[ahoyhere]

A better approach is to meet for an hour or two max, don't give any advice, simply gather information. Tell them up front that your proposal, with implementation details, costs $5,000 (or whatever). Then don't give them any recommendations except in the proposal. After they pay for the proposal, they can use it with any contractor… but in all the times I've used it, no one has ever hired anyone else but me.

This is itself a small gig/contract and the HR departments etc. are set up to pay for these things.

If people are "screwing you over" during interviews, you may need to zip your lips. Charging a fee before "meeting for coffee" is not a good solution… simply not giving away the milk for free, on the other hand, is.

[tptacek]

Or, don't do this. Other professionals (accountants, lawyers) will happily meet with you for an hour or so and give advice without charging anything. Consider being like them.

It's not unfair to charge for a proposal (and the process that generates it), but it's unusual, and it creates a large risk that the client has to shoulder (if I don't like your proposal, then what? The proposal is most of what I have to go on for how good a fit you are in the first place!)

I wouldn't do business with a contractor that demanded payment for proposals. I say this as the operator of a business in which proposals are seriously expensive to generate. I wrote a large proposal last week after a series of phone meetings, and the proposal didn't generate any business. Oh well! That's life in the big leagues.

[ahoyhere]

Worked for me, for big name clients like Ford, Pepsi, TBWA/Chiat Day, Bear Stearns, etc., as well as smaller ones. We really met for more than 2 hours, but after the initial contract was signed for the proposal. That includes lots of investigation time. My proposals included specific implementation details, milestones, and usually wireframes.

I was amused to find out that my architect/builder does the same -- I'm paying him $5,000 to dig holes, poke holes in things, survey, price materials, order samples, talk to craftsmen, deal with the planning board etc. and at the end if I decide I don't want to use those plans with him, I can use it to competitively price other architect/builders. But chances are very high I won't, because he's delivering exactly the level of detail and care I want to see.