A Total Estimate

I was interested in
working with a marketing company
for a specific promotion.

The marketing company
would be responsible for one part
of the promotion.
I would be responsible for the rest.

According to the marketing company,
they had provided this program
to many other writers.
I had never participated in one.
I didn’t know what would be involved.

So I asked what the estimate
of my total costs would be,
suggesting they use another writer’s costs
to base this estimate on.

They came back
with merely the list of things
I’d be responsible for,
something that had already been
communicated.
No price estimates were attached.

Which told me what I needed to know.
They didn’t know
what they were doing.

Even if your company isn’t responsible
for all of the costs,
you should know what the total costs
of the previous projects you sold are.

If a prospective client asks,
you should be able to give them an estimate
(noting exactly that
– it is an estimate
based on the previous client’s numbers).

Know the total costs
of any project you’re selling.

Published
Categorized as Sales