Pricing creative work is a new concept for most freelancers who are starting their business. We are used to being paid for our time, either by an hourly wage or an annual salary. It makes it simple to quantify how much value we think we are putting into a job. The more hours we work, the more we get paid. But there are a few flaws in the hourly pricing model that will limit the amount you can earn as a freelancer.

對于大多數開始創業的自由職業者來說，對創意作品進行定價是一個新概念。 我們習慣于按小時或年薪來支付時間。 它可以很容易地量化我們認為我們要投入多少價值。 我們工作的時間越長，我們獲得的報酬就越多。 但是，按小時收費模式存在一些缺陷，這些缺陷會限制您作為自由職業者可以賺取的金額。

金錢交易時間 (Trading time for money)

Suppose a client is looking to hire one of two freelancers. The project is estimated to take around 20 hours and their budget is $2000.

假設某個客戶希望雇用兩名自由職業者之一。 該項目估計需要20個小時左右，預算為$ 2000。

• Freelancer A is a recent design grad student that charges $50/hour.
  Freelancer A是最近設計的研究生，每小時收費50美元。
• Freelancer B is an experienced professional that charges $100/hour.
  Freelancer B是一位經驗豐富的專業人員，每小時收費100美元。

方案A —客戶雇用了自由職業者A (Scenario A — The client hires Freelancer A)

The client compares the hourly rates and goes with the cheaper one. Freelancer A works for 20 hours, but the designs don’t meet the client’s expectations. Since they are charging half the rate, the client has the budget to keep working with them, although it will now take more time. They finish the project after 40 hours of work and the final work is fantastic. Freelancer A gets paid $2000.

客戶比較小時費率，然后選擇便宜的費率。 Freelancer A可以工作20個小時，但是設計不能滿足客戶的期望。 由于他們只收取一半的費用，因此客戶有預算繼續與他們合作，盡管現在將花費更多時間。 經過40個小時的工作，他們完成了項目，最終工作非常出色。 自由職業者A的收入為$ 2000。

方案B —客戶雇用了自由職業者B (Scenario B — The client hires Freelancer B)

Although Freelancer B charges a higher hourly rate, the client believes that a professional designer will create quality work. Since they have years of experience, Freelancer B is able to finish the project in 15 hours. The final work is fantastic, but they only get paid $1500.

盡管Freelancer B收取更高的小時費，但客戶認為專業設計師將創造出高質量的作品。 由于他們擁有多年的經驗，因此Freelancer B能夠在15小時內完成項目。 最終的工作很棒，但他們只得到1500美元的報酬。

讓我們分解一下 (Let’s break it down)

Freelancer A took longer to finish the project as their quality of work did not meet the client’s expectations at the 20-hour mark. Freelancer B was able to finish the project and meet the client’s expectations in only 15 hours. Thus, time is not an indicator of work quality.

自由職業者A花了更長的時間才能完成該項目，因為他們的工作質量在20小時內沒有達到客戶的期望。 Freelancer B僅在15小時內就完成了項目并達到了客戶的期望。 因此， 時間不是工作質量的指標。

As a business person, the client most likely values their time, so it would make sense to hire Freelancer B. They only spent 15 hours working on the project, which allowed the client to focus the rest of their time on running their business. However, instead of being rewarded for their expertise, Freelancer B is punished for being efficient, since the quicker they finish, the less they earn.

作為業務人員，客戶很可能會珍惜自己的時間，因此聘請Freelancer B是有意義的。他們只花了15個小時從事該項目，這使客戶可以將其余時間集中在經營業務上。 但是，Freelancer B并沒有因為其專業知識而獲得回報，而是因為效率高而受到懲罰，因為他們完成得越快，他們賺到的錢就越少。

That is the problem with the hourly pricing model. Freelancers can gain from working more hours, but most clients are interested in spending less time on a project, not more of it.

這是按小時定價模型的問題。 自由職業者可以通過增加工作時間而受益，但是大多數客戶有興趣減少在項目上花費的時間，而不是花更多的時間。

物有所值 (Trading value for money)

Hourly rate pricing also limits your potential client base. When clients hear your hourly rate, they will assume things such as your experience level and quality of your work.

每小時費率定價也限制了您的潛在客戶群。 當客戶聽到您的小時費率時，他們會承擔諸如您的經驗水平和工作質量之類的事情。

By following a value-based pricing model, you are pricing the client, not the job. Clients want to feel that they are receiving a fair value for what they pay. A few factors can influence the value of the work to the client.

通過遵循基于價值的定價模型，您是在定價客戶，而不是工作。 客戶希望感覺到自己所支付的費用正在獲得公允價值。 一些因素會影響工作對客戶的價值。

風險暴露 (Risk exposure)

If the Mom-and-Pop shop implements a new logo, they probably have to update their business cards, storefront and perhaps a few other marketing materials. The large business would have many more touchpoints, such as numerous storefronts, merchandise, a website, a mobile app, etc.

如果“夫妻店”實施了新徽標，則他們可能必須更新其名片，店面以及其他一些營銷材料。 大型企業將擁有更多接觸點，例如眾多店面，商品，網站，移動應用程序等。

Updating all of these touchpoints will cost much more than the design work, so the client will want the designs to be right the first time. The risk of getting the logo wrong is higher for the large business, as they have a higher cost of implementation.

更新所有這些接觸點將比設計工作花費更多的錢，因此客戶將希望設計在第一時間就正確。 對于大型企業而言，錯誤標識徽標的風險更高，因為它們的實施成本更高。

Thus, the large business would ideally want to hire someone with a track record of successful projects and a certain level of confidence in their craft, unlike what Uber’s CEO did. Hiring a professional freelancer or agency will come at a much higher price than working with someone less experienced.

因此， 與Uber的首席執行官不同 ，大型企業理想地希望雇用具有成功項目記錄并對其Craft.io有一定信心的人 。 雇用專業的自由職業者或代理人比與缺乏經驗的人一起工作要付出高得多的代價。

預算 (Budget)

The client’s budget comes from a percentage of their gross revenue for the year. Since clients come in all sizes, their budgets will range. A business that earns more revenue will have a larger budget to spend on services like design.

客戶的預算來自其當年總收入的百分比。 由于客戶規模各異，因此他們的預算范圍會有所不同。 賺取更多收入的企業將有更大的預算用于設計等服務。

If I sell the exact same logo to a Mom-and-Pop shop and a large established business, the Mom-and-Pop shop will have a much smaller budget to work with, so I would charge them less than a large business.

如果我將完全相同的徽標賣給一家夫妻商店和一家大型企業，那么夫妻商店的預算將少得多，因此，我向他們收取的費用要少于一家大型企業。

But how do you figure out exactly what to charge the client?

但是，您如何弄清楚向客戶收取什么費用呢？

確定對客戶的價值 (Determining the value to the client)

Many freelancers approach a client by first discussing the scope of the project, followed by price and value. This method keeps the focus of the value on the work itself. By providing a breakdown of your services, presumably with the timeline and rate included, the client has the power to negotiate down.

許多自由職業者通過首先討論項目范圍，然后討論價格和價值來接近客戶。 這種方法將價值的重點放在工作本身上。 通過提供您的服務明細(大概包括時間表和費率)，客戶可以進行協商。

設定背景 (Setting context)

By adopting a strategic approach, focus the conversation around the business. Dig deep into their goals and KPIs for the project. By understanding what areas need improvement and what their desired future state looks like, now you can tie your proposal directly to those metrics.

通過采用戰略性方法，可以使對話圍繞業務展開。 深入了解他們的項目目標和關鍵績效指標。 通過了解哪些領域需要改進以及它們的期望未來狀態如何，現在您可以將您的提案直接與這些指標聯系起來。

Desired Future State → Success Metrics → Value → Price

期望的未來狀態→成功指標→價值→價格

For example, you determine that the client wants to increase their ecommerce sales by $100,000. If you convince them that you can build an optimized website that could result in an extra $100,000 in revenue, ask how much it would be worth for them to pay. This will get them thinking about how much they really value the work.

例如，您確定客戶希望將其電子商務銷售額增加100,000美元。 如果您說服他們可以建立一個優化的網站，從而帶來額外的100,000美元的收入，請詢問他們應該付出多少錢。 這將使他們思考他們對工作的真正重視。

定價業務價值 (Pricing business value)

Suggest pricing the work at a percentage of the expected additional revenue. By then setting a price of 20% of the expected revenue, you would be able to charge $20,000 for the website.

建議按預期的額外收入的百分比為作品定價。 通過將價格設置為預期收入的20％，您將可以為該網站收取20,000美元。

If you hadn’t set the context in terms of business value, then bidding $20,000 on the project probably wouldn’t have gotten you the client. By following the value-based pricing model, the client decides how much they value the work in relation to their business without factoring in the time or effort it would take you to complete it.

如果您沒有根據業務價值設置上下文，那么對該項目出價20,000美元可能不會吸引您。 通過遵循基于價值的定價模型，客戶可以決定他們相對于業務對工作的重視程度， 而無需考慮完成該工作所花費的時間或精力 。

處理懷疑的客戶 (Handling skeptical clients)

If the client is risk-averse or still skeptical about the business impact that your work will create, then you need to steer the conversation in a way that will make them buy into the value-based approach.

如果客戶不愿冒險或對您的工作將對業務產生的影響仍持懷疑態度，那么您需要以一種使他們認同基于價值的方法的方式來引導對話。

Ask the client if they are willing to invest $20,000 into their business to potentially gain $100,000 in revenue. To most businesses, the potential to 5X their money on an investment with little downside should be a no-brainer.

詢問客戶他們是否愿意為自己的業務投資20,000美元，以潛在地獲得100,000美元的收入。 對于大多數企業而言，將投資資金減少5倍而幾乎沒有負面影響的潛力應該是輕而易舉的事。

However, if the client isn’t willing to offer enough to meet your minimum level of engagement, then you have to decide when to move on. Never feel pressured to take a lower price because you feel like you have to. You could possibly adjust your deliverables to be able to meet the client at their price point. But as long as you have sufficient runway saved up, then you should be able to say “No” to clients that can’t pay you for what you are valued.

但是，如果客戶不愿意提供足夠的錢來滿足您的最低參與水平 ，那么您必須決定何時繼續。 永遠不要因為要降低價格而承受壓力。 您可以調整可交付成果，以便能夠以他們的價格與客戶見面。 但是，只要您有足夠的跑道積蓄 ，那么您應該能夠對無法為您付出的錢付錢的客戶說“不”。

As a designer, it’s important to think like a business person if you are going to run a successful freelance practice. The art of negotiating is tricky to master and takes years of practice to be able to perfect. It won’t be easy at first to implement a value-based pricing model with your freelance business. But once you open your mind to charging based on value instead of your time, you will remove the limits to how much you can make.

作為設計師，如果您要進行成功的自由職業，像商人一樣思考是很重要的。 談判的技巧很難掌握，需要多年的實踐才能完善。 首先，要與自由職業者實施基于價值的定價模型并非易事。 但是，一旦您打開基于價值而不是時間的收費的想法，就將消除可以賺多少錢的限制。