Why won’t my clients pay me a retainer?
I was asked the question above during a live Q and A coaching call I held for the Recruitment and Search Business Owners I help…
Moving from a contingency model to a retained model is something I promote heavily to my clients, so it’s a question I’ve been asked several times before…
Most Recruitment and Search Business Owners think it’s JUST about the script… (Keyword being “just”)
They think the difference between winning a retainer or not comes down to saying the right things, at the right time, in the right way…
And thats certainly a big part of it, because if you can’t explain the value of going down the retained route to the prospect, the benefit to them and why it ensures they’ll get a better service from you, then, of course, they’re never going to buy…
But it’s not ‘just‘ about what you say…
Another big part of the equation is your willingness to walk away if the client doesn’t agree…
This goes for winning a retainer,
Commanding the fee you want,
The payment terms,
And literally every other part of the negotiation with a prospect…
Thing is… If the prospect can sense wiggle room they’ll take it…
If they sense for even a second that you’re not fully committed to what you’re asking for, then there’s no reason for them to be committed to either…
Think about it…
If you pitch for a retainer but you’re still willing to work with the client on a contingency basis…
If you say your fees are 21% but you’d still be willing to work with the client at 17%…
If you say your payment terms are 30 days but will still be willing to accept 90 days…
Thats wiggle room… And a lot of the time your prospects will sense it and push back…
Don’t get me wrong, at times wiggle room in a negotiation is necessary…
But when it comes to retainers… Sometimes having that wiggle room does more harm than good…
You have to commit to it BEFORE your clients will, not the other way around…
And if you want help getting more of your clients paying you a retainer up front, click the link below and find out how I can help –
Yes Terry! I want more retainers…
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