The “same thing?” When your prospect says that to you, you likely don’t need stronger sales skills or more patience. You just need to move on to the next prospect. You can’t change ducks into eagles. And that’s okay.

I rediscovered Kevin Fussichen’s Duck Laws this morning and remembered how they can help us understand Graphic Design Pricing and Prospecting:

DUCK LAW No. 5
Ducks are noble creatures. They shall not be penalized in the eyes of other creatures because they are not eagles.
Restatement: All things are honorable if they are what they are honestly, even if they are different from you.

DUCK LAW No. 6
The greatest duck that ever was cannot fly as high as even a modest eagle.
Restatement: If one would soar with eagles, do not swim with ducks.

See? If you are trying to sell a $7500 graphic design project to business owners who think $500 is an astronomical amount to spend for graphic design (my numbers are just an example), you are going to be miserable. And broke. You must seek out prospects who are already accustomed to spending $7500 for graphics. Then you are left with the easier task of selling them on YOU.

Images courtesy Carl Chapman & tifotter used under a Creative Commons license.

Answer: Asking for a budget qualifies the client in more ways than one. It lets a designer know if s/he is working with an amateur client or someone who has been around the block. The “hand-holding” factor is generally much greater with amateurs and is compounded if they don’t understand how designers work or how much they cost.

Also, if you have to pull teeth to get a budget figure, you will be pulling teeth the whole way; be sure you factor this into your proposal.