What You Get Paid For

• Author: David V. Lorenzo
• Pages: 28-30

§16. Client Attraction Secrets for Lawyers

28

§16.

WHAT YOU GET PA ID FO R

The International Space Station is orbiting the Earth and the computer in Mission Control that

regulates the oxygen up in the spacecraft has broken. It needs to be fixed or the three astronauts

conducting experiments will suffocate.

Joe Jamoke is in charge of computer repairs at NASA and he calls Acme Computer Repair to

come out and fix the problem. The Acme guy arrives, walks up to the computer and lifts the cover.

He eyeballs the situation, reaches into his bag, and pulls out a screwdriver. He snakes the screw-

driver into a tight crevice and tightens a screw that has become dislodged. After removing the

screwdriver, the repairman puts the cover back on the computer, flips the switch and the machine

immediately lights up and begins to function as it should.

The repair man writes up an invoice and hands it to Joe. Joe is shocked to see that the bill is for

$1,000. He turns to the repairman and says:

This bill is outrageous. You only turned one screw. How can you charge this much

for so little work?

Before the repairman can even answer, Joe continues his rant.

The only way this bill will ever get approved is if I have an itemized invoice to pres-

ent to my boss. Please write up an itemized invoice.

The repairman sits down and writes up the invoice as requested. He presents Joe with a new

bill. It reads:

Invoice for Services

Turning One Screw…Fee = $1

Knowing Which Screw to Turn…Fee = $999

Total…$1,000

In the example above, the repairman did not get paid for the amount of time he put into the

job. He got paid for the value he provided. This value came in the form of his expertise at repair-

ing sophisticated computer equipment. The fact that the repair was done in a short period of time

was probably advantageous if only mildly relevant. In this scenario billing by the hour or billing

by the actual work performed would have been inappropriate. The only appropriate way to bill for

the service rendered was value-based billing.