I crowned James Sizer, partner of SA Architectural Services, the King of the LCC, and here’s why.
For a lot of AMI’s clients, the Low Commitment Consultation is the one thing they can do quickly that makes a big difference. But when James began, he rounded up 36 prospects and landed 33 victories — that many people paid him $1400 USD for his feasibility study.
In the past, those people would have gotten his time for free.
“I would have desperately gone to their house,” he says, “imparting all of my knowledge to them, in the vain hope that would appeal to their criteria for wanting to employ me.”
Sound familiar?
Too many architects knock on doors after dinner, offer a nice couple some advice and the working relationship never goes anywhere.
James has figured out the solution: “The great beauty of the LCC is it’s a way of getting paid for the work I previously did for nothing.”
Now, James earns trust from the start. The firm lands ideal projects. They’ve grown their business substantially.
If you’re in the same boat James was in a few years ago, go ahead and add up the hours involved in giving your advice away. Then multiply that number by your hourly rate.
That’s a huge number, right?
James calculated $64,206 — that’s how much he added to his practice by implementing the LCC.
Here’s how the King does it:
- Start in the usual way.
- Listen. Then target the discussion to the client’s needs.
- If they’re looking to build a new house on a plot of land already purchased, then tell them, great, this is the part where you determine whether it’s possible, how much it would cost, and an estimated schedule.
Once you get a standardized feasibility study together, it’s easy. A lot of the content can be generic, but still very valuable.
Do a good job on the LCC and ideal clients will hire you — it’s far less likely for their eyes to wander.
But first, you have to sell the service. How do you deal when someone else in the area will do this for nothing?
We’ve all been there. To overcome objections, James uses the AMI script and thinks on his feet. The process is simple, he says, listen to the client’s requirements, continue the conversation, then circle back around to what they want and repeat it back to them.
Basically: “Yes, we can do that! How does that sound to you?”
Remember, if you asked a lawyer to analyze a situation, they wouldn’t do that for free. Your analysis is a high-value service.
As you see in the video, James shared this good news over a cocktail in San Diego. He didn’t even flinch at the idea of booking a flight across the Atlantic … which is less than the cost of just one LCC.