Need feedback -- client not responding...

[tenderone]

I need some feedback...

I found several misspellings on a well-known website, so I sent an email. The owner wrote to me almost immediately, asking for my rate to proofread her website. I did not give the potential client a rate right away because I needed website information before moving forward. Having asked those questions via email, she responded a few minutes later.

I went to the EFA to gather estimated rates and decided that $30.00/hour reflected my extensive proofreading and editing experience.

Quite nervous with giving my hourly rate, I went ahead and submitted my "rate" email. Since I had not received a response, I sent a friendly followup email four days later. Unfortunately, I did not receive a reply, and in all, it has been 10 days since I received any sort of acknowledgment.

Even if she felt the rate to be quite high, I would have hoped she would have let me know. I do not want to sound desperate, but I am willing to negotiate. I just do not want to sell myself short and feel as if the client (or any) can/should dictate my pay.

Should I go back and email her with a lower rate or mention my willingness to negotiate?

[prosperg]

Originally Posted by tenderone

I need some feedback...

I found several misspellings on a well-known website, so I sent an email. The owner wrote to me almost immediately, asking for my rate to proofread her website. I did not give the potential client a rate right away because I needed website information before moving forward. Having asked those questions via email, she responded a few minutes later.

I went to the EFA to gather estimated rates and decided that $30.00/hour reflected my extensive proofreading and editing experience.

Quite nervous with giving my hourly rate, I went ahead and submitted my "rate" email. Since I had not received a response, I sent a friendly followup email four days later. Unfortunately, I did not receive a reply, and in all, it has been 10 days since I received any sort of acknowledgment.

Even if she felt the rate to be quite high, I would have hoped she would have let me know. I do not want to sound desperate, but I am willing to negotiate. I just do not want to sell myself short and feel as if the client (or any) can/should dictate my pay.

Should I go back and email her with a lower rate or mention my willingness to negotiate?

Don't compromise unless she contacts you. IMHO, if she was really interested she would have contacted you and asked if you could "lower your rate." If you feel that $30 per hour is how much your services are worth then don't worry about it and continue to find a company or individual that will pay it. Never beg! Heck, you are probably worth more than the $30 per hour..LOL Good Luck

[mestillaqt]

I agree for the most part. Unless you are in a situation where the work from your clients is really slow right now and you need the money wait for her to come to you. I'm sure you deserve that rate and it would be nice if she at least emailed you back to say she appreciated your feedback but it's too out of her price range. I hate it when people leave you hanging. I'd rather hear that they found someone to do the work for less than hear nothing.

[Jeannie Zavala]

I agree with both replies above. I personally would just leave her be. If she really needed your service, she will contact you and at least try to negotiate. Or she could just be too busy

[beanandpumpkin]

It could go either way. I've had potential clients drop off the face of the earth when they learn of my fees. I've had others *seem* to drop off the face of the earth, only to contact me a month later with an assignment. Don't worry about it, and don't drop your fees. $30 per hour is certainly not an exorbitant fee! The client might have been hoping to pay $10 per hour, or she might think that your fee is reasonable but she's not able to afford it right now, or maybe it's just not a high priority for her at the moment.

[anng]

Now that colleges are back in session, many companies are tapping into work/study programs too. I know my son just landed a great "job" helping to renovate the website and repair/maintain computers at our local library. With work/study programs paying minimum wage, and it's government grants/the college that cover the income, not the actual employer, it's far more affordable for a company to tap into local schools than to hire a "professional" and students earn the experience they need towards their degree.

[Jonelle]

I think it's quite common for prospects to seemingly fall of the face of the earth. Some are just looking for an idea of cost, and not all that interested in having anything done.

[ErinHill226]

Once, a very long time ago, I wrote back a potential client who had fallen off the face of the earth. This was when the bottom fell out in terms of the economy, and I was quite desperate for the work, so yes, I was practically groveling and lowering rates left and right. Turns out my original quote WAS the problem, and he was very receptive when I came to him and said "Is it the price? We can work on that!"

That said, unless your family getting fed depends on this job going through, I wouldn't recommend doing that. It could definitely be your rates, but it's never a good idea to sell yourself short. If you really need the money, then do what you have to do. Otherwise, I'd cut my losses and pat myself on the back since at least you got a response, so whatever marketing tactics you are using are obviously working. Keep doing them, and eventually someone will pay.

[anng]

Originally Posted by ErinHill226

Turns out my original quote WAS the problem, and he was very receptive when I came to him and said "Is it the price? We can work on that!"

That's often the case, and one thing I've learned from the clients who've stuck with me is that at one point or another they've had a rude writer lambaste them for daring to want lower prices, so they don't like to speak up. I had one long-term client slow down giving me work after Penguin, and he approached me saying he needed to drop the article price to 3 instead of 4 cents a word. I was fine with that, but two of his other writers quit. It worked out for me because I took on their work load too. Over a year later, he still gives me plenty of work, so I make more money with the lower rate simply because of volume.

[Jonelle]

Giving this a bit more thought.... Did you happen to include an estimate for an overall price? The potential client might think $30 is a lot, but if you work quickly, the overall project price could wind up being the same or less than someone else who quoted a lower rate.