There are many “creative” ways to un-knowingly maximize the chance your price will fail, but I’m here to talk about the ONE case where it completely makes sense to do it on purpose.
Poison-pill price, also lovingly called the F*ck Off Price, is a price carefully crafted to make a specific client take fright and leave you alone because you would rather not work with them but it’s not professional to say that out loud unless you are actually feeling unsafe. It’s traditionally made by multiplying your usual price by four and hoping for the worst, but there are more and less “spicy” versions of it as well.
Of course, this is best used as a “delicacy” not to be served to normal clients but only cooked up for those glorious client specimens brimming with personal and professional red flags.
For example, I have a young and markedly pretty client that has one price for well-behaved clients, and a 60% higher one for people who call her “girl (mostly women) or “honey” (mostly men) before they get a quote. She says it helps her peace of mind when she knows that she does not have to power through even “light harassment” for free.
The great thing about this tool is that even if it fails, and the client accepts the price you at least have extra funds to console yourself or your team with. Use with care, but DO incorporate it into your “cookbook” – you never know when you might need it.