Welcome back to the Boss Responses podcast . Have you ever had a potential client ask you about your rates Not what they are , but why they're so high or said something along the lines of , yeah , I can get that cheaper elsewhere ? If you've ever experienced that , you know how frustrating it is .
In this episode of the podcast , guest co-host Michelle Garrett and I are going to give our feedback to a question that deals with this very topic . If you're a freelancer , business owner or anyone who deals with clients , you're in the right place . I'm your host , teresa Edmond .
I've been dealing with clients and running my business for nearly two decades and in that time , I've dealt with my share of doubt , imposter syndrome and not knowing what to say when a client asked a question I wasn't ready for . I created this podcast to empower you with the boss responses you need to grow your business .
Each week , my guest co-host and I will bring you five episodes packed with practical insights . Monday through Thursday , we answer your questions , and Fridays we dive deep to explore how our co-hosts embrace their role as the boss of their business . Welcome to Boss Responses , michelle . What is the question for today ?
Today , the question is I was on a discovery call with a potential client and I got that dreaded question why is your rate higher than other people I've looked at , I found a website offering the same service for a fraction of the price . I'm never sure how to respond to this .
I know the value of my services and I have the experience and the portfolio to back it up , but the question always throws me what do you recommend ?
This is a great question , and it's one that I think you struggle with more earlier in your career , because eventually you get that confidence in your rates . Hopefully you get that confidence in your rates where there is no stutter , there is no questioning . When people ask a question like this , I try to figure out what their motivation is .
Are they honestly wanting to know why my fees are higher than someone else ? Or are they wanting me to charge , say , content mill prices because they found a content mill website that offers writing for three cents a word , which should never happen ?
So if their motivation is the first one , if they really truly want to know why my rates are higher , then I will explain the value that my projects bring . So the value that they are going to get from the project . It's not about me and it's not about the work that I do . It's about the finished project and the value that they're getting from that project .
So I always flip that back at them because that's how I price my projects . It's the value my clients are getting from the project . With ghostwriting , especially if you charge per word , you're going to undersell yourself every time anyway .
If they are just looking for content mail prices , then I ask them why are you asking Is there someone else you found that you would rather work with ? Because if so , that's fine . I give them the out immediately so that I don't even have to waste time on that call . One thing I do here . This is part of my client management process .
I vet my clients before I talk to them , and part of that vetting process is asking them what their budget is for the project at least a range and if they come in with a high budget range but they ask this question , then they're probably asking a value question . If they lied about their budget range , then this is a really good time to find out about it .
So I just I do my diligence ahead of time and I'm hardly ever asked this question anymore . I can't remember the last time I was asked this question , actually because my rates are high , I give great value , my clients know that and I have the testimonials and the portfolio to back it up . What do you do , michelle ? Because in PR I know that's a thing .
You do something that has immense value , something that has immense value .
Yeah , I mean , it's always an issue because I feel like , well , you know , the advice that I have heard and that I kind of try to live by is that you get what you pay for , and some people are not going to bat an eye about pricing .
And then other people will be really sensitive about it , I guess , for lack of a better word and if they are , they're probably not going to be a great client to work with Usually , even if you end up like negotiating and maybe you suggest , okay , well , we talked about package A , but maybe package B is better , or like we could take away something and maybe
fit your budget this way or try to work it out .
I figure if they're already talking about money in that way , it's probably not going to be a real fun experience , because I don't know about that , I don't necessarily enjoy talking about money , but in the beginning we have to agree and if they're going to be picky about , I don't , that doesn't bode well , I don't think true , every client I've ever had who was
a problem , it almost always started with them questioning my rate , and I quickly learned just to not accept those clients .
One thing that you pointed out that I think is really valuable for people to know is when they are questioning the rate , if what they want is technically out of their budget . They want is technically out of their budget . I do not . I do not lower my rates for my clients . I will scale back the work . So I never negotiate rates .
I negotiate project scope , and I think that's incredibly valuable . If you discount yourself , your client sees you as a discount commodity . If you instead scale back the work and offer them the same high value , high quality work at your high value , high quality prices , they're going to value that more .
They're going to respect you more in the long run and they're still getting work . It's just not as much . So that's the way I go about that . Yeah , I agree . All right , that was day three . Tomorrow , michelle is going to be answering the question , so make sure you tune in for that .