Matter No. 01 · Cost · Firm anonymized
Case study
They were quoted $40,000. I did more for a fraction of it.
A law firm came to me after another shop handed them a $40,000 marketing proposal. I looked at what they were actually being sold, and built them something better for a sliver of the price.
The setup
A growing firm was ready to invest in marketing. They did the responsible thing and got a proposal from an established agency. The number came back: $40,000. Big scope, big deck, big retainer. It looked like what serious marketing is supposed to cost.
What I found
When I broke the proposal down line by line, most of it was margin and filler: services priced like a luxury because the firm had no way to tell what the work actually costs.
That’s the whole game. When you can’t see the real cost of the work, you pay whatever you’re told.
The $40,000 wasn’t the cost of the work. It was the cost of not knowing what the work costs.
What I did instead
I reverse-engineered it from what the firm actually needed to grow, not from what fills a $40,000 invoice.
Same outcomes the agency promised, built through a team I source at a fair rate, with no agency margin stacked on top. The firm got more, not less, and kept the difference.
Side by side
The agency proposal: $40,000
- Padded scope with filler deliverables
- Vendor costs marked up before you see them
- Retainer locked in before results
My approach: a fraction of it
- Scope built from what the firm needed to grow
- Build team sourced at a fair rate
- No agency margin stacked on top
The point
This is what fiscally responsible looks like. I’m not the cheap option. I’m the one who knows what the work is worth and won’t let you overpay for it.
See the strategy before you hire me.
Book a call. I'll show you exactly what I'd do with your firm before you commit to anything.
Judge the work. Not the promise.