Pricing Strategy is your pricing RULE. Pricing model is how you implement your rule. Professional and business services firms get my help to create their rule and implement it to improve cash flow and ensure profits..

If you are the founder/owner/CEO of a company that trades knowledge and expertise for money, I am speaking to you. I am one of you, and for more than 25 years I’ve faced the same problems and opportunities you  face.

The biggest problem and biggest opportunity are two sides of the same coin: generating revenue and profit when our “stock” or chief asset is knowledge and expertise.

I rejected time based billing in 2010 because it caused negative cashflow and deprived my company of revenue. I rejected value based pricing in 2018 because clients objected to being told what value is. 

We are all facing pressure to adopt AI for speed, but we’re struggling to figure out how that speed will help or hurt our revenue and bottom line. I believe that firms like ours have much to gain from AI, when used in conjunction with the right pricing model.

What clients want from us is help changing their lives. 

They know what’s meaningful to them and they’re willing to pay us if we offer that to them. The sooner and more extensively we do this, the better.

These life changing differences are IMPACTs. 

I coined the concept of IMPACT Base Pricing and have supported hundreds of knowledge firms to adopt it. 

The results have been thrilling. Increased revenue without increasing workload. Leveraging their continuous accumulation of expertise for clients with bigger/higher value needs. More personal satisfaction helping others while also having time for personal pursuits such as family, time off, philanthropy, and long term wealth building.

IMPACT Based Pricing  (IBP) is a system comprised of 4 components.
1) The IMPACTs your firm creates
2) Your firm’s Great Fit Client profile
3) The IBP Discovery call
4) The Choice Framework offer letter

I practice what I preach, so  you’ll experience the system firsthand if you schedule a meeting with me. 

My calendar is on my website.

If, before we meet, you want to get a deeper sense of how I think and what IMPACT Based Pricing means, please read my LI posts. I post frequently about all the topics that have a connection to pricing for knowledge firms.

You’ll find my thinking (always mine, never AI) about things like ending negative cash flow once and for all, how to have money in the bank for bonuses, what it means to synchronize your marketing and sales with your Great Fit client profile, and so on.

In sum, I identify how your pricing might deprive your firm of revenue, cause negative cash flow, and increase the threats from AI. If that’s the case, we’ll work to implement alternatives that support growth and scale.

2 Pricing Habits to Reconsider Now
 
1-   People buy your time.

 “Thank you for your time” they say. “How much do your charge per hour?” they ask.

The idea of charging and paying for time comes from way back when industrialization replaced the agricultural and skilled craftsman economy.

The factory owners needed to pay workers, so they did something simple and that made a lot of sense in that context. They worked backward from the selling price (including profit) to determine what sliver of that price was due to the workers’ work. 

Wages paid for hours worked expanded into non-factory work and still permeates most industries even though it doesn’t make the kind of sense it made at the outset.

We, both clients and providers, need to move away from this kind of thinking. It shortchanges both parties to the work.

Buyers are asked to pay for time which has no intrinsic value and providers are cheated from compensation for the outcomes they create for their clients.

It is a habit and habits can be broken and replaced.

2 – Scope creep can only be controlled with rigid lists of tasks and prices.

I have had clients ask for a ‘favor’ and then ask again, and then complain about something and want it done over, until the original scope is buried in the changes. I hate scope creep as much as anyone.

Many services firms think they can prevent scope creep with rigid lists of what’s included and specific prices for every task and deliverable. 

When I adopted pricing that is proportional to the life changing differences I create for my clients (IMAPCT Based Pricing), I turned my thinking about scope upside down.

Instead of scope being defined as the inputs, I now define scope as the outcomes (IMPACTs) I’ll create for the client.

I offer 3 customized options with IMPACTs at different levels of significance (as defined by the client) and fees proportional to the significance. The scope is everything that is needed to create those IMPACTs. If someone asks for things that will create outcomes of greater significance, I can invite them to choose a different option and pay the difference. If they decline, we continue with the chosen option.

To the accountant, lawyer, SMEconsultant, designer, coach, and fractional CXO--
The most important benefits of this definition of scope are deepening relationships, removing tensions, and increasing fees.

“All inclusive” justifies a higher fee at every level than a list of inputs.

Habits can be left behind when they no longer serve you.

If your habits of hourly billing or scoping inputs are no longer serving you, send a DM and we can talk.

Susan Trivers - Pricing Strategist

Owners and CEOs know the buck literally stops with them when it comes to cash flow.

They are ultimately responsible for paying the bills, including payroll and taxes.

Here’s what my clients have learned from me:

There are only two ways to ensure positive cash flow.

Not a dozen, or a hundred!

TWO.

And best of all, they are so easy you can start doing them immediately.

What are they, you’re wondering?

ONE: determine the fee to the client in advance. Whatever you do, you know from experience what the right fee is. Or close enough to simply start.

TWO: Terms and Conditions must include the requirement to pay in advance. No payment, no services.

But…

There will be objections!

The competition!

Industry practices!

Yes, you’ll hear these.

When you have me to help with the right reply, you’ll be able to achieve the critically important positive cash flow.

How do I know? 

I did it myself at a time when hourly billing was believed to be the only way to charge.

Both clients and providers thought that.

I bought into it.

And then I had a huge stack of bills to pay, including paying myself and my estimated taxes---while facing waits of 60 days or more to get paid for scores of hours. It was untenable and I committed to finding a better way.

That was in 2010.

Since then I’ve gone all in on positive cash flow for my own company and for all the professional and business services Owners and CEOs I work with.

If you can no longer afford the stress and the expense of negative cash flow, please reach out to me.

DM me via LinkedIn or email.

Here’s what will happen:

We’ll meet by zoom for a Getting to Know You Call.

If we both think there’s a good to great fit, we’ll take the next step, which is me making three offers to you, using my Choice Framework.

I’ll offer to deliver IMPACT PLUS, IMPACT, or IMPACT Light. Each offer will have a fee proportional to the life changing differences you’ll receive from my work.

The IMPACTs and fees reflect the significance of your issue and the size and complexity of your firm. 

You will get personal experience with the Choice Framework, which will help you use it with your own clients. 

You will be expected to pay in advance. Depending on the length of the engagement, you may be able to pay in 2 installments. I am happy to take credit cards or ACH payments.

If you’re still unsure about my thinking and my work, I invite you to browse my many LI posts and featured documents.

I’ve got a long track record of doing pricing work and helping clients make more money. 

I look forward to your Direct message.

No hourly rates, no tiers, no products. Higher fees, healthy workload. True growth and scale. I create IMPACTs for your small/solo law, accounting, fractional CXO, design, consulting, or coaching company.

Does it matter anymore that the true definition of "SCALE" is that a company increases revenue without increasing costs, expenses, personnel, etc., which then  results in higher profit margins?

Every day I read posts that claim a company scaled when the correct word is "growth."

A company that increases its internal complexity in order to generate more revenue is growing. That's great. But it's not scaling.

The reason this matters is because if you don't distinguish between these 2 concepts then you cannot actually scale.

Owners tell me:
“We can’t require payment at time of purchase.”

I ask, "Why is that?"

They say:
·     It’s not how our industry works.
·     Buyers won’t stand for it.
·     We don’t know what the final price will be.

The first two are external factors and the last one is all on you. Let’s consider ways to respond to these objections.

👉It’s not how our industry works.

Sometime long, long ago, someone in your industry decided to give buyers the privilege of paying long after the purchase. Others jumped on the bandwagon because they thought it gave them a competitive edge or because they didn’t know what the final price would be.

Then T&C of 30, 60, or more days became the norm.

Here you are in 2026 stuck with this practice that costs you money and causes the stress of negative cash flow.

You can counter this practice with 2 steps.
1)  Fixed or predetermined prices known in advance. 
2)  Deciding that payment at time of purchase is how your company does business. Period.

If you have wanted to be innovative and in charge of your company’s destiny, you will see the goal of zero AR as the key.

When your revenue is in the bank as cash today, you have complete control over everything else. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of strangers who do not have your best interests in mind.

👉Buyers won’t stand for it.

This may be true and zero AR will cause some buyers to go elsewhere.

Let’s not let the tail wag the dog.

Instead of obeying the demands of the most resistant buyers you can decide to do business only with those who will accept your terms.

They will be your best clients. They’ll have deep trust in your promise to deliver. They’ll fulfill their responsibilities so you can keep moving forward. You will feel like partners not adversaries.
 
👉We don’t know what the final price will be.

This is completely on you to fix! No excuses.

You have the information you need right in your own sales data to offer fixed or predetermined prices.

1)  Look at the past dozen or so buyers. What did they buy and how much did they pay (after the fact.)

2)  Give each type of work a name or identifier. When the next customer wants something similar, simply price it the same as the price you charged the previous buyer.

3)  Track these sales for a few months and assess how closely the new work was to the previous work. Adjust your prices for future work accordingly.

Is this perfectly precise?

No. But it’s the most effective way to transition to and gain confidence for fixed/predetermined pricing. 

Remember the goal is zero Accounts Receivable!

Questions for me?

Many Owners get stuck. If that’s you, please send an DM and we can discuss it.

1.  What do I say when someone argues with me and says, “no one charges in advance in our industry”?

2.   How do I tell regular buyers that we’re changing our terms?

3.   How do we not get killed by scope creep?

👉You’re in charge. If not now, when?

"Negative cash flow IS literally keeping me up at night, Susan.

I juggle our bills and payroll everyday to figure out what I can pay out based on the actual money we have in the bank. If something unexpected comes up, I have to juggle all over again.

I am exhausted and I heard you help small firm owners with this. Is there any way you can help me?"

I could feel Fred's tension as he talked.

He told me about his 3-person business law firm. 

Seven years since he launched his firm, and seven years of negative cash flow. 

They have a steady stream of clients and a great reputation in their region. They are profitable on paper but that didn't mean anything compared to the endless fight to get paid.

The seeds of their negative cash flow are 1)Terms and Conditions (T&C) and 2) hourly billing.

They require a small deposit to get started but that doesn't cover much. The rest of the charges are invoiced monthly with the client required to pay the invoice in full within 30 days.

We did the math. 

A client makes a deposit on day one. The lawyers work for 30 days, tracking the hours they work on that client's matter. At the end of 30 days, an invoice for the hours worked is sent with payment due in another 30 days. That means at best 60 days from start of the work to payment for the work.

Meanwhile, the lawyers need to be paid and the firm's operating expenses need to be paid. Fred cannot put off the payroll or expenses until the firm receives their money from clients.

This is textbook negative cash flow. The disconnect bewteen the timing of cash out and cash in.

I told Fred that I could help him eliminate negative cash flow, with one big caveat: He would have to stop charging by the hour.

"You see, Fred, negative cash flow is <<caused>> by the fact that you cannot tell the client what the cost will be in advance of doing the work. 

IF--and I realize this may be a big IF--you change your pricing model from hourly billing to a form of predetermined* fees, then you can require payment at time of purchase and eliminate negative cash flow.

Are you willing to do that? If so, I can help you. If not, I can't."

Fred paused for a long time. I waited. Finally he said he would agree to do that.

This conversation took place last April. Fred and I worked together to plan his firm's transition to predetermined fees and then implemented the plan over 3 months. As 2025 came to a close, Fred told me their Accounts Receivable was down by 82%, on its way to zero.

I give Fred all the credit for sticking to his decision to adopt predetermined pricing. Not everyone liked it. He's going into 2026 with the confidence that his finances are in better shape than they've ever been.

*What do I mean by predetermined fees? I mean you tell the client what the total fee is, and require payment in full at time of purchase. Three models for predetermined fees are 1) fixed fee for a specific offer; 2) tiers (good, better, best) and 3) IMPACT Based Pricing.

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