Some clients are just better than others
Let's be honest, we all have our favourites
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If you’re in the early stages of your career, you’ve probably seen one of those articles that tells you how to become a company’s favourite freelancer. Respond to emails quickly, be flexible, meet your deadlines … you get the drift.
I like these articles and I’ve for sure picked up some tips from them. But I’ve often wondered why I haven’t read the reverse version of these articles, from the perspective of freelancers. Because these things go both ways, don’t they? Why should we pretend that we don’t have our favourites?
So, for this edition of the newsletter I wanted to turn the tables and reveal the things that make me fall in love with clients.
And no, it’s not just that my favourite clients pay me well. There are a lot of easy things companies can do to win freelancers over, even if they don’t have deep pockets. Namely: ⬇️
My favourite clients give me feedback.
Not just an “attagirl” or “good job”, but detailed feedback explaining what I did well, what they appreciated, as well any aspects of my performance they weren’t happy with. This type of precise feedback not only helps me to grow and improve my work; it’s also a great pick-me-up whenever I have low-confidence moments or am dealing with some work-related disappointment.
My favourite clients keep me in the loop.
I know fully well that my contacts at a company are just one person in a team and that they typically aren’t the ones calling the shots. Often, they need information from a co-worker or manager to be able to answer my questions or make certain decisions. My favourite clients communicate these hold-ups and roadblocks to me. A simple email saying: “Hey, I saw your email and I’ve asked X. Will get back to you asap,” makes a world of difference to my peace of mind. And keeps me from refreshing my email over and over and over again.
My favourite clients let me know what happens to my babies. I sometimes spend weeks working on assignments, exchanging daily emails with clients and seeing an assignment develop from a rough idea into a real-world thing. I love to find out what happens to a project after I’ve stopped working on it. Was the project successful? Did we succeed in our aim – whatever it was? What feedback did they get from their client or audience?
My favourite clients are appreciative. Like a lot of freelancers, I go the extra mile for a client when I have to. I turn a story around in 90 minutes because I understand how time-sensitive it is. I make an umpteenth round of changes because my client’s client doesn’t really know what they want. I take on an additional assignment when my agenda is already fully booked up because I know how desperate they are. Guess what? It’s really nice when a client acknowledges the fact that I am going the extra mile for them and adds a thank-you on top. Wild, I know.
My favourite clients pay me well and on time. Did I say this wasn’t going to be about money? Ha-ha, everything is about money! Let’s be real: the best way for a company to show that it values its employees or freelancers is to pay them well and to pay them on time. 👏🏽 My favourite clients pay invoices weekly or biweekly, and pay rates that allow me to pay rent, go on an occasional holiday and - even wilder! - save for retirement.
So, there: these are the things that endear me to clients and that make me want to build lasting, platonic relationships with them.
What qualities do you appreciate in clients? What makes a good client in your opinion? Let us know by sending us an email.
See you in two weeks,
Linda
What I’m reading, watching, listening to this week:
Mostly podcasts this week. Sorry to be the umpteenth person to recommend Nice White Parents, but it really is brilliant. The Cut has finally revived its podcast, and one of my all-time favourite hosts - Tracy Clayton - has launched a golden new pop culture podcast. Also enjoyed this BBC Sounds podcast episode about why people don’t like to pay their taxes.
Pretty much every Dutch-language article that’s been published about Sanda Dia. I wrote a short story for a local expat publication in English if you want to read up on the case.