How to Negotiate & Close Deals in Fiverr or Upwork

Are you a freelancer who is looking to make more money? In this blog post, we will teach you how to negotiate and close deals in Fiverr or Upwork. Keep reading for tips and tactics that will help you succeed in your freelance career.

In the midst of an economic crisis, it’s more important than ever to find ways to make the most of your freelance career. If you want to grow your business, close more deals, and explore new opportunities, then you must master the art of negotiation.

The best part about negotiating as a freelancer is that you have total control over how much money you take home from each project. It can be daunting at first, but here are some tips to help make it easier on yourself.

Your Role in Negotiation

If your client is hiring you as a freelancer, then you should focus on what they need from the project itself.

• Will they need multiple revisions to get the work done?
• Will they want remote work?
• Will they need an exact timeline for the project?

Find out what their expectations are so that you can make sure you exceed them.

A good negotiation starts with knowing what type of person your customer is.

• Do they have specific needs or must-haves?
• Do they prefer quick responses or long ones?

Once you know these things, it'll help when you start asking for what's fair for both parties.

When negotiating with clients, remember that people are more likely to agree if it feels like an equitable conversation and not one where someone is being pushed into a corner. So avoid talking about negotiable items until after agreeing to other terms, like price and deadline.

In addition, don't take things personally if your client doesn't agree to everything right away just keep pushing until they settle on something reasonable.

Know When to Stop

If you've offered the best price you can afford, then don't make things worse by continuing to negotiate. If your client hasn't agreed to work with you after several rounds of negotiation, then it's time to let them go. Move on, and focus on finding a better fit for yourself in the market or search for clients who don't need a lot of convincing to agree on a price.

Just because a client doesn't want to negotiate or isn't open to negotiating, it doesn’t mean you should stop trying. Once they feel like there's no wiggle room, it'll make them less likely to consider your offer in the future. In most cases, people like to feel like they're getting something that no one else can access.

So don't give up if the first try doesn't work! Continue to push for negotiating until you get a definitive "no." Just make sure not to go overboard with it; remember that asking multiple times in the same deal could damage your relationship with the client and make them less likely to come back.

Learn the Language of Negotiation

Negotiating is about understanding what the other person wants and needs. If you want to be a successful freelance negotiator, you'll need to learn how to communicate with others in a way that gets them to see things your way.

When negotiating as a freelancer, it's important to speak the language of business not personal. You'll need to learn how to talk about numbers (as opposed to feelings) and ask for what you want in terms of dollars, not hours.

One great place to start is by learning the terms on which you're negotiating:

Fixed Price: A fixed price can be a good choice if you have a dead-simple project that won't require a lot of back and forth with your client. You know what the work entails, how long it'll take, and when they need to get it done for this option to make sense.

Pricing per hour: This is the most common pricing method that freelancers use when negotiating with clients. It's a safe choice because it allows you to bill for your time and resources, but it also makes it easy for the client to keep asking for more work.

Pricing per word: If you're a copywriter or editor by trade, then this could be the way for you to charge. It's a good idea if you usually write in bulk and aren't too worried about how long it takes you to get each piece done because this method will reward high-volume work.

Pricing per project: This is probably the worst pricing structure to choose, especially if you're just starting out as a freelancer. It's difficult to know how much time and resources you'll end up spending on a project, which means that the final cost could be more than your client expected.

Also keep in mind that while these are common pricing structures, this doesn't mean that you should use them all the time. Depending on your work style and the client, you might need to throw your usual method out the window and go for something different.

Template for Negotiation

This is an example of a negotiation template you can use when reaching out to new clients:

Hi [CLIENT NAME],

I saw your offer on [WEBSITE] and loved your project. I am confident I can fulfill your needs and am offering my services at the price of $50 per hour. Is this something you would be interested in?

Thanks,

Freelancer Name

And you got a reply like this:

Hi [CLIENT NAME],

Thank you for your offer. I'm glad to hear that our project interests you, but at this time we are looking for someone who will provide us with more than just copywriting services. We need this job completed by the end of the week so it's important to find someone who can start immediately. Our budget will 30$ per hour.

Thanks,

Client Name

And you can send a reply like this:

Hi [CLIENT NAME],

Thank you for your reply. It sounds like this project is a perfect fit, but I'm concerned that the timeline will be too short to provide quality work. The rate for this type of project usually starts at $50 per hour. Would it be possible to adjust the deadline if I managed to reduce my rate?

Thanks,

Freelancer Name

In this example you can see that the freelancer clearly states their hourly rate and then follows up with a question about adjusting the deadline in order to reduce their price. Asking about an alternate timeline is a good way to make it seem like the project isn't the perfect fit for them if they don't want to lower the cost.

If you reach out to a client with an offer that's too high, they'll probably just walk away without considering your request for reduced payment.

Notice how this template is straightforward and to the point. You've laid out how you charge, why you're a great fit for their project, and what exactly it is they'll be getting from working with you.

Keep these messages short and sweet: only include up to three points with no more than five sentences. They need to know what you do, why they should hire you, and what they can expect from the deal. Anything more than that will likely be ignored or considered too much work.

How to Prepare For The Video Meeting

Here are a few tips that can help make your video meetings go more smoothly:

• Practice being assertive and confident
• Know how much money you want to take home from each project
• Have an idea of what you want to negotiate for
• Be ready with questions and follow up on any points that might be harder to nail down in writing

As far as preparation goes, you'll need to think about what you want and how much time and money it's going to take. This will enable you to set a number or rate in your head before the video meeting begins. When you do talk to the client, start by saying this: "I'm happy that we're able to chat, because I think it'll allow us to make sure that this project is a good fit for both of us."

This will give you the chance to see if they're open to working with you before wasting your time or theirs. If they don't agree with what you're offering, at least now you know that right off the bat and you can move on.

What Can You Expect From A Negotiation?

The best part about negotiating as a freelancer is that you have total control over how much money you take home from each project. It can be daunting at first, but here are some tips to help make it easier on yourself.

If you feel like you're not getting paid what you deserve, or if the client doesn't meet your expectations, then it's time to negotiate. Negotiating as a freelancer allows for you to achieve greater freedom in terms of both your work and your schedule.

First, try to talk with the company about what they see as fair market value for your services. Then, set up a meeting with them to go over all the particulars of their project. You'll get a better idea of what they're willing to pay when you've gone over their ideas and requirements in-depth together.

This will give the company a sense of where they stand with working with one another and allow them to know that they're not being taken advantage of by an inexperienced freelancer.

There is also no limit on how much money you can ask for it's all up to negotiation! It's important that you don't accept lowball offers without asking for more because this could lead to disappointment later on down the

Know Which Deal is Right For You.

Before you jump into a negotiation, it’s important to know what your deal breakers are. When you talk to the other party, ask them what they expect out of their project and then see if that's something you're willing to do or not. If it is then those are the terms they'll be working with.

If not then you can either find a way to make it work, or tell them that you're not interested in doing the project at all. That way, you can move on quickly without spending too much time talking about terms that aren't necessary for your success as a freelancer.

Conclusion

Freelancers have a lot of power when it comes to negotiation because they can set their own rates and decide which projects are worth pursuing.

If you're looking for more money, or if you want to be selective about the jobs that come your way, then negotiating may be right for you! In this blog post we've given some tips on how to prepare for video meetings with clients so that you get what you need out of each deal.

Keep these in mind before accepting any job offer from a client and remember: don't settle until it's a good fit both professionally and financially. Which is the best type of negotiation strategy? What has been one successful negotiation tactic that worked well for you as a freelancer? Let us know in the comments.