When invited on a project as an expert, one of the key questions that you may ask is how much to charge for your consulting and choose the most appropriate expert consulting rate charged by the hour / weekly or type of consulting basis. Another way to see it is, how much is your time worth? 

Some of key factors that you should consider while setting your consulting fees are outlined hereunder:

DON’T LIMIT YOURSELF & PRICE TOO LOW

Keeping your price too low may mean that you miss out on opportunities. It is not only how you can support and add value to the end clients’ requirements, but the process of onboarding as an expert entails filling out project questionnaires, answering professional network / LinkedIn inmail requests and taking out some time to read through the terms and conditions of the expert platform.

One should be mindful that working with most expert networks across the globe, experts get paid for the time they spend on the interaction, and not the time spent organising themselves or preparing for an expert interview. Thus, it is only fair to keep a competitive market rate to maximise the benefit of the knowledge sharing experience. A market rate between 75 – 100 USD / hr seems like a good starting point for an expert call, yet ultimately it also depends on the number of years of experience that you hold under your belt and the type or niche where your expertise lies in a particular sector.

THE IMPACT OF KEEPING YOUR PRICING TOO HIGH

If you price yourself above the average rate for the consulting service you may set yourself aside from receiving projects or being selected by the end client. As an expert, you should consider that you may not be the only candidate that is put in front of the client. We believe that you should value the following:

(1) Your experience and qualifications

(2) The amount of competition for a project

(3) The length of engagement

(4) The client’s ultimate budget and how price sensitive they are.

It is best to connect with the project manager at the expert network to provide guidance on pricing. This does not only give you an opportunity to be a more attractive candidate put in front of the client but may also mean, that the client may wish to pursue follow up calls or conduct a more in-depth analysis with you if there is an opportunity for short- or long-term engagements.

IT DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ABOUT THE MONEY

A lot of experts conduct interviews for the sole purpose of giving back to the community. Reach out the expert platform and see what type of charitable organisations they may be tied up with, it may be a great way to increase your hourly rate and help those in need. A lot of expert networks are always open to this type of pro bono activities and you may be able to set a consulting rate that is higher than usual for this purpose. You may also want to ask if the charitable organisation may be of your choice to ensure you get to choose on how the money is used.

Our recommendation on this topic is finding a middle ground to thrive in the knowledge sharing community. We believe that qualifications and experience are the ultimate decisive factors that will land you that expert interview. The best approach in this instance is to obtain guidance from the expert network provider to ensure the best chances of getting selected for a particular project.

At Golden Apple, our mission is to open doors for experts to share relevant insights in a compliant manner and get compensated in exchange for their valuable time. If you are new to the expert network industry and want to help professionals across the globe whilst making money at the same time, reach out to us at experts@goldenappledwc.com. Our rate recommender tool for experts is a great way to choosing your expert rate and remain competitive in the market.