Creating value for clients is important for consultants to charge premium prices. There are two types of value - quantifiable value like money saved, and intangible value like perceived expertise. Intangible value is influential in decision making, like choosing a "better built" car. The document provides 33 tips to increase intangible value through signals of social status, whole client experiences, trust signals, professionalism, and exclusivity. Combining high quantifiable and intangible value creates a strong value proposition.

1. QUANTIFIABLE AND
INTANGIBLE VALUE

2. If you're a consultant, you--as Gerald Weinberg put it--are influencing
people at their request. And if you are wanting to charge a premium
price for that influence, you are certainly thinking about how you can
create more value for your clients. Creating value for your clients is one
of the keys to charging more for your work.

3. Creating more value actually has a stunning number of positive effects
on your business that are not all related to your fees:

4. ▸ Clients are willing to pay more for the results
of your work.
▸ You get to work with clients who are more
pleasant to deal with.

5. ▸ Your social status increases, and both prospects and clients treat
you with more respect and deference.
▸ Your perceived expertise increases (if you don't do anything to
damage others' perception of your expertise).

6. ▸ You often get to work on more interesting problems (because they
call in the "big guns" for those).
▸ You get to be more selective about which clients and what work you
take on.

7. IT'S UP TO YOU

8. It's up to you to increase the value of what you do and to discover new
ways to create value for your clients. Fortunately, there are lots of
resources out there to help.

9. For starters, you've got:
▸ Alan Weiss' writings and training on value
▸ Brennan Dunn's book on pricing

10. To better understand value, let's take a step back
and think about it from a philosophical
perspective.

11. MORE THAN ONE KIND

12. If you look up “value” on Wikipedia, for example, you'll quickly see that
there are all kinds of theories of value.

13. That's good to know, but for our purposes here, we can just focus on the
two different kinds of value:
▸ Quantifiable Value: the kind of hard numbers that show up in a
checkbook, a company P&L statement, and so forth.
▸ Intangible Value: the kind of worth that you can't put a number or
price tag on very easily.

14. We could talk about perceived value as well, but perceived value really
applies equally to both quantifiable and intangible value. Perceived
value has to do with your client's perception of either the quantifiable
or intangible benefits you bring to them.

15. Their perception of your value is more about how you educate them and
market yourself than it is about whether they can easily quantify the
value you create or not.

16. QUANTIFIABLE VALUE

17. Quantifiable value is easy to... well... quantify. It's things like:
▸ 300 new customers per month x $2500 lifetime value (LTV) of those
customers = $750,000 in added customer LTV
▸ 50 hours per month saved x 3 employees x $120/hour = $18,000
saved per month

18. Quantifiable value refers the hard facts. You either made money or lost
money. You completed the project on time or you didn’t. It's pretty
obvious stuff once you understand the concept, and everybody is talking
about it in conversion rate optimization (CRO) and technical marketing
circles.

19. Let's talk about something less well understood...

20. INTANGIBLE VALUE

21. Intangible value is the elephant in the room during every discussion of
value. This is where everybody tends to throw up their hands and say, "I
don't know. How could we even measure that?"
But yet, intangible value is all around us, and it is very influential in our
decision making.

22. Intangible value is the defining difference in these situations and many
others:
▸ Buying the "better built" car for a $20K premium
▸ Buying a Rolex watch
▸ Buying a Dodge truck instead of a Ford or Chevy
▸ Buying clothes at a boutique instead of at Target

23. The same principle applies to hiring consultants or freelancers. You'll
hear the following things said of consultants with a higher intangible
value:
▸ "They're the solid choice for this problem."
▸ "We have to have them."
▸ "They're expensive but..."

24. DELIVERING MORE INTANGIBLE VALUE:
33 WAYS TO PROVE YOU’RE PLAYING IN THE
BIG LEAGUES

25. Delivering more intangible value starts with
understanding what creates that intangible
value. While this is partly dependent on your line
of business, there are certain things that
increase intangible value across the board.

26. Since these leverage points can be subtle and tricky to pin down, we’re
providing a list for you. Here are our best tips on savvy, concrete ways
to convey to your clients that you’re providing premium services that
they need:

27. 1. Upscale social status signals, which include:
2. Your dress
3. Your body language
4. Your verbal and written communication
5. Your possessions (house, car, accessories,
and the tools you use in your work)
6. Your taste in things like literature, music, and
art

28. 1. Creating a "whole package" experience for your clients. This might
include:
2. Making meetings into enjoyable "events" by bringing in in a popular
speaker, having those meetings off site and footing the bill, etc.
3. Having your assistant handle certain obligatory admin tasks for your
client.

29. 1. Footing the bill on trivial expenses that would normally be shared by
you and your client.
2. Finding ways to do things your client will look forward to.

30. 1. Sending a hand-written thank-you note when
a big project is complete
2. A positive, upbeat summary of each week’s
progress

31. 1. Send social trust signals:
2. Testimonials from other reputable or high status people or
companies
3. Public appearances like speaking engagements

32. 1. Signal that your company is more "professional":
2. Professional client-facing materials, including:
3. Your website
4. Your phone number & voicemail message
5. Your printed brochure, press kit, and other printed materials

33. 1. Your branding package (logo, business card,
letterhead if you still use that, etc.)
2. The level of polish in your written
communication, including removing typos and
other errors
3. Professional design & consistency for all your
client-facing materials

34. 1. Everything else you send your clients, including:
2. Proposals
3. Reports
4. Email domain name, formatting & signature block
5. Being on time, calm, and prepared for client meetings

35. 1. Other status signals that lead to higher perception of intangible
value:
2. Exclusivity. Some examples might include:
3. A trademarked name for a diagnostic tool that you have created
4. An exclusive name for a certain process or type of report. While the
content may not be exclusive, your naming of it is.

36. All of these signals create emotional security for
your clients and prospects. Get most or all of
them right, and your clients will feel more safe
going with you.

37. Combine that feeling of safety with strong quantifiable value, and
you've got a killer across-the-board value proposition that will set you
up for life.

38. Learn about creating greater value for your consulting clients by
subscribing to the Journal of Consulting Value, published by Remarq:
▸ Free articles in your inbox
▸ Insights on new ways to provide value to your clients
▸ Tips on demonstrating your value and educating your prospects on
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