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vphillippersaud
Community Member

A Client's Response To My Proposal

Hello Top Raters.  Are you experiencing this challenge?

 

In response to my proposal, the client said that I am qualified but that he prefers to hire freelancers from countries with lower living costs.

 

This is not the first time that I have received this comment from a client.

 

Do you know what Upwork is doing to help Freelancers like me who are facing this challenge?

 

See the attached response.

 

Thanks,

Veronica

 

**Edited for community guidelines**

ACCEPTED SOLUTION
petra_r
Community Member


Veronica P wrote:

 

In response to my proposal, the client said that I am qualified but that he prefers to hire freelancers from countries with lower living costs.


That client is clearly fishing for you to drop your price. Move on. You want to filter clients carefully, look at their previous contracts etc.

 


Veronica P wrote:

 

Do you know what Upwork is doing to help Freelancers like me who are facing this challenge?


To be brutally honest: Nothing. You need help yourself.

 

There are clients who are seeking freelancers with your credentials and know that they won't find that from cheap freelancers. You don't compete with the $ 5 an hour people, the clients who hire them are not your market and the clients who hire you are out of reach to them.

 

This is a global marketplace, identify your corner of that market and sell to them.

 

 

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17 REPLIES 17
petra_r
Community Member


Veronica P wrote:

 

In response to my proposal, the client said that I am qualified but that he prefers to hire freelancers from countries with lower living costs.


That client is clearly fishing for you to drop your price. Move on. You want to filter clients carefully, look at their previous contracts etc.

 


Veronica P wrote:

 

Do you know what Upwork is doing to help Freelancers like me who are facing this challenge?


To be brutally honest: Nothing. You need help yourself.

 

There are clients who are seeking freelancers with your credentials and know that they won't find that from cheap freelancers. You don't compete with the $ 5 an hour people, the clients who hire them are not your market and the clients who hire you are out of reach to them.

 

This is a global marketplace, identify your corner of that market and sell to them.

 

 

yitwail
Community Member

What Upwork *could* do is replace the fairly meaningless $ $$ $$$ designation on job posts with a target hourly rate, but that’s not likely to happen. In the meantime, avoid jobs specifying entry-level $ and make sure the client’s average hourly rate paid is in line with your rate.
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"No good deed goes unpunished." -- Clare Boothe Luce
mtngigi
Community Member


John K wrote:
What Upwork *could* do is replace the fairly meaningless $ $$ $$$ designation on job posts with a target hourly rate, but that’s not likely to happen. In the meantime, avoid jobs specifying entry-level $ and make sure the client’s average hourly rate paid is in line with your rate.

John ... ever the optimist.

Thanks John.

 

Your quote made me smile.

 

Hope you are having a good day.

 

Veronica.

 

Thanks Petra.

 

I appreciate your perspective.

 

 

Veronica.

renata101
Community Member


Veronica P wrote:

Hello Top Raters.  Are you experiencing this challenge?

Hi Veronica, 

I don't consider this a challenge. It's a test of my filtering abilities and rapid assessment skills. There are a lot of "startup founders" on this site who lack some key criteria for establishing successful businesses such as a) a business plan and b) sufficient startup funds to realistically launch their endeavor. You learn to spot them really quickly because most if not all of their client history is often viewable on the client page. Although there is no way to really predict client behavior, if they don't have a history of paying rates that are comparable to yours, chances are they're not likely to want to start doing that with you. That can help you decide whether or not you want to send them a proposal. 


I'm not here to educate them, so when I find out what they're really offering me (a chance to subsidize their fledgling enterprises through the gift my underpaid labor), I just say no. That saves time and clears my slate for clients who have a realistic idea of how much things cost and who value what I have to offer enough to pay a decent rate for it. 


Thanks Renata.

 

This is certainly 1 way of looking at it. 

 

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

 

Veronica.


@renata101 wrote:

Veronica P wrote:

Hello Top Raters.  Are you experiencing this challenge?

Hi Veronica, 

I don't consider this a challenge. It's a test of my filtering abilities and rapid assessment skills...

 

when I find out what they're really offering me ... I just say no. That saves time and clears my slate for clients who have a realistic idea of how much things cost and who value what I have to offer enough to pay a decent rate for it. 


These skills are unfortunately going to need more honing soon, as with the new charges, we're going to need to read all of that before submitting a connect, so as to save time, frustration, and actual $$$

We are going to need to do a lot better at reading between the lines for clients who don't list an actual rate/amount they are willing to pay/for how much work.

jr-translation
Community Member

The problem is that most people have no idea what your work is worth. I was offered a permanent job as technical writer in the oil and gas industrie two weeks ago. My husband was getting extremly excited still not convinced I am earning enough. They offered the same rate as for document controllers which are usually untrained people. I told them if they double the rate and we could start discussing. My last job as techical writer was just correcting poor language used by people writing "Scandinavian English" no articles at all. And since everything has to be done in Word one click blows up a 150 page document due to poor formatting.


Jennifer R wrote:

The problem is that most people have no idea what your work is worth. I was offered a permanent job as technical writer in the oil and gas industrie two weeks ago. My husband was getting extremly excited still not convinced I am earning enough. They offered the same rate as for document controllers which are usually untrained people. I told them if they double the rate and we could start discussing. My last job as techical writer was just correcting poor language used by people writing "Scandinavian English" no articles at all. And since everything has to be done in Word one click blows up a 150 page document due to poor formatting.


You would not believe the number of people who think that $1 per page is a standard rate for proofreading, even technical proofreading (and even technical proofreading in highly specialized disciplines). As far as I'm aware, this hasn't been a standard rate since at least the 1980s. Yet this is a firmly entrenched number that people seem unwilling to update. 

Thanks for your input, Jennifer. I hear you.

 

Veronica.

melaniekhenson
Community Member


Veronica P wrote:

Hello Top Raters.  Are you experiencing this challenge?

 

In response to my proposal, the client said that I am qualified but that he prefers to hire freelancers from countries with lower living costs.

 

This is not the first time that I have received this comment from a client.

 

Do you know what Upwork is doing to help Freelancers like me who are facing this challenge?

 

See the attached response.

 

Thanks,

Veronica

 

**Edited for community guidelines**


 

I've actually never had a client say this, but if she did, I would respond, "I completely understand. Thanks so very much for having considered me for this project." 

 

I'm not going to haggle with someone who claims she'd hire me if only I lived somewhere else. She took enough time out of her day to respond when she didn't have to, and to give me these details (which I can't change - I'm not moving to a new country to get this person's $200 project). What a silly way to attempt to get a freelancer to drop his/her price. 

 

I'd be movin' on. 😄

Hi Melamie,

 

Yes, I agree. I sent a very nice response to which he responded and included a smiley face in his response. (strange)

I've had people send me invites and then tell me they could not afford my hourly rate even though they believed I was the best person for the job.  I had students ask me to drop my rate because they are poor.  I just tell them that my rate is firm. 


@msublette wrote:

I've had people send me invites and then tell me they could not afford my hourly rate even though they believed I was the best person for the job.  I had students ask me to drop my rate because they are poor.  I just tell them that my rate is firm. 


Of course you're the best person for the job!  That's why  your rate is high.  If they want quality, they gotsta pay!

lysis10
Community Member

I agree he was trying to be clever to get you to lower your rate. This is when you can have fun and not just burn the bridge, but throw some gasoline on it and take a blowtorch to it.

 

Just say "wow, I'm so glad you said I'm qualified because I wasn't sure. I just wasnt' sure because of the words and my proposal I thought maybe I was wrong but you say I'm right and I'm qualified and wow I am so glad you clarified that part."

LMAO Jennifer!!!

 

You are quite fiery. 🙂

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