Quoting for a set amount of design time

gprovan

Member
Hi All,

One of our clients has asked for us to quote for 15 hrs of design time to plan their marketing campaign and obviously they'd be wanting a discount on their normal hourly rate.

I seem to recall someone talking about this before, but what I'm wondering is how to put this into a quotation and what caveats to add. There would have to be some option of adding hours or doing less.

Cheers,

G :thumb:
 
If there's general agreement that you'll complete the work in 15 hrs (i.e. you think it's doable and they're happy to budget for it), then I'd probably just insert a clause stating that client-directed amends received post-submission may attract additional hours.

My first question, though, is how 15 hrs warrants a discount at all? I offer discounts for hours bought in bulk but we'd need to be talking about a considerably bulkier commitment than two days' work.
 
This is what the client said if it helps:

We have a number of areas that we would like your involvement in which will include the design of an advert for newspapers to create business awareness, adverts in trade magazines to initiate response, further leaflets and flyers with differing requirements, business cards etc.

We are attempting to create a financial forecast and based on, and including the work that you are currently undertaking for us, I would greatly appreciate if you could send a simple quote for design time for all of this. I appreciate that there is difficult for you to forecast the exact amount of time you would be required to spend on each project, however a quote for a mutually agreed number of design hours would be appreciated for our records.

My initial thoughts for the work mentioned, including the work that you are currently undertaking, would be approximately 15 hours of design time? A simple quote for 15 hours work for the ‘design of initial marketing material’ is all that is required but obviously with a clause that it may be more or less depending on the nature of the work.

Could you also ensure that in anticipation of this business coming your way, and in the writing of this design quote, that you consider a competitive rate for your printing? (although we are not looking for this quote just yet) as we are a local business and we would prefer to support other local business.


I'm kind of swaying towards the offer of a (slightly) discounted rate to guarantee the business. I forgot to mention that they're a new client and have budget constraints.

Do you think that any more than the specified time, I could possibly charge at full rate unless they want to buy another bulk rate. You're right about a bulkier commitment and perhaps I could mention this?
 
I don't see anything here that even hints at an expectation of any discount and, furthermore, they clearly state that they're prepared for the possibility that the work may be more or less than the fifteen hours they want you to quote for. It also looks like you have the advantage of already enjoying a satisfactory working relationship with the client and the only mention of competitive rates is in relation to the print element of the job.

So what would I do? I'd put in a quote for fifteen hours' studio time at my regular rate (this appears to be what they're asking for) and use my contacts to source print quotes from approved local suppliers (i.e. those you've worked with before and feel happy to recommend). If you want to look like you're playing ball on helping keep costs down, I'd make it clear that you'll keep an accurate record of time spent on the job (i.e. if it takes less than fifteen hours you'll amend the charge accordingly) and then consider offering a small discount on your hourly rate for any work over and above initial the fifteen hours.
 
Why are you not qualifying the work involved in the individual projects and producing a total quotation (with caveats as mentioned)? Why is the client telling you how long the tasks will take? You need to manage the dialogue, take the initiative and quote for the project.
 
^^^ It's a good point - I'm often asked to do jobs which "shouldn't take long" when that assumption is based on almost total ignorance of what's involved. In fairness, though, the 15 hrs the client is talking about here sounds like it's plucked out of the sky and they appear to be fully aware of (and comfortable with) that...
 
^^^ It's a good point - I'm often asked to do jobs which "shouldn't take long" when that assumption is based on almost total ignorance of what's involved. In fairness, though, the 15 hrs the client is talking about here sounds like it's plucked out of the sky and they appear to be fully aware of (and comfortable with) that...

Lol, classic! The design amateur telling the design professional how long a job should take!
 
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