Mastering High-Paying Projects: How to Increase Your Hourly Rate and Attract Exciting Clients

How to Increase Your Hourly Rate and Work Only on Exciting Projects

- How do the highest-paid professionals operate?

- Who gets paid a lot and why are clients willing to pay them so happily?

- What are the mistakes you should avoid?

In this article, I want to delve thoughtfully into how you can raise the price of your services and command a higher hourly rate.

Instead of a traditional beginning, let’s start with this:

Hi, I'm Olga Fedoseeva, Founder and CEO of UnitiQ, a Fractional HR Solutions company designed to support fast-growing startups and scaleups. UnitiQ is unique because we provide tailored, strategic HR expertise exactly when it's needed, without long-term commitments. Our approach combines deep HR experience with industry-specific expertise to ensure companies get the best talent and HR support to drive their growth.

This story beautifully illustrates that charging higher fees isn't just about expertise but also about perception, strategy, and the ability to provide value without overwhelming the client. One key takeaway here is the importance of patience and the skill to guide a client toward their own solution, a critical aspect of high-level consulting.

When applied to areas like leadership, talent acquisition or fractional HR, this approach suggests that being selective about projects, offering strategic insights, and letting clients feel empowered through the process will set you apart from others in the market. In these fields, success is often about facilitating others to make impactful decisions, rather than taking charge of every single detail.

This mindset of focusing on long-term value rather than short-term tasks is essential for anyone seeking to raise their rates and only work on projects they find genuinely engaging.

The Maestro of Astronomical Fees

For many years, Dr. Chris Argyris was one of the highest-paid business consultants in the U.S. His fees were so high that only the largest companies could afford his services.

At one point, a smaller but highly ambitious firm was undergoing a business reorganization. They couldn't afford to hire Argyris for the entire project but managed to bring him in for a final board meeting. Argyris arrived, greeted the team, handed out business cards, and took his seat. A silence fell over the room.

The Chairman began asking each top executive to share their views. They argued, drew diagrams on a flip chart, and tried to piece together a solution. During this entire time, Argyris did not say a word - he simply listened. After some time, the markers dried out, and the executives seemed stumped.

Finally, Argyris approached the flip chart, picked up a marker, and said, "You know, if you don’t put the caps back on these markers, they dry out quickly." He capped the marker and sat back down.

The room went quiet in confusion. The Chairman eventually wrapped up the meeting, recapped the markers, and dictated decisions to the stenographer.

Did Argyris really get paid an astronomical fee just to close a marker cap? Not quite.

The Interns of Astronomical Fees

After a successful collaboration with a management school, I ventured into the world of online education. I understood the mechanics: content marketing, lead magnets, core products, and the notorious VIP coaching programs.

It was jarring to see how boldly and often ignorantly many so-called "infogurus" were pushing their way into complex subjects like adult education theories and pedagogical principles. I didn’t want to deal with the technicalities of sales funnels and marketing warm-ups, so I focused on creating the course content myself. More importantly, I didn’t want to hand off solving the real issue: student engagement and course completion rates.

At some point, I found myself in a Telegram chat group, where I quickly sifted through several producers. Despite my extensive experience in talent acquisition and personnel assessment, I felt helpless.

It seemed these producers had been trained in one thing: arrogance. Not the kind of productive confidence you'd expect from a producer, but sheer arrogance.

Still, I pressed on. My second meeting with a producer included her bringing in an "educational methodologist" to discuss the project. The structure of the course was straightforward, but I was curious about the numbers. We agreed to split the agreed-upon expenses and profits evenly. Naturally, she proposed adding the methodologist to the budget - a specialist, not just any instructional designer. I wondered how many more experts she would have suggested if I had agreed.

I tried to explain that I doubted her education background or experience in teaching would add much to the project, considering I had learned from the best myself. But my arguments fell flat. After her pedantic instructions, she presented the fee: 100 USD / EUR per hour.

I asked how many hours it would take to create the course. The answer was that you should multiply the number of course hours by three. That came to about 48 hours, or roughly 15K USD / EUR.

Hearing that, even Argyris would have nervously capped the marker.

Why Argyris Was Paid So Much?

First, Argyris had the experience and insight to follow the thought process of the executives and would have stepped in if their decisions had been detrimental to the company.

Second, his extensive background allowed him to see the problem from a broader perspective and identify the optimal solution.

Third, Argyris knew the value of letting the executives work through their own ideas. By doing so, they felt ownership of the final decision, which ensured a more harmonious and committed execution.

To better understand this, imagine the opposite scenario: Argyris steps in, takes control of the discussion, presents brilliant insights, and then leaves.

What would have happened next? Likely, the board would have continued the discussion, this time questioning Argyris’s suggestions. Even if he had stayed, he would have had to defend his points—because people rarely accept another person's solution without debate.

Managing such a situation requires patience, expertise, and a deep understanding of group dynamics. The larger the group, the harder it becomes to steer discussions effectively. Some members may push for a quick resolution, while others prefer a more thorough debate. The tension between these opposing forces can shape the outcome.

Argyris waited patiently, used his authority to guide the conversation, and, with a simple gesture (capping the marker), signaled that the board had arrived at the right decision. This was true mastery: allowing the client to reach the correct conclusion on their own while providing just enough guidance.

As noted in his obituary: "He was a devoted and passionate teacher, deeply proud of the work his students continue to do around the world."

In Conclusion

There’s no magic formula for increasing your hourly rate. A specialist’s worth is determined by their ability to impact the client's reality. The key is to not undervalue yourself.

Argyris didn’t just walk in, close marker caps, and leave. He built a long-lasting legacy through his 30 books and 150 scholarly articles. He worked hard but spent his time in ways that truly benefited society - not just on flashy marketing tactics.