Haggling - direct.

[peterc2609]

Hi,

I've been offered a contract directly with client...

But now we are talking money...

Seen as though there are no agencies involved, how do I play it?

They have offered £150 a day which I think is around £100-120 a day off what I'm worth and is around £90 a day less than my last contract. And that was through an agency!

He has basically used that as a starting point, and indicates indirectly that he expects me to haggle kind of thing.

What do I do??

Peter

[pmeswani]

Hi,

I've been offered a contract directly with client...

But now we are talking money...

Seen as though there are no agencies involved, how do I play it?

They have offered £150 a day which I think is around £100-120 a day off what I'm worth and is around £90 a day less than my last contract. And that was through an agency!

He has basically used that as a starting point, and indicates indirectly that he expects me to haggle kind of thing.

What do I do??

Peter

Tell them what you want and try and meet somewhere in the middle.... preferrable towards the nearer side of your rate of middle as possible.

[peterc2609]

Don't you think it would scare them off if I said I wanted nearly double what they were offering?

[Jeebo72]

Don't you think it would scare them off if I said I wanted nearly double what they were offering?

Do you want to work for £150 a day? Prob not.

So ask for what you actually want, and tell them that's what it will take to get you. Not a penny less. If they don't meet your requirements go somewhere else.

It's really simple this stuff, why do people find it difficult.

[peterc2609]

I've always found it simple, but being on the bench puts everything into context, i.e. £150 a day is better than nothing!

[Clippy]

You need to put your rate demand in context.

So, for example, if you would normally command £250pd and you guess the agency makes £100pd on top of that, then that needs to be your starting point.

i.e. "Mr client, you would normally pay £350pd via an agency but as we are dealing direct, a fair rate would be £300pd".

(*Figures made up to illustrate the point).

[pmeswani]

Don't you think it would scare them off if I said I wanted nearly double what they were offering?

Possibly. But remember, you wouldn't be posting your problem on this forum if you were happy with the rate offered by the client. You are not scaring off the client by negotiating with them. Tell them what you want and go from there.

If you don't ask, you don't get. If you ask for something stupid, then fair enough.

[blacjac]

This is how business works, their first offer will be well below what they are willing to pay, and they will expect your first counter offer to be well above what you will accept.

It's what negotiations is all about. If you come back with a ridculously low offer then they will still try to knock some off it. If you accept 150 then they will come back with an even lower offer at renewal time.

[Moscow Mule]

It's always annoying when you put a bid in at a fair price you'd be willing to accept and they accept straight away - you never know how much they were willing to go to.

Always go high on your first bid.

[gingerjedi]

It's always annoying when you put a bid in at a fair price you'd be willing to accept and they accept straight away - you never know how much they were willing to go to.

Always go high on your first bid.

I'd say go with what you're happy with and haggle at renewal, the shysters will push forward whoever they can make the most money from anyway.