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Saifullah Usmani
Saifullah Usmani

Posted on • Edited on • Originally published at saifullahusmani.blogspot.com

How to get the price you want? | Freelancing as a self taught developer

Hi, my name is Saifullah Usmani. I am a Programmer and a Graphic Designer. I have been programming for almost 5 years now. And I have worked with several freelance clients.

If the title sounds like a thing that will add value in your life then consider following my page because I keep creating quality content for you.

Why talk about money first?

The most common issue for beginners is how to bring the topic of money into the conversation. Maybe the client reject me for being to much concerned about money, maybe he won't like that attitude, maybe he won't like that question, what if I lose the client, well I shouldn't talk about money, let the client say it first, etc.
If these questions come up into your mind and you justify them with any reason and don't ask, then you already know the consequences. The price is placed by the buyer, the demands are placed by buyer, the requirements are made by buyer, the time is allocated by buyer, the contract is made by buyer, the punishment for not following those rules completely is made by buyers. Are you noticing the silent pressure it is bringing into your mind?
Are you feeling demotivated?, bad?, concerned?, having second thoughts? etc.
That's the reason it is important to talk about money, talk about the time, talk about the requirements, talk about the rules, talk about the contracts etc, on your own without the permission of buyer.

How to talk about money?

First of all your prices must be clear. I have seen on fiverr people have $5 gigs for everything. Even though the work is supposed to be of higher price. So it is totally legal to place an order on those gigs and now you have to make them the new Google for $5. So have clear requirements especially price. Now some orders require custom facilities, there all the gigs are void and you can put any price, time or requirement.
Now first of all after getting the requirements from the buyer it is time to analyze them.
Read this post to understand how to analyze the price:
https://dev.to/saifullahusmani/what-i-learned-in-freelancing-as-a-self-taught-developer-part-2-pricing-hbj

After you come up with a price you feel comfortable working with, tell that price to the buyer. And put a brief explanatory note, explaining why are you charging that much. The buyer will agree if all of them are valid. Now buyers cannot argue because everything is clear. For example, you have written:
Approach #1 (Good Approach):
For authentication you will charge $120
for home, about and contact page it will be $80
for SAAS related pages it will be $300
for SAAS Backend > For one function it will be $90, for second function it will be $120 etc

Now it is simple and agreeable. On the other hand, if you did something like this:
Approach #2 (Bad Approach):
"I will charge $1500 for this."

Now it can be questioned. Are you noticing the physiological effect?

Now even if the client questions the first approach, what should you do?
Most people will decrease their prices, but I don't believe in decreasing prices. Because it kills the passion and it gives you tension to even work or complete that project. The hard work seems to go in the drain and becomes a nightmare. It also rejects my equation which is:

High price = Better work and Happy mood.
So I present that equation to the clients. I say that the price will go down only on one condition which is that you have to drop any of the function. And none of the function can be dropped. Hence proved, the deal is closed.

Well, you have to also take into consideration, the budget of the client but if it requires a 10% or 20% decrease then it is time to reject the client and move on. Yes, reject the client. I have talked about it in this series. The client doesn't always have to reject you, you can reject the client too. But with respect. Because if you let go the respect then you don't deserve anything.

Hope this gave you a detailed answer on how to get a good deal and a good environment to work in as a freelancer.

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