I was talking to a private coaching student of mine when the topic-which-shall-not-be-named came up:
It’s a big, bad, ugly one that makes most people cringe:
Money.
More specifically, pricing.
A lot of folks who start a freelance writing business see some of the successful writers off landing big contracts and think, “hey, I can do that!”
Then when they start quoting clients, they fall into the Danger Zone™.
Out of nowhere, this little voice suddenly pipes up:
“I need this job. I wonder if the price is too high. How can I price competitively so they see the value and I land the contract?”
Here’s the thing… you can’t spend someone else’s money.
Meaning, there’s NO WAY for you to know what they can or can’t afford.
(Exception: most of the people looking for freelancers on sites like upwork.com and other content mills. They’re cheapskates by and large, looking for volume over quality.)
You could be talking to someone who’s independently wealthy.
You could be talking to someone who was just granted a large budget for marketing, even in a small company.
You could be talking to someone who saved up for a project like this because they considered it a worthwhile investment.
Now, I am NOT saying to see if you can squeeze as much money from them as humanly possible.
People have this weird way of picking up on it when you’re treating them like a cash cow vs. treating them like a human being you actually respect. They can smell the greed.
But what I AM saying is this…
Successful folks think about money and pricing in a different way.
Instead of “I need this job. I wonder if the price is too high…”
They’re thinking “I don’t need any one project. If this one doesn’t work out, it’s OK. Here’s the value I assign to the work I do based on my experience and the value I think I can deliver.”
Do you see the difference?
One approach is crawling toward a client on hands and knees, begging for permission and approval.
The other is approaching clients as fellow human beings, getting to know one another, presenting a fair offer based on mutual gain and value, and discussing where to go next… as EQUALS.
Not a holier-than-thou hired gun freelancer telling clients they don’t know shit (hint: you don’t get to 6, 7, or 8 figures in revenue by being an incompetent moron, unless you’ve got really wealthy benefactors).
Not an approval-seeking newbie begging for work, validation, and scraps.
Just one person with a skill talking to another person with a need.
And either you come to an agreement, or you move on to the next person you can help.