I sat down with Kurt Elster of Ethercycle and The Unofficial Shopify Podcast to talk with him about roadmapping.
Our conversation is jam-packed full of value (and you get the video + full human-powered transcript with Quick Start Roadmapping: /roadmapping/).
Kurt and I covered a lot of ground in this conversation. Here are some questions and topics we dive into:
- When did Kurt start using roadmapping within his agency?
- What objections has Kurt received from clients when he recommends a roadmap as that best step to start working together?
- How does Kurt overcome leads and clients not seeing the value of a roadmap?
- How does Kurt price roadmapping?
- Kurt’s thoughts on pricing roadmapping vs. value-pricing roadmapping
But this one is a question and answer I want to share with you right now. I asked Kurt:
Would you recommend roadmapping to freelancers and consultants?
And his answer is 🔥 💯:
Yes, if you see the opportunity for it, sure.
If you’re not confident with it, start at charging 100 bucks for it. It still works as a tripwire. Well, probably like 500 bucks would be a good minimum. But why not?
If you were gonna write the proposal for free anyway, why not just try charging any amount of money for it?
And the moment you see that someone says, “Yes, sure I’ll pay for that,” and then doesn’t freak out upon receiving it, that will give you the confidence to charge fair compensation.
If you want to add paid discovery — roadmapping — to your service offerings and advance towards charging for proposals, then you want to snag your copy of Quick Start Roadmapping (/roadmapping/), including all the essentials you need to get a quick start selling roadmapping:
- The Book: Quick Start Roadmapping. A step-by-step process to offer, sell, and deliver paid discovery sessions to understand what problem your client is facing. (PDF, ePub, and Mobi format).
- Roadmapping Resource Library. With this library full of agendas, templates, and standard operating procedures, you’ll have everything you need to get started selling roadmaps.
- Video Interview: Kurt Elster on Roadmapping at Ethercycle. Watch this video interview (and read the transcript) with Kurt Elster — the owner of the Shopify agency Ethercycle — and learn how he provides paid roadmapping discovery services to his clients.
- Webinar: Roadmapping Overview. Watch this 50-minute pre-recorded Webinar (with Q&A) and get a detailed overview of the Roadmapping process, plus answers to common questions.
- Roadmapping Questionnaire Template (with Video Walkthrough). The Roadmapping Questionnaire is key to the entire Roadmapping process. With your purchase, you’ll receive a Roadmapping Questionnaire Template to use as a starting point, as well as a swipe file full of recommended questions to mix and match.
👉 Grab your copy here /roadmapping/
Excelsior!
Kai