How to Negotiate With Freelancers More Productively
Figure out win-win pricing rather than squeezing freelancers.
If you run your own business and want to hire freelancers, you need to walk a fine line when it comes to price negotiations. Squeeze too hard and you’ll sour the relationship before it’s even had a chance to develop. Accept bids blindly and you’ll end up overpaying at times.
The good news? As someone who’s been freelancing for over a decade, I’m here to tell you there are ways to negotiate rates in a way that helps your business long term.
Understand Freelance Pricing
Freelance rates tend to not be uniform. Yes, you can look up guides and surveys of what freelancers typically charge, and some freelancers have been able to make more of a consistent, fixed-rate model work for them. Generally, however, price fluctuates depending largely on the specifics of the project you’re hiring for and the position the freelancer is in at the time of hiring.
For example, a freelancer might ordinarily charge $300 for what they consider to be a standard blog post. But maybe they’re in the midst of trying to raise their rates and want to test out how you’ll react to a $400 quote. Or maybe you want the article to include original interviews and deep…