Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
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Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
1–10 of 36 posts
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#2I like this.
One thing not mentioned that I've found over the years is that sometimes asking for the higher rate from the start increases the clients perceived value of you.
This was put succinctly by an old boss of mine "serious people charge serious money".
He was full of these another that stuck with me is "Don't charge what you think you are worth, charge what they think you are worth", on one system I built I went in with a price I thought was really high, got the job and then found out afterward I was still significantly cheaper than the other company that had bid on the contract though sometimes that is just the way it goes.
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#3Meanwhile, in the real world...
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#4I'm not sure that "never" is a good word to use, here. There are many cases I can think of where it'd be worth your while to negotiate your freelance rate:
- The client is a non-profit or under-funded project that has little money but you can help out because you support the good they're trying to do in the world.
- The client is offering you a huge chunk of work, and the overhead they're removing from your life (finding other clients to fill the time, for example) is worth a few bucks off of your hourly rate.
- The client can offer other incentives to offset the hourly discount. Like a client that wants you to work from the office all the time might be willing to let you work from home.
- It's a project you really want to work on and that's the only way to make it work.
"Clients obsessed with nickel and diming are pathological." This is nonsense. Clients -- just like you -- have every right to negotiate. But freelancers who are unwilling to be flexible when dealing with their clients are, to quote South Park, "going to have a bad time."
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#5I like this. One thing not mentioned that I've found over the years is that sometimes asking for the higher rate from the start increases the clients perceived value of you. This was put succinctly by an old boss of mine "serious people charge serious money". He was full of these another that stuck with me is "Don't charge what you think you are worth, charge what they think you are worth", on one system I built I we…
Yeah, I particularly agree with "negotiate on scope". That's a way to make clear that you appreciate their budgetary concerns and signal that you're happy to be accommodating, but that your time is valuable. Then they're left with the only counter being that they actually don't think you're worth that rate.
I also think it's worth noting that there is a cost to them to walking away and finding someone else. As the potential contractor, you're not the only one who has put time into figuring out the project. It probably isn't worth that $10/hr rate discount to have to negotiate all over again with someone else who they haven't identified yet, don't know if they'll like as much, and who may charge just as much or more.
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#6I like this. One thing not mentioned that I've found over the years is that sometimes asking for the higher rate from the start increases the clients perceived value of you. This was put succinctly by an old boss of mine "serious people charge serious money". He was full of these another that stuck with me is "Don't charge what you think you are worth, charge what they think you are worth", on one system I built I we…
I once lost a huge project simply because 1) I charged less than my competition ("there must be something wrong with them...") and 2) I didn't add a 20% annual maintenance fee my the proposal. Needless to say, I never made that mistake again.
But yeah, I can't agree more.
The amazing thing about raising rates (which I think patio11 and I talked about way back when here: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/10/10/kalzumeus-podcast-3-grow...) is that you make more money, get better clients, and get treated with a lot more respect.
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#7Or, you can do what everyone else does. Set your rates 20% higher and give anyone who asks a 20% discount. Or set your rates 10% higher, and give a 20% discount for something that is valuable to you, but not necessarily valuable to the client (e.g. prepayment).
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#8There is nothing wrong with offering a discount. Make sure there are good reasons for offering the discount and make sure that the discount is a line-item on the invoice.
For example, if a client is willing to commit to hiring you (by paying up-front) for a certain larger-than-normal period of time, you may be shooting yourself in the foot by not offering them a small discount to sweeten the deal.
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#9I like Merlin Mann's take on this. Basically, charge a lot to paying customers, and give a lot of content away for free so that those who can't afford it can still benefit.
It's obviously a nice situation to be in.
For most all of my speaking, consulting, and advisory work, yes: I do charge a fee, plus expenses. And, candidly, I charge kind of a lot.
Being compensated for my speaking, consulting, and professional writing work is how I’m able to feed and clothe my family as well as fund my lavish, meth-driven, West Coast lifestyle of fast cars, fancy English butlers, and the jet packs that will not be available to normal people like you for years.
It’s also how I’m able to give away almost everything I’ve ever written or said for free. Hundreds of thousands of words and dozens of days of audio and video can only be treated that liberally if there are other ways that the freight gets paid. I don’t apologize or defend this; I just realize it’s not as obvious to everyone as it is to me.
As for how I decide what to charge and to whom or for what? It’s not particularly complicated. I charge a lot to do things I’m great at for people who know it’s a bargain. And, that’s it. Only way to fly. I don’t “dicker” and I never “sell.”
I learned a long time ago to only work for or with people with whom you have mutual admiration and respect—and who already think you’re valuable and great at what you do. In my experience, the folks who expect you to make a case for your own value make for terrible clients. They may be good negotiators and nice people, but working for them is a gut-wrenching travesty. And I don’t do travesties.
With all that said, I do a fair amount of (private, unpublicized, non-ribbon-based) work with non-profits and other deserving groups. And, no, I normally do not charge for this work. So, If you’re working for a good cause or represent an organization that’s trying to do something you know I care a lot about, please ask me. No promises, but I’ll do what I can with what I have.
So, yep. “Expensive” or “Free.” It’s a fee schedule that works.
http://www.merlinmann.com/faqs/hiring-merlin/do-you-charge-m...
Re: Never Negotiate Your Freelance Rate
#10An extremely useful rule is to give the discount, but hedge your risk with a limit on the hours for "undefined time". Agree on X hours for meetings, more meetings, presentations, discussions, whatever, and stick to it.
This will force the client to use your time wisely, and pay you more if substantial more time is required.