Bidsketch

When I think of the single biggest mistake a lot of designers make, it makes me cringe for two reasons. The first being that it opens them up to so many risks, including the prospect of never getting paid for their work. The second reason is because it is so easy to avoid.

Having worked without a contract in my early years, I got burned by several clients.

There were the ones who would gradually increase the scope of the project, while not fairly compensating me for it, and then there were those who just never paid me.

I learned on my own, the hard way, that a contract is a must. And I am here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be hard.

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Ruben

Do you know why some clients consider you too expensive? Sure, it’s easy to chalk it up to them not having enough money or being too “cheap,” but that’s not what’s happening in many cases. Sometimes the number a prospective client gives you isn’t set in stone and will change for the right company.

You see, many times this number was set by one of your competitors; one that will “design” an entire website and host it for them for a ludicrously low price. What you’re experiencing here is the outcome of something Dan Ariely calls “arbitrary coherence.”

Arbitrary Coherence

This basically means that the act of making a decision (or simply considering it) will influence the way similar decisions are made in the future. Being aware of this while keeping in mind how the decision-making process works will go along way towards helping you avoid becoming a victim of low-balling competitors.

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{ 11 comments }

Ruben