What do you do when a client returns to you for more work, but your rates have changed? If you’ve have experience with this situation, how did you handle it?
JOHN-CLAY:
One of the things Chris Do says is just, “we’ve raised our rates.” His point is that the more competent you get, the less of a risk it is to them and we know even better what we’re doing and how to make sure we ensure against all possible problems. And to do that requires this budget. And so the bigger thing is that he’s trying to find ways to articulate the benefits the client is getting. Why would more money mean more benefit to the client? And yet he may not know. And I don’t know. You’ll have to think about that for any project. And there is a point where they go, “Well, that much money, I’m willing to take some risks.”
Well, then that’s a different conversation, then it seems easier. Then you have to find ways to communicate that it’s not easy. Who knows if it is easy? Chris says to never tell a client, “Oh, that’ll be easy.” You never tell them that. You just tell him how long it’ll take you, how much you charge, and I know why, because I’ve said that before and then got into it and realized I misread the situation and all of sudden you’re like, “Ah. This is not easy.” But now they’re under a certain assumption.
“Easy” to me is a red flag word. Have some sort of conversation around that to let you be the one who defines what’s easy.
