003. How Do We Charge? || The Joe and Todd Show Podcast

<p><strong>Episode 3: How do we charge?</strong></p> <p><strong>Different Charging Philosophies:</strong></p> <ol> <li>Percent of the total budget – some wedding planners charge 10% of the total cost of the wedding</li> <li>Fee based – Lump sum fee for example for $10,000 for planning an event</li> <li>Hourly Rate – Dangerous because neither party knows how much this is going to cost. What happens when you get to the client’s limit. It also take self discipline to keep track of your time.</li> <li>Commission Base – Where the planner receives a commission from vendors to use their product or venue. Always be open with the client when vendors are paying you a commission and offer a discount to the client for receiving that commission. For example: <ul> <li>BBJ Linens provides an option to pay a commission when we bring an order to them</li> <li>Planner points or commissions from a hotel</li> <li>Consider asking vendors for an exclusive agreement that prevents your clients from booking direct with your vendors</li> </ul> </li> </ol> <p><strong>Determining a fee:</strong></p> <p>If you have experience with a similar event, consider basing your fee on the number of hours it took to produce that event.</p> <p>Think about what your hourly rate is. Base this on your experience level. The more experience you have, the more you can charge. People are paying you for your experience, your relationships with vendors etc. Your time becomes more valuable as you become more efficient and effective at planning.</p> <p><strong>Pro Tips:</strong></p> <p>Don’t charge a low amount this year thinking that next year you will be able to charge double or triple.</p> <p>Don’t ever discount yourself. If the client needs to reduce your fee, then take away services but don’t just reduce your fee.</p> <p>Limit how much you trade for services. This can be very risky and costly.</p> <p><strong>Proposals:</strong></p> <p>Sometimes it’s helpful to divide out fees for categories of services such as registration, planning and graphics. Then the cli