RE: OT - Do you charge consultation fees?

Hi.

I would definitely charge them a consultancy fee (and I do), this is no
longer presale work, this is actual design work.

I roughly says that the first meeting I can accept as a presale meeting
maybe meeting number 2 where I (and a salesguy) presents the offer, but
after that the following meetings, that it is consultancy.

Usually the offer only draws out the design in headlines this does not
include and detailed design or any technology I may choose to use.

If they require a meeting number 3, and that meeting is not for signing a
contract, they will be billed for the time used.

Hth
Martin

-----Original Message-----
From: nobody_at_groupstudy.com [mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com] On Behalf Of
Gregory Gombas
Sent: 15. december 2009 15:32
To: Cisco certification
Subject: OT - Do you charge consultation fees?

Sorry for the OT. This question is more geared for owners of small
consulting practices or those who work at VARs, but anyone else can
chime in as well:

As you know, during the sales process there is a lot of time spent
prospecting, initial meeting with potential clients, discussing
requirements, network assessment, follow up meetings with decision
makers, etc...it often takes 3-5 meetings to make a sale.

Sometimes it pays off and you win a nice project, but lately I've been
running into companies that are just looking for some free advice -
basically taking my ideas and doing the work in-house or shopping
around for a lower price.

I am curious to hear where you draw the line as to what is free? Do
you charge a consultation fee for the 1st meeting with a client? How
about the network assessment? Do you vary your approach based on the
size of the deal?

Thanks,
Gregory Gombas
CCIE #19649

Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
Received on Tue Dec 15 2009 - 20:03:31 ART