What's Your Budget? – What I Did to Stop Losing Clients

Earlier in my career, I lost clients because I focused only on the most efficient way to communicate with them. They would call and ask for quotes, and I would give them one. I would send them a simple menu that was easy to read and had a price.

If you want to film an interview, it costs X, if you want to add subtitles, it costs Y and so on. I thought customers would love this because it's a clear pricing.
But this didn’t connect me with the client or the real details of the job.

Nowadays, when a client asks me how much it would cost to do a project, and even if I already have a pretty good idea of the cost, instead of rushing to send a quote right away, I slow down and start asking questions. "Tell me more about your project." I want to understand what the project is for and what challenges they might be facing. I also ask if there’s anything especially important to them.

As we talk, I share my own ideas and examples. I might say, "Here’s an idea," or "Can we do it like this?" I often show them pictures or videos to see if that’s something they like. This helps us make sure we have the same vision for the project.

Meanwhile other people might just send in their prices, like i used to,
I’m nowadays more focused on building a relationship with the client at an earlier stage.
By getting to know them and earning their trust, I can make suggestions that improve the project for everyone. This way, the project can be more effective and successful.

When and Why to Ask: "What's Your Budget?

It's hard to say exactly when to ask the question, but it’s probably the most important one to ask.

If it's a small job that needs to be done in the next few days or as soon as possible, the question can come up at the end of the first call or in a follow-up email. If the filming is further away in time and I get the impression that there might be others giving prices, I make sure to slow down the process.

Without any conditions my first focus is always to help. By listening to the client I present solutions or suggest ways to make the idea cheaper or smarter.
Then I ask: "What's your budget?”

How Conversations Used to Go

Client - Can we get a quote for making a film?
Mattias - Okay, I will get back to you.

Mattias stays up all night making a presentation, calls other freelancers, and puts together a quote without knowing the customer's budget or goals. (Wastes everyone's time.)

Mattias - Here is the quote; please let me know if you have any questions.
Mattias - (a week later) Hi again, have you had a chance to look at the quote?
Client - Hi, we chose some other options...

How I Maximize My Clients' Value

If the customer has 10,000 Euros and you tell them it will cost 5,000 Euros, they might feel like they're not getting the most out of their budget. But if you tell them it will cost 40,000 Euros, it will seem way too expensive.

So, if I don't know how much money they want to spend, how can I make sure they get the best value for their money? By asking the question before I present my numbers, I can more easily tailor the production to meet the client's budget and expectations.

Client - Can we get a quote for making a film?
Mattias - Please, tell my more about the project.
Client - ABC
Mattias - Do you have any thoughts about what your budget is?
Client - We don't know, we just want a quote.
Mattias - Film production is very flexible and can be done in many different ways depending on the budget. It’s much more efficient if you give me an approximate budget so we can develop a proposal within that price range.
Client - Okay, I understand, maybe somewhere between X and Y.
Mattias - Thank you...

But what if the customer doesn’t know their budget? Or doesn’t want to tell?

Mattias -….- It’s much more efficient if you give me an approximate budget so we can develop a proposal within that price range.
Client - - Okay, well, I still don’t know. It’s “the board,” “my boss,” or something else, (I’m just not going to tell you).
Mattias - Okay, I understand, but do you think it’s over or under 100.000 Euro?
Client - …Probably under...
Mattias - Okay, great. Do you think it’s over or under 50.000 Euro?…

In summary, never proceed without a stated approximate budget from the client. It takes a lot of extra time for everyone—agency, production companies, freelancers, and the clients themselves—when they receive an offer they don't want.

So Now You Know the Budget

If it's a smaller project and you feel like you're the only one they’re talking to and the project is coming up soon, you can now adjust a price proposal to fit their approximate budget. Now you've made a proposal that you know they can afford, and because you've done your homework, you know things about the project and the customer's expectations. Thanks to having established a better relationship to the client already at an earlier stage, you increase your chance of earning their trust, hence getting the assignment. Also, by getting a deeper understanding for the project at first stage, you create best conditions possible for a successful project – without wasting anyone's time due to lack of information.

Handling Bigger Budgets and More Competition

When the budget is bigger and the production is further away in time, the customer has time to think about other solutions, look at different options, and compare them to what you present. This increases the chances of more quotes coming in to them.

You might have good contact with one person at the company/agency, while someone else at the same company is talking to other freelancers/production companies, limiting your insight. Or the quote might go to another decision-maker, or things might change without you knowing.

To increase your chances of winning the project, you use Small, Medium, Large.

Now I use the received price range from earlier, to develop three price proposals: one slightly under the customer's budget, one roughly within the target, and one higher.

Small Medium Large

There are special cases where there is an open competition, and you are asked to present a budget in a specific way. But other than those situations, I use this method with three proposals that gives the customer different options and keeps you relevant no matter what happens. It shows a willingness to discuss rather than presenting a "take it or leave it" scenario.

Large
The higher-priced option should demonstrate your extensive expertise and what you would do if given full creative freedom. For example, “Instead of flying a drone, we rent a full-size helicopter.”

Medium
This is the proposal you believe is best for everyone and is close to the customer’s given budget.

Small
The lower-priced option shows that you are flexible and interested in the project, even if the budget is smaller. You can scale down or remove some elements to reduce the cost. For example, if we skip writing our own music and choose stock music instead, we can get the cost down to X, or if we skip the drone, we can reduce the cost to Y etc.

End note

Sometimes I join other teams where I'm not directly in touch with the client. In those cases, I might get a call from an advertising agency or a production company asking me to work with them and give a quote that they will take to their client. I ask for an approximate budget so I can suggest a good solution. If they say they don't know, me and everyone involved has to guess numbers for the project that is unlikely to lead to anything concrete because the people closest to the client haven't asked:
What's your budget?

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