Dropped my drawers today

I have a darn good track record of treating clients fairly when it comes to price. I don't like big price cuts unless we're talking remnants. And rarely do I get asked for ridiculous concessions. In fact, when asked what my best rate is, I toss it back and ask how much they want to pay and usually hear a number that is quite reasonable. Still, nothing would please me more than one rate card for all.

But today, I cut my rate by half and made it on to a packaged goods plan. It was an experiment and I'm not so sure if I should jump for joy or cry. The revenue is welcome but how well will I sleep tonight? How can I ever again say that I'm offering the best rate possible? I feel a little dirty. But not as dirty as I would have felt had they seen me stripped down and still rejected my offer.

Rate negotiations are a bit of a game. Naturally, everybody likes a good deal and ad agencies are always needing to demonstrate their value to their fickle clients. Stretching the budget is as a good a way as any. But why should I offer one advertiser a rate that is less than I offer another if they are running the same schedule? Well actually there are some very good reasons (which I will save for another day), but will the buyer paying the higher rate appreciate these? I think not. In today's case, we could not compete efficiency-wise with the bigger more efficient magazines on the plan. And most certainly, they did not need our magazine (but then they never really do). So I did the nasty.