Kelford Labs Daily: Shrink the scope, not the cost
Don’t discount yourself.
There’s a saying amongst experienced consultants that you don’t reduce the price, you reduce the scope.
Meaning, if a client wants to work with you but can’t pay you your full value, you don’t give a discount. Instead, you change the scope. For example, if your price is $10,000 and they only have $5,000, you don’t deliver a 10k project for 5k. You scope out a 5k project you could do together instead.
Put simply, you just do less.
That’s simple, intuitive, and obvious if you’ve been in consulting long enough.
But when it comes to doing our own marketing—and our own time—as consultants, it’s painfully easy to forget.
Like, if you’ve decided to start a newsletter, a blog, or a podcast, it’s easy to initially scope out the end-all-be-all option. The one you dream of, but, in reality, you can’t afford.
Which leads to trying to eke out “discounts,” by half-assing the implementation, outsourcing the hard work, or rushing through it thoughtlessly.
When, instead, we should change the scope.
If you can’t send out a weekly newsletter… don’t.
If you can’t do a monthly podcast, don’t.
If you can’t rewrite your entire website this week, don’t try.
Change the scope, adjust the goal, and turn it into a smaller project that’s more likely to succeed.
When it comes to your marketing, you’re your own client and service provider. Giving or receiving discounts—even to or for yourself—just incentivizes rushing, thoughtlessness, and resentment. As all discounts do.
But when you change the scope, you lower the stakes, and you make success more likely.
And isn’t that the point?
