Re: your comment, “It’s hard to say ‘no’ to a low fee offered by a client” — I had this problem too. I realized a lot of this is about mindset. I’ve had to train myself not to be interested in ‘offers’ made by prospects — because I am not looking to be sold on anything? Instead, I tell them what my service packages cost, how a package will save them X number of dollars or hours, or how it will help them accomplish their objectives…then the prospect can determine if they’re interested.

Never again will I accept a lower rate unless there is an exceptionally compelling reason to do so. (I learned the hard way that “I need the money” does not count as an exceptionally compelling reason.)

- Amy

Thanks for saying we really need to look after ourselves first because I’ve been in the situation where clients wanted me to work for cheap, asking me for lower and lower rates and almost killing my business with it because we need to cover our costs to function properly.

We need to set healthy boundaries to thrive and many of us are “helpers/servers” personality-wise and find it hard to reject offers because we feel we need to make everybody happy. This usually results in resentment in the long run. If we have to bend over backwards to serve a client financially, then we can’t actually do our best for them. It causes enormous stress and upset. I’ve experienced this first hand, unfortunately. It’s hard to say “no” to a low fee offered by a client, but it’s necessary for us to run a business and sustain it.

Tina also helped me getting over that phone conversation hurdle when I was in the OBM group coaching group. I have an accent (German) and always felt a bit shy about this. Sometimes I feel like people think badly of me because I haven’t been able to lose the accept. Tina gave me the valuable tip that people who can’t accept that I have an accent are not the right clients for me anyway. I always remember this when I call a potential client. This really made a difference for me.

Warmly,
Heike