Difficult Clients

Tell them your rate, if they don't want to pay it, tell them your rate again!

Why should they be treated any different to your other clients?
How do you think your other clients would react if they found out you're doing work cheaper?

PointandStare is right. Your rate is your rate.

Then again, if you're considering taking a 50% cut it leads me to believe you need the work; and if you need the work to survive, then why question yourself?

The client is paying for your expertise and services and you've already got several clients happily paying you your rate which means you're worth it.

Sometimes you have to let clients go.

Think you have the answer there! Every reply is absolutely right. If your rates are market standard and other clients are happy to pay them, then don't make exceptions for one client.

From my experience, the ones who try to beat you down on price are usually the ones that becomes the hardest work too!

Thanks

Thanks for your replies on this one.

I'll sit down and have a chat with the client and explain a few things.
I've spoken to them about it and have never come to an amicable agreement.

The basis of their argument is that they have an in house guy in another office who is charged at at £100 Per Visual. where I have a daily rate of £250
(industry standard for what i do)

So they said i had to be competative with the in house guy, Which i can't do.

Perhas I'll just set an hourly rate as they seem to think that not all my work will take a whole day (I do charge a minumum half day for any job I do) wheras it normally will take at least half a day for a visual and then the rest of the day getting feedback and making changes as necccesarry.

Anyone else work this way with people?

AWmotiongraphics, post: 6427 a écrit : Thanks for your replies on this one.

I'll sit down and have a chat with the client and explain a few things.
I've spoken to them about it and have never come to an amicable agreement.

The basis of their argument is that they have an in house guy in another office who is charged at at £100 Per Visual. where I have a daily rate of £250
(industry standard for what i do)

So they said i had to be competative with the in house guy, Which i can't do.
Perhas I'll just set an hourly rate as they seem to think that not all my work will take a whole day (I do charge a minumum half day for any job I do) wheras it normally will take at least half a day for a visual and then the rest of the day getting feedback and making changes as necccesarry.

Anyone else work this way with people?

What 'they say' you should do is effectively alter your business terms to give them a 50% discount.

Be wary of people like this because they will just keep pushing for more and more. If you give in over this what's to stop them asking you do 'favours' etc.

You're not their employee who they can try and get to do unpaid overtime and other things like that, you're a professional service provider with a business to run.

Why doesn't their in-house guy do all the work they need for their in-house rate?

Compare yourself to say a plumber who comes to fix your drains - you get charged a call out fee and an hourly rate.

The job takes 30 minutes - do you ask the plumber for a 50% discount because it didn't take the full hour?

You could even reason with him and say - "well my mate usually does these jobs for me for half of what you charge but he's not around - although you should be competitive with his rate so I only want to pay you what I pay him"

1. What do you think the plumber would say to that?
2 Would you even ask that in the first place?

This reminds me of a place I worked at years ago (as a permie) where it was expected that people put in unpaid overtime - not just every now and then but as the norm.

It got to the stage where people were staying till 7-8 PM every night and if you walked out the door at 5:30-6 you got really frowned at. Then you'd be expected to come in on the weekends as well, get phoned up out of the blue (during Sunday lunch with the family) and expected to drop everything and come in.

There are people out there who will take the Mick as far as they will take it - you're better off without them.

AWmotiongraphics, post: 6427 a écrit :
So they said i had to be competative with the in house guy, Which i can't do.

Perhas I'll just set an hourly rate as they seem to think that not all my work will take a whole day (I do charge a minumum half day for any job I do) wheras it normally will take at least half a day for a visual and then the rest of the day getting feedback and making changes as necccesarry.

Anyone else work this way with people?

As a freelance I doubt you can compete with an 'in-house' rate...........and you really shouldn't!

I use a simple hourly rate for every job and every client, this way if you work a 16hr day you'll get paid accurately........and if the job takes 4 hours, well then the client gets a fair deal and you also. :happy