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If you’re a freelancer, charging by the hour for social media consulting is a good way to start. Time is an approximate measure of value and reduces risk to you on scope creep. Clients understand billable hours, as do project management systems.
Yet tracking time can be painful and time spent is not an approximation of value. A few quick tweaks to a $10,000 per month ad campaign can produce thousands of dollars of on-going monthly value.
Consider that some universities now offer social media courses that give certifications, like Pepperdine University, which offers a few programs: Social Media Professional Certification for $1500 and Social Media Strategist for $2500. These take about 30 course hours to complete- Not bad, since according to Glassdoor (a salary / employment data aggregate), the average social media pro makes around $50k / year.
You might know consultants who charge a lot less than you would, but they either take much longer or can’t even do what you do. The hourly model rewards people who take longer, punishing the good guys so you certainly don’t want to compete on hourly rate, unless you are an offshoring company.
However, wage slaves can sometimes get $997/hour (that’s my rate), but it requires you to do a lot of speaking and publishing to build up your reputation– a bigger investment which is well over 30 hours.
Related Article: Why are there SO MANY ad networks? HOW to start YOURS!
So how do you graduate from being an hourly wage slave to a business owner charging what you’re worth?
You need to charge by percentage of spend or a flat monthly retainer. Percentage of spend usually means 5-15% of spend with a monthly minimum. 10% of $5,000 per month is $500, so decide how much effort a client is.
This could be great but could also be a nightmare, depending on the expectations and how much effort you need to put in. By not doing hourly, you have to limit scope more carefully of course– and that means you have to set strict package offerings like our Express Digital Plumbing Package.
You cannot graduate from hourly to retainer/spend pricing without this structure in place, as you risk random outcomes and uneven client expectations.
Perhaps the biggest challenge of packaged offerings is getting the set-up bits done.
That means getting necessary access to the accounts, creating them (if necessary), and being super clear on GCT (goals, content, targeting).
The bigger players will have an on-boarding process handled by a separate team.
However, if you’re small, then use a series of forms (Infusionsoft, Google Docs, others) to make sure the prerequisites are out of the way before starting.
Related Article: Your Idea of a Facebook Funnel is Backwards
If you’re really smart, you’ll put these online to qualify anyone who might be a client. Just make sure you have a process in place, as Mike Gingerich of Tabsite suggests:
“The shift to digital over the past few years has created a wave of opportunity for new entrepreneurs. The ‘online business’ model has exploded but, as many who jump in find out, it’s not simply a matter of posting your website on social media and watching clients roll in!
It’s important to have a plan and a process. Most people who take the entrepreneurial plunge have somewhat of a plan, but few have a process and this is the big gap! The onboarding and business processes you have help you qualify clients, give you a complete and clear plan to demonstrate your competence to prospective clients, and it gives you a clear checklist and scope from which you can evaluate your costs.
“The shift to digital over the past few years has created a wave of opportunity for new entrepreneurs. The ‘online business’ model has exploded but, as many who jump in find out, it’s not simply a matter of posting your website on social media and watching clients roll in!So, no more free consulting calls which waste your time and reduce your effective rate. It’s not that all potential clients are freetards, but that you must set clear expectations of what you do and don’t do. Instead of having to repeat these bits endlessly, write it down, record a video, and you’ll never need to say it again.
Related Article: How to Save and Edit Facebook Live Videos
If you’re a solo consultant, it’s easier to get away with no process. With just a few long-term clients, you’re not going to need to acquire new business or explain what you do.
But maybe you want to be a business, not a freelancer/consultant. And if you believe in packages, driven by checklists, then you’ll naturally take the next step to have others follow your checklists, buoyed by training you create. That means you have to package up what you know into checklists for repeatable excellence.
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So, do you want to keep working in your business or on your business? Continue to be tortured by the E-Myth with dreams of a 4 Hour Workweek or actually be a Checklist Manifesto disciple?
Invest 30 minutes to systematize your expertise and watch this: eventualmillionaire.com/dennisyu/
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Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations.You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel.You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.