Your calendar is full, your invoices look fine on paper, and yet your bank balance doesn’t feel like it belongs to a skilled freelancer with years in the game. Clients love the work, but somehow the price never moves. That was me this spring, staring at a neat stack of “wins” that didn’t pay like wins.
42pm, laptop brightness down, spoon still in a yoghurt lid because the bin’s too far. A spreadsheet is open, colour-coded and quietly damning. My day rate hasn’t budged since last winter. Two clients have just asked for “a small add-on”, and I’ve said yes because I’m tired and British and it felt easier.
On my phone, a friend DM’s a link to a course with an unglamorous landing page. Eight modules, two live calls, no alumni parade. It looked almost shy. I clicked out of politeness, then bought it out of frustration. The course didn’t teach me how to write a better sentence. It showed me how to price what my sentences actually do.
The lesson wasn’t about writing.
The quiet course with loud results
The course wasn’t famous. No “10k cohort” badge. No cinematic trailer. It felt like a quiet room where someone speaks low and the whole group leans in. The first module asked one question: what happens after you deliver? Not the file. The business change. That question changed everything for me.
I started mapping every deliverable to an outcome the client actually measures. Conversions. Fewer support tickets. Faster sales cycles. I realised I’d been selling words, not the shift those words create. And the weirdest thing? Saying less on calls worked better. Fewer adjectives. More numbers. More silence.
Two weeks in, a fintech founder wanted a homepage refresh. Old me would quote a day rate and slide in an “around £700”. New me offered three options: £1,600 for copy only, £3,000 for copy plus message testing, £4,800 for copy plus testing plus a 30-day CRO review. He chose the middle. We shipped in nine days. He emailed after: “Feels like the team finally knows what we sell.” That line is still pinned above my desk.
In 30 days, I sent four proposals. Three were accepted. Average project value went from £1,250 to £2,650. The only thing that doubled, fast and clean, was my rate. The work didn’t get slower. It got narrower. I stopped adding “nice-to-haves” and started protecting the outcome. My calendar looked the same. My revenue didn’t.
Here’s why it worked. People don’t buy labour; they buy risk moved off their plate. When you frame your offer around risk reduced or upside gained, price becomes a function of value rather than hours. Three options anchor the conversation, and a clear floor price filters out time-wasters. The proposal becomes a decision tool, not a plea. **I stopped selling time and started selling outcomes.** It felt like a tiny change. It wasn’t.
There’s a maths bit too. If you package the work so you can finish in focused sprints, your throughput stays steady while your perceived value rises. That disconnect is your lift. Anchoring helps as well: one premium tier makes the middle feel sensible, and the lowest tier shows restraint. Good boundaries look like expertise from the client side. They are.
Tactics that actually moved the dial
Here’s the small stack I now run on every project. First, a 15-minute “diagnosis” call with two questions: what does success look like in numbers, and what will stop that happening? I repeat their words back to them. Then I send a one-pager with three options, each tied to that outcome and a clear time box. I add a minimum engagement fee (£1,500 for me) and put dates into the proposal so the calendar sells the price. **My calendar didn’t change; the story I told did.**
Contracts got simpler. One round of revisions, then changes are chargeable. A kill fee at 30%. Payment: 50% upfront, 50% before final delivery. I write one paragraph about what I don’t do. That line saves me hours later. We’ve all had that moment when a “quick tweak” becomes a week. This is how you squash it kindly at the start. Let’s be honest: no one actually does that every day.
The course also gave me a sentence that works on any call: “If this performs, what’s the value to the business?” I ask, then shut up. I can practically hear the pause as they do the maths. Price sits better when the client names the number first.
“Price communicates confidence. Confidence reduces perceived risk. Reduce risk and people move faster.” — course instructor
- Adopt a floor price you won’t cross. Say it early.
- Make three options: base, better, best. Push the middle.
- Time-box work in weeks, not hours. Scope breathes, time doesn’t.
- Write a ‘not included’ clause in plain English.
- Add a tiny guarantee: a 30-minute fix session two weeks later.
What this means for your next 30 days
You don’t need a rebrand. You need a cleaner offer. For the next month, pick one service you can deliver in a calm, repeatable way. Write the outcome in the client’s numbers. Build three options. Set a floor. Put dates on it. Then send it to every warm lead you’ve got.
Some will say no. That’s the filter working. The right ones will recognise the clarity and pay for it. Because clarity is a timesaver in disguise. Try a paid discovery call at £150, creditable against the project. It’s a gentle moat that signals: this isn’t casual work. **Thirty days is enough to reset your market.**
Here’s the quiet truth: most rate rises fail because they’re just bigger numbers pasted onto messy offers. Make the offer tighter, make the outcome plainer, and the price will feel earned. You’ll feel different on calls too. More curious. Less performative. You’re not auditioning. You’re diagnosing. And that’s what professionals do when the work matters.
| Key points | Detail | Reader Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome over output | Map deliverables to a measurable business change and price that shift | Turns “words” into revenue, budget-friendly logic for clients |
| Three-option proposals | Anchor with best, steer to middle, define a clear floor price | Raises average project value without extra hours |
| Boundaries that sell | Time-box, one revision round, ‘not included’ line, simple payment terms | Stops scope creep and signals expertise |
FAQ :
- Does this work if I’m brand new to freelancing?You can still sell outcomes. Start with smaller outcomes and a lower floor, then raise it with proof. One client’s results can power your next three proposals.
- What if clients push back on the three options?Invite them to edit scope, not price. Ask, “Which parts matter least to your goal?” Trade features for fee so the logic holds.
- Should I keep a day rate?Keep it as an internal tool. Lead with packages. Offer a day rate only for genuine ad-hoc requests and price it higher than your packaged work.
- How do I choose my middle tier?Make it the most probable route to the stated outcome. Include the one lever you know moves results fast, and remove anything ornamental.
- How do I stop scope creep without sounding difficult?Put a friendly ‘not included’ clause in the proposal and reframe extras as a Phase Two. Offer a small add-on menu so saying yes stays profitable.
