Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Stuart
thank you, Mike. Do you ever get clients that "freak out" over your hourly rate card? Just wondering... I'm still debating with myself if I should do that or not, but I for sure want to avoid the type of revisions you mentioned.
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I think that my rates are reasonable for professional production. I may lose some business because they "freak out" over the rate card - that's OK. In my limited experience, they are the clients who will drive you nuts with unanticipated demands and endless changes anyway.
Occasionally, I do offer discounts for not-for-profit organizations and start-up small businesses - especially if the project is interesting or I see a real opportunity to help someone launch their venture. That has paid dividends in referrals to other customers and loyality from the person I helped. It's not all about the $.
Other posters have mentioned communication - that's the key. Talk to the potential client with an honest and open attitude and flexible approach. It helps. I'm currently wrapping a short corporate piece - interview and supporting b-roll. On the initial price discussions, I gave them a fixed price with the "allowances" as I described above, which included 2 hours for 1 revision. They have asked for a total of 4 revisions, and one 30 sec. "spin off", not in the original proposal. Each time they ask for a revision, they include a statement to the effect of "We know this is beyond our original agreement - so bill us for the additional work"
I believe that many people have no idea of what goes into professional production - the more clearly you lay that out, the better your relationship with the client will be.
THUD (the sound of me falling off my soap box)!
January 25th, 2008, 09:02 AM
