“I’ve tried fixed-pricing – it didn’t work”

Fixed-pricing doesn’t work with every project type.

The more moving parts there are in your projects, the more complex it is to price – that’s essentially an estimate that’s likely to change – it’s really hard to productise that.

I’ve had it not work before too, because I was fixing the price of the wrong thing in the wrong way.

• Guessing how long a project might run;
• Multiplied by an hourly rate;
• Guessing at an end date, because fixing the price means you need to know how many billable hours are needed
• No way to guarantee that end date, but being shackled by it regardless;
• Huge likelihood of scope creep;
• Then crossing fingers that your maths holds…

👆 That’s how to completely fail, and start hating the idea of fixed-price products.

As opposed to:

• Knowing almost exactly how long a project will run;
• Knowing the price ahead of time;
• Knowing exactly what you’ll deliver;
• And what you won’t deliver;
• Plus knowing that your client knows all of that;
• Meaning you can guarantee just about anything you like.

If you only really do custom projects at the moment, that probably looks like a lot to do.

But here’s is the cheat-code: That complex project at the top? You can almost certainly extract a component of it and sell it as a fixed-price product. Whether it’s a standalone product, or as a “Step 1” to your custom project.

And the really cheaty part of the cheat code: You’re probably already doing it… 😉