Rate Transparency vs Damnation
As promised a while ago our writers have crossed swords for the first time in order to start their announced Dueling Writers Series. This first post is about the old, but evergreen topic of whether to publish your rates or not on your website. Both George and Mark share some great points in their respective views and I’m sure you’ll love their first duel.
Rate transparency by George or why displaying rates are a must:
Rates need to be transparent.
“Hello, sir. May I take your order?”
“Maybe. Hey listen, how much is the triple bacon cheeseburger? I don’t see any prices on your menu.”
“Well, that depends. When would you like that burger? Also, do you plan on being a regular customer? It is your first time here, right? Do you want everything on it or will no frills work for you?”
Customer stares. Blinks.
“Geez, I don’t know. I was just looking for a burger but I’d like to know how much it’s going to cost me. You see I’ve only got so much money…”
“Sure, I understand. Tell you what. You let me know in detail exactly what you’re looking for and I can have a quote out to you by the close of business.”
“Mmm, that’s okay. I’m not really all that hungry anymore.”
If this is how you are operating your freelance writing business then you may want to memorize the above script. Chances are you’ll be taking burger orders soon.
Customers come to your site through referral or search engine and when they arrive there are a few things that they expect. They expect that you will clearly state the types of services that you provide and they may expect to get an idea about cost. With that said, I know that freelance writing is service – not product – oriented. You can’t just put up a picture of your widget with a blazing red sale price underneath.
As well, different projects lend themselves to different rate structures. Sometimes it’s best to have per word rates, sometimes per hour. Sometimes per page and sometimes per project.
Even taking all of these variables into consideration, there is no reason for not being transparent in your rates or rate structure. If you’ve taken the time to put financial goals in place then you know how much you need to make per word, page or project.
Being transparent does not mean you can’t give discounts or incentives for new or returning customers. For that matter it doesn’t mean that you can’t charge for add-ons or special situations. Publishing your rates just means that you are giving your potential customers an idea of what may be in store for their specific need.
Publishing your rates creates kind of an instant trust with your customer. It means that you are a professional and that you know your rates are worthy of publishing.
So, put it all out there. Annotate your rate page with language about discounts or add-ons. Be real with your customers and they will likely return the favor.
Damnation by Mark or why displaying your rates sucks:
Publish (your rates) and be damned.
When I drove a taxi for a living, I would sometimes arrive at a house and be asked if I minded them bringing their dog along. Yes, too right I did. It’s only little, they would say, I’ll keep it on my lap. Oh, okay, then.
They would then go and retrieve some monstrosity that resembled Satan’s rabid pet Shetland pony with pointy teeth. It’s not much fun driving down the motorway with a Rottweiler changing gear for you.
My point is this: given half a chance, some people will not be entirely honest about what a job entails. Either that or they simply won’t realise the work involved. I did a copy edit of a holiday rentals website recently. It had been inherited by a friend of mine and it looked like it had been written by a dyslexic six-year-old over here on an exchange trip from Mars. It took more than thirty hours to sort out. There’s copy editing, and then there’s copy editing that’s actually a complete re-write. I charged by the hour on that one.
You can’t quote on a job you’ve not seen yet. It’s like a decorator quoting $200 for a room. What room? A toilet? A living room? A grand ballroom? Oh, you’re not doing the conservatory? We always considered the conservatory to be part of the living room.
What if your rates quote for a 10-page website makeover? Your client gets a price in their head, and it’s agreed. The fact that the site has 40 pages is conveniently overlooked. No, they’re not pages, they’re sub-pages. In that case, I will sub-tract them from the job. Seriously, do you edit 10 and leave the rest untouched, or do you quadruple your price? It’s certainly fair to quadruple your price, but that wrecks the client’s expectations. You can’t be arguing about money at the start.
I’ll use another taxiing analogy. You pick up a guy to take him from A to B. He’s organized a set fare with the booking office – cheeky sod. As you set off, he says he wants to stop in at several places along the way. The starting point is A and the final destination is B. But he’s going via D, M, S, L, Y and P. So you tell him bollocks to the set fare, it’s all going on the meter. You end up having an argument, throwing him out and leaving him stranded in the middle of the countryside at midnight in the torrential rain. Yeah, I did that. It happened.
I suppose there are ways around this. You could quote an hourly rate, or a rate per word. But how does a new customer know that your hours are genuine? You could be charging them for the couple of hours you spent guzzling beer at Hooters with the guys. And does the per word rate include any rewrites you do because the client changes the brief halfway through in a blaze of mind-numbing fickleness?
There are so many variations; so many factors at play. To cover all the bases, your rates page will have to look like an Einsteinian theory in genesis.
Just publish your portfolio of work. If it’s good, you’ll get the inquiries. Then you can talk about what the client requires – in exact detail. Then you can talk about rates.
About the Author: I'm a passionate freelance writer and problogger. To further build my business I'm also in the process of building my own niche empire which pays me residual income.
tumblemoose | Oct 28, 2009 | Reply
Ahh, yes. Well, my – ahem – esteemed colleague has managed to make a point or two, yet the issues that he identifies still do not negate the fact that a foundation in rate structure could be well displayed and used as a basis for future negotiation.
Some clients do indicate a Yorkie job and present with a Great Pyrenees. Best to put your foot down right away and stop the madness before it starts.
A great deal of trouble can be avoided by establishing clear expectations for individual jobs based on the structure of rates that you have listed. The client knows what you charge per page, word or whatever. No surprises.
Frankly, I don’t give a flying roll through a donut hole if I finish early and head to Hooters. If the job gets done and is of the superb quality that I *always* deliver then so be it. Hell, they can come to Hooters and hoist a frosty one with me.
Connie Oswald Stofko | Oct 29, 2009 | Reply
Both sides make excellent points. We took an in-between position and gave a few examples of jobs and what those jobs would cost. http://www.fundraisingassets.com/content/pages/pricing
Mark | Oct 29, 2009 | Reply
To horribly misquote Shakespeare: “The Tumblemoose doth protest too much, methinks.”
Adding another hundred or so words to your argument now is cheating. You should have made a better argument in the first place, mate.
Okay, my turn to make another point: openly rate too low, look crap. Openly rate too high, clients walk. Low and high are subjective. High rates may actually be low for the quality of work. We are not accountants, we are writers. Words are our world, not numbers – we need to talk first, and that won’t happen if published rates create the wrong impression. One nil to me (methinks). Next topic …
Sorry, George, you’re American; you won’t know Shakespeare.
Come on, people, join in (against George).
Monika | Oct 29, 2009 | Reply
@ George: Hooters, huh? Do they still use topless bar girls to serve your drinks?
No wonder you’re keen to get the job done and out of there. Can’t really blame you can we?
I loved your point of view on the rates duel but despite the fact that you mentioned something along the lines of ‘burger orders’ I have yet to experience this and I DO NOT display my rates for good reasons.
I did for a while but found that I priced myself out of the market cause I’m so damn good and the lower ranks of clients (cheeky me) couldn’t afford me anymore.
As nice as I am I felt sorry for these people (just kidding) and decided to cater to most client’s needs as long as I don’t waste my time.
We do have the Chippendale Dancers in town every now and then so I carefully schedule my projects…. not. But I do admit the thought does sound like fun (for a second.)
Looking at the topic from a more serious side I do hear what you are saying, but I truly believe that by displaying your rates you alienate certain potential clients which is fine if you don’t give a rats bum about losing jobs before you got them.
I don’t. As far as I’m concerned I rather take the client on board if it is economically viable – because one never knows if that client with less cash will refer me one with loads.
@ Mark: I totally side with your views on that (sorry George, nothing personal.) From my own personal experience I can vouch for what you said.
This doesn’t mean it is wrong to display rates because George did make a strong point that some potential clients might – and do – walk when they don’t SEE the rates upfront.
In the end we do what is right for OUR respective businesses and that’s what counts.
To both of you, thank you for this great duel. It was entertaining, informative, educating and of course tense in some stages.
Kudos to ‘my’ dueling writers.
jtrigsby | Oct 29, 2009 | Reply
Greetings Monika and all!
Here’s the problem with posting rates, at least from my point of view. Posting rates BEGINS the conversation with a price point expectation… many times without regard to the quality of the work to be performed. Wouldn’t it be much better to sell them on the quality of the work, talk about their project, then negotiate a price?
The burger example is a great one, made me laugh out loud, but that’s burgers, not professional services.
And then there is the best quote ever… one I will have to add to my standard contract:
Absolutely priceless!
So, anyway… quote benefits to your client. Sell them the perks of working with you, show them what you’ve done for other clients, then talk about price. If they’re sold on you, the price won’t matter quite as much.
Great post guys and gal! Thanks!
@jtrigsby
Monika | Oct 30, 2009 | Reply
@ jtrigsby: Thank you Thom for sharing your views on this hot topic. You made a great point here in your comment, even more reasons to not post rates. The price point example is a strong one because potential clients will slot you into a certain ‘worth’ category.
Thanks for your valuable addition to the conversation.
I hope you are doing well.
tumblemoose | Oct 30, 2009 | Reply
Hmmm.
Mark, I do think your literary juggernaut is nigh worth prolation. However I do think I’ll Google that Shakespeare guy and see if he’s written anything of value or if he has posted his rates. Do you have his blog address?
Monika, I don’t mind that you sided with Mr. Noob. His is a sensitive and tender soul and I know you’re prone to charity. hehe.
Seriously though. Good points made by all. And I dare you to find a set of rates over at Tumblemoose. I double-dog dare ya.
George
Mark | Oct 31, 2009 | Reply
Yeah, that’s cos you just erased them – every last trace. Or were you, perchance, playing Devil’s Advocate? Yes, that might be necessary as we go along. Good thinking, Yogi.
I just had to look up “prolate” – the closest word listed. I’m not sure what the extra length of my polar diameter versus my equatorial diameter has to do with anything. Or are you making words up for the hell of it? You’re not Shakespeare, you know.
Shakespeare’s address is http://www.bardtothebone.com
Actually, that’s good. I may have to grab that from GoDaddy.
And where in damnation did “Mr Noob” spring from? Or is the “o” too close to the “k” for your pudgy fingers?
Mark | Oct 31, 2009 | Reply
What the hell am I talking about? “Nkob” is not how you spell it.
tumblemoose | Nov 3, 2009 | Reply
Mark,
Oh, I was Devil’s Advocate for sure. Never have published my rates for all of the reason that you ( and some compadre with superior intelligence) managed to figure out.
And Noob is strictly a term of endearment. So, since you already have your thesaurus out, look up oprobrius gasconading windbag. Hehe.
Love,
Georgie ka-ka
Mark | Nov 4, 2009 | Reply
Damn it, man, stop using words I don’t know.
Avery | Nov 5, 2009 | Reply
Oh wow, even the comments are great to read. What a great site!
I was particularly impressed with the burger argument even though it does have its holes. I think a lot of clients who are not accustomed to dealing with freelancers do get frustrated and just walk away when they can’t get a quick response to something that seems as simple as job pricing (just as you say George). Unfortunately, most freelancers I’m assuming will want to cater to as many customers as possible and so do you list pricing for McDonald’s burgers or something more high end or do you do both and list the pricing for each for comparison? I can just imagine the customer who ordered the gourmet burger coming back and arguing that what you gave him looks good but *feels* like it should cost the same as McDonalds because it doesn’t seem like it would’ve been hard to do.
jtrigsby | Nov 5, 2009 | Reply
This is EXACTLY why I don’t quote prices on the site. As soon as the customer begins to make a qualitative decision about how hard the job is, you should prepare yourself for the nickel and dime discussions. I kind of look at it like the old saying about restaurant menus, if you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it. Maybe the better statement there is, “you’re not prepared to pay it.”
The other comment Avery makes is pretty important as well. Very often as freelancers, we believe that we have to take every customer that is willing to pay us money. This leads us to compromise on who we work for and what we do. I prefer to only accept the jobs I want to do, with clients I love working for. They are also usually the ones that don’t mind paying my rates!
I’m really loving this thread!!
@jtrigsby
Mark | Nov 12, 2009 | Reply
Glad this has aroused a little back-and-forth. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. I will try to convince George to do another duel but he’s in a terrible sulk since losing this one. Thankfully, the other person in Alaska has invited him round to his igloo for a cold beer, so that might cheer him up.
Cold beer. Obviously.