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What should I charge as a marketing consultant? (advice needed!)

by KevinK3
12 replies
I've been meeting a lot of business owners who are looking to improve their marketing efforts for various products/services, both online and offline.

I've been helping them by offering my input on their current marketing approach and sharing ways they could improve the effectiveness of their marketing message just because I know I have value to offer and I enjoy sharing what I've learned.

Sometimes I would simply exchange services but today I was asked if I'm a consultant... so I said yes and they asked what I normally charge. I said it varies based on the project and they said they wanted to schedule a meeting for us to sit down and talk more in depth.

I've already offered them a ton of value and they really like what I shared and want to move forward but I've never charged $ for my services before and I am at a total loss as to how to even approach it since there's no guarantee on investment. I have no testimonials of previous successes and the success of the marketing message I help them craft is ultimately determined by the amount of traffic they drive to their offer or how much their partners promote them.

If you are a marketing consultant, or aware of some of the practices as a marketing consultant, what would be some of the different approaches?

Per project?
Per hour?
Percentage of their sales?

This particular client sells online software that they plan to charge a recurring fee every month, my work would include helping them illustrate the value of what their service does in a camtasia powerpoint video with software demonstration and a sales presentation.

They're at a complete loss as to how to actually demonstrate the value they have to offer because they're programmers who are good at creating the product and not explaining it in a way that truly communicates the value of it. I would also create some direct marketing materials for partners to include in their direct mailing campaigns.

What are some typical fees?

It'll be tough to get an ongoing percentage of their sales and know that I am being paid my portion without being left out anything. Per project could be a large sum in the thousands that may scare them away or make them hesitant to invest that much up-front with no guaranteed returns. Per hour makes most sense but it seems strange charging that. What would I do? 50/hr? 25/hr?

Would really appreciate your input!
#advice #charge #consultant #marketing #needed
  • Profile picture of the author David Potthast
    How many additional customers do you feel you could help them bring in every month? Take that number and divide it by 2, and charge them that amount. Then they are doubling they're investment.
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    • Profile picture of the author BrashImpact
      Originally Posted by potthastd View Post

      How many additional customers do you feel you could help them bring in every month? Take that number and divide it by 2, and charge them that amount. Then they are doubling they're investment.
      I 2nd that, also, BE REALISTIC, do not use inflated #s, underpromise and over deliver. If you can do this, and Get a Strong Testimony, your off to the Races. Good luck.

      Deliver Killer Value, and they can and will pay for that.

      Robert
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  • Profile picture of the author moneymarker
    I'd ask them how much a customer is worth to them....so if you can bring them an x number of clients in a year, i'll let them know it'll only cost them 2 months worth of what they'll pay me ( call me greedy if you like but if i were the business, i don't think "doubling" my investment would be attractive enough). I want more.....

    On the other hand, if i were the consultant and think that 1-2 months worth of payment is not enough, then I'll find another client worth my time...no need to slave yourself looking after 100 when you can hit your "number" serving only 5 clients...this should give you more time to design your life
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinK3
    thanks for the feedback guys.

    their product/service is a monthly subscription to a piece of software for 100/month.

    its so core to their clients business that once they enroll, they are likely to be long-time customers cuz the software they designed is the first of its kind in their industry. they currently have no paying customers and are desperate to start bringing in revenue after developing it for a very long time and seeing no returns.

    im helping them create a promo video for their site and all the marketing copy for the site/video, offering a free 1 month trial to get people using the software so they get hooked and become customers. if they simply get 1 customer that subscribes for a year, thats 1200 dollars, which i think is an absolute low ball number cuz that doesnt take into account any other customers, whether they subscribe for 3-6-9 months or for years and years to come.

    its tough to predict how many will sign up to use it every month but i figure a business is bound to get at least 1 new client a month to be really conservative.

    these build up cumulatively and stack up pretty quick over 12 months

    $100, $200, $300, $400, $500, $600, $700, $800, $900, $1000, $1100, $1200

    $7,800 in a year total / 2 = $3,900

    i could say $3,500 and they can more than double their investment if they simply land 1 client a month. i don't feel entirely confident talking such big numbers though.

    would i ask them to write me a check for the full amount before i even start helping them craft their marketing materials?

    or would i divide that yearly amount by 12 months and ask for the first month?

    in that case, it'd just be 300 bucks for the first month... yet i'm confused about how i can just start creating this one time marketing message that's at the very heart of their business and will have a huge life-time value for their company while taking such a small payment up-front and never being sure if ill ever see money from it again?
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  • Profile picture of the author Digital Traffic
    I'm sure by now you have done your keyword research.

    Set up a PPC campaign, have them fund it, or charge them $1300 instead of $300, and offer to take 20% per new client setup.

    Take the extra $1000 and fund the PPC campaign.
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  • Profile picture of the author Plugleap
    Well I suppose you could charge hourly but that is hard to say because what if you make the client a ton of money and it only took you 2-3 hours? Then you would be worth more imo, I agree with Digital Traffic, you should setup a percentage knock-off.
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  • Profile picture of the author Digital Traffic
    Maybe what you need to do first is define your role?

    Sounds to me like you are all over the place.

    Find out exactly what your client wants, then develop your game plan.
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  • Profile picture of the author buslead
    In my experience I increasing us a combination get a client to agree and up front gaurantee of revenue, along with a marginal share of revenue.

    Of course there is a risk of not recovering everything you are due, but is gives you a share.

    To balance the risk and reward, I would make a conservative estimate of what you want to recover from the work, get the client to commit half and calculate the incremental fee to generate the full amount expected over the following year.

    Not a bad rule of thumb, but I would advise you don't be too greedy especially at the beginning there is alot of value in gaining the reference & testimonial at the beginning
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  • Profile picture of the author henrywolf2010
    This is my strategy. I create a link and rank it on Page 1 of Google. Then I contact clients and offer to redirect that link to their website. I charge between $300 and $900 per month depending on the client and/or the industry.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bronwyn and Keith
      Hi Kevin

      Depending on the service that we agree on with the client we charge a set fee.

      If they have a challenge with that we allow them to pay it quarterly or even monthly with the initial set-up cost and the first month on day one.

      BTW - we also let them know that the quarterly or monthly options have zero interest cost.

      That usually seals the deal.

      Regards

      Bronwyn and Keith
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  • Profile picture of the author Bayo
    Originally Posted by KevinK3 View Post

    Per project?
    Per hour?
    Percentage of their sales?

    ...
    I saw this while doing a quick browse this morning but unfortunately only have a only have a couple of minutes so I'll leave one recommendation.

    Never charge by the hour as an Offline Consultant.

    BAYO

    P.S. I may be able to expand more at some point but for now that's what I would urge you NOT to do.
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