Talked to an agency owner in Austin who dropped all his retainers

I was at a conference last month and a guy named Dave told me he stopped taking monthly retainers entirely and switched to project-based pricing only. He said his profit margins actually went up 22% because he wasn't wasting time on meetings for clients who barely needed help. Has anyone else tried killing retainers and how did your clients react?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_caleb6d ago

Bet on it. Dave's onto something real - those retainers become a trap where you're always on the hook for meetings and small fixes that eat up your time without moving the needle. The clients who actually need help will pay for a project with clear scope, and the ones who just want you on standby were never profitable anyway. Cut the dead weight and watch your margins breathe.

holly472d ago

@the_caleb nailed it. Projects-only clients actually value your time better.

charlie_stone726d ago

Buddy of mine did exactly this and his weekends actually became weekends again.