• Show me the money?

    Posted on May 28th, 2010 by and currently 9 commenting.


    Photo via Flickr via CatastropheWaitress

    We have a new intern at Brains on Fire. She’s cool. Her name’s Elizabeth and sadly she had to leave for a few days while her appendix was cut out. Yikes. She is home in Atlanta recovering with her family.

    We miss you if you’re reading this Elizabeth.

    So the other morning I walked in feeling really calm and peaceful after my morning yoga class and Elizabeth remarked, “I answered the phone this morning, a man wanted to talk to someone about our services. He’s going to call you back at ten.”

    “Great.” I said, “Did you tell him how much we charge for our services?” Now I was sort of half smiling and joking and playing around. We get a lot of calls from people who are so amazing, have such amazing stories, but have absolutely no money.

    So she asked — and frankly why wouldn’t she — “How much do we charge?”

    So I told her, then I strolled off to start my day.

    Well, it seems this wonderful shiny smart lady decided to start sharing those honest numbers (I gave her a range) with people who call and inquire about our services.

    You see where I’m going with this?

    The first clue I got about this was from a brand manager of a large company (with a very cool project) who simply said to me, “How refreshing to get that money thing out on the table so quickly. I appreciate that.”

    Hmmmm. I’m slow. I’m still not putting two and two together.

    So yesterday I got a call and this man says the same thing. “So you guys must be fantastic and yes I DO have the money. One question though, are you going to charge me for this conversation?” Then he laughed out loud in that comfortable “I’ve known you for a million years” sort of way.

    Funny how everyone relaxes after that money dance is out of the way.

    Now again, this was a pretty experienced marketing guy so I asked, “Can you tell me what you are talking about?”

    And he told me. Elizabeth had smartly decided to take on the money question that all of us dance around with that very first conversation. Again. That “refreshing” word was used.

    Now I am pretty quick to get to the money question and in fact pride myself on that fact. I don’t want to waste anyone’s valuable time.

    But I have never laid it out there in the first two minutes of conversation.

    So it got me thinking. Perhaps this is a piece of brilliance we have just stumbled on…

    What do you think about Elizabeth’s newest idea? Brilliant, refreshing or off-putting?

    Come on and give me your thoughts, I really would like your opinion here. Especially if you fall in that “client to be” category. Help me figure this out today.

    BTW, see why we love our interns?

    They flat out make us think.

    P.S. I know it’s Chat Pack Friday. but this week has been a little crazy and long. And I forgot it was Friday. We’ll resume that next week. OXOXOX

  • http://worthwhile.com Chris Rackley

    Good call, Robbin!

    We started doing that about nine months ago, and it’s been great for us and the people we talk to. I think it goes a long way to building trust with a prospective client/partner – they know where you’re coming from and don’t walk around thinking, “This all sounds great, but what are you going to hit me up for?”

  • http://www.winwithoutpitching.com Blair Enns

    I think Elizabeth is Employee of the Month.

    A nice reminder that the longer we do this (anything) the more constrained we get by the baggage of convention, routine, fear, etc. God Bless interns for what they teach us.

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com Justin

    I love being blunt like that, and I love it when people can just be upfront instead of awkwardly tip-toeing around the topic conversation.

    It’s always a bit awkward talking money, but if both parties can discuss it openly, things get a lot better/easier.

    I’m glad Elizabeth didn’t know the typical new business rigamorole.

  • http://jennaricketts.com Jenna

    I stumbled onto this blog, and this entry really had me thinking.

    Why do I hate bringing up price? When I go shopping I look at the price, and I am not offended. On the rare occasion that I am shocked, well, then I couldn’t afford it in the first place. I may leave a little dejected but never offended.

    I will have to keep reading. Thanks.

    P.S. Funny, I just realized how long it has been since I’ve seen a $2 bill.

  • http://wediscoverstories.com Hugh

    I actually think this is fantastic. Clear the air, get it out of the way and then make a decision on personality and ‘fit’ rather than price.

    Gets me thinking that I should hire interns to do all of the uncomfortable functions. There has to be a college student out there just dying to do my invoice collections. Or perhaps not…

    H

  • Mary

    The real value of the upfront discussion of fees, is that it sets a tone of mutual respect. Though the prospective client is contacting an “ideas” business, it is clear from the very first conversation that the business details are handled just as professionally as the creative process.

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