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The default freelance model in most industries grinds people up and spits them out. Using freelance design as an example, it typically goes like this: You try to get your work seen by people who might need your service, hoping they see how brilliant you are. Once you’ve got their attention (and because they don't understand why your work is so valuable), you spend way too much time explaining how important your work is to their business. Eventually, after multiple conversations or emails, maybe you close the deal.
So, you start the project: you’re living the dream, doing work that you love. Sweet! But when the time comes to proudly show the client your work, they pick it apart. They like it, but they still have a few revisions. They have ideas now, too. They want to see this, but in that font. This one, but in that color. This one is nice but… could it have more POP?
They show it to their friends, their spouse, their local barista. Everyone’s got feedback. Then they come back and ask for a bunch of different versions of the design you worked so hard on.
Am I on the right track? (Of course, I am.)
Now, you’re doing everything you can to make those requested changes because, at this point, you've already done your favorite part, which is creating the work. From this point forward, every revision, every change, twists the knife in your soul.
This is no longer fun. This is what I call “being the hands.” At this point, you just want the client to say ‘yes’ so you can move on. Because you’re a smart person you think, “Well if I just charge them by the hour, I’ll get paid for all that time I spend on revisions.” And now, you’re an hourly freelancer, a big no-no.
Now the client is going, “Well, I don't like it, so why do I have to keep paying you to make it better!?" And you're saying, “You don't like it, but I have to spend all this time fixing it, so yes you have to pay me for that.”
And the classic adversarial freelance-client situation is in full effect.
By now, you’re either charging them by the hour and the client is going, “Man, that racked up hours pretty quickly,” and you're saying, “Well, why do you make me do so many revisions?”
Or, you have a contract you proudly wrote that clearly states “the client shall receive up to three revisions” and you start pointing to the contract. The client is now saying, “Okay, fine. But I don't like it. So what, now? I pay for something I don't like?” And you're saying, “You got your three revisions, so you have to pay me more if you want more.”
It all sounds pretty horrible, doesn't it? And yet it happens so easily—all with good intentions.
This default model is like quicksand. You're being nice, nice, nice, and all of a sudden, you're not getting paid, you’re working a lot, your beautiful design is being watered down or torn to shreds and you feel like you can't say anything.
Aside from making you feel bad, the biggest problem with the default freelance model is that it makes you weak from the start . And somewhat angry. Weak and angry is not a great combination for running a thriving business. It kills your creative spirit, makes you resent your business and your clients, and sets you up for a cycle you’ll have a hard time breaking.
Yet, most of us never stop to consider that, mayyyybe, there’s another way to do all this. Have you?
A Turning Point
Steve and I were stuck in this old model too. Until one day, when we’d made this awesome logo for a client (it's still all over the city), and decided it was too perfect to let the default model of working with clients ruin it. So before we presented it, we asked ourselves, “What can we do to help them see the brilliance of this logo so they don’t change it and start asking for variations and revisions?”
And because of that conviction—that drive to deliver this awesome logo and have it accepted as-is—we decided to sell the client on the work instead of just presenting it. We were determined to make sure it didn’t turn into another situation where they’d water it down to the lowest common denominator.
We decided to show them why this was their only choice by priming them first. Rather than showing them a bunch of ideas, as we usually did, we presented them with just three logos—two good ones and the one we loved. We had a primer slide for each logo showing all the images that inspired its design. We started by recapping the strategy we had all initially agreed on, and told the story of how it evolved into the logo we were about to show them. When the client finally saw it the logo, the pictures, the strategy, and the story had created context for what they were seeing.
Sure enough, we got an audible gasp when we finally revealed the winning logo. They were practically falling off their chairs with excitement. And to our amazement, they didn't want any revisions! They just...took it.
At that moment, we realized if we put in more work upfront to manage the client’s expectations, we’d lead with our knowledge and expertise. This new set up showed the clients we were the branding experts in the room.
And we have been doing it like that ever since. (If you’d like to learn more about how to implement these strategies and get out of the default freelance model, watch my Masterclass on the subject here.)
Change Your Goals, Change Your Business
I was speaking to a business owner recently who was worried the two phone calls included in her packaged service weren’t enough for the client. When the client said as much to her, she started to worry the client was unhappy with her. Looking for advice, she asked me if she should add a third call.
“You are so missing the point of this,” I told her. “This has nothing to do with the number of calls. She doesn’t trust she’s going to get what she paid for because she doesn’t know what the calls are for!”
This is where the default freelance model trips up so many people. “A call” does not have a defined value. I’ve been on 2-hour calls where nothing got done, and I’ve been on 15-minute calls where my whole world view changed. This client doesn’t need a third call; she needs to hear, “Don't worry. I've got this. You hired me to do marketing. Those are the calls that we need. If we need a third call, we'll have one, but this is about getting you marketing results. That's what I'm focused on, and that's what I'm going to deliver.”
Don’t be afraid to take the reins! The goal is to end an engagement with a super happy client who's referring you to other people. If you need to do a third, or even fourth call, to deliver on your promise, do it, and then factor that into your price for next time. While I always train people to leverage time by delivering the most value at the highest price in the least amount of time, that model is never at the expense of the client.
Prove You’re Listening
The number one reason projects go awry is that freelancers don’t ask enough questions to understand what the client is looking for from the beginning. When you show the client your thought process, your work, your reasoning, and your excitement—based on all the questions they answered for you—you help them get as excited about the work as you are.
Tell them how you came to the conclusions you did and why your work is the answer to their problems. Show them all the thought that went into the work you’re presenting and how it’s based on getting them to their goals. Tell them specifically why you thought this element was good for their business and what it will do. Explain it all to them.
And if they told you in the beginning that they love yellow, but you know yellow is wrong for their business, make sure you still show them that you listened. Show them the yellow and show them why it’s not right. If you fail to show clients specific things that they asked to see, they will not see anything you show them except the thing that is missing.
Use the Contract as a Last Resort
As a general rule, pointing to the contract is a terrible move. All the communication, all the questions upfront, all the showing of the work are there to manage the client’s expectations and take them through your process.
The contract, on the other hand, is there to protect you legally. It’s combative to reference your contract to clarify a point or prove you don’t have to do something. If you have tried to fix the issue and it still hasn’t worked, reference the contract, but make it a learning experience for next time. How can you clarify the point from the beginning with the next client?
And one last piece of advice: if there is confusion on a project, or you feel frustration on the part of the clients, pick up the phone rather than drafting a long and thoughtful email trying to explain your point. Tone and intention are lost via email, and they allow both parties to focus on the points they want to focus on and ignore the rest. You can usually nip issues in the bud and clarify things more quickly if you connect with the client live. On the phone. In real life. Like the old days!
Owning your authority, communicating well, listening to the client, and presenting yourself as an expert, will change everything for you. Focus on delivering value, not just on how good your work is. You know, the parts that actually matter to the client.
