Discounts Don’t Work
When it comes to the custom software development world the story usually goes something like this:
Idea guy: So I have this cool app I want to build, it does X, Y and Z… can you give me a quote? Dev: Sure, that sounds interesting… based on my extensive experience, I’d guesstimate that it might be around $XXX in total. However, given the flexible nature of software, we generally work at an hourly rate of $XXX/hr. Idea guy: Hmm, wow that’s quite a bit more than I was thinking… is there any way to do it cheaper.
Then of course, the conversation continues depending on how needy the dev is for work. The bottom line is that things can ALWAYS be done at a lower cost. However, the repercussions are that a sub-bar product is delivered and nobody comes out happy. Clients that don’t value you enough to pay your standard rates generally aren’t worth having as clients. In all the projects I’ve done, I can think of 1 client where it has turned out ok.. and even then there have been some touchy moments. Value yourself, your team, and your work. Don’t discount it. And on the flip-side, for goodness sake developers, please deliver the value you are promising!
