One of my clients has just had a change of directorship, which is fine, however on a conversation on Friday he is know starting to question about the charges that we are issuing to his company - there was never ever an issue prior to this, but he feels that 'we IT guys feel like we can charge what we like', what annoys me was this has all been agreed and cleared with the previous director and he was more than happy with it all.
Sounds like he is trying to assert himself as the main man.
I am sure he will realise eventually if he wants things doing properly he has to pay for it....if not give him a slap!
It got my back up, as he started to make me feel I was ripping him off depite being over 50% cheaper than the previous guys!
He wants us to have a meeting about the on going support and future development, he said will you come to us (i normally do), then said we will cover travel costs, to which I added and consultancy costs, he questioned it and said surely this would be in your benefit and should be free!?
We also done a handover day with the previous guys and I said it sounds like you don't expect a bill for that one either, he said well yeah I don't, I was like tuff, why would I do it for free, any day spent with you is a day lost earnings to me from another client.
tbh, if i charged the rate the previous guys did, I would happily give the odd free day here and there to get other pieces of work, but tbh we cut this one down real tight, so there isn't room for loads of free days here and there.
He then went on to add if I was putting a 500k project on the table, would you charge me to talk about you doing that, of course not you idiot, so long as we made the cost back in the future, but are you putting that on the table - no!? So shut up.
Is he a big client? Or are you able to walk away from the contract if this guy carries on being an idiot?
He is probably trying it on with all his suppliers/consultants with the hope some of them will cut costs. Stick to your guns.
He is not that big, however the technology he uses it very niche market, so he is very limited who he can go with, I have already been told by another director they can't afford to stay with the current supplier, the thing he doesn't get is that we have drastically cut our rates for these guys. I am sticking by them, he could tell, I think, I was getting annoyed about having the conversation, as he did reassure me that he wants to do business with me, he has heard good things etc.
But I am just hoping it doesn't come down to this every time work is going to be done!
I think this is quite normal. His bonus is probably linked to saving money and increasing profit. His first job was probably to get a list of the main spending areas and reduce the costs on each if he can.
Try not to take it personally, he has to ask or he won't get. If he did look around then like you say he would realise he was onto a good thing.
I think this is quite normal. His bonus is probably linked to saving money and increasing profit. His first job was probably to get a list of the main spending areas and reduce the costs on each if he can.
Try not to take it personally, he has to ask or he won't get. If he did look around then like you say he would realise he was onto a good thing.
I get the whole don't ask, don't get thing, but its just the fact he was making me feel like I was ripping him off for charging for stuff. Its hard when you are the one doing the billing and the one doing the work - you always want to make sure you give good service for the money, but he just doesn't seem to understand the way things work, like I said if I was charging the previous suppliers day rate I would happily cut days here or there as I would make them back very quickly, but with such a low rate we can't do that.
I am kind of in-between in that I employ contractors but have to justify why they cost 'so much' to a new MD. I explain that contactors earn what they earn because they are very good at what they do, and in the long run cheaper and less trouble than taking on full time staff.
I think it is frustration on their part. They only see the numbers and perhaps don't appreciate the fine detail of the jobs.
It may just be that he thinks you are cheaper than the competition when they obviously overcharged so they could offer 'free days'. Everyone likes to think they are getting something for nothing, maybe he just thinks you work the same way.
When you have your meetings / consultations do you have a written example of your business practice, so that it clearly explains you offer value for money and that the larger the account the more flexible you can be.
It's similar in the world of podiatry where the cost of orthoses is arrived at by picking a figure out of the air, whereas when it is broken down into the component parts on the invoice people can see what they are buying and realise how much they have been overcharged. (it's one of the reasons o don't do private work as i would find it hard to cheat people out of money for something they need *looks in empty wallet*)
He is not that big, however the technology he uses it very niche market, so he is very limited who he can go with, I have already been told by another director they can't afford to stay with the current supplier, the thing he doesn't get is that we have drastically cut our rates for these guys.
Hi Liquid, I have had this problem recently as well. Do you mind me asking if you have a master service aggreement or contract in place with him, or do you provide more ad hoc? I learned in the past that having a signed contract in place- be it fixed price or time & materials- is the safest way to navigate a change in MD/VP.
From the sound of his niche market- it sounds like you may have them where you want them. at the same time, I can imagine that this is going to become more and more frequent for contractors as belts accross the market tighten up. As someone pointed our earlier- in the long run contractors and specialists are sometimes 30% cheaper than a full time head off the top- and often they would not need the special skills on a FT basis either.
