¶ Navigating Business Policies With Clients
Welcome back to the Boss Responses podcast . What do you do when you have set business policies and your client's policy is in direct conflict ? That's what our question today is all about , and this one deals with money , so the policy is more important than perhaps in other situations . Let's go ahead and see what Eagranie opinion is about .
Should you allow a client to not pay a deposit when that is your standard terms ? 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 asked 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-hosts embrace their role as the boss of their business . Welcome to Boss Responses . We are back for day four with Eagranie and Eagranie . I want to thank you again .
Your advice this week has been amazing and I hope people are taking it to heart and I hope we can have you back again in the future .
Thanks , Treasa , it's been really fun and it's really . It's always interesting to hear other people's questions and it makes you question the things that you're doing in your own business , so it definitely goes both ways .
You know it really is , and I think a lot of this , we've been doing this long enough that this stuff happened to us a long time ago and we've forgotten about it and we've moved on . And that ability to revisit it makes us think about what we're doing in our business now and maybe there are some things we need to look at .
All right , so last question of the week are you ready ? I am Are you ready , teresa ?
I think so . We'll see All right . So our listener question today is recently I've had two potential clients tell me they pay a net 30 . So a deposit which I require for all projects over a thousand dollars is impossible . I walked away from one , but this new one is a brand name I'd love to have in my portfolio .
I really don't want to start without that deposit , but I also don't want to miss this opportunity . What would you do ?
The fact that it's a brand you'd love to have in your portfolio , that's a mitigating circumstance . However , I have a hard and fast rule on this . Especially if I'm doing ghostwritten books , we don't start without a deposit . So if you pay net 30 , that's fine . I'll invoice you today for that deposit . We'll start 30 days from now .
If they need the project done faster and they want to work with you , then they will get that done . It pretty often happens that they get it done much quicker than 30 days , so that's one option is to stand your ground and see .
Now , Eagranie works with larger corporations and I know it gets to be a bit more of a sticky widget there , so we'll hear from her about that in a minute . But so my advice on this from my perspective and this is just what I would do is stick your guns on this Now . If it's a brand that is going to completely up-level your business , then find a way .
Talk to them , see if they can split the difference , see if there is a way they can do it , or see if their due dates on the project and the deliverables are negotiable , because they might not actually need it for 60 days and they're working ahead . So if that's a possibility , you can still get that deposit .
You can still do the project and it's a possibility . You could even have it done within a couple of days of receiving the deposit and still meet an earlier date . So talk to them .
This is one of those situations where I think communicating with the client is absolutely vital , because you can say this is what I do , these are my business guidelines , this is how I run my business , or this is how my business is ran .
Then they can say well , this is what our accounting department says we have to do and , quite honestly , sometimes they have no control over that . If you're working with a content manager , that's just the way it is .
So figure out middle ground where you can meet them and just tell them I really want to work on this project with you , but this is a non-negotiable thing . Where can we make changes in our deliverables or our due date so that we can make this happen ?
Now , from the big perspective because I know you work with Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies how does this work out if you need a deposit on a larger project ?
It's really tricky , teresa , because there's basically like the client and accounts payable are completely separate behemoth things . And so , like I have one client that is net 45 , which I was like , oh , that's interesting , okay .
And in those cases I invoice for the deposit and typically with those clients , lead times are so long that basically what you have described , that deposit comes in , often not like right away , but it'll come in within one or two weeks of us starting to work together .
So there is a leap of faith on my part to begin right away , but it'll come in within one or two weeks of us starting to work together . So there is a leap of faith on my part to begin that work . But they are willing to do the deposit . Right , like the marketing lead has basically said yes , we can do a deposit .
It's just that it's going to take you 30 to 45 days for that deposit to come through , and so at that point it's a little bit of a trust thing . This particular client I've worked with for almost a decade , so I know they're going to pay me right , and so that's kind of part of it is that trust piece .
The other thing is having those conversations face-to-face , not via email , right , right , right . This is not a conversation you have over email . This is a conversation where you basically explain the situation . It's not confrontational , right , like you don't have it as two people battling it out , but just like hey , we have a , we have an issue here .
We're on different pages . These are my guidelines , these are your guidelines . How do we work together to make this work ? And I think sometimes , depending on the client , even just explaining why you take a deposit . Listen , I take a deposit because that allows me to carve out the time for your dedicated project . It really serves both of us right .
So it's not just me wanting money . This is me setting aside time in my schedule so that I can serve you the best way that I can . And I think sometimes having those conversations depending on the size of the company a smaller company is going to have a lot more flexibility , a bigger company will probably not .
But , as you say , putting that stake in the ground and saying this is how I operate and I do need a deposit .
Yeah , and I think that this is one of those situations where it is all about your business , it's not about you . So you want to work with the client , you want to serve them , you want to carve out that time for them , but in order to do that , you need verification that the project is actually going to go ahead , and that's what the deposit is .
And I don't think that people should ever hesitate to ask for a deposit With a smaller client . Sometimes you just have to stand firm and say this is my deposit policy . I cannot move forward with the project and put the time on my schedule until I receive that and make it about your schedule .
Don't make it about you have to reserve my time , because anytime you start equating time and money , they think they're paying you hourly and that's an issue . But if you are reserving space in your schedule , they get that . Another thing I've done on this for net 30 clients is especially if it's regular work .
So for a new client , I'm never going to start work without a deposit . I just I've learned you get burnt , you can do a lot of work you don't get anything , and so I've learned that I also do not turn over the final deliverable until I receive final payment .
And the way I have my accounting system set up is they get an invoice for that final payment and when it's paid it releases the deliverable . So that works on a lot of them For the net 30 clients . It can be a bit more tricky With them if they are a repeat client . I offer a retainer and I know retainers are a hotly contested topic .
Some people love them and some hate them . I love them because I can bill them before and then the money that they owe me for that month comes in at the beginning of the month , so we don't have to ever worry about money .
And then I immediately bill them for the next month and we keep going until they let me know that the retainer is over or until I change my fees and price myself out of their level . That makes a huge difference . I love retainers also because I set them up .
¶ The Value of Retainers in Freelancing
I don't discount for retainers . For me it is a priority VIP concierge level however you want to look at it service . They are getting priority access to my schedule . They are getting dedicated time spent on their projects while I'm not working on anyone else's projects , so they get my full attention .
And then they also get to send me their projects before anyone else at the beginning of the month . That allows me to really work my schedule around them so that I give them that extra level of service . So for me , retainers almost always solve this problem .
For books , I never start until the deposit comes in , and those are just my rules , and I've learned from experience that I have to follow them . But there are a thousand ways to do this , just like with every other freelancing thing , the brand name thing though that might be .
I'm saying have a conversation with them , say I understand that you have no control over accounts payable . I get that . I really do want to work with your organization . What can we do to make this happen ? Can we extend the due date so that the deposit comes in before I give you the deliverable , or something like that ?
Just see what works , because I guarantee you this is not the first time they have had this situation . Yeah , absolutely . All right , come back tomorrow as we learn all about Eagranie and what she does , how she got started and why she is so amazing . See you tomorrow .