Been looking into getting a dog walker lately. Unfortunately, most of these folks we’ve looked into online do not list their prices. While price isn’t the only variable we’re considering, it is important. This is probably true with your freelancing clients. Seems like everyone is looking to save a few bucks nowadays.
Last week, we reached out to one vendor (hoping he would shed some light on what his services might cost). I emailed him a specific list of what services we'll need. Here was his reply:
"We will need to discuss your pets and their needs to accurately provide a quote because we work with each client to customize a plan based on those needs. We'll find out how many days per week you may need, if they may need walking, etc."
This isn’t a bad reply, but I was a little miffed that I still couldn’t even get a ballpark quote out of the guy. He seemed elusive. I wondered, “Why won’t this guy tell me his prices, is he hiding something?”
Shifting gears to your freelancing business, here’s how you might handle an email potential client who is looking for a price quote.
"Thanks for the email, Jeremy. If it’s okay with you, why I don’t I give you a call when it’s convenient for you, and we’ll talk about a couple of options that will save you some money? I want to make sure you get the best price possible. I would be available on Thursday or Friday, may I contact you between 9:00-11:00AM on either of these days?"
See the difference?
The dog walker talks about an “accurate quote” and a “customized plan”. As a potential client, I don’t care about either of those things.
However, in my example (the second example), you can see the reason why a specific quote wasn’t given was to help save the potential client money. Everyone cares about that.
Bottom line:
There’s always going to be a debate about offering your prices to clients upfront versus holding off. I’ve discussed this elsewhere, so I’ll avoiding covering it here. The bottom line is, if you decide to hold off on talking about price, you need to explain to the potential client why you’re not telling them…AND tell them how not telling them upfront will benefit them.
What do you think?
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