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Rant: People keep giving 'budget' numbers before they even know the project scope
I swear, this happens at least once a week. A potential client will email me and the very first thing they ask is 'What's your rate?' or 'What's your budget for this?' before they've told me a single detail about what they actually need. Last Thursday, someone from a startup in Austin said 'Our budget is $500' for what turned out to be a full website rebuild with custom features. It's a total waste of time for everyone! They lock themselves into a number that has no connection to the real work, and then get upset when my quote is higher. I've learned to shut that down fast. Now my first reply is always asking for a project brief or a quick call to understand the goals. How do you guys handle these 'budget first' conversations without scaring them off?
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scott.alex5d ago
What's the weirdest budget question you've ever gotten?
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