Sooner or later, a brand you have never worked with will quote you a price you gave to somebody else. Here is why, and what to do instead.
Why it circulates here
Three reasons specific to a market of this size.
The decision-makers know each other: marketing managers change company and take their contacts and their figures with them.
Agencies work for several brands in the same sector, and naturally compare the quotes they receive.
And the creators themselves talk, which makes any price difference visible within weeks.
One direct consequence: your rate card is not a private document, it is delayed public information. Write it as if all your clients were going to read it at the same time, because that is what will end up happening.
The discount granted once is now your rate
Three mechanisms that lock the reduction in.
The client who got a low price will never come back to the normal one: for them, the old price is the real one.
They will mention it to a colleague, with no bad intention, as a good address.
And you will then have to justify an increase, an exercise far harder than holding a price from the start.
The free product is the fastest version of it
Four reasons the exchange damages the rate even faster than a discount.
It sets your price at zero in the brand's mind.
It cannot be made up for, because the consideration pays neither the contributions nor the hours.
It attracts requests of the same nature, which fill the diary with no margin.
And it makes it impossible to invoice the next campaign at a normal rate, the brand having already obtained the result another way.
What remains acceptable: an exchange when the product has real value for you, when the rights granted are minimal and when the campaign demands neither an imposed script nor a delivery date.
What compensates for a small market
| Lever | What it brings | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing abroad | Prices from another market | A compatible language and time zone |
| Selling batches | Regular income | A production capacity you can hold |
| Adding the edit | One more line per order | A controlled deadline |
What is never discounted, even on a small market
Advertising use. A local brand running paid distribution buys the same value as a large one: the price follows the use, not the client's size.
What you say to a client who compares
The price paid covers usable files, named rights and a duration. A cheaper quote omitting those three lines is not cheaper, it is incomplete.
Lower the cost of the yes, not the price
Five ways to make an order easier to accept without touching the rate.
Reducing the number of deliverables, dealt with above.
Shortening the duration of the rights, the most elastic variable.
Limiting the territory, from national to local.
Removing exclusivity, almost always requested without being paid for.
And offering payment in two instalments, which settles a cash flow problem without conceding anything on the amount.
One protective practice: write those five options in a document, and present them as a menu rather than as a negotiation. A brand choosing from a list is not asking you to lower your prices, it is adjusting its purchase.
One last marker: in a market where everybody knows each other, your price is your reputation. A rate that varies from one client to the next ends up meaning nothing, and that is precisely the moment when people stop consulting you for the important orders.
