How to overcome a price objection: your options when an estimate is "too high."

These days, clients are looking for a bargain. Providing competitive estimates can be a balancing act: you don't want to lose a potential clients, but you need to maintain professional standards (if you're always adjusting pricing, you can get yourself into trouble). I never recommend changing your hourly rate to cater to clients. However, when you've provided an estimate to a client, you have some flexibility.

If your customer says that an estimate for service is too high, have an honest chat about pricing structure and your process. Explain what is included in your bid: research, brainstorming, travel, the actual implementation (writing, designing, programming), etc. If, after you explain all the elements of your bid, the client still feels that the bid is too high, you have a few options:

1. Ask if they’d be interested in a payment plan. If you have a normal fee schedule (mine is 50% upfront, 25% after the job is half-way completed, and 25% upon project completion), you might adjust into smaller, more frequent payment increments.

2. Take some time to crunch numbers. Perhaps you can come up with a smaller estimate by doing less research, brainstorming, etc. If you can remove some of your normal procedure and still provide a product of value, go for it. However, always explain to your client that you’re making an exception, and that you’re removing some elements of the creative process.

3. Not working with the prospect. If you decide that the client is not worth the trouble or that the estimate accurately reflects the scope of the project, you might choose to part ways. Be professional: let the client know that you’re sorry to have missed the opportunity and provide a referral to another freelancer that may be able to help the client. 

It’s always important to appear to be flexible: clients will appreciate you trying to accommodate their needs. However, you can be accommodating without compromising the value of your service or product. 

If you're not sure how much you should be charging per hour, check out this rate calculator at FreelanceSwitch. Remember, you're worth what you're charging!