What is the topic of the very first discussion that you should have with an independent professional, like a copywriter or a programmer, who may be able to help your business?

It’s probably not what you think.

I say: Challenge the freelancers that you recruit with the project itself. Ask them how they would handle your needs.

Then, only then … discuss price.

Emphasizing a concern with price before you even mention the deliverable that you need, or discussing the freelancer’s ability to provide you with a result, will drive away quality providers.

Let’s explore how to handle the initial contact with a freelancer as productively as possible.

Why a Rate or Price Challenge Works Against You (even when you really believe that you deserve a break)

The very first thing that you should discuss with the prospective talent is always this – even if you don’t have a lot of money to spend:

Here is our problem. Can you help us, and how?

Now, what if the first subject that you discuss with a new provider comes from this list?

• You need to understand that we are a small company and we don’t have a lot to spend on this.
• We will tell you what we are willing to pay for each piece, and you will just make it happen.
• We aren’t like your other clients. We are lean and mean. We expect you to work much harder for us than your other clients in order to get paid.
• We will not pay a standard fee. We have a lot of work in the pipeline, and we expect a discount.
• You are responsible for respecting our company’s budget for this project, even though it is T&M.
• We hope that you aren’t one of these prima donnas who expect top rates. We’ve had several of you guys hang up on us.
• (or even just) What is your rate?

All independent professionals “profile” the prospective customers that they meet. In short, you’ll make a first impression. The freelancer will decide, based on that impression, if you’re worth dealing with.

How the professional responds to your price challenge depends upon his perception of the market’s demand for his services. So let’s spell out the most common situations.

• If the professional is busy and in-demandthen he will probably not take you very seriously when the first words that you speak or write to him are price based.If he happens to quote you a rate and you immediately reject that rate with a request for a reduction… or you say “we talked to other freelancers and they are $X less than you”… you can then expect that he will go through the motions of being courteous. But he will probably not be very interested in taking on your project. And he will try to get you off the phone as soon as possible.
• If the professional is capable, yet less than fully utilized at the moment and the rate that you desire is less than his standard rate, then he will feel some pressure to please you. He will grudgingly talk with you. He may even accept your business.
• If the professional is NOT capable then he will probably embrace your pricing concerns as important and he will actually want your business (even if he doesn’t understand what you really need nor have a prayer of delivering.) This is because (among other things) you may literally be the only business that is willing to deal with him. You’re “money coming in” to him, and he is not used to that. He’s desperate.Your worst case situation is to wind up hiring a provider who simply cannot deliver, or who does not understand the unique requirements of your project.

Once Again – First Impressions Matter

When you hire an independent professional who agrees to a low rate that you have made a centerpiece of your approach to them, you’ve selected out the A team and you are left with B and C players.

You will have alienated the highest quality providers (who stay booked without your business), so they are not in the mix.

So we have either one of two possible cases of independent professional that you may be working with at this point. You are dealing either with:

• A qualified freelancer. He will have determined an important fact from the initial contact: you care more about a obtaining low price than you do about the results of the project. And likely, he is correct. (Is he?)Every bit of work that the freelancer performs for you under these circumstances will be shaped badly by this first contact. He will hold back his best effort for you. He will work – but not as hard as he would if he knew that you truly appreciated a great result.

  And he will try to get your project done as fast as possible. so that he can resume more profitable work, or, marketing. Again, this is another obstacle to quality.

  You may never know what could have been, either.

  Or….

• The UNqualified provider. He will be a different matter. He will struggle with your requirements. He will bombard you for information about the context of your needs – because he accepted your work – because he needs the money – not because he actually understood what you are looking for. And lastly, the results that he delivers will fall short. Even if you didn’t pay him a deposit in advance, you have still wasted your time and energy with him.

Tip: Avoid Leaking Out Your Price Paranoia Up Front

As a contract programmer for almost two decades, and now as a copywriter, I have run into many variations of the “price is everything” style initial contact. Some of these comments can feel rather passive-aggressive and some are just plain irritating.

I’ll showcase a few such comments that I have received over the years.

• The colleague who already knows me shooting me an email saying: So What are your RATES!?”Without even mentioning what was on his mind.Or the concerns can be peppered throughout an email exchange in this way:
• Initial email: We are always looking for good copywriters if the price is reasonable (Note that a stupid smiley doesn’t really lessen the irritation that the freelancer will feel or soften the blow.)
• And the second email: We are still interested while these demos made the biggest impression. What are your rates?
• A lead from my web site: I want web content for my single product website. The product is a windows app. What is the fees that you charge (Poor, broken English and almost no information. If you won’t bother to tell me in any detail at all what you wish to have done, why should I reply to you?)

Independent professionals learn quickly – as I have – that such “leads” are never worth the time spent to respond to them.

Why It’s Dumb for You to “Pre-Qualify” Professionals Based Upon Rate

The reason that you don’t want the in-demand expert to hang up on you quickly are these two reasons:

1. You will probably learn a lot about the nature of your problem space by conversing with him. Even if he really does cost too much for your purposes.
2. If you cannot afford his fee, he may refer you to a less expensive, but quality peer of his.

Even if you will not hire the professional, and yet you make a positive impression with him, it is conceivable that he will refer you to a more modestly priced but helpful resource – perhaps a friend of his just starting out.

(Yes, as a client, you are being interviewed.)

What You Should Talk About as the First Topic of Business

Once again – the first subject that you really should pose to the professional is this:

Here is our problem. Can you help us, and how?

You may think that this is a waste of time for you – if the professional winds up costing too much.

Here is a fact: almost all independent professionals will discuss the general requirements of a project with new client prospects over the phone.

“Hello!” It’s a free learning experience for you. Take it!

At some point you will discuss approximate budgets and prices with the provider. At that point you will both see if you fit the professional’s model of a viable client.

If your initial contact is cordial, and respects the skills and contribution of the professional, then you will gain a lot of “insider” insight into the scope, nature and terminology of the task that you need to have performed.

Referrals commonly happen when a provider can’t afford to work at the client’s preferred rate. So if you “come correctly”, you may be placed in contact with the right professional for your job.

None of this will happen when you use the blunt force instrument of price to “disqualify” independent professionals.

If you come off like an ass and reduce the initial discussion to a zero sum based argument, the provider will probably choose to not refer you to anyone.

Conclusion

It can be difficult shopping for high level professional services. Every provider is different.

To make things easier for you in the long run, just do this:

First find out who can really help you.

Then see if they will meet your budget.

The fact is that you really need to converse with experts to find out what services can actually help you.

Those frank, illuminating (and free!) discussions won’t even happen when you drive away the best providers by placing bargain shopping as a top priority.