自由职业者如何定身价

    拉扎勒斯还会加入一张项目承接表，确保与客户理解一致。如果客户在最后一分钟反悔，她要收取消费。“如果你已经承诺了，我们也按期限要求付出了努力，就得有取消费，”她说。“我已经预定了这些时间，回绝了其他收入。”

    与此同时，自由职业者通常无法控制客户预算和它们给出的价格。因此，有必要灵活协商项目费率。

    “我总是事先与客户协商，”马里兰州波托马克的市场调研顾问杰尼•罗星说。“他们有一些通常价格，但不一定就是标准。”

    新泽西州萨米特的品牌管理顾问海蒂•布洛克最近按周收费接了一项工作，如果按每周40个小时工作制，按周收费的单价低于按小时收费。但是，由于她的名气和经验，这个客户同意将每周工作时间缩短至30小时，周费率不变。布洛克说：“在我工作的时间里，我完成了很多工作……”

    如果客户的出价低于期望，你可以建议一个更大的项目，比方说6个月合同，而不是3个月合同，也可以扩展项目范围。因为顾问在每位客户身上都有一定的固定成本——开发票、签合同和客户管理，这能让项目更划算。

    “每个月只给3、4个客户而不是20个客户开账单会更有效率，”本•格兰说。“建议一些你可以提供的其他服务。”格兰有一个客户，最初他是给客户写小册子，后来拓展至校对、写白皮书，甚至写技术性文章。

    拉扎勒斯在每项提案中都会包含一个非常详细的成本列表，方便客户根据预算调整项目规模。比方说，如果她提议用多少钱采访10位购物者，客户可能更倾向于她只是采访5位女性以降低成本。她说：“我给客户提供一个菜单：如果你想做A、B和C，成本各是多少。”

    最终，如果客户愿意支付的数额与你希望赚取的费用相差太远，你必须舍得退出。在你接受一个项目之前或之后，你可能必须作出这样的决定。

    “不要害怕开掉客户，”格兰说。“要继续培养那些最适合自己的客户，淘汰那些榨干你能量的客户。”

    Lazarus also includes a project acceptance form to make sure she and the client are on the same page, and charges a cancellation fee if the client backs out at the last minute. "If you've committed and we've started working on an aggressive path to a deadline, there has to be a cancellation fee," she says. "I've booked the time and said no to other revenue."

    At the same time, freelancers often have little control over the client's budget or the rate they are offered. So it makes sense to take a flexible approach to negotiating project rates.

    "I always negotiate with clients up front," says Janine Lossing, a market research consultant based in Potomac, Md. "They have some set fees but it's never standard."

    Heidi Block, a brand management consultant based in Summit, N.J., was recently offered a weekly rate that worked out to less than her usual hourly fee for 40 hours a week. However, because of her reputation and experience, the client agreed to a 30-hour workweek for the same rate. "I deliver a lot of work … for the number of hours I work," says Block.

    If a client's rates are lower than you like, you could suggest a larger project, such as a six-month commitment instead of a three-month contract, or a bigger project scope. Because consultants have a certain amount of fixed costs per client -- invoicing, contracts, and account management -- it can make the project worthwhile.

    "There are some efficiencies when you're only billing three or four clients per month rather than 20," says Ben Gran. "Suggest other offerings you can provide." For one client, he began by writing brochures but expanded into proofreading, writing white papers, and even technical writing.

    Lazarus includes a very detailed listing of costs in every proposal so the client can adjust the scope of the project based on the budget. For instance, if she's proposed interviewing 10 shoppers for a certain dollar amount, the client might prefer that she interview only five women to cut costs. "I give clients a menu: if you want to do A, B and C, it costs this," she says.

    In the end, you have to be willing to walk away if the gap between what the client wants to pay and what you need to earn is too large. You may have to make that call before you take a project -- or afterward.

    "Don't be afraid to fire clients," Gran says. "You keep nurturing the clients who are best for you and weed out the clients who are draining your energy."