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How much is your time and expertise worth? Its the age old challenge for consultants: how much do I bill my clients? Sadly, there is no set in stone answer, however, here are some tips that will help you establish your rates.

First, lets look at your

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

client's needs. Why are they hiring an outside consultant, when they have employees? There are several reasons why your client is interested in hiring you as a consultant:

a) third party opinion - employees know where their bread is buttered, so the

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

are less inclined to go against the current direction of the company. As an outsider, there is no concern with offering a different opinion. Your independent opinion can provide a much needed, focused perspective your client's company needs.

b) you

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

are cheaper - this is what is normally the hardest for new consultants to understand. How can you command $75/hr when your client has reps working for $20/hr. It normally ends up with the consultant charging a lower rates. No more!

The employee:

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

$20.00 Hourly rate
$ 7.00 Fringe Benefits @ 35%
$10.00 Overhead rate at 50% (computers, office space etc)
$37.00 Total effective pay rate

Hours per year: 2080... Annual salary $76960

The contractor:
$75.00 Hourly rate

Hours per

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

year: 480 (12 weeks, 3 months worth of work).... Cost of completing the project: $36000

Your client gets the project completed quicker, and you end up saving them over 50%.

c) expertise in a specific area - you clearly can bring something that no ot

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

her person on their team can. That's why they called you. As the expert in your chosen field, you can meet your clients needs with quickness and efficiency.

d) motivated to get job done on time, and likely, on budget - your work becomes your reputati

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

n. If you take too long, or go over budget, you wont see any future business from your client. However, provide the customer with what they need, under promise and over deliver, and not only will you retain your client for future business, you will ge

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

t referrals. That's motivation that no employee has.

Now that you know what is motivating your client, you have the groundwork to start to establish your rates. As show in the second reason for hiring a consultant, while your hourly rate may appear t

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

be more than their employees, it actually works out to be less expensive. Any fears or unease that you have in commanding a hire rate than their employees should now be eased. However, how much more can you charge?

Who is your competition?
Esta

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

lish what their rates are, and then confirm what can they offer. Can you honestly provide more services, better customer service and come under budget or on time? If your competitors can provide more than you, you'll find that you may only be able to

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

compete with a lower rate. However, if you can offer more, and have the proven results to back up that claim, you can justify a higher rate.

One key factor to remember is that if you charge a lower rate than your customer, you open yourself up to cli

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

nts who will demand more of your time (it doesn't cost them as much as your competition). This may lead to finishing projects past due and scheduling conflicts with other clients. So while you may be able to charge an extra $40 per hour for example, y

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

ou may end up losing clients, and worse, having client demands cut into your personal time.

If you bill a higher rate, you may surprisingly find that you get better clients, and more referrals. If you can justify a higher rate, your clients will be v

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

ry specific with you in terms of what their needs are (saving you time). Clients who are willing to pay a higher rate, will referral other clients who are willing to pay a higher rate.

Your rate will impact the amount of business you receive. One ter

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

successful consultants learn very early is to understand the concept of value billing. Instead of billing by the hour (which many of your clients will be leery of), consider billing by the project.

By negotiating an amount the client will pay based

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

on the project, you can establish milestones at which payments will be made, and provide added motivation to get the job done and the client signed off quicker. If the project is going to take you 10 hours, consider negotiating an amount for 1.5 to 2x

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

your normal hourly rate. If you get the job done in 5 hours, you get paid the full amount, not for 5 hours. The client is happy because they know what the cost ceiling is, and most importantly, the project is delivered early.

Another benefit of value

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

billing is that you can set up milestones whereby you can get paid. If you advise your client that the project will be completed in say, 6 weeks, and comprise of 3 phases, you can receive payment from them when each phase is complete. Finish early, y

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

u get paid early and your client is happy. Finish behind schedule and your client isnt paying for work that isn't complete yet.

This method helps to improve your cash flow. This is key for any self employed consultant.

So, how much are you worth now

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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One of the most stressful situations in life is starting a new job, and as a temporary employee, you may start a new job as often as every week.

The value of personal networking to secure employment is outlined in a larger sense than usually envisioned. The importance of word-of-mouth and expanding the size of a personal network is stressed.

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