Tim Williams

Business and pricing strategist for agencies and other professional firms; author, speaker, would-be film composer and perpetual student

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

To be “out of hours” is a nonsensical concept, yet it happens every day in professional firms.  Project managers routinely inform professionals that there are “no more hours” that can be spent on a client problem, resulting in a suboptimal solution. https://t.co/cW8Nrbupzr

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

The dictionary definition of “partner” implies some kind of vested interest. A true partner has skin in the game. You take responsibility for solving problems that connect to outcomes. By contrast, the current agency business has become too transactional. https://t.co/8WxLJQ8Y9Q

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Agencies, it’s time to stop remodeling the house and move to a better neighborhood — a community where firms are paid for their heads instead of their hands. https://t.co/8WxLJQ8Y9Q

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Agencies devote too much effort to building the best house in a bad neighborhood. Maybe it’s time to move, not just remodel. More here: https://t.co/8WxLJQ8Y9Q

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Agency leadership often announces a “restructuring” that results in a new website featuring yet more offerings tacked onto an already overly ambitious service set. But instead of just remodeling the house, how about moving to a better neighborhood? https://t.co/8WxLJQ8Y9Q

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

The point of progressive pricing strategies isn’t to charge more; it’s to charge differently. More here: https://t.co/jqblGxzb8k

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

An economist reviewing agency websites would conclude most firms are jostling for position in the land of “perfect competition” — a market structure in which many sellers offer nearly identical products, earning just enough profit to stay in business: https://t.co/ZAa5gTM90n

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

State-of-the-art pricing starts with WTP: Willingness to Pay. The answer to that question defines the price. More here: https://t.co/jqblGxzb8k

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Unless you intend to compete solely on price (not a great business strategy), your firm’s goal must be to create a suite of programs and products that exist nowhere else: https://t.co/nOG89qEMC8

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Instead of adding yet one more voice to the ubiquitous “full service” chorus, how can we calibrate our competencies to essentially be in a category of one? https://t.co/XNa3bu3Zqh

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

If you’re in the process of exploring new revenue models, be careful not to confuse “value-based” with “performance-based.” While outcome-based pricing is a form of value-led pricing, it’s not how new pricing strategies should be defined: https://t.co/jqblGxzb8k

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

If you feel that cultivating an area of expertise is difficult, it's only half the job. The other half is learning how to effectively sell that expertise. The answer is in my friend @BlairEnns forthcoming book, which you can pre-order now: https://t.co/ZjIlhJUGlF

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

“Value-based” is a suboptimal way to describe a new approach to pricing because it sounds too subjective. Better to use the term “solution-based.” What we’re really referring to is pricing based on the value to the customer — as in customer-based pricing. https://t.co/jqblGxzb8k

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Agencies generally have low multiples in the M&A world because it’s so easy to enter and exit the agency business. But a productized business model changes all that, creating inimitable assets that create exponential value. https://t.co/RGaGyCORN6

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

A productized business model requires agencies to come to grips with the fact that their promise of “full-service, full-funnel, or end-to-end” offerings is untenable and unrealistic. https://t.co/RGaGyCORN6

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Because they are tethered to the hourly rate, agencies as businesses lack the ability to scale; increasing revenue means increasing staff—a form of anti-scaling. https://t.co/RGaGyCORN6

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

The problem with most business strategies is that they claim too much and sacrifice too little.

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

The biggest obstacle to developing an effective positioning strategy for your firm comes not from outside market forces, but rather from inside your head.

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Spend money in the areas where you’re different; reduce costs in areas where you’re the same.

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Pricing professionals set the cost question aside and start with the question “What is the value”? rather than “What is the cost?” The essential first step is to arm yourself with an understanding of the value you’re creating for your client. https://t.co/yuCb7ZRP46

[Tim Williams @TimWilliamsICG]

Would a prospective client travel 1,000 miles to do business with your firm? Yes, if what you do is scarce and therefore valuable.