August 5, 2026
Trojan Hours
A lot of consultants “ditch hourly” by switching to fixed prices as a first step.
Bravo!
But then...
The hours almost always sneak back in.
Stop me if this sounds like you:
You estimate the hours it’ll take to do the project, multiply by your old hourly rate, add a little padding, and then put that price in the proposal.
And then the client responds something like:
- How did you come up with this price?
- How long do you think this project is going to take?
- How could I possibly convince my boss to approve this?
Oops!
Now you don’t have a leg to stand on.
You say something weak like:
- Because it’s going to take me a lot of time!
- Because it’s going to be really complicated!
- Because it includes lots of meetings! (or revisions or whatever)
Here’s the thing...
You changed your pricing model but not your pricing mindset.
You’re forcing the client to evaluate you as labor because you’re only giving them labor to evaluate.
A truly defensible price starts with the value of the desired outcome to the buyer.
Which you can only uncover by asking questions like:
- What is the buyer trying to make happen?
- Why not put this off for a few months?
- Why hire someone expensive like you?
- What changes if this is a home run?
Until you know the answers to questions like these, you’re just sneaking hours into the proposal.
Yours,
—J