When clients think you’re too expensive, should you try to justify your rates, or just let them move on?

Most of the time when a client thinks I’m too expensive, I just let them move on. I’m fortunate to have enough work, and it’s draining to explain to people why high-quality language services aren’t cheap. But once in a while, I decide to push back a little, and it’s always interesting to see the client’s reaction.

About a week ago, an individual client e-mailed me about a birth certificate translation. I responded that I charge $75 per page, including a certificate of accuracy with my ATA-certified translator stamp on it.

Client: I see online services charging $27 per page; is there any chance we could meet in the middle at $50 per page?

Me: If the online service meets your needs, by all means, use them. However what I’m offering is not just the translation. The fact that I’m ATA-certified (which costs money to prepare for, obtain, and maintain) means that I personally sign the certificate, including my contact information, and I stand behind the translation. If there’s ever an issue, you can contact me personally and I’ll resolve it. It would surprise me if a $27 per page service offers this, but I’m fortunate to be very busy at my regular rates, so I don’t offer discounts.

Client: OK, send me the invoice.

These days, I think it’s easy to get discouraged by the prevailing trends: faster, cheaper, good enough is good enough, go with the cheapest option or just throw it at an AI tool and see if you get caught. And to be fair, a $75 job is different than a $5,000 job. But on a small scale and a large scale, there are still clients who care, and that’s who you want to be working with.

I hope this is helpful! Have a great week.

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