Poor Market or Greedy Agents ??

[Nelly]

Hi,

I have been in a contract for some time now on a decent rate. Now that it's finished obviously I am noticing that a lot of the rates are pants at the moment.

Are the poor rates solely to do with the Market and clients trying to get away with paying less, or are clients paying about the same price and the agencies are taking more money ?

I understand that agents will tell the client how much % margin they will make, but who knows what % they are taking off the contractor.

The reason I know this is that I had an interview and then the client contacted me directly, turned out the agency was making 20% on them and 15% on me.

So I say stick to your rate or discuss the rate with the client, otherwise a greedy agent will lose you the contract.

[dmini]

I'm a little confused by your statement. Normally the 20% cut would mean that for every £1000 charged to client, they would be expected to pass £800 on to contractor. Ar you saying that isn't the case?
I know for many agencies that is exactly hoow it does work - cos they forget and send through extensions with their figures on!
If it is different - please elaborate with figures?

[tim123]

I don't know about renewals, but for new contracts I'm getting asked if I will work for 40% less than "normal".

I tell them that, in principal, I will but only if it is that reduction which gets me the job.

I'm currently up for one role where I am pretty certain that it is the client who has driven this reduction, and I agreed on the basis that I didn't have all the skills required and would be gaining something from the arrangements.

Now I find out that he really "must have" an exact match yet still wants to pay silly rates. I think that TTP.

tim

[ipguy]

I don't know about renewals, but for new contracts I'm getting asked if I will work for 40% less than "normal".

I tell them that, in principal, I will but only if it is that reduction which gets me the job.

tim

Wrong answer for usual dodgy question. You'll never be offered normal rate with such an answer.

[BolshieBastard]

In the main, clients will drive down rates due to market conditions being in their favour. Equally, they pay higher rates when the market is in the contractors favour.

As with all things though, some agents will try and drive down the contractor's rates if and when they can.

Given the current market, I'd expect rates are entirely being driven down by clients not having much budget.

Any contractor coming off the back of a contract whether having been on a 'good rate' or not, and, sticks rigidly to their rate expectations, will find themselves potentially on the bench for a long time.

The signs are there. It would imo be foolish to ignore them.

[BrilloPad]

Generally there are less jobs about so rates will go down. But it wont affect every sector so pimps will try it on for the other sectors.

Same happen in early nineties : rates went down. A friend was doing oracle : rates were static in that area. His pimp earned 100% markup on his gig!

[minestrone]

I was working for a financial there, which was still making decent profit, and they tried to pull the 15% drop. Thinking about it today the agent should have resisted more but they were probably tulip scared they would lose the psl for the place.

[Fred Bloggs]

I have noticed a lot more where the question "what rate is being offered?" is met by the reply "what rate do you want?" and a refusal to give a figure. It was sometimes asked previously but now is asked for every gig I get called about. I suspect that indeed, some agents are taking a large slice of what the client "thinks" the contractor is getting. My usual reply to that question is "as much as the client will pay". But it isn't working so well at the moment.

I have noticed that almost every job overseas now asks the candidate to propose a rate. It wouldn't be so bad if there were negotiations over the rate but usually I state a rate and get told its too much with a refusal to negotiate further. I guess this is a sign that there are far more candidates than there used to be for each job?

[ipguy]

but usually I state a rate and get told its too much with a refusal to negotiate further. I guess this is a sign that there are far more candidates than there used to be for each job?

The truth is the agents try to increase their profit because too many candidates apply. If the client agrees for 15% discount from normal rate, the agents are trying to get 30-40% discount from contractors.

That means that the client could get a better specialist for the same money, but the agency won't give the client such a chance, because it's too greedy.

[s2budd]

You could always play the same games as the agents.
If you have to provide a quotation pretty much immediately then do so at a low daily rate. Then if offered the contract and after scoping the cost of rental or hotels in that particular area if required to work away from home and after checking the contract then propose a higher rate to cover your extra expenses and or handcuff clause within the contract.

Be prepared to walk away.

If hotels / rental is more expensive than usual then up the rate.
If the agency insists on a handcuff clause within the contract then this is restrictive on your business operation so demand a higher rate.

If the agency is playing games then you can do also but be prepared to walk away if you can afford to do so.

It is all about negotiation.