Comments on: Paying Not to Be First

By: Don’t Work 9-5 « Scott H Young

Don’t Work 9-5 « Scott H Young — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:38:59 +0000

[...] and personal growth as on output. Jonathan Fields has a great article about why his clients pay not to be first. He can earn $10,000 for a few hours of work, not because his time is worth that much, but because [...]

By: Alan Allard

Alan Allard — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:42:38 +0000

The level of fees we charge reflect the level of our self-esteem/confidence and our business and marketing acumen. Alan Weiss, a global consultant has a great book on this topic, Value Based Fees.

By: secret agent girl

secret agent girl — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:54:36 +0000

The concept is not news, the reasoning is not unflawed, and most experts are not really worth what they charge.

By: cbAnthony

cbAnthony — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:41:06 +0000

Good post. I think this is an important topic for all job seekers to think about when they're deciding how to negotiate salaries. If they can think of their experience and work history as money earned, they won't feel as awkward not accepting the first offer from an employer. .-= cbAnthony´s last blog ..Tuesday’s good reads roundup =-.

By: Commentary: Paying Not To Be First | Lost in Translation

Commentary: Paying Not To Be First | Lost in Translation — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:59:29 +0000

[...] his blog post, Paying Not To Be First, Jonathan Fields discusses why paying more for a service is [...]

By: Why You Should Charge More | The Wealthy Freelancer

Why You Should Charge More | The Wealthy Freelancer — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:48:20 +0000

[...] a recent post in his Career Renegade blog, Jonathan commented on his recent throat surgery. He ended up going with a top-notch (and [...]

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:41:14 +0000

I have experienced the pain of the client who reverse engineers hourly rates. And I agree totally with this post.

However, it begs the question: What is a good approach for figuring out how much you are actually worth?

By: Dianna

Dianna — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:08:46 +0000

An excellent post – again!

It is sometimes tough to get clients and potential clients to understand just what it is they are paying for when the product being sold is not a “widget”, but a service. There is a fear among prospects that since they are purchasing something they cannot touch and about which they are less informed, that they might get hoodwinked. I certainly understand this having dealt with service contractors of one sort or another on several occasions.

However, at some point it has to become about more than the hours. If you just want a low hourly rate, you will certainly be able to fine it. However, if you want the benefit of years of knowledge and expertise, and people who will become part of your company’s team, to help you reach your stated (and sometimes unstated) goals, then you have to consider more than the $/hr equation.

With some prospects, this is a tough sell. Others, however, get it instantly and those projects are always the most rewarding for both parties.

Thanks for giving us some new phrasing ideas, and for continuing to make us all think and keep ourselves honest about what we are doing and how we are positioning ourselves. I thank you even more for doing so at no charge. Very generous.

Happy healing and all the best to you!

By: Tess

Tess — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:47:38 +0000

This is absolutely true. With one caveat: there’s a difference between 20 years’ experience and one year’s experience repeated 20 times. In other words those who approach their craft with imagination, experimentation and dedication AND link that to years of experience are those who define their own work and become the “go to” people. Like your surgeon.

Hope you’re feeling OK, by the way.

By: Internet Strategist, GrowMap

Internet Strategist, GrowMap — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:35:16 +0000

I am grateful to Mike Tekula for sharing this post at Twitter where I saw it and reshared it at Twitter, FriendFeed and cliKball. There is bound to be a post in my blog in the future that includes a link here.

So many people fail to realize that they get what they pay for and that cost must be determined by the quality of the deliverable – what you actually get for what you paid. Experience will enhance that quality but simply doing something for many years does NOT equate to being capable of brilliant work!

While you paid not to be first, some commentators seem to miss the point that you intentionally chose the specialist you determined to be best – not simply the one who had been doing this the longest. Yes, that could be the same person but it might not be.

Some strive to be the very best at what they do and continually hone their skills. THEY are the ones you want to hire. Most simply do what they do and their work will not be nearly as good – regardless of the number of years they have been working at it.