2

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Why you should read this book .................................................................... 5
Charging more .................................................................................................... 6
This book will not make you a millionaire ..................................................... 7
“But I suck at marketing” .................................................................................. 7
Who the author is ............................................................................................... 7
28 bucks for 60 pages? Are you insane?........................................................... 8
The chat must go on...................................................................................... 9
The art of reading minds ............................................................................ 10
It’s not about you, it’s about your client ........................................................ 11
Pricing high ....................................................................................................... 11
Becoming an authority .................................................................................... 17
Update. Update. Update. ................................................................................. 21
How to create a killer proposal .................................................................. 23
The Proposal ..................................................................................................... 24
The Contract Agreement................................................................................. 31
The Progress Report......................................................................................... 33
The Payment Details ........................................................................................ 35
The Evaluation Form ....................................................................................... 36
Download the complete documents .............................................................. 39
The art of saying “no” ................................................................................. 40
The client asks you to reduce the price.......................................................... 41
The client asks you to reduce the price, but not the scope ......................... 42
The client compares you to competitors ....................................................... 44
The client compares you to $5 freelancers .................................................... 47

3
 The client can’t afford you .............................................................................. 50
The client wants to pay with equity ............................................................... 50
The client treats you like a slave ..................................................................... 52
The client is desperate...................................................................................... 55
Miscellaneous tips & tricks ......................................................................... 57
Body exercise..................................................................................................... 57
Memorable business cards .............................................................................. 58
Giveaways .......................................................................................................... 59
Resources..................................................................................................... 60
Brennan Dunn .................................................................................................. 60
Neil Patel............................................................................................................ 60
Nathan Barry ..................................................................................................... 60
Paul Jarvis .......................................................................................................... 60
Derek Halpern .................................................................................................. 61
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................... 62
Galini Scarlatou ................................................................................................ 62
Matina Chatzigianni ........................................................................................ 62

4
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS
BOOK
Let me make a guess about you: if you are reading these lines, you are a
creative professional, passionate about your work. As a creative professional,
you need acceptance, honor and reward for what you do for a living. You
create awesome products for clients and you want to get what you deserve
for them. But there are occasions you cannot control. How many times have
you ended up working more than expected? How many compromises have
you made to finish a project? How many compromises have you made to get
paid? How many times have you accused your clients of an ineffective
collaboration?

How many times have you felt that you worth MORE?

It’s such a tough feeling, huh? Knowing that you deserve more than you get.
More happiness, more money in the bank, more healthy relationships. Well,
this is the subject of the book you are currently reading. But you already
know that, don’t you? And, I am pretty sure you have seen quite a lot of
people who sell magic recipes to help you deal with this.

Most books that cover freelancing techniques simply tell you how to do
things right - from the author’s perspective. This book is different. We are
human beings and humans make mistakes. Apart from what I propose as
“best practices”, I also give you tips and tricks to recover from painful
situations. Moreover, I let you know exactly what I’ve been doing in my
business, how I talk to clients and with what information I provide them.

This book presents a ton of examples and situations that will help you
handle your clients effectively and win more projects with (much) higher
quotes. You’ll read how I react under specific circumstances, how I turn a
“no” client into a “yes” one and how I raise my rates while my clients thank
me for this. Apart from the personal advice, I also provide suggestions and
applicable actions for many more occasions. Finally, you’ll get some valuable
5
insight into how my company, LightBuzz, structures its proposals and
quotes to persuade clients. Purchasing the Complete Package of this book,
you can even get the styled documents and edit them to fit your own needs.

If the relationship with your clients seems to be going to hell, you can refer
back to these scripts.

You can even apply these practices to your existing clients and evaluate
instantly.

Charging more
A friend of mine asked:

"You charge three times higher than I do. How on earth do you still have
clients?"

Sounds odd, right? Why do clients still choose me if they can get a
professional with the same capabilities at a lower price? What exactly am I
doing better than my friend to justify my higher rates? The truth is I focus
on the things that matter most. When I talk to a potential client, I follow a
totally different approach than most of my colleagues. This way, I gain more
trust and persuade my clients that I can give real value to their business. Of
course, I am not using tricky marketing cheats, over-promises or hacks.
Instead, I prefer being honest with the people I communicate with and make
them feel that I understand their pains and I am capable of giving them a
solution.

This way, clients are willing to pay ME more than my competitors! Why?
Because they are sure I am a valuable business partner, not just another
freelancer. Throughout this book, I’m gonna teach you this exact method; a
method that will let you charge more and keep your clients and yourself
happy.

6
The truth is I never lost a project to a competitor ever again. Moreover, my
pool of clients has grown with significantly better ones. I can now handpick
my clients and choose the projects I want to be involved in. Keep in mind
that I am an extremely shy guy, so if those techniques worked for me, they
will definitely work for you, too.

Finally, let me tell you something: I do not have many clients. And I do not
like working with many clients at a time. What I really like is having a few
high-quality clients who are willing to pay what it takes to have an awesome
service.

If you wish to learn these little secrets to business success, just keep reading.

This book will not make you a millionaire

Sad but true. This book will not make you a millionaire in a week (insert sad
face here). If you are willing to spend your hard-earned cash on gurus that
teach you how to get a fortune overnight, go somewhere else. This book only
teaches business tricks. Not magic tricks.

“But I suck at marketing”

Who talked about marketing? Please don't worry. And don’t be shy. I am
not teaching marketing. I am demonstrating some essential tactics when a
person negotiates and tries to reach an agreement with another person. Just
some basic communication skills.

Oh, and you can do most things from the comfort of your email.

Who the author is

I am neither the best nor the richest consultant in the world. My freelance
journey started at the age of 19, during my first days in college (Computer
Science). I was later hired by Microsoft as a Software Engineer and

7
Consultant and I’ve been running my own agency since 2012. In 2014, I was
awarded by Microsoft with the title Most Valuable Professional for my
technical contributions to the community. During the past few years, I have
made (literally) hundreds of negotiations with different types of clients from
all over the world. I had the opportunity to work with established
corporations and ambitious startup companies. Through my work, my
clients have earned way more money than they invested in me: they have
increased their sales, acquired more customers and raised millions of dollars
in funding. I try to learn from my mistakes and develop the best practices
from my successes. What you’ll read in this short book is not just my
experience. It’s a manifesto of how I keep my clients happy and how I avoid
pitfalls.

28 bucks for 60 pages? Are you insane?

Good question. I am not insane. This book is not priced based on its
volume. It’s rather priced based on the value it will provide your business if
you follow the proposed guidelines. You need to see this purchase as an
investment. You bought this book because you work hard and strive for a
better life and a better income than your current one. It took me almost a
decade to experience and organize the information you’ll read in just a few
hours.

I am confident that if you follow these practices, you will earn back the
money you invested in buying this book in less than an hour.

Fair enough?

8
THE CHAT MUST GO ON
Most of the cases discussed here are unofficial consulting requests from
friends, coworkers or colleagues and I am happy you can read and benefit
from them, too. It came as a surprise to notice that almost every freelancer,
small business owner and entrepreneur I met with struggled with the exact
same things. My initial goal was to collect a few notes that could help my
friends do a better job as creative professionals and get the money they
deserve. As I kept talking to them, I realized that that the tips I wrote could
be applied to a far greater audience of freelancers from all over the world.

The Dark Art of Freelancing was supposed to be read by my close buddies.

This is why the writing style is so personal. It’s like I’m discussing with a
fellow colleague. I would like to keep this personal level of communication
between you and me, as well.

So, here’s the deal: if you would like me to cover a specific occasion from
your own experience, feel free to drop me a line. I will select the top
questions and include them in the upcoming updates of this book (which
you’ll get for free!). Unfortunately, I am extremely busy to reply to every
question, but I read every single email in my inbox. And that’s a promise.

So, do you have a short story, a question or a tough situation to share with
some thousands of co-readers? Let me know: [email protected].

9
THE ART OF READING MINDS
Remember that movie where Mel Gibson could read women’s minds? He
was able to perfectly understand women and, therefore, fulfill their every
desire. Well, this is exactly what you’ll be able to do when you finish reading
this book: read minds. OK, you’ll probably not date a Hollywood celebrity
(), but you’ll manage to understand what the clients truly need from a
creative professional like you. More importantly, you’ll find out how to
interpret their words into viable solutions. Even more importantly, you’ll
learn how to make them willing to pay you more money for solving their
problems. Even if you charge twice as much as your competitors!

Sounds far-fetched? It’s not. Here’s an odd, yet powerful, secret:

Clients do not actually care about your technical expertise, skillset or

experience.

Truth is, they do not want you to create an awesome website, logo,
application or copy. Moreover, they cannot really evaluate your work. Think
about it for a while. Do your clients have the capacity to judge your work?
No. They can only judge the outcomes of your work and how these
outcomes relate to their business. So, the best way to sell your work to a
client is to draw a better picture of the desired outcomes.

Which are these outcomes? For most clients, it’s more money, more sales,
more customers. For non-profits, it may be more donations. For startups, it
may be faster company growth. In the end, all clients have a single,
common, global desire:

They want you to bring them more profit than the money spent on you.

This is the key, major, ultimate point your whole sales and negotiation
process should be built upon.

10
It’s not about you, it’s about your client
You are a professional developer, designer, copywriter or <insert any other
creative profession here>. You focus on your code, design, copy, etc.,
because you feel more comfortable with it. Moreover, you are a creative
person, so chances are you love your job and the production process.
Similarly, your clients care about their own things and do not give a damn
about the creative process and the technical details!

Start focusing on the clients. The clients care about making more profit,
raising sales, etc. Focus on their business and what they do for a living. Grab
your magnifier and try to learn as many things as possible. Invest some time
to get in their shoes. What problems do they face? What are their goals?
How can they take their business to the next level? Do not be afraid to ask
questions and keep notes.

It’s your job to solve the clients’ problems.

You see the difference from commodity freelancers? Almost everybody else
would say things like “we create beautiful web experiences” or “we are super
smart geeks” or “we are ninja copywriters”. That is cheap positioning and
cheap marketing jargon. Nowadays, everybody is a ninja, because it’s so cool
to have a sword on your business card. Instead of yourself, focus on your
client.

But, which method should you use to specify your rates?

Pricing high
If you are like me, your long-term goal is to not simply cover your expenses,
but make a decent living and live the life you want. You won’t achieve this as
a freelancer if you charge low. Why? First of all, charging low is soul-
sucking. If you end up working days and nights for a project that does not
pay you well, your creativity goes out the window. Secondly, you became a

11
freelancer because you want a different lifestyle than the one an employee
position can offer you.

Freelancing comes with more expenses and taxes than a traditional

corporate job. Additionally, you have to do a lot more than a typical
employee: being a creative professional is just one of the many hats you’ll
need to wear. You’ll have to spread your working hours, take care of your
accounting, build your online presence, do some good promotion of your
work and, most importantly, find clients.

All the above imply way more hours than you’d spend if you worked for a
boss – especially when you are fresh at freelancing. Shouldn’t you be able to
make good money out of all the additional work? Moreover, when you are
the boss of yourself, you determine exactly the quality level of your work.
You strive to provide the best value possible. Don’t you deserve more
money for this?

Sadly, when it comes to pricing, most freelancers think like employees. They
try to achieve a similar salary to what they used to get paid in the past.
WRONG. Trying to match an employee’s salary will most likely ruin your
freelance business. You will end up working more for less.

As a freelancer, you need the exact opposite: working less for more.

You’ll need to have some quality time for creating your awesome stuff and
promoting your brand, plus some quality time to spend with your family,
friends and personal projects.

You won’t achieve any of these if you charge like an employee.

You need to start pricing higher. BUT! You’ll also need to persuade your
customers that you deserve this extra money. You’ll have to stand out from
your competitors. Ultimately, you’ll have to provide better services than the
other freelancers. The level of services is not specified by your technical
capacity only; it is defined by the extra value your clients get from you.

12
Do it like Brennan
Brennan Dunn introduced the term "value-based pricing" in his book
Double your freelancing rate. In short, the term means that you try to figure
out the value your product will bring to your client and price your services
accordingly. You do not charge for a commodity service. You charge for a
more prosperous future. That being said, you need to identify how your
services will skyrocket your client’s business.

Let’s examine how to figure this out…

1) Find the real problem

Socrates 1 (one of the topnotch ancient Greek philosophers) invented the
“dialectic” method to communicate with his peers and win arguments. The
dialectic method relies on admitting (or pretending) that you know nothing
at first and finding the truth using questions that reveal the true motivations
of your interlocutor. This is one of the most powerful business techniques
ever! It has been known since 400BC, though very few people use it correctly
when they do business.

OK. How does ancient philosophy apply to you as a freelancer?

Well, a client never wants “a new website” or “a nice logo” or “better SEO”.
Clients need your creative services for a specific reason. That reason is to
earn more money and extend their business. That is their motivation! So,
whenever someone starts a conversation by telling you “I want a website”,
try to find out what their business is and how a website would help them
solve their problems. If the owner of a vacuum cleaner store told you “I want

1
Seriously, you should check this guy out more. Socrates has been the tutor of Plato,
who in turn was the tutor of Aristotle. Their philosophical theories have been a
revolution for the last 2,500 years. Even though they won’t necessarily help you
make more money, learning some philosophical bits will broaden your mind and
make you a stronger thinker.

13
a new website”, that would usually mean “I need to sell more vacuum
cleaners”. The website is just a means to making more sales!

Every time you discuss with a new client, you need to discover his core pain
(e.g. lack of sales). So, listen to the client carefully and ask the right
questions. Understand their products or services. Understand what they sell
and what media they use for promoting it. Familiarize yourself with the
value your client brings to his own market (e.g. “vacuums that clean your
household twice as fast”). Show them that you are aware of this value and
want to bring it to the attention of even more people. Investigate their
existing website / brand / whatever. Find out why it doesn’t help them get
more customers and propose honest solutions to make it work better.

Lead the conversation on how the client will sell more vacuum cleaners
via the new website; not how awesome websites you can create.

When I got my first freelance project, the initial question was to ask my
client about “the existing server infrastructure”. 99% of my questions were
technical. Shame on me! Now, 0% of my questions are technical. Even when
my clients bring their whole IT department into my office, I avoid technical
jargon as hell. Trust between you and your client will be generated if you
understand their pains.

2) Become a money machine

In our world, the most common pain is the lack or loss of profits. People
create and grow their businesses to bring more money to the table. It’s not
about capitalism; it’s about how society works. Even non-profit
organizations need money to achieve their goals.

You are supposed to become your client’s money machine.

How? You need to identify what it means for this project to succeed. Define
the project goals and success criteria. In which way will the success of this
project make the life of your client better? How much money will this
project bring to your client’s pockets if you are chosen to create it?

14
Obviously, you cannot estimate exactly how much money a new website,
mobile app, logo or copy will generate. But you can find information about
similar products and build your assumptions on the right foundation. This
way, you actively show your client that, if the project is implemented
correctly, it can lead to huge future profits.

Of course, profit is not a business person’s only concern. Psychology

indicates that a huge reason someone becomes a customer is to secure their
existing investments. People are afraid to lose what they have earned. What
does this mean for you?

Simply, your client is willing to invest some cash if you can reduce the
amount of loss their company faces. Need an example? What if you found
out that “this tiny element on your website makes 40% of the visitors abandon
the page”? What if you could show your client that “your existing copy
confuses your audience and causes the loss of potential sales”? Whenever you
land a new client, try to identify exactly how their existing infrastructure
makes them lose sales or customers. You are the person to help them
overcome these failures and secure their investment.

Nobody wants to leave potential revenue or lose money because of a website

error, a translation mismatch or a bad logo design. Later on this book, I’ll
teach you how to use the power of statistics to enhance your position and
state your case loud and clear.

This fear-invoking technique will make your client understand that your
cost is tiny in terms of the potential revenue your client could have using
your services or in comparison to the money being lost right now.

3) Compare your cost to something bigger

The comparison I mentioned previously is a key element to increasing your
rates. A price number is neither big nor small in itself. A number is classified
as “big” or “small” compared to another number.

15
Here’s the trick: the big number should be the potential profit (or the
current loss) of your client. The small number should be your fee. Compare
your cost to the profits your client will make or the money they are losing
right now. The goal is to make crystal clear that your cost is a negligible
investment which will be returned soon after you build the product.

Let’s say you need $40,000 to build a mobile app. If this mobile app can
bring $500,000 of revenue to your client within 12 months, your cost is
absolutely nothing compared to that number!

Another example: if your client is losing $100,000 per year because of his
poor website quality, paying you $10,000 to redesign the website and bring
him more sales is peanuts! 2

If you do not compare your rate to something else, the client will compare it
to the rate of the other freelancers by default. You don’t want this. You
should avoid playing in this field because, in such occasions, the cheapest
proposal wins the project. Instead, you should paint a bright picture of your
client’s future only YOU can offer. After leaving a meeting, the client should
think “the cost of this freelancer is nothing compared to the money I’ll make
thanks to them”.

A few months ago, I made a proposal to a client. Apart from me, that client
had also asked four other agencies for quotes. My offer was the most
expensive one he received. Yet, I was the one to get the project! Sounds
amazing? Well, it’s not. Here are the exact words the client used after we had
signed:

2
Of course, you’ll need to prove you can deliver such a high value that
justifies your rates and this is exactly the objective of the next chapter.

16
“You are the most expensive agency I negotiated with. However, I loved your
business approach and the way you think about my product. I am sure we’ll
make good profits working together.”

So, in short:

• Identify the real needs of your client

• Position yourself as a money machine
• Compare your cost to something bigger

What if a project has no business potential?

Sometimes, you may notice that a project has absolutely no potential. It may
be a bad idea, a bad execution strategy or just something that your gut tells
you is a waste of time. Of course, it may be just you who thinks so.

Hint: there will always be clients who want “a new Facebook”, “a new
YouTube”, etc. What are the chances of such a project to succeed?

Whenever I cannot justify the financial upside, I do not get the project. I ask
my client questions to ensure that I have understood every aspect correctly
and if it still feels hopeless, I tell them to revise their business model. Of
course, this is totally up to you. After all, you may be wrong and the client
may have the next million-dollar idea. Be professional, charge high and give
your best to make that idea succeed.

Throughout the next lines we’ll discuss how to justify your cost to make sure
you can deliver the numbers you promise.

Becoming an authority
This must be carved in stone: positioning is everything. If you present
yourself as “just another freelancer”, clients will face you just like another
freelancer. You need to establish yourself as an essential, valuable business
partner.

17
Since you are a problem solver, you need to propose solutions. Scientific
research and statistics are two powerful allies of yours. Why? Because they
provide you with proven facts. Nobody can argue against these facts. Using
statistical data throughout your negotiations and proposals will help you
establish an authority and, more importantly, show the client that you are
aware of their problems.

How can you use statistics? Let’s examine a very common paradigm: a
potential client owns an outdated e-shop website with an ugly logo, awful
design, verbose or missing copy, inaccurate automatic translation, slow
loading times and very little traffic. He’s come to you because he wants to
raise his sales and attract more customers. The means to achieve that goal is
a new e-shop website.

If you made a feature list of the requirements, you would probably end up
with something like this:

• Website design
• Logo / Branding design
• E-shop development
• Performance improvements
• Copy improvements
• Professional translation
• Search Engine Optimization

This is too much work for a 200-dollar proposal to cover! But your client
does not know this! Your client is not aware of “performance” and cannot
understand the value of a good design. Some clients believe they could do it
themselves if they had the time!

You need to prove you can deliver significant value. You need to prove that
a new design will increase sales. You need to prove that better copy will
engage more customers. You need to prove that higher performance will

18
drive more traffic. In the end, you need to prove that you can bring more
money to the table 3.

“Show me the numbers – show me the money”

You can prove something only if you build your arguments on a logical
(scientific) basis. Here are a few stats you can easily provide to support your
arguments (using our website example):

• Design
94% of people cite design as the reason they do not trust a website.
• Development
Website performance is important because 40% of the website
visitors leave pages that take longer than 3 seconds to load.
• Copywriting
40% of visitors don’t return to a website if they find its content to be
dull.
• Translation
56% of consumers say that the ability to obtain information in their

3
Side note: many freelancers (especially designers) believe that you must educate
your clients. Educating a client means trying to convey the value of your work, so
that the client understands it the way you do. When “educating” someone, the
ultimate goal is to make the other person think like a developer / designer /
copywriter. Although there are many arguments concerning this approach (and,
honestly, it’s a desirable outcome), experience shows that it’s a waste of time.
Chances are you have spent 3-5 years studying your profession and countless hours
producing cool stuff. You love what you do. Your job is your passion. But your
client does not care; just as you do not care about the insight into anybody else’s
business. Instead of wasting time on educating a client, try to state how your
profession can solve his tough problems. Clients are busy people, just like you, but
when they go to bed, they do not read Steve Krug or Jacob Nielsen. They are not
aware of Bauhaus or Minimalism and there is no point in arguing in favor of flat
design. Simply show them how your work can make their website more desirable to
customers.

19
 own language is more important than the price of services they
purchase.

Chances are you already know these numbers. You can find numerous stats
that clearly SHOUT the importance of your job! But, have you ever used
them with your clients? Have you ever showed them what they win via your
services? Have you ever explained to them what they lose if they do not hire
a professional like you? Most freelancers do not. It’s a simple yet powerful
tool in your belt. And you have to use it.

For example, the following statement will give you an “A” grade to your
client’s evaluation system:

“Research has proven that 80% of people do not interact with homepage
sliders. As a result, I suggest we remove the existing slider from your website,
so people can interact with your call-to-action.”

…because you understand their pain, make a scientific analysis and propose
a logical solution to the problem.

However, the next statement will give you an “A+”:

“Company X used a homepage slider in their website. However, research

shows that people do not interact with such sliders. As a result, we removed
the slider and experienced an 80% increase of the call-to-action interactions.
This is what I suggest for your website, too.”

…because you understand their pain, make a scientific analysis, propose a

logical solution to the problem, plus you have personally made this
particular solution work for other people!

Pro-tip: Use as accurate statistics as possible. People tend to believe the exact
numbers, especially if they contain decimal points. You’ll gain more trust if
you say “28.5%” instead of “29%” or “30%”.

20
Update. Update. Update.
Here is what I used to do when I started freelancing: after signing the
contract, I got to my office and started working on the project. When I had
the product ready, I emailed the client and asked for the payment. In the
meantime, I worked hard to ensure that the product would conform to the
quality standards I set for my work. When I had crafted something I was
proud of, I informed my client.

This approach makes sense. But it's not enough. Every professional should
strive to offer the highest quality possible. What I didn't know was that my
clients could not be aware of whether I was working on their project or not.
They were unsure about and worried that I did not work as much as I
should on their project. Clients do not care if you use the latest web
standards or whether your code is optimized and stable enough. What they
get in similar situations is uncertainty.

Clients pay for results.

So, give them frequent results, even if what you have been building is not
100% ready. Don't get me wrong, please. I do not state that you should
reduce the quality of your services. I only say that you need to keep your
clients up to date.

Thankfully, this is amazingly easy. Simply email a brief document regarding

your progress by the end of each week. This document should be written in
simple, yet professional, language. Include what you have done during the
week and what you are planning to do next. If you have something
demonstrable, show them. Show any design assets, screenshots, concepts or
even early prototypes of the project. Explain that what they see is an
unfinished draft and that everything is going according to the initial plan.

This document will save you hours of complaints, while your clients will feel
good about your process. And it will only take 15 minutes of your time.

21
Pro-tip: if you want to demonstrate major progress in a software project, just
change or tweak the GUI, if possible. Visual updates are always better, as they
indicate undisputed process.

22
HOW TO CREATE A KILLER
PROPOSAL
Throughout the past few years, I have found out that providing documents
to clients make you seem way more professional than simply emailing. Even
if you could write the exact same information as email text, giving a PDF
document would make you stand out. Why? Because people like the idea
they receive something.

You can send a plain text email message from your bathroom. On the other
hand, a carefully crafted PDF document shows that you have spent some
time on the tiny details. Clients will subconsciously notice and appreciate
this effort.

So, stand out from the crowd and do it. Of course, you should not replace
your daily or weekly communication with document handling (that would
make your messages annoyingly hard to read). In LightBuzz (my agency),
we deliver the following document types:

• Proposal (quote)
• Contract Agreement
• Progress Report
• Payment Details
• Evaluation Form

In the meantime, we use Skype, email or phone to communicate effectively

with our clients. Let’s take a closer look at every document type.

23
The Proposal
The Proposal is the document you use to persuade a client to invest in you.

The purpose of a well-crafted proposal is to present how tomorrow will look

different for your client. An effective proposal is structured as a story about
how your expertise can address the client’s problems. The price you quote
should come as a natural result of your thought process.

If you do not create written proposals, you should consider doing so with
your next client. You’d better rely on a written document than oral
discussions. It may take you some time to write it, but it is really worth it.
Why? Because most of the clients do not decide by themselves. They discuss
about your offer with their partners, bosses or shareholders. People won’t
remember everything you talked about during your meetings. So, why not
provide them with a crystal clear document with the key points?

Most of the proposals freelancers use provide a few words about them, some
of their achievements, technical details of the project, estimated time frames,
payment and compensation schedule. This is what the majority of
freelancers and small business owners out there do.

But how exactly do you stand out from the competition?

There are three things you can do RIGHT NOW to create a stunning and
memorable proposal.

1) Picture the future for them

The proposal is not a legal document. Your lawyer won’t read it. So, get
creative! Be formal, but write what your client wants to read, not what they
expect to read. Clients read boring documents from your competitors all the
time. Most of these documents seem like they’ve been written by 80-year-old
grandpas. No one likes dull people. So, do not be the dull one.

24
The purpose of your proposal is to get the client excited for your potential
collaboration. You want to present a brighter future. What’s included in a
brighter future? More revenue, more profits, more sales, more customers.
Also, fewer expenses, fewer losses, fewer dangers.

Once again, focus on the client. Start your proposal by briefly presenting the
current problems (e.g. lack of sales). Continue by describing how the future
will look like after you will have worked together (e.g. increased sales, more
customers). Then, describe your services in detail. Be concise and thorough,
but avoid technical terms. Mention what exactly you are planning to deliver
and how your work will address the problems. You need to be in full control
of the situation, so try to cover any aspect possible.

After you have shaped a desirable future with your (true) story, you can
specify any timelines and costs.

Remember: do not start your proposal with mentioning your price! Your
price should be the natural outcome of your story.

To make your point stronger, describe any work you’ve done for other
clients and mention how these people benefited from you! Optionally, if you
could add some honest testimonials from some of them, they would make
your proposal extremely powerful.

2) Provide more than 1 price options

Most freelancers only quote what they have been asked to. There is a slight
problem with this method though: it’s a “take it or leave it” approach. If the
client can’t afford you, you won’t get the project. Even if you have made a
great impression, even if you have worked many unpaid hours to craft your
proposal, if you are rejected, you’ll get absolutely no money.

Personally, I used to quote what my clients requested. Nothing more,

nothing less. It was not until a few years ago that I realized I could get the
most out of my clients, regardless of their budget.

25
Using a common example, I’ll show you the simplest strategy you can apply
right now and grow your business: providing variable pricing.

Let’s say that the client with the vacuum-cleaner store has asked for a new
logo, a new website and some good SEO. You can give a bulk price for all of
them or create multiple packages.

• Option #1 includes:
o Logo design
o Website development
o SEO consulting
• Option #2 includes:
o Logo design
o Brand identity design (business cards, stationery)
o Website development
o Content creation for 6 months
o SEO consulting
o Social media campaigns
• Option #3 includes:
o SEO consulting

You see what I did here? Option #1 is what the client has asked for: a decent
package of services that will bring his vacuum-cleaner store to the next level.
Option #2 is a premium package, just in case the client wishes to make a few
huge steps forward immediately. The cost of option #2 should be way higher
than option’s #1. Option #3 is the most economical option and gives the
bare minimum a store needs to make more sales: more traffic via SEO. The
cost of Option #3 is lower than the cost of Option #1, yet it is still high for
the services you provide.

If the client can afford the required budget and you have gained their trust,
they’ll probably choose Option #2. If they are a little sceptic about spending
too much, they’ll go with Option #1. If the client cannot afford you to create
their website, but they truly believe in you, chances are they’ll use your SEO
consulting services (Option #3).

26
The above strategy is amazing for two reasons:

1) You can make way more money than you expected (Option #2)
2) You can make good money for less work (Option #3)

Just try it. Using this simple packaging approach, no client is likely to say
“no” to you!

What if they cannot afford your least expensive package, though? Well, it’s
fine. Trust me. You do not need to work for everyone. We’ll talk about
rejecting clients in the next chapters. What I want you to keep from this
technique is the way you can position your services to create some
unexpected options for your client.

When creating a proposal with more than one pricing options, keep in mind
the following rules of thumb:

• Ensure your clients understand that the options are separate

packages and they do not need to buy all of them.
• Provide them with 3-4 options. I would not advise in favor of
creating more than 5, since you would seem indecisive. I use 2-3
packages for small and medium projects and 3-4 packages for large
projects.
• Every package should be a compelling option which will provide
exceptional value to your client. When removing features, do not
cut down on the value you provide.
• Make each package desirable enough by mentioning the benefits
your client will gain. Even the lowest-cost package should help the
clients with their pains.

As you can see, the key element is having gained their trust, so make sure you
have mastered the previous chapters of this book.

27
3) Use really good design
We create written proposals because, as a well-known Latin proverb says
“scripta manent”. Literally translated, it means “written words remain” – in
contrast to the spoken ones, which fly away.

So, if something is supposed to stay (and also to be shared with a group of

executives), it would be better if it was visually beautiful. If a company has
many decision makers, they usually print the proposals (no eco-awareness, I
know, but it happens). When something is going to be printed, you want to
make it more noticeable than your competitors’ documents. If you can
afford it, hire a graphic designer to craft your document and provide you
with a Word or iBooks template. If you can’t, stick to a free Office template.
Either way, do not try to create your own design, since it will make your
document seem amateurish and clumsy (unless you are a professional
designer yourself, of course).

Make sure that your document features impactful headers, logos and
images. Do not just type words – display as much visual information as you
can. Our unconscious mind gets easily bored when reading plain text. You
do not want your clients to get bored! Here’s how you can fix this including
powerful visuals:

• Split your text into multiple sections. Use strong typography for the
titles and headers of these sections.
• When you need to mention a group of <something>, use a bulleted
list (just like the one you are reading right now).
• Whenever applicable, use diagrams and charts to illustrate your
points. Mentioning a percentage statistic would be fine, but showing
a chart would be way more convincing.
• Include any mockups or sketches you have created so far.
• When demonstrating your portfolio, show some good looking
screenshots of every item mentioned.

28
If you wish to save yourself some valuable time, you can download the
actual proposal templates I have created for my own projects. They are
included, along with a handful of additional documents, within the
Complete Package of this book. These documents are exactly what I use in
my business. They have been tested and have succeeded in bringing me
more clients and closing better deals. Moreover, they have been carefully
designed to evoke the authority I want and convey the messages I teach you
in this book. You can edit them directly, since they are in Word format.

Structure of a memorable proposal

Keeping all of the above points in mind, here is the structure a killer
proposal should have:

• Cover page
Include the name of your client, the title of the project, the current
date, plus your contact details and logo.
• Problem
Describe the problems you have identified during your previous
discussions and customer research. The purpose of this section is to
show the client you have fully understood their pains.
• Bright future
Describe how the life of your client will be different after working
with you. Stress the potential profits and benefits.
• Solution
Describe what you will do to solve the problems. This is the part
where you break your solution into steps and specify what you’ll be
doing. It’s the most technical part, though you should avoid
technical jargon.
• Copyrights
This section will give you even more trust. Make 1000% clear who
the copyrights of the project belong to. Most times, you need to
assign all of the copyrights to the client. Ensure them that you won’t
resell their project to competitors (if applicable). This section is
analyzed in detail in the Contract Agreement.

29
• Support
Another important point is what happens after you deliver the
completed project. You’ll be amazed by the number of clients who
fear that you’ll disappear after you get paid. So, address that fear
from the very beginning and tell them that you’ll be there for
support. The support period can be free or paid.
• Packages with variable pricing
It’s now time to give your clients a few pricing options. Describe
what each work package contains and give an estimated time frame
and cost. I like using the word “investment” instead of “cost”. It
sounds better and gives a subconscious message that the client’s
money is invested, not spent.
• Past projects
After noting the price options, your client may wonder if you’re
really worth that money. So, present some of your past projects and
describe how you have helped other clients make better profits.
Mention the most successful or relevant projects first. Show the
numbers if possible. Include any testimonials you have from
previous clients. If you do not have a portfolio yet, you can list some
college or personal projects you are proud of and focus on what
problems they solve.
• Personal details & awards
Have you or your company won any awards? Have you participated
in competitions, hackathons or anything relevant? Have you written
any books or performed any talks? Say it here! Enhance your
authority and image as much as possible (but keep it humble, not
“salesy”).
• Next steps & call-to-action
So, your client has read everything you described. What do they
have to do next? Give you a call? Send you an email? Close your
document with a call-to-action. Most times, the client will need to
ask questions and clarifications. Prepare for that and ask them
directly whether they have any questions you can help with.

30
Notice that the proposal seems like a story? You start with the bad things,
describe the bright future, show what the good guy does and, finally, provide
a call-to-action. Your proposals should make sense. They should address
any emotional or logical objection. Notice the difference between a
storytelling proposal and a dull proposal? You need to be on the winners’
side.

Of course, you may need to adjust part of the structure to fit your work,
client and goals. And it’s fine. What I want you to do is develop this story-
telling ability. Before sending a proposal, read it a few times and correct any
grammar or spelling mistakes. Show it to a friend or colleague and ask them
whether they understand it. The harder you practice, the greater the results.

The Contract Agreement

The Contract Agreement is a formal legal document that aims to secure
both yourself and your client. A contract agreement may have different
forms, depending on the country or state you belong in. Regardless of where
you live, a couple of principles apply universally.

The Contract Agreement should clearly state the following details in a

formal legal language:

1. The services you provide and the work you have agreed to do. If you
are a developer, include a description of every screen you’ll develop.
If you are a designer, mention how many alternatives you’ll provide
for each visual (logo, business card, etc.).
2. The deliverables. Split the project into small segments and specify
what and when you’ll deliver.
3. The payment schedule. Write down how much money you charge
for the specific project and when you need to have that money
deposited. Include any advance or post payments.
4. The copyrights of your work. Undoubtedly specify what belongs to
whom. Do you assign all or part of your work to the client? Are you
using any third-party tools or assets that cannot be licensed?
31
 5. (Important) Clearly mention how the client can interfere with your
work and ask for modifications. During a project’s timeline, clients
tend to ask for additional features that had never been discussed.
Others request changes after changes to things that have already
been built according to the specifications. No need to be offensive
here. Make clear from the very beginning that more features imply
more work and more work implies more money. Short reckonings
make long friends. Simply include the following text:

“The Contractor prides himself in providing excellent customer service. To

that end, input from the Client is encouraged during the development process.
The Contractor understands, however, that the Client may request significant
changes to items that have already been built to the Client's specification. To
that end, the Agreement does not include a provision for significant
modifications or creation of additional functionality in excess of the
functionality described in <Exhibit A>. If significant functionality
modification is requested after a deliverable has been built to the Client's
specification, it is counted and charged as additional functionality. Moderate
changes, however, will always be covered during the development process.”

The Contract Agreement is mostly a roadmap of the project. Both parties

should be aware of their rights and obligations. You will not scare or offend
your client. People have been signing contracts for the last few thousand
years. The Contract Agreement is a specimen of trust and good will. There is
nothing to be afraid of. Most times, I send the Contract to my client and ask
directly for their feedback before we sign:

“Hey, <NAME>. Here is my proposed Contract Agreement for our

collaboration. Please take a look at it and let me know if you have any
questions. Feel free to add your own comments. Waiting for your feedback.”

On the other hand, if a client refuses to sign a contract, you should probably
rethink your relationship with them. The contract is the bare minimum
your client should agree on. If they think it’s unnecessary or a waste of time,
they are probably not the kind of people you want to do business with.

32
Finally, a common question I get is whether a lawyer is necessary. If the
project is big enough to justify the added cost of a lawyer, then go for it.
Otherwise, you can use a legal template that applies to your country (and
your client’s country) and simply change the project-specific parts. Docracy
is an awesome online service where you can search for legal documents of all
kinds and even share your own templates with the community.

Oh, and, did I mention that you should never start a new project without
having a signed Contract Agreement in your hands?

The Progress Report

Remember that clients want frequent updates? The progress report is used
to demonstrate exactly the updates with which you provide your clients. The
purpose of the report is to demonstrate how your work so far has helped
solving the problem. Avoid technical jargon as much as you can. Here’s
what a software engineer would probably write about the database of an e-
shop:

“Implementation of the customers’ database schema, SQL queries (insert,

update, delete), stored procedures and data encryption”

OK, you see that something has been done. But what is it exactly? Unless
you are a software developer, you don’t know why “SQL”, “queries” and
“encryption” really matter to your business.

On the other hand, a comprehensive report would state in a human tone:

“Customer data is the most valuable asset of the online store. We created a
solid mechanism to access, modify and delete customer data and we also
secured that data, making the website invulnerable to malicious threats.”

Which report is a vacuum-cleaner store owner most likely to understand?

33
The majority of freelancers update their clients whenever they ask them to.
Personally, I prefer delivering a short progress report each week, so to cover
even the most demanding clients. Moreover, whenever the progress is
demonstrable, I like giving executable files or design visuals, so the client
can actually understand what I’ve been doing so far.

Think about it. If you create software or graphics, creating small deliverables
of your progress will show a feeling of continuity during the whole project
duration. If you are translating a book, deliver each chapter for revision
whenever ready, instead of waiting to finish the whole book. If you are a
copywriter, spreading tiny bits of copy for approval and feedback would
engage your clients and make them part of the creative process!

Here is a timeline structure I include in my reports. It is a visual way to give

a quick glimpse of the progress and a feeling that everything is under
control.

Remember: you need to be a leader, not a follower. Notifying your clients

that everything is on schedule will grant you the alpha position. Even if, for
any reason, there is a delay, the progress report is a nice way to explain why
such things might happen and what external factors have stood in your way.

34
I could provide my clients with monthly deliverables (like most other
companies), but I strongly believe that involving the clients from the very
beginning and having their feedback every week is much better for the
project's quality.

The Payment Details

Payment is the most awkward phase of a business relationship. I can still
remember my sweat fingers typing my IBAN, SWIFT code and account
holder name, while having that “hooray” feeling deep inside.

Since my client pool started to expand, I got bored of copying and pasting
the same information, so I wrote it down on a one-page PDF file. I later
added a short personal message at the end:

“Thank you for trusting LightBuzz”

I have absolutely no proof that this technique is effective or it attracts clients.

However, the payment details document shows three things for your
business:

1. You pay attention to every tiny detail

2. You seem like you have a big client base
3. You make your relationship more professional

Here’s how it looks like:

35
The Evaluation Form
When I successfully finish with a project, I want to get feedback from my
client about our collaboration. That will help me become a better
professional, eliminate things I am doing wrong and enhance things I am
doing right. Moreover, I have a chance to know exactly what pissed off my
clients (if anything) so I can avoid it in future projects. So, I send an
evaluation form, asking some very specific questions.

The questions have nothing to do with my coding abilities. My clients

cannot judge me as an engineer because they are not engineers themselves.
The focus is on our human relationship. For example:

• How has Vangos helped your business so far?

• Has Vangos been responsive during your collaboration?
• Did Vangos respond to your queries accurately?
• What pissed you off about your collaboration with Vangos?
• Did you ever worry about the progress of the project?
• How did Vangos deal with the challenges that arose?

36
 • What was your favorite moment from the collaboration with
Vangos?
• What was your worst moment from the collaboration with Vangos?
• Would you trust Vangos for your next project?
• Would you introduce Vangos to a friend or colleague?

If you have successfully followed the best practices described in this book,
the majority of this feedback will be positive.

When I receive a positive evaluation report, I ask for a testimonial.

Testimonials help me grow my business and get more leads. It’s a powerful
way to persuade future clients to hire me. A good testimonial should explain
how you helped a client solve a problem. The more specific it is, the better.
Testimonials that say just how awesome you are won’t help you much.

These are good testimonials:

• “After working with Vangos on project X, we increased our sales by

40% and got a funding of 1,000,000 dollars.”
• “Vangos has been amazingly responsive during our collaboration. He
had a solution to any problem that arose while building our product.
If you need someone who understands your pains and really cares
about your product, do not think twice.”
• “I started to gain more customers as soon as I showed them a demo of
Vangos’ work in progress. This is great value for money. Would I
work with him again? Absolutely yes!”

Why are these testimonials persuasive? Because they clearly state how my
services helped my clients. A potential client that reads them forms a solid
opinion about me. On the other hand, the following testimonials say
absolutely nothing about me:

• “Vangos is an awesome software engineer. Definitely recommended.”

• “Vangos is the best software engineer I have worked with. His coding
skills are remarkable.”

37
 • “If you are searching for a strong developer to build you next app,
look no further.”

Remember! The evaluation form has two goals:

1. Discover what you are doing wrong in your process, so you can
avoid it on future clients
2. Enhance and promote your strong points

38
Download the complete documents
Full samples of all of these documents can be found in the Complete
Package of this book. The samples are editable Word and PowerPoint
documents, including the whole styling and design. You can simply
download the documents, change a few words and use them with your own
clients. It’s that easy!

Download the Complete Package

A good proposal is only part of the selling process. The most crucial part is
negotiating. Dealing with the client’s arguments. Knowing what to say in
tough situations. So, fasten your seatbelts and read on…

39
THE ART OF SAYING “NO”
Let’s get back to the philosophers for a while. Arthur Schopenhauer has
been one of the most controversial thinkers and the author of The Art of
Being Right: 38 Ways to Win an Argument (I strongly suggest you read this
short book). In this book, Schopenhauer has categorized the arguments
people use in their private and public speaking. Most importantly, it teaches
you how to effectively use the right arguments at the right occasions 4.

Arguing is an inevitable situation when it comes to freelancing. Your clients

will never say “yes” or “no”. They’ll try to offer you alternatives and, most of
the time, make you cut down your rates. When you face such a situation,
you need to be prepared. You need to have some aces up your sleeve. You
need to act fast and precise. It’s not an easy job, but this is why I’m here after
all.

In this chapter, I have collected some common situations that occur when a
client reads your quote and thinks you are charging too much. 99% of
clients will either try to understand why you charge what you charge or ask
you to reduce your price. It’s important to know exactly how to justify your
cost and persuade the potential clients that you are the ideal partner for
them.

Remember: the most important skill, especially when you are starting (or
rebooting) your career, is to understand where you should say “no”.

4
OK, Schopenhauer isn’t aiming at turning you into a cold-blooded beast, but
rather help you understand the logical fallacies and bad practices politicians and
advertisers sometimes use.

40
The client asks you to reduce the price
Every single freelancer in the world has been asked to reduce the rates.
Period. It happens to every one of us. Clients ask us to reduce our fees. What
do most freelancers do?

If your client asks you to reduce your price, your mind will spontaneously
think that this opportunity should not be missed. Chances are you’ll feel fear
and uncertainty about the future. You don’t know whether you’ll get more
clients later or if your fridge will remain empty. It’s the natural reaction and
your survival instinct speaking there. So, most of the freelancers simply
reduce their rates. And they end up working underpaid for a client
afterwards.

When I started my freelance career, I was easily turned down by my clients.

I provided first-class quality, yet I was working for ridiculously low rates.
Everybody was asking for a discount! Even worse? After I had reduced my
rates and started working on the project, my clients continued to add more
requirements and features. Not only did I chop my rates, but I was forced to
do more unpaid work. Insane!

Moreover, since I accepted rate cuts, my clients believed that my work was
not hard or important. I was a sad commodity…

Soon, I realized that this sick situation had to stop. So, I simply stopped
reducing my rates and never negotiated with them again. Period. What I did
instead? If I found out that my client could not afford me, I reduced the
scope of the project – not my rate. This is tremendously important. Instead
of accepting less money, accept less work. If your client has asked for 10
features, give him 5 features at a lower cost. Keep your rate stable and adjust
the project requirements until you meet the client’s budget. Simple, huh?

After all, a mobile app does not need to have a dozen features from day one.
You can add more and more functionality while the app is rolling. You can

41
create the most critical features first (the unique selling proposition of the
product) and continue adding more and more goodies later on.

You’ll be surprised by the effectiveness of this strategy. However, be careful.

You should never present it like you are giving less value to your clients. Let
them know that you are doing your best to make this product succeed and
that they can add additional features later. Here’s my common reply when I
am asked to reduce my fees:

“I totally understand you are tight on budget these days, but we can’t do the
whole project for so little money. However, I am determined to make this
product succeed, so here’s what I propose: we’ll split the development process
into multiple phases. During the first phase, we’ll implement features A, B and
C. This way, you’ll be able to get to the market and start generating revenue
immediately using the product. After you have a return on your investment,
we can move forward with the rest of the features you requested. It’s a
perfectly safe solution that will let you kick-start your idea right now.”

From my experience, the majority of the low-budget clients are fine to go

this way. As I mention in my statement, reducing the scope of a project is a
risk-free solution.

The client asks you to reduce the price, but not

the scope
Let's say now that a client insists on a specific feature set and does not want
to do anything less than what they have in mind. Recently, I got a phone call
from a client, just after I emailed him my quote. I charged $10,000 for a
small project. The client did not want to reveal the budget, but they later
told me they could only afford $3,000. He stated:

"Thank you for your quote. You know, we have found another guy that can do
the same job for $2,500. We definitely want to cooperate with you for this
project, so would you mind lowering the price without affecting the quality

42
and features? After all, it’s just code. We really love your portfolio and want to
work with you."

What would you do here?

• Option 1: You drop the price to $2,000 - $3,000. This way, you will
get the project and earn a few bucks, even if you value your work a
lot higher.
• Option 2: You drop the price to $5,000 - $7,000.
• Option 3: You insist on your initial quote, risking losing the client.

Options 2 and 3 are no-go situations. Why? Because the client does not have
the money, so he won’t be able to afford you. Simple. You may be tempted
to negotiate down, but you’ll end up working unpaid hours.

Whatever you decide, do not follow Option 1. Option 1 is like you deserve
80% less than what you charge! Also, if you agree to receive 80% less, the
client may think you tried to cheat in the first place.

What really annoyed me about that attitude is not the fact that the client did
not have the money. I was pissed by the fact that they wanted me to lower
my price because some random freelancer happened to charge less!
Moreover, the “it’s just code” statement drove me mad.

Since I had nothing to lose, here's what I answered:

"Thank you very much for coming back to me. As you can see in my portfolio,
I am focused on bringing results to my clients. Since you truly believe that
someone else can deliver the same results, there is no point in working
together. I am not the man you are looking for and I would not add any value
to your company under the current circumstances. Wish you all the best with
your project."

Read the next section to learn how to properly insist on your quotes and get
the money you deserve if the client does have the money.

43
The client compares you to competitors
During your very early steps at freelancing, you face a common issue:
competition. A client almost never takes quotes from only a single freelancer
or agency. Most of the times, clients discuss with a variety of freelancers and
companies and, after getting quotes from all of them, decide to whom they'll
assign their project. Chances are that, especially when you meet a client for
the first time, you'll have many competitors (ranging from a couple to a
dozen).

Since there is no way to avoid it, you need to deal with the competition.

Clients tend to mention that they discuss with other freelancers, too. Some
of them may even reveal you the quotes of your competitors! You'll notice
that your competitors' quotes will vary in price. Sometimes, the gap may be
significant. A common question clients ask is the following:

"Why do you charge 5 times more than your competition? What exactly do
you do differently?"

Tough question, huh? Most freelancers start listing their technical expertise:
"I have been writing PHP and JavaScript for 10 years"; "I am a Photoshop
guru"; "I speak 4 languages fluently". Keep in mind that your competitors
may have a worse, similar or better skill level than you. Most importantly,
clients cannot really understand how good you are from a technical
perspective. How does JavaScript or Photoshop help them? Why is your
JavaScript knowledge important to their business? As we have already
discussed in this book, dropping technical terms and jargon won't help you.
You can't compete on skill level! 5

5
Of course, if you have any technical awards, prizes or certifications, you can better
position yourself as an authority and gain more trust.

44
You may be tempted to decrease your rate in order to make your offer more
attractive. Unless you are in a really bad financial situation, don't do this.

Let me repeat: do not decrease your rates. For. No. F*cking. Reason.

Why? Decreasing your rates means that you do not believe in the value of
your own work. It makes you seem unprofessional. Moreover, the clients
may even think that you are ripping them off!

Instead, here is what you can do to persuade your client to hire you,
regardless of your price:

1) Provide more value

Remember when I taught you to compare your costs to higher ones? This is
exactly the way you convey more value than your competitors. You care
about the client’s business, not just about creating your stuff. More value can
also be provided by your exceptional after-sales support, your data-driven
approaches to your work (statistics, research), the frequent progress updates
and the immediate address of any issues. What we have already discussed in
this book can be used to help you provide more value.

Sometimes, though, you need a few additional arguments to stand from the
crowd.

2) Show what your past clients have gained through your work
From my experience, this is the most influential factor that persuades a
potential client to come to you. It is important to demonstrate the value
clients got through your work, regardless of how hard your work was. OK,
it is not necessary to make your clients millionaires. Simply think of how
your work has benefited their business so far. For example:

• The e-shop I built for client X doubled their sales

• The web community I created for company Y gained 10,000
registered users in a month

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 • The mobile app I developed for client Z was featured in A, B, C
websites / magazines
• When I redesigned the logo and branding for company W, the
website traffic was increased by 40%

If you do not have a strong portfolio yet, or if you are just starting with your
business, you can mention projects you built while studying in college or
projects you created for past employers. The key point is to show as clearly
as possible how your work benefited the others.

3) Adopt a style
This may seem odd, but it has worked for me numerous times. When you
give a quote and the client needs to discuss it with you, you should not be
shy. I know that you may be afraid. I used to be, too. Try to maintain a
steady body language and a positive tone of voice. Do not defend yourself
like a wuss and never get aggressive with a client. Imagine you are talking to
a good friend or colleague and try to state your position clearly. Do not let
your fear (or anger) take over your mind and reactions. After all, you have
nothing to be afraid of. You are discussing your price and you are the one
who knows how much you deserve - not your client. After practicing it a
couple of times with a few clients, you'll do it naturally afterwards.

Pro tip: I like practicing in front of a mirror, so I can examine my gestures and
posture better. It's not a scientifically proven best practice, but it may work for
you as well.

After practicing for some time, you will also come up with "marketing" lines
that will impose your position and make a good impact. Personally, I love
the use of metaphors. Here is a real telephone conversation I had with a
client. Initially, the client asked:

"We reviewed your quote for the project. Another agency asked for only one
third of your price, for the same features. You both type code, right? Why

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there's such a huge gap? What exactly do you do better than them? What's
your difference?"

And here's what I replied:

"Well, you drive a Porsche, right? Both Fiat and Porsche cars have a steering
wheel, a lever and some gears... Why didn’t you just buy a Fiat car instead,
since Fiat is ten times cheaper? My clients hire me because they gain way more
money than they afford on me. Remember the X Company? They made two
million dollars in 4 months through my work. You and I can work together to
achieve similar results. Otherwise, you can try any freelancer that will get the
job done and is a better fit for you."

We then hung the phone and didn't hear from that client for about a week.
After that, I sent the following email:

Hello <NAME>,

Since I haven't heard from you for ten days, I believe your priorities have
changed. As a result, my offer is withdrawn. Sincerely, I wish you all the best
with your project.

Kind regards,
Vangos Pterneas
on behalf of LightBuzz Software

The result? The client phoned me back within an hour to sign the contract
agreement.

The client compares you to $5 freelancers

Either you are a software developer, a graphics designer, a translator or a
copywriter, you have faced it at a certain point in your career: you give a
(hundreds or thousands of dollars) price tag to the client and he responds:

“But there are guys in fiverr.com who do it for five bucks”

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This is probably the worst kind of client. He has no idea about what you can
do, he just wants something done, he does not probably have a serious
business model, yet he thinks he needs a creative professional like you. Most
probably, the client does not even care about your work and considers you a
commodity by default.

As a creative professional, you charge (or should charge) serious money

about your work. If you design logos, a design could cost 3- or 4-figure
numbers at least. How could you possibly deal with the almost-free
alternative of FIVE BUCKS? How could you justify your cost, which may be
a thousand times bigger than the cost of a freelancer from Fiverr?

Sacha Greif conducted an interesting experiment about Fiverr and published

the results in his article The $5 logo. Want a short version of the article?
Here you are: “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys”. Why? Because 5
dollars cannot provide your client with the value of a good logo. A $5 logo /
software / whatever will harm their business.

Clients sometimes believe that your job is of no significant value. You are
likely to have heard most of the following statements:

• “I’m just asking for a website – there are people who do it for $15”
• “My 12-year-old nephew designs logos for fun. Why should I pay you
so much?”
• “You just type a few words for marketing campaigns. Lots of other
people can do it.”
• “Google Translate is free. Why should I pay you so much to simply
review the already translated text?”

Such a mentality indicates a closed-minded client. These clients are Fiverr’s

best customers.

When someone pays for a design asset, a piece of software or some good
copy, they are not charged for the digital files. They’re charged for the

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research you make, the security you offer and your ability to drive more
customers to the business. Repeat that.

A lot of Fiverr “professionals” present projects from others as their own,

steal other people’s work, use stock graphics for their projects or create work
nobody can actually use. This is amazingly important to the client! Imagine
what would happen if two businesses had the same logo or used copyrighted
material as their own. It could even lead to lawsuits!

Notice that I do not even mention “quality” (which, by the way, is awful).

Trusting a true professional guarantees:

• Security
• Originality
• Competition research
• Usable output
• Copyrighted, patentable work

Trusting a true professional is the road to establishing a better relationship

with the customers and earning more money.

If you make your case clear and the client insists on buying a logo from
Fiverr, let the client go. You should not work with such people. They may
harm your business in the long-term.

However, if you have demonstrated professionalism to the client, you may

be rewarded later. It happened to me once. I quoted $5,000 for a project.
The client preferred to assign the whole development work to freelancers
from fiverr.com and freelancer.com – for only $150. He later messed with
other developers and designers from similar websites. He was given an awful
product that was impossible to sell to customers. In the meantime, he had
spent way more than $5,000 in total and had ZERO sales.

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Two years after rejecting my offer, he came back to me and paid double,
since I had increased my rates. Most notably? He earned the money invested
in me within a month by making actual sales.

So, here is a rhetoric question I ask when I hear someone buying from
Fiverr:

“Do you prefer spending five dollars and two years in uncertainty or spending
a few thousand dollars and start selling right now?”

The client can’t afford you

It could happen to everyone. Regardless of how much you try, regardless of
how much you chop on features, there are clients who do not have the
money to afford you. This is not a bad thing and you do not need to work
with everyone who contacts you.

Honest and kind replies are the best replies.

“I understand that you are tight on budget these days and I really wish you all
the best with your product. I can introduce you to a colleague of mine who
would probably fit you better. If you feel ready in the future, I’ll be here to
discuss on a new basis.”

You see? No hard feelings. I even propose to refer that client to a colleague.
You never know how things may turn up in the future. Be gentle and do not
waste your time further.

The client wants to pay with equity

This is a tricky situation. Many clients, especially new businesses with no
customers, no sales and no cash, may offer you equity in return to your
services. Others may offer you equity, plus a fraction of your quote. That’s
tricky for two reasons:

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 1. The client shows trust in you (which is honorable)
2. The client offers you the chance to get way more money if their
company succeeds (which is tempting)

A year ago, a client said to me directly:

“Since you believe in the potential of this project, I can give you 50% of my
company for your services, instead of cash. You could be a millionaire in a few
years.”

First of all, let’s take aside the fact that the client may be a total stranger to
you. Secondly, the one who takes the entrepreneurial risk is the client. Not
you. You are taking the (huge) risk of your own freelance business. After all,
you somehow need to pay the bills and the cost of running your own
company right now. It’s hard to rely on making cash in the future. Thirdly,
you can’t control every aspect of your client’s business. What if you do your
best but the promotion guy sucks? Should you take the risk of collaborating
with inadequate professionals you have not chosen? I don’t think so. What if
you like the concept but you are entering a totally unknown market?
Definitely, you are a money-making machine for your clients, but you can’t
control every aspect of the marketing team, the salesmen or the executives.
That means you may do your best, yet the project may fail due to other
reasons.

Also, keep in mind that, if you join a low-budget startup company, you’ll
end up working far more than you’d normally do. Running a startup
requires guts. People work for days and nights on end with limited or no
income. They may get rewarded in the long-term. They may not. Most of
them will need to pivot and change their product completely. That implies
even more unpaid work on your behalf. Are you passionate enough to keep
working unpaid for as long as it gets? I am not, so here’s my honest reply to
such cases:

“Thank you for considering me as a valuable partner of your business. Your

early trust is an honor for me. I do believe in the project’s potential and I

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would be one of its first customers. However, the ongoing expenses of running
my own freelance business / agency do not allow me to solely dedicate myself
to your purpose. I would be more than glad to work with you as an
independent contractor and watch your business succeed.”

Oh, and one more thing: I do have a few clients who invested some serious
amount of money in me and became millionaires afterwards. Guess how
many of them offered me equity for my services? You are right. None.

If someone has a truly ground-breaking idea, they won’t give 50% of their
company’s equity to a total stranger.

Once again, be polite and propose something: There are various startup
events where participants meet people and form teams. The teammates
work together to create a product and form companies to bring it to the
market. Suggest to your clients who want to pay you with equity that a
Startup Weekend may be the best fit for them.

The client treats you like a slave

A friend of mine, who’s an experienced web developer, recently posted the
following status on Facebook:

“Yesterday (Sunday), a client suddenly phoned and asked me to implement a

new feature that he insists we had orally agreed to include in the current
release without any additional cost. Implementing such a feature would take
me at least 40 working hours. I am on a vacation and I cannot easily check my
business emails or specification documents. The client is pretty sure we had
agreed on that feature and expects my reply today. Moreover, he emphatically
states that this is the only pending issue to pay me! Any suggestions…?”

Tough situation, huh? That colleague was forced to include some “oral”
features in order to get paid for the whole project. Sounds familiar? What
should that colleague do?

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First, let’s see what you need to do before starting a new project:

• All requirements and specifications should be written in the

Contract Agreement. Any oral changes and modifications should be
part of a new updated Agreement. Remember to include absolutely
everything in a formal yet understandable language. Write down
what each screen will contain and what kind of changes the client is
allowed to request without additional costs (e.g. “Up to two design
revisions”).
• Ask for money in advance, before you start working on a new
project. As Brennan Dunn says, “the tank needs fuel”.

Secondly, let’s see what to do if you have not gone through the above
process and still have to handle such a difficult situation:

• You never answer on business email messages or phone calls during

weekends or holidays (unless you have charged for 24/7/365
support).
• You never say “it would take 5 days”. Always prefer “it would take 5
business days”.

Would you ever annoy a client of yours during weekends or holidays? Of

course not. Similarly, your clients should respect your private time and do
not interfere with your personal life. You are a partner, not a slave.

How to avoid unpaid work

What if you made the mistake to answer the phone call or email during
holidays though? OK, you are not doomed yet. But there is only one method
to avoid the extra work and yet get paid on time: invoke fear.

Firstly, agree with the client that what they ask is a truly beneficial feature of
the project. Secondly, try to prove why adding that feature right now is a bad
thought:

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“What you are asking for would definitely benefit the project and would
generate even more future revenue for your company. Our highest priority is
to finish with the current deliverable, so we do not deviate from our schedule.
Sticking to a plan will let you launch right when your customers expect to, so
you can start selling right now. It’s not wise to lose revenue and customers
while waiting for an additional feature. So, I suggest we remain on plan and
that feature will become our first priority after your successful launch.
Moreover, you’ll have even more cash to continue developing the product.”

The client needs to perfectly understand that delaying a project costs

money!

So, if you act professionally, you’ll get paid on time and you can later
negotiate for that “additional feature”, according to new specifications.

You see what you can achieve with this tactic? Not only will you enjoy your
vacation, but you’ll also negotiate for extensions and updates!

How to negotiate for increased pricing (pro-tip)

When the time comes and the client requests “those tiny changes”, you have
a chance to get paid what you really deserve; not what the client THINKS
you deserve. I suggest you try this method only after you have practiced a
little with negotiating.

Let’s get back to our use case scenario: you have agreed to provide some
additional functionality to your client after the project is delivered. In the
meantime, you identify that there is a lot of opportunity for your client if an
alternative solution is applied instead. You want to sell them the new
solution rather than working on the old one.

Your focus point should be the increased potential gain for your customer.
That potential gain should be big enough to justify your sudden limit up.

In the first place, you do not let your client remind you of “that feature”.
You are the one that starts the negotiation process. Show all of your cards

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and show your client that you remember you have agreed on specific work.
That will increase your trustworthiness.

Then, thoroughly explain what you have agreed on:

“I recall we had agreed on implementing the A functionality with the X way”

A is the objective (destination) you need to achieve and X is the road you
need to follow. What you have to do is lead your client to point A from a
different road Y.

The tricky part is to justify the direction change appropriately. I like

presenting new directions based on customers, not my personal intentions.

During the negotiation, which YOU start, you say something along the lines
of “As I recall, we had orally agreed upon making element A in the X way.
Now that you already have your first clients/users, I can’t help noticing that
the Y way is better for the product and can bring much more benefit. The X
way, WHICH YOU ASKED FOR, leads to greater instability / lower
performance / bad user experience and I’m not sure whether you’d like to take
that risk. In what I propose, you secure the stability, high performance and
awesome user experience elements while you raise your prospects of more
potential gain! I have built the project with an extendable and future-friendly
architecture, so such an addition would just require 5 business days and $$$
dollars.”

The client is desperate

There is a strange type of client that really really REALLY wants a project
done, yet they can’t afford it. This type of client will spend hours trying to
convince you that the project is a great opportunity and that you have to
work on it for free. Such people will try every means possible to convince
you: they’ll offer you equity of their zero-dollar-evaluated company, they’ll
promise to pay you after the product makes them significant revenue, they’ll

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give you all the copyrights of the product and so on. There are clients willing
to give you everything - except money - to make their product.

Do not mess with them.

Having low budget is acceptable. Having no budget is daunting. If they can

neither afford someone to create their product or partner with a technical
co-founder, then there is no point starting that business anyway. Most of the
times, it is not their website/logo/SEO/branding that dropped their sales. It’s
their bad business model, bad management or bad business decisions. Even
if you created their entire product for free, they wouldn’t be able to get the
most out of your work and would never make money out of it. Moreover, it
is very likely to blame you if they fail. Oh, and it’s an entirely different thing
creating a website for free for your mom rather than for a total stranger.

A polite way to end the conversation with people that irritate you is to say
the damn truth: “As you wouldn’t give out your vacuum cleaners for free, I
couldn’t remain unpaid for my services”.

(Side note: I never had a vacuum cleaner store owner as a client – the
example is used for educational purposes.)

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MISCELLANEOUS TIPS & TRICKS
The following tips would never be included in a “Freelancing 101” guide.
However, they can be a tasty sauce if you have followed the rest of my
recipes.

Body exercise
Many creative professionals have a natural tendency to stay out of shape. I
know it’s hard to find time for your physique, but taking care of your body
will incredibly help your mind, too. Harvard’s John Medina, throughout his
book Brain Rules, highlights the importance of physical exercise to the
human brain. People who move, walk or jog more are more productive (and
relaxed!) in their mental work.

It’s not about shape. It’s about performance.

Physical exercise should become part of your daily routine. There is no need
to become a body builder of course! It’s not necessary to lift weights or get
hooked on steroids. Running a few miles (or even yards) per day would be a
tremendous aid for your heart and will later result into better cognitive
process.

Why could exercising help you? First of all, you will tremendously reduce
back and neck pain, so you’ll be able to work undistracted. Secondly, you’ll
present a healthier image to your clients. Thirdly, you’ll live a much
healthier life. Oatmeal describes all this graphically in his web-comic.

I used to have back pain since the age of 18. It was horrible. My work as a
software engineer requires me sitting on a chair for the biggest part of the
day. There were days I couldn’t move because of the intense pain. Here are
the top-3 exercises that helped me recover and have almost entirely
diminished the pain:

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 1) Jogging
A few miles per week are a must for the health of my whole body.
2) Crunches
Practicing your abdominals is essential to your spine. Solid
abdominals reduce the weight held by your spine and back.
3) Pull-ups
Buying a cheap horizontal bar and performing a few pull-ups could
drastically help your back and shoulder muscles. I prefer doing pull-
ups in between my work breaks, so as to stretch the whole spine.

Please, consult your doctor before you perform any of these exercises!

Memorable business cards

Every freelancer needs to be memorable. Your communication skills and
proposals are things that will make you stand out and give a good first
impression. But what about the last impression? Wouldn’t it be cool if you
could give a WOW factor just before you leave a meeting?

A convenient way to do so is by providing catchy business cards. A lot of

freelancers have boring, dull, uninspired business cards (you’ll be amazed by
the number of freelancers who do not even have a business card!). If you are
young, avoid the plain old white business card with the tiny black letters.
Prefer colorful designs and, if you can afford it, hire a designer to craft a
professional logo for you. Color is the single most important factor that will
make your business stand out from the crowd. The logo is your personal
identity, zipped into a clever emblem. Use these powerful elements to make
a powerful final impression.

Mine feature a blue background and a white bee – the symbol of hard work
in the western society. Most of my clients grasp this concept and remember
me far more easily when they look at my business card. Even though my
card does not have a complex design, it sends the message I want and makes
my agency memorable.

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Giveaways
After a meeting, I like handling documents or freebies to my clients. This
way, they get something they did not expect and feel good for having a
physical or digital asset. Freebies are not necessary, but it’s another
professional method to make a good impression. A giveaway could be a brief
consulting report, a roadmap document or simply your project proposal. It
doesn’t really matter what that freebie will be. What matters is that you’ll do
something cool that none of your competitors will ever think of.

That tip is based on simple human psychology: people love receiving gifts.
Give them an unexpected gift and you’ll get into their hearts.

Do not announce your freebies in advance. Instead, give them to your

clients when they do not expect them, just like you’d give a flower to your
partner.

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RESOURCES
The following people have highly inspired me to grow my business and
become a happier freelancer. I suggest you take a look at their work and
subscribe to their newsletter (it’s totally free).

Brennan Dunn
Brennan is the freelancing Yoda and the primary reason I increased my
rates. He is the author of the best-selling Double Your Freelancing Rate book
and a regular blogger on doubleyourfreelancing.com. Brennan included an
interview of mine in the Complete Course of his book.

Neil Patel
Neil started with zero and now owns million-dollar-valued software
companies. He blogs at QuickSprout and his methods will show you how to
bring more valuable traffic to your website. Neil has an awesome attitude
and every post of his is a knowledge deposit.

Nathan Barry
Nathan is a designer, blogger and author of several successful books. He’s
really thorough about his methods and you’ll get extremely valuable
information. Moreover, he’s always trying new approaches to marketing and
he is not afraid to admit he can be wrong at times. Check his website.

Paul Jarvis
Paul is probably the most honest guy blogging about freelancing. His
Sunday Dispatches newsletter will help you run your business more
effectively, while keeping some quality time for yourself and your family.

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Derek Halpern
If you meet Derek for the first time, you may think he’s insane. The truth is
Derek has a very unique speaking & writing style. If you take a close look at
what he teaches, you’ll find that his proposals are backed by tons of scientific
research. You can get started by visiting his Social Triggers website.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Self-publishing means that the author is responsible for creating and
delivering the book, though I have not been alone in this journey. Please
meet the two ladies that helped me bring this book to you:

Galini Scarlatou
Galini is behind the graphic design and visuals of this book. If you liked the
cover and aesthetics of The Dark Art of Freelancing, that’s the lady to give
credit to. Galini works as a graphic designer for LightBuzz and you can
check her online portfolio on Behance. Moreover, she enjoys creating
beautiful handcrafted jewels. So, if you are searching for an original present
for your beloved ones, it is highly recommended to have a look at her Cat
and Craft website.

Galini has been the first to double the profits of her handmade jewelry
business after reading this book.

Matina Chatzigianni
Matina is an experienced translator and reviewer. I am not a native English
speaker, so Matina’s assistance, corrections and suggestions have been
crucial for delivering a solid and consistent writing to you. If you are looking
for a professional who can passionately localize your text and make valuable
suggestions for creating a compact piece of copy, Matina is the one. She
won’t just translate words, but she’ll ensure that your message is conveyed as
effectively as possible to your customers. You can find her online on
Facebook.

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