The Friday Freelancer #017: How to ask for a client's budget?

I will discuss strategies when asking the client for a budget in today's issue.

This is something that gets discussed a lot in my creative community. Because many creatives are afraid to ask for the budget before making a proposal.

This is vital to ask at the right time, as it will save you a lot of time if they cannot afford your services.

Whether you're the type that asks or not, I am going to give a few tips that could help you make the ask at the perfect time.

Enjoy!

__

Don't be afraid to ask

Many designers are afraid to even talk to the client about the budget for a project.

I can understand because I used to do it too!

We get all the info about the brand, the scope, and goals, etc, and then totally forget to ask.

...or you may not feel confident or you're not sure what to say, I get it.

Here are?two ways you can feel more confident, before talking to clients:

1. Add a project price range to your website so prospects know whether they can afford you. eg. Brand Identity packages starting from $2000
2. Make it part of your sales funnel:?Offer a rate card as a lead magnet.?That way your prospect gets to download and read your prices before getting on a call with you.

Ask about previous projects

So now they have come through your sales funnel and booked a call with you. What do you say to them on the call?

A good strategy is to ask the prospect about past projects they have worked on.?

You can ask something like:?"What kind of money have you spent on projects like this in the past?

or if the prospect doesn't want to answer, you can ask them yourself, by saying:

"To give you an idea, I recently worked on a similar project for XYZ company between $2000 and $4000. Does that fit within your budget expectations?"

Send a rough estimate

Let's say the prospect is being particularly secretive about their budget.

This could mean two things: they actually don't know what their budget is or they do know and are wasting your time.

It's important to weigh this up during the introduction or sales call as you don't want to be wasting your time with someone who can't afford you.

If the above. strategies failed to bring to light any budget, you can create for them a project estimate.

This helps the prospect with understanding your pricing structure and whether it fits their budget before moving on to creating a proposal.

My own preference has never been to create a proposal if I didn't know their budget.

So therefore it's up to you, how you want to work things.

At the end of the call you could say something like this:

"I understand you're not 100% clear on your budget. How about I work up a rough estimate for the project and we can go from there? If my estimate meets your expectations we can proceed with a more accurate proposal/quote. How does that sound?"

__

ps. If you want to save time and grab a copy of my own templates and scripts for Sales Calls, Emails, and Client Testimonials.

Grab my new?Freelance?Starter Kit for newsletter subscribers, for just $19!

Click here to buy the Freelance Starter Kit.

__

See you again next week!

Whenever you're ready, there are?3 ways I can help you.

1. Grab the Freelance Starter Kit (just $19)??here

2. Get fast actionable coaching with my 1:1 coaching packages?here.

3. Build a profitable, more efficient freelance design business?here.

Have a fun weekend!

Huw