HOW TO NEGOTIATE YOUR FREELANCE RATES IN 2019
Negotiating freelance rates is one of the integral skills any freelancer must have, especially in this 21st century where a lot of employers do not mind employing the services of freelancers for a token worth nothing compared to the value received. Therefore, freelancers have to be wise, smart and intentional about demanding their worth without shame.
Having established that, the followings are. . .
Ways by which freelancers can negotiate their freelance rates in 2019.
1. Build Quality – This is a very important step in negotiating freelance rates as freelancers. When you know the value of the service you provide, it becomes easier for you to recognize why demanding better and more is your valid entitlement. In the past, some employers can be wary of cheap freelance rates and consider it a sign that what you offer is inferior but not so much in this present dispensation where people don’t mind getting quality at 0 naira.
Therefore, as a freelancer, you have to understand that your work portfolio precedes you; it’s your reputation as an entrepreneur and it speaks for you. It is how you sell yourself and that’s why it’s important that you recognize the need to constantly improve your craft and invest so much in the services you provide that potential employers can’t help but admit the quality and distinctiveness your brand provides. In other words, if you must demand good pay, you had better be delivering a good job and in order to do that, always hone your craft. It’s the best shot at not letting anyone bullshit your demands because you know what you give and they know what they get.
Basically, be good at what you do till there’s virtually nothing more to learn.
2. Have a good work-esteem – Having a good work-esteem is another important way to navigate your freelance rates. It is not enough to give value and be paid for it if you are not confident of the value you give. As a freelancer, you don’t get to feel lucky or act desperate when you have a job offer enough to think you have to settle for whatever you are offered. It’s never about what your employer feels you deserve, it’s about what you think you deserve.
Always recognize when you’ve paid your dues. See, all those free works you did for people, platforms, organizations in the bid to make a name for yourself, be seen, followings, etc. are enough dues already. You cannot keep hopping on every job that comes your way even if it undervalues you because you are desperately in need of a job or because you think you shouldn’t rate yourself that much. The only reason people think they can under-price you at will or even get you to do any job if a small jara is added is because they know that even though you do good work, you don’t think you do.
Your work-esteem always rubs off; make sure it is good if it is not great. Appreciate yourself better, stop giving people discounts, stop collaborating with people or brands without nothing in it for you; enough with the exposure and traffic baits; stop doing free works and understand that your services aren’t employed as a favour to you but because you have a work reputation that precedes you and certifies you right for the job every time someone comes knocking your business door with an order.
3. Utilize your work portfolio – As freelancers, understanding the power of your work portfolio is highly relevant to your negotiation. It is not for décor. Always engage it; it’s your ever constant leverage; work it, don’t keep it dormant. If in any case at all, an employer is not aware of how terrific your work is or needs more conviction about your badassery, refer him/her to your work portfolio.
Get the client to lose his/her very understandable and normal doubts or hesitations by intimating him/her about your work reputation and history. That is how to engage your curriculum vitae; it’s not just a memento that sits pretty, doing nothing but celebrating you and reminding you of how far you’ve come but how farther you can go and how bigger you can become by knowing when and how to use it to your advantage. If an employer doesn’t seem to have heard of you, make him/her hear.
4. Be original – One of the deciding factors of professionalism is originality. No one enjoys a plagiarized service; it’s a ruin for any brand. So, whatever service you render has to be original every time you render it because employers want originality and most times, people are willing to pay originality its worth especially when it’s demanded and that’s why intellectual theft shouldn’t be your business’ struggle. You can struggle with a lot of things as a freelancer but intellectual theft should never be one of them. Therefore, if you’re gonna have to deliver a plagiarize service to your employer in order to match the amount you’re paid, you should really not take the job because, at the end of the day, it’s not going to hurt the client as much as it would hurt you.
5. Be practical, reasonable and fair to yourself – Being an entrepreneur is hard and you have to understand the pragmatics of selfishness. The truth is, an employer will always work in the best interest of his/her business, firm or brand. When an employer reaches out to employ the service of anyone, they are absolutely looking for the best and as a freelancer, you have to understand that when you offer your service, you do not only deliver that particular service, you deliver more which is adding value to that brand.
Therefore, it is important that you are fair to yourself in your pricing, in your collaborations and remunerations. Your client is always getting value beyond what they paid for from you, so, get the same. Don’t just hop on rides with brands, assess them; think before you work and think while you work. Be smart. Let quality and value be at the core of whatever service you render or exchange. Don’t start a job without a deposit, that’s how you are booked.
Above all, with freelancing, it is a no pay, no work! Never ever shortchange yourself. You have way too many bills as an entrepreneur to do that to you.
