In my last post I asked the question "should you do voice over jobs for free?" Judging by the response, the answer was a resounding NO. That now brings us to the thorny issue of actually charging your clients. What quote is a fair price?
What is your voice really worth? There is a tendency for many of us to play down our talents in a bid to get the work, whatever the pay. But the fee you charge says a great deal about you and your services. Quote a low fee and the implication is you are cheap.
I have discovered the hard way that not all voice over jobs are price sensitive. A couple of years ago I decided to do a 'John Lewis' with a project advertised on a well known voice over market place. I said to the client that I was never knowingly undersold; in other words I would match and even undercut any other applicant.
The job was mine, I thought arrogantly. However I did not even get close. The reason? The client was not buying on price, but on quality and appropriateness. My voice was simply not right for the job, even though it was probably the cheapest.
Of course a client's budget is always a consideration, but if it was only about price the VO artist with the lowest quote would always get the gig and quite clearly that is not the case.
Be careful about discounting too. It is very tempting to reduce your fee to secure the gig, but even a ten percent reduction can have a marked effect on your bottom line. Your £200 quote suddenly becomes a less attractive £180. Do that over a year and you will be thousands of pounds worse off.
Stand firm on your price and your steady nerve will pay dividends.
In a future post I will explain how to raise your fee without raising eyebrows.
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