High impact fee negotiation and management for professionals
Ori Wiener, Kogan Page, 243pp, PB, £39.99
An architect told me that he has a small circle of architect friends who meet over dinner solely to discuss project fee negotiation, to ascertain that he is charging the market rate. Such financial intimacy is rare but precious; and for those of you not privy to it the old RIBA fee scales must offer very cold comfort. Wiener’s book is more reassuring. Writing in an accessible manner, he recognises the difficulty of fee negotiation, but sets it against the perils of discounting for any professional discipline. The mathematics? On page 27 a graph shows how a 10% discount leads to a 30% profit loss. His answers aren’t easy; negotiators must be pragmatic and robust, and you need to be sure you know your worth. But it’s a stimulating, pithy read. ‘If you think hiring a professional is expensive,’ he quotes Red Adair, ‘Wait until you hire an amateur.’