Richard.

With some people, I tell them the price and they accept. With some, they expect that the price I give them is an over-quote and something that can be bargained down. I refuse to drop prices for no reason, so make it clear that my prices stand, but at the same time offer to sit down with them and examine the project spec to see where we can trim the spec down a bit without adversely affecting the effectiveness of the site.

The same goes with any aspect of contract negotiation. I love it when I tell people how I expect everything to be done and they happily accept, but this isn’t always the case as sometimes they have very set procedures in place that they expect me to conform to if we are to work together. Hence we have to negotiate an equal and fair compromise in which both sides give a little.

But you need to know when to put your foot down – I recently found a client quite unwilling to compromise over a deposit I was due from them (the old 30 day accounting period thang – fine, but they wanted me to start work while I was waiting for the deposit to arrive which is not the way I work – bear in mind that my proposal had clearly stated a deposit was required). It got to the point where I realised there were actually unwilling to compromise at all on this and in the end I told them to stick their contract where the sun don’t shine . There then followed a big round of apologetic phone calls and grovelling emails from them and we finally reached a satifactory compromise.

Some people like to see how far they can push you, some people are so used to having things done their way that they are oblivious to the fact that there may actually be another way of doing things. Some people like to be told exactly what to do. You just need to ensure throughout that your negotiations you are clear with your client (and yourself) about what your procedures are; be firm but fair and be willing to consider compromises in the right situations.

if not they can go elsewhere – after all there are other businesses out there who will benifit – proberly more so – from my skills.

i don’t have the time for those who are too tight or are to ignorant to budget properly. it annoys me.