ALAN WEISS, PHD, the "Rock Star of Consulting," is one of the world's most successful solo consultants. A bestselling author and speaker, he runs Summit Consulting Group, Inc., which serves some of the most recognizable brands in the world, including Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, and Mercedes-Benz.

Introduction

Acknowledgments

About the Author

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CHAPTER 1 The Origins of Value

What People Want Is Not as Important as What They Need

Abundance Agriculture and the Arts

The Abundance Mind-Set

Why Your Presence Isn't Required

The Importance of Buyer Commitment, Not Compliance

Critical Steps for Buyer Commitment

The Buoyancy of Brands: How Brands Help Fees

Creating Shared Success

Chapter ROI

CHAPTER 2 The Lunacy of Time-and-Materials Models

Who Wants to Be as Dumb as a Lawyer?

Supply-and-Demand Illogic

Ethical Conflicts of Interest and Other Minor Matters

Limiting Profits, or Why Not Just Forget Domani?

Why Lawyers and CPAs Do So Poorly

Educating the Buyer Incorrectly

The Mercedes-Benz Syndrome

Chapter ROI

CHAPTER 3 The Basics of Value-Based Fees

It's Better to Be an Artist Than to Be an Engineer

Focusing on Outcomes, Not Inputs

The Fallacy and Subversive Nature of "Deliverables"

Quantitative and Qualitative Measures and Criteria

Measuring the Unmeasurable

Serving the Client's Self-Interest

The Subtle Transformation: Consultant Past to Client Future

Perpetual Motion, Perpetual Progress

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CHAPTER 4 How to Establish Value-Based Fees

If You Read Only One Chapter . . .

Conceptual Agreement: The Foundation of Value

Establishing Your Unique Value

Creating the "Good Deal" Dynamic

The Incredibly Powerful "Choice of Yeses"

Some Formulas for the Faint of Heart

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CHAPTER 5 How to Convert Existing Clients

Be Passionate, Not Zealous

The Litmus Test-Setting Priorities

Offering New Value

Finding New Buyers Within Existing Clients

Finding New Circumstances

The Resistance

Abandoning Business

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Interlude: The Case of the Loaded Loading Dock

CHAPTER 6 The Sublime Nature of Trusted Advisor Relationships

It's Just the Smarts, Stupid

Optimal Conditions for Trusted Advisor Relationships

Choosing Time Frames and Creating Realistic Expectations

Organizing the Scope and Managing Projects Concurrent with the Retainer

Capitalizing on Trusted Advisor Relationships

Aggressively Marketing trusted advisor Relationships

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Ethics and Fees, Fees and Ethics: A Mid-Book Practicum

CHAPTER 7 Seventy Ways to Raise Fees and/or Increase Profits Immediately

Act Today and Receive a Second Bass-o-Matic Free of Charge!

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CHAPTER 8 How to Prevent and Rebut Fee Objections

Since You've Heard Them All Before, How Can You Not Know All the Answers?

The Four Fundamental Areas of Resistance

Maintaining the Focus on Value

Boring In on the Subject

Offering Discounts

Full Payment in Advance

Using "Smack to the Head" Comparisons

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CHAPTER 9 Setting Fees for Everything Else

How to Make Money While You Sleep, Eat, Play, and Make Money Elsewhere

Keynote Speaking: Don't Charge for Your Spoken Words

Products

Exploring New, Lucrative Fields

And Now for Some Perspective

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CHAPTER 10 Fee Progression Strategies

Why You Fall Behind When You Stand Still

Entry-Level Fees

Transition to a "Going Concern"

Transition to Peer-Level Referral

Transition to the Brand Phase

Transition to Thought Leader and Icon

Alan's Axioms for the "Good Deal"

CHAPTER 11 Volatility Opportunity

Value-Based Fees in Times of Turmoil and Crisis

Value Doesn't Dissipate Due to Distance

We Don't Have Time, We Don't Have Money

How Can I Help You?

I Need Your Guidance

APPENDIX A: Questions for Qualifying the Economic Buyer

APPENDIX B: Questions for Establishing Business Objectives

APPENDIX C: Questions for Establishing Measures of Success

APPENDIX D: Questions for Establishing Value

APPENDIX E: Questions for Assessing Personal Value Contribution

APPENDIX F: The Difference Between Inputs and Business Outputs

Index