Pricing your Service: Making both You and Your Client Happy

If you would want to work as a remote receptionist, pricing your service might be one of the hardest things to decide.  A client would usually bid for a particular project and probably as someone new to the outsourcing business, your receptionist calculator is not available yet. 

Too high service price might lose the client’s interest on your service.  Too low service price might make you feel indignant toward the client.  So, how much do you think is fair enough?

a.   Identify the minimum amount as you hourly fee.

b.   Identify the minimum amount (exclude profit) to cover your expenses.

c.   Estimate how many hours you can work in a week.

d.   Divide B and C which will result to A

Example:

        Find A

        Where, B = $350

                   C = 20 hrs

        So,       B    / C =   A

                $350 / 20 = $17.7 /hr

Now, this is just a simple calculation for an hourly rate.  In the actual one, you have to take note of the holidays, sick leaves, and so on. 

Think of profit as a reward because your services are valued by your client.  Profit is basically a percentage on top of your hourly baseline.  So, how do you calculate your profit margin?

Example:

        Selling Price = Cost Price / [(100-margin %) /100]

        Where, Cost = $100

                   Sell price=100/0.60

                   Sell Price = $166.67

You make $66.67 when you sell it at $166.67 so, the profit margin is

                   66.67/166.67 = 40%

If you are aiming for a 100% profit above your hourly baseline, you might find yourself still looking for a client.  Honestly, profit margin can be anything between 0-100%, however, you have to realistically justify it to your client.

a. Know the project. The client must give you a brief outline of the project in order for you to see the requirements.

b. Just in case the client gives you an extra work not stated in the requirement, you have the right to charge for an additional fee.

The requirement document must contain the details of the project so the remote receptionist can assess the number of hours needed to complete the project. Be conscious of scope creeps (intentional or unintentional change of the original requirements by the client) for this can affect your work financially.

Example:

        40$ - hourly baseline

        50% (20$) - profit margin

        100 hrs - # of hours

Calculating the price,

          $40 + $20 = $60 x 100 hours = $6000

Create your business rule when it comes to pricing your services.  Newbies in the field of outsourcing especially for aspiring remote receptionists may have no idea how much to charge because they are concerned with the competition online so, more often than not, they charge the lowest price. 

Before you begin your business offering live remote receptionist services, assess your baseline, determine the profit you need to make, and estimate the number of hours that you will need to complete the project.

Rule # 1: Never offer a price for a project that is lower than how much you need to break-even or make a profit.  Calculate your Service Price by (Hourly Baseline + Profit Margin) x # of Hours.