5 Ways to negotiate the Freelance Rates you Deserve

Setting your price is a huge first step in how the prospective clients see you. How to establish your professional freelance designer rates and negotiate freelance rates? This is a question that plagues most of the freelancers today. If it is a question that plagues you too and is giving you too many sleepless nights, just read on and rest easy.

 

1. Stop Feeling Guilty

This may seem like a psychological game, but I’m sure if you’re like most that have trouble raising their freelance designer rates or freelance content writing rates, some of it is disturbing. Many times, there are freelancers who charge very low fees and as you might expect, they feel dissatisfied by the payments they are getting for the amount of time and hard work that they put in. This leads to them feeling “guilty”. You have to think in terms of a “win-win” and this does not only mean that your client has to win, but also that you have to win. This way, both the parties will want to continue working together and making profits together.

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2. You have to believe to Sell

If you yourself do not know how much your services are worth, what your customers are getting with it, what makes it unique in the market and how it differs from the competition, you will hardly be able to sell it to your customer. I suggest this exercise: Write down in a notebook what all your customers have achieved with your services (do not latch only on a particular customer) and make a list of everything that you have achieved. Be as specific and concrete as possible. Think about the things that your customers have achieved later. Once you have a list of these accomplishments of all your clients for your services, compare it to your current rate. What do you feel? How does that sound? What do you see? If you have a long list of achievements and results and your freelance graphic designer rates are very low, you will notice quickly. And that discomfort is the first step.

 

3. Be Prepared to talk to People

There is nothing more inefficient than to have these kinds of important conversations, without any preparation. This seems basic, but you’d be surprised by the number of people who have no idea of what they are doing. First and foremost, not all customers are equal and they are likely to have different terms and conditions depending on your skills. You can then make the terrible mistake of assuming that your customer is paying in one way or another and expose him to a change that does not match the agreement that you already have made. Also check out this interesting article 10 Ways to retail your Freelance Clients.

 

4. Show your Customer what you have Achieved

Before talking of a rate change, the best you can do is show what achievements or results you have obtained. Make a list of everything that you have advanced in; have accomplished or obtained in the process that you have worked together.

 

 

 

5. Stop being a Number and Start being Result driven

Before putting a price on your services, you need to be aware of the services and values that you are offering and what you can do for your client. The best way to accomplish that is to start making more tangible achievements or giving more tangible results that your client will appreciate and not mind paying a few extra bucks for.

You have to understand and accept that there are customers who will want to continue despite your fee and customers who will not. But you will be surprised by how many others will want to continue despite your rate increase. These tips will also help you to fix / calculate freelance designer rates if you are confused about what price to put for your designing services. Check out this interesting infographic on how to fix your freelance rates.

Conclusion

True, some people would prefer other freelance professionals with lower hourly rates. But that says nothing about you. It just says for that customer that for him/her, the number is more important than the end result. You’ll encounter all kind of employers while freelancing, don’t be demoralized by the fact that someone else is pricing the same services at 1/10th the rate that you are seeking, because people who wish to buy Audi don’t even visit a Chevrolet showroom for a price check.

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