A young communicator interested in consulting asked me recently “how do you know what to charge?” It occurred to me that this is an important skill for all communicators, not just those in consulting or freelancing. If you don’t know how long it takes to do things, setting the expectations of internal clients may be impossible.
Paying attention to how long it takes to get things done is your first step. Even before I became a consultant, my team and I would track how much time we spent on certain activities. How many hours does it take to get the mid-year series of six focus groups done? How many hours does it take to draft content for the newsletter? The more you track, the more you learn.
Some go so far as to document the hours so they can look them up from an old project next time they get a similar request. Planning and scoping projects for your internal clients becomes much easier.
There are two important reasons to do such documentation of hours. Knowing how long it takes to do communication tasks
- Helps you plan a schedule and calendar for projects, making it easier to set timing expectations with clients
- Provides insight into the value of your team’s time and effort as compared to external resources
You know you and your team offer tremendous value to the organization, but can you prove that ROI to company leaders? Can you point to what it would cost if they went outside for help? Track the time, document it, and you’ll find yourself better able to plan, communicate, anticipate and prove your value.
Stacy Wilson, ABC, is president of Eloquor Consulting, Inc., in Lakewood, Colorado
