The most stressful part of obtaining a client is getting a price for your service and closing the deal on it. This is just as stressful for the client as well.
In my experience it is important to establish a relationship with the client BEFORE setting a price. I commonly get cold calls from clients who only ask a the very start, "How much does it (the service) cost?" This gives us no opportunity to establish who we are and what the job will truly entail for either the client or for yourself and is a losing proposition from the start: We're not selling grapefruits here, personal services are, by nature, customized to the client's situation and the parameters of your relationship with the client.
Prospective clients may find themselves paying less than market rates for a service if they can establish a good working relationship with the provider. Service providers should be (and generaly are) willing to bend their price expectations to accommadate a great client.
So, talk about it first. Check out who the client is and what they really need and how you two jibe on an interpersonal level. Try to meet one-on-one and reassure the client that your first meeting is free with no obligation -just sit and have some coffee together and talk. Then set a price that pays you appropriately but seals the deal with the client. Did you go to high in price? Be flexible if the client is worth having. Is the client cold and treats you like the "hired help?" Stand firm there, if you're going to prostitute yourself working for somebody you can't stand then you might as well make the money for it.
In my experience it is important to establish a relationship with the client BEFORE setting a price. I commonly get cold calls from clients who only ask a the very start, "How much does it (the service) cost?" This gives us no opportunity to establish who we are and what the job will truly entail for either the client or for yourself and is a losing proposition from the start: We're not selling grapefruits here, personal services are, by nature, customized to the client's situation and the parameters of your relationship with the client.
Prospective clients may find themselves paying less than market rates for a service if they can establish a good working relationship with the provider. Service providers should be (and generaly are) willing to bend their price expectations to accommadate a great client.
So, talk about it first. Check out who the client is and what they really need and how you two jibe on an interpersonal level. Try to meet one-on-one and reassure the client that your first meeting is free with no obligation -just sit and have some coffee together and talk. Then set a price that pays you appropriately but seals the deal with the client. Did you go to high in price? Be flexible if the client is worth having. Is the client cold and treats you like the "hired help?" Stand firm there, if you're going to prostitute yourself working for somebody you can't stand then you might as well make the money for it.
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Re: Negotiating a Deal
Thu, September 9, 2004 - 7:38 PMI totally agree with establishing a relationship with the prospective client before "sealing" the deal. Whenever I initiallyy speak with someone about business, I let them know what services we offer.
I was at a prospective client's house after the meeting was relocated from a different location. After I showed him a brochure with our services, he immediately inquired about several of our services.
In most cases, when they ask for a price I get back with them unless there is an urgency. It's been my experience that one price may be reasonable to one prospect and expensive to another. Being "reasonably" negotiative can establish a long lasting business relationship and will also lead to referrals.
