How to Deal With Clients Who Don’t Respect Your Time
I have received a few questions over the years about high maintenance clients.
This article is a summary of my thoughts on the subject. I’ve got a four-step plan to deal with high-maintenance clients which will solve all of your problems in this area.
Before that though, let’s talk about a couple of prerequisites that are your responsibility as a freelancer.
Prerequisite One: Be A Professional
Most clients aren’t chasing you up because they’ve got nothing better to do. When you spend money on a freelancer, you’ll have anxieties:
- Are they going to finish the job?
- Will it be on time?
- Is it going to be any good if they do?
When it comes to your freelancing, the answer to all three of those questions should be yes.
You need to be on time and professional. The quickest way to get a client on your back constantly is by being late, lazy or hard to work with. Do your part.
Prerequisite Two: Explain Your Process
When you are dealing with your client past the “Buy Now” stage – and sometimes before – you need to be clear what’s going to happen and when.
Let’s say you’re writing a 2,000 word sales letter for a financial newsletter. If you’ve done this before, you’ll have a good process down. It’ll look like:
“I take one month to complete a project like this.
Week one is research.
Week two is planning.
three is writing.
Week four is rewriting.
I will check in at the end of each stage to show you my progress. By the end of Week I, I’ll do X (and so on.)”
You can discuss this with your client and adjust accordingly, but be clear so that you know what’s expected when. Also, remember to frame your desires as their benefits.
“We don’t need an hour’s phone call at this stage – I imagine you want me to get on with it and free up your own time – but I’ll send you an email update on Friday.”
A lot of clients check up on you constantly because they don’t know what you’re doing and what to expect. Take this away from them and give them the benefit of knowing exactly what you’re doing and when.
Prerequisites Done
Alright, with those two Prerequisites stated, let’s talk about how to deal with clients demanding your time and attention. By this point, most clients will be a lot better. Some will still push the boundaries though, so here’s what you need to do.
Just Stop Giving Them Your Unlimited Attention
The worst client I ever had would call me at unreasonable hours. He’d expand the scope of the project whenever I got close to a landmark and he’d make me sit on the phone while he went through every single detail of what had changed since the last time.
He’d expect work done immediately and if I said something was tough, “that’s what I’m hiring you for.” The laundry list goes on, and that’s because when someone won’t let you establish and maintain boundaries, chances are that’ll go for everything.
This was my entire fault, because I answered the phone and indulged the problem. I also didn’t charge any money for my time or attention.
Nowadays, unless there’s an exceptionally tight deadline (which people pay for) or someone has an emergency I don’t answer my phone when I’m not working. If I had the client above, I simply wouldn’t answer my phone.
I don’t even conduct most business over the phone. Email is much better for everyone when the boundaries are set.
If you give a client unlimited attention they’ll quite rightly assume they can take it.
Your client is not your boss. If you are a freelancer, unless you specifically agree it’s a twenty-four hour contract, you set your hours and work when you choose.
Tell Them Your Timetable
If the above doesn’t work or a client gets funny about you setting your own schedule, give them your schedule.
If I consistently got phone calls at 8pm or people emailing me repeatedly through the night, then I’d gently state in my next email something like:
“I notice you’ve sent me multiple emails since I last replied. Sorry about that. I work 9-5 and I tend to answer emails between 4pm and 5pm. I take phone calls between three and four.”
Your client will tend to stop with the wacky deadline stuff once they realise that it’s a waste of their time. Don’t budge unless there’s some particularly good reason or your client has built good will.
If you have to work to a tighter deadline or more intensively than you originally agreed upon, then it’s time to move to the next step.
Offer A Quicker Deadline For More Money
“Hi. If you need the material quicker than we agreed upon, then I can rearrange my schedule to fit you in. This will incur an additional cost however as I’ll have to pay the people I work with over time to complete other projects.”
Something like the above is enough to either make people pay you more (and pick an amount that’s worth it) or stop pestering you.
You can also get complicated here: offer retainers and priority plans for clients with goodwill. But keeping it as simple as possible: If you agree a two-week deadline and someone emails you in the first week to say they’re pushing the deadline forward a week, then you should demand more money. They’ve changed the terms and as such, so can you.
Plus everything costs extra if you want it quickly. If I’m working through the night on a deadline I didn’t know was coming and I’ve had to last-minute rearrange other clients, then you’d better believe I’m charging a massive premium. As should anyone.
Most clients understand this. They understand, “Sorry but I have other commitments I’d have to rearrange” and they understand “Speed = priorities = more resources = higher cost.”
So they can put two and two together and realise it’s reasonable.
If they still don’t get it, then you need to do the next step.
Get Better Clients
At this point, 99% of your clients will understand your scheduling and it’ll work out great. The ones that don’t are probably not clients you want to retain in the long term.
This isn’t an issue of respect so much as it is a pragmatic one. Your ability to provide the best work you can for your clients (and yourself) is hampered when one client demands too much of your time. As far as the client is concerned, their needs are much better met by hiring someone in-house if they need a constant worker.
The answer then if you’ve still got a high-maintenance client is to simply say, “It’s a pleasure working with you but I am moving on to other projects.”
Then you replace that client with another client who isn’t trying to micromanage you constantly.
This is better for both parties as well as your mental health.
Final Thoughts
The above is a complete system for dealing with high maintenance clients.
Understand that you’re not going to have to deal with this in 90% of cases providing you’re following the Prerequisites.
But once a client becomes high maintenance, then you have to start thinking in a cost/benefit ratio. Like I said above, your client is not your boss. You are your boss and you have to make that analysis and a decision based upon it.