[tptacek]

Real clients don't do this, but it wouldn't matter if it did. When a prospect values your services too low, you simply say "no" to them. It's called "deal qualification", and it's a Sales 101 skill. Your job is to find the clients who value what you're doing enough to be worth working for.

This isn't theoretical. Lots of people on HN execute this strategy successfully.

[logicallee]

Thomas, and do you think "freelancer" is how they should title themselves? It's not so much about increasing your negotiating skills and rate 'as a freelancer' but expanding what you're doing so that it's quite a poor title at that point.