9 Red Flags: When to Turn Down a Client
We’ve been talking a lot this month about how to find new clients, and my Beat the January Slump Marketing Challenge started yesterday. Check it out here and enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card.
But in many ways the secret to earning high income is knowing which clients to turn down. Each time you talk to a potential client, you should be not just trying to get the client to offer you work, but also evaluating whether the client is someone you want to work with.
When you take a client that is not right for you, you end up spending too much time on the project, which results in a low hourly rate. And odds are that your stress level goes through the roof. It is simply bad all around. The secret is that there are no perfect clients — just perfect clients for each particular freelancer. We each have different personalities, strengths, goals and niches. And it’s up to you to weed out the right clients from the wrong clients.
Here are 9 reasons to turn down a client:
- The hourly rate is too low. While I do not think that this should be your only criterion when evaluating clients, it is definitely a very important consideration. Regardless of how your client positions their rates (hourly, by project or by word), determine how this measures up against your target hourly rate. If the project is lower than your average rate, turn down the client. Yes, there are times when taking lower pay makes sense, but it should be a conscious decision for valid reasons, such as impending bills or a sense that the experience (or clip) from this client will help you grow your business.
- The project is a one-off project. You almost always earn less on a first project with a new client. You have to learn their brand voice, their expectations and their processes. Over time, you become quicker at completing the work, and your hourly rate goes up. I find that one-off projects are rarely worth it because I end up earning less and then must market myself all over again to find new clients. By looking for clients who have long-term needs, you can increase your hourly rate and reduce your marketing time.
- The topic is not in your niche. Yes, we like to think we can write about anything. And while that may be true with reported articles in journalism, it is not true at all in content marketing. My very worst experiences have been when I ventured outside my niche and thought I could write about lifestyle topics. Yes, it seems absurd that I can write about complicated tech topics and not about food, home and travel, but it is very true. When you stick with your niche, your hourly rate goes up, clients are more likely to hire you again, and your stress level goes down. Hopefully, my fish and fire pit tales will help you avoid making the same mistake.
- Your writing style does not match the brand voice. Clients typically have a very specific brand voice that they want their content to be written in. If you cannot write in this style, then you are likely to face many revisions and a dissatisfied client. This does not mean you are a bad writer; it just means that this particular brand is not a fit for you.And every time I have tried to take a client with a totally different tone from the ones I can write in, it ends up in disaster. It is much better to say no and find another client that will love your writing style.
- The client does not want to talk to you on the phone. I know that this might not be a read flag for everyone, but it is with me so I wanted to share it. I personally want long-term clients that want me to be a part of their team and take the decision to bring me onto their team as one that is worth investing 30 minutes to make sure I am a good fit. After many mistakes, I only take on clients after we have a phone call and I get the feeling that we are a good match.
- Your PITA radar goes up. We all have different definitions of PITA. Some writers want only a certain number of revisions or a long lead time on assignments. Others hate being asked to do conference calls. There are no wrong answers. It’s just important to know what traits are not going to be a fit for you — and to walk away from clients with those requirements. Check out this post on how to never have another PITA client again.
- The client is looking for different strengths from those you bring to the table. I never apply to jobs that say they are looking for a detail-oriented writer who turns in perfectly clean copy. That isn’t me, and it never will be. Clients who want this will not be happy with me as their writer, no matter how hard I try. Instead, I look for clients who want writers who can generate topic ideas, understand their particular audience and translate “geek” to real people. These are my superpowers, and the clients who need them tend to love me. One of the most important skills for freelancers to learn is how to spot clients that will end up working out and most importantly, those that will simply not be a great fit.
- Your personalities don’t match. No, you don’t have to be BFFs or work only for clients that are exactly like you. But some personalities are just not a fit. For me, clients that are super direct or sarcastic typically don’t turn into long-term clients. I have found that I work best for clients that are real people, honest and funny. And if a client occasionally lets a swear word fly or tells an off-color joke (which may be red flags for other writers), then we typically get along swimmingly.
- You have a bad gut feeling about the client. This is sorta the same as the previous flag, but more all-encompassing. If, for any reason, your gut says to walk away, listen to your intuition and say no. Every single time I have ignored that nagging feeling about a client, I’ve ended up regretting it and wishing I had said no.
What are your reasons for turning down a client? Do you find it hard to turn down a client?
I write direct response sales copy, so I’m usually expected to beat the performance of existing copy. If the existing copy is strong and still doing well, that’s setting me up for a lose. The client ends up unhappy with me — I end up kicking myself for taking the job.
I also learned to be wary of contracts that pay copywriters for certain stages of work. For example, one organization I recently worked with paid a certain amount for an approved headline & lead, a certain amount for the first draft, and the balance for the final draft. However, this gives them the legal power to basically fire you for no reason at all.
In this case, my headline & lead for the video sales letter were approved. I did the suggested revisions to the first draft. And then, out of the blue, I was told my “marketing style” didn’t match what they wanted, so they were “letting me go.”
I was shocked. Not only did I write the copy in a similar tone to their existing promotion, but my so-called marketing style was evident in my samples and the headline & lead that they approved. So, if it was an issue, it should have come up before I spent weeks writing the first draft.
But, the contract gave them the power to fire me for any reason and avoid paying the balance they owed me. If a client tries to stick you with a deal like that – run!
Deanna, that is a very good point that if you are being judged by performance (which is true with some content marketing clients as well) that you don’t want a client that is ALREADY hitting it out of the park because you won’t make as much of a difference.
I have never heard of the payment structure you describe with the different parts and WOW. That is awful. I totally agree. That would be a huge red flag and I wouldn’t take work in those situations. Very good call.
A think I’ve been anoxious about is ‘writing competitions’. I’ve had jobs on upwork where the client says they want to hire multiple writers and play a version of ‘Survivor’
Meaning they’re dangling a longer term project in front of you, but are telling you they’re likely to pull the rug out from under your feet. I kinda see where their rational is coming from, but it treats the writer like a commodity and like they are disposable.
Like Jennifer pointed out, your first piece for a client is likely the one you’ll make the least amount of money on, so the deck is already stacked against you.
Joshua, are you paid for the work that you are doing? I highly recommend not taking clients like you describe. You are totally right about the deck being stacked against you and making lower rates.
I’m happy to help you figure out how to get out of this Upwork cycle. If you want to email me at JenniferGregory@nc.rr.com and we can set up a time to talk on the phone.
Taking a one-off isn’t always a mistake–if they’ll pay by the hour. That means your real hourly rate, not something you figure by the project rate they’re offering. Yes, first projects almost always take more time than subsequent similar ones do, but if the meter is running and you have the time to do it, consider taking it on. But if they say they’ll pay X for the project and you figure it will take 10 hours so that works in your internal calculations, realize that =anything= could happen to extend that time, especially with a new client.
One other thing about one-offs: they can become return customers. Just don’t count on it. But you can recontact them afterwards to develop the relationship.
Robin, very good point that I hadn’t thought of in that way before. Do you find clients that are willing to pay your hourly rate straight up? I find that most clients I’ve mentioned $100 an hour freak out even if that’s what I’m already earning with them on a project basis. That is AWESOME that you find clients willing to pay your hourly rate.
Also, when you start the project/relationship this way do you then transition to a project rate after you do a few projects or do you stay with the per hour?
That’s also a good point, Jennifer, because what often happens is that (sometimes) it gradually takes less time to do the same work, so an hourly rate will actually penalize someone who is good. I mostly prefer project rates for that reason. But for the unknown or unknowable, like one-offs, hourly rates are better. And, yes, clients are scared off by hourly rate quotes even if the project rate bid works out to a higher hourly. I describe it as them feeling like they’re trapped in a taxi that keeps driving around and they can’t get out. A project rate gives them less budgetary anxiety.
LOL, love the analogy. I will have to consider hourly for one off in the future. I am a super fast writer (I can do a 500 word blog post with 1 interview in about 1.5 hours at the most) so hourly rates typically are not in my favor most of the time. I also do a lot of writing in my head and can’t ever figure out how to charge for that, LOL. So i’ve always shyed away, but your comment has made me realize that it may be a good route to consider in certain circumstances.
I’ve found that clients who want to bargain almost always end up being difficult. It’s taught me not to budge on my rates–clients who are willing to pay top dollar for great work tend to be much nicer to work with! I think it’s sort of like the phenomenon where people with Groupon coupons or other discounts tend to write the worst Yelp reviews for restaurants… the people willing to pay the least for writing are also often the most difficult to please.
I could not agree with this statement more. You are SO RIGHT. My best clients don’t usually try to get my rates lower and know that when they contact someone with my level of experience that they will be paying in the ballpark that I ask. I totally agree and think that this is a HUGE red flag. Thanks for adding it.
Agree totally with Kristin! If you accept a lower rate, you will have to negotiate upward from there for future work. It could take years to get the rate up to your rate, which may have gone higher again by that time. I’ve made this mistake, more than once!
[…] The more I freelance, the more I am convinced that the most important decisions you make are the clients that you turn down. When I take projects that use my strengths and are a match for the things that I am good at, I […]
[…] about which red flags to avoid. And when I went back and read an article I wrote about 9 Red Flags: When to Turn Down a Client, most every point was specific to the individual writer not a blanket […]