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I have known Stephen Kember in a professional capacity for over ten years.At all times, Stephen has come across as an extremely able and passionate individual, fully committed to his task and determined to provide the best possible advice and support to his client. He is capable of performing at the highest international level of tact and diplomacy and dealing with difficult situations with grace and elegance. His technical ability is beyond question. He is a forceful and eloquent speaker, able to deliver his words with care and impact, often obliging his audience to confront matters in new and unexpected ways. His work has demonstrated his considerable mentoring and coaching skills, providing clear briefing and cogent arguments in an often complex and delicate situation. I have no hesitation in endorsing Stephen as an effective communicator, motivator & mediator.
Arwel Jones, MSc, MTS, MI Biol: Arwel Jones Assocs
© Stephen Kember
September 2008
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Scorecard introduction

This scorecard is one of an extensive series of scorecards produced by Stephen Kember to assist the owners of professional service firms to internally assess their performance and to support the taking of strategic business development decisions.

Scores should be entered on the following 0 to 10 basis:
Question: Pricing as a strategic business driver, scorecard  
Score: 0-10
Final score
1 We work hard at building a reputation for being worth more than the competition and gaining powerful endorsements as part of our marketing effort.  
 
2 We work closely on assignments with the economic buyer [the person who has most to gain from the firms successful completion of the job], identifying exactly what are their broad objectives and what specific results they hope to achieve at the conclusion of works. By focusing on these we can show the real value of our work in respect of the added profits or increased turnover etc  
 
3 As part of our sales activity we focus on overcoming scepticism about the value of our services and the fees charged by demonstrating, not just asserting, the exceptional nature of our capabilities ahead of starting any works; by being really useful to the prospect, such as sharing ideas; performing a free initial analysis or providing insights to help the work progress once its commenced  
 
4 We ensure that we fully understand what the client wants to buy so avoiding fee resistance arising from the fact that what we are trying to sell is different from what the client wants to buy  
 
5 We strip our “core services” down to the basics then present the options for “add-ons” that are available, dedicated fees are identified for new set of options; the client can then pick and choose.  
 
6 We use our budgeting and reporting procedures to overcome fears about fees and fee escalation. We inform the client that they will retain control over all our activities, on the basis of our “phase-by-phase” budgeting, cost tracking and regular reporting. This is designed to move our client’s attention away from the total fee and to show that they have the comfort of knowing there will be no waste in the project.  
 
7 We guarantee that no activity will be performed by us without prior discussion and approval; thereby reassuring the client by giving them the needed control.  
 
8 We place heavy emphasis as part of the ‘getting to know the client’ process and then thereafter as part of the project implementation explanation that we are extremely efficient in all the works we undertake and that it is our avowed intent not to over charge or incur unnecessary charges  
 
9 We acknowledge that many clients are interested in “fixed-fee” arrangements. Wherever possible we encourage the client to accept a proposal based on the attainment of specified results for a global fee, based on a series of increased fee alternative options.  
 
10 We try to avoid concluding contractuaral arrangements on projects whose completion is based on the provision of a host of specific deliverables [reports, number of meetings held and time spent on the project], which in practice so often have nothing to do with the desired end result.  
 
11 We are open to consider arrangements, where, if is not possible to agree a global fee the alternative is to bill the project at, say, 70 percent of its normal billing rate then at the end of the project the client determines their satisfaction with what has been accomplished, and they then decide what “balloon payment” to make. If the client is disappointed or the result are poor, the end payment is zero; if the client is delighted, the end payment brings the fee up to 130% of the normal fee Note: it is at the sole discretion of the client what is the level of performance bonus. Performance-based fees allow us to say, “We are going to bet that we can deliver on what we promise; you don’t have to believe this up front, but if we do deliver real value, you agree to reward us in line with that added value, if we don’t you don’t need to reward us.”  
 
12 We place emphasis on trying to ensure that our professionals look for ways to improve the productivity of their own efforts and reduce project costs [whether these are passed on or not is another matter] by avoiding spending time doing things that could be done using less costly resources, based on training provided to juniors and the more sophisticated use of technology.  
 
13 We do on occasion cut our fees when the project is one where we are building our skill set or working in new sectors and the experience will be good for future work.  
 
14 We never reduce our fees when we are working on low end highly familiar work which we are milking for all its worth  
 
 
 Final score  
0.00

NOTE : You can print this score from your computer by choosing File -> Print in your internet browser window.