I recently decided I’m not above bribing my clients.
A bribe is a kind of guarantee. And, like bribes, guarantees often introduce an element of distrust:
“If you don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back.”
It’s not terribly confidence-inspiring. Most consultants don’t have the luxury of offering money-back guarantees, anyway. So, they feel stymied by things like value-based pricing. How can you demonstrate value while inspiring clients to follow through on their end without a guarantee? Doesn’t the lack of a guarantee render the term “value” arbitrary and meaningless?
How do you reduce perceived risk while also protecting yourself?
Guarantees don’t have to require giving someone their money back.
They don’t even need to be guarantees at all, as long as they establish trust and reduce the client’s perceived risk—without putting you at too much risk.
Here’s one idea. What if we made guarantees positive, prize-winning events instead?
Instead of accepting total responsibility for your client’s business, why not give them a reason to take ownership and to follow through on their commitments—by giving them a nice bonus?
You do your work, client follows through on their end of the plan, and if they demonstrate consistent follow-through, they receive a fat cash prize.
It inspires them to believe in themselves. It makes you look good because you now have a success story. It makes giving them money a delight.
And it motivates them to really, really want to follow through. Yes, because they love their business and the people they serve and they truly want to make a contribution. But also for the cold, hard cash.
Now that’s a bribe I can believe in. You?