“Whatever we ultimately agree on, if it works, it’s cheap. If it doesn’t, it’s expensive.“
During an initial meeting with a prospective client the red headed HR lady sitting in the corner with hate filled eyes blurted out “HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE!”
Don’t you just hate that. It happens all the time. One should always be prepared for the inevitable question or, better yet, bring it up before the question is asked.
In this instance I didn’t have a chance to do that. The evil HR lady beat me to the punch.
My response went something like this:
It’s in the nickels and dimes category. I will be happy to provide you a number once I understand what you’re expectations are.
Our focus at this early juncture should be directed at the dollars driving your health care spend and not so much the nickels and dimes required to administer and manage a successful employee benefits program.
Claim costs will be your biggest spend by far. My fees along with all other costs for services you will require amount to pennies on the dollar.
Depending on your expectations and the scope of work you require I will be better prepared to provide you an appropriate fee based on your needs. It can be a performance based fee, a PEPM fee, or a global fee. Or a combination of all three.
Whatever we ultimately agree on, if it works, it’s cheap. If it doesn’t, it’s expensive.