Shoutout to the guy who told me to start every negotiation with 'let me think about that'

So I used to jump into rate talks and give a number right away. Then a freelancer friend said to just sit quiet for 10 seconds after a client mentions their budget. I tried it on a $2000 website project last month. The client actually bumped their offer by $400 before I said anything. But then another time, the client got awkward and settled on the lower end. Does that trick only work with bigger budgets or am I doing it wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

colegarcia8d ago

The $400 bump happened to me too on a $1500 logo project. I just stared at my notebook for a few seconds after they said their number and they upped it without me saying a word lol. I think the trick only works if you've already made them feel like they're getting a good deal though, otherwise they just get weird and stick with the lower number.

joseph_green139d ago

You gotta read the room with that pause. The trick only works when the client already feels like they're lowballing you. If they think their offer is fair, the silence just makes them uncomfortable and they'll stick to the low end. The guy who gave you that advice probably dealt with clients who were used to negotiating hard. Quiet pauses work best when you've already built some value earlier in the conversation. If you just met the client and they throw out a number, don't use the pause right away. Let them talk more first, ask questions about the project scope, then bring out the silence later when they mention budget again.

-1