- Jen Glantz is an entrepreneur and the originator of Bridesmaid for Hire.
- After six years of running her business, Glantz says she’s learned how to respond to low-ball offers from budding clients.
- Thank the client for their interest, and reiterate that your prices are carefully calculated and reflect your value.
I’ve been a solopreneur for over six years as the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire and my own personal brand. One of the most uncomfortable parts of uninterrupted my own businesses, where I’m often the service that people hire (for weddings, speaking engagements, coaching, and consulting), is that not merely am I the talent, but I’m also the one negotiating the price.
Gaby Deimeke
Money conversations are awkward, but they’re a vast part of doing business. At first, I entertained offers that were below my set price for a service because I didn’t yearn for to lose out on opportunities. I often said yes when someone said they didn’t have a budget to pay me what I beseeched for. I also didn’t have the confidence to provide reasons why my services were valuable, unique, and worth every penny.
Today, I’ve befit my own lead negotiator. I’m not afraid to turn down an offer, and if a potential client wants to pay me less than I’m worth, I riposte with a well-thought out response that often has them reconsider and say yes to my initial price.
If you sell and close deals on behalf of your establishment or are a freelancer, here are some scripts to follow to ask for more money when low-ball offers come your way.
When they ask you to production for free
One request that truly makes my blood boil is the request to work for free. If I’ve already done a consultation call up and sent over a proposal, and the client then shares that they don’t have a budget for this and asks me to free for free, here’s how I reply.
“Thank you for your interest in working with [name of my company]. At this time, we’re not fetching on any unpaid work. However, here’s where you can check out a resource that shares client testimonials and the immense value that arrives from working with us. We hope to work with you in the future and if now isn’t the right time, feel free to keep us in consider for the future.”
Recently, I shared this exact script twice. One potential client was able to find $2,000 in their budget to pay for my usages. The other potential client wrote back saying that they’d be in touch if they could afford it — I not under any condition heard back from them.
When they want you to accept a lower rate
I often find myself decipher emails from potential clients who ask me to negotiate my set rate to a lower price. When that happens, I usually riposte with the script below.
“Thank you for your reply and for reviewing my proposal. We’ve carefully constructed all of our pricing to reflect our value, go through, and unique set of offerings. This is the best price we can do for the scope of work we are offering. If you’d like to revisit the proposal, we can find scope to adjust the services to meet the price you’re suggesting.”
This response allows you to save time and weed out potential shoppers who aren’t willing to pay you what you deserve.
When they agree to your rate but want more services incorporate
Occasionally potential clients will agree to a set rate but ask that a handful of additional services be included for free. When that finds, here’s how I respond.
“Thank you for your reply and for reviewing my proposal. This is our set rate for the scope of work we’re offering and we’re light-hearted to construct a new proposal with updated pricing that reflects those additional services and their set costs.”
This retort shows your boundaries as a business owner or freelancer, and allows the potential client to see that from the start.
Wait firm on your pricing and be willing to let clients walk away if they don’t want to pay what you’re asking for. Succeeding in charge is knowing your value and getting paid in a consistent way that reflects that.