Customer Reviews

Value-Based Fees: How to Charge - and Get - What You're Worth (Ultimate Consultant (Pfeiffer))

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Yes, this book has material from some other books by Weiss. I don't feel let down, however.

Like GTD, the ideas in this book are ground-breaking and some find it hard to accept. Not that it's hard to imagine how someone could figure this out, or that the concepts are so counter-intuitive. Just that most people think prices are a function of cost, or that there is 'a' market price for a given good or service.

What Weiss points out here is that value, or price, is subjective. This is something everyone experiences daily but can rarely notice.

Second, and most importantly, he outlines how to contract for consulting using a value-based fee, including the sales process. Weiss makes a good case for adopting this approach - good for the consultant and good for the client.

Here's an example of why value-based fees are good (not from the book): hourly, or 'time-metered' pricing will add incentive to increase the low-value '80%'of potential activities to a project. Sticking with value-based fees, or outcome-based fees, puts the incentive on focusing only on the '20%' of activities that will make a real difference. If I hire a consultant, I want results, not deliverables.

I devoured this book, and then picked up a highlighter and went through it again marking important passages. Its not written in too technical of style, and the author shows a vein of humor that I really appreciated. This book changed how I view consulting fees and I immediately put into practice much of what he recommends. I have asked Santa for two more of his books - can't wait. I highly recommend this book.

This is an excellant book to evaluate your consulting business. Even if you do not use value based fees you should just read this to get an understanding of providing value to your client.

Great book. I'm a "recovering attorney" who hasn't practiced law actively for several years. When I did, I hated the billable hour system as it did not reward me for the value I provided clients. Unfortunately, that billable hour mindset was ingrained in me. It's the way I think about billing. I am starting a consulting business and this book was recommended to me. It was difficult for me to "get it" at first. I had to read and re-read many pages/concepts. Not because the book was difficult to read, but because I was stuck in a different mindset. I slowly started to get it and enjoyed the book immensely. I will be using much of the advice in the book as I begin my consulting business and into the future. This book is a must read for anyone who sets a value on themselves according to time.

If I had any sense, I wouldn't be recommending this book because it would reveal an excellent pricing strategy to my potential competitors... But since we can see that I don't have any: this is an excellent book for any service business looking to maximize profits... period. Weiss's book 'Million Dollar Consulting' touches on some of the basics of this strategy, but this book just opens the floodgates.

Within a week of reading this book, I have already recouped the cost from the book by over 35x. I used Alan's suggestion to include options into my contracts...and what do you know? The client took an option higher than I thought they would. I don't think I need to say more, other than the book is clearly under-priced in my mind.

Dr. Weiss has been accused by detractors of writing the same book over and over. While it is true you will find certain recurrent themes across multiple volumes, please understand it is because his lessons are so fundamental as to be universal, and one cannot have these critical points drummed into one's head too many times. In other words, this is a good thing!

Value-Based Fees is one of his best volumes. Dr. Weiss focuses on the philosophical importance of value-based fees (as opposed to time-based fees), and then goes on to explain step-by-step how to migrate a practice to flat-fee billing. There are no leaps of logic here, everything is explained in perfect detail, logically. There is no better thinker in the consulting space--Dr. Weiss is the Summit.

Straightforward and directly applicable to the work of specialized consulting professionals. The underlying philosophy of value [what's it worth?, to who?, how does that value get exchanged?] has everyday benefit for me. The action lists help turn concept into results, but may be overdone in some chapters. Our "ValueDialog[sm]" has improved as a result of Weiss' wisdom.

I first heard of Alan Weiss' work years ago but didn't read any of it till about a couple of months ago, prior to signing up for a retreat for advanced speakers organized by Ed Rigsbee. I first ordered Value-Based Fees on Kindle and although I can carry this version on my iPad, I couldn't resist to buy the "tangible" book version. Alan's concepts about focusing on value instead of branding credentials or tools of delivery of services hit home. This model is outstanding and a must for successful business consultants and coaches. I will bring these lessons learned to life in my leadership consulting business.
ExecutiveHealth.com's Leading Under Pressure: Strategies to Avoid Burnout, Increase Energy, and Improve Your Well-being

Alan, thanks for all of your exceptional books. My consulting career is now over the million dollar mark thanks to your knowledge and well written books. Gloria Starr