Some people want premium work. They just don't want the premium invoice.
I've spent a lot of years freelancing.
And one thing I've learned?
Your price tells you a lot about people.
Not because everybody needs to be able to afford you.
They don't.
I've had plenty of conversations where somebody heard my rate and politely said:
“That's outside my budget.”
Fair.
No hard feelings.
We shake imaginary internet hands and keep it moving.
But then there's another type of conversation.
“Oh...that's expensive.”
“For just that?”
“Can you lower it?”
“I know somebody who can do it cheaper.”
Okay.
Then why are we still talking?
Go hire them.
I Used to Explain the Hell Out of My Prices
I thought I needed to help people understand.
So I'd explain the work.
The hours.
My experience.
What was included.
Why I charged what I charged.
Maybe if I gave them enough information, they'd finally understand why my rate made sense.
Sometimes they did.
Sometimes I was basically standing beside a horse with a bucket of water saying:
Look.
Water!
Beautiful water!
Premium water!
Would you please take a sip of the fucking water?
No.
Horse said no.
Eventually, you have to put the bucket down.
Price Questions Aren't Automatically Red Flags
There's an important distinction here.
Someone asking what they're paying for?
Completely reasonable.
Someone wanting to understand the scope?
Please ask.
Someone comparing packages?
Of course.
I want a client to understand what they're buying.
But there's a difference between understanding the price and trying to talk me out of it.
If the conversation immediately becomes:
How little can we pay you while getting everything we want?
I'm probably not interested.
Because that attitude rarely stays confined to the invoice.
The Discount Is Usually Just the Opening Act
You know what tends to follow a client who fought you over every dollar before the contract was even signed?
“Can you just...”
And there it is.
Can you just add this?
Can you just handle that?
Can you just jump on this call?
Can you just make one more revision?
Suddenly the person who thought your original price was too high has discovered seventeen additional things they'd like included in it.
Funny how that works.
The cheapest clients I've dealt with have often required some of the most expensive amounts of my energy.
That's a terrible exchange rate.
Being Cheaper Is Not My Competitive Advantage
There will always be somebody willing to do something for less money.
Always.
I learned that a long time ago.
If I charge $100, somebody charges $75.
If they charge $75, somebody charges $40.
Somebody somewhere will probably do it for $12 and a nice review.
I cannot build a business around winning that race.
Nor do I want to.
I'd rather compete on experience.
Judgment.
Reliability.
The way I think.
The problems I know how to solve.
The things I've learned from twenty-plus years of working with executives, clients, teams, and businesses.
If somebody only wants the lowest number?
I already lost.
And I'm perfectly okay with that.
Your Price Is Doing Some of the Interviewing for You
I used to think pricing was only about what I earned.
Now I think of it as part of client selection.
Because the reaction tells me something.
Do you respect professional expertise?
Do you understand what you're buying?
Are you looking for somebody to contribute, or are you shopping for the cheapest pair of hands?
Are we going to spend this entire relationship arguing about every invoice?
Useful information.
And I'd rather learn it before the contract starts.
High-Paying Doesn't Automatically Mean Good Either
Let's not get carried away.
A client agreeing to your rate does not automatically make them wonderful.
Some people have money and still behave terribly.
I've met them too.
Money does not buy manners.
The rate is one filter.
Not the whole screening process.
I'm still paying attention to communication.
Expectations.
Boundaries.
Scope.
How they talk about previous freelancers.
And whether my internal voice starts whispering:
Girl, get the fuck out of here.
I've learned to listen to her.
Sometimes You Have to Let the Horse Be Thirsty
This is the part I wish I'd learned earlier.
You don't have to win every objection.
You don't have to convince every lead.
You don't have to turn every “no” into a “yes.”
Sometimes the answer is:
“We're probably not the right fit.”
And then you move on with your day.
No PowerPoint presentation.
No emergency discount.
No essay explaining your worth.
No chasing somebody around the pasture with a bucket.
They know where the water is.
And That's When the Cowboy Music Starts
At some point, you have to get back on the horse and ride toward the clients who actually make sense for your business.
The ones who ask good questions.
The ones who respect the agreement.
The ones who understand that experience costs money.
The ones who don't make you regret opening Slack every morning.
Those are the relationships I'm interested in.
Because freelancing got a hell of a lot better when I stopped asking:
How do I convince this person to hire me?
And started asking:
Do I even want this person as my client?
Very different ride.
CURRENT MOOD
“Rodeo” by FPJ.
I mean...
Did you really think I was going to write an entire blog about horses and choose something else?
Absolutely not.
We've led the horse to water.
The horse complained about the price.
The horse asked for a discount.
The horse said somebody on Fiverr had cheaper water.
Fine.
Save the horse.
I'm riding the cowboy with the budget.
Period poo.
Listen to “Rodeo” by FPJ on YouTube
PEAK OF THE WEEK
Saying my price and then shutting up.
No immediate explanation.
No nervous discount.
No trying to make the number more comfortable for somebody else.
Just the price.
You'd be amazed how much easier sales conversations become when you stop negotiating against yourself.
#LetTheHorseBeThirsty
XXX,
M💋
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