The meeting had been postponed from Tuesday to Thursday to now, Friday afternoon. My client looked at me and said, “I need this piece on Monday.” I’d waltzed over those green fields before with this client. Her chronic disorganization resulted in many ’emergencies.’
My weekend was fully planned by then, so I said, “Tuesday is the earliest I can get this to you.”
The client looked at me and said, “You are a freelancer. You work nights and weekends. That’s why we hired you. Monday.”
I looked her directly in the eye and replied, “I’m a freelancer because I own my business. And this weekend I’m booked.”
She didn’t blink, “What are you doing this weekend that’s so important–more important than this job?”
“Not part of this discussion,” I said. “Let’s continue to focus on the due date of the project.”
After a few more tart responses we agreed on Tuesday.
I’m sure clients have a long list of the trespasses of freelancers–I’ll write that article, too. But today it’s my turn to wake up clients to behavior that gets the best response from freelancers.
- Just because you put off a project does not give you permission to set the freelancer’s hair on fire. If you like working under pressure, if you enjoy saving the day by causing emergencies so you can ‘solve’ them, please do it in your own office with the door closed and the phone firmly on the hook. Diva-like behavior is not appealing to anyone else, not even a freelancer. At this moment, you aren’t the boss, you are a client, and there is a world of difference there.
- Please know what the project is about. You should be capable of summarizing the main point in under 60 seconds. You should be able to tell the freelancer what the end product should be in the same time. When you start with the history of the project, we don’t know what to listen for or what the important details are. So, you’ll be repeating that part anyway.
- Freelancers have lives, just like you do. We may work on weekends on occasion, but most of us have plans on weekends, evenings, and early in the morning. Don’t assume that time is available for you.
- Freelancers typically have client meetings every day. That means we don’t check our emails every two minutes. When I am with a client, she has my full attention. I won’t take phone calls or check my emails. I will do the same when I am with you.
- Please do not send me every email you have ever received or sent on a project and expect me to read them “for background.” If the project is due in three days, don’t send 12 files totaling 60 Gigs of data. I won’t have time to read them. And yes, reading emails and files is billable time.
- Be honest about the job. If I’m the fourth writer and you’ve fired the other three, tell me. There may be a good reason I don’t want to be stuffed through a meat grinder. On the other hand, I may not mind in the least, but let that be my decision.
- Please pay on time… and write my invoice number on your check stub. Please tell me if you don’t pay in 10 – 15 days. My other clients pay on time because they have automated invoice delivery systems. If you don’t pay in time, I’ll be carrying your debt on my credit cards, it adds interest and subtracts profit.
- Freelancers will almost always jump through some hoops, even ones that are on fire, to please a client. We sympathize with your emergencies, unless we sense you don’t care. Which brings me to the last plea–if you care about quality, please don’t expect a 24-hour turnaround. When you insist on an impossible deadline and we meet it, no fair complaining about lack of quality.
About the Author: Quinn McDonald is a writer and nationally-known speaker who has achieved the “Professional” designation from the National Speakers Association. Contact Quinn through her website, QuinnCreative.com.