Make Me An Offer

In 1991, I needed to replace my car, a 1984 Nissan Sentra that had developed an inability to idle (instead, it would simply stall). We looked around and found a 2-year old low-mileage Toyota Corolla at a local dealer. The price was right. We did a test drive, then went inside for the infamous "negotiations".

Things were progressing smoothly until we asked about trading in the Nissan.

        What do you want for it?
                What's it worth?
        Well,... what do you think you it's worth?
                I dunno... $500?
        I'll talk to my manager.

[Time passes...]

        We can't give you $500.
                What can you give us?
        What do you want for it?

In the end, it turned out they didn't want to give us anything on the Nissan (but didn't want to say so for fear of blowing the deal). I was willing to pay sticker for the Corolla but wanted the Nissan off my hands. I ended up donating the Nissan to a local college for a tax write-off, but the "negotiations" remain in my mind as a bad example of what not to do

What might have happened if we had just said, up front, "Look, we're gonna buy the Corolla and we don't want to hassle with the Nissan. Give us your best offer. Do you want it or not?" At the very least, we would have saved three hours of frustration.

I think about this whenever I'm forced, unwillingly, into putting a price on my work. Potential employment situations cause similar problems. Invariably, some time during the interview process, the interviewer will ask:

What's your desired salary?"

I never know how best to answer that question. In the past, I've always stated what I was currently making, along with the hope of a slight increase. Recently, however, I'm in a bit of a bind. I was unemployed for two years, then accepted a job that provided a salary lower than any job I had in the preceding decade. I have no idea what the current market will bear. Do I ask for what I made in my most recent job? Or in the job before that (20% higher)?

I'm beginning to think I should respond "I'd like as much as you are willing to pay me and still offer me the job". (This is presuming, of course, that I want the job.)

I especially hate fixed price contracts and (worse) bidding wars. I'm a firm believer in "You get what you pay for" and I'm not anxious to low-ball a bid just to try to get a contract. I don't believe anyone wins in a situation like this.

Recently, I was discussing a possible long-term freelance arrangement for web site work. The original project description included a sample range of payments ($50 - $200 per site, based on site size and number of pages). However, when I applied for the position, the potential client asked "What would you charge?" Somewhat nonplussed, I responded by quoting back his original range.

Next thing I knew, I was told that other respondents had come in with "considerably lower bids" and "could I do better?" What do I say?

Make me an offer. Look at my resume, look at my track record, read things I've written. Talk to me. Ask me for samples.

Decide first if I'm the person you want working for you. If I am, then make me an offer.

In turn, I'll look over the job and decide if I want to accept it. If I do, I'll consider your offer. If the offer seems too low, (after all, I have a mortgage), but I still want the job, then we'll try to negotiate a compromise.

But please don't start off by making this an issue of money first and last. Before we talk dollars, let's decide if we want to work together. At least then, you'll know what you're paying for.