Stop Giving Your Money Away Dear John, If you have been reading the articles and the books I've written for any length of time, you have heard me rail against fee discounts. Why? By discounting your fee, you are relinquishing control of your business; you're setting a horrible precedent, and, most importantly, you're cutting your income. If this is the first time you've thought about this, here are three primary factors to consider when setting fees for your legal services: Factor One: The Value You Are Providing to the Client If you are a tax attorney and restructure your client's portfolio and save him one million dollars, is your $20,000 fee a good deal? If you are a criminal defense attorney and your client, a corporate executive, faces a drunk driving charge that will most certainly get him fired; is your $15,000 fee for negotiating pretrial diversion and expungement worth it? If you are a litigator and your client is facing a lawsuit with $7 million in exposure, and you get the suit dismissed, is the investment in your services worth $170,000? You can probably see where I'm going with this. You must present your fees in the context of the value you provide. The resistance I get when I introduce this concept to new clients is the: "everyone else charges..." argument. That is to say: People always fall back on what their peers/competitors are charging as a justification for charging low fees. The argument assumes that you are the same as everyone who does what you do. You are a commodity. If you ARE the same as everyone else, if you ARE a commodity, shame on you. The first rule of marketing is to differentiate your business from every other company that provides similar services. Differentiation is the key to value demonstration. Factor Two: The Demand for Your Services If you have enough clients to cover your fixed costs and pay yourself a reasonable salary, why would you ever discount your fee? Think about it. You don't NEED the business. You are already close to capacity. Yet you take the new client who requires a fee discount to do business with you.
Put another way: Others recognize your value and are willing to pay the full fee to work with you. Why not find someone else who will pay the full amount and pass on the discount shopper? Supply and demand. It's basic economics. When demand is high, and supply is limited, fees are high. There is only one of you. Supply certainly is limited. Factor Three: Your Desire You are not an indentured servant. You set your fees. These fees include your desire for 1). Income, 2). Confidence; 3). Lifestyle If you have specific income goals, you should adjust your fees to help facilitate achieving those goals. (If you don't have income goals, I can guarantee you will almost always be unhappy with your income.) There is nothing that provides a lawyer with confidence, like clients investing their cash in him. The two go hand in hand. People are emotional about money. If you want someone to be confident in you, convince them to invest in you. Once they put their money on the line, they will be a big, big fan. How do you want to live your life? Do you want to control your financial future? Do you want to provide your family with the best life has to offer? Do you want to eliminate financial worries forever? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you need to charge significant fees. You cannot nickel and dime your way to wealth...not as a solo practitioner or owner of a law firm. But don't believe my words. Use me as a case study. I only select fifteen private clients to work with me each year. I charge $50,000 per year for this privilege. I have a waiting list. Now there are other ways to get involved with me (my Inner Circle Business Development Community Membership, for example). But there are only fifteen new private clients selected every year. Only fifteen people who get unlimited access to me. Only fifteen people with my telephone number. What makes me different? What is my secret? Re-read this article. It gives you all the information you need to take control of your financial future. Follow this link to join my Inner Circle Business Development Community Membership. We will be discussing this topic - FEEs and how to make what you deserve - this month in our weekly meetings.
You are worth more.
Warm regards,
Dave Lorenzo
Revenue Growth Expert
Toll Free: (888) 444-5150
Miami, FL: (786) 436-1986
Email: [email protected]
Website: DaveLorenzo.com | 
