PrinterBees.com

When it comes to negotiating fees with clients, for many of us, things can sometimes get sticky and very uncomfortable, especially with friends and family. I have definitely learned some lessons from the "school of hard knocks" that I thought I would pass along along my own personal "rules to price by".

In our business of working to help people build their businesses, specifically their real estate businesses I am often asked for "quick favors" and "good deals" on printing. Things like:

• Can you fix this file for me?
• Do you mind sending me that file so I can print it on my own printer?
• Can you just make this little change for me, it should only take you a minute?
• You and I are friends…can I get a deal from you on business cards?
• Can I get the "hook-up" because we are family?
• Hey do you mind snapping a quick head shot for me? It should only take you a minute?
• Can you spend a moment helping me with my website? I am stuck on….
• I don't know how to do a mail merge, can you do it for me…you are so good at stuff like that.

The list really does go on and on and I am sure you have a list very similar of your own. I have a very simple policy when it comes to "making exceptions" or "good deals", etc. It goes like this…

"If you are going to make money with the services I am providing to you, I too deserve to make money providing you those services". This includes family and the "bestest" of friends too. I made this decision a couple of years ago when I kept getting asked for the "hook up" from people, including my own family and I found myself working so hard and not making enough income. Because this is my policy for everyone, I can honestly tell long time clients, friends and family alike that there are no special prices and they pay the exact same price as my own mother….so they are getting a good deal! There isn't exactly a lot of profit in business cards and if I give everything away for free, I won't be in business to print for you the next time you need something done.

My other rule of thumb is:

People have absolutely NO APPRECIATION for what they did not pay for. When you give your services away for free, you are saying that your time and energy are not valuable…and THEY ARE! I'm sure that you can think of many times when you have done someone a favor or worked at a reduced fee and that client became your biggest time suck. I have had it happen to me one too many times and have learned my lessons about giving services away for free. Just like yourself…I am a professional who deserves to be paid just like you do when you go to work every day…right?

You deserve to be paid based on the risk you take. As a Realtor/mortgage broker you are putting your neck on the line every time you complete a transaction if something goes wrong. As a mortgage broker, I was sued by a very dishonest person….and THEY WON! Lies and all.

Would you show up at a W-2 type job to work if you weren't getting a paycheck? Of course you wouldn't and your clients wouldn't either. It is a great analogy to use for people when they ask you to work for free. Ask them to tell you about their work, the grind of it, how they look forward to that paycheck and simply explain to them that you too are a professional at what you do and just because you don't "clock in" at a certain time doesn't mean you aren't earning your income.

The moral of the story is…

Don't give your services away for free, people have no appreciation for it and will suck your time away from other money making activities, which costs YOU money.

Price your services considering the risk.

If your client is going to make a profit, don't you too deserve to make a profit/income for your expertise?

PrinterBes provides real estate marketing materials like: Just listed Postcards, Just sold postcards, Short sale postcards, real estate business cards, real estate door hangers and pretty much everything else you can think of for marketing your real estate business. Visit us online at www.PrinterBees.com