04

May

How to Negotiate Rates With a Client

For most freelancers this is a very difficult question. How much is too much and how much is too little? After all, you don’t want to sell yourself short but you also don’t want to put off the client. As this is your freelancing income, you will have to learn to negotiate to arrive at a happy medium.

To start, you should know what the going rates are for what you are doing and also what your goals are for your freelancing income. This will also depend on your level of skill and experience with what the client is expecting of you. In addition, you must also factor in time it will take to complete the job.

With these things in mind, start with mid range rates and go up or down according to your experience, and whether or not it is a rush job. These are two of the most important factors. You don’t want to go too low, as you may not appear professional to you client, but you also don’t want to go too high and put off the client.

If you feel the client wants to pay less than the market rate, you will have to move on. This happens from time to time, but you must always remember what your goals are for your freelance writing income, as well s your own value. A good client who recognizes good work and is looking for someone to help increase his or her business is not going to want to shortchange you. One last thing to consider is also size of the company; this can play a huge factor in the rates they are willing to pay. For larger companies, the rates are  usually higher while smaller companies may not have a huge budget.

If you keep the above in mind, you should become comfortable very soon negotiating rates that are commiserate with your talent and experience. Both you and your clients should leave the negotiation table happy.