Effective/good phrase about value to respond to "you are too expensive" comment?

[watersign76]

Hi

Anyone managed to hone an effective response to the suggestion "I liked your proposal but you are too expensive"?

I am not going to drop my price (as at this stage I am able to turn this down, obviously it would be a different story if I couldn't), but I want to say something back about value without coming across as arrogant or disregarding their view that they have already mentioned...?

This is via email (never the best medium) but that is how they responded to me.

Maybe it doesn't make any difference, they used the word "considerable" so maybe they have made up their mind...but I want to give it a go.

Any thoughts?
TIA
WS

I always say "Thanks for the feedback. Just give me a call if you change your mind or need anything else"

Nearly always I still get the job when they realise there won't be a discount because i'm in demand!

"I believe in providing and excellent service and would never want to cut the corners that being cheap would involve"
and then ditto the above comment.

Stick to your guns.
Do not become a busy fool.

Case study :
A business that delivers presentations to different sites.
Bookings had reached 6 days a week at some times of year.
Decision taken to double the day rate across the board on the logic the bookings would halve but same net income with more time off.
Bookings only dropped 25% - So income went up 25%
Two years later day rate increased by another 33%
bookings dropped by around 20% - so net income is now A LOT more than it was for less days
because the business has a reputation for being the best because they charge the most.
I love my DH. He's such a clever bod !!

Sounds like they may be trying to negotiate a discount - if they had really decided 100% to go with someone else why would they be telling you there's a "considerable" difference in price.

Definitely don't give in - they might not even have another quote.

I think analogue's reply is best - don't get drawn into any discussion or comment on the other quote (which may not even exist).

we tell clients that they get what they pay for - if they want the best advice then that's the price. We do negotiate on the scope of work though - we do a lot of reports, so these can focus on smaller areas, thereby reducing the bill a bit. The hourly equivalent stays the same mind .

Generally we get people who have previously gone for cheap and cheerful, so realise that it's worth it in the long term (or even short term - clients are usually fairly happy when they're told we can save them several thousands in an initial meeting.

It has been hard getting to this point though, and we have taken on work where we've had to discount in the past, pretty much always regretted it.

If you don't value yourself, why should clients? Stick to your guns if you're happy that your provide value for money, and aren't overcharging.

I read this a few weeks ago and like it:

www.bombshellacademyblog.co.uk/2011/04/youre-too-expensive/

Hi all

Thanks very much for the helpful advice.

Having taken your views on board, I quickly responded with a polite "thanks,
I look forward to hearing from you" avoiding his suggestion that I am too expensive.

I did actually wonder if there was a line of others, it was via a freelance site so I could see who had bid. I did think that my particular v relevant experience prob put me towards the top of any 'list'...

Reading your responses made me think about the only client I have had payment issues with (which sage MNetters helped with then too) and the fact
I set the 'scene' badly by offering a silly price and ?stalking? chasing him a lot until he commissioned me. I obviously gave the impression I was desperate, I think there is something to be said about appearing busy etc.

AND, the potential client has come back tonight commissioning me at the original price!!!! So I wanted to say a big to you all for your thoughts and time.
WS

Way to go
up it next time
dunno what your day rate is
but my starting figure is £500 outside London and up to £1000 in the city

Well done.

I think there are situations where you can be "too expensive" without being devalued - as it "too expensive to get to to a particularly labour intensive bit of work".

At that point you either have to accept that you've priced yourself out of doing certain kinds of work (which may be ok) or work with cheaper associates to outsource lower value parts of the job while you do the higher added-value bits (....not sure if that makes sense, not knowing what you do..).

Or you limit the scope of the work. Sometimes with clients who basically have a fixed budget it makes more sense to negotiate over the deliverable you can offer at that price, rather than start with a fixed deliverable so they are haggling over your day rate.

Thanks Talkin. Not quite at that level yet, but increasing as I go.

I agree Himalaya and actually with this, I might end up doing the marketing plan (am marketing freelancer) and they might then choose somebody cheaper the carry it out, but that suits me.

I am starting to think that my niche is producing the plan. An obvious gap is for me to find somebody that could do the follow on bit, which also then pays me a bit too. Something for the medium term.

Thanks again.

Well done watersign!

I hope some of you experts can help me.

I'm working on a proposal bid for someone - they've asked to state a "daily rate plus any expenses".

Would I be better stating a flat daily rate which covers "expenses" (hotel/petrol/etc.) or saying "daily rate = x + hotel if applicable".

I'm kind of veering towards the fixed daily rate because I want it to be simple for them to do the sums, what do you guys think?

Alpine Pony, I'd suggest you go with a day-rate for your work and allocate a separate budget for expenses based on a reasonable estimate, which can be renegotiated if expenses run higher, or will be a client-saving if it doesn't get spent. It's also simpler from a tax point of view to do this.

Thanks Alpine. You had any leads from the networking events you attended that you mentioned on here?

I'd agree with Tea, have a seperate budget. If they have asked for that, they prob want that. Makes you seem more transparent too.

Also if you offer an all inclusive rate there could be unknown expenses that might come up which you'll then need to take a hit on.

Fingers crossed they go for it.

WS

Yup - unless it is a tiny job, break it down into 3-4 chunks/processes and give a number of days for each, dayrate and fees total (so they can see what they are paying for- also it helps if you have to go back and renegotiate for more days later, if it turns out the job takes longer because of something they have done/changed their mind about)

Then expenses related to the job. Estimate and state that receipts will be provided and expenses billed at cost and what for - I.e. Travel, hotels etc...

Obviously there are other expenses that you don't on-bill to the client but which are implicitly costed into your dayrate (and go on your tax return).

Aha! Just lost a job that I was perfectly matched to do (I did same jobs three times over and have industry expertise, plus training in the subject so I know all there is to know). I think it came down to price and myself refusing to do a writing test for them. This time I decided to state my day rate, refuse any testing (I have 18 years of experience) and walk away.

Mine is a good rate considering what I offer, but as it's a writing project there are plenty of people who will do it for cheap. Do they have the industry knowledge? No. Do they have competitor knowledge? No. But this silly agency thinks they know best. I hope the client gives them hell. I was beaten down to lower rate before by another agency but managed to extend their budget by providing a lot of extras the client liked and they insisted on having me again for two further campaigns. I negotiated a rise in my daily rate but it was still not that great considering the pressure they put on me.

Sorry for rant but the moral is stick to your guns because the client who beats your rate down will only give you grief when you get the job.

watersign I didn't get any leads as such - the second one was awful . However, after the first one where I'd been speaking to this nob from the bank I got an email invite asking me to apply for a job with them - which actually I must do. Face-to-face experience if nothing else - it's for helping SME get going and giving them finance - some of the stuff they do is business coaching which is what I'm trying to focus on.

Thank you all for your advice. I think I will probably just put hotels as expenses because I can claim my mileage back from tax anyway.

goldenpeach I've seen the same said before, that any client who's that difficult and not prepared to pay the "going rate" will be an absolute bugger anyway to work for - there's wanting business and then there's selling your soul down river!