Q: After studying your book, I applied the skills outlined, and got an interested nibble. This client wants me to write and edit marketing brochures for his company. It’s a tourist site he owns and I told him that the language in the current marketing brochures, website, and marketing video do not effectively sell his product and service to the intended audience.
For all the work he’s asked me to do, I’ve given him a quote of $2,000 for a ten- day assignment. We come from two very different countries and what clients in the US would be willing to pay would be exorbitant here. That is why I wanted to start low, and perhaps increase it down the road when I get more clients.
In any case, after quoting my price two weeks ago, I haven’t heard back. Do you think my bid was too high? I am thinking of calling him up or sending an email to push for a meeting to iron out things. Is that advisable?
Q: Impossible to say what’s going on, but $2000 may be a lot more money than he wants to pay. Obviously, if you can’t reach him and he won’t call you back, there isn’t a whole lot you can do. One thing is for certain, and this IS universal: if/when he is interested in moving forward, he will get back to you.
One thing I would suggest you do is this: It’s quite possible he may be hesitating because he’s reluctant to commit to spending that much money when he’s unsure of what the end result will be. I might suggest to him that you start with one or two pieces. Agree on a fair rate for those, do the work, and let him decide if he likes the work and wants to continue with the rest. Obviously, make sure he understands that he WILL pay you for those initial projects, but it’s a far smaller commitment, and it lets him try you out.
(PB Note: This strategy obviously would work on a book ghostwriting project as well, where the true parameters of a project are uncertain. While in the project above, you might suggest this idea as a way to make the client feel more comfortable about moving forward, in the case of a ghostwriting gig, the writer might want to suggest it as a way of protecting his or her interests. It’s sometimes difficult to know how labor-intensive a book project is going to be (or how high-maintenance a client will be!). Best to do a chapter or two, see how it goes, and then adjust terms accordingly based on what you discover.)