Are you making this huge financial mistake?
I learned this critical financial lesson from an unlikely source...
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Has this happened to you?
You have the chance to take on a big corporate client and they ask you what your rate is. You REALLY want to say it’s $1.50 a word but you tell yourself that there’s no way they’ll ever go with that so you say it’s $1 a word. That sounds reasonable. That sounds safe. They counter and offer $.75 a word. You suggest $.80 and that’s where you settle.
You tell yourself that this is fair. You gave a price. They gave a price. You each compromised and you met in the middle. Except that’s not what happened at all.
You originally wanted $1.50. They wanted $.75. Meeting in the middle is $1.12. You settled for $.80. You know why? It’s because you didn't compromise once. You actually compromised twice – once with your client and once with yourself, long before you started chatting with the clients.
Now maybe that client was never going to pay more than $.80 a word. Or perhaps they have a policy that they’ll always counter with, say, 20% less than the freelancer suggests, which would have left you with $1.20 a word. In any case, you can be sure they have a strategy, policy, and budget that works for them – and frankly, so do you. Your strategies, policies, and budgeting process are also benefiting your clients.
I learned this lesson in an unlikely place. I was listening to The Office Ladies podcast and actor Jenna Fisher shared this lesson, to never pre-negotiate with yourself, to never talk yourself down because you are doing the company’s job for them. Fisher said:
“I remember I got some amazing advice from a very successful businessman right before I was getting ready to negotiate a big deal. And he said something that I've noticed, especially about women in negotiation, is they tend to negotiate with themselves first and they go in with where they've already compromised. So he's like, if you want three weeks vacation, I see women especially talk themselves out of that or they think that's too much to ask for. So then they ask for two and then they get one. And he said, "So my advice to you is go in there and really ask for what you want. Like, don't negotiate with yourself first. Just negotiate with the company".
They don’t have to pay their staff to counter your $1.50 offer because you just did it for them. Unfortunately, I see people do this all the time and it’s not just freelance writers. Those employed via traditional employment say things all the time like “I would love six weeks of vacation but I hear that’s only something you get after ten years. But four is pretty generous. I’m not going to complain.” What’s the worst that would happen if you asked for what you really wanted? I guess they would say no and that’s indeed a possibility. But even if they do, you’ve also set the tone for what you expect, what you think is reasonable, and the kinds of benchmarks you expect to be recognized as a valued employee. That kind of communication is never wasted.
And so, dear freelancers, I implore you not to pre-negotiate with yourself. Don’t talk yourself down. Don’t do the company’s negotiation work for them. It’s THEIR job to say things like “we have a limited budget as a start up/non-profit/victim of this economy.” It’s YOUR job to say “these are my rates and this is the value I bring to the table”, because even start-ups, non-profits, and businesses contending with a difficult economy pay their rent, their plumbers, and their webmasters. They can pay you too.
If you’re struggling with negotiations or setting your rates or seeing what kind of value you bring to a project beyond just the words you put on paper, I’d love to invite you to join Ink & Income, an affordable community for writers that offer weekly coworking sessions, quarterly planning days, and a monthly group coaching call. What happens in a group coaching call, exactly? You share the dilemma that you’re struggling with in your business as a writer. Maybe it’s exactly what I just said, a struggle to set rates. Maybe you’re not sure how to connect with new editors, how to organize your finances, how to follow up on your amazing ideas. You’ll get honest, helpful, heartfelt feedback, advice, and suggestions and the whole group benefits from hearing the questions and the responses.
Group coaching calls take place on the fourth Friday of the month at 10:00 AM (EST) - that’s one week from now! I’d love to welcome you into the program, which costs $49 a month (and less right now because of a 25% off sale!)