You don’t have to be in business very long before you’ll have a conversation like this:

Prospective client: “What do you charge for X?”

You: “Honestly, it depends on how many words/pages X is.”

Prospective client: “Well, we’re not really sure yet. Can you just give me a ballpark number on what you usually charge for X?”

You: “I’d be able to give you a much more accurate estimate with additional information. Do you have time to answer a couple of questions?”

Prospective client: “Well, we’re still really early in the process and trying to figure out our budget. If you can provide me a basic number, I can take that back to the team.”

It’s a bit like an improv comedy skit, but unfortunately, it’s never funny. At the risk of seeming evasive, you really should never feel obligated to give an off-the-cuff estimate over the phone. If you do, there are three primary negative outcomes and a ton of permutations:

• You tell prospects a number that’s too low—and then they’re shocked when they get the actual, much higher “real” estimate later on, once you’ve calculated the scope of work.
• You give them a number that’s too low—and they want you to stick to it, as if you signed some sort of magical contractual agreement.
• You provide a number that would be too high for the actual project parameters—and you scare off them off without a chance to understand their needs and come to mutually agreeable terms.

Sure, you might happen to guess a number that works for the client, gets you the job, and results in a lucrative project. The odds are heavily against this, however, and it’s generally not worth the risk. You have no written documentation, just a verbal offer: the weakest, least persuasive position to be in. An estimate based on fuzzy information can be hazardous to both your business and your sanity. And there’s no way to price the latter.

What’s the Exception to the Rule?

If an existing client—one you have an excellent relationship with and have done multiple jobs for—asks you to give an over-the-phone quickie quote, there’s no reason to be coy. This individual knows you are an honest businessperson, and he or she is just trying to get some information based on limited facts, not trying to trick you into saying something you’ll regret later.

Even so, you’ll still want to provide a conservative range and offer a disclaimer that you’ll need more information to estimate accurately: “Sara, those types of projects generally run from $900 to $1,400, but as you know it’s going to depend on how long the actual document is, how many interviews I need to do and other factors. Sounds like a great opportunity, so please let me know when you have the details and I’ll turn around a more accurate bid the same day.”

This post was adapted from Jake Poinier’s The Science, Art and Voodoo of Freelance Pricing and Getting Paid, available on Amazon.