InsightWhat Is A Retainer?
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Insight

What Is A Retainer?

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A retainer is not only used for the mouth but also for a consistent cash flow. Retainers are payment agreements between a client and a service provider. The client often pays a specific amount of money to a business, usually monthly, and in return receives a set of services during that set time period.

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How Does a Retainer Work?‌

Great! now that you know what a retainer is you’d need to know how to create a retainer relationship with your clients. Follow these steps:

  • Get to know your clients better

  • Build your offering

  • Sell your services

  • Scale your services

 

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1. Get to know your clients better

It’s critical to get a better understanding of your clients. Ask yourself  what problems do they have? What do they need regular help with? Your retainer should  provide a solution that people are willing to pay for.

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2. Build your offering

Ideally, this is something you can offer on an ongoing basis since work you only do once won’t always work in a retainer relationship. It is during this step that you will also have to define the cadence or cycle of your offering whether that be weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.  

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3. Sell your services

Structure your sales pitch to focus on the pain point your client has. If you can show that you have a solution, businesses are usually more than willing to pay a regular fee to solve their problems.

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4. Scale your services

Check in with your first client regularly to see how they respond to your services. Use their feedback to better craft your sales presentation to make landing more clients an easier process.

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What Are the Two Types of Retainers?

Once you determine that a retainer is the right choice for your services, you need to figure out what type of retainer to offer. There are the two types of retainers people expect to see.

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1. Pre-paid (Fixed Price)

A pre-paid retainer is one where you commit to handling a certain amount of work during the duration of the retainer. This work can be in the form of hours put in or for a specific output.

 

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2. Post-paid (Time & Materials)

In a Post-paid retainer, customers will pay a fee to access the knowledge your service company has. Whether it’s to fix problems as they arise or to stay available to give advice, a retainer will make you available for those calls.

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You should have a better idea of what a retainer is and how it can help your business. Using retainers won’t just streamline your client operations, it will also help you create a stable income well into the future.

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