When you quote a fee to a potential client, there are a few things that will happen.
- The client may agree to the price you quoted and hire you.
- You may never hear from the person again.
- They may come back with an objection.
On the face of it, an objection isn’t really a positive thing. You have considered the project and how much time and effort it will take, and you have quoted the potential client what you feel is a fair price for your work. Ideally, you want them to agree to your price without objecting to anything, but the fact that the client is making an objection means that they have already decided that you are a good fit for their project.
When you apply for a freelance writing gig that is advertised or you make a pitch to a potential client, the recipient has two questions to answer:
- Are you someone who can do the work?
- Will you do the work at a price they are willing to pay?
The first question is the most important one. If the client isn’t interested in having you do the work, it won’t matter what price you quote him or her. When they object to the price you have quoted, they are interested in hiring you as long as you can agree on the payment details.
What do you do to move things forward if a potential client objects to the price you have quoted?
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It’s negotiating 101. If they got back in touch with me, despite the fact they are objecting to my price…I’ve set the hook. Now I just have to reel that fish in.
My personal reasoning in a case like this is to simply give the client a breakdown of why I’m asking for what I’m asking for. I’ve found that if you show the client a breakdown of the step by step necessities that caused you to arrive at that number, more often than not they will be more understanding. I’ve actually had a couple of clients agree to pay me the rates despite it being out of their budget range, but more frequently it comes down to us coming at a compromise somewhere in the middle.
Over-quote. Look at a every angle of a project and add 10-15% on top of it. If the client says yes, you get more than you actually wanted in the first place, but if they end up negotiating you still end up making at least what you wanted to in the first place, and hopefully more. It’s served me very well over the years. My personal best is clearing over a thousand dollars a day on a project because it was a rush job (in my previous occupation). The guy needed a remodel done over the weekend, and I quoted him a price that was beyond ridiculous because I didn’t really feel like doing it. When he agreed to the price I blinked, went in, and cleared 4 thousand dollars in 3 days.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate.
I couldn’t agree more. I keep a very accurate record of how much time I am spending on each project and the average hourly pay rate I get for each project. I gauge my willingness to continue to work for a client based on this. If I need to negotiate, I just pull up my numbers and make a case. It’s difficult to object to statistics.
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