KEEPING AND MANAGING FREELANCE

CLIENTS

Who Am I?

• Freelancer • Director of Find a Creative Pro Ltd• Creativity, not commodity• Publishing• Marketing• Journalist • Content Creation 40+ years

May I ask: who are you?

Today We’re Going To Cover …

Part One: Peer To Peer

Part Two: Defined And Clear

Part Three: Professional Communication

Part Four: When Things Go Wrong

Part Five: Project End

Part One: Peer to PeerRelationships

Part Two: Building A

RelationshipPart Two: Defined And Clear

Pain!

Activity OneSplit into small groups

Take five minutes

Answer this question:

What info needs to go into a brief?

What Goes Into A Good Brief?

• Project scope

• History

• Current position

• Desired position

• Competitor review

• Likes / dislikes

• Objectives

• Evidence or research

• Timeline

• Budget

Activity Two

Split into small groups

Take ten minutes

Answer this question:

Under what circumstances would you ask a client for a signed contract, and why?

Get A Contract - Every Time

Terms and conditions, for example:

Charge by time, or fixed fee per project?

Service Level Agreements

Termination

Intellectual Property Rights

Get Paid:

Set your payment terms

Ask for prepayment

Penalties for non-payment

Part Two: Building A

Relationship

Part Three:Project JourneyPart Three: Professional

Communications

Activity Three

Split into small groups

Take five minutes

Use form

List and rank the ways you can contact people

Professional Communications

• Plan the message, what do you need to convey?

• Is it a formal or informal communication?

• Does it need to be documented?

• Think about time and place for your client

• Set some respectful barriers

Part Four: When It Goes Wrong

When Things Go Wrong

Do …

Take responsibility for mistakes

Offer solutions ASAP

Reassure your client

Think before you react

Only put in writing, what you are prepared to see in public

Be clear if you can’t help

Don’t …

Prove a Point

Panic

Post on Social

Act in the heat of the moment

Write a scathing rant that will haunt you later!

Quit

Communicating During Project

• At the start of the project, agree formal check back points

• During the project, check back with the client informally

• During client contact: summarise the agreed actions verbally

• After client contact: follow up in writing, request confirmation

• Be clear (in your contract) how many amends you will make

Part Two: Building A

Relationship

Part Three:Project JourneyPart Four: Project EndPart Five: Project End

Ask For More Business

• Keep in touch with your client (send Christmas Cards, links to relevant news stories etc.)

• Write short, evidenced case studies, request a testimonial from client

• Request endorsements i.e. LinkedIn

• If a client was delighted, be brave and ask them to give you a referral to another business

In Summary

Clarity

Make sure everything is clear, every step of the way

Checkback

Keep in touch with the client

Calmness

Always be professional and act as a peer

Contact

Before, during and after the project

THANK YOU