You’re not intentionally underpricing, but I bet you’re pricing before you have enough information.

Because when a client asks for a price, you are guessing about how they will use it.

If you are like most creatives, you state a price for a new project and then adjust it when you realize that the client needs more rights than you’d originally expected.

So rather than naming a price upfront and then shifting it when you learn the intended usage, let’s flip the order of your workflow to determine the usage first and then provide a price.

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Each question is a lever

We are going to walk through five questions. Each one handles a different aspect of usage.

This isn’t a script, but a checklist of topics to discuss with your client to make sure you both are on the same page.

Each of these usage questions functions kind of like a lever or seesaw. 

When the client needs broader usage, it’s more valuable to them, but you are giving up how you can use it. And then the opposite: narrow usage, less value, you have more usage.

You’ll use the client’s answers to these questions as inputs, so that rather than guessing at a price, you can balance each lever to create something fair to everyone.

#1: Where will it be used?

The first question is, “Where will it be used?”

Here, you are looking to define the scope of use: what platforms, mediums, formats, and placements the work will be used on.

Get specific, otherwise you’ll end up arguing a year later what “marketing use” means.

The more places the client can use it, the more value it has, and the more the client is willing to pay for it.

If you want a jumping-off point, try the following question: “Can you walk me through where this will be used?”

#2: For how long?

The next question is, “For how long?”

Duration might be for a set amount of time, for an indefinite amount of time, or forever.

One nuance that most creatives don’t realize is that an indefinite amount of time gives you more flexibility than forever.

Just like usage, the longer the client can use it, the higher the value (and the acceptable price) is to them.

A jumping off point here is, “How long do you plan to use this?”

#3: Where in the world?

Moving on to the third question, we consider, “Where will it be used in the world?”

It’s important to remember that if you are granting online rights and the client isn’t requesting worldwide rights, that should raise some red flags. And it is an opportunity to ask more questions.

Once again, the more geographic area, the bigger the client value and the cost.

Here, your jumping off point can be, “Will this work be limited to a specific region or will it be used around the world?”

#4: Is it exclusive?

Fourth, we consider whether the client will get exclusive rights.

What is important to remember is that exclusivity doesn’t mean that you and the client are the only ones that can use it; it means that the CLIENT is the only one that can use it.

For example, if the client has exclusive website rights, unless you get a carve-out license, you are unable to use the client’s materials on your website as part of your portfolio.

Once again, where the client gains control over use, they gain value, and also should pay a premium for it, because you are unable to use the work yourself.

Your jumping off point here is, “Would this be exclusive, or can I continue to use it?”

#5: Internal or external use?

The final question you have to answer is, “Will they be using your work to generate revenue?”

There is a big difference in the value the client gets from work used for internal purposes versus the value they get from it being used for product sales.

You might not have to ask this question directly, because at this point in the conversation, you’ll probably know if the client wants commercial use.

But if you need to prompt the client, then you could start by saying something like, “It sounds like you intend to use this internally only? Is that correct?”

Answers are pricing inputs

Now, rather than throwing out a price that you have to later increase or justify. You have questions that inform your pricing decisions.

You also have variables you can play with when a client states that their budget doesn’t align with your quoted pricing. You can offer to reduce the cost by modifying the usage. Say by capping a self-published book printing at 5,000 books, rather than 10,000.

Overall, this results in clearer conversations with clients because you can explain your reasoning, rather than defending a number.

Expect clients to pause

You might think that this all sounds good in theory, but my clients don’t know the answers to these questions.

And I agree that you should expect your clients to pause because they might not have experienced these questions before.

Because we expect them to pause, I’d suggest having talking points prepped to explain how this process actually benefits them. Allowing them to pay for the exact usage they need, rather than an inflated price based on what they “think” they need.

And if clients go quiet or push back when you ask these, that’s exactly why I created Copy + Paste Legal Week. It gives you ready-to-use responses, so you’re not figuring out what to say in the moment.

When you guide the client through this process, it also means you don’t have to “memorize” a price, just evaluate inputs and levers.

The next piece of the system involves turning their answers into language you can find in a contract, and that’s what we’ll be covering in the next video.