Money. More money. Lots more money. With any luck and a bunch of hard work, that’s the financial trajectory of the typically competent commercial freelancer’s career. I started out at $50 an hour in 1994, and over time that rose to $60, $75, $85, $95, $100, $110, and finally $125 (of course, when working on flat-fee projects for long-term clients, my familiarity with their world usually speeds up project time, nicely upping my THR – True Hourly Rate).
Most of the time, those increases happen gradually. You look around, realize you’re getting pretty good at this gig, bunch of happy clients, steady kudos, so hey, it’s time for raise. What’s fun to watch is when some outside catalyst provides an instant boost in someone’s perceived self-worth and drives fees up faster than they normally would. A few examples. Sometime back, got this note from a reader:
I recently did a direct mail postcard, as suggested in your book, after calling some leads. It resulted in a nice 100-hour contract. When putting the proposal together, I debated on the hourly rate. As I was working, I got your ezine and read about not being afraid to charge what you’re worth. So, I quoted $15 more than what I had been charging and I won the contract – a $1,500 increase!
Gotta love that. And a few weeks back, I got another one. In the June and July issues of the ezine, I’m running a two-part feature about Ed Gandia, Atlanta FLCW extraordinaire – who built a PT business ($3-4K/month) while holding down a FT job, and in his first full year as a FLCW, earned over $160K.
At his site (The Profitable Freelancer), he offers a free report, “7 Steps to Landing More (and Better-Paying!) Freelance Projects” when you sign up for his killer newsletter.
One of my subscribers scored the report, which offered up similar “don’t-be-afraid-to-shoot-high” advice, and within a day, sent Ed this note, forwarding it on to me:
You are going to love this. I went on a sales call today for a PR project. The last time I did a project of this general scope, I charged $2,500. Today, when the prospect asked what the fee would be, I calmly/casually said “$6,000.” He said OK. Ha! Thanks again for that report. I know it gave me a boost today. I was going to “ask for” $5,000 but I figured, eh, I’ll “tell them” 6.
SO much of the money conversation is between our own ears. I mean, think about it. In these cases, their clients, by unquestioning acceptance of their newly-higher rates, were essentially the ones to convince them of their own worth!
In this “tougher times” (talk about perception!), it’s probably tempting to adopt a conservative, take-what-you-can-get attitude, and shoot low. If you’re good and know it, try doing the opposite. You might just be the only one who’s surprised when it goes well.
Got any good “I-shot-higher-than-my-comfort-zone-and-they-said-yes” stories?
What was the catalyst for your courage?
What did you learn from it?
Any other comments/thoughts on the subject?
There are two circumstances that push me to quoting higher than my comfort zone. The first is when I’m so busy I don’t care if I don’t get the gig, and the higher fee is my way of compensating myself for working evenings and weekends to fit it in. The second is when I don’t care if I get the gig because either I don’t enjoy the subject matter or the client seems like they’d be difficult to work with. The extra money will sweetenthe pot enough to make it worth my time. I am surprised at how often I do get the go ahead. I consider this the universe’s way of telling me what the market will bear (more than I thought), and it’s time to officially raise rates.
Thanks Eileen,
Good stuff. Interesting. Same for me. Of course, as the sales saying goes, “He who cares least wins.” The key is carrying that mindset with us all the time, not just when we’re busy and can afford to be cavalier. So, yeah, might be time to raise rates…
PB
Peter,
You bring up a good point about the sales process. When I first started my sales career, the company’s policy for handling other sales person’s clients was a “good-guy” system. If you were handling someone else’s client, you were to try your best to close the sale for no compensation, the idea being when someone was with your client the favor would be returned. It actually worked pretty well.
Invariably I was better at closing sales with other people’s clients, and it didn’t take me long to figure out why. While I wanted to do a good job to ensure that the favor was reciprocated, I had NO FEAR OF LOSS. My paycheck wasn’t riding on closing the sale, and I was more relaxed, confident, and did a better job. Once I realized this, and put it into practice with my own clients, my closing rate skyrocketed. Another benefit was that price objections seemed to be fewer and farther between.
A confident approach about the value that you offer the client goes a long way in helping you get more $$ for your services. And while I don’t have any scientific data to back this up, it always seemed the clients who paid more were happier, easier to deal with, and referred more business my way..
I’ve found that asking is easy. It’s the getting that’s hard. But I know I’m not working with the right kinds of clients.
For example, when asked for my hourly rate (unusual, since I prefer quoting by the project) I tell people $75. I get this rate from a long-time client who gives me occasional work that takes 1-2 hours to complete (hence the reason I hate quoting an hourly rate).
Another client can only afford to pay me $35. I do it because I like the work, I usually don’t have anything else coming in, and because it’s still more than what I make in my mind-numbingly boring, dead-end day job.
The rest of the time it’s touch and go. If I get a well-heeled client interested in working with me, they never balk at my fee. But most of the time I get emails from people whose first and only consideration for working with me is how much I charge. When I won’t do a whole website for them for $200 bucks, THEN they want to see examples of my work and it turns into a big dog and pony show (this happened AGAIN just this morning). I hate singing for my supper, but I hate my job too. I got into copywriting because I was told by all the gurus that I could actually set and get whatever fee I want, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Hi Peter,
Wow, I mis-read the second-last paragraph and came across a startling conclusion. When you quote someone a price, you are not only reflecting your own worth, but your client’s worth as well.
Think about it: all things being equal, who would you rather work with, a $10 per hour writer or a $150 per hour writer? If you are part of a corporation and not paying the bills out-of-pocket yourself, you are going to look for the best. It’s like one of the “perks” – limo, 5-star hotels, and the best in subcontractors. Plus, going with the best (and getting the best results possible) will make you look good too.
Make yourself to be one of the perks of their job, and that will go a long way to helping you get the job.
(I think I’ll go test that theory now…)
~Graham
how true how true, in fact the last time I raised my rates I checked out yours! Thanks!
btw, the link isn’t working in firefox…
Excellent point, Craig. Our anxiety about the process (because we’ve got “skin in the game”) makes it harder for us to be cool and calm about our own deals. And that will come over time – the more competent you get, the more confident you are in your abilities (as evidenced by a growing portfolio, lots of happy clients, and a healthy bank account), the less you’ll care about any given client. But, it’s still an interesting exercise to try: pretend you’re closing another writer’s deal…;)
James, I know it can feel that way sometimes. But I’m telling you, and many would agree with me, the day you stop working for $35 an hour because you’ve decided to upgrade the quality of your clients, is the day that you’ll start getting better clients who truly value what you bring to the table – and will pay you well. AND the quicker you’ll get yourself out of that job you love so much… 😉 You’ve already proven that you CAN earn $75, which by definition, means that there are other clients who will pay you those rates.
Graham, I think there’s a lot of truth to what you say. Clients DO want to work with the best. But, obviously, many clients DO have to be budget-conscious. By the same token, in my experience, if the client has money, their desire to get the job done competently and expeditiously the first time will always trump cost. They KNOW that you get what you pay for, and you don’t get what you don’t pay for, and they don’t have the time to screw around. The clients that focus on price are, frankly, the ones you don’t want to deal with.
And thanks for the plug, Anne!
PB
A not-often-realized negative aspect of accepting low paying jobs is that those clients typically only refer similar types of clients who expect to pay a low price. (Not always, obviously, but quite a bit from my experience.)
My very first client is one who got a ridiculously low rate on editing. (I was new and had no idea what to charge, so I played it too safe.) He was great about passing my name around, but it ended up being passed to other people who expected the same low rate.
On the one hand, you’re flattered to be getting referrals. On the other hand, you’re trapping yourself into a cycle of low-paying jobs.
By contrast, I once got a referral from a colleague who charged a healthy amount for her services. So the person getting the referral and calling me was used to more realistic prices. When _that_ person referred me to someone else, he also expected to pay a higher fee.
When I considered those two experiences, it struck me how important it was to associate myself with clients who are willing to pay a fair and healthy price for my services because they will talk to other people. And the people they talk to tend to be in similar positions in terms of what they expect to pay freelancers.
It’s probably not too unlike life in general… we’re most comfortable hanging around people who are like us or share certain values. I believe a lot of people in business operate the same way.
[“It’s probably not too unlike life in general . . .”]^
Bingo, Mike! We gather ’round Peter’s e-salons because he’s the Philosopher King of FLCW, the Zen Master of living well by working well.
Seriously, so many of the mantras he and we share do apply beyond the keyboard:
* Be prepared.
* Have confidence.
* Build alliances.
* Set and meet high standards.
* Insist on fair, ethical behavior.
Back on topic now, I also apply Eileen’s first approach point in Comment 1:
When the plate is full and the sked stuffed, rates rise . . .
. . . which typically means evenings or weekends fill with more-rewarding production that boosts the bottom line along with respect (mine AND the client’s, as others have noted).
So yeah, might be time to heed Peter’s inner whispers and notch up the figures during regular hours, too . . .
Mike, yet another excellent point – and so true. Good clients begat more good clients and low-paying ones do the same. Absolutely logical. Another reason to stick to your guns on fees – it’ll keep you in the right income brackets… 🙂
And Alan, you are TOO kind. Just doing what I do, but I’ll take the compliment… And YOU go get more money… 😉
PB
My rule of thumb is to always ask for more money – either as an hourly rate or for a flat rate. This goes for when I worked at a salaried job, too. If a client wants you, they want you. You need to respect yourself enough to ask for what you’re really worth.
I do offer a “non-profit/educational” rate — but even that is about $10-15/hour higher than what I thought one organization was going to be able to pay me. It’s steady, interesting work, and I really like the people I work with. Plus, there’s never any quibbling about my invoices and they always get paid on time.
One thing I find hard is that my regional market seems to pay lower than average. So my hourly rate (which is only $65/hour) seems to make a lot of people balk. I much prefer quoting flat rates, with specific parameters for a project and the caveat that I bill hourly at $65/hour for anything outside of the clearly defined project scope or for ongoing work.
On the other hand, not every client thinks $65/hour is too high and the ones that I enjoy working with most, don’t seem to mind it at all.
This is a very exciting philosophical discussion — and a very important one.
As I look back at my career (sales, management, and now copywriting & consulting) I can’t think of ONE instance where staying within my comfort zone was the best option. In fact, I don’t recall making bold move after bold move, taking one calculated risk after another.
Instead I think, “If I knew then what I know now…I would have taken more chances. I would have spoken out more. I would have tried harder.”
Don’t get me wrong. I have taken risks and I have made bold moves. Many of them. In fact, the success Peter mentioned in his blog post above came to me as a result of thinking big and taking chances. But these aren’t the first things that come to mind as I look back at my career. What comes to mind are all the safe bets I made — how much I short-changed myself.
To me, is a constant reminder that I need to step out of my comfort zone even more. And when it comes to pricing, I think we can all be a bit bolder from time to time. I know it’s hard, especially it feels like you have a lot riding on the project. But try it on the next project. You might just surprise yourself.
But I’m telling you, and many would agree with me, the day you stop working for $35 an hour because you’ve decided to upgrade the quality of your clients, is the day that you’ll start getting better clients who truly value what you bring to the table – and will pay you well.
What is it with this? I am not one prone to “woo woo” metaphysical philosophy; I’m about as pragmatic and down to earth as they come … and yet I have seen this proven out in my own career, and in all my copywriter friends’ careers as well. It’s as if your fist is clenched so tightly holding on to those low paying gigs (because you fear not having enough income) that your hand is not open to receive something better.
Peter, I think in your first book you talk about the phenomenon of getting active and marketing yourself when the flow of incoming work is looking a little thin … and poof! Immediately, the starts ringing with gigs – and yet, those gigs don’t necessarily come from the avenues you were reaching out to in your marketing.
Hey, I can’t figure out why it works that way. But for some reason, it does. Positive action brings positive results, even if those results come from an entirely different quarter.
Right you are, Eileen. And thanks for this addition. There IS a LOT of this unexplained phenomena present in all aspects of life, but definitely in our world in the arenas discussed above. And I’m with you – I’m not particularly woo-woo either, but to go through life with the mindset that “I’ll only believe it if I see it” is foolish. In many instances, it’s exactly the opposite: you’ll see it when you believe it. Like that quote from W.N. Murray of the Scottish Himalayan Mountain Expedition I have at the end of TWFW (in part):
…the moment one commits oneself,
then Providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one
that would otherwise have never occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
of unforeseen incidents and meetings,
and material assistance
which no man could have dreamt would have come his way
Same thing.
PB