Most freelancers have heard or read somewhere that it’s helpful to ask clients: “What’s your budget?”
It’s seemingly the professional and right move to make. But does it actually work?
According to freelance business expert Jamie Brindle, it doesn’t. In fact, he suggests in his newsletter that this single question might be the very thing killing your project prospects before they’ve even begun.
In this article, we share tips on how to stop acting like an order-taker and start positioning yourself as a freelancer who can put clients at ease when working through the often dreaded budget conversation.
Why “what’s your budget?” is killing your deals
When you ask a client for their budget right out of the gate, you aren’t being polite; you’re handing over the steering wheel. Even if they’re not prepared to handle it. Jamie Brindle points out that this question immediately frames you as a vendor waiting for instructions rather than someone who understands what is involved and how much it costs. You are adding another problem to their list rather than acting as a problem solver.
Plus, you’re not the only one feeling cringey. The client often fears being lowballed. They’re probably thinking, “If I tell them £5,000, will they just inflate their price to match it?”
If they lack experience or expertise, they will also be thinking: “I don’t actually know what this costs; isn’t that why I’m hiring you?”
Putting all the budget into the client’s court also turns a creative chat into a cold negotiation.
There are better ways to handle this.
Use price anchoring to keep control
Freelancers who have seen opportunities go south because they waited for the client to go first on budget have since learned to change tactics. They do this by anchoring the price range in the conversation. This means you set the expectations by offering a range based on your earlier experience. This entails a high and low range of figures that you have already aligned from memory alongside certain outputs and figures.
Price anchoring also shows customers a higher reference price to make the actual selling price (i.e. their budget) seem like a better deal.
This sales technique is based on cognitive bias, a phenomenon first documented by psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman.
“Their research showed that the first price people see strongly influences what they think something should cost, even if that first price isn’t relevant,” according to a Shopify article.
Therefore, just because you have a price range rather than a fixed figure does not mean you are winging it. You should have your own price list memorised, also allotting for revisions, turnaround time and different options for the client to consider.
As Jamie suggests, try phrasing it like this:
Projects like this typically run between £3,000 and £8,000 depending on the scope and how fast you need it. Is that roughly what you had set aside for this?
Why this works:
- It shows you clearly know your market rates
- It removes the guesswork. The client doesn’t have to worry about getting it wrong
- It’s collaborative. You’ve given them a ballpark figure without putting them on the spot.
How to handle the “That’s too expensive” response
What happens if your low-end range is at £3,000 and the client admits they only have £1,500? Most freelancers either panic and discount their rate or awkwardly walk away.
Jamie Brindle’s approach is much more human-centric. If they have a smaller budget, simply say:
“No problem. There is a £1,500 version of this project. Let’s talk about what that looks like and what we might need to adjust.”
Now, you aren’t defending your price or justifying your worth—you are problem-solving together. You aren’t “cheapening” your work; you are simply adjusting the size of the engine to fit the client’s car.
Again, it helps if you have accounted for such a situation before you enter the meeting.
Advocate for the project’s success by managing expectations
Sometimes, a client’s budget simply won’t get the result they are dreaming of. If they want a Rolls-Royce outcome for a bicycle budget, it is your job to tell them.
It can feel difficult and even awkward to say no, but Jamie reminds us that being honest is actually how you advocate for the client. You are the expert; they are hiring you because they don’t know how to do this.
Try this script: “I want this to work for you, but if we try to achieve [Result X] with [Budget Y], we won’t get the quality you need. Here is why…”
Will you approach budget conversations differently, now?
When you stop asking “What’s your budget?” and start providing price ranges, we hope you start to see changes in your business. For example, you should attract higher respect from existing and prospective clients because they value you as the expert leading the conversation.
You also feel more comfortable controlling the price range from the start, so the client no longer fears being low-balled.
This change should bring stronger relationships, too. Clients are unlikely to see you as an expense, but rather a collaborator invested in their success.
After reading this, have you stopped seeing the budget talk as a hurdle to clear?
Perhaps, you now see it as the first opportunity to show a client exactly how professional and helpful it is to work with you.
Articles you might find useful to read and engage with your network:
The Freelancer’s Guide: What to say when asked about your previous rates – Freelance Informer
How to build a balanced client mix (even when work is hard to find) – Freelance Informer