2021 IEEE-USA Consultants Fee Survey Report Median Billable Rates Up, Covid Affecting Short- and Long-Term Business
Content Company The Consultant’s Guide to Setting Profitable Consulting Rates Average Consulting Project Value ($USD) The Value-Based Method For Setting Your Consulting Fee Recommended statistics Machine learning consulting rates The global consulting market reached a value of 160 billion U.S. dollars. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, this figure is estimated to decrease to 132 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Don’t get distracted by adding new clients or branding your business—just do your best possible work. Rinse and repeat, slowly raising your prices with each new client. Some clients will start the conversation by proposing their standard rates, while others will ask what you charge. Set rates that make sense for your business and personal expenses. On the other hand, a consultant who provides ongoing monthly services may want to bill on a monthly retainer. The source defines the professional service industry as accounting, advertising and marketing, architectural, management consulting, engineering, IT, legal, and research services. Project-based pricing models are the most popular, but they’re not the only viable option.7 A decent number of consultants also charge by the hour, by the day, or on a monthly retainer basis. Company Now that you understand the different methods of setting your consulting rates, and have seen the average fees of several different industries, it’s time to figure out how and how much you will charge. Consultants get paid based on the tangible value of the project. In other words, you pay for the result and outcomes the consulting company creates for you. Generally, IT consultants charge 10% of the value of what they’re providing. A multi-sourcing model has become more and more attractive as the problems businesses face grow increasingly complex. Companies are now breaking their large projects into smaller ones and then hiring multiple parties with unique capabilities to handle these smaller sub-projects. Data in this story represents activity on LinkedIn’s platform from July 2021 to June 2022. The turnover estimates may be below actual turnover, due to a possible lag between the time someone leaves a company and when they update their LinkedIn profile to reflect that departure. Interestingly, many of the other industries with below-average turnover — namely construction, transportation, and manufacturing — also rely on in-person talent, just as many high-turnover industries did. The freelance job that pays the most is Tax Lawyer ($30/hour). I’ve recently joined a specialist consultancy (small team 50+) part of an international consultancy and advisory organisation. I challenge you to take what you’ve learned here to make your consulting business better. Here are three action items for you if you’re serious about raising your rates and increasing your revenue. And the same amount of consultants (80%) are actively looking to increase their fees. The Consultant’s Guide to Setting Profitable Consulting Rates Using the project-based method will eliminate this uncertainty. Consultants are notorious for undercharging — especially when they charge by the hour. You’ll spend just as much time winning projects as you do delivering them. As a beginner consultant, you’re typically not working 40-hour weeks. As I was reading your article I must say it was quite helpful. Imagine the US Declaration of Independence, for example. You’ll likely spend those days doing admin work and finding new consulting clients. Either way, they aren’t the type of client you want to work with. Some consultants offer discounts for retainer fees as they’d prefer consistent income over hourly or per-project invoices. The sector includes a wide range of government work, from law enforcement and firefighting to international affairs and urban planning. This year, the survey included a number of questions on COVID 19, specifically how it affected consulting activities in the past year. The report summarizes key positive and negative impacts listed by respondents. Average Consulting Project Value ($USD) One of the issues with the hourly method is that your client feels uncertainty around how much they’ll end up paying you. And uncertainty around a project will stop your client from moving forward. Every time you successfully complete a project, increase your hourly rate by $25. The Hourly Formula is when you charge by the hour for your consulting services. Focus on delivering the best results possible, which means don’t try and get additional clients. Once you’ve shown the results, create a case study from that first client. Repeat this step and start scaling your rates up from there until you find a comfortable cost for your clients. The Value-Based Method For Setting Your Consulting Fee For example, a client’s budget might not be able to afford you. Instead of altogether rejecting the client , steer the client towards negotiation. Understanding what the client needs play a major role in how you price or whether you want to move forward at all. Toss out a number too early, and it might be hard to change it later if the project evolves. Do your research and prepare yourself with the rates we outlined above, and you’ll be ready and adaptable going into any conversation. You’re most likely transitioning to a consultant career from a previous job, business, or corporation. How much you made there might contribute to going off on your own, but it can help provide a baseline of what you need to hit. Ask these questions to ensure your aspirational salary can pay your bills and be realistic. Your value is long-term financial gain, removing annoying roadblocks, revealing business-changing insights, creating ongoing traffic, and more. Harrison, fees can certainly be different based on where you live. There are consultants living in countries considered less developed who are still able to charge and earn significant rates – especially if your clientele is global. Most management consultants use an hourly rate, whereas strategy consultants are split between hourly rate and value-based pricing. Productized consulting services are becoming more popular — 40% of consultants offer a fixed-scope, fixed-price productized service. There are several different ways to calculate what you’re going to charge, especially when you’re factoring intangible aspects like experiences, skills, and expertise. These calculators are
