When I negotiate consultant work that I don't want to do that much, I tell my hourly rate and estimate. That usually scares people off. When I think the job wo

When I negotiate consultant work that I don't want to do that much, I tell my hourly rate and estimate. That usually scares people off. When I think the job would be fun/interesting/challenging(intherightway) I tell "I will do this, it will cost you $LARGE_SUM, and in the odd case I can't fix the problem, you pay nothing." Companies are usually very happy with this arrangement, as they can quickly consider whether having their problem fixed is worth $LARGE_SUM, especially since the not-fixed scenario means no risk for them. My hourly income from those tasks is sometimes very small, sometimes very very large, and on average, I earn more pr. hour than I could ever charge on a $/h deal.