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Difficult clients can suck the fun right out of a freelance business. Here are 5 of the biggest red-flag difficult clients out there and exactly how to handle them as a freelancer.
• • • VIDEO CHAPTERS • • •
0:00 Introduction
0:56 Handling "Hagglers"
1:54 Understanding "Undeciders"
2:38 Dealing w/ "Daydreamers"
3:25 Getting Along w/ "Gifters"
4:24 Freelance Banking with Found
5:48 Seeing Through "Ghosters"
6:44 Freeing Yourself of "Controllers"
7:35 Dealing w/ "Dodgers"
8:19 Share YOUR Experience
8:33 A few more tips for difficult clients
9:40 Conclusion
• • • MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO • • •
Freelance Banking with Found - https://millo.co/found
Fiverr - https://millo.co/fiverr
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• • • LEARN MORE on the Millo blog or podcast • • •
Blog — https://millo.co/blog
Podcast — http://freelancetofounder.com
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0:00
Clients. Some are great and some are, well, not so great. But how can you tell when you've
0:05
got a difficult client on your hands? I think I can help you with that. Hi everyone, my name is Josh from Millo.co and today I'll be talking you through some of the
0:17
most common difficult clients that you will sadly come across in your career. But don't panic
0:22
it's not going to be all doom and gloom today. I'll also be sharing with you a few top tips
0:27
on how you can swerve away from them. Before getting started, I just wanted to double check
0:31
that you've all clicked that bell reminder after subscribing. This is a surefire way to never miss
0:36
when our brand new weekly videos have been released. And if you like what you see, why not
0:40
give the video a like? It really does help us understand what you, our audience, want to see
0:45
from us. But for now, seeing as some of you may be dealing with a difficult client or two right
0:51
this very second, let me waste no more time and get straight into it. Starting off with hagglers
0:57
These people simply never seem satisfied with whatever price you first put in front of them
1:03
No matter how good the value or little bit of discount that you give, hagglers will always
1:07
be looking to save those few extra pennies wherever they can. Pennies that deserve to be
1:12
in your pocket. Of course, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a little bit of negotiating
1:17
It's actually quite a big part of freelancing life after all. But if a client is constantly
1:22
trying to lower the rate you're offering, then they are certainly being added to the difficult
1:27
client category. When it comes to dealing with hagglers, there are a few practices that you can
1:31
put in place which should put them in theirs. First one is fully engaging with them, but
1:36
setting your prices a little bit higher than normal, which will give yourself some extra
1:40
wiggle room. You could also look at going down the route of sending off realistic quotes and
1:45
making it clear that your prices are set in stone. Either way, you just need to make sure that you're
1:50
still getting paid a fair amount for the efforts you put into the work. Undeciders. Next on our
1:56
list today, we have the ever-irritating undeciders. Now, don't get me wrong. It's rare that the first
2:02
submission is perfect. There will often be something that the client isn't happy about
2:07
and therefore, you should come to expect a revision or two needing to be made. There is
2:12
however, always a limit, with some clients taking advantage of your good nature
2:17
asking for major revisions to be made at every time of asking. They may not be doing this on
2:22
purpose, but it doesn't make them any less irritating. This is why it's important that
2:27
prior to accepting a job, try to get as much information out of your client as you possibly
2:32
can. This way, you can plan the work a lot better, resulting in minds being made up a lot faster
2:38
Daydreamers. Third on the list today, we have daydreamers, the type of client who expects
2:44
magic happening at the drop of a hat. It could be an unrealistic deadline, or asking for a
2:50
ridiculously low price. These clients really are from a different planet. For you as a freelancer
2:56
you just need to try and lower their expectations and bring them back down to planet Earth. If you
3:02
don't have the time to meet their timescale expectations, or simply cannot perform the
3:06
tasks they're asking you to do, you just need to be realistic with them. Trust me, it does your
3:11
career no good accepting jobs that you know from the outset that you simply will not be able to
3:17
complete to your high standards. Only harm will come of it. So please, never promise something
3:23
that you know that you can't deliver. Gifters. Now, at the halfway point in our list, we have
3:28
the gifters. They're a special type of client who will make you feel as though working for them
3:34
is a huge honor, expecting this to compensate for a heavy discount. This is a common tactic
3:39
to watch out for from many big name companies attempting to manipulate the mind of a freelancer
3:44
such as yourself. But it's not just the big companies though. I've received messages from
3:48
many new startups who are excited about their work, but very short of cash, attempting to get
3:54
freelancers like me to provide them with heavy discounts to help them get their project off the
3:59
ground. Now, I can't say this bit loud enough. Please do not fall into these traps. More often
4:05
than not, it's just a client trying to get your time for a stupidly cheap rate. Now, don't get me
4:11
wrong. If there is a project that you are really excited about and want to help out, then by all
4:17
means, temporarily lower your prices, but always make it clear that the low prices are only for
4:23
a limited time. Before we continue, I want to tell you all about this video's sponsor, Found. Found
4:29
is the all-in-one banking solution for freelancers and solopreneurs. With Found, you'll get access to
4:35
no-fee business banking and smart, simple tools that will make freelance banking, bookkeeping
4:42
taxes, and invoicing easier than ever. Your Found Debit Mastercard seamlessly tracks and categorizes
4:49
your expenses, helping you save on taxes. Plus, you can run reports, send invoices, save receipts
4:56
and pay taxes all from the app and all for free. And Found's auto-saving for taxes means that you'll
5:04
never be caught unprepared at tax time. With Found, there are no monthly fees, no minimums
5:11
just smart banking that saves time. Create an account in minutes and find out why thousands
5:16
of businesses rely on Found by visiting millow.co forward slash found, or just click the link in
5:23
this video's description. Okay, now that we've passed the halfway mark on the video, I just want
5:28
to remind you that we absolutely love reading every comment that you leave on our videos
5:33
These fantastic little snapshots from your mind are a great way for us to determine if you're
5:38
happy with our content and what you want to see from us in the future. So why not go ahead and
5:43
leave us a little comment down below, and who knows, it could be you that inspires our next video
5:48
Back to our list now. So let's talk about ghosters. Just picture the scene. You've just signed a new
5:54
contract. The contract to beat all contracts. You're almost ready to deliver, but you just need
5:59
to double check a couple of bits of information with your client. You message them and then..
6:05
nothing. Absolute silence. I don't understand why, but some clients simply decide to leave you with
6:11
only the initial information and that's it. If you message them, they will just not reply
6:17
or if they do, they'll message you on deadline day itself. These types of clients can be absolutely
6:23
infuriating. Failing to realize that every message you send them is ultimately to benefit the piece
6:29
of work that you're creating for them. To avoid being ghosted, it's important to set some kind of
6:34
boundaries and expectations with them prior to accepting the work. Always ensure you have multiple
6:40
points of contact and never fall foul of radio silence. Controllers. On to our penultimate
6:47
difficult clients now, which are the never relaxed controllers. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the
6:53
key part of freelancing is free, right? I mean, not working for free of course, but more free to create
7:00
your own schedule and free to accept your own contracts. What it does not mean is you're free
7:06
to continue to be micromanaged. Sadly however, some clients didn't get that memo with someone to look
7:12
over your shoulder at all times, nitpicking every choice that you make and messaging you non-stop
7:18
Now don't get me wrong, having a controlling client can work in your favor. However, like with
7:23
everything, there's always going to be a limit. They may not share the same skill set as you, hence
7:29
hiring you in the first place. But that won't stop them from believing that they could always do a
7:34
better job. Dodgers. Last up, we have the ever unpopular dodgers. Now tell me, have you ever
7:42
completed a project, delivered it in full and on time, and then had trouble collecting payment
7:48
Guess what? You've just been dodged! Excuses will be made, silences will be long, but at the end of
7:54
the day, you still need to be paid. This is why it's always important to put in some preventative
7:59
measures in order to guarantee your payment. That could be setting up a payment schedule
8:04
adding down payment or deposits, or even working through a site where the cash can be held
8:09
ready for payment at the completion of all work, like fiverr.com. Simply try anything to prevent
8:15
you from being left in limbo about whether you're going to get paid for your time or not
8:20
Okay, be honest with me then, how many of these clients have you come across? I would put some
8:24
good money on the fact that a lot of you have met at least three or four of them, with sadly more to
8:30
come in the future. Or hopefully not. There are a couple of measures that you can put in place to
8:35
avoid meeting any of these special characters. First up, being taking a close look at any messages
8:41
you send out. Whether it's on your own website or a portfolio, all messages you send out should direct
8:47
towards the special niche clients that you're hoping to attract, not just your average joe
8:52
Think about it, you've already spent a lot of time and effort perfecting your expertise, preparing for
8:58
high quality clients, so don't let your wording pull in any that or sub par. The next tip that I
9:03
can recommend is having an effective onboarding process in place, which will ensure all the
9:08
difficult clients can be weeded out simply by communicating your expectations, pricing, and your
9:14
own processes up front. This will leave no room for any pesky negotiating. The last tip from me
9:20
today is to look towards your own network to help you with finding the best clients to work with
9:24
Think about setting up a referral program, or maybe offering incentives to your current clients
9:30
to get them to bring new clients to you. Odds are your favourite clients will be working with
9:35
and around like-minded individuals and businesses that would be more than happy to take on your
9:40
services. Well, that's about it from me today. I hope this video has helped you understand how to
9:44
deal with a tricky client or two. If you have any questions at all, then please don't forget about
9:49
the comment section below. Don't forget to like the video, subscribe to our channel, and ring the bell
9:54
to ensure you're notified every time we upload. I've been Josh from Millo.co, and I will see you next time
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