How much do you charge to help me with my marketing?
Whether you’re hiring a marketing consultant, or an attorney retaining a forensic Expert Witness, we all want to know if we can afford what we need, and what will be the return on our investment.
In fact, this is one of the first questions you, the Expert, will have to answer when an attorney calls you.
The question is actually “how much is this going to cost me?” I ask you to consider how you would handle this question from an attorney and apply it to the question you are asking.
Like a records review or IME, a marketing budget is hard to pin down because there is no rubber stamp to expertise services–yours or mine.
The answer relies on what “this” is.
Scope of a marketing plan has moving parts, as do forensic services.
The moving parts of your practice are
- Have the quantity of records to review been doubled?
- Did the IME drag on due to an examinee’s Personality Disorder?
- Did the attorney ask for a longer or shorter report after you did the first report?
For me the unpredictable answers are:
- What else do I recommend?
- Which of the parts will I handle and which will you?
- Are we talking about a website design? Big, small, tailored to my recommendations?
- If I recommend a course of action outside the website.
- Do you want me to do it or you? Do you have the time? Can you do it correctly for max effect?
Turnkey services are fine.
Or are you more of a DIY person with hidden talents?
Experts sell their time and experience, as do we all.
I do my best to describe a reasonable range of cost based on experience. Promises are never a good idea, for you or me.
Remember though, no one ever complained about costs coming in lower than expected, but when scope balloons, we need to communicate for transparency and planning.
My job is to help you make proven and wise decisions for the practice you have now and the one you want.
The bottom line is: I charge less than you do or, if I don’t, then we should discuss your rate.
