Worse People Have Asked For More and Gotten It

If you’re worried your rate is too high, you aren’t alone. I wasn’t sure what to charge when I started out, and even doing the reverse math from my previous salary, plus benefits, felt off the mark.

Finally, I got a piece of advice I’ll never forget:

“Much worse people have asked for much more—and gotten it.”

The lesson is that you should never be afraid to ask. If you look around, you’ll find consultants with half your experience charging double your fee because they had the nerve to say the number out loud.

But what if they’re offended?

Negotiation is a regular part of business. If the company you’re talking to responds as if this is anything other than normal everyday negotiation, then it’s a sign you may not want to work with them anyway.

Test a higher rate on your next three proposals. The market will tell you if you’re wrong. Until then, assume you’re underpriced.