Does this count as discussing rate?

[BigRed]

I would never discuss my rate with the client unless they happened to mention that they are paying the agency a lot more than they happened to see on the invoice or copy of the contract I forgot to collect from the printer, it's extremely unprofessional.

[Old Greg]

I would never discus my rate with the client unless they happened to mention that they are paying the agency a lot more than they happened to see on the invoice or copy of the contract I forgot to collect from the printer, it's extremely unprofessional.

I often need the cost to client for a business case.

[IanIan]

I would never discuss my rate with the client unless they happened to mention that they are paying the agency a lot more than they happened to see on the invoice or copy of the contract I forgot to collect from the printer, it's extremely unprofessional.

If its extremely unprofessional then why would you be leaving confidential documents at the printer? And what difference does it make if the agency is making a good margin?

[MaryPoppins]

what difference does it make if the agency is making a good margin?

Precisely.

[Sausage Surprise]

My agent keeps reiterating that I shouldn't discuss my rate with the client. So the client asks me if I'll take a nine month contract for a more competitive rate (i.e. lower) and I say I'd prefer three months and the current rate isn't very good anyway. So she asks what I'm actually receiving and I tell her and she's like, we'll have to get you more money from the agency rather than us!

So does this count as discussing rates?

Also, I'm still a little peeved since the original rate quoted was £40 above what I got. The agent said something about the client's budget being tight and asked what my minimum was which unsurprisingly is what I got...

Fell for that little ruse once...never again though. Shysters the lorra them!

[bobspud]

Yep agent is being a twunt. Mine is in the same boat however they don't know that both me and the client are aware of what a little bunch of they are. There is a renewal on the cards soon and I expect to be doing rather well out of it.

As soon as an agent states they don't want me discussing rates its the first thing I do.

[Dominic Connor]

As an agent...

As an agent I have no problem telling a contractor what the deal is, frankly the margin is often less than they think and some firms try to set fixed margins, partly to stop the ill feeling that arises if the contractor feels the margin is too large.

Unless the contract you signed says you can't discuss rate, you don't have to do or not do anything the agent says, the clue is in the name, I/they are not your boss, I/they am a broker, matching up buyers and sellers.

It is the case that some clients require that the agent doesn't discuss margins and rates and that we impose this on the contractor. Quite how we are supposed to stop the employee of another company who every day chats to the other people on site is a mystery to me, but if the client demands this, we have to play ball.

There is no such thing as secrecy here...

Aside from the practical problems of keeping it confidential, people can't really store "unknown" in their heads. A contractor will have some idea of the margin, he may be wrong, but a "value" will be in that brain cell and if he's cynical about the agent and/or the agent tries to be secretive, that guesstimate value will go up.

Discussing rates with the client, begs the question of who you think the client is ?

The guy who tells you what to do may or may not already know what you cost and in firms where the margin is fixed he will therefore know what you get.

There is a the tricky case of the rest of the team.

Your daily rate will often be quite a lot higher than theirs, yes I know you can't directly compare, but that won't stop some of them being annoyed. This may affect how they work with you and it is far from unknown for permies to find out what contractors get, compare their skills and go freelance. At one place I contracted the MD spoke at a firm-wide meeting of how contractors were "sucking the life blood out of the firm" which was why there were no pay rises and only sales people were getting bonuses. He didn't say that about the sales people, but we all knew and so immediately after several permies asked me about how one became a contractor.

[Epiphone]

Also, I'm still a little peeved since the original rate quoted was £40 above what I got. The agent said something about the client's budget being tight and asked what my minimum was which unsurprisingly is what I got...

And what have you learned about negotiation tactics from this? Here's your starter for ten: you're not very good at it.

[NotAllThere]

I would never discuss my rate with the client unless they happened to mention that they are paying the agency a lot more than they happened to see on the invoice or copy of the contract I forgot to collect from the printer, it's extremely unprofessional.

If its extremely unprofessional then why would you be leaving confidential documents at the printer? And what difference does it make if the agency is making a good margin?

I suspect irony.

[IanIan]

And what have you learned about negotiation tactics from this? Here's your starter for ten: you're not very good at it.

Yeah thanks for that.

Well I was desperate for work.