It’s time to ditch retainer work…
I hear this a lot:
“how do you convert a project into an ongoing retainer?”
The problem with that question is that if forgoes the most critical part of business:
relationship
The question should be
“how do I build a strong relationship with my clients and anticipate their needs in order to keep them on as a client for years?”
Remember:
The 2 R’s of LTV are RESULTS & RELATIONSHIP.
You can’t have LTV without either of those.
And LTV in the services business is heavily based on the relationship
To unlock the answer, let’s start with definitions:
Project work can look like a
• brand deck & logo creation
• consulting engagement
• website build
• custom app
• paid audit
In other words, a project is:
1 – a paid engagement
2 – with a clear start and end date
3 – with a clear set of deliverables and outputs
So, what is it we really want? A retainer?
NO
You want an ongoing working relationship with your client that is:
1 – paid (usually a fixed amount) engagement
2 – for ongoing work
3- with a clear set of outcomes
The key difference between projects and ongoing relationship work is
• projects have outputs or scoped work
• ongoing relationship work has outcomes
HINT: Outcomes are more valuable. Outputs can be easily outsourced.
So to win the long game and convert your client into a long-term relationship, you have to
• understand their true business and personal need
• align your work with the outcomes they want
• develop a 6 or 12 month game plan to reach their goals consistently over time
• present your proposed path forward as an extension of your project work and, most importantly, as a pathway to deepen your relationship with the client
Because the longer you work with a client, the deeper you
• build internal IP about working with the client & increase your work quality
• develop a richer insight into their line of work, market, products, and problems to be solved
• can connect with them beyond the work you do and increase both of your quality of life (not just quantity of output)