How to Handle an Unreasonable Client

By citing two of the most common "sticky situations" you're most likely to encounter in your career as a freelancer, you now have the idea that you need to alert and prepare yourself. There's no need for you to push the Panic button should you find yourself in a tight spot.

Let me orient you towards the last one, and this is especially tricky:

Sticky Situation #3: Unreasonable Demands Made by Your Client

To illustrate, an unreasonable demand could be a client asking to be billed after you dispatch the finished project to him, either through snail mail or email. And then, as soon as you send your invoice, your client contacts you and asks for further revisions in your work, otherwise, he shall withhold the remaining balance.

The danger: The worst that can happen is for your client to get you to cave in to his demands, and you're pushed to the losing end of your transaction.

Your way out: If you have a copy of your Freelancer's Contract, calmly explain to your client that you are only allowing a certain number of rewrites within a given time frame, and should your client end up dissatisfied with your finished work, tell him that you'll revise your work after he has paid an additional fee.

Now, you might think that you're being too harsh by asking for more money, and be prepared for objections and complaints, but this is not a financial issue. Rather, it has more to do with your professional integrity. You're sending off the signal that you value not just your skills and creative talent, but your time as well. 

Watch Out for "Sticky Situations"

When you are in business, it's easy to think that it's all about the product or the service. But here's the truth: business is all about turning people into loyal, satisfied customers. And the more satisfied customers you have, the faster your business will grow.

It's the same thing with being a professional freelancer. You may think of yourself as an independent contractor because you're not in any company's payroll. 

And yet, pause for a moment and consider: you are competing not just with other freelancers for jobs and projects, but with salaried professionals as well.

You are in the business of presenting yourself to potential clients, making them see your worth 

Now, I have mentioned the importance of being professional in all your encounters and transactions with your clients, but be reminded that there will be times when you'll find yourself in inevitable "sticky situations."

What are these "sticky situations"? Consider the following:

• You have underestimated the length of time it would take to finish a proofreading assignment. Your client has made it clear that he's on a tight schedule and expect you to deliver on time. But the truth is, it's just impossible for you to meet the deadline.
• You accepted a project where you have to write copy for a three-fold brochure promoting a catering business that specializes on parties and events on a budget. In addition to knowing everything about the business, you had to look for satisfied customers and interview them for the testimonials section of the brochure. You racked up a considerable amount of time calling people on your mobile phone, and, not to mention, expenses on mileage. How should you bill your client?
• You made it clear to your client that you are only allowing up to a certain number of rewrites in your article writing service. You email your client the number of articles he wanted, and he replied that "you did a good job" and asked you to bill him right away. You had your invoice prepared and emailed it to your client, but when he replied, your client says that your articles "could still use some work" (read: further revisions). Otherwise, he will withhold full payment. What would you do?

As you can see, "sticky situations" require handling with extreme care. I'll talk about possible solutions in my next articles.

What Ruins a Freelancer's Reputation

When you as a freelancer do your best at all times, gradually you will build a solid reputation for being no-nonsense and reliable.

I'll let you in on a little secret on how business is conducted in the corporate world. With the meteoric rise of networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn during the past several years, many employers have used them to screen applicants.

Now, employers want to make sure that a potential hire has what it takes to be a team player and the patience to ease himself into the company's culture. So should they spot any form of indiscretion (e.g. lewd or questionable behavior shown in photos in the accounts of a potential hire), employers will not hesitate to pass him up no matter how strong his credentials.

As a freelancer, you most certainly can use Facebook and LinkedIn to build your platform. But be selective about what you choose to upload. 

If you're a graphic artist or illustrator, make sure that you have your best artworks laid out in a way that it will attract a lot of potential clients. If you write online articles, provide links to the ones that have most recently been published.

You may also allow a certain level of interaction in your Facebook account, where you allow your work to be critiqued by your peers. But you must make sure that comments are moderated. Otherwise, you run the risk of dealing with hecklers, or even worse, cyber-bullies. 

If You Don't Do This, Your Freelancing Business is Doomed to Fail

A good number of people who aspire to be freelancers end up disillusioned after just a year or two of trying. That's because when we think about working without a boss, we immediately paint a rosy picture in our heads about getting ardent calls from clients, working at our own pace, and getting paid at a rate that is at par with our creative talent. 

In short, we fantasize about every aspect of our careers running smoothly.

Well, I'll be honest with you. This is something that happens only after you've gone through all the hard work necessary for you to sustain yourself as an independent worker.

You may find it appealing that a freelancer has the freedom to choose from a wide selection of projects and tasks. But it will take time building a resume, and it's even more difficult to build a good reputation, so let me give you the formula -- the only formula -- you should master if you want to be a top-earning freelancer.

Here it is:

Be professional at all times.

Allow me to illustrate further as I talk about another field that has similarities to freelancing: modeling.

Talent scouts and agents are unanimous in saying that the most lucrative jobs and assignments don't always go to the best-looking or prettiest models. One even went as far as saying, "There are lots of pretty faces in the business, but they have the most horrible people skills."

And no aspiring model can make it big if it's apparent that she's not prepared during go-sees and is often late for photo shoots.

Likewise, you need to conduct yourself in the most professional way possible if you want to be a joy to work with. As soon as you receive a request for a price quote, whether by phone or email, do your best to respond within no more than 48 hours.

Improve your skills in articulating your worth as a freelancer and learn to negotiate. There will be clients who will allow you to "name your price," so to speak. And unless you have a fairly accurate assessment of your skills, you might come out in the losing end of the project.

Stay tuned for my next few articles about developing professionalism.