perhaps
hosting) ... this became a problem for me at one point, so I sent out
a letter to everyone saying $50 per incident or my hourly rate,
whichever's greater ... and where I live at least, that's a _deal_
compared to the places in the Yellow Pages. It cut down on the amount
of time I spend doing that stuff, and I make deserved money every
time I help a client figure out that AppleTalk is inactive.
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__________________________________________
- Erik Mattheis

(612) 377 2272
http://goZz.com/

Through June 15
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