After a few years of freelance experience, you develop a sixth sense about the people who approach you with freelance work. However, this skill is hard-won. To help save you time and aggravation, I’d like to introduce you to 6 time-sucking clients to steer clear of.
The Freeloader — Outwardly lovable and friendly, this sorry soul has big dreams but no intention of hiring you. The Freeloader will call you again and again asking for advice, but the projects never materialize. Your own pity will drive you to indulge the Freeloader far longer than is reasonable.
The Hustler — Slick, fast-talking, and assured, the Hustler will dangle the promise of vast sums of cash IF you become a “partner” in the venture, meaning he wants YOU to take the financial risk so he doesn’t have to. If you ask for your normal fee, the Hustler will talk about risk and reward and try to make you feel small for not grasping this “opportunity.”
The Vampire — This is a strange and mysterious beast that thrives on bleeding you dry of samples. It could be that the Vampire is a cheapskate plagiarizing your work or another freelancer checking out the competition or looking for clients to steal.
The Novice — Enthusiastic and likable, the Novice knows nothing. The Novice is likely to hire you, but will give you vague instructions and forget important details. It’s up to you to get the job done right. But look out! Your expertise is threatening, so if things go well, the Novice will take the credit. If things go bad, the Novice will blame you.
The Underling — Frustrating is the only way to describe the Underling. This time sucker may be experienced, professional, and serious about working with you, but simply lacks hiring authority. Sometimes it’s because of dictatorial leadership in the company or interdepartmental conflicts.
The Faker – A cousin to the Freeloader, the Faker has work that needs done, but no money to hire you, or has the money and simply won’t spend it. The Faker likes to appear important and has an inflated ego. You’ll get call after call asking for estimates, but never a call to start a paying project.
What is your defense against these creatures? In most cases, you need only walk away. These are predatory beasts, but lazy. They lose interest quickly if you keep moving.
Dean Rieck is a leading direct marketing copywriter, designer, and consultant who has worked with more than 200 clients in the U.S. and abroad.. For more copywriting, selling, and freelance success tips, sign up for Dean’s FREE direct response newsletter or visit the Direct Creative Blog.
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Ha, good one. You’ve pegged pretty much every type of person that sends up red-warning signals in my mind.
Certainly, we can’t turn everyone away, and there are many times when you can work with one of these types of clients and discover that with a little help and guidance, they become fantastic clients. I think how we work with others and communicate has a great deal to do with that.
So my question would be, what are the ways you work with these people to turn the situation around?
Hi James, Good question! Here’s what I have done in the past in a one-shot (and only one shot) attempt to TRY to make the situation work on your terms, for each type. Results will be mixed though, because some people are just plain lousy prospects, as Dean illustrates in the article.
FREELOADER – Send an email… “I hope you’ve found my advice useful. Best of luck with this venture! And since I’ve learned a bit about your business already, let me know if you’d like to hire me to help you finish it.”
HUSTLER – Send an email… “Thanks for this opportunity, however, I don’t engage in contingency arrangements for one reason: there are just too many variables involved, that are beyond my control, which could impact the results of a campaign.”
NOVICE – Always take the LEAD with a Novice. Insist that a Creative Brief or Project Brief be completed as part of the project. I give this to clients as a Questionnaire, and its completion is mandatory.
UNDERLING – Ask these two question early: “Other than yourself, is there anyone else involved in this decision?” “Is there anyone else who has input on this project?”
FAKER – Always ask, “What your the budget for this project?” Follow the advice in this other post on getting paid quickly and most fakers will run for the hills: http://thewealthyfreelancer.com/2008/07/how-to-get-paid-quickly-on-every-project/
VAMPIRE – Hmmmm… can’t say I remember being bit by one. Anyone else?
Vampire – Cut them dry. Send an email. “I’m afraid that this will be the last revision/sample/rewrite I can offer. There are more than 459,825 for you to choose from, well beyond what we usually offer clients in our revision policy. Once you make your choice, please let us know. Thank you!”
I was grinning as I read what your usual responses were – exactly what we do. This is great, and honestly worthy of exploring further!
I’ve had the unfortunate experience of working with some of these folks. But now I can spot them pretty well. Right now, I can’t decide if I’ve got a prospect who is a hustler, a faker, a passive-aggressive combination of them both, or just a scattered individual. First he tried to talk me down in price, telling me how quickly the work would go, how other copywriters don’t charge that much … but, gee, he really values my expertise, couldn’t we come to terms, because he has so much work to be done. He’s in a big hurry, please reserve all my time this week for him. Funny, the check still hasn’t arrived, and the second page of the contract with his signature never made it through via fax. What is it with these guys who are always seem to be in a rush, but can’t make the time to put a check in the mail and sign and send a fax?
Eileen,
Sounds like a faker/hustler combo. I hope it works out. Sometimes it does. Be careful about reserving time for one client before it’s a done deal. What many clients don’t understand is that scheduling is one of the most difficult parts of freelancing. Generally, if clients don’t respect your time, they turn out to be a PITA. When you get really, really busy, you can walk away from people like this.
Good luck.
Hi Dean – Fortunately, I have multiple projects going and am not sitting twiddling my thumbs. I make it pretty clear to prospects that delays in payment and contracts can mean delays in delivery. Early in my career, I let guys like these tie me into stress knots … now I just move on to the next thing.
Back when I was in sales, we were forced to deal with people like the guy Eileen described. We had to dance when the prospect said “dance.” Even roll over, sit and play dead, if asked.
One of the many blessings of freelancing is the ability to make your own decisions about who’s a good fit and whom you need to walk away from. You can’t put a price on that kind of freedom.
This is a great list. I work exceptionally well with novices, but my personality doesn’t blend well with vampires, which is probably why I haven’t had any as clients. Freeloaders are a big problem for me, especially when it comes to what some consider consulting (I call it “help”, and usually don’t charge for advice, just services). I have no problem telling the arrogant off, but it’s a bit more difficult to say, “you need to pay me for something, or you need to move on” to somebody that is nice and doesn’t really come across as a freeloader.
There are so many groups out there…If you do a lot of business, or you’ve been doing it for a long time, you can usually gauge the personality of the person you’re dealing with, right off the bat. While I think that “knowing people” would be the best form of defense against time-wasting clients, there are always those who will come across as one type, and end up being another in the end.
Couldn’t have said it better myself…I’ve run into all of those in the past.