¶ Red Flags in Client Relationships
Welcome back to the Boss Responses podcast and day four with our guest co-host of the week , Amy Ragland . Today we are talking about red flags . When you start working with a new client or you're talking to a potential client , how many red flags are too many red flags before you need to pass on the opportunity ? Let's jump right into the question .
If you're a freelancer , business owner or anyone who deals with clients , you're in the right place . I'm your host , Treasa Edmond . I've been dealing with clients and running my business for nearly two decades and in that time , I've dealt with my share of doubt , imposter syndrome and not knowing what to say when a client asks a question . I wasn't ready for .
I created this podcast to empower you with the Boss Responses you need to grow your business . Each week , my guest co-host and I will bring you five episodes packed with practical insights . Monday through Thursday , we answer your questions , and Fridays , we dive deep to explore how our co-host embraced their role as the boss of their business .
Welcome to Boss Responses . We are here for day four with Amy Ragland , and Amy I'm going to ask you the question today . Awesome , and this one's interesting . So it says how many red flags are too many ? I had a knee-jerk reaction with this one , but it gets more interesting .
I'm a naturally suspicious person and I recognize that , so I'm constantly second guessing my gut instincts . I've turned down five potential clients in the last couple of months for what I consider red flags and a few of my freelancer friends saying I'm overreacting . Here are a few of the things I'm basing my decisions on .
The client doesn't have a set budget for the project . They can't answer any questions about exactly what they want . Their budget seems too big . They want to pay via direct deposit I don't feel comfortable giving my bank information to strangers or they asked for the W-9 before the project is completed , which , once again , all of my personal information .
Maybe I'm just getting all of the scammers , but I don't think I'm wrong here .
So the first thing I want to say is that I will never disparage somebody for going with their gut instinct , because I know that the times that I have not followed my gut instinct are the times that I regret . I have never regretted following it . So there's that . However , I think that this freelancer has some valid concerns .
I think a few of them may need to be addressed with a little bit more information and education . For example , asking for a W-9 , or you can use , instead of using your social security number on a W-9 , if you're worried about that , you can apply for an employer identification number to use Exactly .
So there are some workarounds here that I think that , with a little bit more knowledge and a little bit more information , may alleviate some of their concerns . One of them , for instance , was the direct deposit issue that they didn't want to give out their banking information . That's fine . Just know that the other options also have pros and cons .
If they wanted to go with a payment processor instead , where they just give out , they're still going to have to give out their banking information to move the funds over from a payment processor like a PayPal or a Striper or something , and they're going to pay fees , but then they only give it out to one company instead of multiple . What about you ?
What do you think about this question ?
With that one , especially with the bank information . You can go to your bank and they can give you kind of anonymous information that you can use for that . So banks have ways . If talk to your bank , say , hey , I have a client wanting to pay me be of a direct deposit .
I do not want to send them a voided check , I don't want to give my account information , what are my options ? And they will tell you all of them what the fees are for each of them and then you can make a decision on that . And I agree Most of these . The EIN number I did that before I started .
I'm really surprised at how many people don't know that exists . I was never going to send my social security number to clients because I just didn't want to . I'm a little suspicious too . The five potential clients in the last couple of months I consider that a red flag because something's happening there .
You're either not attracting the right clients or your qualifications for your clients are not nailed down enough so that you don't have to deal with these red flags . I agree with you . I've had a couple of scammy things where the budget was way too high . That's a legitimate thing .
But just because a client has a large budget doesn't mean they're a scammer , because I've had a couple of clients who have done me a major service and said your proposal is not for enough money for what we're asking . We'd really like you to charge at least this much . If you get that kind of a client , it's amazing .
Their budget isn't based on your work , it's based on the value of your work to them , and that's something you need to look at . Not knowing what they want that's common . Yes , if you start working with larger corporations , sometimes they know a little bit too much about what they want . So there's multiple sides to this coin .
I don't even need to call it a coin . It's more like one of those gaming dice with the 20 sides . But yeah , a lot of our job is to be the expert and guide our clients .
Sometimes that's guiding them on setting the right budget , sometimes that's guiding them on figuring out what they want , and a lot of that's asking questions why do you want to do this project ? What do you want it to accomplish ? What does a successful project look like to you ?
If you ask those probing questions , one , the next time you work with them , they're going to come to you with those questions already answered , but guiding them through that process . That makes you a better freelancer and it makes your clients a better client . Absolutely .
And I think sometimes two clients don't know what they want until they see what they don't want , right , and I think if we can bring suggestions or ideas to them without giving away the farm and without giving away a bunch of time and ideas without getting paid for it , but I think if we can help them articulate what it is that they want , that sets a great
tone for the relationship . And I see , I think it's important to set boundaries with potential clients from the get-go , because that sets the tone for the whole relationship , but make sure that those boundaries aren't turning into walls .
¶ Trusting Your Gut
I live by the belief that my job is to make it very easy for my clients to work with me , and so a lot of my policies and a lot of the way I work is based on that is my whole philosophy of I want to make it easy for you to give me your money . That is my whole philosophy .
And so if you're paying attention to red flags , fantastic , but if you're seeing red flags everywhere you look , that's a problem . That's you putting up walls to making it easy to work with you .
Yeah , absolutely . And one of the things as my career progressed in my business , as my business grew , as I got better clients because you do gradually . If you're looking for them , the more a client pays you , the less problems you're going to have with them . It's so true .
I don't know why this is true , and for any clients listening to this , consider this If they are willing to pay you high dollar money for a high value project , they are going to trust you to deliver that . If you don't , they'll just never work with you again , which is a whole different problem . But look at who your clients are .
Look at who you're attracting . If you're just starting out , then set down and figure out who your ideal client is . You're a marketer of some kind . Even if you're a designer , you're doing marketing . So look at what you want to attract and then spend some time figuring out how to attract that person or that company and then narrow down your red flags , say .
These are the three things that will keep me from working with a client . Like Amy said at the beginning , don't ignore your gut instinct . If a client looks too good to be true , the only bad thing that's going to come from passing on them is you're going to have to find another client .
Absolutely . I think my gut instinct too sometimes tells me if I'm going to actually like working with this person , if I'm a good fit , personality wise , if I'm a good fit , my writing style , all of those things play into whether or not I choose to work with a client . And that's a very important thing .
And I think that is also something that comes with experience , because I know when I first started out I was like oh , I can make it work , I can overcome these initial internal objections . And as I've gotten older and I've gotten more experienced and I've gotten a little bit wiser , I've come to learn that my gut instinct is usually right on .
So I try to listen to it as much as I can .
So we hope that was helpful . It looks like you have work to do to figure out where you want your business to go and what red flags really matter . But yeah , do not undermine your gut instinct and we wish you all the best . All right , come back tomorrow for day five , where we learn more about Amy , her business and what she's doing for people .