Pricing for a remote client when going against local freelancers

Question

I have a remote client who is also considering going with Freelancer Anne (who lives in the same area as the client). This would give Freelancer Anne an advantage off the bat, since she can easily meet with the client face-to-face. The cost of travel for me to do a face-to-face meeting would be prohibitive in this case (since freelancing is not my full-time job).

What pricing considerations should I make for this? Should I make myself more available to the client (allowing phone calls during my regular job's lunch break, responding to emails during said lunch break), and/or should I give a discount on my services due to the inconvenience?

Answer 1

If your only edge vs other freelancers is price, you've already lost this battle.

Why not offer some nominal service as a bonus, that won't tax you too heavily and keep the price consistent?

Also - promote yourself on what you can accomplish, and not just price. Anybody can promote on being the cheapest, but the cheapest ain't always the best! Real, genuine expertise is attractive to a potential client. That means that when you're trying to get the business, you can't use a boilerplater template to try to get a new client because a boilerplate doesn't communicate how your expertise is going to specifically make things better for the client.

Answer 2

As Scott said, in general you don't change your price or rules a lot. If you can get 5 clients with your rules, don't change them for the 6th client.

Now, there are some situations that you WANT to get that job. It's either interesting or you see more work or you don't have much work currently etc. No matter what, if you really want that job, then soften your rules while still earning money.

For example, offer lower price than Ann by offering discount. Everyone likes discount. Make sure he knows your real price. If Ann can meet him each week, offer him meeting once a month, over the weekend maybe, if you can afford it. If convenient for you, offer him work on Saturdays, not only on weekdays, etc.

My point is that yourself being better than Ann just by 1 point will not make him change his mind. But if he sees 3,4,5,... points better than Ann, then you will get the job.