You’ll do just fine. Most of the time, these things never turn into the messy discussion (or unconfortable discussion) that we expect or imagine.

Holly – sounds like they might have a bit of a sticker shock. But at least they trust and value you enough to proceed with this first project. If they bring up fees in this next call, don’t worry. Just be prepared to address the issue. Many different ways to approach that, including talking about the value you bring to the table, the fact that your fees fall well within the range of professional-level copywriting, etc.

I almost never discount a fee once I quote it. Instead, if I find that the client really wants to haggle for some reason, I offer to give him/her additional value for the fee. Maybe a copy review on a sales letter, email or landing page. Or maybe short email promo copy for the case study they want me to write. In other words, something that has high perceived value but won’t take me more than 2 or 3 hours to complete.

If that doesn’t fly and a price cut is the only way they want to go, I do a give-and-take, where I’ll ask for something in return for a small discount — might be better terms, a larger deposit, another deliverable added to the project…you get my drift.

This approach not only trains the client to stop asking for discounts or lower fees…it also makes everyone in the negotiation feel like a winner — like they got something out of it (there’s a bit of psycholoy behind this approach, which I learned from Roger Dawson, author and brilliant negotiator).

Something else you might want to consider is to share your master fee schedule with clients when you first engage with them. Once you’ve had that initial value discussion and they indicate that they want to work with you, send them your fee schedule. This will help them see where you typically fall on a variety of projects…and allow them to self-qualify based on price alone.

This bit about sharing your fee schedule is a bit controversial. But sinnce I started doing it about a year ago, I qualify prospects faster and avoid wasting time on proposals and discussions that go nowhere.

But that’s another post altogether….

And yes Eileen, they did send me back the signed bid letter. They are a smaller company and I think they want to be fair; but they have never hired a writer before and were a bit shocked at the cost. But your point is a really good one to keep in mind about making certain I get the signed contract back before starting the work! Thanks!

I also did what Ed did and just gave it to them unrevised. However unlike Ed I couldn’t help but make a few comments when I gave them the proposal that it “might seem high, er, but just look it over and…” kind of things. Fortunately for me my mouth didn’t talk me out of the work and they approved the contract as is.

It is easy to have these conversations with ourselves when nobody is around to remind us of our value. Thanks for the reminder.

If this is as I think, and they are concerned that my price is too high, what do I say? Unfortunately I don’t have a sales background and I’m not a smooth talker! (Also, I really do want this job as I need to build my portfolio.)

I just had a ‘feel the fear’ moment, because I had to remind a client to pay their deposit. It’s a few days overdue, and is needed to confirm their photo booking. Yes, I know I risk the full payment on the day if they cancel…

Initially I didn’t want to because I thought they may think am hounding, but realised that’s its standard business practice to make sure they’re not wasting my time. It’s also hard to fill the day on the last minute if they cancel.

This way I know if they’re serious/wasting my time. We’ll see what happens…