Contract dead - What to do?

call

try to negotiate your rate with the client : a lower rate is better than no rate. has a budget been released already ?
The market is very difficult currently for contractors, almost dead in fact.

Call them...

Thanks for the advice.

I am going to call them. THey think that keeping the project in house where they do not have the right skills will save them money. I know that by hiring me directly (now that the agent has admitted it is dead anyway), the can complete it quicker and cheaper than to pay existing staff overtime.

Would £70 per day make a difference

...actually yes!

If I were an IT Manager looking to hire a contractor, £70 would make a difference.

£70 per day
£350 per week
£1500 per month
£16500 per year

It makes a big difference to the cost of a project when you add it up.

I am not being cruel. The agency did the introductions and deserves a fair price. I think agents should either operate on a fixed fee for their service, or a more reasonable rate. The rates should be 10-15% and only run for the first 6 or 12 months of a contract in case it runs on.

It is hard to generalize and this would not work in all cases, but in this case the agent ends up with nothing because they were too greedy.

Call them direct, offer another idea you have just thought of (excuse for the call) let the customer offer going direct of his own bat. At the very least you will find out if the agent is spinning.

Remind them you are alive.

Call them, you've got nothing to lose. Be sympathetic, and even if they don't run the project this time round you may well be first choice if it ever gets reopened.

Take it like a man - do you honestly expect that the budget will get the go-ahead cos you've saved them 70 quid per day? If the contract is going to die there'll be bigger reasons for it than that... :rolleyes

The Background:
After seeing a contract on the job sites I called an agent, and secured an interview. During the interview I gave some ideas to the client, and we hit it off. The client like me...and my skills fit the role perfectly.

The Inevitible
I got a call this morning from the agent. It seems that the client wants the project to go ahead but is being stonewalled by the costs. The agent's perception is that the contract is going to die and will not be approved due to the cost involved.

My Options
I can either...
...sit back and hope that the client changes their mind (unlikely).
...call the client and offer to go direct.

I am inclined to call the client directly. I don't want to bypass the agency but with commission somewhere between 20%-30% it makes the project expensive for the client. If I don't offer to go direct, neith the agent or me will get anything...and that does not feed the family.

What would you do? (be honest)