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Poll: How do you raise your rates?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Sep 10

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How do you raise your rates?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 21:34
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Sep 10

I no longer have one rate across the board, I have various rates for different clients. I haven’t touched the rates I apply to my long-standing customers since 2016 when I last raised them but I've been applying either a higher rate or a per project rate to my new clients.

Thayenga
Christine Andersen
Luis M. Sosa
 
Ismael Marín Castañeda
Ismael Marín Castañeda  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:34
Member (2021)
English to Spanish
Other Sep 10

I tend to raise them after having worked for a client for a given amount of time, for instance, 6 months or one year. I create time reports to keep track of how long I spend working on a task for a client so that I can then check how much I've made for that task and see if it is profitable or not. After a period of time, I get in touch with the client and present them with arguments to ask for a rate rise. It usually works.

Nikolay Novitskiy
Gyöngyi Tanácsi
 
Nikolay Novitskiy
Nikolay Novitskiy  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 02:34
Member (2018)
English to Russian
With utmost care Sep 10

How do I raise rates? Well, raising rates is a complex but pleasant activity. Rates need to be fed and watered daily, they need to be led to the website each morning and put back from the website at dusk each night to protect them from competitors. Feedback should be picked up twice a day. The CV should be cleaned out weekly to maintain sane state of mind. Follow these rule - and you raise big and healthy rates...

Jorge Payan
Daryo
 
Astrid Elke Witte
Astrid Elke Witte  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:34
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
Raise rates? Sep 10

I get the general impression that rates are being forced down by the agencies.

Anja Hajek
Thayenga
Justin Peterson
expressisverbis
Inés Cendón Rodríguez
Jorge Payan
Elaine Ruby
 
Justin Peterson
Justin Peterson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:34
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
Raise? Sep 10

With AI translations spreading like wildfire ... is anyone really trying to RAISE their rates?

Astrid Elke Witte
Jorge Payan
Elaine Ruby
 
Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 22:34
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Various approaches Sep 11

I don't raise my rates with existing clients very often, but when I do so, it's hardly ever at the beginning of the year; more often when they contact me again after a long time (>1 year) of radio silence. With my biggest client, I rose my rates with 20% after 6 years, which is still a bargain considering the inflation over that period. It was quite scary, but they agreed immediately. I also quote higher rates to potential clients; most of them ghost me at that stage but I still get new agency c... See more
I don't raise my rates with existing clients very often, but when I do so, it's hardly ever at the beginning of the year; more often when they contact me again after a long time (>1 year) of radio silence. With my biggest client, I rose my rates with 20% after 6 years, which is still a bargain considering the inflation over that period. It was quite scary, but they agreed immediately. I also quote higher rates to potential clients; most of them ghost me at that stage but I still get new agency clients every now and then. ▲ Collapse
 
Robert Rietvelt
Robert Rietvelt  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:34
Member (2006)
Spanish to Dutch
+ ...
Wrong question Sep 11

The question should be: How do you lower your rates to stay competitive (without making a fool of yourself to your clients)? Seems more appropriate.

Raising your rates nowadays is professional suicide.

[Edited at 2024-09-11 15:57 GMT]

Jorge Payan
expressisverbis
Justin Peterson
 


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Poll: How do you raise your rates?






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