Imagine. You are at the coffee shop buying a cup of coffee. You place your order, and the barista just stands there and stares at you. What do you do next? Do you put the money in the drawer yourself, and start pouring your own coffee? Do you stand there waiting forever? Do you leave and go to another coffee shop? Uncomfortable, right?
That’s what it’s like when you don’t ask for money. You’re like that strange barista, just standing there staring, hoping that your customer can ‘guess’ the next step. Don’t be a weird barista.
Not asking for money clearly and with confidence, pushes the discomfort to your clients. It makes your issue, the client’s issue.
So how do you ask for money?
- Bring money up early in the conversation. Trust me, your clients expect to pay for your services, so bringing up money isn’t weird. Not bringing up money is way weirder. Simply asking them their budget will usually be enough to clue them in that this is a paid service.
- Know your worth. Knowing that you are charging the right price will give your the confidence to tell them your price in a no-nonsense way.
- Don’t pussy-foot around. Humming-and-hawing over your price will only confuse and frustrate your client, and don’t offer a discount right off the bat. If you aren’t confident of your worth, they certainly won’t be.
- Don’t feel pressured that you have to give a price right away. It’s OK to let them know that you’ll send over an estimate. Although, I do like to give them an example price so that I’m not spending a lot of time quoting on a job when we aren’t a good fit.
- Keep up to date with your invoicing. If you require payment before doing any work, send an invoice, and wait for payment, before doing any work. Follow your own rules, and your client will appreciate knowing where she stands with payments.
Asking to get paid is only weird if you make it weird.
So, how do you ask for money? Do you have trouble asking to get paid? Let us know in the comments below.
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