This is a question often asked by clients with little experience in hiring top professionals who excel in their particular field.
It is also a question that should be considered by all professionals, both up and coming and well established when setting forth value-added services. The cost to hire a talented and experienced professional is expensive. I don’t think too many would argue that fact. Alternatively, the cost not to hire a capable professional can be even more expensive with missed deadlines, poor choices, or loss of your valuable time.
In almost all situations the primary factor in setting pricing is attributed to experience and the considerable cost associated with education, licensing insurance, and business overhead. But there is also the lesser-known element; responsibility, both legally and morally.
When the parties sign a retainer agreement the scope of services is spelled out in detailed terms so all parties understand what is being expected from both sides of the transaction. What isn’t mentioned, however, is that the professional is bringing something else quite valuable to the table. They are not only taking on the project, but they are also taking on the problems of the transaction and making them their problems, but they are also taking the weight off the client’s shoulders.
The client can go home and sleep soundly knowing that their “person” is worrying about their legal issues, financial matters, or whether the family dogs are out of harm’s way while the installer is putting in the new wood flooring. I personally have checked and rechecked architectural plans to make sure the custom sofa will, in fact, make it up the staircase. And have woken in a panic only to remote into the office system at 2 a.m., convinced I neglected to docket a crucial legal deadline. The stories I have heard from top professionals over the years about narrow misses and last-minute crises they encountered, all so their clients could be worry-free, are numerous.
Top professionals take their responsibilities seriously and put customer service at the forefront. The client that understands that the list of services outlined in the retainer agreement includes so much more is the client who believes, in the long run, they are getting a great deal.