Note from Jennifer: I often say that the clients that you choose to walk away from determines your income level more than the clients you work with. And yes, turning down work is super hard during normal times, but even harder during a global pandemic. But when you take a client that pays too low, it actually costs you money. Because I know first hand how hard it is to turn down lower paying work (I took a gig I should have turned down last month because I was worried about work drying up), I wanted to rerun this post to help you navigate through turning down work. And yes, I am partially rerunning it to remind myself how important it is to say no. 

We’ve talked a lot about how to negotiate, how to determine if a project is well-paying and different ways to negotiate. But we haven’t talked about the most important part of being a good negotiator: being willing to walk away and not take the gig.

It sounds easy on paper. But it’s not. It’s hard. Really hard.

It’s usually easy to weed out the clients whose budget is just too far from your price. Those are easy to walk away from – partly because I usually feel at least a little insulted. The hard ones are the clients that are not terribly low paying but not great either. That is when you need to pull out your best negotiating skills and try to get the client to increase their rate. But those clients are easy to take because it’s money and it’s not terrible, but then you may later regret the decision because the rate is simply too low.

But when you take a client that pays too low, you actually lose money. Even if you don’t have higher paying work, the time is often better spent marketing for higher paying work. Or you could be spending the time away from work and spending time doing something you love, which is super important right now during this never-ending, exceptionally exhausting pandemic.

We’ve talked about negotiation strategies for the past month, including how to figure out the hourly rate you will earn, negotiate in the way the feels most natural to you, change the scope of the project, and how you should always ask for more money. But when all of that doesn’t work, you need to walk away. If you take too many low paying clients then it is almost impossible to earn a high income.

When to Walk Away

In my opinion, the secret to making a good living as a freelance content marketing client is knowing which clients to turn down. I usually recommend turning down clients for four reasons – the project is outside your niche, the client is not a match for you (in terms of strengths, goals and personalities), the client sends up PITA signs or the hourly rate is lower than your target rate.

My personal experience is that when I have to spend a lot of time negotiating with a client, they usually tend to wind up being one of my least favorite clients. The reason is that, if they feel that they are paying a really high rate, then they want something that is the most amazing piece of content in the universe. While I know that you great, no one can be perfect. When a client feels like they are overpaying in their mind, they tend to be super picky. There are many clients that expect to pay competitive prices. I have found it is a much better use of my time to look for those clients instead of try to convince someone to pay me a higher rate.

When Not to Walk Away

There are times when I do think that it makes sense to take a low payer, but those should be very conscious decisions not simply saying yes because it’s an assignment. I am not talking about taking a project earning $100 for 1000 words with three interviews. But a client offering $200 for 600 to 700 words or $500 for 1000 words with a couple of interviews might be worth considering.

However, the world is not black and white. And there are times when you may find yourself considering taking a lower paying project. And sometimes that really is the right business decision. Here are three situations where taking a low payer may be the right choice:

• You are in danger of not paying your bills or being able to feed your family. You have to do what you have to do and no one should judge you for whatever projects you have to take to get by. However, it’s easy to fall into the trap of low paying projects and constantly working. If you take low paying projects because of a financial emergency, come up with a plan to get back on track where you can spend the time to market for higher paying clients.
• The project feeds your soul. Two years ago I wrote several essays around 1000 words for 100 bucks, which is really low. But I loved writing the essays and it made me happy. I like to say that some projects pay your mortgage while others feed your soul. And it’s important to have a balance of both. Ideally, your projects should also be competitively paying. But sometimes they aren’t. And as long as it’s a conscious decision and you know why you are taking the gig, then it’s totally fine.
• You can use the clips or brand name to get more clients in the future. When I look back on the last six years of freelancing, I can point to working for American Express OPENForum and Entrepreneur.com as turning points in my career. Having these clips really opened up the doors for me in terms of clients and higher paying projects. I earned lower than my target hourly rate on both of these projects, but the future clients that they directly helped me landed more than made up for. Sometimes it is the brand name or clips you need because they are prestigious in your industry. Other times its clips in a new niche. It’s easy to make this exception too often, but there are certain situations where it is a very smart career move. The danger is staying too log at the gigs. But if you make a point to drop the client once you have gotten enough clips under your belt, then it can be a very smart move.

How to Walk Away

Even after all of these years of freelancing, I almost always manage to convince myself (usually at 3 am, which is a terrible time to make business decisions) that if I turn down the gig, then I will never ever get work again. This of course is totally false, but it’s easy to feel like you are making a mistake. This is why I think it’s so important to have a target hourly rate and determine the estimated hourly rate you will earn on a project. When you have a number to compare, then it makes it an easier decision.

So you have now decided that you need to turn down the client. How do you do it? I personally prefer saying no over email because, on the phone, I have more than once been convinced by a client to take a lower paying job when I had started the conversation with the intent of saying no.

Here is a sample email that I send:

Hi (client you’re turning down),

I enjoyed talking with you last week about your project and learning about your needs. After thinking about the project and the rate, I have decided that the proposed rate does not meet my business goals. If you have any projects in the future that have a higher rate, let me know. I would love to work together in the future on another project.

Jennifer

I have found that the phrase “doesn’t work for my business goals” feels comfortable to me, sounds professional and is something that a client can understand. It also doesn’t put the client on the defensive by telling them that the rate is too low per se. interestingly enough, I have had many clients respond to me after I sent this email that they will keep me in mind for higher paying projects. And guess what, FOUR times it has worked out. An agency got a higher paying client or the editor moved to another company that paid higher rates. I personally feel good about ending it this way and leaving the door open for the future.

However, you should come up with the phrasing that feels most comfortable to you, and is authentic to your personality and how you run your business.

It takes courage. It takes gumption. But turning down low paying clients is the only way to make room in your schedule to find and work with the great paying clients. And once you hit the send button, I promise you, that you are not doomed. You will find another higher paying client. And usually it happens much sooner than you think.

When do you turn down clients? How do you turn down clients? Any tips to share?