Determining the right rate for your services is difficult and sometimes an arbitrary process. A survey of the rates negotiated by IT service providers for the State of Colorado shows a very wide range of rates with the highest rates sometimes three times larger than the lowest rate listed.

With the current expansion — after almost 5 years of contraction — of IT services, experienced consultants and service providers should expect to be able to negotiate within the higher end of the band. However, this will be limited by their ability to offer newer technologies or solid experience in particular methodologies or industries. More than ever, it is becoming important to specialize, as most recruiters won’t consider candidates that don’t have experience in particular industries or with particular sets of tools.

Average hourly rate using data from 39 IT services companies serving the State of Colorado in 2005-2006.

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What If Project LLC offers leadership and project management coaching and consulting for small and medium-sized technology companies. To learn more about how to market your consulting services or receive a complete copy of the survey contact us via What If Project.

The Brand You 50 by Tom Peters

This book is fun to read, especially if you’re feeling a little manic. The Brand You 50 is what you need if you want to get better at selling yourself. Tom Peters reminds us through this extended list of essays that it’s all right to be in love with yourself and what you are doing. In fact, getting excited about the quality and the importance of your work is the only way to make any project fun and rewarding. This book contains a number of interesting and meaningful tips about how to think about what it is that you offer to the world of work or just in the world. My only complaint is that it’s difficult to read, because of his incessant use of ALL CAPS and W-O-R-D-S spelled out in ALL CAPS. This certainly drives home his point about being distinctive, but it’s annoying after 3 pages.