Latest / Freelance Careers with Fexingo: Independent Work, Consulting, and Self-Employment / How Freelancers Can Use a Client NPS System to Raise Rates
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this freelance graphic designer I've been following — her name's Carla, she does brand identity work for DTC startups. Last year she raised her rates by twenty percent, and here's the kicker: not a single client pushed back. Luna: Okay, I need to know how she pulled that off. Because every freelancer I talk to says raising rates feels like you're asking for a favor. Lucas: Right, it's psychological. But Carla didn't just send an email saying 'my rates are going up.' She came armed with data. Specifically, she used a Net Promoter Score survey — NPS — which is usually a corporate thing, but she adapted it for her freelance business. Luna: NPS — that's the 'how likely are you to recommend us on a scale of zero to ten' question, right? Lucas: Exactly. And the scoring breaks into three groups: promoters give a nine or ten, passives give seven or eight, and detractors give zero through six. Your NPS is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors. It gives you a number between negative one hundred and positive one hundred. Luna: And Carla's score was high enough to justify a rate bump. Lucas: Seventy-two. That's world-class. For context, the average NPS for professional services firms is around forty. Hers was almost double that. So she had hard evidence that her clients not only liked her work, they'd refer her to others. That's a signal of value far beyond just delivering on time. Luna: But how did she actually run the survey? Was it automated, or did she personally email each client? Lucas: She used a simple Typeform — three questions. First, the standard NPS question. Second, an open-ended 'what's the one thing I could do better?' Third, 'what's the one thing you value most about working with me?' She sent it to her top twenty clients by revenue, right after a project milestone. Luna: Smart to ask what they value most — that gives you the language to use in your rate increase letter. Lucas: Exactly. She got responses like 'your strategic thinking saves us months of trial and error' and 'you make our brand look like we're a ten-person team when we're really a three-person startup.' She collected those quotes and used them in her proposal. Luna: Okay, so she has the data. Walk me through the actual rate increase conversation. Did she do it in person, over email? Lucas: Email, but with a warm opening. She started by thanking them for the feedback and mentioning the NPS score — not bragging, but framing it as 'I'm glad our work together is delivering value.' Then she said something like: 'Based on the results and the increasing demand for my services, I'm adjusting my rates for new projects starting next quarter. Your current retainer will stay the same for two more months.' Luna: She gave them a grace period. That's key. Lucas: Absolutely. And she attached a one-page PDF that showed her NPS score, a few verbatim quotes, and the new rate sheet. It made the increase feel like a natural step, not a surprise. Out of twenty clients, eighteen agreed immediately, one negotiated a smaller increase, and one left because of budget cuts — but that client actually came back six months later. Luna: So the NPS system did double duty: it gave her the confidence to ask, and it gave clients the context to say yes. Lucas: Exactly. And I think the reason it works is that most freelancers raise rates based on 'I need more money' — which is true, but it's a weak argument. NPS turns it into 'your peers value me at this level, and I'm aligning my pricing with that value.' Luna: I want to push back a little though. NPS can be biased — you're only surveying clients who already like you. The detractors might just ghost you instead of filling out a survey. Lucas: That's a real risk. Carla addressed it by also tracking her response rate. She got about seventy percent of clients to respond, which is high. And she made the survey anonymous to encourage honesty. If someone gave a low score, she followed up personally to understand the issue — that actually helped her retain a couple of clients by fixing problems before they escalated. Luna: Okay, so the survey isn't just a rate-raising tool — it's also a retention tool. I like that. Lucas: Right. And if you do it quarterly, you can track your NPS trend. If it's going up, you have a stronger case each time. If it's going down, you know you have work to do before you raise rates. Luna: What about timing? When should a freelancer first implement an NPS system? Lucas: I'd say after at least three months with a client, or after a major deliverable. You want them to have enough experience to give meaningful feedback. And don't send the survey when you're already planning a rate increase — give yourself a buffer of a few weeks to analyze the results. Luna: So the sequence is: deliver great work, survey, analyze, then raise rates with data in hand. Lucas: Exactly. And if your NPS is below fifty, don't raise rates yet. Focus on improving the score first. Carla's seventy-two gave her the green light. For someone with a thirty, the right move is to ask better questions about what's not working and fix those gaps. Luna: One more thing — do you think this works for all types of freelancers? Like, what if you're a writer or a virtual assistant rather than a high-touch consultant? Lucas: I think it works for anyone with ongoing client relationships. For a writer, the survey could focus on turnaround time, clarity of communication, and whether the content meets their goals. The key is to tailor the follow-up questions to your specific service. The NPS number itself is universal. Luna: Alright, I'm sold. I'm going to try this with my own freelance consulting clients. I've been wanting to raise rates for a while but didn't have a good framework. Lucas: Do it. And let us know how it goes. We might do a follow-up episode with your results. Luna: Speaking of listener contributions — if you've found value in this episode or any of our previous ones, and you want to help us keep making ad-free content, a few listeners already chip in monthly over at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's what funds this whole operation. Lucas: Yeah, we don't run ads, so that direct support is what keeps the lights on. No pressure, but if it's helped you think through a career move or decision, that's the place. Luna: Right. And we're back to the data. So Lucas, what's the one thing you'd want a freelancer to take away from this episode? Lucas: Don't guess your value — measure it. An NPS survey costs you an hour to set up and gives you a number that speaks louder than any email you could write. It transforms a subjective ask into an objective business decision. Luna: And the best part? Even if you're not ready to raise rates, you get a roadmap for improvement. Lucas: Exactly. That's the hidden value. You're not just collecting a score — you're building a feedback loop that makes your business stronger over time.