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I have three rates. You are a charity, or other worthy cause, or someone I really want to work with - 50% - 100% discount. You are a normal client - 100%. Yo
by edent 4y ago
I have three rates.
You are a charity, or other worthy cause, or someone I really want to work with - 50% - 100% discount.
You are a normal client - 100%.
You are either an arsehole or have asked for something very last minute - 150%-200% depending on the mood I'm in.
The last one, colloquially known as the fuck-off rate, is probably the best bit of contracting advice I ever got from a colleague. He hated the gig we were doing, utterly despised the boss, and walked away smiling every day because he was one week closer to retirement. It's only really sustainable for your mental health in short runs.
Oh, and never charge per hour. It isn't like you can do an hour for client X and then the next one on client Y. You're not a bloody lawyer - you're a professional!
I sometimes split jobs into half-days, if the client prefers it. Although that's more like 66% for each half.
Oh, and finally, you don't customise Salesforce. You help your clients solve a problem. That may usually involve Salesforce, but most of your potential clients probably don't know what SF can do. So what you're actually selling is a way to optimise the client funnel (or whatever).
- steve_slammin 4y agoHe helps his clients solve problems...unless they aren't using Salesforce. Then they're on their own.
- datavirtue 4y agoGood point. Developers need to quit putting tools (languages, frameworks, cloud vendors) and tech buzzwords next to their name. It is embarrassing as hell.
- edent 4y agoI wouldn't say embarrassing - I'd just say limiting. A plumber doesn't list the names of the industrial chemicals and tools. They say "we unblock your toilet quickly and safely" - because that's what the customer is buying.
- dinosaurdynasty 4y agoWell at least there aren't 20 types of toilets where each one takes 3 years to learn how to unlock...
- PainfullyNormal 4y agoAren't there? You should have a candid conversation with a plumber sometime. I think you'll be surprised.
- Noneofya 4y agoIf you need 3 years to unlock the toilet with any framework, that says more about you than your profession.
- NoZZz 4y agoWe should also have the conversation as to why that plumber can get away with cash xD
- brightball 4y agoI always called that 3rd rate the "rush rate"
- WithinReason 4y agoIt also applies for salaries in a job search, you adjust based on the company.
- ironlake 4y ago>I have three rates. If you mention one of them, we can probably calculate the other two.
- tagersenim 4y agoOh, to be able to charge by the hour would be such bliss as a lawyer. We charge by 0,1 hours: every 6 minutes need to be accounted for.
- czbond 4y agoI've always thought that was weird. What is the underlying reason do you think? I get 6 minute phone calls, but to then pivot to another 6 minute+ task is too granular
- zemptime 4y agoSuspect 6 minutes being increment has more to do with being 1/10 of an hour (easy to calculate rate) & and as fine-grained as you can get without being so obnoxious you can't track.
- jliptzin 4y agoI love getting charged $75 for emails that just say “OK”
- brk 4y agoI do consulting, but not as a developer, more business growth/strategy. I tell all my clients, you are not paying for my time spent on a specific task, you are paying for access to my 25+ years of experience, learnings, and contacts. An email that just says "OK" might be the net result of a set of experiences and knowledge that would take the client 2 weeks and $2,000 to obtain on their own. $75 would therefore be a bargain.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- VoodooJuJu 4y agoI too delude myself into believing an "OK" from me is worth $75.
- cgb223 4y agoIf you don’t charge by the hour and the half day unit is optional, what’s your recommended unit of time or work to measure by?
- cosmodisk 4y agoDays, ideally weeks.
- scruple 4y agoI also operate on a sliding scale. I once charged a ludicrous hourly rate for a client who came to me asking for VB6 work (in 2015) that was very last minute. I genuinely didn't want the work, it landed on my lap through word-of-mouth between a former client (who I had done some VB6 work for a few years prior) and this prospective client, and realized that I needed to adjust my rates to account for a variety of circumstances.
- cosmodisk 4y agoI did the same recently. I didn't want the job and was quite tired,so I just quoted some stupid price so I won't need to do it. Ended up working the weekend and a bit, which was almost x1.5 of my normal rate.
- riekus 4y agoGold here, thank you! How do you get your SF clients?