[adrianhoward]

Yet today they stated they could get two developers for the price I was charging and would have to think about hiring me unless I was prepared to negotiate.

And that, in of itself, is a negotiation tactic. It might be true - but it's much more likely to be a method of getting you to drop your rates. You set the top level at $dayrate. They've now set the bottom at $dayrate/2. They're now hoping for something less than $dayrate as the end result.

If it were me I'd be saying something like "Well - that's great. We obviously don't want you to waste money, and I can be working on some stuff for some of my other clients. Would you like me to brief the new developers when you get them on board at my $higher_short_term_consulting_dayrate? Or are you happy managing the brief and project management for the guys you're getting in?"

(translation: No. I don't come cheap and can afford to leave this work. Also - you've already worked with me and know I can be trusted. How much extra effort is it going to be to manage the new folk - assuming that they exist?)

[jwwest]

This is heavy handed, as is the client using this type of negotiation tactic. It's not healthy to respond this way.

A better solution would be to respond: "Well, my rate is based on my experience with XYZ and because I've been in this industry a while. A lot of developers out there aren't interested in this kind of thing and don't understand what you're going through. Honestly, I hired a couple myself last year and it took more effort than I saved just trying to get them ramped up."

Then just smile and leave it at that. Sometimes the best response is to make your point and not get into a conversation about it.

[adrianhoward]

This is heavy handed, as is the client using this type of negotiation tactic. It's not healthy to respond this way.

Possibly I'm getting less mellow with age :-) My responses used to be more like yours, now I tend to be a bit more direct.

The ones who are approaching it purely as a negotiation tactic don't care or mind - they understand what the issues are and appreciate cutting to the chase.

The ones who really don't value my time I don't actually really want as clients...

However you approach it - and your approach is completely reasonable - the key realisation is that this isn't a question of the client not having the money to pay $dayrate. This is most likely a pure negotiation tactic to get a drop in the quoted rate.