1. Tara Bernardino,MSc
Vice President,ManagementSupervisor
SudlerNew York
A Brief Synopsis of a WPP Accord Client Pricing andNegotiationWorkshop
For What it’s Worth…. A Workshop Worth its Salt
Whenwas the lasttime youattendeda workshoportrainingsessionthatreallyfeltworth the volume of
unopenedemailandlossof billable worktime? We oftenspendworkshopscheckingourphones,witha
growinglevel of anxietyaboutwhatishappeningbackatthe ranch that we cannot immediatelyattend
to…combinedwiththe periodicsneakpeekatthe agendatosee whenthe nextcoffee breakis,and
prayingthat someone refilledthe Splenda (nojudgment).
RecentlyIwasinvitedtoattenda workshop hosted byRickBrook,NickFord,and Tom Kinnairdaspart of
the WPP Accord Program, designedto“bringseniorpeople togetherfromall of the WPPcompaniesto
discusscommonbusinessissuesandtohelpeachotherfindsolutions.”The somewhatgeneral title
beliedthe verypertinentcontent—clientpricingandscope negotiations,facing procurementwith
confidence,andunleashingandsharpeningskillstosuccessfullysell inbusinessforwhatitis worth to
the clientandthe Agency,vsthe cost. WE HAVE WORTH?!What a concept.We aren’tjust hamsterson
a wheel mannedbyan oldcrone feedingnickelsintothe coinslot…
While admittedlythe barmayhave beensetratherlow in mycynical mind,thisturnedoutto be one of
the bestworkshopsIhave everattended. Why?Because of the simplicityandcandidnature of the
session. Seemingly obviousprinciples wererelevantly appliedtothe pricingchallengeswe face dailyin
our clientinteractions. Some examples of these basicconceptsare below:
1. You will never be paid more than you think you are worth. So true!Andnot onlyrelevant
to clientfinances.One of the reasonsthisworkshopreallystuckwithme forseveral weeksafter
it tookplace wasbecause muchof the contentwas applicable tolife outsideof the office.If I
don’tthinkI’mwortha promotionora raise,whythe heckshouldanyone else?
2. Don’t give it away for free. Why do we thinkwe have to lowball ourfeesinordertosell in
business?Of course clientswill sayyestolow(er) prices—whenwasthe lasttime youtolda
store clerkthat youdidn’twantthe sale price?! But if we keepundercuttingourprices,the
benchmarkdropslowerandlower.The whole conceptof a“onetime”deal ordiscountdoesn’t
workwithclients.Theyhave selectiveandshort-termmemories. The ridiculouslylow costyou
agreedto outof fearof notgettingthe business,justpigeonholedyouintothe “momandpop”
sweatshopcategory. The waythisappliestoourpersonal livesneeds noexplanation.Ladies—
yes,I’mtalkingtoyou.
3. Value is subjective. The same item will have different value to different people.” Thisis
the classyversionof “Oneman’sjunkis anotherman’streasure.” Iwill paymore fora good cup
of coffee thanIwill fora meal.A yoga guru friend of mine thinksthisisawaste of moneythat

2. feedsanunhealthyaddiction,yet she spendsherweeklypaycheckonsproutedbreadandchia
somethingorother.
In agencylife, the ideaof subjectvalue supportsconversationsaroundPRICEof our servicesvsCOST
of ourservices.Costisdefinedasthe time (ie,hoursorlabor) necessarytocomplete aparticular
service—“theinputs.” Price,onthe otherhand,isthe amount of moneyor goodsexchangedfor
something(anitemorservice). Conversationsgroundedinprice take intoconsiderationinputsas
well asoutputs,andideally,outcomes—whichhave the greatestvaluetoourclients,andthus
provide abetterplatformfordiscussingandnegotiatingfinancials.Since everyclientisdifferent,
and theirneedsand prioritiesfluctuate,pricingconversationsare more customizedtoourclients’
businessandinterests.
4. Choice matters. Wouldyoushop at a store—whethervirtual orbrick-and-mortar—thatsold
only one size,style, orcolorof something?Uh,no.Do theyevenmake the dreaded“0” size
anymore (One Size FitsAll)?Bythe way,have youbeenina supermarket cereal aisle lately?It’s
dizzying.
People likechoice,andwhilewe are sometimesloathetoadmitit,ourclientsare people.We know
the range of servicesandmaterialswe canprovide andproduce forthem;we do iton a dailybasis.
So whydo we usually provide justone proposalwithone dollaramountassociatedwithit? We
knowclientslike the powerof rejection.It’swhywe like toshow more creative conceptsvsless—
evenoneswe don’tparticularlylike. We proactivelygiveourclients somethingtohate/throwout.
We needtotake the “Olympicmedal approach”withourpricingproposals, offeringbronze,silver,
and goldlevelsof proposalsthatreflect increasingdegreesoramountsof servicesprovided.This
allows ourclients toretainthe powerof rejection—throwingoutthe highestproposal,orfine-
tuningthe servicesthatare specified—yetkeepsthe Agencyinthe driverseat andupholds our
value. “Most people don’t know what they want until they see it in context.”1 A good rule of
thumb,accordingto the workshopfacilitators,isto make the proposal youwantthe clienttoselect
the middle option.
Throughinteractive exercisesthe workshopmoderatorsidentifiedparametersthatshouldinforma
pricingproposal andthenhad uswork ingroupsto developdifferentproposal rangestomeeta
clientrequestforservices. Again,thisreinforcedthatthe conceptspresentedinthe sessionwere
not justabstract philosophical mumbojumbo,buthadpractical,and “implementable”, value.
5. The responsibility of pricing proposals and negotiations should never rest on one person.
Rick BrookrecommendedcreatingaPricingCouncil tosupportanAgency-developedPricing
Strategy,and to reviewandapprove all clientproposalsbefore theyare presentedtoa client.If
and whena clientchallengesaproposal ordemandsitbe reducedwithoutcommensurate
reduction inservicesprovided,the PricingCouncil canbe calledintohelpdefendthe proposal
and negotiate onthe Agency’sbehalf.Asanaccountperson, I findthisidealaudableforits
abilitytoreduce the pressure onthe ownersof the clientrelationship; those of usinaccount
servicesknowhowdifficultitcanbe to maintainastrong workingclientrelationshipinthe midst
of financial stressandtension.Beingable tosay“I’ll getbackto you afterconsultingmyPricing
Council”can be freeinginitsabilitytopuntthe powerandtherefore a key financial decision,to
a higherorder,while maintainingthe integrityof the clientrelationship.

3. Clientnegotiations,especiallyaroundbudgetarymattersandpricing,canbe one of the mostsensitive
components of ourjob,particularlyforthose of us outside of the finance department.We focusso
heavilyonthe workandpleasingourclientswith award-winningcreativeandintellectuallycaptivating
contentthat itcan be awkwardto broach financial proposalsandnegotiationsthat,bynature,mustbe
devoidof anyemotional elementtobe diplomaticandproductive.The Accordworkshopacknowledged
that challenge,butmore important, focusedonaddressingithead-on,inaroomful of seniorleaders
across all WPPagenciesrepresentingavarietyof areasof expertise,all sharingsimilarconcernsand
challenges. Iamgrateful tohave had the opportunitytoattendthe sessionsandto have beenoffered
simple solutions thatcanbe immediatelyappliedtoourdailyclientbusiness.
1
Dan Ariely. PredictablyIrrational(The Hidden Forcesthat Shape our Decisions).