by Rachel Smith
24 February 2016
I write content for a number of clients but one is proving particularly troublesome. He wants at least one face to face meeting a month, which is more drinking coffee and catching up rather than dissecting work I’m doing for him. He also changes his mind a lot which results in long and involved phone ‘meetings’ (and rewrites) I don’t get paid for. My inbox is full of his emails asking questions and the like. He pays well, but given the time I take dealing with him and his work alone I’m not sure it’s worth it. Would love your advice! A
I’ve had respectful clients and clients like yours – who just have zero boundaries and treat you like a full time employee. This can be a dynamic that develops as you get to know a client well, or something that’s there from the start – and regardless, it’s never too late to reign it in. Here are a few ways I’d do it:
1. Don’t be so available. Switch your phone off except for certain times, only organise face to face meet ups if it’s to discuss work / new projects (if it’s not or you sense it’s a time-wasting catch up session, just explain you have too much on at the moment but ate happy to field questions via phone or email at a set time).
2. Set boundaries around work calls. Say, ‘I can chat about XYZ between 3-3.20pm on Tuesday if that suits?’ And when he tries to extend the conversation just say, ‘I’m so sorry but I do have to wrap this up as I have another work call / interview in 5 minutes’.
3. Be brief and professional on email. Resist the temptation to answer every one as he bombards you, instead answering all his questions in one email every couple of days. And don’t answer out of the 9-5 business day. I am the worst person to advise you on that, by the way, because with a baby I am always answering work emails at night – but it’s a good habit to get into from the start with any client so they don’t have expectations that you are working at night (and thus, available to them).
4. Make sure every client you work with signs a contract. You may not have done this with your problem client, but again – great habit to get into when you take on new clients. It can state what is included and what are ‘extras’ – such as meetings (if you charge and if it includes travel time), extended phone calls, how many rounds of changes you include in your fee, that kind of thing. It helps set expectations and stops any clients taking the mickey.
Hopefully this will start to send the message that you aren’t at his beck and call – but if he tries again to push the limits, you may have to be more direct, letting him know you work with a number of clients and have to allocate your work resources accordingly, but you’re happy to create a schedule of time for him which includes meetings, phone discussions, content drafts / rewrites and provide a quote for all of it.
Seeing your time in a dollar sense may help and if it doesn’t, you need to dump him as a client. I know that’s hard when you’re getting good, regular work from someone, but you’ll also be relieved – and it’ll free you up to engage clients who understand that freelancers aren’t staffers in any respect. Good luck!
Over to you, List members: what strategies do you use to set limits with pushy clients?
So funny I should be reading your query today following a coffee date with a fellow freelancer who agrees an A-hole tax can be your spoonful of sugar.
By adding 20% to your fee, or more depending on how demanding this client is, you’ve inbuilt your annoyance buffer by charging them more for the time you know they are going to waste.
If however they are a complete oxygen thief and Rach’s tips don’t make a dent then I’d pull the pin on that sucker as life is way too short.