Scott Oldford Site

Tag: fire a client

  • Want to Fire a Client? Ask These 5 Questions First

    Want to Fire a Client? Ask These 5 Questions First

    You’re an artist. A consummate wordsmith who crafts powerful prose compelling readers to take a specific action.  

    To have some corporate suit and tie type question your word slinging prowess is almost insulting.

    They don’t understand how your copy will help their business, and they’re wrong to question your expertise.

    Or are they?

    The above is a knee jerk reaction I see many freelance writers (including myself) make when receiving criticism of their work.

    I’ve seen it lead writers to wrongfully “fire” clients whose only intent was to improve the deliverable with constructive criticism.

    To keep myself from making hasty, rage fueled decisions, I now ask myself a series of questions whenever a client does something I disagree with. These questions haven’t just helped retain a stable client base, they’ve helped me improve as a writer by filtering genuine constructive criticism from ignorant comments.

    I recommend you ask yourself the same questions the next time you’re thinking of dropping a client.

    1. Is this constructive criticism, a poorly informed request or a personal attack?

    Knowing the difference between the three is key.

    If your client is offering constructive criticism, suck it up.

    Sure, it hurts to be told your article, blog post or email isn’t perfect, but if the client’s offering advice that will help you improve, listen. Take a day to consider their feedback before responding and you’ll see they might just be right.

    However, don’t blindly follow their lead. You’re the expert. They might request amendments to tone or structure which, from experience, you know will lower reader engagement.

    Educate your client and explain why your proposed tone or structure is the better way to go. If you don’t and end up doing everything they tell you, you’ll end up hating the client and producing low quality work.

    Sometimes clients are unnecessarily abrasive. They launch personal attacks because they’re not happy. These clients are poison to your career and have to go. This is a professional relationship.

    Work related criticism is fine, personal attacks are not.

    2. Are the client’s requests crazy or are you missing the big picture?

    How involved are you with the client’s wider marketing strategy?

    If you’ve been hired for a single deliverable like a individual blog post or company bio, chances are that’s all you’ll know about.

    “Ridiculous” client requests could be the result of a clash with the bigger picture.

    If you’re not sure why the client needs something, ask.

    Ask why they need certain changes. Tell them it’ll help you understand the overall plan and turn in a bio, blog post, case study that better aligns with their strategy.

    3. Is this a recurring problem?  

    We’ve all been paid late, had a client send a curt email or waited too long for a simple response.

    Clients are people too, and just as prone to crappy days as we are.

    If the client oversteps once, give them the benefit of the doubt. They could be dealing with something their end and need a little slack. We’ve all been there, it’s not appropriate or professional, but it happens.

    But if it continues, move on.

    4. How well can you do this job?

    There’s a direct correlation between your ability and your enjoyment of a task.

    If you can’t do a job well, it’s often difficult to find it enjoyable.

    With writing (and other creative arts) that bond is strengthened because there’s so much of you in your writing.  

    If a client makes you feel like you can’t do the job, you’ll hate the task and the client for making you feel that way.

    You shouldn’t take on jobs you can’t handle. I understand there’s an exception as you need to grow, but grow carefully. If you can’t perform a certain task well, it will become something you dislike.

    5. Are you the first freelance writer the client has worked with?

    Clients who’ve never worked with freelancers often struggle to manage outside help. They don’t have established processes for effective communications and payment.

    It’s not a sole reason for dropping a client. If you are the first outside writer a business has worked with, give them some wiggle room and educate them on what they’re doing wrong. Most clients are pretty decent about this. If your work is good, they’ll want to keep you around.

    Consider putting together a “how to work with freelance writers” guide. You are a writer after all and putting your own guide together will not only help the client understand how to work with you, but will greatly help future freelancers they work with.

    If you have clients that are draining you of motivation, making you feel like you’re a terrible writer or having a general negative impact on your life, they need to go.

    There are times when dropping a client is completely necessary, but before making a hasty decision, be sure to consider these five questions.

    Have you ever fired a freelance writing client? Share your stories in the comments below.

  • 4 Clear Signs You Need to Dump a Freelance Writing Client

    4 Clear Signs You Need to Dump a Freelance Writing Client

    When you’re first starting out as a freelancer, you might take every gig you can get, just to build up a portfolio and a good reputation.

    You’re willing to take the cheap and sometimes frustrating assignments in the name of building your business, and that’s OK when you’re just getting off the ground.

    Eventually, though, your freelance business will grow.

    You’ll land more clients who are willing to pay you more for your experience, which means your time becomes more valuable. You might be able to juggle these high-value projects with the low-paying ones for a while, but at a certain point, you will likely need to drop the latter to free yourself up for bigger and better things.

    So how do you know when it’s time to “break up” with a certain freelance client? Here are four signs you should reconsider working with that particular client.

    1. They pay you less than other clients for comparable work (and won’t raise their budget)

    Freelance rates can be a tricky subject, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience.

    When you’re not in a position to negotiate, you might accept a $10 or $15 per article just to get the gig.

    But when other clients start offering you double, triple or quadruple (or more) to write that same article, the choice becomes rather obvious whom you’d rather write for.

    For example, a potential client of mine offered me $20 to write a 600-word blog post. Even at the lowest, “beginner” level pay rates, ClearVoice recommends paying five to eight cents per word ($30 to $48) for a 600-word article.

    If you ask your client for a modest raise based on a few different average recommended rates, and they can’t or won’t offer you more, their projects aren’t worth pursuing.

    2. Their work takes more time to complete than it’s worth

    Let’s say I accepted that $20 offer for the blog post. If the piece took me a half hour to write with no additional work involved, that would be the equivalent of a $40 hourly rate.

    Not bad, right?

    The problem is, what the client expected me to write would have taken at least two to three hours of research, interviewing and writing — which would make my hourly value plummet.

    I always recommend taking a couple of sample assignments before making a long-term commitment to a client, to see how long each project takes and whether the pay rate is worth the amount of work I’d have to do.

    3. You hate the work

    It’s worth sticking with a client if you truly enjoy the work you’re doing, but if you dread the thought of working on certain assignments, it’s time to think about dropping them.

    I once worked with a client who had me write headlines and meta descriptions for product reviews he had written. I’d done SEO projects before, but I found that the client’s large workload, demanding deadlines and difficult specifications made it difficult to stay motivated and do a good job. I ended up canceling the contract part-way through and refunding the money the client had already paid.

    I hope to never have to do that again, but sometimes when you’re in over your head, you need to get out so you can focus on work you’re better at.

    4. They’re hard to work with

    Regardless of what they’re paying you, no client is worth hours of frustration spent on back-and-forth exchanges, last-minute project changes and endless revisions.

    This is especially true if you’re charging a flat fee: As in the above example of the $20 blog post, the more time and energy you put into a flat-rate project, the less you’re earning in the long run.

    If you have a “give an inch, take a mile” client who continually demands more without compensating you accordingly (or worse, won’t pay up at all), let that client go.

    How to end your professional relationship

    As with any relationship, breaking up with a client is no easy task.

    You may feel guilty for leaving them hanging on a project, or worry they’ll leave a negative review on your online profiles. If you do it right, though, most clients will be understanding when you request to end your working relationship with them.

    The best approach is to treat it like you’re quitting a traditional job.

    Explain in polite and professional terms why you’re unable to continue working for them — in other words, focus your own business needs, rather than on whatever they’ve done wrong.

    Do your best not to badmouth or berate the client, to their face or to anyone else (unless you’re in a situation like Simon Owens, who publicly called out a client who owed him more than $2,000). Here are a few examples:

    • Low pay: “I am pursuing higher-budget projects.”
    • Demanding deadlines or takes too long: “I am juggling a lot of opportunities right now and need to balance my workload.”
    • Unfulfilling work or difficult client: “I am focusing on work from other clients right now.”

    Once you’ve given the client your reason, you can offer to stay on for a little longer (through the end of the next project or a specific time frame, depending on the work you had been doing) until they find another freelancer to replace you. Your willingness to ease the transition will assuage any hard feelings, and may even earn you a good recommendation or future referral.

    Most importantly, remind yourself that this decision is right for you and your freelance career. Don’t feel badly about dropping a client in the name of business growth — sometimes, you need to clear out the weeds to make room for the flowers.

    Have you ever broken up with a client? Share your experience in the comments below.