Poll: Should all clients state their budget upfront? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Should all clients state their budget upfront?".
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 16:45
Spanish to English
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I rarely work with agencies nowadays, but when I do, they usually ask me what my rate will be for the task in question. Sometimes, they will tell me their available budget in advance, which is nice and avoids any unseemly haggling.
When my direct clients approach me, if there are going to be any budget issues, they usually let me know in advance. I issue them an estimate for the job, and if it is outside of their budget, we can usually come to some kind of agreement.
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It makes no difference to me. It is not up to the client to say what MY price is. He/she either accepts it, refuses it or we negotiate.
| | | | FOUZIA DIB 
Local time: 15:45
Member (2012)
Arabic to Spanish
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| It does not make a difference! | Feb 19, 2022 |
I totally agree with Teresa about that.
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When I go to the grocery shop, they don't ask me to state my budget upfront either. They just charge their rate for the things in store and I decide whether I'll buy them or not.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 11:45
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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For a professional relationship to run smoothly, it's essential for each party to adapt themselves to the other party's standards.
It's great when the client sets a budget, because you'll have a good idea of their prices/practices, which allows you to negotiate or even decline an offer immediately without even negotiating.
However, when the client does not suggest a rate and only asks for your qoute, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just a different type of negotiation, which wo... See more For a professional relationship to run smoothly, it's essential for each party to adapt themselves to the other party's standards.
It's great when the client sets a budget, because you'll have a good idea of their prices/practices, which allows you to negotiate or even decline an offer immediately without even negotiating.
However, when the client does not suggest a rate and only asks for your qoute, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just a different type of negotiation, which works just as fine.
In short, we don't want to determine what each other "should" do. We have to know what WE should do to adapt. ▲ Collapse
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Like others who have already posted, in general I have no interest at all in a potential client's "budget", nor do I expect them to have any interest in mine. It's none of their business.
However, if somebody approaching me about a job mentions up front a word rate that is too low, or other conditions (e.g. deadline, payment terms) that are clearly unacceptable, then that can save me wasting my time on them.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:45
French to English
Well... if their budget is way over what I would normally have billed, I'd happily raise my rate for them. That did happen to me once, last century.
If their budget is way under what I would normally bill, then I know there's no point negotiating and we can just end the conversation. It's the most common scenario with people who contact me here.
If their budget is close to what I would normally bill, we might be able to work something out. This is what happens when peo... See more Well... if their budget is way over what I would normally have billed, I'd happily raise my rate for them. That did happen to me once, last century.
If their budget is way under what I would normally bill, then I know there's no point negotiating and we can just end the conversation. It's the most common scenario with people who contact me here.
If their budget is close to what I would normally bill, we might be able to work something out. This is what happens when people contact me on LinkedIn.
So for me it's useful information.
The only thing is that some freelancers don't negotiate, or think that the client can dictate stuff to them, don't have confidence and have to start somewhere. ▲ Collapse
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