Would you pay $14 for five oranges to avoid bartering?
Spend $18 on bananas to appease screaming children?
Walk 15 minutes in toxic rain to a store and pay double for the same fruit sold right outside your apartment?
I would. I did. And how I hate to admit it.
Hello, my name is Amy and I’m a recovering non-negotiator. I’m proof people pay up to 100% more (and beyond) to instantly escape uncomfortable situations.
For me, “stressful” used to mean negotiation. It was one of my biggest weaknesses as a freelance blogger.
Fortunately, I came across an amazing business teacher when my family moved to Tianjin, China this summer. Over the last three months, I’ve used my newfound negotiation skills to generate thousands of dollars more than I used to through freelance blogging and writing.
Negotiation Lesson 1: Negotiators win
The first thing I learned was this: if you’re not willing to negotiate, you lose.
You’ll either pay more or make less. Period. And once your sparring partner smells your fear of pushing back, they’ll often just keep pushing.
Are you scared to negotiate? You (and I) are not alone.
- Only 39% of people felt comfortable negotiating their salaries, according to a 2018 Robert Half survey of more than 2,700 professionals in the US.
- Just 34% of women negotiate their salary versus 46% of men.
- Another Carnegie Mellon study found that those who negotiated their starting salary received an average of 7.4% more than non-negotiators.
My lesson
My teacher, the local fruit seller, is the savviest businessman I’ve met.
When I dealt with him, I used to pay up to five times more for fruit just to avoid bartering.
One day, my neighbour paid five Yuan (about 1 USD) for the same amount of fruit I’d just bought for 70 Yuan (about 14 USD). It made me mad, at the vendor, my neighbour, and mostly at myself.
The next time I bought fruit, I protested via interpretive dance and all four of my Mandarin words (ting came in handy — it means stop).
The reward? The price of my fruit dropped 50%.
Negotiation win
Soon after, a new freelance blogging prospect reached out. The marketing director was Canadian, like me, but offered me lowball rates because I lived in China. Without educating him on urban Chinese living, I decided to negotiate.
I emailed him my rate. For three days, my mood swung between euphoria and desperation. Finally, the prospect agreed to my rate, and even added a bonus offer when I didn’t respond immediately. He’s now a client and is remarkably respectful.
Standing your ground earns you more respect and value, first from yourself and then from your clients.
Negotiation Lesson 2: People in a rush pay more
Sometimes, you’d pay anything to get what you need right now.
Like new pants to replace a pair that split three and a half minutes before an ideal client discovery meeting. Or rush processing fees for a passport you need in 24 hours. Or an orange for a tired, hungry, screaming toddler…
When it comes to freelance writing, plenty of professionals tack on a charge for rush work.
- Carol Tice, from Make a Living Writing, has blogged about charging clients double for rush projects.
- All five marketing agencies I’ve worked for have had rush rates, ranging from 30% to 150% extra pay.
- On WriterFind.com, a May 2012 survey of writers and editors on rates included a comment from a writer who routinely charges 20% more for rush work.
My lesson
My fruit vendor is always outside my apartment at 5:30 p.m. when I’m toting two cranky, fruit-loving little boys. More often than I should, I buy a few oranges to stop the screaming — and I used to pay a premium for them.
Negotiation win
An old client recently called in a panic. She had to write 36 post-dated blog posts in two weeks. Her company was launching a media relations campaign and wanted an engaging blog to drive web engagement.
But my client, a property manager, already worked 50 hours a week at her own job. She hated writing and had no idea how to write a blog post, let alone make it interesting. She needed help.
I accepted the gig, with a 50% surcharge, and gave up the better part of my weekend and evenings to meet the deadline. The client thanked me profusely and booked me, well ahead, to write an awards submission in January.
When you become the solution to a major client problem, you become a trusted resource who adds value and provides an in-demand service. You may even be able to raise your rate. A survey by American Express found that 61% of Americans will spend 9% more for better customer service.
Negotiation Lesson 3: The time-starved pay more
Many professionals, and most entrepreneurs, need more time. They can’t keep up, especially with blogging. Recent research shows that even corporate enterprises struggle.
- Though companies that prioritize blogging as a marketing tactic are 13 times more likely to achieve a positive return on investment, according to HubSpot’s 2014 State of Inbound report, even updating a corporate blog is tough.
- In October, 2013, 69 percent of business to business content marketers struggled with time.
- In 2014, 157 Fortune 500 companies (31%) had a 3% decrease in blogging, according to research from the University of Massachusetts, with 34% having a public blog in 2013 and 31% having a public blog in 2014.
My lesson
As a freelance blogger, writer, and mother of two small boys under five in a new country (with no grandparents!), I am often time-starved. The fruit seller knows it. Sometimes, I’ll pay more to visit him to save myself a trip to the grocery store.
Possible negotiation win
Recently, I met a CEO who owns several companies. He writes a lot of his material himself and pulls three all-nighters a week. No matter how brilliant he feels at 2 a.m., he’s disappointed by his work in the morning. He can’t keep up this pace and grow. After we met, he viewed my LinkedIn profile and InMailed me for a meeting.
A decision maker’s time is valuable. The more they outsource writing projects like blogging, the more time they have for their business.
Negotiation Lesson 4: Clients who hate writing love outsourcing
Ever sat at your computer staring at a white screen, typing in a word and erasing it over and over again?
So have your prospective blogging clients, even though their job may require them to have strong written communication skills. Not everyone was built to blog.
- In 2014, one of the biggest content marketing obstacles was finding qualified people to hire, according to research by the Content Marketing Institute.
- Written communication skills, such as social media marketing, PR and online marketing were in the top 25 career skills in demand on LinkedIn in 2013.
My lesson
I used to outsource my bartering. I hate it; my husband loves it. He was born and raised in Guatemala and loves to dicker with the fruit vendor. I used to commission my husband to pick up fruit, and he did, then charged a “service fee” by keeping my change…
Negotiation win
When one of my friends heard that I was a freelance blogger, she asked if I could write other materials, like proposals. As the director of a healthcare clinic, she spent a third of her time writing and hated it.
While she wanted me to write a proposal, I negotiated a gig to write templates for all of her communications and was paid handsomely, monetarily and by referral.
Plenty of people hate writing and have the budget to outsource. Many of them are even incredulous that someone would want to blog and write for a living.
Negotiation Lesson 5: Clients will pay to clear a bottleneck
Ever brought your blogging career, day job, or family to a halt because you didn’t or couldn’t deal with something?
That’s called a bottleneck. In business it can cause stress, loss of clients and loss of millions.
My lesson
In a hurry to make a meeting, I didn’t have time to go shopping but I couldn’t face the fruit vendor. At the grocery store, only one cashier was working so I lined up a customary Canadian 1.5 metres of personal space away from the person in front of me.
Immediately, three men and a feisty granny butted in line. Annoyed, I stepped closer and a family squeezed ahead of me.
Becoming enraged, I left my wares and rushed outside to catch a taxi. I arrived at my meeting in a sweaty huff, four minutes tardy… and though I patched it up, I did lose a little face with a newish client.
Negotiation win
In my part of China there are very few freelance bloggers with native English skills, but there are lots of manufacturing companies and engineers. Recently, I met a manufacturing CEO who needed a brochure to close a multimillion dollar deal.
His company had been delaying the deal for nine months, in part because no one had the time to clearly lay out and document their investment plan. They hired me via email and paid my full fee up-front. The CEO was relieved to have someone clear his bottleneck.
Clients who make large sales need bloggers and writers to document and close deals. Your fee is peanuts compared to what delay is costing them.
Negotiation doesn’t need to be a fight to the finish. It’s an opportunity to find a win-win solution for you as the blogger and for your clients.
The more you practice, the better you become. That’s why I’m so thankful for my negotiation teacher, the fruit seller.
How about you? Does negotiating your freelance blogging rates thrill or terrify you? Leave a comment and tell us about it.
Elna says
Amy,
Fabulous post. I’m trying to process this as my twin toddlers are telling me “all done typing mommy” and climbing all over me so that I can hurry up!
It’s good to know that people are willing to pay for content if it solves their problems. Time, obviously is more precious than money for many companies.
Thanks for sharing your lessons!
Elna
Amy says
Hi Elna,
(I hope you get in as much “mommy typing” as possible.)
Companies often lose money – lots of it – when there are delays and when you help them, you add value worth paying for.
Thanks for your comment.
Amy
Alicia Rades says
Awesome article. These are all fantastic lessons.
Talking about negotiation makes me think about facing the “we need to talk about payment” issue. I’ve learned that it’s better to be upfront about it because clients aren’t always going to bring it up. It saves you both time if the rates don’t work out. And I’ve found that clients aren’t uncomfortable talking rates, so I don’t think it should be a scary subject to face.
Back to negotiating rates, I’m going to refer back to this article the next time negotiation comes up.
Thank you!
Amy Dunn Moscoso says
Hi Alicia,
I agree – it’s best to talk payment early in the process and steer the conversation. Negotiation is a skill and preparation and practice make it easier.
Corina says
Great article and great tips Amy. You gave me an idea where to look for future clients.
Thanks so much for sharing your tips with us.
Cheers from Madrid,
Corina
Ardelia says
This article is just what I needed! I’m not one much for negotiating…yet. But I’m determined to get there. Thanks for all the valuable lessons. They were definitely eye-openers.
Shernette says
I love this article. It has great tips and advice.
I would love to be where you are in your freelancing. I am still using odesk, etc. and find at times that I am competing at times with thousands of applicants for the few jobs I believe I can handle. But I am sure these tips will come in handy no matter the situation.
Amy Dunn Moscoso says
Hi Shernette,
Getting your own clients vs. odesk and other writing sites where you compete like crazy with other writers is more of a different mindset than a place in a writing career.
Once you decide to get your own clients, for far better pay and far less competition, you may find you need these negotiating tips sooner than you think! I hope you get to use them soon.
Amy
Ryan Biddulph says
Being a world traveler Amy I relate heavily to your post…..SOOOOO heavily!
I hate to negotiate. I don’t negotiate, really, and am the sucker who pays what I pay – whatever it is – when faced with bartering situations. We skip barter bazaars and go to price tagged ones instead. From our freelance perspective stand your freaking ground. My prices go up more because people who need something will pay for it. If you are struggling finding a meeting price I may just release on situations that don’t feel great so both parties can find the proper match.
Way cool read Amy, keep on inspiring!
Ryan
Amy Dunn Moscoso says
Glad I’m not alone in admitting I have a problem Ryan! I agree as a freelance you have to be ready to walk and all will benefit when you do.
Travel (and freelance on)!
Angela Morgan Allen says
Thank you for this goldmine of information Amy! I am just embarking on the freelance writing journey, and this will come in very handy. As a newbie I not only hate the rates negotiation thing, I Suck at it!
Amy Dunn Moscoso says
Hi Angela,
Luckily, negotiating is kind of like riding a bike…
Male Energy says
Fantastic article! Negotiations skills are very different for every people, but I think that everybody can learn how to negotiate successfully. But You need to gain more and more experience.
Marianne Griebler says
Hi Amy! You were the winner in the pitch contest where I first discovered the wonderful resource that is BAFB. I knew this post was going to be fabulous and it is. You clearly understand the freelance writer’s allergy to negotiating (and probably to money issues in general).
I think your most important lesson is standing up for the value you bring as a professional writer. I successfully did that a few months back and feel like I may be able to do it without as much stomach upset the next time around. Thanks for validating the work we do and giving us the tools to do it in real life, not just in our heads.
Amy Dunn Moscoso says
Glad to hear you’re treating yourself like a professional first Marianne. (And thanks for your kind words.)
Amy
Sarah Charmley says
Hi Amy, I loved this post and the lessons that you learned. Negotiation skills are not my strongest point, but I’m learning to stand my ground. Part of the confidence to do this comes from recognising that you do have valuable skills and that people will pay you to write for their business.
Amy Dunn Moscoso says
Good for you Sarah. It’s a business skill that’s sure to come in handy in many situations in life.
Amy
Kashif says
Excellent post. I totally relate to the concepts of time sensitivity (rush processing) and clearing a bottleneck. I have learned, and practiced, that if you resolve pain points for people – they can go out of their way to reward you.
Amy Dunn Moscoso says
You’re so very right Kashif.
Many can write. A special few can solve problems and be counted on.
Pete Austin says
I read half way through your article. I’m going to take your advice that I should stand my ground and always negotiate, so what are you willing to pay to have me read the second half?