I’ve seen suffocation warnings on virtually every plastic bag in the U.S. including small dog-poo bags. They always get me wondering about the general demise of common sense.

Now this.

I just don’t even want to imagine the chain of events that led to IKEA stores concluding that notices like these are required on the toilets in their showroom display washrooms (which have no doors on them).

Yikes!   

My first languge was German. English came into my life in Kindergarten, five years later. Growing up, most of my friends' parents were immigrants as well. They spoke to their kids in their mother-tongue and we, the kids, replied in English.

Many words, thoughts and feelings often do not have an exact English equivalent - and visa-versa.

When I saw a rack of these signs for sale in the new PANDA MALL store in Scarborough, where everything is imported from China, I had to wonder about how much they paid for, or saved on their translation services, how much it cost to print and ship this stuff all the way from China, and how much of it will go into a local dumpster because it's just not selling.

For year I’ve been teaching and preaching: “price is what you talk about when you have nothing else to say.” Unfortunately some of my friends still want to get out their rate-card and talk price because some of their prospects have told them that price is an important consideration.

Convinced he should publish his rates, one of my friends drew up a service rate-card that also explained how he would bill for his services. Then he sent it around to some of his trusted clients to get their point of view.

I’ve edited the comments for brevity and anonymity. That’s all.

#1.   I like it.  Very clear explanation. My only concern is in the Hourly Rate section.

#2.   I'd remove hourly rate and discounts.

#3.   I agree with #2. Don't publish a rate.

#4.   I like #2's suggestion.  I think a positive approach that emphasizes the team approach and your strengths is best.  Customers will use price to qualify the service.  You need to make the conversation about something other than price.  It should be about quality, service and other factors that make you the best choice.  Price should be the last concern.

#5.   I agree with all of the others on staying away from talking about the hourly rates.  The one thing that stands out about you and your company to me is that you have a genuine interest in what is right for the customer.  Do whatever you can to try and get that message out to the potential customer. I would do business with you in a heart-beat because of that.

#6.   I like paying contractors by the hour. I say keep it in. It shows you're flexible.

#7.   I think this is of little consequence.  I know how agencies bill (by the hour) and I know that it will be more than if I do it myself and that the rates are subject to volume discounts. I don't care to read a page like this about the rates.  I am interested in the supplier because I know they can do the type of work I am interested in - a high level overview of the idea.  I also know that I will negotiate a price in the end for what I want, but I also know they need to make some money too.

# 8.   I like the flexibility of the pricing options - which I think should be the focus of the overall section. On a different note, I'm not sure I would include the Discount area. I don't know how others in the space approach pricing, but again the flexible approach speaks to how the customer can expect to be treated - based on their preferences.

My take away from this survey is this:

A.  Work out your rate-card, use it when assembling a quote, present your submission and your price with confidence, and sell the overall value proposition.

B.  Know the value of each line item, but spend as little time as possible justifying each item. When you focus on the hours and rates you client loses sight of the big picture and your team's USP.