There are a number of ways. Some client-side orgs require a peek at the timesheets and will only compensate for a certain number of hours. Some agencies keep that info a secret. They say it will take X hours but in reality it can be +/- 30-80%. There is a trend to go away from hourly rates and adopt value-based pricing. A good book on the subject is Pricing Creativity by Blair Enns. If a client asks me my hourly rate, I change the conversation to budget and the value of the engagement. I’m at that point in my career where the amount I bill per hour is somewhat scary to folks on the brand side until they understand what I actually deliver. My typical contract is a scope of work, a schedule and a flat price. No hours. My typical proposal is one page with three prices. The low price is basically what we talk about in the initial call. The middle price is usually a complete engagement at a more realistic price point. The high price is an all-in engagement at a commensurately high price point. Happy to talk further.
Would need more info on what services you need and what tier agency you’re looking at. You can do this in a number of ways. Typically, again depending on your need and the agency size, you’d start with a one off SOW with a specific project so you can see how the agency works with your team. From here it could be anything from having an MSA (the overall service agreement) with scopes and/or a retainer attached. Happy to share more if you have more details on your situation!
There are a number of ways. Some client-side orgs require a peek at the timesheets and will only compensate for a certain number of hours. Some agencies keep that info a secret. They say it will take X hours but in reality it can be +/- 30-80%. There is a trend to go away from hourly rates and adopt value-based pricing. A good book on the subject is Pricing Creativity by Blair Enns. If a client asks me my hourly rate, I change the conversation to budget and the value of the engagement. I’m at that point in my career where the amount I bill per hour is somewhat scary to folks on the brand side until they understand what I actually deliver. My typical contract is a scope of work, a schedule and a flat price. No hours. My typical proposal is one page with three prices. The low price is basically what we talk about in the initial call. The middle price is usually a complete engagement at a more realistic price point. The high price is an all-in engagement at a commensurately high price point. Happy to talk further.
Thanks for this really thoughtful response
Typically a scope for the project if you don’t have them on retainer. They’ll outline projected hours - at hourly rate - which varies by seniority.
Would need more info on what services you need and what tier agency you’re looking at. You can do this in a number of ways. Typically, again depending on your need and the agency size, you’d start with a one off SOW with a specific project so you can see how the agency works with your team. From here it could be anything from having an MSA (the overall service agreement) with scopes and/or a retainer attached. Happy to share more if you have more details on your situation!