You Expect Corolla Pricing but Ordered Lamborghini Options — What a Bad WordPress Job Taught Me About Discounts
The conversation goes the same way almost every time a new client comes in. They ask the cost. I ask what they actually need. I send a quote. "That's expensive." I walk through exactly what's in it, line by line. Still expensive. I offer a small discount to keep the relationship. They come back asking for more. I used to keep giving. Then a Canadian client taught me why that habit was going to…
Every time a new client inquires about pricing, the process remains consistent. They inquire about costs, I inquire about their actual needs, and I provide a quote. They express disbelief at the expense, I outline the components, line by line, and the expense remains high. I offer a small discount to maintain the relationship, but they continue to demand further reductions.
This approach changed when a Canadian client taught me the consequences of this habit. The project involved a few updates to their existing WordPress site, which became progressively more extensive. Initially, I agreed to a reduced rate for a few updates, but the client's requests cascaded into a full site rebuild, exceeding the agreed budget. I completed the job, incurring financial and temporal losses.
My mistake wasn't the initial discount offer. It was my failure to re-scope the project once the requirements expanded. Every subsequent request, such as "can you also just..." should have prompted a new estimate rather than being appended to the existing agreement. By agreeing to the relationship rather than the price, I inadvertently agreed to do half the extra work for free.
My current approach is to clearly communicate that expecting Corolla pricing while requesting Lamborghini features will result in paying for what one receives. This straightforward approach emphasizes the disparity between the requested and expected services. A developer's mantra often ends these discussions, and I am eager to hear other developers' phrases that effectively convey this concept.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
