by Rachel Smith
14 November 2018
Not at all. We’ve all been in that position and as you build your freelance business, do courses to boost your skills and get valuable experience in the market, you will naturally start to out-grow those clients who were with you at the beginning.
But deciding to cull a client should be Plan B. Plan A is to be brave and tell the client you’re putting your rates up on X date, hope they will recognise they got a good deal for many years, and not quibble.
If by some chance they DO quibble, or because the relationship you’ve had with them has been one lacking in boundaries (you know what I’m talking about – they treat you like a staffer, have you on speed dial, expect stuff out of scope for no more money, etc etc), then yes, it might be time to bid farewell to that client.
(Our client audit worksheet is a handy tool for assessing your client list and is something we recommend doing at least annually.)
You need to break it to them gently and professionally. This could be letting them know you’re moving in another direction professionally or are taking on a big project that has meant you no longer have time to service them as a client. If you want to, offering to connect them with another writer can soften the blow. We have several scripts in our ebook, 25 Scripts for Freelance Success, if you’re not sure quite how to approach it.
Listers: how often do you have to cull a client? What are your top tips?