Paying "commission"

Rj-design

New Member
Hey everyone,

I was approached by a digital marketing agency about the idea of producing design work for their clients. They wanted to test using freelancers before putting together a inhouse team. After a brief chat and sending examples of my work I received this:

Your rates would be paid in full, minus 15% that would be given to the sales person responsible for earning you the business. I hope you understand this has to be in place else there'd be no incentive for the sales team to encourage our clients to commission this work alongside their digital marketing platforms and services with us.

Has anyone come across this before? I wouldnt have a problem if it was work found through an agent, however the work created belongs to them and the design will sit alongside the digital marketing strategy the client has already been paid for. Why should I pay for their staff to do their job?
 
It's likely them double dipping, basically said PR firm will charge a 'finders fee' to you and a 'completion fee' to the client. Is it common, sadly a lot more than you would think and personally I'd be staying well clear, especially as they're taking ownership etc of your work by the looks of it. Double dipping is something frowned upon in most circles of work.

I haven't had much to do with design agencies in all honesty but most will have a 'fee' for doing business with them too, is it on both sides, not so sure as like I say I haven't had much to with them. I know a couple of others have so they might be able to answer that better than I can.

If you want to do the work, add the '15%' onto your invoice where personally I'd put, 15% extra to cover sales person fee....although I probably wouldn't be working with them for long lol.
 
Ha, I was gonna say just add 15% onto the rate ;)

I'll often just drop my rate a little so whoever is giving me the work can charge what I would normally charge. This keeps the price competitive, gives them a cut for bringing me the work, and I get work that I didn't have to source myself. This tends to be based on a good relationship with whoever I'm working with though, either a friend, contact or even another client. If someone approached me out of the blue with such an offer I'd probably run a mile.
 
Thanks for replying. My gut told me it was bad from the get go. I inflated my rates to compensate the 15% and sent it over. I got this as a reply:

Thanks for sending that over. To be honest your completion times and rates are probably a little off what a lot of our clients will be expecting, especially given the quick turnaround and low rates available on <<low quality service>>, but we'll keep you in mind and pass on your work nevertheless.

And there's the evidence.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think that says it all.
Yep, that site and similar sites like are basically preying on people who are mainly in low income countries where they can afford to work for peanuts, actually in some places peanuts might cost more than they charge....
 
Yep, that site and similar sites like are basically preying on people who are mainly in low income countries where they can afford to work for peanuts, actually in some places peanuts might cost more than they charge....

Which is why I'm glad this forum takes such a negative stance to them.
 
Thanks for sending that over. To be honest your completion times and rates are probably a little off what a lot of our clients will be expecting, especially given the quick turnaround and low rates available on <<low quality service>>, but we'll keep you in mind and pass on your work nevertheless.

Sounds like you dodged a bullet. I've had emails like this in the past, normally from potential clients looking for a discount or wanting to pitch two or more designers against each other. I never drop my rate for first-time clients, mainly because it's a defence against these sort of people that only see a price.
 
Back
Top