Putting up Day rate..?

[WTFH]

I once asked an agent for an increase in my rate by cutting their %. This was at the time of negotiating my third contract at the client. I asked for €50 extra per day (didn't demand, just asked if they could adjust their rate). They told the client I wanted over €200 a day extra. Client came to me wanting to know why I was demanding that much extra. I told him I wasn't.
Agent is no longer on that client's PSL.
I am.

[Danglekt]

I have done it - it was a direct gig (like all mine)

I waited till the end of my contract, and at extension time they wanted to add a load of stuff from a parallel project they were struggling with...

I showed them what sort of day rates they would pay on the open market for a person capable of doing what I was already and what they wanted and then haggled from there. To be fair they were bad at haggling, so it went well for me.

[MrMarkyMark]

I once asked an agent for an increase in my rate by cutting their %. This was at the time of negotiating my third contract at the client. I asked for €50 extra per day (didn't demand, just asked if they could adjust their rate). They told the client I wanted over €200 a day extra. Client came to me wanting to know why I was demanding that much extra. I told him I wasn't.
Agent is no longer on that client's PSL.
I am.

Has that vastly different outcome from Psychos mates story.

I wonder why that is?

No prizes given for right answers


Spot on.

I showed them what sort of day rates they would pay on the open market for a person capable of doing what I was already and what they wanted and then haggled from there. To be fair they were bad at haggling, so it went well for me.

[psychocandy]

WTF is going on today. I can't believe some of the tulip I'm reading today. Do you really think an agent will jepordise his income by involving the client where it's not required. It just doesn't make sense for a start.

Disagree. I've known an agent who says one thing to client and one thing to contractor, plays them both off against each other, and hopes they dont talk to each other. But then hes been dealing with client for years, and is confident in his ability to bulltulip his way out of any flak that arises.

Been doing it for years. I guess the fact that he gets away with such large cuts and lies to both parties means it worth a little risk.

Same guy did the old day-before-sorry-client-has-had-knock-£50-a-day-off-because-of-budget-cuts to one guy (not me). Stuck £50 in his pocket. This all came out when contractor told client and client said they'd said no such thing. Agent still managed to bulltulip his way out of it!

[gables]

Well when I contracted first time round rate rises were the norm every extension and with a new client a bigger jump but then the contracting pool was lower and the roles seemed more abundant

Anyway...

If the market rate has moved upwards for what you do, then ask for a rate rise. If the scope of what you're doing has changed in a positive way then ask for a rate rise. These are probably acceptable reasons for a client, negotiations via agent obviously, can go the other way which we'd need to accept.

If you're doing exactly the same but your costs have gone up, or you just want more, you can ask for a rate rise although the client probably won't accept these as good reasons, so may be difficult to get an increase from the client, but the agent could suck this up in order to keep a margin, or you could walk.

[northernladuk]

Disagree. I've known an agent who says one thing to client and one thing to contractor, plays them both off against each other, and hopes they dont talk to each other. But then hes been dealing with client for years, and is confident in his ability to bulltulip his way out of any flak that arises.

Been doing it for years. I guess the fact that he gets away with such large cuts and lies to both parties means it worth a little risk.

Same guy did the old day-before-sorry-client-has-had-knock-£50-a-day-off-because-of-budget-cuts to one guy (not me). Stuck £50 in his pocket. This all came out when contractor told client and client said they'd said no such thing. Agent still managed to bulltulip his way out of it!

Again... One agent, one person, one situation does not mean it's standard. I know one Welsh bloke who is a complete moron. Doesn't mean they are all. Look beyond you made up single examples when trying to understand a situation .

[Unix]

WTF is going on today. I can't believe some of the tulip I'm reading today. Do you really think an agent will jepordise his income by involving the client where it's not required. It just doesn't make sense for a start. Practically speaking I've had rate rises on two of my last three gigs and the client didn't get a whiff. There are plenty of people on this forum that have said the same.
Agents might be cut throat mercenaries but their job is to keep the client happy. He's not going to be dropping his contractor in it and upset the client for a few 10s of pounds if he's already been taking an above average cut.

Don't get me wrong this isn't a given. The agent may be on a fixed margin and he might also play hardball so the contractor will need to make it stick.

The fact that PC agrees is enough to prove you are missing the mark alone.

Yeah agents love giving away their income, they are true selfless creatures.

[MrMarkyMark]

Same guy did the old day-before-sorry-client-has-had-knock-£50-a-day-off-because-of-budget-cuts to one guy (not me). Stuck £50 in his pocket.

Well then the contractor guy is a fool.
He was weak in the first place, then allowed the vulture to swoop in, subsequently he was even weaker when he didn't threaten to walk away.

You don't get anything if you don't negotiate.
You also get less grief, in the following assignment, if you establish a certain level of understanding at the outset.

Been doing it for years

[northernladuk]

Yeah agents love giving away their income, they are true selfless creatures.

Think about that a little more.

[Unix]

Think about that a little more.

You think too much, better to trust your contractor instincts.