Negotiate the Relationship

This chapter lays the foundation for either a good or bad outcome. Chapter four deals with negotiating the relationship between the consultant and the client, a good relation should lead to good results and of course, a bad relation might not end with a desirable outcome. Here is where all the questions should be placed on the table. Questions like; when do I get paid, who do I answer to, who will I be working with, what is expected of me and so forth. The author explains it perfectly in the opening pages; he states, “the client’s expectation of the role you will play determines the style you bring to the engagement.” Once your role has been established, you can then begin work in that role. If you are only there for recommendations, then recommend, if you are there to program, then start programming, you get the idea. One excellent point mentioned in this chapter deals with asking the client exactly what they expect of you. This sets the stage to what needs to be done to accomplish your job as a consultant. A simple question that the author uses is “What can I do to help with that problem?” Establishing that you are there to either solve a problem or make something run smoother is always a good start. Now lets get to the issue dealing with money, how you charge and who will pay. The author makes an excellent point when he states, “take the client’s money seriously; you can be sure the client does”. This makes perfect sense, the client is paying for a service and that service comes from the consultant. It is the consultant that must now decide how much his work is worth. From this point, I would calculate just how much time my project might take. If this project is to extend more than several weeks I would charge as a project and add additional fees for unforeseen incidents. If I calculate that the work is only going to take a couple of weeks, I would then charge by the hour. The author mentioned three words that might come up when negotiating with the client, cheap, fast and good and this is how he puts these words into perspective.
If the client wants it good and fast, it won’t be cheap.
If the client wants it good and cheap, it won’t be fast.
If the client wants it cheap and fast, it won’t be good.
These are all good points and we have all tried at least one of these concepts, whether it is with our mechanic or our computer tech.