Are you shrinking your business to fit clients who ask for more services for less money?
Are you reducing your design fees because you heard that someone else is doing it for less, and you are afraid if you don’t do it for “peanuts,” you won’t get the job?
Have you ever been hired for a job with a reasonable and fair design fee, but let the client add to your scope of work without charging additional fees?
Is the problem that you don’t know what to say?
Or are so uncomfortable with asking to be paid more, you just do the additional work rather than discuss money with the client?
And then to top it off you feel resentful and complain loudly about how cheap and demanding your clients are!
All of these scenarios are about personal boundaries.
Better said, these examples are about a lack of personal boundaries, and not about crummy, cheap clients.
However, if you are doing any or all of these things, I am sure that you are feeling poor, unhappy and dissatisfied. I hear from some of you that sometimes it is so bad you are ready to quit and get a retail JOB!
Don’t do it.
Here are some simple steps you can take to help you establish and hold onto your personal boundaries so that you get paid what you are worth.
Step #1 – Let go of the old belief that you should make your clients happy no matter what the cost is to yourself. It is just not true.
In business, you should always make sure that your Letter of Agreement is fair and equitable for both sides. You should be paid for all of the work that you do, period. Your agreement should state that if additional work is requested, the designer’s prevailing rate will be billed.
Always do exactly what you have contracted for in your Letter of Agreement. Make sure it is your best work and you get all the details right and then follow through on everything.
After that, accept the fact that some people don’t want to be Happy, and no matter how much you give, they just won’t let it happen.
Step #2 – Support your new belief by deciding ahead of time what your “fair to everyone” design offer will be, and then write it down. Present it to the client in writing and you won’t be inclined to back down at the last minute and diminish it.
Check out the Good Clients Great Money training and coaching Program. www.GoodClientsGreatMoney.com There are several learning modules that can help you with these challenges:
“Get it Right the First Time,” where you find my easy to use, word-for-word scripts for exactly what to say so you get paid for requests for additional work and much more.
“Clients Like Choices, How to Make Offers on Three Levels,” shows you how to make written offers and how to successfully negotiate with the client for a design job.
Step #3 – Stand Your Ground and don’t cave in. Present your offer and then be quiet. Do not apologize, attempt to explain or back down. Wait for your client to speak.
