Darrell S. Fayetteville AR here. Entergy Arkansas territory. New member struggling with pricing strategy. What do you all charge for first audit? Seeing ranges from $500 to $5,000 online. Afraid of pricing myself out but also don't want to undervalue the service.
Pricing first engagements - what do you charge?
Darrell S., pricing depends on several factors: monthly utility spend, complexity of rate structure, and local market rates. For businesses spending under $2,000/month I typically charge $800-1,500. Over $5,000/month utility spend I charge $2,500-5,000. Key is positioning value - if you find $500/month in savings, a $2,000 audit fee pays for itself in 4 months. Never compete on price alone.
Brenda T. Tallahassee FL. I use percentage-based pricing - 25% of first year savings with $1,000 minimum. Client only pays if I find savings. Removes their risk and usually results in higher fees than flat rate pricing. $800/month savings = $2,400 fee vs maybe $1,500 flat rate.
Randy that makes sense about value positioning. Brenda T. the percentage model is interesting but what if you spend 20 hours and find nothing? Do you really work for free?