Or "I can get that cheaper elsewhere."

I mean professional replies, not OT main forum replies

I started with a new client (contracting full-time-ish) several years ago at an 18% lower rate than normal because I wanted to be involved with their project, and I thought it would be good experience for both of us. A year later, I told them that if they wanted to continue working with me, I had to increase my rate for the new calendar year by about 30% (ending up just over my old normal rate).

I purposefully told them this in November so they’d have 2 months to find someone else if they didn’t want to agree to it, and I told them that as well. Basically, I didn’t care if I continued working there or not, and the rate wasn’t negotiable. When they questioned the increase, I told them that if I hadn’t proved after a year that my work would be valuable to them even at the higher rate, I probably never would, and it was time for them to seek help elsewhere.

I use the same approach for all negotiations. They aren’t paying for me, they’re paying for my work. If they don’t think my work is worth the cost, they’re free to go somewhere else. I’m not bothered.

1. "you get what you pay for"
2. "I have references that prove i’m worth what I’m charging"
3. "I promise that will be my bill when 99% of the time the lower-priced guys nickel and dime you until you spend more than I’m charging"
4. "I’ll hold your quote aside and give you a discount when the other guy messes up and you need me to fix it"
5. "And you’re absolutely sure their quote includes (list off everything in your quote including design, support, etc)"

it depends on my relationship with the person i’m talking to. sometimes i’m nice about it, sometimes i’m almost a little confrontational, but it’s all based on how much i want the job and how well i know the guy.

. dot .

the problem with this is it’s basically "fuck off". that means you’ll never get a job from this guy or anyone who asks him about you. i’d rather have a decent answer that he can mull over, even if he ends up not going with me for this, he’ll still consider me for the next job.

Thank you for your time. Let me know if you change your mind.

. usually this or I will add if you have any more questions about what we discussed or any other questions in general, please call me or shot me an email.

Earlier today someone said they could do it themselves for cheaper. I was just like "I understand. You should go with whatever you think is the best value and best meets your needs."

TBH by that point I didn’t even want to work with this guy by this point, anyway. He was being shady, trying to get me to reveal client info that is protected by privacy agreements, etc. in a wink wink/nudge nudge sort of way. I was like no.

I try not to work with shady people because I don’t want to be associated with them.

"After you end up spending my budget on Indians overseas and still don’t have a product, call me again"

I guess when you have the leeway to pick and choose your clients, this isn’t an issue. I’ve done contract web development for a very long time and can tell you the worst thing to possibly happen is to get a pain in the ass client constantly trying to manipulate the contract to obtain more value for what they’re paying. If you live off contract and need the cash and client, sure, go with any client willing to accept you. I have my friends like this and their work life blows.

I don’t accept new contract work due to my "client picking" ethic. I have a variety of clients that have been with me for years, the longest been around 6 years. The shortest being about three years. They pay all my hosting bills and I charge them top dollar. They get incredible service and quality work.

this 100%. If you don’t have a large variety of jobs to pick and choose from, you’re not doing it right.

I’m going to rant here a moment…

The secret to getting more work than you can handle… DONT SUCK.

I swear to god, 95% of people out there suck, your competition.

Send emails to your phone, and answer them right away when you’re out and about, even on weekends or when you’re out having a drink. If you’re busy, just say you got their email and will get back to them when youre in the office. Try to answer < 15 minutes.

The amount of replies I hear that say "wow you are so responsive and get back so fast, I love it" is a lot more than you would expect. These are my repeat clients. These are your people and you should take care of them.

It’s SO easy too, and so many people wait days to reply. That doesn’t mean you need to always be working either, or that you need to suddenly be at the mercy of your email, it just means be responsive to inquiries. VERY responsive.

As far as working, dont leave loose ends. This usually means spend an extra hour or two fixing up those little nagging issues that they probably won’t notice. Leave them with something stellar, and go the extra mile even if it means only 5 minutes of work extra fixing something they never asked you to fix or paid you for. It takes 5 minutes, and makes a tremendous impression on them.

I’m making this statistic up, but based on what I see it’s gotta be over 90% of people don’t do just a few simple things. They take a while to reply, deliver sub-par product, don’t communicate well… it has nothing to do with their actual site or product they’re delivering, just how they handle themselves, then they whine about not having work. Fuck you, do your job well and it won’t turn out like that. (OP, not referring to you, just people in general).

PS: it seems counter intuitive (I’m going to get a lot MORE bs work and bs replies), but it actually seems to eliminate them entirely. People respect your time and your skill, and they dont’ waste your time with stupid questions or emails. They’re also willing to pay top dollar for your services without giving you a hard time or anything.

^ +rep

I actually had a client tell me "you don’t need to send me status updates so frequently"

Just trying to set myself apart from my competition

This.

You missed my point. He asked what to say if someone says you’re too expensive and the first few answers basically said to walk away. I’d rather take a few minutes and let them know why my price is what it is.

As someone who has both done contract work and hired contract workers, the first thing I do when someone gives me a price is ask why. It doesn’t mean I’m questioning your integrity, it means I want to know how you came to your figure.

I’m happy you have more work than you can do so you can pick and choose. I’m pretty much in the same boat. That doesn’t mean I’ll alienate someone just because he wanted me to justify my price.

I have had a lot of clients tell me they chose me because I responded right away

I guess I’m still unsure what your point is then.

If you can’t future it out from what I’ve written then I can’t help you.

.

Always be willing to walk away.

I also get asked this from time to time:

"How about you give me a discount on this first order and if I like the work I’ll definitely order more in the future?"

In the past I have made the mistake of agreeing to that. Despite getting great results from my work, those customers NEVER become repeat customers.

So now I tell them that the value I provide is not something I am willing to discount, however bulk pricing is definitely something we can discuss once you become a customer.

I regularly hook up repeat/long term customers with discounts.

It’s like a Falconer rewards program.

I’ve given customers a year worth of hosting for free before. They don’t ask for it or ask for discounts, I just throw in little bonuses here and there when we agree to a large project.

ok.

.

.

Strangely, a few of them have blown my e-mail/phone up a few months later after hiring someone for way less or trying to do it themselves.

Yep. I’ve landed clients that way, too.

It’s funny, though. The problem comes with the smaller clients. Landing jobs from large companies / corporations is never an issue; it’s awesome they’re usually the ones seeking my company out.

I’m trying really hard to stay away from that these days.

But the extra money every few months isn’t bad.

I guess I am lucky, most of the small businesses I deal with have not been that bad

You’re probably not expensive enough

not sure what that has to do with having problems with smaller businesses

I have turned away a few small businesses that just talking with them a few times by phone or email, I knew they would be a pain in the ass

That’s the worst, when you want the money but you know the customer/client will be a pain in the butt.

Also the tire kickers and people who just want to pick your brain. It wouldn’t be so bad if they were just up front about it, but they always try to pretend like they’re interested and just have a few questions.

"Hi, I’m thinking about becoming a client…

*2 page email full of detailed technical and theoretical strategic questions that would warrant at least a 2 page reply*"

I used to write out LONG replies to that kind of thing, dropping knowledge bombs left and right. My mindset was "by giving such thorough answers, this person will see that I am a better choice to work with than anyone else they are considering."

I never heard back from those people. And it’s not because I gave them bad answers; I gave them awesome answers. It’s because they were bullshitting me from the beginning.

Now when I detect that sort of thing I try to give them brief answers and ask them questions in return. The people who are serious will reply and answer my own questions (for example, telling me a little bit about their business).

It saves me time.

There’s a big difference between the people who call me and launch into a 5 minute speech about their business and what they do and why they want my help, vs. the bullshitters who try to get knowledge for free. If you can’t/don’t answer "tell me about your business," I’m not working with you. The only possible reasons someone would avoid those questions are because they are just bullshitting me anyway, or because they have some shady business they don’t want to discuss. In either case, I don’t want to work with the person.

I’d like to just say "sure, you can pick my brain. I do consultations. What email address would you like the invoice sent to?"

He has a pretty good point. The main company I consult for now wants to do some pretty serious app development(the ideas are honestly GREAT) – when I had a friend come in whose company has a pretty solid track record and he quoted them…. "… welp, we are done here", even though the guy’s company does 7 figures quarterly.

And he was willing to knock off 50% for 30% equity.