Tuesday, May 5, 2015

The Art of Value


Many would be aware of our passion for up front, guaranteed fixed pricing rather than the traditional time-billing model of most law firms.  

A summary of our approach in this regard has received wide spread interest – see the ‘Old View v New View’ table on our website at - http://viewlegal.com.au/a-new-view/

Much of our inspiration in this regard comes from the VeraSage Institute, a revolutionary international think tank which, for many years, has been challenging professional services firms to price their services other than with reference to the Marxist derived labour theory of value that is time billing.

The VeraSage Institute was founded by LinkedIn Influencer Ron Baker and we are proud to be listed as a VeraSage ‘Trailblazer’ (see - http://www.verasage.com/thelist/).

Another of the Trailblazers listed is the business from the United States founded by Kirk Bowman known as ‘The Art of Value'.

Kirk hosts a podcast on iTunes and recently I was fortunate enough to be featured on it.

A link to the podcast is as follows - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/art-value-show-discover-value/id924824616?mt=2#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fartofvalue.com%2F%3Fp%3D4849.  Alternatively it can be viewed via the Art of Value blog, that also provides session notes at - http://artofvalue.com/journey-from-time-to-value-matthew-burgess/

The interview touches on many aspects of our experience, including:
  1.  That value pricing is a journey, not a destination;
  2. Case study examples of fixed pricing by professional services;
  3. The importance of agreeing with a client a defined scope before commencing work;
  4. That while fixed pricing may change your business, offering customers choices can change your life;
  5. Exploring the cultural issues behind converting from a time billing firm (where the key focus is on what is ‘chargeable') to a timeless firm (where the key focus is on what is valuable).
Image credit: Nicki Mannix cc