Hit me at 3am that I had been pricing client proposals all wrong for 2 years

Honestly, I realized I was just guessing at hourly rates for my consulting work. No data, just vibes. At 3am after losing a bid to a competitor, I finally looked at my actual time logs and saw I was undercharging by 40 percent. What tipped me off was seeing the same firm win three contracts in a row with similar scope. Has anyone else had a gut check on their pricing model after a loss?

3 comments

3 Comments

river_bailey22mo ago

losing a bid to a competitor" is always the wakeup call lol. I'd be curious what your new pricing method is.

jana_davis9028d ago

Think about whether the transparency actually changed how the client saw your value or if it just made you feel better about losing. I had a similar situation where I laid out every single line item in my proposal after losing two bids in a row. The next client actually told me they appreciated the breakdown but still went with someone who had a flat rate. So now I'm wondering if being too detailed can sometimes backfire because it gives them more reasons to nitpick. Did you notice any pushback on the itemized costs from clients who did choose you, or did it work exactly like you hoped?

ruby_sanchez452mo ago

I gotta push back on the "wakeup call" thing a little. In my experience, losing bids is almost never about price alone. I lost one last month to a competitor who undercut me by 15%, but later I found out the client actually went with them because they had a faster turnaround time, not because of the number. So I switched my pricing to be more transparent about what's included and what's extra. It's not about being cheaper, it's about making sure the client knows exactly what they're paying for upfront. Your mileage may vary, but that's what worked for me.